The Timeline
On one hand, it’s tempting to say that the Boston Celtics are a win-now team. After all, their two best players are 28 (Thomas) and 30 (Al Horford). Horford is at the tail end of his prime while Thomas is right in the middle. Boston is one LeBron James ankle tweak away from being the East favorite this year. Most teams wouldn’t think twice and would re-sign Thomas at whatever he wants on this point alone.
Hardwood Houdini
But the Celtics aren’t most teams, and Danny Ainge isn’t most GM’s. Yes, Ainge is the same GM who traded away youth once before to load up on over-30 stars, but that was a unique situation. When Kevin Garnett becomes available, you go get Kevin Garnett (well, unless you’re the Nets). Danny didn’t flinch and got rewarded with a championship. The Celtics have the goods to do a version of that trade this summer, whether it be for Jimmy Butler, Paul George, or some other as-yet-unknown superstar.
Even if they do decide to move on from Thomas, they still might pull the trigger, but there is a reason Ainge didn’t make such a move at the deadline.
The Present
Perhaps no team in the modern history of the league has been as uniquely positioned to attain the long-term status of full-fledged contender as the Celtics are right now. Avery Bradley and Jae Crowder, both a sliver below All-Star caliber, are 26. Marcus Smart, someone who screams “winning player” on both ends of the court, just turned 23. Terry Rozier is also 23 and is regularly playing over twenty minutes a night. Jaylen Brown won’t be old enough to drink until next season and depending on which reports you believe, may already be considered untouchable by the Celtics, which tells us everything we need to know about his ceiling.
The Future
These are just the young, proven players on the current roster. Boston also has the aforementioned Nets pick, next year’s Nets pick (sure to be in the top 10), and future picks from the Clippers (heavily projected) and Memphis (lightly protected). Ante Zizic and Guerschon Yabusele are two highly touted prospects currently stashed overseas. Oh, and if they did decide to move on from Thomas? You can bet the haul will be substantial.
All told, if the Celtics play this the right way – and with Ainge at the helm, you can trust they will – they’ll be set up to content for the next decade.
But contending isn’t the same as winning. If the Celtics make it far this year – as in, Game 7 of the East Finals far – would even Ainge be able to stomach the idea of taking the most important player off of a team that has something like a 35 percent chance to win the whole darn thing at some point over the next 3-4 seasons? At that point, don’t you re-sign Thomas, go get Jimmy Butler, and roll the dice?
Its an impossible decision, but here’s the thing: if you pay Thomas, there might not be enough money left to fill out the rest of what the Celtics hope is a championship roster.