Brad Stevens Rumors | Hoops Rumors

And-Ones: Front Offices, I. Mobley, NBA Europe, Quaintance

December 10th, 2025 at 10:56am CST by Luke Adams

The Thunder are coming off a championship and are just the third team in NBA history to open a season with at least 23 wins in their first 24 games, so it comes as no surprise that general manager Sam Presti came out on top in The Athletic’s annual poll on the league’s best front offices.

A group of The Athletic’s NBA writers asked 36 executives around the NBA to rank their top five front offices, and Oklahoma City received an overwhelming 31 first-place votes.

The rest of the top five wasn’t simply made up of the teams at the top of the NBA’s standings. Brad Stevens and the Celtics placed second, followed by Rafael Stone and the Rockets at No. 3, Pat Riley and the Heat fourth, and Kevin Pritchard and the Pacers rounding out the top five. Each of those front offices received at least one first-place vote.

The Cavaliers, Timberwolves, Knicks, Spurs, and Warriors finished in the top 10, with another 15 teams cited at least once, either as a top-five front office or as a group considered to be “on the rise” and earning an honorable mention. According to The Athletic, the five clubs not to be mentioned at all were the Mavericks, Kings, Pelicans, Suns, and Bulls.

Here are more odds and ends from around the basketball world:

Isaiah Mobley, the older brother of reigning NBA Defensive Player of the Year Evan Mobley, is in the process of finalizing an agreement with Hapoel Jerusalem, sources tell Donatas Urbonas of BasketNews.com (Twitter link). Mobley, a 2022 second-round pick who spent parts of three seasons in the NBA with Cleveland and Philadelphia from 2022-25, has been playing this fall with Manisa Basket in Turkey.
The fall of 2027 continues to be viewed as a “realistic target” for the launch of the NBA’s European league, according to FIBA secretary general Andreas Zagklis. Joe Vardon of The Athletic passes along some of the other comments Zagklis made about the prospective league during a news conference on Tuesday, including the fact that the goal is to give more teams across Europe a pathway to qualifying for the NBA’s league than can currently qualify for the EuroLeague.
Kentucky’s Jayden Quaintance has cracked the top five in the latest 2026 NBA mock draft from Jonathan Wasserman of Bleacher Report, behind the usual suspects at the top. The 6’10” sophomore forward is making his way back from an ACL tear he sustained while playing for Arizona State last season.

Northwest Notes: Dudley, Jazz, Ainge, Thunder

November 5th, 2025 at 4:53pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Jared Dudley had a lengthy NBA career. As an assistant coach with the Nuggets, Dudley now finds himself in charge of Denver’s defensive schemes. His main mission is a simple one.

“Coming up with a defense that protects (Nikola Jokic),” he told Bennett Durando of the Denver Post.

Dudley is doing so by having Denver’s guards and wings take on more responsibilities at that end of the floor, so that Jokic can conserve his energy for the offensive side.

“I can’t teach (him) anything offensively. You’re already this. You’ve got that,” Dudley said. “But defensively, I can teach you. I’ve played with different centers. I’ve played with Boban (Marjanovic), who’s bigger than you and slower than you. … I only want him to think about going back to the rim, Point A to Point B. I don’t want him having him to go guard these guards on the wings, in rotations.”

We have more on the Northwest Division:

How are the Jazz‘s young players faring thus far? Andy Larsen of the Salt Lake Tribune takes a closer look, breaking down the team’s last three draft classes and evaluating each of those players’ performances.
Austin Ainge is the Jazz‘s new president of basketball operations and Larsen spoke with the Celtics’ top executive, Brad Stevens, about the son of longtime Celtics and Utah executive Danny Ainge. Stevens is confident that Austin will step out of his father’s shadow and build a winner in Utah. “He’s always been a guy that I think has a good sense for putting a team together and what wins, both in the regular season and then certainly in the playoffs,” Stevens said.
The undefeated Thunder will be playing without several rotation players in Portland tonight. Alex Caruso (rest), Luguentz Dort (right upper trapezius strain) and Chet Holmgren (lower back sprain) are all listed as out, Justin Martinez of The Oklahoman tweets.

Brad Stevens Talks Celtics’ Offseason Roster Decisions

October 21st, 2025 at 10:07am CST by Luke Adams

Even if Jayson Tatum hadn’t torn his Achilles during the second round of the 2025 playoffs, the Celtics planned to shed salary during the offseason, president of basketball operations Brad Stevens confirmed to Jay King of The Athletic.

Boston had operated over the second tax apron in 2023/24 and ’24/25, winning 125 regular season games and a championship during those two years. However, the club made it a priority to get below that line this summer in order to reduce what would have been a record-setting luxury tax bill and to create more flexibility for roster moves going forward.

“First and foremost, what we were staring at was a bill like no one has ever stared at, right?” Stevens said. “So that was not the driver as much as the second apron, but that’s still a significant, significant thing. And our owners — past and present — have always been committed to spending, but it made sense for us, even in that perspective to retool, in my opinion. And then when you’re sitting over those aprons, you just have a lot of restrictions. You know, right now our 2032 (first-round) pick is frozen. That will be unfrozen if we’re under (the second apron) for three of four years.”

According to Stevens, before the Celtics traded away Jrue Holiday and Kristaps Porzingis and lost Al Horford and Luke Kornet in free agency, he expressed that he was willing to discuss his plan for the offseason with “anyone who wanted to talk about it,” including coaches and players, per King.

“We were very forthright with everybody,” Stevens said. “We tried to be as proactive (as possible) communicating that, ‘Hey, these things are gonna happen. We’re gonna bring in young, hungry, maybe unproven, maybe a little scarred, but high-character people that are gonna play hard, that want to be a part of something special.'”

That last point – focusing on “high-character” additions – was an important one for Stevens, given all the veteran leadership the team was losing on the trade market and in free agency.

“It was not only that, ‘Hey, we’ve gotta reset and retool,’ but the people we bring into this place — whether through the draft or a trade or a signing — yes, we’re looking for maybe some young, proven, cost-effective people, but at the same time, they have to be high character and they have to be high competitive character,” he explained, per King. “Because if they’re not, we’re just losing too much in that area to sustain it.”

The Celtics are still operating in tax apron territory entering the 2025/26 season — their team salary is roughly $4MM above the first apron threshold and in the tax by about $12MM. But the team has plenty of breathing room below the second apron, giving the front office more freedom to operate on the trade market during the season. Boston can aggregate salaries in a trade this season, for example, after not having the ability to do so last year.

“If you’re going to have to reset and retool, what you’re trying to do is you’re just trying to give yourself a chance to be opportunistic if that presents itself,” Stevens told King. “We lived it. We knew it was coming. And, you know, it wasn’t the most fun summer for a GM or a front office person but we knew that that was part of the pain of A) going all-in in the last couple of years and then B) making sure we give ourselves a chance to continue to be opportunistic around our young core — and our core is still young and still very, very good.”

History Indicates Brad Stevens, Celtics Unlikely To Tank

August 22nd, 2025 at 10:00pm CST by Eli Cohen

The Celtics have been one of the teams hit particularly hard by the CBA’s second apron rules, especially in conjunction with the team being sold and the Achilles injury to Jayson Tatum that has forced them to take a step back from their title contention goals. That has led to the team trading away players such as Kristaps Porzingis, Jrue Holiday, and Georges Niang (who was acquired in the Porzingis deal) in an effort to shed salary.

However, just because the Celtics have been working to get their books in order doesn’t mean that fans should expect them to outright tank this season, writes Chris Forsberg for NBC Sports Boston.

In a mailbag, Forsberg shares a story from general manager Brad Stevens‘ coaching days to illustrate his mindset. Forsberg writes about the 2014/15 season, when the Celtics, coming off their first missed playoffs since 2007, started the year 13-26.

When confronted by Jae Crowder about whether he was okay with losing, Stevens refused to consider tanking, and the team eventually pulled together a 40-42 season and a trip to the first round of the playoffs. Forsberg writes that the refusal to accept losing helped define Stevens’ tenure as head coach, and will likely do the same for his tenure in the front office.

While there would be an undeniable benefit in the Celtics landing an unexpected top pick in a loaded 2026 draft class, Forsberg believes the esteem in which Stevens holds winning and competitiveness will likely preclude the front office from selling off important future-facing pieces — even if the team falls well behind the pace established by last season’s 61-win squad.

Celtics Notes: Bassey, Chisholm, Gonzalez, Brown

July 12th, 2025 at 7:17pm CST by Arthur Hill

Charles Bassey wasn’t on the Celtics‘ Summer League roster when the week began, but he was one of the stars of Friday’s win over Memphis, writes Brian Robb of MassLive. The free agent big man, who’s playing a rare fifth year in the Las Vegas league, came off the bench to contribute 14 points and 11 rebounds in 18 minutes.

“It was last-minute,” Bassey said. “I got a call from my agent and flew out the next day and started training camp with them. It’s been good, man. It’s been good from training camp to today’s game. The energy has been great, vibing with these guys and coaches, it’s been fun. Everything’s been good.”

A source tells Robb that Boston has expressed interest in Bassey in the past, but now there’s a clear need for size with Kristaps Porzingis traded, Luke Kornet leaving in free agency and Al Horford likely to follow. The Celtics don’t have a proven center on their current roster, which explains why Bassey jumped at the chance for a tryout in Las Vegas.

“Great effort, rebounding, blocking shots, rim protection,” Bassey said of what he can provide. “I bring great defense to the team. I just play my role. I know what a team needs from me and I know what they want from me and I do it every night.”

Speaking to reporters on Saturday, president of basketball operations Brad Stevens didn’t speculate on Bassey’s chances of making the 15-man roster, Robb adds in a separate piece, but he was impressed with Bassey’s first outing.

“I don’t want to speak for him, what his goals might be,” Stevens said. “He’s a guy that’s probably playing for what’s next. I just think he’s a guy we’ve paid attention to from afar for a long time. We’re watching all these guys all the time and I thought he did a really good job yesterday. He probably was the biggest reason we won the game I thought.”

There’s more on the Celtics:

The sale of the team is expected to be approved by the NBA’s Board of Governors when it meets this week in Las Vegas, according to Adam Himmelsbach of The Boston Globe. Stevens said new owner William Chisholm remains excited about assuming control of the franchise in spite of Jayson Tatum‘s Achilles injury, which led to the decision to part with some high-priced talent. “He didn’t take over at the easiest of times when you talk about the second apron issues that we talked about the other day, and Tatum’s injury, and everything else,” Stevens said. “But he’s so level-headed and he’s got such a good way about him. I’m really excited to have him around.”
Stevens was impressed by first-round pick Hugo Gonzalez in his Summer League debut, Himmelsbach adds. Stevens reveals that the Celtics told Gonzalez to take four days off after he helped Real Madrid win the Spanish League title, but he showed up two days later. “I think he really wants to be good,” Stevens said. “You can tell he’s got a good work ethic, a good compete level. There’s a care factor there and, you know, he’s just learning.”
Tatum’s injury means Jaylen Brown is preparing to be the number one option on offense for the first time in his career, Robb states in another story. Brown discussed the challenge in a livestream with Kyrie Irving, saying, “People haven’t seen me at my best because we have a loaded roster, so sometimes you need to do what needs to be done as a team.”

Celtics Notes: Stevens, Horford, Kornet, Mazzulla, Gonzalez, Tatum, Brown

June 26th, 2025 at 10:59am CST by Arthur Hill

Celtics president of basketball operations Brad Stevens had a new first-round pick to discuss in Hugo Gonzalez, but there were more pressing issues to address as he met with the media following Wednesday’s draft, writes Gary Washburn of The Boston Globe. After agreeing to separate trades this week involving Jrue Holiday and Kristaps Porzingis, Stevens talked about their contributions to the franchise and whether any more cost-cutting measures might be on the way.

“The biggest thing is there clearly is a need to prioritize regaining our flexibility,” Stevens said. “Maximizing from an assets standpoint what we can. As far as whatever moves those are a part of, those are all separate, hard, and things that you’re going to have to do your best to make sure you’re in the right position. We knew this was coming. We’ve got to prioritize flexibility.”

Parting with Holiday and Porzingis enabled the Celtics to move below the second apron, freeing them up to aggregate salaries in future trades, send out cash in deals and use trade exceptions. They’re projected to save nearly $200MM in luxury tax penalties, but Stevens emphasized that flexibility rather than frugality was the main motivation for trimming salary.

“Our owners are committed to spending,” Stevens said. “There’s a lot of things that go into these moves and a lot of things that are really important. The second apron basketball penalties are real and I’m not sure I understood how real until they were staring me in the face in the last month. I do think that can’t be overstated.”

There’s more from Boston:

Without a reliable center currently on the roster, Stevens said the team hopes to re-sign free agents Al Horford and Luke Kornet, per Brian Robb of MassLive. Horford made $9.5MM this season while Kornet played for the league minimum and has a chance to get a significant raise on the open market. “I think the biggest thing is, as you look at the rest of the team and what we’re trying to do, there is no question our priorities would be to bring Al and Luke back,” Stevens said. “Those guys are huge parts of this organization,” Stevens said. “They’re going to have, I’m sure, plenty of options all over the place, and that’s well-deserved, but I think that would be a priority. At the same time, I don’t want to put pressure on them. It’s their call ultimately. But, yeah, we would love to have those guys back.”
Stevens revealed that Joe Mazzulla received a contract extension at some point since he was promoted to head coach two years ago, Robb adds in a separate story. “I keep any of those discussions in house,” Stevens said. “But we’ve got Joe under contract for multiple years right now. So, we certainly want Joe to be around here for a long time.”
Regarding Gonzalez, Stevens confirmed the 19-year-old Real Madrid wing won’t be a draft-and-stash project, according to Souichi Terada of MassLive. “Just a big fan of how he plays,” Stevens said. “He’s tough, he’s hard playing, he cuts, he goes after the ball, he competes. He’s got all the intangibles of a winning basketball player. There’s things he can get better at just like everybody else at that age, but competitiveness is at a high level.”
Stevens also provided updates on injured stars Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown, relays Kyle Hightower of The Associated Press. Stevens is pleased with Tatum’s progress since undergoing Achilles surgery and emphasized that the team won’t do anything to rush his rehabilitation process. “We won’t put a projected timeline on him for a long, long time,” Stevens said. “… It’s baby steps right now. He’s actually progressed great, but I don’t know what that means in regard to projected timelines. But that will be in consultation with him … and everybody else to make sure when he hits the court he is fully ready, and fully healthy. And that will be the priority.” Brown, who recently had a minimally invasive procedure on his right knee, has already returned to the Celtics’ facility to do some light ball-handling and work around the rim, Stevens adds.

Stevens: More Time Required To Determine Offseason Plans

May 19th, 2025 at 7:02pm CST by Dana Gauruder

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.

Al Horford Would Like To Re-Sign With Celtics

May 10th, 2025 at 12:02pm CST by Rory Maher

As Brian Windorst of ESPN.com writes, the defending-champion Celtics were always going to be faced with difficult financial decisions this offseason no matter how they fared in the playoffs. But if they’re unable to dig themselves out of the 0-2 hole they find themselves in after unexpectedly blowing a pair of 20-point second-half leads, then there will be new questions about the viability of the current roster.

Nearly all of Boston’s core is under contract for multiple seasons beyond 2024/25. Veteran forward/center Al Horford is the team’s biggest free agent, and he will be 39 years old next month.

Horford does not plan to retire after ’24/25 and would like to re-sign with the Celtics, sources tell Windhorst. Whether Boston is amenable to that idea may depend on the type of contract Horford is willing to accept, since the team’s payroll (including luxury tax penalties) is projected to exceed $500MM in ’25/26, per ESPN’s Bobby Marks.

Horford remained productive this season, averaging 9.0 points, 6.2 rebounds and 2.1 assists in 60 games, including 42 starts (27.7 minutes per contest). While Horford was a mid-range maestro early in his career, he has extended his range over the years — 68.1% of his field goal attempts came behind the three-point line this season, and he converted 36.3% of those long-range looks.

According to Windhorst, president of basketball operations Brad Stevens and his staff have successfully been able to keep the players’ minds off the impending ownership change. The team also hasn’t discussed potential roster changes with player agents, Windhorst reports, though that obviously doesn’t mean that future moves won’t be in the cards.

Boston will face the Knicks in New York for Saturday’s pivotal Game 3.

Thunder’s Sam Presti Named Executive Of The Year

May 6th, 2025 at 11:43am CST by Luke Adams

Sam Presti, the Thunder‘s executive vice president of basketball operations and general manager, has been named the NBA’s Executive of the Year for 2024/25, the league announced today (via Twitter). It’s the first time that Presti, who has run the Thunder’s front office since 2007, has earned the honor.

Presti, who built the Thunder around a young core led by Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Chet Holmgren, and Jalen Williams, made two notable moves last offseason to fortify the roster. He traded Josh Giddey to the Bulls in exchange for defensive standout Alex Caruso and signed big man Isaiah Hartenstein away from the Knicks in free agency.

Despite some injury woes that prevented Hartenstein and Holmgren from suiting up together until after the trade deadline, the Thunder dominated the NBA’s regular season in 2024/25, racking up a league-high 68 wins and recording a net rating of +12.7, one of the best marks in league history.

Oklahoma City ranked third in the NBA in offensive rating (119.2) and led the league in defensive rating (106.6) by a comfortable margin.

The Thunder, viewed as the heavy favorites to come out of the West this spring, remain well positioned to contend for years to come due not only to the talent already under contract but to their collection of future draft picks.

The Executive of the Year award is voted on by fellow team executives rather than by media members.

According to the NBA, Presti received 10 of 30 possible first-place votes and showed up on 22 ballots overall, earning 74 total points. He narrowly beat out Koby Altman of the Cavaliers (six first-place votes; 58 points) and Trajan Langdon of the Pistons (six first-place votes; 52 points), with Rafael Stone of the Rockets (four first-place votes; 38 points) coming in fourth.

A total of 13 executives showed up on at least one ballot, with Lawrence Frank (Clippers), Rob Pelinka (Lakers), Sean Marks (Nets), and Brad Stevens (Celtics) earning the remaining first-place votes. The full results can be viewed here (Twitter link).

Celtics Notes: Shot Selection, Porzingis, Waitzkin, Mazzulla, Stevens

May 6th, 2025 at 10:37am CST by Luke Adams

The Celtics set an ignominious record on Monday in their loss to New York. As Brian Windhorst of ESPN writes, their 60 three-point attempts were the most ever taken by a team in a playoff game, but their 45 three-point misses also represented a new high-water mark for the NBA postseason.

Boston hasn’t been shy this season about firing away from beyond the three-point arc. The team’s 48.2 attempts per game during the regular season were nearly six more than that of second-place Golden State (42.4). After making just 25.0% of their outside shots in a Game 1 loss, they expressed mixed feelings about having attempted 60 three-pointers compared to just 37 two-point tries.

“I look at the process and the shot quality, (and) our shot quality was high,” head coach Joe Mazzulla said. “There were probably eight to 10 shots that could be better at for sure.”

ESPN’s data backs up Mazzulla’s assertion. According to ESPN Research, 45 of the Celtics’ three-point attempts were “uncontested,” but the team missed 32 of those shots. Celtics stars Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum suggested after the game that they probably should’ve tried to get to the rim more often as those misses piled up.

“In those moments when the other team got momentum you can’t just fire up threes to break up momentum,” Brown said, per Windhorst. “You got to get to the free throw line, get to the paint, get to the basket, maybe get an easy two. You hit some free throws and then maybe the next three-pointer feels a little bit better.”

Here’s more on the Celtics:

The Celtics essentially cruised to a title last season, never losing a Game 1 or more than a single game in any playoff series. However, as Jay King of The Athletic writes, Mazzulla predicted ahead of the second round that his team would have to overcome more adversity this time around if it hoped to repeat. “There’s been great teams that have gone down (in series), great teams that have blown leads, kept leads, all that stuff just kind of goes into the nature of the competitive arena that you’re in, and you have to take the good with the bad if you plan on being in it for a good amount of time,” Mazzulla said before the Game 1 loss. “So studying that gives you the perspective you need to get to where you want to get to.”
Celtics center Kristaps Porzingis exited Monday’s game with 7:34 left in the second quarter and didn’t return due to an illness, as Souichi Terada of MassLive.com writes. Mazzulla said after the game that he hadn’t had a chance to check on Porzingis, who went scoreless in 13 minutes of action. “Obviously it impacts the game with his ability on both ends of the floor, and it obviously changes sub patterns or changes the things that you’re able to do matchup-wise and play-call frequency wise, so yeah, I think we felt it,” the Celtics’ coach said of the big man’s absence. “But it’s no excuse. We had plenty of opportunities to do it, and hopefully he’s ready for Game 2.”
In an interesting story for The Boston Globe (subscription required), Adam Himmelsbach takes an in-depth look at the impact that former child chess prodigy Josh Waitzkin has had on Mazzulla. According to Himmelsbach, Waitzkin – who was featured in the 1993 film ‘Searching For Bobby Fischer’ – was quietly hired by the Celtics as a consultant for this season and has become one of Mazzulla’s “most trusted” confidants. “Josh is great at finding certain segments of the game where it either went really well or it didn’t go well and seeing it from a non-tactical perspective,” Mazzulla explained. “It’s more getting into the mind of an individual fighter or performer.”
In a feature story for The Athletic, Jay King explores how Brad Stevens‘ time at Butler helped provide a blueprint for him to build the roster that turned the Celtics into champions. “Brad understands the most important thing in any organization, whether it’s the business world or sports world, is people,” said Zach Hahn, a former Butler guard who played for Stevens. “And he surrounds himself and finds people that live by the same standards that he lives by.”