The State of the Celtics

Tonight is the NBA Draft and even though the Celtics have first round picks at 14, 20 and 22 (plus a second round pick at 51) - Boston fans are in a panic. They are in a panic because it looks like both Kyrie Irving and Al Horford are choosing to leave the team as free agents.

C'st la vie - chill out. Things are still very good.

Right now the Celtics could start the following players:

Marcus Smart (PG), Jaylen Brown (SG), Jason Tatum (SF), Gordon Hayward (PF) and Aron Baynes (C). That's a pretty good - and young (except Baynes) - starting five. Plus they'd be very fun to watch. And when you have Robert Williams playing at center - that's one of the best defensive lineups in all of the NBA.

Most Celts fans would like Kyrie Irving to leave at this point. The most common sentiment is "I'd be happy to drive him to the airport." Al Horford deciding to leave was a surprise and I for one will remember him fondly as a pro's pro who did all the little things and did them right. But going forward don't be surprised if the most common description of Horford in Boston will be "33-year old" Al Horford. But that's getting ahead of ourselves because Horford hasn't left for sure. He could just be testing the waters (unlikely but possible).

If Horford does leave then suddenly the Celtics have about $30 million in cap space (assuming Marcus Morris and Terry Rozier also leave as free agents) to use on one or two solid players. Add in whatever player(s) Danny Ainge drafts tonight and suddenly you are looking at a pretty deep 9-10 player roster. Sure they won't be top heavy with stars like Kyrie and Anthony Davis but it will be a solid lineup that will hopefully be (mostly) drama free.

Plus Boston still have Memphis' top pick in either next year's or the 2021 draft. That should end up being one of the best picks in the draft. Things are good in Boston. Celtics fans should all take a deep breath.