Don’t stop Brad Stevens now because he seems to be having such a good time as the new Boston Celtics President of Basketball Operations.
In his first offseason at the helm of player movement, Stevens made key acquisitions and solidified the core pieces he coached as the leading man on the sidelines.
It all started in the wake of the blockbuster announcement that he’d be taking over for former general manager Danny Ainge when he made his first mark in the form of a Kemba Walker/draft picks for Al Horford/Moses Brown deal. Brown was flipped for Josh Richardson, and then Tristan Thompson was sent out for Kris Dunn and Bruno Fernando at the end of July. Enes Kanter was surprisingly signed and then, even more surprisingly, Dennis Schroder fell to the Cs at a $5.9 million taxpayer’s MLE rate.
After adding so many new faces to a roster that was lacking depth, Stevens then turned to his core players not yet locked down. Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum had already been handed monster extensions by Ainge, but Stevens nailed down Robert Williams to a bargain deal and got Marcus Smart back on a necessary but slight overpay.
So, what’s next?
Here are 3 potential next steps to this Boston Celtics offseason:
Boston Celtics next offseason plan #1: Sign Paul Millsap
If the Cs can somehow sign Paul Millsap to a veteran’s minimum deal after getting Dennis Schroder to take the taxpayer’s MLE, Brad Stevens would have to be in the running for Executive of the Year…assuming the on-court product lives up to the preseason hype.
Millsap referenced the word “lucky” coupled with a shamrock emoji. Perhaps he’s trying to convey something subliminal here, and perhaps Stevens will reunite him with his long-time Atlanta Hawks frontcourt mate Al Horford.