When the Boston Celtics brought in Paul George and Mitchell Robinson, it wasn't just about the fact that on paper, they fit Mazzulla Ball like a glove. It was also about the fact that the two of them swung the last two playoff series the Celtics lost. In other words, they're established Celtics killers, and they're not the only ones.
Even more obscure players have killed the Celtics in recent years. Three years ago, the one who completely decimated them because fate simply had it out for Boston was Caleb Martin. It's fair to say Miami would not have beaten Boston in the 2023 Eastern Conference Finals if Martin hadn't turned into a dollar-store Stephen Curry.
All apologies to the Celtics fans whose PTSD's are absolutely acting up right about now, but Martin's numbers in that series were as ridiculous as they were unbelievable. Boston dared anyone not named Jimmy Butler or Bam Adebayo to beat them, and Martin turned into the Heat's safety valve, averaging 19.3 points on 60.2% shooting from the field and nearly 49% from three.
Those are numbers Martin has never come close to replicating before or since. Stevens has brought in players who killed the Celtics in the playoffs, so if he brought Martin in, it would certainly fit with the theme of this offseason.
Do the Celtics need him? Absolutely not. Martin's numbers have fallen sharply ever since the 2023 ECF (making the experience all the more painful to think about), but Boston also has plenty of players at his position who have proven to fit in Mazzulla ball. In fact, Martin would get in the way of the development of Baylor Scheierman, Jordan Walsh, and Ron Harper Jr.
There would only be one reason why the Celtics would justify adding him.
Boston may add him just so no one else will
Martin's ECF performance appears to have been lightning in a bottle, but even so, the Celtics may want to prevent someone like him from having that kind of performance against them again. Granted, Miami and Erik Spoelstra seem to just have that devil's magic to make players like Martin look like stars at the perfect time, but Boston may want to take every measure to make sure it doesn't happen again.
If that's the route they take, they can feasibly do it. They are hard-capped at the first tax apron, but Martin's $10 million contract fits snugly into what they can use with Anfernee Simons' $27 million trade exception (but just barely). Plus, it doesn't seem like Dallas has about as much use for him as they did for Anthony Davis.
Stevens has been pretty smart with his moves as an executive (though it's fair to say the Jaylen Brown trade will put that notion to the ultimate test), so if making sure Martin can't replicate the performance he once did against the Celtics for a second time, and that plays a part in their playoff success, it'd be one of his unorthodoxly smarter moves.
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