The Boston Celtics are 26-7, the best team in the NBA. They are coming off a loss in Oklahoma City, but they still have only lost twice in a row only once this season. They're about to take on the Utah Jazz tomorrow night at home, where they are a perfect 16-0 to start the season.
The Celtics are very good. And considering how well they’ve been able to navigate the pitfalls of the NBA season so far, they are not only the betting favorite to win the championship this season, they are the pick of many experts.
With a window this wide open right now, a lot of people are looking to Brad Stevens to do something in order to solidify those chances. As the man pulling the trigger on personnel moves, it’s up to him, with input from the coaches and the rest of the front office, to determine if this roster is going to be the group to break a 15-season championship drought or if it needs some more help.
With that in mind, and a little more than a month to go before the trade deadline, Stevens faced the media to answer questions about this team and its future. Here’s a look at what he said, along with my reaction.
On the team’s performance so far:
“I think every year around this time you’re looking at, OK, how do we improve to give ourselves our best chance? And I think there are different ways to do it. Obviously you can improve from within and we can get better at what we do on both ends of the court and hopefully make strides individually in how we fit together. And then you can improve from free agency or trades or whatever. I do think that the key to us is going to be improvement from within. I just think that we’ve done a really good job of that so far. I like how in today’s practice, we came in and we worked on exactly what I thought was dead-on to what we need to do to be better, to have more options, to play our best. We’ve been good thus far, but we’re 30-some-odd games in and we’ve all lived this. This is a journey. We’re going to have our ups and downs from here on out, but we’re very capable. I think that we’ve shown that.”
Karalis’ take: “The key to us is going to be improvement from within.” Stevens doesn't sound like a guy who sees a move coming on the horizon. My biggest takeaway from his media availability was that this is probably, basically, the team we’re going to see against the Washington Wizards on February 9 (the day after the trade deadline) as they’ll put up against Atlanta on February 7.
On adding a ‘rotation center’ to the team:
“Well first of all, adding a rotation center, that would have to be one hell of a player, right, when you think about … we’ve got really good players. I think what we’re looking for and most likely … especially with where we are from a tools standpoint, there’s really not a ton we can do big without touching our main guys, right? And so, what you look at is guys that can play, guys that can add value. But like I said last year, don’t need to play. They are over themselves, and I think that that’s important … so if we end up adding somebody, I don’t know if it will be a game-changer in the way that you said it from a rotation standpoint, but from an every-night standpoint.”
Karalis’ take: There are a couple of elements to this quote. First, the landscape is a bit barren, and there aren’t many options available “without touching our main guys.” That could trickle all the way down to Payton Pritchard and Sam Hauser. Hell, I might throw Luke Kornet into that mix.
Wherever you draw the line, it’s obvious the Celtics aren’t trying to get too cute with the roster. For the second year in a row, Stevens is touting guys that don’t need to play, which should tell you where his brain is. Don’t expect anything splashy.
On whether he feels pressure to add to the roster because this is their best chance to win:
“I think you try to be smart if you add. How does it fit and how does it not take away? Right. And so really the tool to do that again is the (traded player) exception which is not big. As you said, the major trade deadline move for us was Jrue (Holiday) the day before the season started, right? So we just have to be on the lookout for how we can fortify it and how we can make it better. And again, I don't want to say that that person is not in the building because they might be right now. I've been very encouraged when our bench has gotten in games that don't play how they've helped us. I'm excited to see, you know, as we go through this stretch, it's five games in eight days and we have this January is a tough travel schedule for our guys. There's going to be more opportunities for those guys and that will be helpful as we head into February.”
Karalis’ take: It’s interesting to look at the Holiday trade as the “trade deadline” deal. It makes sense, because that was really the last chance Boston had to make a big move. I know we get caught up about the deadline and whether they make a deal then, but a big move is a big move. I’d actually rather it come before the season so they have more time to get the chemistry.
And once again, Stevens is touting an in-house candidate as the potential “addition” to the roster. This month might provide some of that opportunity as Boston ping pongs between home and road games and some tough strings of games. Joe Mazzulla might have no choice but to extend the rotation, giving someone a chance to live up to Stevens’ prophecy.
Answering a follow-up to the pressure to make a move at the deadline:
“First of all, we don't know -- like, any thing that could happen between now and February eighth, knock on wood. You want to be as fully healthy as you possibly can be But I just think you're looking to fortify yourself as much as possible. If you can do that again from, you see the growth from within with young players with guys that aren't getting as much of a crack and everyday rotations, that's what you're looking at … There's two ways when you add players to your team. They can add to your team and take away from your team. I think you just got to be careful. And so that's something to think about when you have as many guys that are complementing each other as well as ours. But you know we may go on a 10-game skid and we have a different story. I hope not. I’m not anticipating it.”
Karalis’ take: Stevens touches on the biggest issue with adding a new player to this team at this point, and that's who adds to the team versus who takes away from the team.
Could they pursue Andre Drummond? Sure. I don’t know what Chicago would want in return, but I do know Drummond is getting a big role right now. Will he be happy to go from starting to third in the pecking order? Will he raise a stink in the locker room?
These are things you need to consider, especially because this team feels very connected right now. Teams don’t win championships without some level of connectivity, and Stevens knows that. He doesn’t want to threaten that.
On ownership’s willingness to spend:
“Green light to do whatever we need to do, for sure. And that TPE, that's really the number one tool we have, right? Is the ability to add somebody, but that's $6.1 or $6.2 million. So it’s a small number of people. A lot of the people that are in that were signed to minimums or smaller contracts, or are on their rookie scale deals that teams aren't exactly excited to to move on from yet. So it's a very small group of people, but we're going to exhaust it, we're going to look at it. And again, I think it's about okay, who can come in, have the self-awareness to add to the group and the talent to add to the group. I think that one of the strengths of our team is guys like Derrick White, guys like Jrue Holiday, they just are so comfortable in who they are. They don't always use a ton of possessions, but the ones they use are unbelievable. And every day they're positive, and every day they lift the group, and I just think that when you start talking about finding guys that compliment all of our best players, it's a small group. We just got to keep on the lookout for it.”
Karalis’ take: At this point, I don’t think ownership is any kind of hindrance here. We’re at the point of “in for a dime, in for a dollar” with this group, and they know it.
But also, that doesn't mean spending money indiscriminately. If Stevens makes a move with the TPE, he’ll have to believe that guy is not only worth the money spent on the player, but triple that amount in luxury tax on top of it.
The owners aren’t cheap. If Stevens says he believes the move is worth it, then they’ll go with it. But it’s going to be a big ask to find a guy who is worth it.
On whether Neemias Queta or Luke Kornet have surprised him:
"No. They haven’t. They’re good players, you know? And when you’re surrounded by good players, especially our guards and wings that we have, your job’s a little easier. You get to the rim, they’re either gonna throw it up to you or they’re gonna throw it out to the other guy for a wide-open three because your guy’s sinking on you, so they’ve done a good job of filling their roles. I would like to continue to see how we can find another big wing or so that can help us, and I think that could be from within, and I also think that we’ll continue to monitor free agency and trades. But again, the difference in this year and maybe other years is our tools are pretty limited from a dollars standpoint."
Karalis' Take: The big wing thing is interesting, and it shows where Stevens still sees the hole on the roster. Again, though, he talks about the in-house possibility. Maybe he's angling for more minutes for Oshae Brissett or Lamar Stevens. I don't know where else he'll find a big wing who is willing to play or not. They seem to have the market covered on those.
On Queta, and the possibility of converting him to a standard contract:
“So we have discussions every day about how we're going to move forward with those other spots on our roster. We have one open spot right now. You have to carry 14. I think it's helpful to go into a trade deadline or whatever with a little bit of flexibility from a roster standpoint. We have those discussions every day and, you know, he, with other people too, made a great case. He's a hard worker. He's been a really good player for us. We anticipated and communicated to him when we got him that he was going to be in Boston a whole heck of a lot more than Maine because of our because we were going to have Al sitting on back-to-backs because Kristaps was going to sit a little bit here and there. We didn't anticipate Luke getting hurt in warm-ups a couple of weeks ago, but he's now that he's back here, we feel a little bit more secure there, but he's done a good job and it’s been obviously noted.”
Karalis’ take: “It's helpful to go into a trade deadline or whatever with a little bit of flexibility from a roster standpoint.” That means they won’t do anything in terms of upgrading Queta until after the deadline, which makes sense. He can be active for up to 50 games, so there's no rush to change anything at this point. They also want to make sure they can pounce in the off chance there's a surprising buyout guy.
Let’s also go back to the spending again for a second. If the Celtics have no reason to rush a decision on Queta, then they won’t rush it. Upgrading him on February 9 just means they’ll pay luxury tax on the contract, something they don’t have to do with two-way players.
So if they upgrade him, don’t expect it until the last possible minute in order to make him eligible for the playoffs. They won’t do it any sooner than they have to.
On Mazzulla (who was named East Coach of the Month after the interview):
“I think Joe’s done a great job out of the gate of saying, ‘This is how we need to be. This is what we need to do for each other to be the best that we can be. These are the strengths of your teammates. How can we get those out of them and make it a focal point?’ People use the word sacrifice a lot. It’s the idea of serving a team. Like, being there for the good of the group. And I think he’s done a great job of that all the way through. Again, I’ve been in several of these practices now where we come back off a loss or a long trip, or even some wins where we didn’t play very well or do things very well – we’re just doing all the right stuff to improve. We’re not going to be perfect. I think we’ve got a shot, and we’ve got an unbelievable group of people just pulling in one direction. You know, my phone doesn’t ring very often. It’s a really good group.
Karalis’ take: This is a bad day for people who still want Mazzulla gone. I’ve been trying to explain to everyone that he’s not going anywhere. I’m surprised to still see some of those feelings still out there at this point.