What Brad Stevens said about the Celtics’ offseason additions
"His ability to score, his ability to shoot the ball and make really hard shots is pretty elite."
Most of the focus on the Celtics so far this summer has revolved around what a championship-caliber team has lost.
Beyond Jayson Tatum likely missing the entire 2025-26 campaign due to a ruptured Achilles, the Celtics had to trade away Kristaps Porzingis and Jrue Holiday in a pair of salary-shedding moves.
On the free-agent front, Boston lost depth center Luke Kornet to the Spurs, while Brad Stevens acknowledged Tuesday that veteran Al Horford is also “unlikely” to return to Boston for an eighth season.
But amid the pain of Boston’s stacked squad being splintered, Stevens stressed on Tuesday that the Celtics have some high-upside talent joining the roster for the upcoming season.
Boston acquired shooting guard Anfernee Simons from the Trail Blazers as part of the Holiday deal, while also bringing in Massachusetts native Georges Niang as part of the trade centered around Porzingis.
Even though Boston didn’t have the cap flexibility to target some of the top free agents on the market this offseason, the Celtics also rounded out their depth chart by signing Luka Garza and Josh Minott to cheaper, short-term contracts.
With Tatum likely sidelined all season, the Celtics could rely on a scorer like Simons to take on some of the burden of generating offense alongside key players like Jaylen Brown and Derrick White.
Over the last three seasons with Portland, the 26-year-old Simons has averaged 20.7 points and 4.7 assists per contest while shooting 37.4 percent from 3-point range.
Simons’ 3-point shooting will also come in handy on a roster coached by Joe Mazzulla.
This past year, Simons converted on 36.3 percent of his 3-pointers while attempting 8.5 attempts from 3-point range per contest — which would have ranked third on the 2024-25 Celtics behind Tatum and White.
“I think Anfernee is a guy that people out here probably don’t see as much because of the time that they play,” Stevens said. “But his ability to score, his ability to shoot the ball and make really hard shots is pretty elite.
“And you look at a guy that’s 26 years old, that’s averaged 20 [points] a game for three straight years, I think he’s a really good player. And I think he can get better, and that’s a big part of it.”
Niang averaged 9.9 points, 3.4 rebounds and 1.4 assists over 79 games (three starts) between the Cavaliers and Hawks last season. Much like Simons, Niang is also an effective 3-point shooter — sinking 40.6 percent of his shots from that range last season.
“Niang has just added value to winning on each team he’s been on,” Stevens said. “He’s a pain to play against, which I very much admire. And he knows what he does well, and he knows how to bring out the best in his group.
“It’s not a coincidence that he was a part of the rotation on those really good Philly teams. He was a part of the rotation this year in Cleveland before the trade. The guy is a winner, knows how to play, knows how to bring out the best in people. Happy he’s here.”
Even though both Garza (5.6 minutes per game last season) and Minott (6.0 minutes) earned limited reps with Minnesota in 2024-25, Stevens believes the forwards could capitalize on the minutes available on a shorthanded Celtics front court moving forward.
“We’re looking for guys on those contracts that have upside, that are competitors, that are workers, that want to be good, that haven’t hit their peak yet — but we’ve seen something in them that we think gives them a chance to be very impactful,” Stevens said. “Luka obviously has been a stats darling, but in limited time behind very, very good players.
“And same thing with Minott. Minott is a guy that brings a lot of versatility to the table. [He’s] a person that can guard several positions, can shoot a little bit, but plays with great energy and length, and both those guys really rebound. And so as we have a team that is being retooled, right? I think the biggest thing is bringing in guys that can complement our best players and our core, but also have some upside, and maybe some unrealized upside thus far.”
Over the last week, the Celtics have also been linked to a few potential star players who could be available for a cheap price in Damian Lillard and Bradley Beal.
Lillard was bought out by the Bucks last week, while the Suns are reportedly planning on following a similar plan with Beal.
Both Lillard and Beal would help the Celtics moving forward, albeit in 2026-27 in Lillard’s case due to his season-ending injury this past postseason.
But Stevens didn’t budge when asked if the Celtics were planning on making any additional moves.
“I think the reality of the schedule of things is there will probably be some conversations that all the teams, all 30 teams, have in Vegas [for Summer League],” Stevens said. “But it’s a lot less than around the draft. … And so I’d say that who knows what will happen. But as far as us, we’re very comfortable with this group heading into the next season.”
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