It doesn't take much for a team's fortunes to flip on its head. Not even a month ago, the Boston Celtics were one of the NBA's most impressive stories, but for the past two weeks, it's gotten pretty bleak after the Philadelphia 76ers eliminated them. However, if there's one thing that's been clear about the Celtics since promoting Brad Stevens to the front office, it's that he gets them out of jams.
Simply put, Stevens gets things done. He's proven to be just as brilliant as Danny Ainge was with the key difference being that he doesn't care about what is given up as long as it fixes Boston's problems.
When it became clear that Kemba Walker would not only never be the player he once was but was also falling out of his prime very quickly in 2021, Stevens not only got rid of him but also got Al Horford back while giving up only one pick. This move put the Celtics back on track.
When it was clear the Celtics needed more reinforcements around Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown in 2023, they managed to get Kristaps Porzingis and two first-round picks, then turned around and found the perfect Marcus Smart replacement in Jrue Holiday. These moves led to Banner 18.
When it was clear the Celtics had to cut a lot of bait to avoid the NBA's ramifications of being a second-tax-apron team in 2025, he pulled it off. This move gave the Celtics future options they will definitely take advantage of this summer.
There has been no obstacle proven to be too tough for Stevens to overcome in the five years he's been the President of Basketball Operations. It's true that the Celtics are in a pretty bad place, but they were in that exact same place when CBS took over.
What Stevens will do is anyone's guess
There have been plenty of ideas centering around what Stevens will do to fix the problems with Boston's flawed roster. None of them are downright terrible, and with the options at Stevens' disposal (the TPEs, sign-and-trades, and the non-taxpayers MLE), it's exciting to think of how he'll execute them.
Stevens has proven himself capable of getting the Celtics out of trouble while simultaneously building title contenders. Something else to keep in mind is that the moves he makes are typically ones that no one saw coming. Horford, Porzingis, Malcolm Brogdon, and Derrick White were all moves that absolutely no one thought were on the table.
The only reason that Holiday wasn't as surprising was that once Milwaukee traded him to Portland, everyone immediately saw him as an option, which Stevens made happen in no time at all.
Seriously, Stevens is so unpredictable that for all we know, he'll manage to bring Victor Wembanyama and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander to Boston. No, I'm not serious, but you get the point.
Typically, he manages to pull off miracles, and when he does, the Celtics reap the rewards from it.
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