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It wasn’t until just a few minutes before 2 a.m. early Friday morning that Boston Celtics president of basketball operations Brad Stevens met with the media following the 2023 NBA Draft. It was an eventful night for Stevens and the Celtics that included four (!) draft night trades, as the Celtics finished the night selecting Arkansas forward Jordan Walsh with the 38th pick in the draft and acquiring four future second-round picks.
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Despite the business of the draft, the attention was shifted elsewhere during that early morning conversation, as all eyes turned to the blockbuster deal that unfolded Wednesday evening that sent Kristaps Porzingis to Boston and Marcus Smart to Memphis.
Stevens spoke at length about Smart, while also singing the praises of Porzingis. Here is what stood out from Stevens’ comments on Friday morning.
Farewell to Marcus Smart
Shortly after joining the Celtics organization in 2014, Smart quickly established himself as the heart and soul of the team. Having spent the last nine seasons together, the decision to move on from Smart was a tough one for Stevens, as evidenced by his emotions when discussing Smart on Friday morning.
“It was really hard… We’re all really grateful to have had Marcus in our life as long as we have had. We’re sad to see him go,” said an emotional Stevens.
“It was really hard to do. He’ll always have Boston for sure,” Stevens added.
Stevens added the decision to move on from Smart came in an effort to try to balance the roster. The Celtics had a logjam at guard a season ago with Smart, Derrick White, Malcolm Brogdon and Payton Pritchard, while front court depth was a need, and one they filled by acquiring Porzingis.
“I thought that we needed to balance our roster and make sure that we looked at the best ways to do that. And that meant that we were going to likely lose a really, really, really good player,” Stevens said.
High praise for Kristaps Porzingis
The Celtics have had their eyes set on Porzingis for a few years now and they finally landed him. Stevens had high praise for the 27-year-old big man. Stevens mentioned multiple times that Porzingis continues to improve and get better and better each season, which is what stood out to him.
Stevens expressed his intrigue in the lineups the Celtics could use with Porzingis in the fold.
“Kristaps can play with any combination of our players,” Stevens said. “He brings a lot to our team.”
With Porzingis in the final year of his deal, extension talks between him and the Celtics are expected to begin next month. When asked about a potential extension and if he envisions Porzingis in Celtic green long term, Stevens said, “I hope so… He’s a guy we think can certainly be a really good player.”
Porzingis appeared in 65 games last season, his most since the 2016 season. The 7-foot-3 big averaged a career-high 23.2 points per game while adding 8.4 rebounds per game. Stevens also noted the threat Porzingis provides in the post, which is something the Celtics have lacked for many years.
Optimism surrounding Malcolm Brogdon’s health
It was concerns about an injury to Malcolm Brogdon that killed the original three-team Porzingis deal between the Celtics, Wizards and Clippers, with ESPN’s Brian Windhorst calling the injury to the 30-year old guard “significant.”
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Brogdon revealed at the end of the season that he would consider surgery to repair the partially torn tendon in his elbow, but it appears the Celtics and Brogdon could be avoiding the surgery.
“Our doctors and him have been really consistent with he’s felt better and better and better,” Stevens said.
“It’s going to be monitored. If they need to go in and do that [surgery], then he can choose to, but he can also choose not to.”
Despite the possibility of surgery still on the table, Stevens expressed his confidence that Brogdon will be ready to go at the start of the season.
“We’re very confident that he will be on the court and be good,” said Stevens.