One of the goals of the current collective bargaining agreement is to break up superteams like the 2024 championship squad — or at least spread the wealth when it comes to high paid talent. New York, particularly Jalen Brunson, had to take considerable discounts to keep the Nova Knicks together and bring home a championship. The Oklahoma City Thunder had to trim around their edges this offseason to stay competitive and maybe more importantly, under the second apron.
Those economics were part of Boston’s decision to trade Jaylen Brown to Philadelphia and while Paul George makes roughly the same amount of money as JB, he has one year less on his contract. PG13 may not be the ideal veteran partner to pair with Jayson Tatum and some have speculated on who might be a better fit as the 28-year-old JT enters his prime.
Last week, longtime beat writer and Sports Illustrated’s John Karalis speculated on a possible deal that would land four-time NBA champ Steph Curry with the Celtics and in a recent SB Nation poll, our readers agreed that he’d be the best fit over Anthony Davis, Kevin Durant, and Kyrie Irving.
OK, who voted for a Kyrie reunion, guys?
If you’re looking at a potential timeline for Brad Stevens and the Celtics front office, the next 2-3 years could be Tatum plus the current roster plus some aging superstar/Hall-of-Famer looking for one last run at a championship. Curry might be at the top of that list. AD and KD are probably past their “could be Celtics” phase of their careers, but could it make sense down the road to pursue Damian Lillard or Jimmy Butler?
For now, George is a green and Boston is firmly in the Eastern Conference mix. Our friends at FanDuel have the Celtics (+1400) just behind the Knicks (+950) and Sixers (+1100) to raise Banner 19.
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