The Boston Celtics spent the opening weeks of the offseason slashing their luxury tax bill. Brad Stevens oversaw two key trades, waiving goodbye to Jrue Holiday and Kristaps Porzingis.
Boston also allowed Luke Kornet and Al Horford to walk in free agency. The result of those moves was a significant tax reduction and getting out of the second luxury tax apron. All of those decisions were key, as Boston entered the summer staring at a potential $500 million payroll.
When speaking to the media on September 25, Stevens shared his thoughts on the roster heading into the new season. Most importantly, he updated the media and the fans by reiterating that there’s no “tax goal” being set by the new ownership group for the front office to adhere to.
“We’re looking at it from the standpoint of, let’s see what this team looks like,” Stevens said. “Let’s put our very best foot forward…We’ll evaluate the roster like we always will as the year goes on. But there’s no tax goal. There’s nothing that’s set in stone that we have to get to a certain level. The level, obviously, where we were earlier this summer, that’s not close to where we are now. And listen, we’ve said goodbye to awesome people and really good players. But I think we’ve added people who are excited to add their strings together and see what we can do.”
Stevens’ comments will be music to Celtics fans’ ears. After all, there’s always an air of uncertainty when a new ownership group takes control of a franchise. However, so far, all the messaging has been that when the need arises, the finances will be available for the Celtics to spend deep into the tax.
Stevens Hasn’t Set a Timeline for Tatum’s Return
During the same press conference, Stevens was asked whether Jayson Tatum could return to the Celtics rotation in the upcoming season. The four-time All-NBA First-Team selection is currently out with a torn Achilles tendon.
“No timeline on Jayson from my perspective,” Stevens said, per Noa Dalzell.
“No timeline on Jayson from my perspective.”
Said his goal is to get Tatum fully healthy.
Without Tatum in the rotation, the Celtics front court looks both thin and inexperienced. However, Boston is firmly in the early stages of a retooling process. Therefore, a slight transitional period is to be expected.
Celtics Training Camp Starts on September 29
Thursday’s press conference comes just days before the Celtics enter training camp to prepare for the upcoming season. Boston will be officially back to work on September 29, with media day set for the same day.
The Celtics will be working on integrating multiple new faces into the rotation, with Joe Mazzulla also needing to figure out his optimal lineups, rotations, substitution patterns and player combinations. Of course, those lessons will continue deep into the season and will likely lead to some level of experimentation to begin the season.
Nevertheless, after a long and relatively quiet offseason, Celtics fans will likely be pleased to hear from the team, and will now be amped for any content that will inevitably come out of training camp in the coming days and weeks.
Celtics’ Brad Stevens Shares Key Update Ahead of New Season