After adding James Harden, the Brooklyn Nets have become the favorite to come out of the east. The Nets were already among the favorites with their two superstars in Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving, but adding a scorer like James Harden makes an already dangerous Nets offense just that much more deadly. Other Eastern Conference teams seemed to hold out hope that the Harden experiment in Brooklyn simply wouldn’t work. That hope was quickly doused as Harden finished his Nets debut with a 32-point triple-double, while his teammate, KD, finished with 42. With all of this in mind, the question everyone in Boston is asking is: What does this mean for the Celtics?
The Boston Celtics have little need for concern. The reason for this lack for concern is the same reason the Celtics did not need to trade for James Harden themselves. Boston is not in a win-now mode. Their two franchise cornerstones in Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum, are both under 25-years-old. This affords the Celtics not only a large window for a championship but also a long time to add to a team that is already a consistent contender.
Brooklyn, on the other hand, finds itself in a “championship or bust” situation. With its big three, all between the ages of 28 and 32, they have a window of roughly 2-4 years. Not only that, but the Nets have teams like the Bucks, Lakers, and Clippers standing in the way of NBA gold.
The Celtics are a team that is looking to the future, not the present, and the future is bright for this young team. Jayson Tatum has quickly become one of the best players in the league, Jaylen Brown has gotten exponentially better every year, Marcus Smart is a premier defender, and Payton Pritchard has emerged as a solid rookie for the Celtics. That and many other things give Boston fans genuine and strong hope for the future of the Boston Celtics franchise.
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