Celtics president of basketball operations Brad Stevens didn’t provide any clarity during his postseason press conference on his approach to a challenging offseason. Stevens said that the organization remains driven to compete for championships but there are other factors that must be considered.
“I know there will be a lot of questions about what’s next,” Stevens said, per Brian Robb of MassLive.com. “I’ll talk probably more about that at the draft time when we have a better idea after meeting with all the key stakeholders and everybody else about what next steps might be. At the end of the day, I think that will all be driven by the same thing that’s always driven us and that is how do we get ourselves in the mix to compete for championships best.”
Numerous players were signed to extensions last offseason after the Celtics won the championship. The cost of carrying those players will rise exponentially — their payroll for next season is projected to be around $225MM, with repeater tax penalties totaling approximately $280MM.
This comes at a time when majority ownership is due to change hands. The new ownership group, led by William Chisholm, is expected to be approved by the NBA’s Board of Governors next month, according to Robb. It’s unknown whether the new owners are willing to take on that kind of penalty.
“The CBA has been well-known for years,” Stevens said. “So there are penalties associated with being at certain levels, and we know that. You just weigh that. You weigh where we are. You weigh everything else then you make those decisions. You have to have the clarity of a full season and a full playoffs and, like I said, a couple good night’s sleep. Then everybody gets in a room and put your heads together and figure out what’s next.”
Another major factor in the Celtics’ offseason approach will be the likely season-long absence of star forward Jayson Tatum, who tore his Achilles during their second-round series. It was later revealed that Jaylen Brown played with partially torn meniscus in his right knee, while Kristaps Porzingis continued to battle a lingering illness. Stevens wouldn’t blame the series loss to the Knicks on those setbacks.
“The reality is we blew the first two games and that’s why we put ourselves in a tough spot. … That’s not on any one person,” Stevens said, per The Associated Press. “It’s not out of maliciousness. It’s not out of a bad decision. It’s not bad luck. It’s we had an opportunity to win those first two home games and we put ourselves behind the eight ball.”
Brown’s knee issues cropped up in March, Stevens said. However, the knee injury wasn’t severe enough to keep him off the court, as Robb relays.
“Jaylen wants to play, Jaylen’s a warrior, Jaylen takes great pride in being out there,” Stevens said. “And at the same time, he saw obviously our team docs and a couple of other people and as he even said a couple weeks ago, the knee’s in a good place structurally. And so I think he felt comfortable getting out there and going after it. And hopefully he’ll feel better after being off it for a couple weeks here. The unfortunate part is we’re done in the middle of May, but some of these guys who have some nicks, bruises and other things that it’ll be good to get some rest.”
Porzingis’ illness was described to Stevens as “post-viral syndrome,” The Athletic’s Jay King tweets. Stevens believes Porzingis’ health issues will be “well cleared up” by the time he plays for Latvia in EuroBasket this summer.
Next season is pretty much a lost season.
Tatum and Brown are still young enough to rebuild around.
Tank for a lottery pick. Assuming they own it.
Hardly a lost season, even without Tatum this is a top 4 or 5 roster in the east.
Only to lose in the 2nd round again.
> payroll for next season is projected to be $225MM
> with repeater tax penalties at approximately $280MM.
That $505M effective payroll shows how the new CBA prevents dynasties. The wealthiest teams’ advantage is minimized.
Let’s talk OKC. What Sam Presti has done is sheer genius, ensuring he will have a pipeline of high quality, CHEAP young talent over the next 6 years:
– 13 first round picks
– 6 first round pick swaps
– 20 second round picks
It doesn’t matter that OKC can’t ever go into the luxury tax. Presti has figured out how to have a permanent talent advantage with the league’s lowest payroll.
Its only genius if they win a championship. I agree that the current CBA is built against Dynasties. and I agree that what Presti has built while maintaining future draft capital is every NBA teams dream scenario. But lets wait until there is a parade in OKC before declaring it genius. End of the day its all about those rings.
The genius of what Presti has done is to guarantee his team will be a Championship contender continuously for at least 8 years. They may never win, but they should always be at the top in talent
The CBA isn’t designed so much to prevent dynasties, but to prevent teams from being Championship contenders for more than three or four years. The goal of the CBA is to continuously change the top teams, aka “parity”. Presti defeated that.
☝️this. What team/fanbase wouldn’t give to be in OKC’s position right now? Without the dynasties it becomes more like MLB where you get in, get hot, get some luck and win a chip. Being in a position to confidently do that every season for next decade is enviable. They can/will also trade players and picks to fill gaps, but they have such a stacked advantage with their current talent plus future picks.
Only one thing matters in sports. You build a winning franchise to chase titles. The talent allows you to do that. Not the payroll. First you build that contender. Then deal with cao later. All teams that win will at some point deal with cap issues. History shows you the winning doesn’t come often. And it has nothing to do with money. So when you have a chance to win a few. Like Warriors and Celtics have had. You are willing to to pay. Winning not only makes money. It also increases the value of the franchise. As the Warriors have shown.
Lol OKC is like the worst example to use. Considering they are youngest team ever to be in this situation. And haven’t won yet. Nobody is going to contend for 8 years without winning. Cause that team will be broken up after failing to win …….. Only one reason to play. That is to win. Not to manage the cap situation ……
A genius that has never won a championship lol.
All the credit to Presti, he’s got a clear and wide championship window, he’s got insane flexibility with all those picks.
He’s doing all of this with cheap ownership and a very small market to boot.
But as harsh at it sounds, validation can only come from winning that 1st championship.
I’m rooting for OKC to go all the way.
“I’ll talk probably more about that at the draft time when we have a better idea after meeting with all the key stakeholders and everybody else about what next steps might be.” — This right here says it all. Ownership will decide how much this team gets blown up.
Celtics real issue is new ownership. Losing a major star for a year is a big thing. Imo Celtics are still a contender next year. Cause they are a playoff team without Jason. Whether they do this thru a trade. Or good signings and draft help. Finishing top 6 is all they need to do. Jason is due back before playoffs. So they will be at full strength for the playoffs.
Look at Knicks by adding Mitch at end of year. Jason is an MVP type player. You add him at end of year. Its a big thing ……..
Kyrie and Dame will also come back for playoffs for their teams. I don’t get why we are killing the Celtics. Their core are all in their prime of their careers. They just started this chip run ..,.
Brad will get the Celtics through this and pull some wizardry.
Nobody knew who Derrick White was…or Sam Hauser.
I agree Celtics will be fine. the only thing that is sad or bad or whatever is their window with this version of Tatum and Brown is over. But there have been multiple teams with these guys for 8 years. IT4 team. Young bucks taking on Lebron team. Marcus Smart GS loss team. #18 team.
I am sure Brad is already taking calls on Holiday. I read an offer with the Clippers that makes sense for both teams and Boston gets decent assets in return. Porzingis is harder to move, but still doable. Brad will keep Brown, White, Pritchard, Hauser and he will find a way to retain Kornet. Al will do whatever he wants but he wont be expensive. Celtics have all their picks and Holiday might get one back in return. Celtics are great at developing talent and they have been solid on drafting for a decade.
As I said, the sad part is this team is done. They got 1 title and that is fantastic. Celtics will be back. Brad Stevens is too good a GM. I am sure he already has a target or two.
With new owners coming in, they’re gonna want some of their own people in place Brad Stevens as of this moment doesn’t even know if he has a job he we will know within the week
With Wyc still remaining as the Governor of the Celtics as part of the sale, I highly doubt Brad is going anywhere. If by some one off fluke chance the new owner doesn’t retain Brad, he won’t be out of a job for long either college level or NBA
Measuring success by championships is silly. That would mean only 1 team per year is successful. I don’t know what it costs to go to a playoff game in OKC, but by the time the warriors had Durant they were bringing in at least 25m per home game. That’s 100m per round with home field if it goes to game 7.
Getting to game 5-7 in round 2 is a hugely successful season. Competed for a championship and the team made enough money to cover the tax bill. The idea is to build a championship contender for years and years, not to go all in on one championship run.
@highwaymenace , Sometimes a post says it all. You nailed it.