Brad Stevens discusses the team’s situation and the one position he would target during the NBA trade deadline.
Brad Stevens has every right to be happy with his current body of work.
President of basketball operations of the Boston Celtics, Jrue Holiday and Kristaps Porzingis added skill to an already strong squad, and the team has surged to an NBA-best 26-7 record through Thursday. The league’s first All-Star voting returns have all five of the Celtics’ starters ranked in the top 10 for each position, making them the current favorites to win the 2024 championship.
Is there anything more Stevens can do to strengthen his squad before the NBA trade deadline on February 8?
Get up to date information about your favorite Boston sports teams to stay in the loop! Get our All Access Daily email by subscribing here.
“I think every year around this time, you’re looking at, OK, how do we improve to give ourselves our best chance?” At the Celtics’ practice court on Thursday, Stevens informed reporters. There are various approaches to take. It goes without saying that you can develop from within, and we can both get better at our respective positions on the court as well as individually and as a team. After that, you can get better through trades, free agency, or other means.”
According to Stevens, his preferred course of action is for current players to step up and take on essential duties. Over the next thirty or so days, though, he did designate one slot on his wish list.
“I would like to continue to see how we can find another big wing or so that can help us,” Stevens stated. “I believe that might come from within, and we’ll keep an eye on trades and free agency. However, as previously mentioned, this year differs from possibly other years in that our financial resources are rather constrained.”
The only way the Celtics can potentially add significant talent is through Grant Williams’ $6.2 million transferred player exception, which leaves them with limited financial flexibility. However, Stevens claims he has the ownership’s full support to make improvements to the team.
“(We have the) green light to do whatever we need to do, for sure,” Stevens stated. “And that TPE—well, it’s the best tool we have by far—to add someone, but that costs $6.2 million, right? There are a few individuals in this group who were signed to rookie scale deals or minimum contracts, and many of them are players that teams aren’t quite ready to let go of just yet.
That’s a rather limited group of people, then. We will, however, use it up. We intend to examine it. And I believe the question is, “Okay, who can enter and contribute both skill and self-awareness to the group?”
Behind Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown, Sam Hauser has been a reliable rotation player at the wing. However, if Stevens wishes to add more wing depth, reserves Oshae Brissett, Dalanto Banton, Lamar Stevens, and Svi Mykhailiuk haven’t made many noteworthy contributions thus far.
It’s possible that Stevens won’t find a better deal elsewhere, but if a cheap wing like Saddiq Bey of Atlanta or Otto Porter Jr. of Toronto becomes available, that may be Stevens’ only opportunity to add to the roster before the season ends.
Leave a Reply