There's not a love for Brad Stevens from the Boston Celtics fanbase right now. Time heals all wounds, but for now, Celtics fans are understandably angry that Jaylen Brown not only got traded, but was also sent to a division rival. This all happening shortly after Boston's pursuit of Giannis Antetokounmpo fell short only rubbed salt on the wound.
Stevens' history would suggest that he knows what he's doing, so we should wait and see what the final product is. No matter what happens, something is abundantly clear about Stevens: he never fails to entertain the Celtics' fanbase.
This has been apparent from the very jump
Upon being bumped up to the front office, he immediately traded Kemba Walker for Al Horford. It sounds silly now, but there were a lot of questions about that, as many remembered his disastrous tenure in Philadelphia while not many paid attention to his resurgent half-season with OKC.
What many also forget about 2021 was how many players were shifted around before he finally settled on his roster. Trading for Josh Richardson, trading away Tristan Thompson, signing Dennis Schroder, trading for Kris Dunn, then trading him away for Juancho Hernangomez, etc..
No one knew what to make of what Boston was doing, but one year later, they were two wins away from a title. Instead of running it back, Stevens struck while the iron was hot, bringing in Danilo Gallinari and Malcolm Brogdon, the latter of whom no one would have thought was on Boston's radar.
Sadly, Gallinari never got to take the floor as a Celtic, which may have been the difference in the 2023 playoffs. But when Boston got ousted again, Stevens got back to work, and he showed that he didn't let sentiment get in the way of his decisions.
He traded fan favorites Marcus Smart and Robert Williams III, among others, for Kristaps Porzingis and Jrue Holiday. Fans weren't too thrilled about that, but it didn't take long for them to get over it once they saw how much higher Boston's ceiling. Look what it led to.
Ironically enough, Steven had his most boring offseason after Banner 18, where all he really did was bring back most of the title team. The fact that the most engaging subplots of that offseason were whether Oshae Brissett was coming back and whether they should keep Lonnie Walker IV proves the embarrassment of riches Boston had under Stevens.
Of course, the party had to end, but even when it did, Stevens cracked his knuckles and masterfully got the Celtics under the NBA's second tax apron without surrendering a first-round draft pick. Yes, it made the Celtics worse, but in a situation where he had no choice, he still put Boston in pretty good position going forward.
Time well tell if Stevens' plan a good one
Which brings us to now. Boston's place in the NBA is as up in the air as it was when Stevens first took over five years ago. Even so, he never fails to get everyone's attention with the moves he makes. For everything Stevens has done, he's never sat on his hands.
Now he has Paul George (who may have a chip on his shoulder), Mitchell Robinson (joining the Celtics helps them as much as it hurts the Knicks), Mike Conley Jr. (because why not?). We won't know if this will work out for the Celtics, but they deserve the chance to prove what Stevens is cooking.
And it's another edition of truly epic offseason that Stevens continuously subjects Celtics fans to, for better or worse.
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