Here’s how NBA insiders view the Celtics’ offseason, title chances

Celtics

The Celtics were viewed kindly in a recent ESPN poll of 15 insiders around the NBA.

The Boston Celtics have massive expectations once again, even from some people around the NBA.

In a recent ESPN poll surveying coaches, executives, and scouts, six of the 15 voters selected the Celtics to win the NBA championship in 2024. nine voted for Boston to win the Eastern Conference. The only other team selected for the latter category was the Milwaukee Bucks, who earned six votes.

“This is their window,” a Western Conference executive reportedly told ESPN’s Tim Bontemps of the Celtics.

It should be noted that these results were published prior to Damian Lillard’s trade to the Milwaukee Bucks. It’s unclear as to whether or not the results of either of these two polls would have changed since then, but it’s very apparent that the game’s insiders still think very highly of the Celtics to place them this highly in both categories.

The Celtics received the second-most votes (three) for the team that had the best offseason, trailing only the San Antonio Spurs (four), who drafted a potentially generational talent in Victor Wembanyama. 

What put the Celtics so high up? Part of it involved trading Marcus Smart to the Memphis Grizzlies and receiving Kristaps Porzingis from the Wizards in return, a move that was voted the summer’s biggest surprise.

“There was a ceiling with Marcus there,” a Western Conference scout said, “and Porzingis quietly had a great year last year.”

As with the previous few questions, it could be argued that Lillard’s arrival in Milwaukee was a bigger surprise than the Porzingis trade was. Either way, many inside the league apparently viewed Boston’s decision to part ways with Smart as a massive shock, but a shock they viewed favorably.

The insiders’ recognition of the Celtics extended to their star player. One voter believed that Jayson Tatum will be the NBA’s best player in five years, and two selected him as their MVP for the 2023-24 season, tied for the second-most votes with Giannis Antetokounmpo and behind only Nikola Jokic (nine).

A reason why these voters selected Tatum to win the award, according to Bontemps, was that he is the best player on what is projected to be a title contender. And if this survey foretells the future, then the Boston Celtics will be holding the Larry O’Brien trophy by the end of June.