Flexibility the name of the game for the Celtics and Brad Stevens
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Stevens had to get his team under the salary cap's second apron, which carries major restrictions and penalties, and with Jayson Tatum tearing his Achilles tendon and likely missing next season, now was the time to restructure the roster. And Stevens knew it, as difficult as those moves were because it essentially reversed the feverish work to compile a championship roster that was supposed to last multiple years. Multiple ended up being just two.
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'The biggest thing is there clearly is a need to prioritize regaining our flexibility,' Stevens said. 'Maximizing from an assets standpoint what we can. As far as whatever moves those are a part of, those are all separate, hard, and things that you're going to have to do your best to make sure you're in the right position.
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'We knew this was coming. We've got to prioritize flexibility.'
We all knew this was coming but Tatum's injury expedited the process. The injury and the entry to new ownership perhaps forced Stevens to dismantle the roster prematurely. Also, seeing two young, athletic teams in the NBA Finals encouraged Stevens to overhaul the team, moving a 35-year-old aging defender and an often-injured center whose mystery illness may have been the final straw to his Celtics tenure.
The good news is flexibility is here for the Celtics. They have ascended to the first apron, they can actually aggregate players in deals, they can add cash to deals, they can use trade exceptions. But the process of saving nearly $200 million in luxury taxes and replacing older with younger came at a cost of its own.
'Our owners are committed to spending,' Stevens emphasized, understanding that there was thought new Celtics owner Bill Chisholm mandated he reduce spending by any means necessary. 'There's a lot of things that go into these moves and a lot of things that are really important. The second apron basketball penalties are real and I'm not sure I understood how real until they were staring me in the face in the last month. I do think that can't be overstated.'
What also can't be overstated is the significance of the Tatum situation. Not only did the franchise cornerstone sustain an injury that potentially cost the Celtics the Knicks series, it likely cost him all of next season, meaning the club will have to enter training camp without their significant piece. It's 'ER' without George Clooney, and that set the organization back at least a year or two. The Celtics now are just another team in the Eastern Conference.
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'The biggest challenge for our team is our first-team All-NBA player is in a boot,' Stevens said. 'We know that going into next year. Everything else is second to that on how we build, grow and improve as much as we can. I said when I sat down in front of everybody a few weeks ago, my goal is to compete for championships. There will be inevitably a lot that goes into being in the mix for those.
'We have to prioritize the health of those two guys (Tatum and Jaylen Brown) and at the same time make sure we're regaining some of our flexibility.'
The offseason is young. Free agency begins in five days and Stevens has to find a center and determine which of the team's current group of younger players — Jordan Walsh, Neemias Queta, JD Davison, Drew Peterson — are worth increased roles and which need to be replaced by more productive players.
The foundation remains Brown and Derrick White but that duo will begin the season with three new starters around them. Stevens couldn't discuss Simons but he's sure to be one of those starters. But with Luke Kornet and Al Horford free agents, the Celtics need a center and they could use another capable wing player.
They have the second pick in Thursday's second round and because there were some shocking first-round picks, such as Portland taking Yang Hansen, there are a solid group of players available who could perhaps even help the Celtics next season.
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And being in the first apron does allow the Celtics to use the taxpayer exception ($5.6 million) to sign free agents.
'We've got a good group; we've got the foundation with Jaylen and Jayson and D-White and Payton [Pritchard] and all those guys a lot of teams would love to have,' Stevens said. 'I expect us to go out and compete with what we've got to be the very best we can. That will always be the case. We'll do our best to put the right group together and at the same regain some flexibility and maximize some asset return.'
The coherent theme here is flexibility. Change was necessary. Downsizing was a must and that doesn't mean Stevens had to like it. This new CBA almost forces teams to uproot popular players because they'll eventually earn too much money. Welcome to the new NBA.
'Anytime you make trades, those are tough conversations,' he said. 'I tried my best to communicate in general what our priorities were that I talked about here.'
So repeat after Brad: Flexibility.
Gary Washburn is a Globe columnist. He can be reached at
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