Brad Stevens had a tall task on his hands when taking over as Celtics president of basketball operations this past June after Danny Ainge stepped down. However, Stevens has wasted little time in putting his own stamp on the franchise with an offseason makeover.
Over three months, Stevens has completed three trades, signed two free agents and just finished out handing out his third contract extension in the past week by agreeing to a one-year extension with Josh Richardson that became official on Tuesday.
In the wake of those moves, Boston has six new players on their roster heading into next season and that has Stevens optimistic about his team’s outlook in a competitive Eastern Conference.
“As you look across the league, I feel really good about where we are now,’ Stevens told WEEI’s Ordway, Merloni and Fauria. “I think we can be a good basketball team but I think we can also continue to build and hopefully get what we all want.
Stevens has had to navigate a tough task in revamping the roster, managing some payroll limitations and luxury tax concerns while trying to prioritize long-term flexibility around the team’s core of Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown. However, the former head coach has embraced the task in his new role, while praising other members of Boston’s front office as he learns on the job.
“It’s been a great challenge. The first couple weeks were like drinking out of a fire hose, and then it slowed down after hiring Ime,” Stevens said. “And then right before the draft and free agency, right back to it.
“The salary cap is no joke, and as much as I’ve been around it for the past eight years, I’m really lucky I have the people that are working here: The Mike Zarrens, the Austin Ainges and everybody else in our front office that does such a great job, that I can lean on for any question I didn’t have the answer to.”
The first big move of Stevens’ tenure was the trade of Kemba Walker to the Oklahoma City Thunder just two years after the team signed him to a max contract. Stevens reflected on how tough that choice was as he discussed the team’s moves this summer.
“There are a lot of things that go into each and every decision,” Stevens admitted. “Trading Kemba right off the bat was not fun and was not an easy thing to do but obviously the opportunity to get Al back and some of the things that it opened up to be able to do here as we try to build towards the future — it was just part of it.
“The unfortunate part of this business is unlike college, where you usually have guys together for four years and that relationship usually expands a total of six years, that’s not always the case (in the NBA). When we are fortunate to have guys to draft, grow, watch them enhance themselves on and off the court and extend them, that’s a pretty special feeling.”
For now, the Celtics are only projected to be the sixth-best team in the Eastern Conference by ESPN.com despite Stevens’ optimistic outlook. That’s a ways away from contending in the Eastern Conference against the likes of the Brooklyn Nets or defending champions Milwaukee Bucks but Stevens’ refused to put a label on Boston’s title chances for next year.
“I don’t put ceilings on teams,” Stevens said. “You guys get paid to do that. All I do is within where we are and how we are trying to balance the short term of this year’s team and being a really good team versus continuing to move forward. We’re in a good spot because our foundational pieces are young and under contract. We want to be good.
“We have a lot of good players, a good coach, a good staff. I have no doubt they are going to be good. How good will depend on all of those things.”
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August 25, 2021 at 04:45AM
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Brad Stevens on Celtics offseason moves: ‘I feel really good about where we are now’ - MassLive.com
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