There are few terms in sports more dreaded than “bridge year.” It’s a surefire way to turn off fans -- at least the casual ones -- for a season.
It means your team isn’t really in win-now mode despite having a foundation that is at least strong enough to not really be in a rebuild either. They’re just kind of… there. Waiting… waiting.
It’s risky, too. Sometimes whatever they’re waiting for, whatever they’re hoping is on the other side of the bridge, ends up not being there and the bridge collapses.
It’s why teams will never actually admit to planning a bridge year. They don’t want to kill fans’ excitement, and they don’t want their players going into a season already feeling like it’s not important.
The Celtics are not going to call this a bridge year, but it is becoming increasingly clear that that’s exactly what 2021-22 is going to be.
They will talk about “financial flexibility” and “salary structure” instead. It all means the same thing: The Celtics’ plan is to set themselves up for a big move in 2022, not now.
That may be frustrating for fans to accept as they see other teams throwing around hundreds of millions of dollars in free agency while the Celtics stand pat, but it’s the right move.
The Celtics need to add a third big piece next to Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown for sure, but doing that this offseason was always going to be a longshot.
Two of the top free agents, Chris Paul and Mike Conley, have already re-signed with their current teams. Another, Kawhi Leonard, is expected to soon. Lonzo Ball or Kyle Lowry (if you think he still has something in the tank) could have been good fits at a position of need. John Collins could still end up with a new team if he can’t come to terms with the Hawks. (UPDATE: Scratch that. Collins is staying in Atlanta.)
The Celtics didn’t really have the cap space to land a top player this summer anyways, though. But by dumping Kemba Walker’s contract, not re-signing Evan Fournier and presumably not handing out new contracts to Marcus Smart and Robert Williams just yet, they could next summer.
We know the big name they’ve been linked to the most: Wizards star and friend-of-Tatum Bradley Beal. Beal, who could opt out of his contract after this season, surfaced in plenty of trade rumors earlier this offseason, including some involving the Celtics. He hasn’t demanded a trade, though, and the latest reports are that he’s content staying in Washington for at least one more season.
There’s some good news in that for the Celtics. If Beal were on the trade market this summer and the Wizards had numerous offers for him, it’s possible the Celtics would have had to trade Brown to get him. We can debate whether that would be a trade worth making, but either way it would leave the C’s still looking for a third star.
If Beal remains in Washington and doesn’t sign an extension, the Celtics could now be in a position to either sign him next summer or pay a lesser price to trade for him in-season, when the Wizards may not be able to get as much in return as they would now.
Of course, this is also where the bridge can collapse. What if Beal decides he wants to stay in Washington beyond this season and signs an extension? It wouldn’t be as simple as just turning around and paying another top free agent instead.
Kevin Durant and James Harden could be at the top of the market if they don’t sign extensions with Brooklyn. There is certainly a chance of that if things don’t go smoothly for the Nets this season, but does anyone think either would sign with the Celtics? After that you’re looking at players like Julius Randle, Zach LaVine and Aaron Gordon… good players, but debatable whether they could be the missing piece.
Chris Mannix on Ordway, Merloni & Fauria pointed out that the Celtics could also be in position to trade for either Damian Lillard or CJ McCollum if one of them requests a trade from Portland. That remains an “if” for now, but at least the Celtics have put themselves in a position to potentially be able to do that should the opportunity present itself.
“It’s a risk,” Mannix said. “Now, I do believe in financial flexibility. You want to have manageable contracts in case one of those players appears via trade, which is possible. I’ve been saying this for weeks now: You want to have both eyes on Portland over the next few months, because the Blazers, if they go downhill quickly -- and they haven’t done anything really to improve that team -- if they decide to make substantial changes involving Damian Lillard or CJ McCollumn, I want to be first in line if I’m Boston. Both of those guys could be difference-makers, so I want to be armed with as many of my draft picks, armed with moveable contracts.”
That’s the nature of bridge years. Sometimes the bridge is shaky. Sometimes the view to the other side is shrouded in fog.
There would be understandable concern about how long Tatum would want to stay in Boston if the bridge leads to nowhere, but would he really be a whole lot happier on a team that's consistently a four- or five-seed but never really a title contender?
The Celtics didn’t have a clear path to becoming a title contender this summer. Sure, they could have built a better team for next season than they currently have, but that would have limited their ability to make championship-type moves going forward. At least they have that ability now.
If the goal were just to improve on last season and get past the first round, then yes, it would absolutely be fair to criticize Brad Stevens for not doing more right now. But if the goal is to build the Celtics’ next championship team, then Stevens’ current approach is the right one, even if that means a boring, uninspiring offseason.
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