NBA analyst Tim Bontemps makes a ‘credible argument’ for the Boston Celtics to blow up their core.
The Boston Celtics finally ended their NBA Championship drought last season as they hung banner No. 18 in the rafters of TD Garden.
Many expected the Celtics to repeat as NBA champions considering the quality of their roster. However, the C’s journey ended in the second round against the New York Knicks.
Considering how expensive the current roster of the team is, many are expecting ownership to blow up the current core of stars.
Photo by Danielle Parhizkaran/The Boston Globe via Getty ImagesTim Bontemps wants the Boston Celtics to trade four stars
NBA expert and analyst Tim Bontemps recently joined Brian Windhorst on the Hoop Collective podcast’s latest episode.
During the episode, the future of the current Celtics team became a focal point of discussion. On that topic, Bontemps had a surprising take as he wants the C’s to trade four of their starters in the ‘next two months.’
“I think you could make a credible argument that the right thing for Boston to do would be to trade all four of its starters this year in the next two months and get a ton of young players and draftees,” he said.
Because of the new CBA rules in place, it’s hard for teams to keep their core together for several seasons. Speaking of the Celtics, they also have to worry about the enormous luxury tax in place due to the high cost of their roster.
The C’s are expected to pay more than $60 million in luxury taxes for the 2024-25 NBA season. Keeping that in mind, it wouldn’t be a surprise if the new ownership decides to abandon ship on the current roster.
Bontemps names four stars that should be traded
Coming to the question of the hour, which player should the Celtics keep if they take Bontemps’ advice heading into the 2025-26 season?
Well, the ESPN expert believes it should be none other than Jayson Tatum.
“The argument is this. You’ve got Kristaps Porzingis, is going into the last year of his deal, who’s in his early 30s. You have got Jrue Holiday, who is in his mid-30s and is expensive,” Bontemps continued.
“You’ve got Derrick White, who is 31, will be 33 when Jayson Tatum is ready to be in the playoffs again, and will never have higher value than he’s going to have now.
“And you could get an absolute metric ton for Jaylen Brown. And if you do those moves, you set yourself up to potentially be ready,” he concluded.
In simple terms, Bontemps wants the Celtics to trade every starter except Tatum, who is expected to miss the entire 2025-26 season.