Brad Stevens Outlines Celtics' 2024 NBA Draft Strategy After Finals Win vs. Mavs
June 26, 2024
Boston Celtics president of basketball operations Brad Stevens discussed the team's plans entering this week's 2024 NBA draft.
"I think there's a lot of moving parts to keeping this roster sustainable beyond this year. But specifically to this year, we've got a lot of guys back," Stevens said Tuesday, per the Associated Press (h/t ESPN). "It will be hard for any draft pick to crack our rotation when healthy. So we'll think about how we can continue to invest in young players and their development and growth, with the reality that if we're able to continue to move forward with this group—these guys are going to be on the court."
The Celtics are shortly removed from a five-game victory over the Dallas Mavericks in the NBA Finals, winning the series due to strong performances from Jaylen Brown, Jayson Tatum and Jrue Holiday.
Boston was also able to capture a championship due to the team's depth, as nine different players averaged at least 10 minutes per game during the playoffs, per NBA.com. Kristaps Porziņģis appeared in just seven of the team's 19 playoff contests due to a calf injury, although the Celtics mitigated his absence due to the strong play of Luke Kornet and Xavier Tillman.
While a deep team allowed Boston to win a title, it also means that there isn't a lot of room for a rookie to earn consistent minutes in the rotation next season. There likely won't be much roster turnover either, as all five Celtics starters are under contract through the 2024-25 season.
Stevens will still have multiple picks to work with, as the team holds the No. 30 overall selection as well as the No. 54 choice. Boston has found value late in the first round before, adding Payton Pritchard with the No. 26 pick in the 2020 draft.
Although Stevens doesn't anticipate adding an instant contributor in the 2024 draft, he acknowledged that there are "a lot of moving parts to keeping this roster sustainable beyond this year."
The Celtics could end up focusing on upside over older prospects with established production in order to potentially develop contributors beyond the 2024-25 season.
