Brad Stevens says Celtics open to deadline upgrades

Dec 18, 2025 12:46 PM

Brad Stevens said Wednesday that the Celtics are keeping their options open ahead of the trade deadline and won’t rule out making additions if a move clearly improves the team.

Speaking after practice, Stevens stressed that Boston isn’t interested in operating with artificial limits when it comes to roster building.

“We will not put a ceiling on this group,” Stevens said. “If it makes sense for us to look for things that can help us, we certainly will. But it all has to be within good deals, and it all has to be within the ultimate goal, which is the North Star of retooling so we’re in a position to compete for what we want to compete for (a championship).”

Boston currently sits tied for fourth in the Eastern Conference with a 15-11 record and owns the league’s sixth-best net rating at plus-5.9, even while carrying roughly $12.1 million in luxury-tax overage.

Stevens pointed out that the crowded East standings have influenced the front office’s patient approach, noting how little separation exists between contenders and the middle of the pack.

“I think everybody, or a lot of teams, are really still very much in, ‘Let’s see how everything looks as time goes on,’” Stevens said. “Everybody’s a work in progress. What’s the difference between third and ninth in the East right now? There’s hardly anything, right?”

If Boston does make a move, help in the frontcourt appears to be the most obvious area to address. The Celtics have leaned heavily on smaller lineups because of limited depth at center and power forward, but they do control two tradable first-round picks along with three pick swaps that could be used in a deal.

Stevens also shared an update on Jayson Tatum’s recovery from a torn Achilles, offering insight into why the team chose not to apply for a disabled player exception.

“There’s the strength thresholds he has to meet,” Stevens said. “And then, after that, several weeks of progressions, right, from the standpoint of scripted against small groups, scripted against bigger groups, scripted in 5-on-5, unscripted random, all the way up through those.”