NBA: Which team will take the mantle from the Golden State Warriors?

Boston Celtics

The Boston Celtics have Jason Tatum, Jaylen Brown and Marcus Smart, all three 25 years of age or under, who were the stars of the team that carried the Celtics through the 2018 playoffs to a seven-game series with the LeBron James led Cleveland Cavaliers in the Eastern Conference Finals.

Chemistry issues derailed the Celtics last year. However, the departure of Kyrie Irving to the Nets via free agency should position Brown, Tatum and Smart back to the forefront. The Celtics did add Kemba Walker in the offseason, and he figures to be the Celtics leading scorer, but also should be more of an enabler in the development of Brown and Tatum than his predecessor Kyrie Irving.

The Celtics also acquired sharpshooter Carsen Edwards along with Grant Williams in the 2019 NBA Draft and have seven first-round draft picks over the next five years. Walker will be 32 years old as he enters the 2022-23 season, the final year of his contract, which will pay him $37 million dollars that year, and Gordon Hayward has two more years left on his deal.

Hayward has had a slow recovery from a devastating injury on the opening day of the 2017-18 season. He will make $34 million dollars in the final year of his contract and will be 30 years old as that season begins. With $71 million in cap space tied into Walker and Hayward and seven first-round draft picks over the next five years Boston should have the assets to retool the roster around Tatum and Brown, which should keep them in the hunt for years to come.