5 Tough Decisions Boston Celtics Must Make This Offseason

What Does The Future Hold For The Boston Celtics

The Boston Celtics' offseason was supposed to be an interesting one. What would they do with Paul Pierce? Will Kevin Garnett come back for another year? One thing all Celtics fans knew was that no matter what happened, Doc Rivers would be the coach next year. However, that has not been the case since Rivers has stolen the headlines from the Celtics two stars.

No one could have imagined that the Celtics would even entertain the thought of trading their head coach. The trade talks between the Celtics and the Los Angeles Clippers have been on and then off and then back on, but now they seem to be off again. The Celtics scheduled a press conference for Friday, only to postpone it to Monday. The Rivers-to-the-Clippers drama has become frustrating as none of the teams can seem to strike a deal or just call the whole thing off.

The Celtics have more issues to deal with, but now they have to add Rivers to that list of issues. The Celtics need to decide if they are going to try and rebuild or get the band back together for one last go around. If they decide to rebuild, do they ship off the likes of Garnett and Pierce? Then there is Rajon Rondo, who is coming of an ACL tear that cost him the rest of the season.

If he is healthy, will he be on the trading block still, or will this finally be his team, and Danny Ainge can start building around him. We won't get many of these answers until July 1 when the free agency period begins, but for now, here are the five decisions that the Celtics have to make this offseason.

Shannon Brown is a Boston Celtics writer for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter @shanman201 "Like' him on Facebook or add him to your Google network

.

Finding The Right Type Of Bench Players

The Celtics need to bring in a better bench then the one they had last season. Jason Terry came over from the Dallas Mavericks to strengthen this bench, and he didn't produce for the team until late in the playoffs. Courtney Lee struggled off the bench as well and didn't even see much playing time in the playoffs.

The Celtics should see what kind of value they can get for Terry and get some younger players in return. They need to find a reliable big man who can come off the bench and provide a spark. They also need to look into getting another ball handler to fill in when Rondo isn't on the floor.

What To Do With Brandon Bass

The Celtics need to decide if they are all in on Brandon Bass or is it time to move on. Brandon's time in Boston hasn't been a good one; he has had a lot of ups and downs during his three seasons. With Jared Sullinger returning from his back injury, he can go straight into the starting lineup. Before Sullinger got hurt, he had started over Bass and was very productive during his time on the floor. Whether they plan to keep him or not, the Celtics should see what type of value they can get.

What Will Kevin Garnett Decide?

What will Garnett's decision be? Will he return to Boston for another year or will he retire? Garnett was willing to waive his no-trade clause to go to the Clippers, but only if the Clippers could get Rivers as well. Now that the deal seems to have broken off, will Garnett start thinking about retirement again? Garnett has two years remaining on his contract, and if Boston decides to rebuild, he most likely won't want to be a part of that.

What Happens To Paul Pierce?

What will happen to Pierce? The Celtics can either buy out Paul's contract or they can amnesty him. If the Celtics buy him out, there will be a flood of teams calling for his services, but will the Celtics want to bring him back for another season. Pierce can come back to the Celtics and maybe swap positions with Jeff Green. He can be the sixth man the Celtics have been desperately searching for.

Does Doc Rivers Stay or Go?

What becomes of the head coach now? Is Rivers on the trading block or will he officially be back as the Celtics' coach? If Rivers returns to Boston, it would give off some idea on what the team wants to do. Rivers doesn't want to be part of another rebuilding phase -- he has already been down that road. The Celtics can try and keep Pierce and bring back Garnett, and if Ainge can find suitable role players to put around this team, they can give it one more go.