Tag: Brad Stevens

Celtics land rising big man in latest mock draft

The Boston Celtics are projected to select the 21-year-old big man in the first round of the 2024 NBA draft.

The Boston Celtics have one of the deepest rosters in the NBA. However, as a second-apron team, they may need to look toward the draft to help fill out their roster ahead of the 2024-25 season. They will have two draft picks available this season, one in the first round and one in the second.

In Bleacher Report’s latest mock draft, Jonathan Wasserman projected the Celtics to acquire DaRon Holmes II with their first-round draft pick. Holmes II is a 6-foot-10 big man out of Dayton who has seen his stock rise over the past few months. Wasserman likens his playstyle to Trayce Jackson-Davis, who has impressed for the Golden State Warriors this season.

“DaRon Holmes II enters this predraft process with more momentum than he had last year,” Wasserman wrote. “Improved range, handles/body control attacking the basket and passing have raised his draft stock…There still seems to be some reluctance from scouts who question his defensive fit and how translatable his shot and face-up game are. But the believers out there do sound high on Holmes, and it’s sounding possible that one of them could use a first-round pick to get him.”

Both Luke Kornet and Xavier Tillman will be entering free agency this summer but will likely look to re-sign at least one of them. As such, Holmes II would be walking into a roster that is already stacked with big-man talent. He would be behind Kristaps Porzingis, Al Horford, Neemias Queta and Kornet or Tillman.

Nevertheless, adding a young big man who has proven willing to work on his game and develop his skillset isn’t the worse decision the Celtics could make on draft night.

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Celtics land 22-year-old stretch-four in latest mock draft

The Boston Celtics could select the Illinois product with the 54th pick in the 2024 NBA Draft.

The Boston Celtics will have the 54th pick in the 2024 NBA Draft. Given their incredible talent and depth, whoever they select in the second round will likely spend the upcoming season with the Maine Celtics on a two-way deal. Still, the Celtics have developed a clear pipeline between their G-League affiliate and their first team.

This season’s roster boasts three Maine Celtics graduates. Sam Hauser, Luke Kornet and Neemias Queta began their Celtics careers on two-way contracts. According to Jonathan Wasserman’s latest mock draft for Bleacher Report, Coleman Hawkins could be the next addition to the Maine Celtics, where he will look to emulate some of the aforementioned talents.

“Coleman Hawkins was having a strong NCAA tournament until Illinois ran into Connecticut,” Wasserman wrote. “While scouts have their reservations, he has their attention with a shoot-dribble-pass skill set that creates a valuable stretch-playmaking 4 archetype.”

Hawkins has played 35 games for Illinois this season. He’s averaging 12.1 points, 6.1 rebounds and 2.7 assists while shooting 45.1% from the field and 36.9% from 3-point range. As with any contending team, carving a path to the primary roster would be incredibly difficult. However, Boston has shown a willingness to reward players who operate professionally and consistently improve their games.

Of course, Stevens could decide to flip the pick on draft night. He’s shown a willingness to kick the draft can down the road in recent years, and given the Celtics’ current roster depth, that may be the smartest decision and one that would be fair to whoever they would potentially select.

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Boston’s Brad Stevens projected as NBA’s 2023-24 Executive of the Year in new analysis

We’re confident in saying that this race was never a close one. Will it play out that way in real life?

Despite being the team in the NBA with the best record for the 2023-24 regular season by far, the Boston Celtics have been surprisingly absent from the discussion of season-long hardware. A lot of this is due to the fact that most of the players taking the floor with any regularity have been making sacrifices to their individual games.

But the intellectual author behind that juggernaut, Celtics team president Brad Stevens, is a popular candidate to win the league’s Executive of the Year award for 2023-24. And Bleacher Report’s staff collectively elected Stevens as their winner for the award in a recent article. 

Pointing to the major moves made by Boston in the 2024 offseason, Bleacher Report’s Eric Pincus notes that even “unheralded players like Sam Hauser and Neemias Queta contributed to what was one of the Celtics’ all-time best regular seasons.”

“Leon Rose of the New York Knicks would be the standout runner-up after a 50-win season and No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference,” adds the B/R analyst.

And while what Rose has done for a team with a reputation for being one of the worst-run for many, many years is by no means unimpressive, we’re confident in saying that this race was never a close one. Will it play out that way in real life?

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Did the Boston Celtics’ recent decision to extend Jrue Holiday shut the door on extending Derrick White?

Not if you ask Celtics team president Brad Stevens. 

Did the Boston Celtics’ recent decision to extend Jrue Holiday shut the door on extending Derrick White? Not if you ask Celtics team president Brad Stevens. In a recent discussion at the Auerbach Center in Brighton, Stevens covered several key topics regarding the team ahead of the start of the 2024 postseason.

The Celtics president touched on Holiday’s recent contract extension, plans for signing White to his own contract extension this coming summer, and adding former two way big man Neemias Queta to the team’s 15th regular roster spot. He also spoke on Joe Mazzulla’s development as a coach heading into his second year and gave a preview of the 2024 NBA Playoffs.

Following these remarks, CLNS Media’s Bobby Manning and Josue Pavon shared their reactions and analysis of Stevens’ comments. Check it out below!

If you enjoy this pod, check out the “How Bout Them Celtics,” “First to the Floor,” and the many other New England sports podcasts available on the CLNS Media network.

Listen to the “Celtics Lab” podcast on:

Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/3zBKQY6

Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3GfUPFi

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Celtics floated as ideal landing spot for Zach Edey

Zach Edey could be the ideal candidate for the Boston Celtics in the 2024 NBA Draft.

The Boston Celtics will likely own the 30th pick in the 2024 NBA draft. Since becoming President of Basketball Operations, Brad Stevens has seldom used his draft picks, preferring to trade them for future assets instead. However, with the new collective bargaining agreement and the roster continuing to get more expensive, now might be the time to acquire some cost-controlled talent. According to a league assistant who spoke with Sean Deveney of Heavy on Sports under the condition of anonymity, Brad Stevens could look to acquire Zach Edey, should he still be available at that point in the selection process. The assistant believes Edey’s throwback style of play would suit the Celtics due to their willingness to play through the post this season.
“They like to post you up,” The assistant said. “The 3-pointers are what gets all the attention but they know how to get inside the defense and post you up. So, if you have a kid like Edey and he has all these drop-steps and moves and counters, they’re good with that, especially if you’re putting him on the floor for 15-18 minutes a game and just giving you a different look.”
Edey would likely slot into a deep bench role as a rookie, potentially fulfilling what we saw from Neemias Queta this season, except on a full-scale deal. His size and post-scoring would ensure the Celtics had a legitimate big-man prospect to develop. Furthermore, he would be entering the league as a polished product.
Still, there’s no guarantee Edey will be available so late in the draft. If he is, though, he could be a home run for the Celtics.
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Celtics’ Joe Mazzulla, Brad Stevens, Allison Feaster shave heads for charity

In attendance were Jrue Holiday and Mazzulla, who raised $5,000 with the shaving of Mazzulla’s head.

Can you imagine what Boston Celtics President of Basketball Operations Brad Stevens without any hair on his head? What about Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla? Or Boston’s Vice President of Team Operations & Organizational Growth Allison Feaster? Granite Telecommunications and The Hale Family hosted their 11th annual “Saving by Shaving” event, raising over $3.5 million for Boston Children’s Hospital.

In attendance were Jrue Holiday and Mazzulla, who raised $5,000 with the shaving of Mazzulla’s head. Granite team members, Massachusetts Governor Maura Healey, and several Celtics joined forces for this year’s momentous effort.

The funds raised will continue Granite’s legacy of contributing to essential pediatric research and treatments for future generations of children.

Check it out above!

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Every Boston Celtics head coach of an All-Star game in NBA history

A total of seven Celtics coaches have earned the right to coach the All-Star game by owning the East’s best record that season.

About a year ago, the Boston Celtics were poised to make history by sending the first interim coach to helm the NBA’s 2023 All-Star Game, which is why the Celtics will not be having Mazzulla coaching the 2024 All-Star Game.

The rules prohibit repeat performances in that role, sending the nod to a Boston coaching alumnus in Doc Rivers (now with the Milwaukee Bucks) instead, who coached the game himself as Celtics head coach in 2008. With all of that in mind, let’s take a look at the Boston alumni who have done the same over the course of the event’s long history. A total of seven Celtics coaches have earned the right to coach the All-Star game by owning the East’s best record that season.

Let’s take a look at who they were and the seasons that it happened in.

Celtics team president Brad Stevens on why Boston added Xavier Tillman, Sr. and Jaden Springer

This is what Stevens had to say about the Celtics’ two deadline additions.

The Boston Celtics added a pair of defensive-minded players to the team’s roster at the NBA’s 2024 trade deadline, former Memphis Grizzlies big man Xavier Tillman, Sr. and ex-Philadelphia 76ers wing Jaden Springer. After the adds, Celtics team president Brad Stevens went on record to explain why Boston elected to trade for those two players specifically.

On Tillman, Stevens said via The Athletic’s Jay King that he “competes, he passes, thinks the game well” and that he has all “the stuff that we’ve been fortunate with the guys we have around our best players, that they brought to the table. He knows how to play. So we’re excited to have him.”

Springer, said Stevens, “is an athlete that can play athletically in the playoffs.”

“But he also has a lot of growing to get better, and he’s committed to that,” suggested the Boston President of Basketball Operations.

“He’s got a long runway ahead. So we’ll see how this year shakes itself out for him. See how it all fits with the team. But he’s a guy that we believe in.”

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A look at the Celtics roster after the trade deadline

The Boston Celtics roster slightly changed at the trade deadline, here is your updated list of players under contract with the franchise.

The Boston Celtics made two moves leading up to the February 8 trade deadline. They acquired Xavier Tillman and Jaden Springer from the Memphis Grizzlies and Philadelphia 76ers. Brad Stevens opted to send players out in both deals, allowing the franchise to retain an open roster spot heading into the buy-out market.

As such, there are some slight changes to the Celtics overall roster. Both of Stevens’ moves provided some additional depth at key areas of the floor and, in Springer’s case, upgraded the team’s point-of-attack defense while giving the Celtics a prospect for the future.

Of course, Boston still has three players on two-way contracts, too. And, due to the team’s strength in depth, it’s unlikely we will see any of them earn a consistent role between now and the end of the season. Still, it’s worth taking a look at how Boston’s roster is shaping up as we head into the All-Star break.

Here is the full list of players under contract with Boston, listed by position.

Celtics team president Brad Stevens on why Boston traded for Jaden Springer

Stevens emphasized that it was the 21-year-old’s defensive acumen that motivated the deal for Boston.

Once the dust from the NBA’s 2024 trade deadline had settled on the day afterward, Boston Celtics President of Basketball Operations Brad Stevens spoke with the media to shed some light on what the team had done to bolster the ball club ahead of the deadline.

On the Celtics’ decision to trade for Philadelphia 76ers wing Jaden Springer, Stevens emphasized that it was the 21-year-old’s defensive acumen that motivated the deal for Boston. “We had followed Jaden for a while,” Stevens told NBC Sports Boston. “Jaden went from a guy that I was interested in to a guy I was really interested in after our preseason game here when I saw him really defend — like really, really defend.”

“So I watched him a little bit closer. The game against us (in Philly) was an interesting game, I don’t remember that quite as well maybe,” he added.

“But we have been paying attention as we’ve gone into this trade deadline as he’s been playing more, and the matchups he’s had.”

Springer’s game on the other end of the court may be a work in progress. But he is young enough that this aspect of his play could easily still come along in the next few seasons, and has shown flashes of hinting Boston may have just gotten a steal of a deal at the deadline.

Listen to the “Celtics Lab” podcast on:

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