The Celtics may not be the first team that comes to mind in a LeBron James conversation, but they are on the board.
Rich Paul included Boston among the 10 teams he named in a podcast episode with Max Kellerman, putting the Celtics in the same group as the Philadelphia 76ers, New York Knicks, Cleveland Cavaliers, Minnesota Timberwolves, Denver Nuggets, Miami Heat, Golden State Warriors, San Antonio Spurs and Dallas Mavericks.
Some of those destinations have come up more often than others. A return to Cleveland has been floated.
So has a pairing with Stephen Curry and the Warriors. The Heat and 76ers have also been mentioned as possible landing spots.
Boston, though, would be one of the most interesting outcomes of all.
Part of that is simple geography and history: James is coming from the Lakers, and that alone makes the idea stand out. But the basketball fit is what makes the Celtics worth talking about. In the Eastern Conference, which is more open than the West, a group built around James, Jayson Tatum, Paul George, Derrick White and Mitchell Robinson would be hard to ignore.
On paper, the lineup makes sense. White could handle point guard duties, George and Tatum would work on the wings, James could slide in at power forward and the Celtics could rotate Neemias Queta and Robinson at center.
That setup would push Payton Pritchard to the bench, though he has already shown he can handle that role. The Celtics would also be asking Sam Hauser and Hugo Gonzalez to take a step back in minutes.
Boston can’t match the money some other teams could put on the table, but James has made it clear he isn’t chasing the biggest payday at this stage of his career.
The Celtics are built to chase championships, and if James were to land there, he would instantly be their biggest swing toward that goal. They may not be the favorite in this race, but until he signs somewhere else, they remain in it.
In Other News...
Celtics Already Linked To Another Young Piece After Brown Shock
Bostons roster picture is still shifting after the Jaylen Brown trade, and the front office may not be done looking for ways to plug holes with younger, more versatile pieces. One area that stands out is power forward, where the Celtics are thin enough that Jayson Tatum and Sam Hauser are projected to soak up most of those minutes, with Paul George at the 4 also part of the conversation.
That has naturally pushed Boston toward the market for young wings and forwards who can help right away without boxing the team into a long-term mistake. The challenge is that some of the names floating around are not exactly easy gets, and the clubs holding them are in no rush to move them unless the return is right. [Read more 🡒]
Brad Stevens May Have Quietly Solved A Celtics Problem Nobody Saw
Brad Stevens spent the offseason quietly reshaping the Celtics frontcourt, and the moves have a chance to matter more than they looked at first glance. Boston brought in Mitchell Robinson, kept Neemias Queta on a new extension and gave Ron Harper Jr. a fresh deal after he broke through late last season, all while trying to keep the roster flexible and the costs manageable.
The appeal is in the math as much as the fit. A salary model from Steph Noh suggests Queta alone could provide far more value than his contract implies, and Harpers new four-year deal comes in at a team-friendly level for a player who earned his way into the conversation. Put together, the Celtics may have done more than add depth, they may have locked down an immediate frontcourt solution without paying anywhere near market price. [Read more 🡒]
Jayson Tatum Finally Addressed The End Of The Two Jays
For years, Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown were the Celtics defining partnership, the Two Jays who carried Boston to the NBA Finals twice and finally broke through together in 2024, with Brown taking home Finals MVP honors. So when the franchise split the pair, it marked the end of one of the leagues most recognizable duos and one of the most successful stretches in recent Celtics history.
Tatum addressed the change publicly for the first time at an event for his childrens book, and he made clear the transition has not been easy on a personal level. Even with Boston always moving forward, the emotional weight of seeing a longtime teammate and co-star gone is part of the story now, and it is the kind of development that changes not just the roster, but the entire feel of what comes next. [Read more 🡒]