Don't expect Boston Celtics president of basketball operations Brad Stevens to win another NBA Executive of the Year award after the 2025-26 season.
Just 14 months removed from winning the 2024 NBA championship, the Celtics are just a shell of that championship squad. And according to The Athletic NBA Insider David Aldridge, the Celtics had the worst offseason of any NBA team.
"The second apron ran like a scythe through the Celtics’ dreams of an extended run atop the East," Aldridge wrote. "While Boston awaits Jayson Tatum’s return, likely for the 2026-27 season, it will have to figure out who will ride with Tatum, (Jaylen) Brown and (presumably) Derrick White going forward. Is (Anfernee) Simons part of the retooling, or will he be flipped for more payers and picks? (Luka) Garza isn’t without offensive talent, but he’s a couple of steps down, obviously, from (Kristaps Porzingis). (Hugo) Gonzalez projects as a solid if not spectacular wing. It’s going to be bleak in Beantown for a minute."
In fairness to Stevens, who won the NBA Executive of the Year in 2023-24, the dismantling of Boston's core was by design in order for the team to avoid the tax penalties of maintaining last year's payroll. They had to shed the salaries of Jrue Holiday, Porzingis, and Luke Kornet to get below the second apron, and they didn't have a lot of flexibility to fill roster holes.
Tatum's devastating injury, an Achilles' tendon tear, in the playoff series loss to the Knicks, expedited the rebuilding process, as the Celtics saw little chance of becoming a championship in 2025-26 without their best player.
Still, Aldridge is not confident in the team's ability to make do with the returning talent, led by Brown and White.
Technically, the Celtics are ranked 29th among 30 NBA teams for offseason performance, since the Golden State Warriors earned an "Incomplete." However, Aldridge states that is solely because the team has yet to finalize a contract for Jonathan Kuminga, in which case the Warriors will leapfrog the Celtics.
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