One season after making it to the Eastern Conference Finals for the first time since the “Big Three” era, the Boston Celtics completely revamped their basketball team for the 2017-18 NBA season. In one summer, the Celtics brought in Jayson Tatum, Gordon Hayward, and Kyrie Irving. After a hectic offseason, the Celtics retained just four players from the season prior–Jaylen Brown, Al Horford, Terry Rozier, and Marcus Smart. Expectations were high for Boston. The Cleveland Cavaliers and Golden State Warriors had just met in the NBA Finals for the third straight season, and the Celtics were in prime position to stop this. However, a gruesome leg injury suffered on opening night forced Hayward to miss the rest of the NBA season. And eventually, Irving got injured as well and missed the entire postseason. This forced the Celtics to rely on their young core for most of their playoff games.
The Celtics’ two best players were both missing for their playoff run, lowering expectations of a championship appearance despite the team finishing as the No. 2 seed. However, the Celtics still managed to make it all the way back to the Eastern Conference Finals, led by their young core and a then 32-year-old Horford. Despite taking a 2-0 series lead, the Celtics lost the series in seven games to the Cavaliers, led by LeBron James.
This team was supposed to be the start of a dynasty in Boston. Unfortunately, it all crumbled apart and the team was completely dismantled within two years. This officially ended perhaps the most confusing era of Celtics basketball.
Remembering the 2017-18 Boston Celtics
Was This Team Good Enough to Win it All?
The Boston Celtics finished the 2017-18 season with a 55-27 record. This was the Celtics’ best record since winning 62 games during the 2008-09 season. Would this team have been able to bring home another title without the injuries? In theory, adding Irving and Hayward to the postseason roster would easily make the Celtics title favorites. However, as the saying goes, it’s likely there would’ve been “too many cooks in the kitchen.”
What does this mean? Simply put, Irving, Hayward, Brown, Tatum, and Rozier were all ball-dominant players. With only one basketball, it would’ve been difficult for all these guys to mesh togetherer. The talent was there, but the fit was not. It’s possible we would have just seen a disappointing season closely resembling the one the team endured the following season.
Been waiting a long time to lace back up and get out there with the guys. Tonight, finally! #CUsRise pic.twitter.com/AlK4Tnmxoi
— Gordon Hayward (@gordonhayward) September 28, 2018
On paper, this team was loaded with depth, and having Tatum and Brown remain the fourth and fifth options on the team would have been a good idea. However, it’s likely the execution wouldn’t have been as good. This also could have potentially stunted their development, causing long-term problems for the duo.
In a recent interview with Paul George, Hayward talked about how then-head coach Brad Stevens envisioned the team’s future (1:01:00):
His vision was for me and Kyrie [Irving] and Al [Horford] to kind of run the team for the first three-four years and then have Jaylen [Brown] and Jayson [Tatum] take over after that.
Although this idea made sense, it likely wouldn’t have worked out this way. Keep in mind that Irving was only 25 when the Boston Celtics acquired him. Four years later, he would’ve been 29 and still young enough to lead an NBA team for the long haul. If the Celtics had it their way, it’s unlikely they would let go of Irving that quickly. Even so, he and Horford (player option) were going to be free agents after the 2018-19 season, so signing both of them to a short-term deal wouldn’t have made a lot of sense. On the flip side, a long-term deal would have taken away from Brown and Tatum’s opportunity to shine.
The Last Word
The 2017-18 Boston Celtics roster remains one of the most interesting basketball teams in franchise history. Acquiring Hayward and Irving in the same offseason completely changed the dynamic of the team. Plus, the hype surrounding that team was as real as could be. Taking Irving away from the Cavaliers, in theory, made Boston’s biggest competition just a little bit weaker. The makings of a special season were all there. However, while it’s fair to reflect and imagine the healthy version of the Celtics in the 2018 NBA Finals, it’s tough imagining they would win the whole thing. No team in the NBA at the time was beating a Warriors team that had Stephen Curry and Kevin Durant. Sure, a healthy Celtics team probably could’ve stolen a few games, especially thanks to Irving’s NBA Finals experience against them, but it’s tough to imagine them coming out on top.
Fast forward to the present day, and the Celtics still look like one of the NBA’s best seven years later. That said, it’s easy to think about what the 2017-18 team could have accomplished and what the legacies of guys like Irving and Hayward would be in Boston today. Would they still wreak havoc on basketball courts with the Celtics in 2024? Could they have ever helped raise another banner in TD Garden? And perhaps most interestingly, where would Brown and Tatum be in their careers at this point? Nobody can say for sure. Still, it’s an interesting hypothetical when talking about one of the greatest teams that never was in recent history.
