3 takeaways from Brad Stevens’s NBA trade deadline press conference
Stevens discussed the "boring" week leading up to the deadline and why Jaden Springer was traded.
Celtics president of basketball operations Brad Stevens addressed the media Thursday evening, hours after the NBA’s trade deadline had passed.
Thursday marked the end of an uneventful period for the Celtics in terms of trades. The defending champions largely stood pat, except for a trade that sent reserve guard Jaden Springer and a pair of future second-round picks to Houston in exchange for a future second-round pick.
Stevens explained the Springer trade, why the days leading up to the deadline were “boring,” and a few of the Celtics’ next steps going forward.
Here are three takeaways from his availability.
Deadline was ‘boring’ for a reason
The Celtics weren’t totally inactive on deadline day. They signed veteran forward Torrey Craig, a 6-foot-7 wing who is a capable shooter off the bench when healthy.
Stevens hinted at the move, saying that the Celtics were looking to move quickly to fill one of the two roster spots they had open at the time. He said that they needed a wing.
But, unlike the visiting Mavericks, who swapped Luka Doncic for Anthony Davis, Boston’s day did not involve any major moves.
“In our situation with our team this year, today was boring as hell,” Stevens said. “There wasn’t going to be anything going and it was very – the phones didn’t ring, we had already had any discussions that we probably were going to have, and we just weren’t going to do anything major because at the end of the day, even through our ups and downs over the last six weeks, what gives us our best chance to win?
“And, that is this group playing a little bit more like itself more of the time. I’m encouraged in where we’re heading with that and never really wavered in our belief in that.”
The Celtics are 16-10 at home this season, and they endured a rough stretch during December and parts of January.
But, they still own the NBA’s third-best record and felt that they were in solid enough position to contend for another championship.
Inside the Springer trade
Ultimately, the decision to move Jaden Springer came down to money. With the Celtics’ current luxury tax situation, the club was able to save around $15 million by moving him.
“When we got Jaden last year, you kind of think about the things that you saw last week that you’ve seen before both behind closed doors and under the bright lights with him,” Stevens said. “But, one of the things when we got him was we didn’t have Holiday signed to an extension, we didn’t have White signed to an extension, we didn’t have Hauser signed to an extension.”
“So you’re playing the ‘hey, if you don’t have this, you also have a young player that maybe you could go forward with,'” he continued. “When all those things happen and it becomes less in your rotation, you know he’s a really capable player and he can play really well in a rotation in the NBA but also he’s not going to play very much in this particular circumstance, and we have very limited opportunity to sign him after that.”
The 6-foot-4, 205-pound guard is averaging 1.7 points in 5.4 minutes per game this season. Houston waived Springer on Thursday.
“It stinks that we had to do that with regards to him,” Stevens said of the trade. “But, he’ll be OK. He’s a bulldog. He’s a good player.”
Next steps
Following the Craig signing, the Celtics have one more open roster spot.
The Celtics could convert one of their two-way players, such as JD Davison or Drew Peterson, to a standard contract. Last April, the Celtics signed Neemias Queta to a contract. Queta was on a two-way deal leading up to that time.
Boston could also keep hunting in the free agent market for possible additions.
“We’ll take our time with the 15th and really asses our health and needs and those type of things as we go on,” Stevens said. “I won’t get into any particular players. I think all of our guys have done a great job. It will be more based on the needs of the Celtics.”
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