Following the first round of the 2025 NBA Draft, Boston Celtics president of basketball operations Brad Stevens addressed the media with a cautious tone, opting to speak broadly about the team’s direction due to pending transactions.
Stevens was unable to comment directly on the reported trades involving Jrue Holiday and Kristaps Porzingis, as those deals had not yet been finalized. Still, he shared some insight into the Celtics’ current strategy and long-term thinking.
“We knew this was coming, right? This isn’t a huge surprise,” Stevens said, referring to the NBA’s second apron – a salary cap restriction the team is now navigating. “We have to make sure we prioritize that flexibility.”
Stevens mentioned that Boston would like to bring back veterans such as Al Horford and Luke Kornet, though he didn’t offer any guarantees.
He emphasized multiple times that maintaining financial flexibility under the second apron is a guiding principle for the offseason, indicating that the team must balance immediate performance with long-term sustainability.
Despite the salary cap challenges and looming roster changes, Stevens pushed back against any notion that the Celtics are entering a rebuild. Instead, he expressed confidence in the team’s current core and their ability to compete at a high level.
“You look at our roster right now today, we’ve got a lot of really good basketball players that have done a lot of good things in this league, and several of them have done a lot of good things here,” Stevens said, highlighting players with proven value and experience.
He added, “I expect us to go out and compete and compete with all we’ve got to be the very best we can. And that will always be the case. We’ll do our best to put the right group together, and, at the same time, regain some flexibility and maximize some asset return.”
Stevens concluded by reaffirming his belief in the Celtics’ core players, emphasizing that the organization still has a strong foundation.
“But I do think we’ve got a good group. We’ve got the foundation with Jaylen (Brown) and Jayson (Tatum) and (Derrick) White and Payton (Pritchard) and all those guys that a lot of teams would love to have.”
In short, the Celtics are adjusting strategically, but not starting over.
Brad Stevens Says Celtics Still Have Solid Foundation In Place With Added Flexibility https://t.co/YJrr5VICe4
— RealGM (@RealGM) June 26, 2025
