Brad Stevens highlights more playmaking as one of Celtics' biggest needs this offseason
BOSTON -- After finally getting over the hump and making it to the NBA Finals, the Boston Celtics will be hard at work this offseason making the moves to bring them to the next level. Brad Stevens doesn't have too much to do, but he has a good idea of what his summer will entail.
Stevens held a Zoom chat with the media Tuesday morning to discuss the next steps for the Celtics, following their loss to the Golden State Warriors in the NBA Finals. The Celtics' president of basketball ops. highlighted a few areas where the team can improve, but most importantly, Stevens said that he's been given the OK to spend what he needs to spend to make the right moves going forward.
"We've got the OK to do whatever we need to do," said Stevens.
So don't fret about hearing any more concerns about the luxury tax. The Celtics are going to spend what it takes to reach that next level, luxury tax be darned.
While the Celtics have nine players already on guaranteed contracts for 2022-23 -- not including Al Horford, who should have his deal guaranteed before the season -- there are certain areas that Stevens would like to improve this offseason. For starters, he wants to add some more playmaking to the roster.
"We have to make sure we continue to play with pace. When we're at our best, we play with pace," Stevens said Tuesday. "We played pretty slow [against the Warriors], and again, credit them. They impacted us for sure.
"There's no question that in this league, the more guys who can make a play offensively, the better," continued Stevens. "The challenge is making sure that whatever you do around the margins of the roster, we have a unique identity, a uniqueness in our size and our ability to be versatile all across the board. We have to take that all into account when adding to our team."
Stevens obviously didn't give out any specific targets, but said that he would like to add some more scoring and shooting to the bench in addition to playmaking. Some of that addition could also be done internally, with Stevens expressing confidence that guys who didn't necessarily have a role last season could work into the rotation in 2022-23.
The Celtics won't be adding much through the NBA Draft this year. They don't have a first-round selection, which was sent to San Antonio in the Derrick White trade, and only own the No. 53 overall pick in the second round on Thursday.
But Stevens does have a large collection of Traded Player Exceptions to work with, including a $17.1 million TPE from Evan Fournier's departure. That expires July 18, and is one of the eight TPEs that Stevens has to work with through February.
Stevens noted that there are a lot of factors at work when utilizing a TPE, which is why many of them come and go without being used.
"There is a balance with what is the cost you have to pay, are you brining someone in that is going to add to and not take away – which you don't want to do," he explained. "It's about being prudent what the deal is. Going through the whole list and trying to find guys who fit your need and how Ime [Udoka] wants to play and coach so this train can take off from the get-go."
But no matter what Stevens does this summer, the foundation is set in Boston, which is great news for the Celtics. Stevens has pillars to build around in Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown, the reigning Defensive Player of the Year in Marcus Smart, and another DPOY contender in Robert Williams.
Stevens also mentioned that no one on the roster will need to undergo surgery this offseason, so after a long and grueling run to Game 6 of the NBA Finals, players can spend the summer focusing on resting up and getting healthy for next season.
