Getty Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla celebrates in front of the Larry O’Brien Championship Trophy at TD Garden on June 17, 2024.
The Celtics ended their 16-year wait for an NBA Championship by prevailing against the Mavericks in the 2024 NBA Finals. With title No. 18 secured, the Celtics could foreseeably add to their record tally over the next few years, especially due to the ages of their core players.
While Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown are 26 and 27, respectively, Derrick White celebrated his 29th birthday on July 2, and Kristaps Porzingis will turn 29 in August. Jrue Holiday is approaching his mid-30s, but the defensive ace hasn’t shown any signs of slowing down, logging in 37.9 minutes during Boston’s 2024 playoff run.
Furthermore, all five Celtics starters are locked up contractually at least through the 2024-25 season, with Tatum and White expected to sign contract extensions that would keep them in Boston for years.
With that backdrop, Kendrick Perkins has predicted his former team to capture three of the next four NBA titles.
“I can see them win three out of the next four years,” Perkins told ESPN’s NBA Today on June 18. “I was one of the ones who said last year that we’re not gonna see back-to-back champions. We’re on the verge of seeing one, now. This team is the real deal, led by their two young superstars in Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum.”
Brad Stevens Expected to Remain Aggressive
“And the one thing about Brad Stevens is that he’s never satisfied,” Perkins continued. He said it last night [June 17] that he’s back to the drawing board, looking at the [NBA] Draft. We don’t know what moves he might try to make again to improve the depth on that bench… End of the day, this team is never satisfied.”
To Perkins’ point, Stevens has shown that he’s “never satisfied” in trying to improve the Celtics roster. Since taking up the job of president of basketball operations in 2021, Stevens has been very aggressive in his approach, never hesitating to trade core players — such as Marcus Smart — to swing for the fences and upgrade the roster.
In his first season on the job, Stevens brought back Al Horford and acquired Derrick White, two players who played a critical role in the 2024 title win. In the 2023 offseason, Stevens pulled off two other game-changing trades of Porzingis and Holiday.
– Traded Kemba Walker for Al Horford
– Didn’t trade Jaylen Brown in 2021
– Traded Langford for Derrick White
– Traded Smart for KP & 2 1st round picks
– Re-signed Jaylen Brown
– Traded Brogdon / Williams for Holiday
– Re-signed Porzingis and Holiday
Brad Stevens is the real MVP.
“Thanks for bringing me here.”
Jrue Holiday crashes Brad Stevens’ interview with Eddie and Scal
Celtics Made a Believer out of Perkins
Perkins, who played eight seasons with the Celtics, was previously a huge doubter of coach Joe Mazzulla and the Celtics core, repeatedly questioning their ability to win an NBA title. After the Celtics lost a close game to the Nuggets on January 19, Perkins went on “NBA Countdown” on ESPN and questioned Mazzulla’s basketball acumen.
“They have two Joe Mazzullas,” Perkins said. “They have the philosophy of we’re going to get up more 3s than you. When they hit them, he looks great.
“Then you have the other Joe Mazzulla, who just stands over there, and you wonder. If you take his brain out and you put it in a bird, the bird is going to start flying backward. You got that Joe Mazzulla.
“You know why I say that? It’s because he doesn’t get his guys easy looks. Time and time again, we kept saying, attack the paint. You have so many guys that are great at cutting. They cannot continue to play AAU style basketball all the time.”
As the 2024 NBA Playoffs rolled on, Perkins slowly but surely became a believer in Mazzulla’s Celtics. It’s why he picked the Celtics to beat the Mavericks in his pre-Finals prediction when many in the media predicted Luka Doncic’s squad to prevail.