Marc Bertrand: I’m still taking the Celtics over the 76ers

On Monday's edition of Zolak & Bertrand, Marc "Beetle" Bertrand made it clear that he'd still take the Celtics over the 76ers in a playoff series, despite Paul George landing in Philly.

I'm happy to see a big star change teams...

Marc Bertrand: 

It's good that a big name moved in free agency again. We've kind of been lacking that the last few years, like a big star moving to another team. So that's a positive. It makes the east better and so that to me is a plus and I do believe that we will get a lot of fun out of this with the Celtics being what they are and with the Knicks being what they've sort of become. Then Philadelphia, I'm going to assume being better and and winning more games this coming year and we'll see where it goes health wise. The east could be a little bit of a battle, I haven’t even mentioned the Bucks and so there are now 4 like legitimate teams in the East. But even if everything goes well for those teams, let's assume the best for the 76ers, who do you like in a series between a healthy 76ers team and the Celtics?  

Cerrone Battle: 

I’d take the Celtics. It’s not even a debate really. 

Marc Bertrand: 

So would I. 

Cerrone Battle: 

I think what happens in the playoffs, you see with Joel Embiid a lot, when things get tight, they just all start standing around and giving the ball to Embiid and he's their biggest strength, but it also becomes their biggest weakness late in games. He’s usually out of shape, tired, but wants the ball and wants to do everything, it just shoots them right out of every game. But I think the Celtics are still deeper. I never thought I'd say this going back a year ago. They're better coached, I think they're way more experienced. They're younger, they're the healthier team. I mean, Porzingis has got his issues, but take Porzingis out of it. I still think they're better than the 76ers and I think the Knicks would give them more trouble, but I’m not putting the 76ers over the Knicks. And like you said, I might not even put them over a healthy Bucks team because I think Giannis is still a big mismatch for this team.

Listen to the full segment!

Celtics President of Basketball Ops Brad Stevens just got his team to the summit, but he still has work to do if he wants to stay there.

The entire main roster will remain intact for the 2024-25 season, if Stevens stands pat on what he has. But there's at least one, if not two major contract extensions to get done, and even the defending champions could use some reinforcements or tweaks to the formula. Stevens also has the draft and some possible coaching moves to consider.

Stevens has proven to be a forward thinker who is unafraid to make bold moves, so another active summer can't be ruled out. But even if Stevens stands pat with all his primary pieces, he'll still have some key tasks on his plate that Celtics fans should familiarize themselves with before the next few months unfold.

Here's a look at seven things for Stevens to work on in the off-season...

The C's made Jaylen Brown the highest-paid player in NBA history last summer. One year later, they're about to do it again with Jayson Tatum.

According to ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski, Tatum is expected to be offered the richest contract in NBA history this off-season. That would be a five-year deal worth $315 million, or $63 million per season. It'll be the most expensive no-brainer ever.

This is sort of an obvious one - they aren't going to walk away from Tatum now. Re-up and go for multiple championships, with Tatum and Brown leading the way in the prime of their careers. It's just a matter of when the deal is finalized.

White reportedly wants to stay in Boston long-term, so this will be another contractual task for Stevens, and a less obvious one than Tatum.

For some teams, signing a player to a supermax and having the two biggest contracts in the NBA might preclude them from continuing to spend exorbitantly on the pieces around them. But Celtics majority owner Wyc Grousbeck has shown a willingness to pay the luxury tax, and it appears that he will simply continue to do so. You know, for the banners.

White is signed through the 2024-25 season at just over $20 million. A new extension could pay him closer to the range of his teammate, Jrue Holiday, who is on the books for $33.6 million.

When Kristaps Porzingis and Al Horford are both healthy and available, the Celtics have a formidable frontcourt. Unfortunately, Porzingis has had enough injury-shortened seasons to prove that he can't be relied upon to be healthy by the end of the season, and Horford turned 38 years old earlier this month.

So, it would behoove Stevens to add another big that can play legitimate minutes - that is, unless he wants to retain Luke Kornet, or the undersized Xavier Tillman. But preferably, someone with the appropriate size. To find a two-way threat at that spot would be to discover a unicorn, which Stevens already did with Porzingis.

Despite Porzinzgis' skills at both ends of the court, the Celtics missed his rim protection more than his shooting when he was out. They may want to lean that way for a new addition, whether it's a free agent or a trade acquisition.

The aforementioned big man would be part of what may be a prudent plan for the C's to build themselves a legit bench, so they wouldn't have to rely so much on their top 5-7 players throughout the season. Their depth was tested during the playoffs when Porzingis went down, and while they passed with flying colors, it may not be sustainable going forward to have limited depth beyond their starters.

As detailed earlier, it would also help them preserve their aging/injury-prone bigs for the long haul if they had more frontcourt players that they could play for extended minutes and exercise some good-old-fashioned load management.

The Celtics have a club option for $2 million on Hauser, who is coming off a solid season as a sharpshooting reserve wing who gives a good, honest effort on the defensive end of the floor. He's a solid fit and should be considered for a long-term deal.

It may be best for both sides to simply forego the club option and iron out a new contract. Hauser has grown into a valuable bench piece, especially after performing reasonably well in the playoffs.

Stevens traded away so, so many draft picks to make this roster happen. Now, it's not the worst idea to start using those picks again, especially the 30th pick in the first round of next week's NBA Draft. The Celtics haven't drafted in the first round since 2020, when they selected Aaron Nesmith, Payton Pritchard, and Desmond Bane (good haul!).

Stevens apparently was ready to get right back to draft scouting after the Celtics won the championship, so he appears ready to make his first selection in the first round since becoming president of basketball ops.

The Celtics are already losing Charles Lee and Jeff Van Gundy off Joe Mazzulla's staff, and assistant Sam Cassell could possibly find a new gig after a championship run. So, Stevens is going to have to find new assistants to add under Mazzulla.

It'll be interesting to see the Celtics' approach this time, with Mazzulla a year older, having shown real growth as a head coach in the 2023-24 season. Perhaps they won't need to flood the staff with veteran assistants this time.

Matt Dolloff is a writer and digital content producer for 98.5 The Sports Hub. Read all of his articles here.