Brad Stevens remains attentive on the transfer market

Boston is in a comfortable position going into 2024, with the best record in the league, an unbeaten record at home and only 14 players under guaranteed contract, meaning the possibility of recruiting a wild card.

All the lights are indeed green since the integration of Jrue Holiday and Kristaps Porzingis was a success, and even if the Latvian had to go through the infirmary, the Horford-Kornet-Queta trio was able to fully compensate for his absences. As the trade deadline approaches, Brad Stevens, president of basketball operations for the franchise, will remain attentive to any possibility of strengthening his roster, even if he will also have to ensure that the team maintains the current good balance.

As such, he does not necessarily see favorably the contribution of a new position 5, the position at first glance the least filled in Joe Mazzulla's workforce.

“First of all, to add a pivot in the rotation, he will have to be a hell of a player, right? When you think about it, we already have very good players,” did he declare. “We of course have great passages from Kristaps Porzingis. I think Al Horfrod was good, and Luke Kornet and Neemias Queta brought great added value when called upon. If we had to add an additional player, I don’t know if it would add much, also from the point of view of the rotation already in place.”

A promotion for Neemias Queta?

Brad Stevens therefore congratulated Neemias Queta and Luke Kornet for their remarkable contribution when it was necessary to replace KP and/or Big Al. Carried by the positive momentum of the team, they were able to fill what looked like the one of the only weak points of this squad, the lack of depth of its racket.

“They didn’t surprise me,” he added. “They are good players. And when you're surrounded by good players, especially with the backs and wingers that we have, the job is a little easier. When you go to the circle, they're going to throw the ball in the air or throw it to the other open 3-pointer because their own player will be on you. They fulfilled their role well.”

In the end, the 15th spot in the squad could very well go to Neemias Queta, currently on a two-way contract, who has proven that he can do better than help out with 5.3 points and 5.3 rebounds on average over 12 games with the Celtics this season, and could therefore provide a solid additional rotation on the interior, while also paving the way for another interior two-way contract.

“He was very convincing”noted Brad Stevens. “He’s a hard worker. He was a very good player for us. We made him understand that he would be in Boston much more than with the Maine Celtics because Al Horford was going to miss back-to-backs, and Kristaps also a little here and there. We didn't anticipate Luke getting injured in the warm-up two weeks ago. But now that he's back, we feel a little safer on the job. He did a good job and we obviously noticed it.”

For Brad Stevens, it would be more about adding another tall winger. It remains to be found…