The focus of Tuesday’s press conference was introducing Paul George and Mike Conley as new members of the Boston Celtics, but Brad Stevens and Joe Mazzulla were also on the podium. One thing Brad was asked about was something that became a talking point after the 76ers signed LeBron James in free agency.
After the signing, it became apparent that Philly really jumped onto James’ radar after they were able to trade for Jaylen Brown, and adding him allowed the Sixers to add one of the greatest players of all time on a minimum contract. The Celtics’ rivals were able to build what appears to be a sort of superteam on paper, and Boston, indirectly, paved the way for it to happen.
Stevens wasn't worried about 76ers adding LeBron James
Stevens was asked about that again on Tuesday, and how much that possibility played into his decision when choosing to send JB to Philly.
“Yeah, our focus is on us…And obviously, you know, we will look forward to any challenges. And obviously there's a lot of good teams all around the league, but we have to do what's best, what we think is in the best interest of us, both in the short and long term. And so that was the decision, and we went through that in July.”
Personally, I can’t even believe that Brad had to explain this one, but his answer was perfect. He should only be focused on the Celtics. If he deemed this to be the best deal for the team, then that’s the deal he should be making, and that’s what he did.
Sure, it hurts to send a beloved star player to a rival, but obviously Stevens valued the offer from the Sixers above anything else out there. For him to hold back or balk at the deal he wanted simply because he didn’t want to send Brown to a hated rival, or even worse, out of fear and speculation over what move(s) it may lead to, would have been ridiculous.
Stevens is paid to manage the Celtics’ roster, and so far, he has done a tremendous job. He can’t be worrying about what other teams may or may not do. Furthermore, to assume that sending Brown to Philly would be the lynchpin for them to sign James would have been a massive speculation on his part at the time.
Brad should only be focused on the Celtics
It’s easy to say now that hindsight is 20/20, but NBA GMs can’t operate that way, and this was nothing more than a wild hypothetical when the trade was made. On top of that, even if there was some internal thinking that the trade could lead to them signing James, that’s no reason to call things off.
LeBron may be the GOAT, but he’s 41 years old. He doesn’t have much time to mesh with a Sixers team that hasn’t sniffed the conference finals in 25 years. The Celtics absolutely should not be scared of that team, and operating out of fear would have been a cowardly thing to do, a terrible look for the franchise, and a huge mistake.
Thankfully, Stevens did the opposite and followed his instincts on this one without worrying about what else the 76ers could and would do. That’s out of his control and really none of his business. At the end of the day, he did what he thinks is best for the Boston Celtics, and that’s the only thing that should matter.
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