In a recent appearance on the Bill Simmons Podcast on the Ringer, NBA Draft analyst Tate Frazier shared a rather intriguing anecdote about Brad Stevens.
Observing the Boston Celtics' president of basketball operations at the McDonald's All-American Game, Frazier noted how intently Stevens kept an eye on one prospect in particular.
"I think if Brad Stevens had the No. 1 pick, he would take AJ [Dybantsa]," said Frazier. "And I observed that at the McDonald's Game, and how much he was watching AJ intently. Not just on the basketball court, but how he was, kind of, maneuvering around the room, how he was talking to people."
Stevens figures to have liked what he saw from Dybantsa on the court. The Massachusetts star registered 17 points on 7 of 12 shooting, grabbed five rebounds, and helped lead his team to a 105-92 win.
"Obviously, he's a Brockton, Massachusetts, kid, so there's a little bit of a connective tissue there to the Boston Celtics," said Frazier. "But even then, I think the Celtics were like, you know, 'Hey, if we end up in this lottery situation, like, what is AJ? Does he fit in our world?' It just felt strange to me, and I was observing Brad in that room, and how he was watching AJ."
Would the Celtics be better off with a top pick this year?
It's a fun "what if?" scenario to ponder. Adding a star prospect on a rookie contract to flank Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown could have been Boston's best path forward. However, one must consider what that alternate timeline would have meant for how this season unfolded and its impact on the franchise's future.
If this season went south for the Celtics to the point that they finished near the bottom of the league and wound up with a top pick, that's likely not good news for how the year went for Jaylen Brown or the development of those around him.
It could lead to questions about what direction to go with players like Brown and Derrick White over the summer. The latter will turn 32 in July. Even with a prospect like Dybantsa taking his talents to Boston, perhaps a disastrous campaign would signal to the organization that it's best to trade him.
Then, there's the question of how ready a reshaped roster would be to help Tatum lead the Celtics back to championship contention. Any seasons squandered waste a year of his prime as his 30s creep closer.
So, while it is fun to envision getting this version of Brown, a healthy Tatum, and bringing a local star home, what else would the butterfly effect change? With Tatum working his way back from an Achilles injury, he and the franchise likely needed Brown to elevate his game to continue contending for championships.
Boston, demonstrating the power of an elite infrastructure, watching players throughout the roster evolve while Joe Mazzulla and his staff build, in this author's opinion, the most compelling case for the Coach of the Year Award, is a more secure way to sustain the organization's standard of success than needing to sink to the bottom of the league to rise back up.