Brad Stevens continued speaking plainly about the difficult, painful and necessary changes the Celtics roster underwent this summer with their roster moves finalized. He also acknowledged lower expectations and doubts they’ll face on paper, particularly at the center position, and that he looks forward to Joe Mazzulla and the players combating them. More or less, Stevens said this will be the roster that the Celtics begin 2025-26 with.
“The reality of the schedule of things is there will probably be some conversations that all 30 teams have in Vegas,” he said. “But it’s a lot less than around the draft, and a lot less than even around as the moratorium comes to a close. And so, I’d say who knows what will happen, but as far as us, we’re very comfortable with this group heading into next season.”
That, combined with the unlikelihood of an Al Horford return, cemented a startling talent departure since last season between four key contributors alongside Jayson Tatum, who remains without a timeline to return from his Achilles tear. Stevens didn’t rule Tatum out for next year, as the Pacers recently did with Tyrese Haliburton, but has stressed that his recovery will become the first step in the team returning to contention status.
Stevens also would not refer to the road ahead as a “rebuild,” though it’s hard not to see big needs that have emerged across the roster. The Celtics lost all three rotation centers this summer, and will utilize two roster players they sparingly utilized last year, along with two front court signings that rarely played in Minnesota and No. 46 pick Amari Williams, who’s on a two-way. Boston tried to pursue further changes, ESPN’s Brian Windhorst noted on The Hoop Collective on Wednesday, with re-trading Anfernee Simons or Georges Niang a priority before the completion of those trades. Instead, the Celtics welcomed both to the team on Monday.
“I think Anfernee is a guy that people out here probably don’t see as much because of the time that they play,” Stevens said. “But his ability to score, his ability to shoot the ball, make really hard shots, is pretty elite. And you look at a guy that’s 26 years old, that’s averaged 20 a game for three straight years, I think he’s a really good player, and I think he can get better. And that’s a big part of it. And then Niang. Niang has just added value to winning on each team he’s been on. And he’s a pain to play against, which I very much admire.”
The positive out of the day came from further indication that Bill Chisholm and the new ownership group will pay some luxury tax to retool the roster. Stevens said that group will make the decision on how much they spend ultimately, but noted they prioritized retaining draft picks and maintaining the roster over the virtues of dodging repeater tax penalties. Mike Zarren said earlier this month that the team doesn’t have a target payroll in mind as they sit roughly $19 million over the luxury tax line, which carries an $86 million tax bill.
That figure will almost certainly come down, especially if the Celtics don’t prove competitive to begin this season. Neither tax nor second apron penalties are finalized until the end of the regular season, giving Stevens and company until the February trade deadline to decide which long-term direction they want to pursue. Allowing the front office to maintain some amount of tax on the books would allow for the most flexibility to retain core players Tatum, Jaylen Brown, Derrick White, Payton Pritchard and Sam Hauser. Each $5-6 million shed drastically reduces the ensuing tax hit, which ranges from 3-6 times each million spent, that multiplier increasing for each $5.7 million spent above the tax line.
Building around that group, with little room beneath the tax and aprons until Simons and Niang’s contracts expire will require savvy drafting and team building, which the Celtics began by officially signing Luka Garza and Josh Minott on Tuesday, two players they saw as underutilized, well coached and who absorbed winning habits with the Timberwolves.
Garza appeared in Celtics gear on the Auerbach Center floor after Summer League practice on Tuesday and began working on put backs. Neemias Queta sported a sleeve around his left knee as he worked through dynamic sprints with the training staff. They’re now, alongside perimeter players who could slide over, officially in charge of a center by committee front court. That much became clear when Williams said last week he wanted to learn from Queta — the vet.
“We’re gonna find out,” Stevens said. “I think we had an incredible luxury with Luke and Neemy as our third and fourth centers, because I think they were both much better than that. And I think Luke will have an amazing impact in San Antonio, and I think Neemy has a great chance to be impactful here. We’ve always liked Luka Garza from afar, and we think that he has the real physicality that’s necessary on both ends of the floor, especially on the glass, in addition to his ability to score. And then, we got Amari, who’s down there now [at Summer League practice], and we think that he has a high upside.”
“And then you can flex other guys into that center role. Tillman is more of a four, probably, but he can flex into that center role. And so, we’ll have to do that by committee. That will not be the group that people will single out, based on paper, on what they’ve done with their careers thus far, as our strongest position, but it’s up to them to prove it otherwise.”
