The Peyton Watson trade served as a tough reminder of how hard it is to keep a contender together. The Denver Nuggets didn't want to trade him, but because their previous decisions had aged like milk, their cap situation forced them to. Times like these serve as a reminder of how fantastic Brad Stevens is at his job as the Boston Celtics' President of Basketball Operations.
The Nuggets traded Watson because they didn't want to deal with the NBA's harsh tax aprons. In fact, even after trading Watson, they remain above the second apron and will likely need to make another move down the line.
It's fair to suggest that this may not have happened in the first place had they not overpaid for Christian Braun and Zeke Nnaji. Braun is a quality player, but he's in the first year of a five-year, $125 million contract to be a solid starter. No one was paying him that money, so it's odd that Denver shelled out that much. It's looked even worse as his traditional stats took a tumble last season.
Nnaji isn't as overpaid, but he's not nearly as productive, and his contract affects them in the long term. It's safe to say that both he and Braun are negative assets on the Nuggets' payroll. In other words, it would have cost them assets to get rid of them to keep Watson.
Because Denver's still not out of their jam even after the Watson trade, they have more moves to make, which means Boston trading for Cameron Johnson isn't off the table just yet. However, times like these should make Celtics fans appreciate Stevens' efforts in the front office.
Brad Stevens hasn't made any such mistakes yet
Stevens has been criticized for some of the decisions he's made this offseason, like not anteing up for Giannis Antetokounmpo, then trading Jaylen Brown, given his legacy as a Celtic. However, what he's done has focused on avoiding the exact situation the Nuggets are in, because it significantly messes up their contention window.
Denver is right in the middle of their best stretch ever as a franchise. That's because they have their best player ever, Nikola Jokic, who is also one of the best players in the NBA and of this decade. And look what's happened since then. They've had to cut costs and will have to do more before the trade deadline, potentially wasting the window they have with the Joker.
The Celtics did something similar with Brown, but that wasn't because they had any deals weighing them down as Denver does. They did it simply because they didn't believe Brown was worth the money he was eligible for, as evidenced by their two consecutive early playoff exits.
Stevens isn't afraid to be the bad guy, but the one thing he will avoid like the plague is making the dumb choice. His choices haven't always worked out the way Boston had hoped, but it's never hurt the Celtics the way Denver's choices have hurt themselves.
Because Stevens' moves have kept Boston in a good position for the foreseeable future, he deserves props.
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