Las Vegas – The Boston Celtics Summer League team held its first practice in Las Vegas on Thursday ahead of Friday night’s Summer League opener against the Toronto Raptors at 9 p.m. ET.
Also at UNLV for the practice session was Joe Mazzulla, who met with the media for the first time since Boston’s Game 7 loss to the Philadelphia 76ers in the first round of the playoffs and for the first time since the stunning trade that sent Jaylen Brown to those same 76ers in exchange for Paul George, two first-round picks, and two second-round picks.
“Just still processing it,” Mazzulla said when asked about the trade. “Obviously, when something like that happens, it's not a black-and-white type of thing. There's a ton of stuff that goes into it on and off the court. The part that I hope gets talked about more, and the part that we want to focus on the most, is really just the respect, the appreciation, and the gratitude for what he did for the Celtics for 10 years. He's a Celtic longer than I have been; he was there before me. He set the tone and started that, and was a part of special things, and continued that. And obviously, was one of the biggest reasons why we were able to be as successful as we have been. So that, to me, is what we have to focus on more: the respect as a competitor and the gratitude for what he's done.”
Mazzulla spent seven seasons with Brown in Boston, including the last four as his head coach. Mazzulla says his time with Brown made him a better coach.
“He made me a better coach. I know that for a fact,” he said. “The way he pushed me, the way he pushed himself, the way he pushed the locker room, he made me a better coach, and that’s what you focus on.”
When Brad Stevens addressed the trade last week, he acknowledged it would be unpopular. Brown is only 29 and already ranks 10th in franchise history with 13,474 career points and seventh in postseason scoring. His 674 regular-season games are the 15th-most in Celtics history, while his 142 playoff appearances rank seventh. He also won Eastern Conference Finals MVP and NBA Finals MVP just two years ago while helping deliver Banner 18.
Brown is coming off arguably the best season of his career, averaging career highs of 28.7 points, 6.9 rebounds, and 5.1 assists. Only Larry Bird (three times) and John Havlicek (1970-71) have previously reached those marks in a season for the Celtics. Brown also finished sixth in MVP voting while leading Boston to 56 wins and the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference as Jayson Tatum rehabbed from a torn Achilles.
Still, Stevens pointed to the need for “optionality, and the challenges of roster building given Brown’s contract and usage as reasons for making the move. Mazzulla said he wasn’t involved in the decision.
“Not input. Brad comes to you and talks to you and gives you a breakdown and an understanding,” he said. “In moments like this, obviously, there's great alignment within the organization, and there's conversations that are always going to be had. But I think in moments like this, this is where you just listen, you trust, and you have an understanding for what they do. I think Brad [is one of] the absolute best at what he does, and there's just a level of trust that you have.”
Now, it’s up to Mazzulla to figure out how the Celtics move forward after such a dramatic roster shakeup. One thing he made clear: there is no replacing Brown.
“Every time something like this happens, it's like, how are you going to replace? You're not going to,” Mazzulla said. “Obviously, not only what he's done in his career, but what he did this year, you don't replace that. And I think that's where it's not a black-and-white thing, right? There are two sides. There's obviously a relationship there, and there are things there, but there are two sides to it. We also brought in people, right? And so, we have to have an understanding that we're not asking anybody who comes back, whether it's free agency, whether it's trade, whatever, to be anything what he was, because we're not going to do that. But they have to be the best version of themselves, and they have to bring things to our team to try and help us become a better team.”
Along with George, who may be past his prime but still showed he can contribute by averaging 16.4 points while shooting 45.8% from the field and 49.3% from three-point range during last season’s playoffs, the Celtics also added Mitchell Robinson, who was arguably the best big man on the market this season, and veteran guard Mike Conley.
Mazzulla said the focus isn’t on having the newcomers fit Boston’s old identity, but on building a new one together.
“Well, I mean, one, they're bringing something in from [their] end,” Mazzulla said. “I mean, obviously, with Mitch's ability to protect the rim, his ability to rebound on both ends of the floor, his ability to change the game. We all know part of our game plan was to try and get him off the floor as much as we could because of how effective that he was. He'll bring in something different. And the same thing with Paul George. He brings in experience. He's been in the league for such a long time, and Mike brings in experience being around great coaches, being around a great organization, other great players, and his leadership. So, it's not about them having to come to our identity; it's about us coming together, and how can we create a collective identity to try to go after something.”
