Wyc Grousbeck says Celtics needed changes, more talent in big offseason
When the Celtics take the court for the 2023-24 season, they’ll look mostly the same. But there will be some glaring changes, most notably Marcus Smart headed to the Grizzlies. That means the C’s will be without Smart on the roster for the first time since the 2013-14 season.
But the Celtics seemingly needed some change after falling short of Banner No. 18, this time in a seven-game loss to the Heat in the East Finals. The Celtics certainly had memorable moments as part of climbing out of a 3-0 series hole, but they weren’t able to complete the comeback.
So when Celtics co-owner Wyc Grousbeck met with president Brad Stevens and coach Joe Mazzulla, they discussed the franchise’s path this summer. In an interview with the Boston Globe’s Adam Himmelsbach, Grousbeck revealed some of the front office’s thinking when it came to the offseason upgrades.
“When I met with (Stevens) and (Mazzulla) after the season to plan going forward, we agreed not to bring back the exact same team again, but to be open to changing the mix and bringing in additional talent,” Grousbeck told the Globe. “And the result of that so far this offseason has been Kristaps Porzingis coming in and really adding hopefully a lot to our lineup.”
Of course, the Celtics got their major acquisition in the Smart three-team deal, landing Porzingis. On paper, there’s a lot to like about the big man who has seen his stock fluctuate during his time in the league. But Porzingis put together a career season with the Wizards, which is why the Celtics made the stunning trade.
It’s still unclear how Porzingis will fit with the rest of the roster, including playing with Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown on a nightly basis. There are also injury concerns when it comes to the big man rotation. But from a pure talent standpoint, the Celtics made moves this summer.
The Celtics should be right back to their title contending ways next season with an eye on finally winning it all for the first time since 2008. While the C’s have been to the East Finals consistently with Brown and Tatum, they have yet to get over the hump. Now, with a new team and different factors, the entire C’s organization will hope that’s enough to earn another ring.
“The general tone was, how do we take this energy we’re feeling right now that was built up over having two good seasons, but then didn’t get all the way?” Grousbeck said. “The whole point is, how do we get to banner 18? If we’d all agreed we should keep things the same that would have been fine. But the idea of bringing in another talented big popped up early in the conversation, and we ended up executing on that idea.”