Celtics roster outlook: Breaking down the forwards

Celtics

Jayson Tatum’s injury will be the dominant storyline among the Celtics’ wing players next season.

Welcome to Boston.com’s three-part Celtics roster series, where we look at how things went in 2025 and what lies ahead for 2026. This is part three, focused on the forwards. Part one, which focused on the big men, can be found here. Part two, which focused on the guards, can be found here.

Torrey Craig

Contract status: Free agent

Role: Reserve

Notes on 2025: The Celtics signed Craig at the trade deadline to round out their bench.

The 34-year-old small forward played in 17 games, making three starts. He averaged 2.7 points per game in 11.8 minutes per game.

He shot a career-low 29 percent from 3-point this season, but had limited attempts in short minutes.

Outlook for 2026: Craig has reportedly said he loves Boston and wants to return next season if there is a spot for him. It’s not clear, though, if there will be one.

Sam Hauser

Contact status: Four years remaining. Scheduled to make $10 million next season.

Role: Reserve

Notes on 2025: Hauser’s output in 2025 was fairly similar to what it was in 2024.

He averaged 8.5 points per game and shot 41.2 percent from 3-point range, providing yet another threat from beyond the arc for this Celtics team.

He was streaky during the playoffs. He went scoreless during the first three games of the Magic series, but hit four out of five 3-pointers during games four and five. He was sidelined for three games during the Knicks series with a sprained ankle and finished it out by going 3-for-12 over the final three games.

Outlook for 2026: Hauser is reportedly one of the three players the Celtics are focused on exploring possible trade markets for. His contract extension, which kicks in this upcoming season, is not terribly pricey, but the Celtics are in a luxury tax bind under the new CBA’s second apron rules.

Miles Norris

Contract status: One year remaining.

Role: Reserve/two-way player

Notes on 2025: Norris joined the Celtics on a two way deal in March. He appeared in three games with Boston.

Norris spent the bulk of the season in the G-League with the Memphis Hustle and later the Maine Celtics.

The 6-foot-7, 220-pound forward averaged 16.4 points and shot 39 percent from 3-point range in G-League play.

Outlook for 2026: According to Spotrac, Norris’s deal was for two years. The dollar amount was not published. The 25-year-old does not have much NBA experience under his belt, and there haven’t been many indications that will change in 2026.

Drew Peterson

Contract status: One year remaining. Scheduled to make $2.04 million next season.

Role: Reserve/two-way player

Notes on 2025: Peterson, a lanky 6-foot-9-inch forward, spent most of his time with the Celtics this season, appearing in 25 games.

There was a two-game stretch in December where Peterson averaged 25.5 minutes per game, but overall he averaged 7.4 minutes per game.

He has made 16 of his 38 3-point attempts with the Celtics, giving him a career-average of 42.1 percent in limited action.

Outlook for 2026: Peterson could be in the mix for an end-of-the bench role again next season.

Baylor Scheierman

Contract Status: Three years remaining. Scheduled to make $2.6 million next season.

Role: Reserve/two-way player

Notes on 2025: Scheierman was the only rookie to make the team this year. He appeared in 31 games with the Celtics, and 14 games with the Maine Celtics.

Scheierman displayed his shooting ability in Maine, where he averaged 20.4 points and knocked down 40.8 percent of his attempts from beyond the arc.

The 24-year-old sharpshooter is on the older side for a rookie. Some have speculated that he could be a possible replacement for Hauser if he develops properly.

Outlook for 2026: Schierman averaged the most minutes of any Celtics player 24 or younger. He seems like he’s the closest at cracking the rotation of the two-way players, but there’s work to do.

Jayson Tatum

Contact status: Five years remaining

Role: Starter

Notes on 2025: Tatum finished fourth in the MVP voting. He showed, again, that he is one of the elite players in the NBA.

He led the Celtics in points, rebounds, and assists. He made his fourth consecutive All-NBA first team, and was selected as an All-Star for the sixth time. He and Jaylen Brown led the Celtics to the second-best record in the Eastern Conference.

Tatum was having one of his best playoff performances when he went down with a ruptured achilles’ against the Knicks. He had 42 points on 16-for-28 shooting at the time of the injury. It says something about the team that they were losing despite the monster performance and had already been trailing 2-1 in the series.

The Celtics have a habit of relying too much on the 3-pointer, and Tatum is no exception. The Celtics were streaky, but for the most part excellent with Tatum at the helm this year. Their streakiness worked against them in the Knicks series as they missed 75 of their first 100 3-point attempts and blew a pair of 20-point leads.

There is no doubt that the Celtics will miss Tatum for however long he is out.

Outlook for 2026: Tatum is here to stay, and he has a lengthy rehab process ahead of him. He stayed overnight in New York City to have surgery as quickly as possible. The surgery was done by the time the Celtics released the injury report the next day. The Celtics said it was a successful surgery. There is no timetable for his return.

Achilles’ injuries typically take around a year to recover from. Some players, such as Kobe Bryant were able to return more quickly. Others, like Kevin Durant, took longer. Tatum’s young age [27], work ethic, and physical shape could be positive factors in his rehab process. But, it’s too early to tell how long he’ll be out.