Championship windows rarely stay open as long as you expect. Injuries, trades, and disgruntled players are multiple things that can derail a franchise’s chances of sustained dominance. The latest speed bump is the new collective bargaining agreement and the punishments for being over the second apron.
However, none of those concerns stopped Brad Stevens from swinging for the fences during the summer. Bold decision-making led him to trade Marcus Smart — a fan favorite, as part of the deal to acquire Kristaps Porzingis. There’s no question the move has worked out as desired. Yet, at the time, there were questions surrounding Porzingis’ injury history and his lack of success on previous stops.
Stevens didn’t stop there, though. Once it became clear Jrue Holiday was available from the Portland Trail Blazers, he shipped out recently-crowned Sixth Man of the Year Malcolm Brogdon and explosive big man Robert Williams to get the championship-winning guard through the door.
Celtics fans knew these moves needed to be made. The wider world may have had some questions, though. After all, Boston was an NBA Finals team in 2022. And they were one game away from making it back-to-back appearances before losing to the Miami Heat in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Finals.
Choosing to break up that roster was a big-time call.
“I think we’re always evaluating how we can get better because I think if you’re not trying to get better, you’re probably going to get caught,” Stevens’ told Steve Bulpett of Heavy on Sports. “And, you know, we weren’t where we wanted to be anyways as far as a Finals or championship team. So, getting caught is just something that I just think you always have to be alert to.”
Being caught can happen in multiple ways. Imagine if the Celtics had stood pat last summer. The Milwaukee Bucks would still have landed Damian Lillard. The New York Knicks would have strengthened with OG Anunoby, Bojan Bogdanovic and Alec Burks. And the Orlando Magic still would have taken a leap due to their internal development.
In hindsight, to paraphrase MMA fighter Jorge Masvidal, those moves were “super necessary.”
“Being good is really fragile,” Stevens said. “Being good is really hard. And nothing is guaranteed, so you just, again, have to be on the lookout for ways to improve. Most of the time, that’s just within the walls — tweak the offense, tweak the defense, whatever the case may be. But sometimes opportunities present themselves, and you just have to be ready.”
We can see that mentality on display when looking back to the trade deadline, too. Even with the Celtics boasting the best record in basketball and having some breathing room at the top of the East, Stevens still found ways to improve the depth on the back end of the roster.
In came Xavier Tillman Sr. and Jaden Springer, two players who can make an impact when called upon could be reliable rotation players in the future. That’s the kind of decision-making that takes teams from being good to being great. Stevens isn’t resting on the Celtics’ previous success. He’s hungry for a championship. And he’s making every move to give the team the best shot at success.
There’s still a long way to go between now and the NBA Finals. A lot can happen during that span. However, if — no, when — the Celtics hoist the Larry O’Brien trophy at the end of the season, we will all have Stevens to thank. He rolled the dice when it was easier to stick inside his comfort zone.
Now, we’re all reaping the benefits of those decisions.
