Stevens doesn’t hesitate to pull trigger
Walker deal sets stage for rest of offseason for new C’s prez
Brad Stevens guaranteed himself a restful Father’s Day weekend, though it’s unclear if the Celtics’ new president of basketball operations was going to allow himself that kind of respite after breaking NBA Twitter with Friday’s trade.
Now that he’s sent Kemba Walker (and a $73 million commitment over the next two seasons) and this year’s first-round (16th) pick to Oklahoma City for Al Horford and a young project center named Moses Brown, Stevens is back on the cycle looking for a new head coach.
Though Rick Carlisle opened many eyes locally when he resigned from his post in Dallas on Thursday, a league source said that though the Celtics have “three or four strong candidates,” the former Celtic guard isn’t one of them.
According to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, three assistant coaches in particular — Brooklyn’s Ime Udoka, Milwaukee’s Darvin Ham, and the Clippers’ Chauncey Billups — will be interviewed a second time by Stevens and his staff.
Whoever receives an offer and agrees to come aboard will find a team that, beyond the bright young star axis of Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown, is in maximum flux.
Friday’s trade, beginning with the cap relief it brings, sets the stage for an active, if murky, summer.
Flexibility means everything
It wasn’t Walker’s fault that his time as a Celtic was inconsistent, though despite the injuries and absences he averaged 20 points here, and would have been a valuable scorer had he stayed. But OKC’S Sam Presti, who in a quest to set a record for draft-pick accrual has served as a clearing house for veteran contracts, has parlayed another in Horford. The on-again Celtic will make $27 million next season — a $9 million savings from what Walker would have commanded — and just over half ($14.9 million) of his 2022-23 salary is guaranteed.
The move also makes it easier for the Celtics to resign Evan Fournier — they have his Bird rights — while also using their full mid-level exception on a free agent.
Should Stevens remain active in the trade market, he also still has $10 million left over from the Gordon Hayward trade exception that could help bring in another high-rotation type — like, for example, a true point guard.
C’s need a pass-first point guard
Walker never fit into this category, and when on the floor with Tatum and Brown was sometimes hesitant to aggressively seek his shot. Though Horford’s return will get the ball moving again, what the Celtics’ two young stars needed was a distributor.
They’ll be limited in free agency, and almost assuredly not a player when the bidding opens for Toronto’s Kyle Lowry, and maybe not even Utah’s Mike Conley. But with restricted free agent Lonzo Ball’s future murky in New Orleans, and Ricky Rubio entering the last year ($17.8 million) of a contract in Minnesota, there will be next-tier options at point guard, depending on the further space they’re able to free up.
They don’t need another draft pick
Aaron Nesmith and Romeo Langford, high picks from the Celtics’ last two drafts, have shown they deserve regular rotation slots, especially if they are to develop. Payton Pritchard was a steal at the 26th pick last year, and is also firmly in the mix. But Danny Ainge’s picks stockpile also resulted in a lot of players at the end of the bench with limited potential moving forward.
Little wonder that Stevens found greater value in trading the pick to sweeten the pot in Friday’s deal, while also getting a promising young big man back in Moses Brown. The young age of this nucleus considered — with Horford back in the old head’s seat — the Celtics don’t need to get younger.
Al Horford never stopped being a fit
And now the 35-year-old comes back to a place he always enjoyed. Horford left in the summer of 2019 for one simple reason — the Celtics were never going to come close to Philadelphia’s offer, though they ultimately missed his skills.
He didn’t fit as well in Philadelphia — chemistry with Joel Embiid never worked — and was sent to Oklahoma City. Horford was told his primary role would be as a mentor to young Thunder players like Brown, and ever the professional, Horford embraced the role.
He won’t take a back seat here if, as expected, Horford again plays a major role on a team that was threadbare in the paint by the end of the season. And one of the most excited teammates to see him back is reportedly Rob Williams, who loved Horford’s early mentorship.
But no one may be happier with this move than Horford, who after two years in Philadelphia and the OKC wilderness feels like he is coming home.
“It was the first year of his career not making the playoffs,” said a league executive. “He bought into it and helped the coaching staff. But Al has always loved his time in Boston.”
Moses Brown brings interior depth
Presti rewarded Brown a day after the 7-footer went for 21 points and 23 rebounds against the Celtics on March 27, converting his two-way contract into a four-year minimum deal.
Brown responded with some strong numbers, averaging 9.7 points and 10.2 rebounds over his last 36 games. And yes, he compiled those numbers in a vacuum, on a team that was tanking for draft position — best evidenced by Horford’s role on the bench. But as a young talent who has a chance to flesh out the Celtics big man rotation behind Williams, Horford and Tristan Thompson, Brown brings value, as well as competition for Tacko Fall — another young big man who will come in looking for a larger role.
Stevens has a trigger finger
His methodical, detail-oriented approach to coaching considered, Stevens figured to need some time to get acclimated. But thanks to his support staff, and especially the experience of basketball ops vice president Mike Zarren, Stevens was able to make an early splash with this trade and set his summer course. The Celtics now only have a second-round pick to worry about at the Chicago draft combine, and an impending coaching decision. Stevens may be further along in that process than most thought, too.
But he hasn’t hesitated.