5 takeaways from Brad Stevens’s end of the season press conference
This offseason will likely be an eventful one for the Celtics. Here's what Brad Stevens said to kick it off.
Celtics president of basketball operations Brad Stevens held an end-of-the-season press conference at the Auerbach Center on Monday.
He touched on a range of topics from Jayson Tatum’s recovery, Jaylen Brown’s knee, Kristaps Porzingis’s illness, and the team’s shortcomings against the Knicks.
It’s was the first time he has spoken publicly since the Celtics were eliminated by New York in six games.
Here are five takeaways from the event.
Long road back for Jayson Tatum
Stevens said there is a long road ahead before Jayson Tatum returns to the court.
The team announced last week that he underwent successful surgery to repair a ruptured achilles tendon. The recovery process usually takes between six months and a year.
Tatum has played in 72 games or more during six of his eight seasons and has never missed more than 18 games in a year. Stevens said the realization that he’ll likely be out for a while has been tough on the star forward.
“Obviously, that’s hard,” Stevens said. “Super hard, for Jayson more than anybody. As has been well-documented, he loves to play. I think even missing two games has been grueling for him. We know that there’s a long road ahead and there’s going to be several steps that he’ll have to take before he ultimately gets back on the court.”
Tatum was fortunate that the injury happened in New York City, minutes away from Dr. Martin O’Malley of the Hospital for Special Surgery, Stevens said. He was able receive expert care very quickly.
“He was out of the MRI and consultation and done with surgery by the time we had an injury report the next day,” Stevens said. “Because there was real benefit to doing it early. As tough as the injury is and as tough as it was that night, just an amazing set of circumstances.”
Celtics have known about Jaylen Brown’s knee for a while
Jaylen Brown played through much of the regular-season and the entire postseason with a partially torn meniscus. He will decide soon whether or not to have surgery on it.
“What was reported this weekend, that’s something he’s had for a while and it’s been stable and he’s played with it,” Stevens said. “That’s several scans through and through. We’ve known that for a long time and he’s known that for a long time.”
Stevens said Brown had begun to feel better as the postseason went on. He had spoken during the regular-season about studying tapes of Paul Pierce as he adapted his game to compensate for some of his lost explosiveness.
“He was definitely experiencing some discomfort there in March, but you guys all watched it in the last couple of weeks,” Stevens said. “I thought it got better and better and better, and he actually felt better. At least, he told me he felt better at the end of the Knicks series.”
Brown’s knee is in a “good place” structurally, Stevens said. Now, with an unexpectedly early offseason, Brown could use some rest.
“Hopefully, he’ll feel better after being off of it for a couple of weeks here,” Stevens said. “The unfortunate part is we’re done in the middle of May, but some of these guys have some nicks, bruises, and other things and it will be good to get some rest.
Post-viral syndrome hampered Kristaps Porzingis
Kristaps Porzingis said he was experiencing energy crashes during the Knicks series, which were likely connected to a viral illness that had sidelined him in March.
He averaged just 7.7 points and 4.6 rebounds in 21 minutes per game during the playoffs.
“I don’t think anybody was more frustrated than him,” Stevens said. “I felt for him, because the way it was described to me way just post-viral syndrome, which is the lingering effects of a long illness.”
“I think we’ve seen that and probably read too much about that over the last several years,” he added. “But, I think that unfortunately — I thought he had really turned the corner there towards the end of the regular-season.”
Stevens said Porzingis started feeling sick “out of the blue” during the Knicks series. He plans to uphold his commitment to play for Latvia in the upcoming Eurobasket.
“Our expectation is that the next couple weeks will do him good to be off, but he’s going to play for Latvia,” Stevens said. “I think that’s a good thing. I think it’s good to be playing in Eurobasket and I’m sure it will be well cleared up by then.”
Big decisions ahead
Tatum’s injury, along with luxury tax ramifications, will likely force the Celtics to make some moves to shed salary this summer.
“I think any time you’re talking about an injury like that, it’s another piece of information that you have to ingest and figure out how that affects you moving forward both next year and in the future,” said Stevens.
Remaining in the second apron is not viewed as sustainable by team governor Wyc Grousbeck. The Celtics, who are $20 million over the second apron threshold, will likely have to move one of their starters to get under it.
According to ESPN, next year’s second apron is projected to be set at $207.8 million. Tatum, Brown, Porzingis, Jrue Holiday, and Derrick White are expected to make $198.5 million combined next season.
Stevens said he wouldn’t expect the team to have any “fireworks” during next month’s NBA Draft. The Celtics have two first-round picks, Nos. 28 and 32.
Stevens praises Joe Mazzulla
Stevens admitted that the Celtics blew the first two games of the Knicks series, which all but eliminated their margin for error.
They probably would have gone down 3-1 in the series even if Tatum stayed healthy, he said. The Celtics swept the Knicks during the regular-season and were heavy favorites against New York heading into the series.
Late game execution was a major issue for the Celtics in that series, but Stevens seemed to strike an optimistic tone about coach Joe Mazzulla.
“Joe is great,” Stevens said. “Joe has done a great job … We’re lucky that we have Joe here, we’re lucky that we have the staff that we have here and we’re thankful.”
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