Brad Stevens' Plan For The Celtics Roster Is Exactly What Every Fan Should Want To Hear

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Those two tweets should be music to every Celtics fans ears. If you're like me and was curious what Brad's plan of action would be to improve this team now that he's in charge, he gave us a pretty clear answer through his actions at the draft and then that press conference

We've already seen Brad act in ways that Ainge probably never would have. First trading Kemba AND a precious draft pick, then the reports that he's looking to hire an actual GM as opposed to just doing the job himself, this latest path is another example. Brad knows the youth movement when it comes to this team's depth cannot be the way forward. That's why he didn't waste a roster spot on another young player and instead went with a promising player who will stay overseas. It's why he talked about adding players with edge "and experience" to round out the roster. Both of those things should make you happy if you root for this team.

It's no secret what this team's second unit was last year and really the past two seasons. There were too many guys with guaranteed roster spots that weren't giving you actual NBA production. Last year the vets brought in to help didn't exactly work out despite one going on to win a ring with someone else. There is a glaring need for experienced NBA talent to round out this roster and it's reassuring to know that Brad recognizes that. Who he brings in is anyone's guess, but at least we know their mindset as we head into free agency. Maybe that's trading Tristan Thompson to the Kings for someone like Delon Wright now that they have 100000 point guards and the Celts need some veteran help in that position that isn't a league minimum guy barely hanging on. 

Barring any sort of trades that we can't predict where maybe you need to fill more spots, I think we can all agree that the combination of Semi/Carsen/Jabari/Kornet have their guaranteed roster spot up for grabs. I'm going to hold off putting someone like Moses Brown or Grant in that group at this stage, because I think the Celts are intrigued with both. But it wouldn't shock me if we see Brad end up with 3-4 roster spots to fill/upgrade this offseason, and he's telling us that they know the team needs guys with experience to fill those roles. You could argue that the Celts getting even slightly better bench help with real NBA players would make a gigantic difference when you pair it with the development of their young rotation bench players in Romeo/Nesmith/Pritchard. The issue was anytime Tatum or Jaylen went to the bench, things went to shit because they simply didn't have good enough players. That's correctable, and I think last night was a step in that direction. Brad basically told us it was. 

In looking at that group of 4 guys, here is where they all stand

Semi - free agent

Carsen - under contract

Kornet - free agent

Jabari - nonguaranteed deal 

Then you factor in any potential trade that might happen where the Celts use the Hayward TPE slot (or even Kemba's) and there could be more spots to fill depending on what those packages are. 

Given that he just had to coach this team, if anyone knows what this roster needs, it's probably Brad. Maybe this is also a look at how he views things different from Ainge. Ainge didn't want to package those end of bench picks for established talent, and it didn't work. Now Brad is in charge and he's essentially saying this roster needs established talent. Now let's see him go get it.