{"id":153583,"date":"2025-08-06T10:38:50","date_gmt":"2025-08-06T14:38:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/?p=153583"},"modified":"2025-08-06T10:38:50","modified_gmt":"2025-08-06T14:38:50","slug":"the-celtics-starting-five-after-trading-niang-and-adding-boucher","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2025\/08\/06\/the-celtics-starting-five-after-trading-niang-and-adding-boucher\/","title":{"rendered":"The Celtics’ Starting Five After Trading Niang And Adding Boucher"},"content":{"rendered":"

BOSTON<\/strong> \u2013 The Celtics<\/a> aren\u2019t just reloading \u2014 they\u2019re restructuring. Following Jayson Tatum\u2019s<\/a> Achilles tear, Boston had to re-evaluate its short- and long-term approach. That meant trimming their tax bill and making their championship window more flexible. They offloaded Jrue Holiday<\/a> and Kristaps Porzi\u0146\u0123is<\/a>, saving around $200 million<\/a> in salary and repeater tax hits. They also flipped<\/a> Georges Niang<\/a>, a veteran acquired in the Porzi\u0146\u0123is swap, to Utah and replaced<\/a> him with Chris Boucher<\/a> on a vet minimum deal. The front office didn\u2019t just create cap space \u2014 they reshaped their depth chart. And now, it\u2019s time to take a serious look at the Celtics’ starting five heading into training camp.<\/p>\n

The Celtics’ Starting Five After Trading Niang And Adding Boucher<\/h2>\n

Anfernee Simons \u2014 Offensive Firestarter<\/strong><\/h3>\n
\"Anfernee
Mar 23, 2025; Portland, Oregon, USA; Boston Celtics guard Payton Pritchard (11) embraces Portland Trail Blazers guard Anfernee Simons (1) after a game at Moda Center. Mandatory Credit: Troy Wayrynen-Imagn Images<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

If Anfernee Simons<\/a> is still on the roster come opening night, pencil him in as the starting point guard. He\u2019s no ironman \u2014 only twice has he played 65+ games in a season \u2014 but when healthy, Simons is lethal. He owns a career 38% clip from three, which makes him tailor-made for Joe Mazzulla\u2019s pace-and-space offense.<\/p>\n

On defense, he will be a liability. That won\u2019t surprise anyone. But his shot-making can shift momentum in seconds. If the Celtics are committed to winning shootouts this season, Simons fits.<\/p>\n

Derrick White \u2014 The Constant<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Derrick White<\/a> isn\u2019t just dependable \u2014 he\u2019s elite.
\nStill in his prime at 31, White is arguably Boston\u2019s best two-way player. His presence in the Celtics’ starting five is guaranteed, and with more touches available, expect a bigger offensive role. This might finally be the year he gets his first All-Star nod.<\/p>\n

Jaylen Brown \u2014 The Alpha Now<\/strong><\/h3>\n

No more sidekick role. Jaylen Brown<\/a> \u2014 Finals MVP and now clear-cut team leader \u2014 carries the torch in Tatum\u2019s absence.\u00a0<\/em>Mazzulla will ask him to scale up both his scoring and playmaking.<\/p>\n

Brown showed flashes of lead initiator potential against the Knicks<\/a> in game 5 last season. But doing it consistently across 82 games is a different beast. The Celtics need him to figure it out, fast.<\/p>\n

Sam Hauser \u2014 The Reluctant Starter<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Replacing Tatum isn\u2019t a fair ask. Still, Sam Hauser<\/a> appears locked into the Celtics starting five for now. The fan-favorite sniper has earned his keep. He\u2019s not flashy, but he\u2019s reliable \u2014 career 42% shooter from deep on high volume and no slouch on defense.<\/p>\n

He doesn\u2019t have to be Tatum. He just has to be solid.<\/p>\n

Neemias Queta \u2014 Size Over Skill<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Mazzulla has a choice to make: go with shooting or size. Chris Boucher<\/a> is the proven vet, but Neemias Queta<\/a> offers size the Celtics need. At 7 feet and 250 pounds, Queta has the frame to bang inside and protect the rim.<\/p>\n

His per-36 numbers \u2014 12.9 points, 9.8 rebounds \u2014 suggest potential. Boucher\u2019s 6-foot-9 frame limits him against traditional centers. If Boston values physicality more than finesse, Queta likely wins the starting spot at the five.<\/p>\n

Final Thoughts <\/strong><\/h3>\n

The Celtics’ starting five may not be as star-studded on paper as last year\u2019s unit, but it\u2019s built for adaptability. Flexibility in scheme, lowered tax pressure, and internal development could be enough to keep Boston competitive.<\/p>\n

The front office made hard calls this summer. Whether this new five can carry the load without Tatum remains to be seen \u2014 but the Celtics have made their bet.<\/p>\n

BOSTON \u2013 The Celtics aren\u2019t just reloading \u2014 they\u2019re restructuring. Following Jayson Tatum\u2019s Achilles tear, Boston had to re-evaluate its short- and long-term approach. That meant trimming their tax bill and making their championship window more flexible. They offloaded Jrue Holiday and Kristaps Porzi\u0146\u0123is, saving around $200 million in salary and repeater tax hits. They […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5018,"featured_media":153591,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[62,1608,5,3],"tags":[1559,906,1090,450,798,1437,4108,3851],"class_list":["post-153583","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nba","category-basketball","category-celtics","category-news","tag-anfernee-simons","tag-chris-boucher","tag-derrick-white","tag-jaylen-brown","tag-jayson-tatum","tag-nba-starting-lineups","tag-neemias-queta","tag-sam-hauser"],"modified_by":"Frederick Okocha","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/153583","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5018"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=153583"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/153583\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":153593,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/153583\/revisions\/153593"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/153591"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=153583"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=153583"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=153583"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}