After the conclusion of the first round of the 2026 NBA Draft on Tuesday night, Boston Celtics President of Basketball Operations Brad Stevens addressed the media.
A full video of the press conference is available here on CLNS Media's YouTube channel.
Boston selected Chris Cenac Jr. with the No. 27 pick. Stevens fielded questions about Cenac. But unfortunately for the now-former Houston Cougar, most of the night's attention was directed elsewhere.
It was directed at Jaylen Brown.
For weeks, the Celtics were reportedly involved in the Giannis Antetokounmpo trade sweepstakes. And over the course of the past week, things heated up.
Brown's name went from being kept out of the equation to being publicly mentioned as part of Boston's potential trade package. It was Brown and two-first-round picks. That was the deal.
But the Milwaukee Bucks chose the Miami Heat's offer. Antetokounmpo will be heading to South Beach. Now, the Celtics are left to deal with the fallout.
Yet in typical Stevens fashion, no specifics were unveiled.
How close were the Celtics to a potential Antetokounmpo trade? (The first question of the press conference.)
“Just like any other time, I’m not going to talk about those types of things," Stevens said. "We’ll do it if we ever have a deal and we’re ultimately allowed to talk about it, but I’m not going to go into any specifics on that.”
After the season, Brown said he wanted to be in Boston for the next 10 years. Has that changed?
“I’ll always keep our conversations private," Stevens said. "I think it’s appropriate. I think it’s appropriate. Regardless of what the content of those conversations are like. But I think what I said is really true. I don’t love the fact that any time it’s a big public thing. As you know, we try to keep things as close to the vest and quiet as possible. And at the same time, knowing that the rumor mill is the rumor mill, and there’s going to be a lot of noise out there, that’s why you also meet and be [as] up front as possible. But yeah, listen, I can’t say enough good things about Jaylen. But I certainly am empathetic towards probably what that’s felt like.”
In your conversations with Brown, are you mostly a listener? Has he expressed concerns?
“Again, and I don’t mean to sidestep your question, I just won’t get into the – Like always, [I’m going to] keep these conversations private," Stevens said. "And this is not unusual. We had 10 guys in the gym this morning. Almost all our team was here at one point in the last two weeks. And so, I’m either meeting with guys in the weight room, on the court as you see when you walk in, or in my office, or in the meal room almost every day. So, it’s not an unusual deal. But I think that, ultimately, I just want to be as candid and open as possible. And as available as possible. But from a content perspective, I’ll keep that between us.”
Time after time, Stevens declined to comment on the behind-the-scenes of it all. That's normal. The Celtics notoriously don't like their business getting leaked.
That's why the entire Antetokounmpo sweepstakes put them in a relatively uncomfortable situation.
Even when asked about the potential of Brown extension -- and whether or not trade rumors impacted the organization's relationship with him -- Stevens shut things down.
“We would never talk about contract stuff publicly, obviously, and/or when it’s appropriate," Stevens said. "And I would say, you would have to ask him. I mean, it’s not fun. And I’m empathetic towards that. It’s not fun to be through that. And at the same time, I think my job is to be as candid and upfront as possible prior to. And [I’ve] tried to do that.”
The general feel of the pressure was awkward. It felt odd. An impossible situation to fully comprehend.
© Bob DeChiara
Jaylen Brown and Paul Pierce
Some will walk away with the impression that Brown is safe in Boston. That everything is peachy. That the Celtics can -- and will -- run it back next season with Brown and Jayson Tatum as their star duo.
“Yeah. We’ve met. We had a couple meetings earlier. End of May. Also, before he went back overseas. A couple days ago, or 10 days ago or so," Stevens said of his meetings with Brown this summer. "We spent a lot of time, just the two of us, sitting down together. And then like every offseason, in regular touch with his agent, all the way through the last couple of days. Obviously, with all the rumor mill and his name being splashed all over the place, that’s not easy, but we certainly wanted to be as proactive and up front with that as possible. And I thought we had really good, candid conversations.”
"Yes," Stevens said bluntly when asked if Tatum and Brown can still produce a championship together.
Yet simultaneously, others will walk away from Stevens' press conference believing that Brown may have played his last game in Celtics green.
“Jaylen Brown is a big part of us. I’m never going to predict the future," Stevens said when asked if Brown will be in Boston next year. "But every indication, everything that I think about over the past few years has been building around those guys. And so, obviously, you never know, but at the same time, I think the one thing I want to make very clear is how valued he’s always been.
"He’s been amazing, he’s been an amazing teammate, great person to be around. And whether that run ends 10 years from now when he retires or before, there’s a lot to celebrate. We have a great relationship, and an open relationship where we talk about everything. But I don’t want to predict the future, but I look at it as, this is our team.”
“Yeah, I mean, I think that anytime – There’s always going to have to be conversations," Stevens said when asked about how he feels about the team's relationship with Brown. "There’s always going to have to be get-togethers. There’s always going to have to be things you talk about. Very certain, again, it’s not easy to be in the national rumor mill. And so, again, I’m extremely understanding of that. And so, yeah, I think there always has to be discussions. But again, I just keep going back to this, that’s why I just try to be as upfront as possible and as candid as possible at the beginning.
"Long before any talks begin. So that our guys understand that being here and being in the limelight, they’re going to have a ton of attention on them regardless. And then, they also understand that there are things that are exaggerated at this time of the year, and there are things that are real. So, they’ve been through all that stuff. And they kind of have felt all that stuff, but it doesn’t mean it’s easy.”
Cryptic messaging. Even the world's strongest microscope couldn't find the hidden messaging in Stevens' statements.
But the one thing Stevens never said? Whether or not Brown is happy. He never said what the 'good, candid conversations' actually resulted in.
Were they good because Brown understood and will be willing to move past the trade drama? Or were they cordial in the sense that Brown gets the business but no longer wants to be in Boston because of it?
Stevens, as is common, didn't let much slip in his press conference. He's as tight-lipped as they come.
For now, the Brown drama remains unresolved. It feels as though the closest Celtics fans will get to answers may come via a Brown Twitch stream or social media post, rather than from the Celtics themselves.
It's going to be a very long summer. Make sure to keep your fire alarms stocked with batteries. There's going to be a lot of unwanted smoke.
More Brad Stevens quotes
On selecting Chris Cenac: “Well, he’s just a good young player. Energetic. Plays hard. Excellent athlete. Long. Fits a position of need. Some things that we were a little short on this year from an athletic perspective, I think, with his size and his length. And he is, when you play in the program he plays for, he’s been taught well, adn he’s been held to a high standard. And so, I like that, and he will undoubtedly come here and be eager to jump into it. He’s a good worker. He’s a good person. And he’s got a lot to learn, but we’re excited about starting that process with him.”
On being empathetic toward Brown: “I think just, yeah, just the noise surrounding all this is – Yeah, I get it. And again, I think what I hope to do is just be up front. And then, as reachable as possible throughout all that. And as available as possible throughout all that.”
On the challenges of aprons, having two max-contract players: “I think we’ve been really lucky because our two guys – both guys – are very good. And I think that’s the number one key if you’re going to have those big contracts is that they’re both excellent players. That, on any given night, can put 40 on the board and carry you. And then, with that, you just have to be good around the edges of the roster. That’s easier said than done, but I do think that it’s very doable. But the key goes back to, if you’re going to do it, you’ve got to do it on those guys, and those guys have been great. They’ve both been amazing. And deserve every part of it, and I think will continue to be amazing.”
On what the Celtics need to add this offseason: “I mean, I think the same stuff is, I think we need the same, I think we’re going to continue to look at size. And then, I do think that we will look to add – We’ll see how tomorrow goes. We have a pick, I think No. 40. Whether that is someone that we ultimately roster, or two-way, or whatever, we’ll figure all that stuff out. But I do think that size, and then, I would like to add maybe one more person with some speed on the perimeter.”
On Jayson Tatum's health progression: “He’s been good. He’s been good. He actually started – A lot of these guys, a lot of the younger guys have been here because they’re ramping up to play in Summer League or to just– We haven’t been done as early as we were done in a long time, so they actually went away for a while and then came back for a couple weeks. And so, they’ve spent a lot of time together. And Jayson joined them last week to start to ramp up. He’s got some travels coming up, he might be out of town already. But he’s got his camp coming up, and I think he was excited about getting on the court with some of those young pups a little bit.”
On the benefits of Cenac playing for a coach like Kelvin Sampson: “Yeah, I mean, I think he’s got a lot to learn. He’s a long way to go. He’s got a lot of room to grow. But when you’re that age, and you were that ballyhooed coming out of high school, and then you go, and you play for Coach Sampson, and he does not let you off the hook for one mistake over the course of a full year. And in everything that we’ve learned about Chris, and everything that Coach has told me, is that he was pretty hard on him. And he was on him. And all he did was come to work. And that’s a really impressive quality for a young guy. When I watched him play live several times this year, I never walked out of the – he didn’t always play well – but I never walked out of the gym thinking he didn’t play hard, and he didn’t really, really, really go after it. And so, I think that’s a good place to start.”
On if Cenac is more of a project or an immediate-impact guy: “I hope we’re good enough that it’s hard for any 18-year-old or 19-year-old to come here and be really good out of the gate. I think that usually is more about their own personal development, and growth, and learning how hard it is, and learning how to be a part of a team, and learning how we work and how we go about it everyday. And then, if they can add value, that’s great. But they’re won’t be any expectation of that, from my standpoint, there probably is a lot of excitement and expectation from his, but we were sitting here last year and I didn’t think the guy we drafted would play at all for us. But you never know. Let’s see. We’ll see how they all come in and work, and he’ll certainly have the opportunity like everybody else, but you’re behind when you’re 19 and you’re dealing with, now, men.”
On having dealt with young men for years, managing when someone is unhappy: “Well, I don’t know necessarily what you’re asking or the context in which you’re asking it. I’d say, but I try to be as observant as possible. I’m here a lot. I’m around a lot. I think I’ve got a decent pulse on our building. And then, I just want to listen. And I just want to be a good teammate. And try to help. And that’s my role in that moment, I guess. But I think that, again, we have a lot of people in here. Whether they’ve been here for one year, or in Jaylen’s case, 10, or in Mike Zarren’s case, 20. Right? There’s a lot of time spent together and a lot of relationship there. So, hopefully, you can have candid conversations.”