Boston Celtics: Adding former Rookie of the Year has Brad Stevens confident about 2022-23 season

The Boston Celtics didn’t need to land Kevin Durant to have an A+ offseason. They acquired a former Italian League MVP and the NBA’s Rookie of the Year from the 2016-17 season in one fell swoop on the first day of free agency to solidify just that instead.

Malcolm Brogdon and Danilo Gallinari were the additions in question, providing 30 points per game of production from a season ago. Hardwood Houdini understands Boston may not be getting that much of an infusion of offense every night, but even half of that would be an upgrade over the guys in their place on last season’s bench.

The best parts of last season’s second unit remained on the roster. Grant Williams has only upped his shooting efficiency every season he’s been in the league, and after two seasons, it’s safe to say that Payton Pritchard similarly profiles as a sharpshooter. This is all without touching on Derrick White, the sixth-man brought on at the February trade deadline that provided some of the most pivotal performances off the pine for the Cs during the Eastern Conference Finals and NBA Finals.

Boston Celtics President of Basketball Operations Brad Stevens is bullish on the roster he created this season because of his free agent period performance — most specifically making Malcolm Brogdon the team’s sixth man floor general (h/t WEEI):

"“Since the Brogdon trade, we felt really good about our team. We felt really good about building around these guys that we’ve been building around, trying to accentuate our best players. We’re excited to move forward with our team and that’s really been our focus for a while. You say it’s been busy and there’s been a lot of talk but it hasn’t been from me. Hopefully, it gave everyone something to talk about. It’s been pretty quiet on our front for a while now.”"

What the Boston Celtics must focus on in the aftermath of the Kevin Durant trade saga

So much time was spent around these parts this offseason pondering about what a Kevin Durant trade would look like. Imagining him in a number of different uniforms (New York Knicks, Toronto Raptors, Memphis Grizzlies, Los Angeles Lakers), not to mention in Boston Celtics green, consumed this summer like a family of mosquitos at the lake.

Now that KD isn’t going to be slotting into Jaylen Brown’s starting spot alongside Jayson Tatum as the co-star of the Cs, Brad Stevens and co. can focus on filling the final three open spots. There isn’t necessarily much of a rush, considering NBA veterans like Noah Vonleh, Justin Jackson, and Bruno Caboclo will be auditioning during the preseason–not to mention Mfiondu Kabengele sits on a two-way contract–but the free market could start moving again with the Durant saga resolved.

Opportunistic pivots looking to back up Al Horford and Robert Williams while getting to potentially serve as an emergency starter could see the Celtics as the best landing spot. LaMarcus Aldridge, DeMarcus Cousins, and Dwight Howard fit that profile as true centers.