Brad Stevens

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Taylor Snow

BOSTON – In piecing together a championship-caliber roster behind the scenes, Brad Stevens has earned some shine in the spotlight.

The NBA announced Tuesday that the Celtics’ president of basketball operations has been named the 2023-24 Executive of the Year after building Boston into a league-best 64-win team.

Stevens won the award in a landslide, receiving 16 out of 29 first-place votes. No other executive received more than four such votes. He also earned six second-place votes and three third-place votes for a total of 101 voting points. Oklahoma City’s Sam Presti finished a distant second with 47 voting points.

Stevens is the third Celtics executive to achieve the honor, joining Red Auerbach in 1979-80 and Danny Ainge in 2007-08. &nbsp;&nbsp;

“I am so thankful to work for the Celtics,” Stevens said. “Our ownership group has given us the support and resources to build this team. The players, coaches, front office, and support staff are amazing - superstars in their jobs across the board. This recognition has everything to do with the team and nothing to do with any one individual. Great teams require that everyone in the building is fully committed to each other and moving in one direction.”

The Celtics have been moving in a positive direction ever since Stevens was elevated from head coach to president of basketball operations following the 2020-21 season. During his first year in his new role, he made a few trades and signings that turned into significant long-term pieces, such as the re-acquisition of Al Horford, the signing of undrafted free agent Sam Hauser, and dealing for Derrick White midseason ahead of Boston's 2022 NBA Finals run.

After failing to make it back to the Finals last year, Stevens made several franchise-altering decisions leading into the 2023-24 campaign which helped to shape Boston into the best team in the league while also setting it up for potential long-term success.

The two main moves were trading for Kristaps Porzingis on Draft Night and then dealing for Jrue Holiday at the start of Training Camp.

Both trades required great sacrifice, as the C’s had to give up Marcus Smart to acquire Porzingis and lost both Rob Williams and Malcolm Brogdon in the Holiday deal. But there is no question that both acquisitions were upgrades.

The Porzingis move completely changed the dynamic of Boston’s offense. His scoring versatility as both a low-post threat and a knockdown perimeter shooter took a great deal of pressure off Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum this season, plus, his 7-foot-3 presence has provided the Celtics with elite protection at the rim.

Tatum summed up KP’s value after Game 3 of the first round by claiming he is “the most important guy on our team for what we’re trying to accomplish.”

Holiday’s presence has also been of utmost importance. And his acquisition was just about as shocking as that of Porzingis. Holiday had initially be traded from Milwaukee as part of the Damian Lillard trade, and soon after he arrived in Portland,  Brad Stevens brought him back to the East. The C's had to give up Williams and Brogdon in the process. Still, it was ingenious to acquire a player who had been a key cog for a Milwaukee team that was considered Boston’s biggest Eastern Conference competition.

The move paid off tremendously, as the Celtics went on to win 64 wins, while a reshaped Bucks team finished with 49. Holiday became Boston's most impactful defender, a jack-of-all-trades offensive contributor, and a valuable locker-room presence as a respected teammate and someone with championship experience.

Not only did Stevens acquire two former All-Stars, but he also committed to both of them long-term. Porzingis signed a contract extension shortly after being traded, and Holiday did the same just before the end of the regular season.

Stevens also extended two longer-tenured core players, inking Brown and Payton Pritchard to long-term deals.

Not only did these decisions establish the Celtics as a present championship threat, but they have also set the team up for a bright future. For that, Stevens deserves to bask in the spotlight, even though we know how much he thrives working behind the scenes.

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Stevens’ Remarkable Roster Construction Earns Him Exec of the Year

Boston Celtics

BOSTON, MA&nbsp;– The NBA announced today that Boston Celtics President of Basketball Operations Brad Stevens&nbsp;has been named the 2023-24 NBA Basketball Executive of the Year. Stevens is the third recipient in franchise history to win the yearly award, joining Danny Ainge (2007-08) and Red Auerbach (1979-80).“I am so thankful to work for the Celtics,” said Stevens. “Our ownership group has given us the support and resources to build this team. The players, coaches, front office, and support staff are amazing - superstars in their jobs across the board. This recognition has everything to do with the team, and nothing to do with any one individual. Great teams require that everyone in the building is fully committed to each other and moving in one direction. With that in mind, we are onto Game 5!”Stevens served as the Celtics’ head coach for eight seasons before being promoted to the team's President of Basketball Operations on June 2, 2021. Since Stevens joined the front office, the Celtics have reached the NBA Finals, the Eastern Conference Finals, and clinched the No.1 overall seed for the 2024 Playoff run. Boston has amassed the most wins in the NBA with a 172-74 regular season record for a 69.9 winning percentage over the last three years.The Celtics concluded the 2023-24 regular season with a league-best 64-18 overall record, marking the fourth-most wins in franchise history and earning their NBA-record 14th 60-win season. Boston went 37-4 at home, marking the third-most wins on the parquet in a single season in franchise history, and its 90.2 win percentage ranked 12th in the NBA since the 1990-91 season.The 2023-24 Celtics proved one of the most prolific offensive teams the league has seen, boasting the best offensive rating (122.2) in NBA history and knocking down the second-most three-pointers in a single season with 1,351 threes. The Celtics led the league in three-pointers per game (16.5), blocks per game (6.6), and plus/minus (+11.3), and ranked second in three-point percentage (38.8%), rebounds per game (46.3), and points per game (120.6).

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Brad Stevens Named 2023-24 NBA Basketball Executive of the Year

Celtics President of Basketball Operations Brad Stevens sat down with WEEI’s Adam Jones and Meghan Ottolini Tuesday afternoon as part of the WEEI/NESN Jimmy Fund radio telethon to raise money for cancer research and care. During his appearance, Stevens spoke on a variety of subjects leading into the 2023-24 NBA season.

Among the noteworthy topics, Stevens touched on the championship-chasing mindset from an executive’s perspective, the opportunities for leadership growth within the locker room this coming season, and Kristaps Porzingis’ health heading into training camp.

The Celtics have been knocking on the championship door for several seasons now, and while there has been some level of frustration in coming up short, each journey has provided insight on how to improve and take a step closer to their ultimate goal.

At the end of the day, knocking on the door of winning a title is a far better position to be in than down the hall and around the corner, which Stevens recognizes as he takes a step back and sees how far the organization has come since he first joined the team as its head coach 10 summers ago.

“I always try to keep in perspective that when you’re playing late it’s not all bad,” Stevens said “You know, the first year I got here we had traded (Paul) Pierce and (Kevin) Garnett. We won 25 games and we lost 57. Fifty-seven losses in one year when you’re a coach or a player is hell. I think I’ve gotten a better perspective after the come-close years. But it’s still, when you’re knocking on that door, is get through it and make sure you’re doing everything you can to put yourself in a position to do that.”

In order to get through the proverbial door, difficult decisions have to be made. Some of those tough choices have included the tradings of the ultimate teammate in Kemba Walker, and most recently, the quintessential Celtic in Marcus Smart.

It’s not an easy business, but each decision Stevens makes is with the next banner in mind. Those decisions have led to the construction of a championship-level team on paper.

Now it’s up to the names on that paper to get the job done.

“The trades and the transactions and all those things are hard because those are emotional moments with people that you know and that you’ve spent a lot of time with and that you’re really fond of,” said Stevens. “But ultimately our job is to chase banners and that’s what we’re trying to do.

"We think this team will be in the mix again. But being in the mix is only part of it. You’ve got to be able to play your best when your best is needed. I think we had a couple of bad weeks last year and the worst one was in May (leading to a 0-3 start to the Eastern Conference Finals against Miami). We just can’t let that happen if we’re gonna be what we want to be.”

In order to get to where they want to be, the Celtics will need certain players to step up in the leadership department to help fill the void left by Smart’s departure. Stevens is counting on his stars – Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum – to be among the team's standout vocal leaders this coming season.

“I think our locker room – we’ve been chock-full of a lot of quality people for a long time, and that (trade of Smart) gives other people a voice,” Stevens said. “It gives other people a voice to step into and step up to. Very obviously, we need Jayson and Jaylen to grow in that area, and we think they’re among the best that can be, so we need them to step up to that. But other people will have an opportunity to do so too. Anytime you’ve had someone that’s played such a big role and has such a big personality (such as Smart), then there are opportunities for others to step into that.”

Another player who will have an opportunity to step into a leadership role is the All-Star caliber player that Boston received in exchange for Smart. Kristaps Porzingis is champing at the bit to finally experience a deep postseason run and is hoping to build off what was the best season of his career in 2022-23.

“Kristaps seems to be in a really good place,” Stevens said. “He’s focused on what matters. He’s coming here to do his part to help us win and that’s what’s was very clear in communicating with him when he came for his (introductory) press conference.”

The 28-year-old big man is currently dealing with one minor obstacle, as he's recovering from plantar fasciitis in his right foot. Stevens and the team's medical staff, however, are optimistic that it shouldn’t be much of a setback at all by the time training camp rolls around.

Porzingis is currently rehabbing with the Latvian national team while cheering on his fellow countrymen in the FIBA World Cup. Although he’s disappointed that he can’t participate in the tournament, Stevens says the big man understands the importance of being ready for the start of the season, for which he is on track.

“He really tried to ramp up and play and (was) just determined, ‘I don’t want to deal with lingering effects down the road,’” relayed Stevens, who recalled dealing with a brief bout with plantar fasciitis during his college playing days. “This is something we should be able to navigate and manage within the next few weeks and be ready for Training Camp. So we’re planning on having him Day 1 of Training Camp.

"He really wanted to try to ramp up because it really mattered to be there. Like, I don’t know if you saw the clip of him the other day when Latvia won and he’s kind of behind the bench. They beat France – it was a huge win, probably the biggest win they’ve had in a while – and just the genuine joy and emotion, like those guys that represent their countries, they really enjoy that opportunity so he was heartbroken not to do it. But he saw the opportunity here and took away any chance of having lingering effects by addressing it now, and it shouldn’t be a big deal.”

The Celtics are just one month away from putting their offseason preparations to the test with Training Camp set to begin the first week of October. They’ll look to the Jays to lead the charge, they’ll implement Porzingis’ elite frontcourt presence into their system, and hopefully all of the team’s decisions and sacrifices will lead them past the knocking stage and straight through that championship door.

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Stevens Talks All Things Celtics During Radio Appearance for the Jimmy Fund

BOSTON – Celtics President of Basketball Operations Brad Stevens held his end-of-season press conference Thursday afternoon, and there was plenty to talk about following another deep playoff run.

Stevens touched on a variety of subjects throughout the 27-minute media session, including his assessment of Joe Mazzulla and the coaching staff, a general evaluation of the team's successes and shortcomings, and a look ahead toward the organization's future.

Here is a breakdown of some of the noteworthy topics from the discussion:

For the most part, Stevens seemed satisfied with how the 2022-23 season unfolded. The team got off to a blazing, 21-5 start despite going through the adversity of a last-minute coaching change. And it played some inspiring playoff basketball despite an earlier exit than it had hoped for.

Stevens highlighted how the Celtics finished second in the league in both offensive and defensive rating, but also noted that there was some slippage on both ends of the court that proved to be critical during their Eastern Conference Finals matchup with the Miami Heat.

The biggest takeaway was the grit that the team displayed, battling back from a 3-2 deficit in the second round to beat the Philadelphia 76ers, and then fighting to stay alive for a full seven-game ECF series with Miami after losing the first three contests.

“We have an incredibly resilient group,” Stevens said. “They're tough, with their backs against the wall they are amazing. At the same time, we came up short.”

Although the team was outstanding with its back against the wall, there were lapses during less-urgent situations, such as not capitalizing on opportunities to close out Games 1 and 4 against Philadelphia, as well as Games 1 and 2 against Miami.

“It's about putting that full 48 together, and that's shared results,” said Stevens. “That's on all of us. It's not just coaches, it's not just players; I look at how can I help everybody do that better, so we all play a role in that and we all have to play better for 48 minutes if we want to win, and every game is worth one in the playoffs. We saw what we were like with our backs against the wall. With the exception of Game 7 (against Miami), we were pretty good.”

Ultimately, the Heat played an outstanding series and deserved their NBA Finals berth. But that shouldn’t take away from the strong season that Boston put forth and the resiliency it displayed throughout.

Speaking of resiliency, Joe Mazzulla displayed his throughout the season after battling through one of the more unorthodox experiences for a first-year NBA head coach in recent memory.

Despite being elevated into the interim head-coaching position less than a week before the start of training camp and despite having a depleted staff from the previous year, Mazzulla still managed to guide the team to 57 regular-season wins (the second-most by a rookie Celtics coach after Bill Russell’s 60 in 1966-67) and 11 more in the playoffs.

Midway through the season, he deservedly had the interim tag removed and went on to be one of three finalists for Coach of the Year while being the youngest head coach in the league.

Stevens, who initially brought Mazzulla on board in 2019 as one of his assistants, called the 34-year-old a “terrific leader,” and one that will only get better.

“When you consider the position he was thrust into and the overall accomplishments of the group, I thought he did a really good job,” said Stevens. “When you look at it in the big picture and having a team that was second in offense, second in defense, won 57 games and (had) a chance to go to the NBA Finals on your home court, there’s a lot of direction and organization that goes into that.”

Stevens marvels at the fact that Mazzulla was able to organize so quickly, a feat that Stevens says he could’ve never done during his days as a head coach.

“I always needed a whole summer of planning,” he said. “A whole summer of thinking and organizing thoughts and being able to catch yourself ready to emphasize what you want to emphasize on a daily basis.”

And now that Mazzulla will have a full summer to prepare for next season, “There's no question that&nbsp;will be a huge benefit,” said Stevens.&nbsp;“To do what they did in five days and get ready for the season and to start the season the way we did was a little bit more remarkable than people outside the building would have thought.”

Another benefit that Mazzulla will have this summer is the opportunity to add more voices around him on the sideline, which Stevens says will be one of the primary objectives of the offseason.

Boston’s coaching staff was left depleted after the pre-season losses of head coach Ime Udoka and lead assistant Will Hardy, as well as the midseason departure of Damon Stoudamire. Yet, under the circumstances, the group of remaining assistants did a stellar job.

“I think that’s one thing that kind of gets lost in the shuffle,” Stevens said of having a smaller staff. “But the staff we had was good. And we did try (to add coaches). Losing Damon in March, we again tried. But those timings are tough for people to up and move or up and join a new team that they don’t know anything about or don’t know. But that was just to be supplemental because we believed in the people that were here.”

Stevens said the team plans to make at least one coaching addition this summer – “Somebody that has a lot of NBA experience, for sure.”

Aside from some potential coaching additions and small roster tweaks, the Celtics don’t appear to have any plans of making major moves this summer. They have no intention of breaking apart their core anytime soon, and they shouldn’t.

Jaylen Brown, Jayson Tatum, and Marcus Smart have been together for six full seasons now, Robert Williams has been here for five, Al Horford for five of the last seven, and those guys have experienced nothing but success together.

With five trips to the Eastern Conference Finals in the last seven years, all it should take is a little bit of fine-tuning to get that group over the top.

“At the end of the day, we love our foundation, we love our core and that’s really our focus and priority,” said Stevens.

The only big core-related decision the front office has looming is a potential extension for Brown later this year.

Although Stevens is not allowed to talk about contract details at this time, “I can say, without a doubt, we&nbsp;want Jaylen to be here. He’s a big part of us and we believe in him and I'm thankful&nbsp;for him. I've said this earlier: I'm really thankful for when those guys have success,&nbsp;they come back to work. And when they get beat, they own it, and they come back to&nbsp;work. So I know that that’s what they're about. And that's hard to find … Those qualities aren’t for everybody. So Jaylen had a&nbsp;great year, an All-NBA year, and he's a big part of us moving forward in our eyes.”

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Stevens Gives Assessment of 2022-23 Season and Beyond

Kyle George

BOSTON, MA –&nbsp;The Boston Celtics today announced that they have signed forward Justin Champagnie from the Sioux Falls Skyforce, the G League affiliate of the Miami Heat.&nbsp;

Champagnie, a 6’6” forward, appeared in 39 games over two seasons with the Toronto Raptors from 2021-23, where he averaged 2.2 points and 1.9 rebounds in 7.5 minutes per game, while shooting 48.6 percent from the field.&nbsp;

The Brooklyn native averaged 18.2 points and 8.0 rebounds in 31.3 minutes through 23 games (15 starts) with the Skyforce this season.

The University of Pittsburgh product averaged 14.7 points, 8.5 rebounds, 1.0 assists, and 1.1 steals in 53 games (46 starts) before declaring for the 2021 NBA Draft after his sophomore season. Champagnie was named to the 2020-21 All-ACC First Team after averaging 18.4 points, 11.1 rebounds and leading the conference with 13 double-doubles.

Champagnie was the first Pitt player to earn First Team All-ACC accolades, and became the first Panther to claim first team all-league honors since Ashton Gibbs (2011).

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Celtics Sign Forward Justin Champagnie

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  addPhoto("https://publish.nba.com/celtics/sites/celtics/files/theisuntitled-3.jpg", "Daniel Theis during his first stint with the Celtics", "Ezra Shaw/Getty Images", "theis");

Brad Stevens’ first trade deadline rolled around Thursday afternoon, and he didn’t hold back. The Celtics’ President of Basketball Operations agreed to terms on three trades ahead of the 3 p.m. deadline, which included seven players going out, two players coming in, as well as some swapping of future draft picks.

Boston acquired a skilled playmaker in Derrick White and reacquired a hard-working, floor-spacing, versatile big in Daniel Theis. Both additions bring tenacity and versatility on the defensive end, which should make this year's top-ranked defense even more fearsome.

Boston’s front office got warmed up with a small deal in the early afternoon, trading Bol Bol, PJ Dozier, cash considerations, and a conditional future second-round draft pick to Orlando in exchange for another conditional future second-rounder.

Neither Bol nor Dozier – who are both recovering from major surgeries – had a chance to play a game for Boston after being acquired together in a trade on Jan. 19. However, in trading them, it helped the Celtics financially by delaying the start of a potential repeater tax scenario in future years as the team builds around Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum.

Later in the evening, the Celtics finalized their second trade of the day, reacquiring Theis from the Houston Rockets in exchange for Bruno Fernando, Enes Freedom, and Dennis Schroder.

Theis spent his first three-plus seasons in Boston before being traded to the Chicago Bulls ahead of last year’s trade deadline. Through 26 games (21 starts) this season, he has averaged 8.4 points and 5.0 rebounds per game.

Finally came the big splash of the day, as the C’s traded Josh Richardson, Romeo Langford, and a protected 2022 first-round pick to San Antonio in exchange for White. As part of the deal, the Spurs also have a conditional right to swap first-round picks with Boston in 2028.

Up until Thursday, White had spent his entire five-year career with the Spurs and is in the midst of arguably his best season. Through 49 games (48 starts), the 27-year-old has averaged 14.4 points, 3.5 rebounds, 5.6 assists, and 1.0 steals per game. He’s also blocked the second-most shots among all NBA guards this season with 42 swats.

There’s also an extra silver lining in acquiring the veteran combo guard, being that he is already familiar with many faces on the Celtics roster.

White’s first two NBA seasons overlapped with Celtics head coach Ime Udoka’s last two seasons on Gregg Popovich’s staff, and he spent four seasons with C’s assistant coach Will Hardy. Udoka also coached White with Team USA during the 2019 FIBA World Cup. Jaylen Brown, Marcus Smart and Jayson Tatum were all members of that national team as well, so White already has on-court experience with the bulk of Boston’s core.

From his time with White, Tatum observed and recalled Friday morning, "He's a really high-IQ basketball player, very gifted offensively, a great defender, and just somebody you love to have on your team.”

On top of those connections, Stevens had been eyeing White for several years, viewing him as a player who could help maximize the Jays’ talent.

“We've thought for years that Derrick was a really good fit with our best players,” Stevens said Friday morning during a conference call with the media. “He is an excellent defender. He just makes the right play, on offense, over and over and over. He's a guy that only cares about winning, that will do all of the little things, as you can see in some of his stats, defensively, with regard to willingness to put his body on the line, activity, shot challenges, all of those things. And, on offense, just by making simple plays and doesn't need to do anything to be on the highlights, to really, really impact winning.”

As Celtics fans already know, Theis is another player who impacts winning. The 6-foot-8 German center was often lauded for his team-first approach throughout his previous tenure in Boston, during which he averaged 7.2 PPG and 4.9 RPG while shooting 55.4 percent from the field and 34.5 percent from 3-point range.

Stevens initially didn’t expect to make a move for Theis but was thrilled to have a deal materialize during the final 20 minutes ahead of the deadline.

Adding Theis gives the Celtics some frontcourt insurance should either Al Horford or Rob Williams miss any time, and he will be a solid backup otherwise.

“Rob and Al are our guys and they're playing great but if you miss any time with those two guys, you can plug Theis in and it'll be a seamless transition,” said Stevens. “Theis knows how to make our best players better, that's the best thing he does is he has a great feel for making others around him better, he's got a savvy for the game.”

Although the deadline has passed, the Celtics are not even close to being done making moves. Due to the lopsided nature of their trades with regard to outgoing players versus incoming players, they still have several roster spots to fill. Stevens said the team will look to add multiple “skilled” players in the coming days to round out the roster, including at least a couple of moves he anticipates making before Friday night’s tip-off against the Denver Nuggets.

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Boston Bolsters Defense Even More with Theis, White Additions

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BOSTON, MA – The Boston Celtics have signed seven-time NBA All Star and 17-year veteran Joe Johnson to a 10-day contract, the team announced today. Per team policy, terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Johnson, 40, has played in 1,276 career NBA games over 17 seasons with the Celtics, Phoenix, Atlanta, Brooklyn, Miami, Utah, and Houston from 2001-02 to 2017-18, averaging 16.0 points on 44.1% shooting (37.1% 3-PT, 80.2% FT), 4.0 rebounds, 3.9 assists, and 34.7 minutes. He produced double-digit scoring in 13 consecutive seasons from 2003-04 to 2015-16, five of which were 20.0 point campaigns.

Originally selected by the Celtics with the 10th overall pick in the 2001 NBA Draft, Johnson rejoins Boston for the first time since his rookie season. The Little Rock, AR native recorded 6.3 points on 43.9% shooting in 48 games (33 starts) with the franchise in 2001-02.

celtics-sign-joe-johnson

Celtics Sign Joe Johnson

BOSTON, MA – The Boston Celtics have signed 15-year NBA veteran C.J. Miles to a 10-day contract, the team announced today. Per team policy, terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Originally selected by Utah in the second round (34th overall) of the 2005 NBA Draft, Miles, 34, has averaged 9.6 points on 41.1% shooting (35.8% 3-PT, 80.9% FT), 2.4 rebounds, 1.1 assists, and 20.4 minutes in 848 career NBA games (303 starts) with the Jazz, Cleveland, Indiana, Toronto, Memphis, and Washington.

Miles (G/F) has averaged at least 10.0 points in six of his 15 NBA seasons, including four straight double-digit scoring years from 2014-15 to 2017-18. The Dallas, TX native last played in the NBA in 2019-20, when he produced 6.4 points over 10 games with the Wizards.