The 2025 NBA draft will offer the first real glimpse into how the Boston Celtics plan to navigate what could be their most uncertain offseason in years.
Coming off an Eastern Conference semifinal exit, the franchise faces a hefty luxury tax bill, the likely season-long absence of Jayson Tatum and a new ownership regime under Bill Chisholm.
On an episode of SportsCenter on Monday, ESPN’s Brian Windhorst spoke about both the Celtics and Toronto Raptors as two teams to keep an eye on ahead of the draft.
For the Celtics, Windhorst warned that the franchise "might look to offload some salary between now and the start of the new league year on June 30th" to help manage their projected payroll and luxury-tax costs.
Boston’s 2024-25 campaign began with sky-high expectations following the franchise’s 18th championship in 2024.
The team closed the regular season with a 61-21 record, ranking second in the Eastern Conference, thanks to balanced scoring from stars Tatum, Jaylen Brown, Kristaps Porzingis, Derrick White and Sixth Man of the Year, Payton Pritchard.
However, their title defense unraveled in the conference semifinals, where the Celtics fell to the New York Knicks in six games, marking their earliest playoff exit since 2021.
At the center of Boston’s uncertainty is 27-year-old Tatum.
Boston Celtics forward Jayson Tatum
Tatum ruptured his Achilles tendon in Game 4 of the Knicks series, an injury expected to sideline him for a significant portion of next season, forcing Boston to consider life without its franchise player.
Boston’s payroll situation adds another layer of complexity.
With combined player salaries and luxury taxes projected near the half-billion-dollar mark, the Celtics face some of the NBA’s harshest financial penalties, making it nearly impossible to justify fielding the current roster if they can’t find cost-cutting measures.
