Playing chess, not checkers: Brad Stevens just keeps delivering in Boston Celtics front office
Just when the people of Boston think Brad Stevens could not become a better president of basketball operations, he does something to put the Boston Celtics in an even better position to win their next title. Just like Chaim Bloom during his tenure with the Tampa Bay Rays, it always seems Stevens is one step ahead of the rest of the pack. It is not about winning the next title, it is about trying to get the most out of the core that is currently here in order to capture as many as this storied franchise is able to.
Securing Al Horford to a two-year deal with just $20 million is just another example of the plethora of moves he has made to structure this juggernaut of a roster. There may have been a few times where Stevens missed, like the acquisition of Enes Freedom, and Dennis Schroder, but before the season reached the end of February, he made up for his mistake, somehow finding a team that was willing to take the two pieces that ended up being the two that obstructed the success of the organization the most.
Sending Kemba Walker to Oklahoma City, and realizing that Al Horford is a much-needed player both on and off the court for this team to take the jump into the NBA Finals was one of the most underrated moves in the Celtics’ recent history. He gave up a first-round pick in the process and took on Horford’s massive contract, but at the end of the day, Stevens simply knows how to build rosters.
Matt Ryan lit up the NBA Summer League with the Boston Celtics, but Stevens stayed true to his word, keeping his faith in Sam Hauser. Hauser proved the former Butler coach right once again, possessing the best net rating in the entire league for players who have been a part of eight or more contests.
Robert Williams III was confirmed to be out for a significant amount of time before the season began, and with critics around the NBA pleading to Stevens to fill the hole of center on the roster, the 46-year-old kept his belief in Luke Kornet. Kornet has made an unexpected impact off the Boston bench, coming in and bringing instant energy into the lineup. From accumulating crucial rebounds to flying high like Stromile Swift, Kornet has not only been a plus on the court, his personality off of it is beginning to mold him into a fan favorite.
He has seen a player not only for his play on the court, but his attitude off the court, and how that is going to affect the locker room. There are not many players who don’t want to play for Boston at this moment in time but to be able to find the right pieces to surround two of the NBA’s best has been a task Danny Ainge could not quite crack the code to.
Brad Stevens built an ideal Boston Celtics roster
Brad Stevens was able to snatch up both an unselfish playmaker in Malcolm Brogdon and a childhood Boston Celtics fan in Danilo Gallinari in free agency, and recognize the significance Blake Griffin can play on this team before the season even began. Having been a coach at the college and professional level for 20 years, Stevens knows what it is like to be on the sideline, and using that knowledge demonstrates that this Zionville, Indiana native was born to be in the front office.
Danny Ainge had the belief that first-round picks possess value, but as the years go on, the chances of teams being able to hit on an end-of-the-lottery player are quite slim. Stevens believes that first-rounders are not very useful if the team is going to be competing for a title, so why not trade them for assets?
Among all of this, Stevens guided his team through a turbulent conclusion to the offseason, putting the reins of the team on the sideline to a coach that resembles his attitude in more ways than one. Over the past few seasons, there has been plenty of turmoil in Boston, but the one constant has always been the calmness of Stevens. With Stevens nailing down Al Horford for another two years, he now turns his eyes to securing Grant Williams, and Jaylen Brown more long-term.
Just last summer, Stevens was given Ainge’s job, and since then, he has made the role of decision-making in the front office of an NBA franchise an almost effortless one. There seems to be a history of quality roster building throughout Boston Celtics history, and Stevens is becoming the next chapter of a book that includes Bill Belichick, and Red Auerbach.