Could there be a lower point in the Jays era of Celtics basketball? After winning a championship a year ago, a confluence of bad luck and injuries derailed a chance to defend it repeat. Now, both Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum are coming off offseason surgeries — Tatum’s ruptured Achilles obviously being the more serious of the two — with the fate of the franchise in limbo.
And if there’s any doubt that the Celtics are entering a gap year, the trades of Jrue Holiday and Kristaps Porzingis solidified the front office’s motivation. Luke Kornet’s decision to leave for San Antonio in free agency and the looming departure (or retirement) of Al Horford are just the lapping tide that washes away the memory of Banner 18 for the penalties of the second apron leave no team intact for long.