Celtics had the best offseason of any team, according to NBA coaches, execs and scouts
BOSTON -- Like any professional sports league, the NBA is hyper-competitive. Giving credit where it's due is not always the easiest thing to do.
Yet in an ESPN poll of coaches, scouts, and executives, the work of Brad Stevens and the Celtics' front office could not be denied.
Tim Bontemps surveyed 15 coaches, executives and scouts on a series of different topics. One question was simple: Which team had the best offseason?
Though eight different teams received votes, the Celtics received six votes, far and away the most of any team. The Sixers and Jazz earned the second-most selections at two apiece.
"Coming out on top by a decent margin, however, was Boston's offseason. The Celtics added two quality rotation players -- guard Malcolm Brogdon in a trade with the Indiana Pacers, and forward Danilo Gallinari as a free agent -- without sacrificing any of their top eight players who got them to the NBA Finals," Bontemps wrote.
While Gallinari's knee injury may get his 2022-23 season off to a slower start than anticipated, there's still clearly a sense around the league that the Celtics figure to be prominent players in the East next season.
That much was also reflected in the answers to the question of which team will win the East next season. The Bucks and Celtics each received seven votes, with the Heat getting the only other vote.
Four out of the 15 respondents have the Celtics winning next year's Finals. That's the same number of picks for the Bucks, and one fewer than the Clippers, who got the most votes with five.
And on an individual level, Celtics fans will be happy to know that when the group was asked who will be the best player in the NBA in five years, only three players received votes, and one was Jayson Tatum.
Giannis Antetokounmpo nabbed seven votes, Luka Doncic got six, and Tatum received a pair of votes.
"Just because of the defensive component. Luka is a stud, and you don't need to be a defensive lockdown guy to be an All-NBA player like he is, but having Tatum's self-creation ability, his physical tools and his ability to give you defensive versatility, that's pretty special," an Eastern Conference scout told Bontemps. "Luka did a hell of a job carrying that team this year, but the two-way wing creator/scorer is the ultimate archetype, and Tatum is that at 24 years old, and just got that team to the Finals. I just like his ability to give you something defensively that Luka likely never will be able to."
While offseason polls won't help Boston win a game next year, it's clear that as far as folks around the NBA are concerned, the needle continues to point up for the Celtics.
