Brad Stevens Signals Extension Hope but Drafts Potential Replacements

BOSTON — Brad Stevens stepped back into the spotlight in the days following the parade. More stoic than Joe Mazzulla, who let loose winning the championship with appearances across Boston and on shows, Stevens said a championship didn’t change how he viewed Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown already. While ranking the turn onto Causeway Street among the coolest moments in his life, Stevens reminded everyone that soon the NBA will turn the page onto next year. They’ll become the hunted. They’ll face new expectations. Kristaps Porziņģis would soon undergo surgery and be ruled out 5-6 months. Mikal Bridges would land in New York.

“Human nature is gonna be another huge opponent,” Stevens said. “It’s a different thing to come back from to then be great again … all those pats on the back, they go away pretty fast. So you just gotta stay true to yourself, be around good people, try to then make sure y’all come back healthy and hungry, and realize it’s gonna be hard. But I see a lot of joy and fun in that challenge too. So I’m looking forward to it … Joe probably has his plan for the first three practices written out.”

It’s clear the Celtics will run back the core of their roster as they attempt to repeat as NBA champions, but it’s less certain how they’ll begin setting the table for their future beyond that. Their depth will also become a question in Porziņģis’ absence, and while Stevens gleaned at Boston priorities this summer, the hope to extend Derrick White and Sam Hauser, the importance of continuity at the depth center position and internal promotion on the coaching staff, the only lock this summer is that Jayson Tatum will sign a five-year, $315 million super max.

It also appears unlikely that late draft picks Baylor Scheierman (Creighton) and Anton Watson (Gonzaga) will impact the Celtics immediately. Their arrival, however, becomes the latest attempt by Boston enforce the team’s sustainability. Scheierman will make minimum money as the 30th overall pick and Watson will likely join Boston on a two-way deal. Asked about the money question — Stevens didn’t say green light this time. He pointed toward the team knowing its salary structure for 2024-25. Beyond that, they’ll strategically aim to avoid any dips.

“There’s really not much we can do,” Stevens said. “It’s gonna basically be minimum level contracts, those levels, and even if we were going to make a trade, we can’t take more (money) in. That’s just the way the new rules work.”

Luke Kornet, Xavier Tillman Sr. and Oshae Brissett enter free agency as the core players who helped Al Horford and Porziņģis sustain through injuries and rest nights. It’s not clear if Stevens’ allusion to minimum deals referred to outside additions or their own free agents, but Boston owns Kornet and Tillman’s Bird rights, so raises are conceivable. Brissett can only earn 140% over his current salary. Each extra million spent includes a tax hit of roughly $3 million, so minimum contracts could effectively cost Boston around $9 million in tax.

Enter Scheierman, the latest attempt by the team to supplant its depth and development, who alongside Watson arrives at 23 years old. Stevens downplayed common concerns about older college players, calling character, fit and the best talent available the most important factors. It’s hard to argue against that with both players, Scheierman shooting 39.0% on 912 career threes in college, many from deep and others around handoffs, set players and on the move. His rebounding and passing abilities only added to the intrigue, Boston assuming a guaranteed salary and the associated tax hit by staying and picking at No. 30 overall.

“If the right person is available, then we will take him,” Stevens said on Tuesday. “If we have a couple of people that we think are the right person, then we’ll see what our options are and what kind of flexibility we have. I anticipate picking a couple of picks and whether they’re on roster or two-way, and investing in young players, if they come in and crack our rotation, then they’re really good.”

Ahead of Hauser’s extension negotiations that’ll likely begin next month, Scheierman provides some hope for filling into a similar role eventually if Hauser departs in free agency next summer. There has to be a line at some point, and although Stevens said he hopes to keep the sharpshooter in Boston, alongside others whose contracts expire soon, for a long time, it’s easier said than done as the team becomes more exorbitantly expensive.

The Drew Peterson signing last season already looked like an attempt to develop another shooting wing, while Watson joins a front court that included relatively young center prospects in Tillman and Neemias Queta, who are still working through their weaknesses. You can’t keep everyone, and while it’s no sure thing the Celtics will repeat the development feats they pulled off with Hauser and Kornet, you have to try over and over again.

It’s why, somewhat surprisingly, Stevens also announced that he would like to retain two-way guard JD Davison in some capacity. A two-way deal for Davison would mark the third and final year he’s eligible to play on that contract, and while he’s rarely played for Boston over that span, he’s only 22 this upcoming season and flourished in Maine last year, averaging 20.8 PPG, 5.2 RPG and 8.6 APG on 45.3% shooting in 28 regular season games in the G-League. Jaden Springer also remains in the mix, who’s entering the final season of his rookie contract, who replaced Dalano Banton midseason in the team’s young development guard role.

Most teams invest in drafting to some degree. Most try to have younger players in waiting. Teams like Boston, facing the repeater luxury tax beginning in 2025-26, with Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum earning roughly 70% of the team’s cap space that year, have to emphasize it more. Especially in a new era where roster movement becomes almost impossible for teams above the second apron like them. Danny Ainge and Stevens talked about it years ago, that they never wanted to have major dips in any given year, and while a championship opportunity allowed the team to take an all-in mentality, to some degree, Stevens, within hours of his first title, had to consider — what’s next? 

A group from the front office returned to Auerbach Center around noon the day after the championship to conduct a draft workout. The draft, despite all the picks Stevens has traded in his young executive career, is still important to Boston.

“Last year, when we made those trades, we knew what we were getting ourselves into,” Stevens said. “We have to look at A. how are we gonna be able to navigate that world from a financial standpoint from a basketball and penalties standpoint and all those things, and then B. Put the best roster together that you can. Put your best foot forward … one of my main objectives is not have this be anything but sustainable. Keep finding a way to be sustainable. Keep finding a way to to sustainably put yourself in the mix for years and years and years. It doesn’t mean we’re not gonna have a down year or a rough year, or maybe we don’t make the playoffs one year, but it’s not big dips. That’s what we would like. It’s hard to do.”