Brad Stevens’ supposed golden path back to contention comes with roadblocks

The heat will be on Brad Stevens this summer. The Boston Celtics didn't just get humiliated in their elimination, but they blew a 3-1 lead in the first round to a No. 7 seed. In other words, their loss is a reminder that some serious work will have to be put in to vault them back to title contention.

There have been various ways they can do it, like trading for Giannis Antetokounmpo, using the Ant Simons $27.7 million TPE, and/or using the non-taxpayer MLE on an impact player. Celtics alum Brian Scalabrine laid out what he believes Stevens will do to stock the deck in Boston's favor.

Scalabrine relayed his belief that the Celtics should stay under the tax for the entirety of this coming season because of what they could do.

This is a fair point by Scalabrine. If the Celtics stay under the tax, they are in line to be big spenders in 2027, which is an exciting prospect. Here's the problem: this strategy would potentially waste a year of the Jays as they've entered their prime, and if one of them suffers a serious injury (like say, tearing an Achilles), this plan becomes worthless in the end.

It's a risk because Boston has so many assets in their arsenal that they can use to improve from last year, which could mean going over the tax. However, if that means winning Banner 19, then it's all worth it.

Deciding not to go for it on the possibility of adding a game-changer the following summer simply feels too big a risk. There's always a chance Boston tries to have it both ways this summer, but a plan like this has one too many contingencies.

However, if what Scalabrine lays out here is what the Celtics plan to do, there's a silver lining.

Brad Stevens has made the right move plenty of times already

There has never been a challenge too hard for Stevens as an executive. Every single time Boston has asked him to make a tough move, he's done it. Because he has a history of knowing what he's doing, he has earned the trust of Celtics Nation.

If he believes it's in Boston's best interest to stay under the tax this summer, then Celtics fans should go along with it. At the same time, while getting under the tax gives Boston options this summer, doing it also replaced Anfernee Simons, someone who played well under Joe Mazzulla, with Nikola Vucevic, who did not. Look what happened after that trade.

It's good for the Celtics to have options to get even better from their current standing, but the window they have with the Jays won't last forever. If he goes the route Scalabrine lays out here, he'd better know what he's going to do next.

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