Shortly after the Celtics selected Hugo Gonzalez with the 28th overall pick in the first round of the 2025 NBA Draft, Celtics President of Basketball Operations Brad Stevens noted that there was still plenty of talent remaining on the board.
“I thought there were several good players still available there late,” Stevens said. “We’ll go back to the drawing board and look at what we’re going to do tomorrow.”
In that same press conference, Stevens used the word “flexibility” seven times, hammering home the team’s top offseason priority.
“I’ll repeat it over and over and over,” he said. “We need to regain our flexibility. We need to maximize assets in return, and we need to regain some flexibility here.”
So when Boston had the opportunity to slide back 14 spots to No. 46 and pick up three additional second-round picks — No. 57 this year, plus 2026 and 2027 seconds — they took it, with the belief that there would still be players they liked later on the board.
“All the time, we’re looking for the ability to get more assets we can use in the future and still get a bunch of good players, and we felt pretty confident that there would be guys we liked lower down in the draft,” Vice President of Basketball Operations Mike Zarren said. “We had the ability to add a couple of really good future draft picks in addition to getting those guys. So, that’s what we did.”
The trade landed Boston Amari Williams, a 7-foot center out of Kentucky, at 46, and Max Shulga, a 6-foot-5 guard out of VCU (Virginia Commonwealth), at 57. The pair of second-round picks are the most favorable of Detroit’s, Milwaukee’s, and Orlando’s in 2026 and the most favorable of Boston’s and Orlando’s in 2027.
Williams, 23, played his first four collegiate seasons at Drexel University in Philadelphia, where he became the first player in Coastal Athletic Association (CAA) history to be named the Defensive Player of the Year three times. He was also a two-time All-CAA First Team selection before transferring to the University of Kentucky for a fifth year.
At Kentucky, Williams appeared in 36 games, all of which were starts. He averaged 10.9 points (scoring in double-figures 21 times) on 56.5% shooting (team and career-high), 8.5 rebounds (team-high), 3.2 assists (career-high), and 1.2 blocks (team-high), helping lead the Wild Cats to the Sweet 16.
The Nottingham, England native became just the second men’s basketball player in SEC history to post at least 375 points, 300 rebounds, 100 assists, 40 blocks, and 20 steals in a single season — joining Johni Broome, who also did it this past year. Only 25 players in Division I history have hit those marks, and Williams is the first to do it in fewer than 1,000 minutes.
“He’s been one of the best passing big men in college for a long time. He’s an elite rebounder. He’s a great guy. He had a wonderful career at Drexel and then stepped it up another level at Kentucky,” Zarren said of Williams, whose 115 total assists this season were the most ever by a 7-footer at Kentucky.
“When you meet him, you’ll see he’s got just an enormous, enormous wingspan. And as you’ll see on the court, if you haven’t seen already, he’s got incredible vision. Those are just key abilities. In the modern NBA, your big guys have to be able to do all sorts of things.”
Like Williams, Shulga is also 23 years old. The Ukrainian native also played five years of college ball — the first three at Utah State (alongside Celtics center Neemias Queta) before finishing up at VCU. He averaged 15.0 points (team high), 4.0 assists (team high), 5.9 rebounds (second), and 1.8 steals (team-high) with the Rams last season, earning Atlantic 10 Player of the Year and his second straight First-Team All-Atlantic 10 selection.
Known for his shooting prowess, Shulga shot 39.2% from three-point range over five college seasons split between VCU and Utah State. His 86 threes (38.7% shooting) last season rank sixth on the program’s single-season list.
“Max is a tough guy who can handle, shoot, and has elite toughness,” said Zarren. “He’s just a winner.”
“We’ve been watching both these guys for a long time,” he added. “They had long college careers and have been very, very successful players everywhere they’ve been. We’ll see how they do at the next level. But they’re both just really, really successful winning college players.”
Both Williams and Shulga are expected to sign two-way contracts. Miles Norris is also under contract on a two-way, while Drew Peterson — signed to a two-way during the 2023-24 season — is a restricted free agent.
The conclusion of the draft won’t slow things down for the Celtics’ front office. Boston dipped roughly $4.5 million under the second apron after trading away Jrue Holiday and Kristaps Porzingis — moves that saved the team over $250 million in salary and tax penalties. But the roster is still far from finished.
Stevens made it clear Wednesday night that he’d like to re-sign Luke Kornet and Al Horford. But unless more salary comes off the books, doing so at market value would put the Celtics right back over the second apron — and they didn’t go under just to turn around and go back in.
“The biggest thing is, as you look at the rest of the team and what we’re trying to do, there’s no question our priorities would be to bring Al and Luke back,” said Stevens. “Those guys are huge parts of this organization. They’re going to have, I’m sure, plenty of options all over the place, and that’s well deserved, but I think that would be a priority. At the same time, I don’t want to put pressure on them. It’s their call ultimately, but yeah, we would love to have those guys back.”
Horford and Kornet can begin negotiating with other teams on Monday. Free agency officially opens July 6.
Anfernee Simons, acquired in the Holiday trade, is set to make $27.6 million this season — making him the fourth-highest-paid player on the team. He’s a prime candidate to be flipped, as is Niang and his $8.2 million salary. Sam Hauser, who enters the first year of his four-year, $45 million extension, has also been a common name in trade discussions.
Derrick White and Jaylen Brown, however, are off limits, despite the pre-draft “reports.”
“Those two guys are really, really great NBA players,” Zarren said. “There hasn’t been anything close to serious about trading them. I’m not sure where all this reporting came from. But those guys are key parts of our team, and we’re lucky to have them here.”
Since taking over the front office in 2021, Stevens’ number one priority has been building the best possible team to compete for a championship. This summer, the circumstances are different. The league is different. But Stevens said new ownership, led by Bill Chisholm, remains committed to spending.
“Our owners, old and new, are committed to spending,” he said. “There are a lot of things that go into these moves and a lot of things that are really important. And again, it goes back to prioritizing our flexibility. I think the second apron basketball penalties are real, and I’m not sure I understood how real until they were staring me in the face in the last month. That can’t be overstated.”
The biggest challenge, as Stevens pointed out, is that their First Team All-NBA cornerstone — Jayson Tatum — is in a boot, recovering from a ruptured Achilles. It’s a brutal blow for a player at the peak of his powers, and it adds another layer of difficulty to an already complex offseason.
Between Tatum’s injury and the financial situation Boston is maneuvering, this is uncharted territory. Still, Stevens made it clear: the goal hasn’t changed. It’s about putting the team in the best position to compete for a championship — and making sure the roster is ready when Tatum is.
“You look at our roster right now today, we’ve got a lot of really good basketball players that have done a lot of good things in this league, and several of them have done a lot of good things here,” Stevens said.
“I expect us to go out and compete and compete with all we’ve got to be the very best we can. And that will always be the case. We’ll do our best to put the right group together and, at the same time, regain some flexibility and maximize some asset return. But I do think we’ve got a good group. We’ve got the foundation with Jaylen (Brown) and Jayson (Tatum) and (Derrick) White and Payton (Pritchard) and all those guys that a lot of teams would love to have.”
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