Sam Cassell, Celtics coach in waiting?
Derrick White? Malcolm Brogdon? An unnamed acquisition to come? Who exactly is the Celtics' point guard for the 2023-24 season after Brad Stevens traded away Marcus Smart?
According to Stevens himself... maybe no one. Or more accurately, maybe a bunch of different guys.
Asked about Boston's point guard situation at the Las Vegas Summer League, the Celtics' president of basketball operations told reporters that it's going to be a committee approach that includes not just White, Brogdon and backup guard Payton Pritchard, but also star wings Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown bringing the ball up more.
"All those guys," Stevens said, per MassLive. "First of all, Tatum brings the ball up as much as anybody on our team. So we kind of look at it as a positionless team. But Malcolm, Payton, Derrick, Tatum — those will be the guys that get us into offense.
"We're not really going to have that always designated like you would say, 'That is a point guard, that is a two guard, that is a three.' But they're all really capable. Jaylen as well. Those guys all bring the ball up the court."
Stevens has embraced "positionless" basketball to one extent or another for years, so this isn't a new concept. But in recent years, the Celtics did tend to settle into more defined positions, especially after Smart was publicly anointed the starting point guard for the 2021-22 season after Stevens traded away Kemba Walker.
Stevens has also said in the past that he views basketball today as having more three positions than five -- ball-handler, wing, big. Even those lines could be blurring if Tatum and Brown are going to take on more ball-handling.
It's also interesting to note that when Stevens was asked if there are still areas where he wants to add this offseason, ball-handler was one position he did not mention.
"We'll try to add obviously a little bit," Stevens said. "I'd like to get a little more depth, maybe on the wing, and then also maybe with a four/three type. I feel pretty good about our bigs. We've got a couple two-ways, so we've got some things we're still very much looking at."
Many have assumed that the Celtics were still looking to add a ball-handler, especially with Brogdon's injury situation and with his name still popping up in trade rumors. The team attending John Wall's private workout on Sunday only reinforced that idea.
But perhaps it's possible that Stevens is telling the truth and the C's are planning to just roll with White, Brogdon, Pritchard and maybe a deeper depth guy like recently signed Dalano Banton when it comes to traditional guard options. Reports that Brogdon is expected to be ready for the start of the season make that a more viable path.
The Celtics have Kristaps Porzingis, Robert Williams and Al Horford for bigs, plus Luke Kornet further down the depth chart, so it's understandable why Stevens feels "pretty good" about that.
As for those wings or "four/three" types Stevens mentioned, the Celtics' options behind Tatum and Brown are led by Sam Hauser and Oshae Brissett following the departure of Grant Williams. So yeah, wanting to add more there makes a lot of sense.
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