Celtics’ Stevens shuns idea of rebuild with Tatum out

BOSTON (AP) — Even before Jayson Tatum limped off the court with a torn Achilles tendon during the Celtics’ Eastern Conference semifinals loss to the New York Knicks, Brad Stevens knew big changes would be on tap for the franchise this offseason.

Yes, big spending on free agents and contracts had lured in key players like Jrue Holiday and Kristaps Porzingis who, combined with stars Tatum and Jaylen Brown, ultimately helped Boston capture the NBA championship in 2024.

But keeping the core of that roster intact next season with Tatum possibly missing all of it while rehabbing from his injury would have come with a combined payroll and luxury tax bill of more than $500 million. And as a team exceeding the second apron of the salary cap, it would have also meant additional penalties limiting ways they could sign or trade for players.

“We’ve known for a long time that hard decisions were coming,” Stevens said Tuesday on the decisions to trade both Holiday and Porzingis, which both became official this week. “The second apron is why those trades happened. I think that is pretty obvious. And the basketball penalties associated with those are real. … So that was part of making the decision to push and put our chips on the table and go for the last two years.”

Now under that dreaded second apron, it’s also brought about a different way of looking at what’s next for the Celtics. As the team’s president of basketball operations, Stevens knows their approach will have to change while Tatum is out. But as a former coach, he also said he’s never going to put a ceiling on any team’s potential.

“My expectations are always the same — compete like hell to win the next game,” he said.

Stevens said he doesn’t want to hear any mention of the term “rebuild” this upcoming season.

“That’s not going to be part of the lexicon in our building, and that’s the way we’re going to focus moving forward,” he said.

While the team could make additional moves to get completely out of the luxury tax, Stevens said it’s not the mandate he’s been given by incoming team owner Bill Chisholm.

“Bill has been pretty clear from the get go that he wants to make sure that we’re prioritizing basketball assets and the ability to retool this thing at the highest level that we can,” Stevens said. “The most important acquisition that we’re going to be able to make in the next couple of years is getting Tatum out of a (walking) boot. We’re not beating that one. So that’s going to be the best thing that can happen for us.”

Both Tatum and Brown, who had minor knee surgery last month, were in the Celtics’ facility on Tuesday rehabbing. According to Stevens, Tatum was moving “really fast” in his walking boot, while Brown was already getting shots up and is expected to get full clearance for basketball activities soon.

In the meantime, Stevens said he’s completely comfortable with Brown being the team’s focal point on the court. He thinks it’s a challenge that Brown welcomes and one that he’s proven an ability to excel in during previous times Tatum has been sidelined by injury.

“He’s ready for any challenge and he always has been,” Stevens said.

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