Are the Celtics even a playoff team next year?
Boston is filled with championship level veterans. They're proven winners and even without Doc Rivers the only way they don't see the playoff's is do to injury. If I were them were them i'd try to find a way to shed Courtney Lee and Jason Terry, and roll the dice on signing Andrew Bynum.
Yep, don't forget they were missing Sullinger and Rondo for much of the season. Sullinger was their key rebounder, and with the added confidence Green got playing a bigger role they'll definitely be a playoff team. Plus, Avery Bradley can go back to playing off the ball.
Even if KG and Pierce leave/retire we'll have Rondo, Bradley, Green, Sullinger and I guess Bass or Fab Melo as a young core to build around. Nice mix of vets and youth and will be well-coached by Rivers.
Also, don't be surprised if Rondo returns earlier than expected. He hurt himself pretty early in the season, I could see him being ready for Christmas - he was already shooting around with the team in the playoffs.
What do you think? A lot wil depend on whether KG, Pierce and Doc come back, but even if they do, with the emergence of the Wizards and maybe the Raptors in the east, could the Celtics find themselves in the lottery once again? You have to remeber that Rondo will likely miss the start of the season and the vets will be another year older, so the Celtics will pobably be even worse than this year. If KG and Pierce are gone, which I think is unlikely, then the C's will have cap space, but no one knows who's on their radar. This year even with a healthy roster they were below .500 for the most of the season.