Long gone is the idea that this would be a “gap year” for the Celtics. They quickly put those thoughts to bed and flipped the script to the point where they’re now considered title contenders despite Jayson Tatum’s injury and the other offseason departures. The idea that they would duck the luxury tax and tank for a high draft pick while Tatum took the year off was clearly a misguided premise.
In recent weeks, reporting had picked up that the Celtics would be buyers, not sellers, at the deadline, and the team was linked to big-name, big-money players like Jaren Jackson Jr.