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Jaylen Brown is a 76er. Paul George is a Celtic.
That trade — and the addition of Mitchell Robinson — was the highlight of the summer and could be the difference of whether or not the Celtics surpass the pleasant surprise of their 56 wins a year ago. However, there’s also the continued internal development of so many of the players that were responsible for that unexpected regular season.
There’s Hugo Gonzalez, who seems to have added more to his tool belt based his Summer League performance. He was used as a spark plug off the bench in his rookie year, but in Vegas, we got a glimpse of what he might look like as an offensive engine and maybe more importantly, as a leader in the locker room.
What about Hugo’s superfriend, Baylor Scheierman? In a 20-game stretch last year, he averaged nearly 10-6-3 as a starter before Tatum returned from his Achilles tear. His defense improved dramatically and he’ll again bring his Swiss army knife skillset to the table, whether that’s off the bench or alongside Derrick White in the backcourt.
After the team picked up their option on Jordan Walsh’s contract, it became fully guaranteed on Monday and during a visit to Vegas, Walsh guaranteed to get better on the offensive side of the ball:
And after bouncing around the fringes of the league, Ron Harper Jr. signed a four-year, $14 million contract with the Celtics. That’s a huge vote of confidence for the 26-year-old who could become that microwave scorer in the second unit.
The new collective bargaining agreement has made the contributions of players on their rookie deals or minimum contracts a necessary premium for teams looking to contend. In the past, teams could use the backend of their roster more for patient player development; now, they’re getting thrown right into the fire and are expected to perform and perform well. With that in mind, who’s going to be Boston’s best candidate for Most Improved Player in 2026-2027?
