Doc Rivers will return for another season with the Boston Celtics, that much is certain. The question is now, who will he be coaching? The Celtics have just four players under contract as of now, and need to make a decision on which direction to head.
Rivers knowingly seemed to answer that question as well. When he announced his return, the coach said that he wanted, "another run with this group." That statement may very well put to bed any notion Celtics' president Danny Ainge had of moving on from the new Big Three era and trying to bring in a top free agent.
The window opened yesterday after Paul Pierce opted out of the final year of his contract, creating some salary cap room for the C's. However, the team now expects to bring back Pierce in what likely will be a retirement-length deal. With Rivers' statement, Ray Allen's return also appears imminent, despite his poor performance in the NBA Finals.
The difference will be in the little details for next year's Boston team, namely, the bench. Glen Davis is the only non-starter under contract, and the Celtics will have to make some tough decisions when it comes to deciding who and how they should fill out the rest of their roster. They'll need to find some cost-effective players who will be able to offer big contributions.
For my part, I'd love to see them continue to pursue younger players to come off the bench. Avery Bradley is a nice start in terms of backing up Rondo, but they'll need more players who can produce points. They also have Rasheed Wallace's pending buyout looming that they can offer as part of a trade in order to free up more money and bring in a lower-level free agent.
While most of the teams in the Eastern Conference are scrambling for the top of the pile, the Celtics are merely trying to tread water as the scope of the East will change rapidly this summer. Depending on what many other teams do in terms of free agent signings, the C's will either find themselves in good position to make a similar run as they did this season, or will find themselves getting very old, very fast.
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