Brad Stevens and the Celtics' front office just got a massive seal of approval

Boston Celtics owner Bill Chisholm is just like us. He seems to be navigating this summer's drastic changes by simply rolling with the “In Brad [Stevens] we trust” mindset. Many fans have done the same in the wake of the blockbuster trade that sent Jaylen Brown to the rival Philadelphia 76ers for a 2028 first-round pick swap, Philly’s 2031 first, two second-rounders, and former All-Star forward Paul George.

Chisholm publicly voiced his confidence in Stevens and the rest of Boston’s front office during his Tuesday appearance on WEEI’s The Greg Hill Show as part of the station’s Jimmy Fund Radio Telethon.

"I truly believe we have the best front office in the NBA, and I think it's a source of advantage for us every day,” Chisholm explained. “So I definitely have a level of trust in Brad and his team. But man, as a fan, that was tough. I really needed to be convinced to take the fan passion out of it, because I'm a super fan, was tough. You have to be a sociopath if you don't worry a little bit about what other fans are going to think... We've got the best brains in basketball, and this was something they had conviction around."

Chisholm knows he doesn't know best and that's great

The North Shore native shared this same sentiment when he accompanied Stevens at the podium to face questions in the days following the Brown trade. His initial reservations make a ton of sense, especially for someone who, as he said, is a fan of the team. Most fans don’t understand the metrics and numbers that front offices use to measure efficiency and fit -- and that’s okay.

There’s some credit due here, honestly. How easy do we think it was for Chisholm, the man truly in charge in Boston, to listen to what his experts had to say about something he disagreed with and then decide to trust them?

It sounds simple, but there are surely plenty of professional sports owners who would put their foot down and insist that a move so drastic is bad for business. Most times, those guys actually push for moves to acquire serious talent instead of offloading it (see the Phoenix Suns). In fact, many fans were fearful that whoever bought the team from the Grousbeck family would push to become overinvolved in the day-to-day operations.

Stevens has crushed it since taking over as president in 2021. He traded for Derrick White, made huge splashes with Kristaps Porzingis and Jrue Holiday in 2024, and has signed multiple players, including Payton Pritchard, to team-friendly extensions. The former head coach has given a plethora of reasons for fans to trust his judgment even in the face of a shocking move like trading Brown after an All-NBA season.

Fans have had a tremendous team to cheer for each season under Stevens, even last year, when the external expectations were low with Jayson Tatum recovering from a torn Achilles, and Holiday, Porzingis, Al Horford, and Luke Kornet heading to new homes in the offseason. It was, in part, because of Stevens’ fringe moves, late-round draft picks, and commitment to his guys that the team was able to overachieve. He found the right fit, and there’s no reason why we should all believe that won’t be the case this upcoming year.

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