The stunning move (\u201cThey traded Brown where?! For that?!<\/a>\u201c) cannot be finalized until the NBA\u2019s moratorium on trades lifts on Monday. Once it is, Boston will enter a new era, with a reimagined supporting cast around remaining superstar Jayson Tatum.<\/p>\n Oh, and the Celtics also agreed to terms with free agents Mitchell Robinson<\/a> and Mike Conley<\/a>, giving them a new potential starter at center and a veteran guard to shore up their bench.<\/p>\n More moves could be forthcoming. President of basketball operations Brad Stevens has another three months to tinker with his roster before training camp begins. For now, though, here\u2019s an updated look at how Boston\u2019s depth chart could shake out this season (new additions marked with asterisks):<\/p>\n Potential starting five<\/p>\n Payton Pritchard George comes in as a 1-for-1 replacement for Brown. They\u2019re comparable players \u2014 George is a two-way wing who once was considered one of the league\u2019s best defenders \u2014 and the former actually outplayed the latter for much of this year\u2019s Celtics-Sixers playoff series.<\/p>\n George shoots more 3-pointers and makes them more consistently (39.2% this season to Brown\u2019s 34.7%) but rarely attacks the rim and was highly inefficient on those shots this season. If Brown\u2019s poor advanced metrics played a role in his departure, as some have speculated, it\u2019s worth noting that George\u2019s team\u2019s net rating improved with him on the court in all but one of his 16 seasons<\/a>.<\/p>\n The biggest red flag with George, as a 36-year-old with a long injury history, is availability. He\u2019s played more than 60 games just once in the last seven years.<\/p>\n The same concern applies to Robinson, whose 60 appearances for the champion Knicks this season were his most since 2021-22. The 28-year-old was the best free agent center available, however, and should provide a major boost to Boston\u2019s frontcourt with his defensive versatility, rim protection and elite rebounding.<\/p>\n It\u2019s not yet clear whether head coach Joe Mazzulla plans to start Robinson over Neemias Queta, who enjoyed breakout success last season before being derailed by foul trouble in the playoffs. But doing so would help mitigate the intentional fouling strategy Mazzulla and other coaches have used to exploit Robinson\u2019s alarmingly poor free-throw shooting.<\/p>\n The biggest questions for the three holdovers here: Will Tatum, who estimated he played at 80-85% of his ability<\/a> after his late-season return from Achilles surgery, look like his pre-injury, All-NBA self this fall? Can the 32-year-old White rediscover his shooting stroke after posting career-worst percentages this season? And will Pritchard, whom Mazzulla moved back to the bench after the team shipped out Anfernee Simons at the trade deadline, return to the starting lineup?<\/p>\n Pritchard, in particular, could take on a larger offensive role this season with Brown now in Philly. His overall efficiency dipped a bit from his Sixth Man of the Year campaign in 2024-25, but the undersized guard emerged as one of the NBA\u2019s best isolation scorers, ranking just below Luka Doncic and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and just above Stephen Curry, James Harden and Nikola Jokic in points per possession in iso scenarios.<\/p>\n In a piece for Yahoo! Sports, Tom Haberstroh likened Pritchard\u2019s potential for a post-Brown Celtics squad to the way Jalen Brunson blossomed<\/a> after he left the Doncic-led Dallas Mavericks. That\u2019s a very high bar to clear \u2014 Brunson just won NBA Finals MVP as the best player on a dominant championship team \u2014 but Pritchard is a valuable asset as a proven scorer on one of the league\u2019s team-friendliest contracts ($7.8 million this coming season, $8.3 million in 2027-28).<\/p>\n Guards: Mike Conley*, Dalano Banton<\/p>\n The Celtics picked up Conley for the veteran minimum to shore up their guard depth. He\u2019s a highly respected, uber-experienced point guard who rarely turns the ball over. But his numbers cratered this season (4.5 points per game on 33.5% shooting), and at 39 years old, he won\u2019t provide the jolt of speed and athleticism that Stevens said he hoped to add this offseason. Conley was a starter for 18 straight seasons before moving into a reserve role with Minnesota last fall.<\/p>\n Boston picked up Banton\u2019s team option, but his contract is non-guaranteed. He\u2019d likely be the first to go if the Celtics need to clear a roster spot or shed salary.<\/p>\n Wings: Sam Hauser, Baylor Scheierman, Jordan Walsh, Hugo Gonzalez, Ron Harper Jr., Dillon Mitchell*<\/p>\n Too many bodies here? Perhaps. But maintaining a deep stable of wings could be wise given George\u2019s unreliability (and the desire not to overload Tatum during his first full regular season post-injury).<\/p>\n Hauser, Scheierman and Walsh all started at least 20 games this season, with Hauser sticking with the top unit even after Tatum was activated in early March. The Celtics have high hopes for Gonzalez \u2014 whom they reportedly refused to include in their trade offer for Giannis Antetokounmpo \u2014 despite Mazzulla booting him from the rotation late in his rookie year. Harper showed enough potential down the stretch to earn a new three-year contract.<\/p>\n
Derrick White
Paul George*
Jayson Tatum
Mitchell Robinson*<\/p>\n![\"Boston](\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/AP26087044090698.jpg\")
Boston Celtics guard Payton Pritchard takes a shot over Atlanta Hawks forward Zaccharie Risacher during the first half of an NBA game, Friday, March 27, 2026, in Boston. (AP Photo\/Charles Krupa)
\nBench<\/p>\n