Celtics
“We love our core, and that’s actually our focus and precedence.”
![Celtics forward Jayson Tatum standing to the left of Jaylen Brown on the court at TD Garden.](https://bdc2020.o0bc.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/XHM4QZKXZHKR3XZICHCT65SF24-6475934c144ee-768x432.jpg)
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Brad Stevens units one of many Celtics’ key offseason priorities — including to Joe Mazzulla’s teaching employees
On Thursday, simply hours earlier than the Nuggets took Sport 1 of the NBA Finals from a Warmth staff that cooled off as quickly because it left Boston, Brad Stevens sat down in entrance of assembled media on the Celtics’ observe facility and provided his postmortem press convention on the season.
The painful timing was not misplaced on him.
“Clearly we’re in an fascinating state of affairs,” Stevens mentioned wryly, when a reporter requested how a lot the Celtics can repair internally. “As a result of I believe, once more, we’re 48 minutes away from doing our pregame shootaround press convention at present within the Finals. So there was rather a lot that went proper, and we are able to’t lose sight of that.”
Stevens largely preached persistence and positivity for a roster that received 57 video games and practically made the Finals regardless of altering head coaches simply days earlier than coaching camp.
However Stevens’ press convention left loads of unanswered questions. We imply that actually: There have been a number of questions Stevens didn’t actually reply. As an illustration: What do the Celtics take into consideration the brand new collective bargaining settlement, which has the potential to interrupt the staff up in a nearer future than anybody across the staff needs to consider?
“I’m not frightened about it,” Stevens mentioned on the Celtics Speak podcast with Chris Forsberg after his availability. “Clearly, we’ve proven a willingness to spend. This was an enormous tax yr for us.”
“I’m not frightened about it” appears most unlikely. A brand new second apron that reportedly shall be within the up to date CBA has the potential to power the Celtics into offers they might relatively not make in a vacuum. As famous by cap-aficionado Ryan Bernadoni in a superb Medium publish (which we linked above however will do once more right here), the second apron is basically a tough cap. It’s so punitive that if a staff went over it, they probably would solely find a way to take action for a single season with – as Bernadoni put it – “a transparent path to get again underneath the road within the close to future.” Beginning in 2024-25, groups over the second apron wouldn’t solely be charged luxurious tax penalties, they might even be unable to execute very fundamental roster constructing maneuvers like signing a participant to a mid-level exception, buying and selling sure future draft picks, sending out money in a commerce, signing a participant on the buyout market or taking again extra wage than they ship out in a commerce.
“We love our basis,” Stevens mentioned. “We love our core, and that’s actually our focus and precedence.”
The sentiment is comprehensible (the core is extremely gifted!), however scary hours start when Bernadoni notes that if the Celtics max out Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown, the mixed salaries of Tatum, Brown, Marcus Good and Robert Williams would make up a staggering 93 p.c of the cap by 2025-26, and Williams solely takes up 9 p.c.
Put merely: The brand new CBA is right here to forestall tremendous groups, and it doesn’t care one iota for those who – just like the Celtics – construct your tremendous staff in an natural approach. Presumably, Stevens is frightened about it, particularly as negotiations with Brown loom.
Brown’s negotiations have been one other subject Stevens largely refused to debate, though that’s comprehensible since Brown’s extension window opens on July 1. Stevens did say unequivocally that the Celtics would like to hold him.
“I can say no doubt, we would like Jaylen to be right here,” Stevens mentioned. “He’s a giant a part of us, and we consider in him. I’m grateful for him.”
Once more, all of that is undoubtedly true – Brown made an All-NBA staff and averaged 26.6 factors per recreation final yr. There’s little query the Celtics need him in Boston. There are, nonetheless, plenty of questions as to whether or not they can afford to maintain him for greater than a yr or two underneath the brand new CBA. We nonetheless have little or no readability on Brown’s future.
Stevens did provide readability on Joe Mazzulla, who will stay the Celtics’ head coach subsequent season. Whereas he acknowledged that Mazzulla may have completed some issues higher, Stevens praised Mazzulla’s efficiency over the course of the yr and mentioned he himself couldn’t have completed what Mazzulla did in September when he was tossed right into a head teaching function.
“He’ll solely get higher at something that he can study from this yr as a result of he’s continually making an attempt to study, and he’s accountable,” Stevens mentioned. “These management qualities are exhausting to search out. They’re straightforward to speak about, however when you may present all these by the expectations and the microscope he was underneath, that’s exhausting to do.”
However the teaching employees round Mazzulla shall be chaotic this offseason as properly. Stevens promised no less than one rent with “important” NBA expertise, however Mazzulla will want much more than that. Aaron Miles, Ben Sullivan and Mike Moser – three hires Ime Udoka made whereas in Boston – reportedly will transfer on. Will Hardy departed for Utah final summer season and Damon Stoudamire was employed by Georgia Tech halfway by the yr. Mazzulla – who joined the Celtics’ group in 2019 – may not fairly have a contact checklist like Udoka, who each performed within the NBA and began teaching in 2012.
For now, Stevens appears dedicated to conserving the staff as entire as attainable.
“It’s actually exhausting to be within the combine,” he mentioned. “So we simply have to determine learn how to get a little bit bit higher. However keep within the combine. We’ve got loads of foundational issues which are good.”
The Celtics can largely stay within the combine in the meanwhile. Nonetheless, followers who wish to see wholesale modifications to the roster would possibly get their want within the upcoming years. It stays to be seen whether or not they’ll just like the consequence.
In spite of everything, like Joe Mazzulla’s management qualities, a chance to be within the combine could be very exhausting to search out.
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Originally posted 2023-06-02 11:56:34.