Cedric Maxwell Predicts Tim Duncan-esque Draft Scenario for Celtics Amid Jayson Tatum’s Injury

Barring a miracle, the 2025-26 season will be a write-off for the Boston Celtics after Jayson Tatum tore his Achilles during the Eastern Conference Semifinals. Team president of basketball operations, Brad Stevens, understood this harsh reality, which led to the trading away of Jrue Holiday and Kristaps Porzingis.

If it were up to Stevens and the rest of the Celtics management, they would’ve kept their core together. Unfortunately, the NBA’s second apron restricts teams from forming a roster with too high a payroll. So the Celtics’ championship window closed as quickly as it opened.

Although Celtics fans may feel all hope is lost, two-time NBA champion Cedric Maxwell offered an intriguing potential outcome for the team. Although the talent level is lacking, there are positives for the team in the upcoming season, feels Maxwell, who expects head coach Joe Mazzulla to respond constructively to the adversity in front of him.

“Joe Mazzulla is going to love [next] year, I think, because of the challenges of this year,” Maxwell said on The Cedric Maxwell Podcast. “He always loved having young players diving, and I can see a lot of that happening. I think they’re going to fight.”

The Celtics and their fans should expect their players to put up a fight. But competing will only go so far when the talent level doesn’t match. However, Maxwell sees a potential silver lining in the 2025-26 season, one that the San Antonio Spurs capitalized on in the 1996-97 campaign.

“Let’s speculate [the Boston Celtics] don’t make the playoffs. But you come in, and you get a real good pick for next year. On top of that, you’re bringing back Tatum, and you have Brown coming back,” said Maxwell.

“Very much like what San Antonio did when David Robinson sat out a complete year and didn’t play,” Maxwell reminded. “Tim Duncan came in, and it was a foundation for something that was going to be beautiful for the years ahead.”

Robinson missed nearly the entire 1996-97 season, playing only six games for the Spurs before breaking his foot. Although his championship aspirations went out the window at the time, the Spurs won the draft lottery.

The addition of Duncan didn’t just reignite Robinson’s title hopes; it also ushered in decades of dominance for the Spurs.

Conveniently, the Celtics do own the 2026 first-round pick. The league just witnessed the Dallas Mavericks win the lottery while only having a 1.8% chance. And, like Celtics legend Kevin Garnett said, anything is possible.