While many believe the Boston Celtics should again be very formidable this season after acquiring Jrue Holiday over the weekend, one NBA insider believes the team has created a new and serious issue they will have to confront following the blockbuster deal.
It has been a wild last week on the NBA trade market. After months of rumors and speculation, the Portland Trail Blazers finally pulled the trigger and shipped team legend Damian Lillard out of town. In the massive three-team blockbuster deal, the Trail Blazers landed double-double machine Deandre Ayton and two-time All-Star Jrue Holiday.
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However, soon after the news broke it was revealed that Holiday was not in their plans for the upcoming season and he was now the hottest commodity on the trade block just days before the start of training camp. While contenders like the New York Knicks and Philadelphia 76ers were reportedly interested in the talented guard, it was the Boston Celtics who landed the one-time champion.
Now, heading into the 2023-2024 NBA season the Cs have a starting five of Holiday, Jaylen Brown, Jayson Tatum, Kristaps Porzingis, and Al Horford. On paper, it seems like a nasty quintet, however, The Athletic’s NBA insider Zach Harper believes Boston created new problems by strengthening their first five.
Boston Celtics have serious depth issues after two blockbuster summer trades
In the trade, the Celtics gave up a pair of premium draft picks, defensive ace Robert Williams, and sixth-man award winner Malcolm Brogdon. By giving up those two proven veterans, Boston may have opened the door to some serious depth issues that will be unveiled as the season plays out.
“The Celtics weren’t exactly lacking depth before, but it wasn’t like they ran 12 deep. Unless they have some guys to develop quickly who can make the rotation by January, the Celtics got a lot thinner without many solutions readily available to them. Porziņģis without Robert Williams puts the Latvian big man and Al Horford under pressure to be available and healthy for big stretches of the season. That’s a lot more Luke Kornet to sop up minutes unless the Celtics think they can play small with Oshae Brissett as a very small-ball big.
“Holiday is better than Smart [traded in Porzingis deal], but you’ve gone from a three-guard rotation of Smart, Brogdon, and Derrick White to a pairing of Holiday and White with maybe a sprinkling of Payton Pritchard. That’s not nearly as inspiring for the role players around Tatum and Brown.”
– Zach Harper
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The Denver Nuggets showed the value of strong depth around a pair of star players in their championship run last season. While the Boston Celtics starting five is very good and seems like a strong mix, there is reason to worry about the frontcourt’s health due to their injury history or age.
Because after those two, there is not much else on the roster and that could become a big problem for the team if they have availability issues this season.