What is Brad Steven's vision of NBA Basketball?

[Jvalin]

My only objection is that he loves undersized guards. Obviously, it ain't easy to find an oversized PnR shot creator at the PG position.

Was that Brad's preference or Danny's?

Are we sure about this or is that just the type of guards that were on the roster?

We cannot possibly know for sure. According to Danny, Brad had a participatory role in roster construction/picks etc.

[Sophomore]

haha
his vision of nba basketball as far as i can gather is to shoot 3's as often as possible whether its a good look or not
so i think ideally he'd trade for steph, klay, and trae young, and bring steve nash, reggie miller and chris jackson out of retirement to be our bench

doug moe can be our new coach

we're gonna get killed on the boards

but we will never shoot 2's

so it should totally work out

For what it’s worth, Boston finished the year 10th in rebounding - and if TT and Rob Williams had been healthy it almost certainly would’ve been higher.

https://www.teamrankings.com/nba/stat/total-rebounding-percentage

[Sophomore]

My only objection is that he loves undersized guards. Obviously, it ain't easy to find an oversized PnR shot creator at the PG position.

Was that Brad's preference or Danny's?

Are we sure about this or is that just the type of guards that were on the roster?

We cannot possibly know for sure. According to Danny, Brad had a participatory role in roster construction/picks etc.

This is something I’d love to know but probably never will. What was Brad’s position on the big decisions the team made over the past few years?

[Roy H.]

My only objection is that he loves undersized guards. Obviously, it ain't easy to find an oversized PnR shot creator at the PG position.

Was that Brad's preference or Danny's?

Are we sure about this or is that just the type of guards that were on the roster?

We cannot possibly know for sure. According to Danny, Brad had a participatory role in roster construction/picks etc.

This is something I’d love to know but probably never will. What was Brad’s position on the big decisions the team made over the past few years?

Since the shakeup apparently started coming together prior to the deadline, I assume that Brad was fully on board with trading for Fournier.

[RockinRyA]

I think Danny values skill more than size, and at the position of where he is picking, you normally cant have both.

You either get raw guys like Robert Williams, Tacko or guys with skills like Edwards or Grant Williams.

If you take a look at his draftees within the top 16 only Yabu is undersized for his position. Nesmith, Langford, Rozier, Smart, Tatum, Brown - All have size at their position while possessing NBA ready skills at draft day.

Edwards was known as a shooter and quite a lot were expecting him to do well. Obviously he didnt, but that doesnt mean they liked him because he was undersized. Waters was not even a regular player, just a 2-way player.

This narrative that Danny prefers undersized players is honestly idiotic.

[ScoobyDoo]

Good question and one we are likely to have an idea of very soon, starting with the Draft and off season.

One thing I would look at to understand what he believes works in the game of basketball, be it college of the NBA, is what did his Butler teams look like? He coached those teams. But before that he specifically constructed those teams in his vision. He took level B players (Hayward was a diamond in the rough...) and built a great "team". That's how they competed.

To me those teams had the following characteristics:

1. Requisite size and length across the board and by position
2. Defensive toughness, physicality and grit across the board as well - similar to the Baylor team this year
3. Ability to shoot threes - athleticism on the wings
4. Ability to put it on the floor a bit - at all five positions

From an article in the Athletic:

And as for what Brad Stevens is now stepping into, what are the biggest challenges he’s facing?

Vardon: Stevens spent quite a bit of time this season, what’s the right word here, complaining about the roster? He hated the idea of having to start Daniel Theis and Tristan Thompson together, there was no depth on the wings, the guards were too small and on and on. The challenge for Stevens is of course to address this and surround his two stars with the right mix to contend again. Can he use the assets Ainge sat on these last two seasons to acquire Bradley Beal? The Wizards don’t seem to think so, but that’s the challenge for Brad. It’s time to spend what Ainge compiled and make a run at the Finals. Soon.

We could add another wing this off season but frankly if we retain Tatum, Brown, Fournier, Nesmith and Langford I think we have enough there. I expect to see more physicality added across the board, but particularly at the 4/5 and 1 spots. 
 

[PhoSita]

Hopefully his philosophy is "gather three All-NBA level players, and surround them with good role players".

Because, that's the model that wins in the NBA.  The system really doesn't matter all that much.

The tricky thing is ... how?

Right now there's no clear way to get that 3rd All-NBA type player.  I mean, Jaylen Brown might not even be quite at that All-NBA level.


Even if Brad is focused on reaching that point, there are so many different ways to go about trying to assemble that kind of talent.  We know Danny's preferred method was to pile up as many assets as he could, making incremental deals to gradually improve his trade pieces, until he was finally in a position to make a big offer for a centerpiece player.  That method worked like gangbusters once, and completely fell apart a second time.

How will Brad prefer to build the team? 

[Roy H.]

Hopefully his philosophy is "gather three All-NBA level players, and surround them with good role players".

Because, that's the model that wins in the NBA.  The system really doesn't matter all that much.

The tricky thing is ... how?

Right now there's no clear way to get that 3rd All-NBA type player.  I mean, Jaylen Brown might not even be quite at that All-NBA level.


Even if Brad is focused on reaching that point, there are so many different ways to go about trying to assemble that kind of talent.  We know Danny's preferred method was to pile up as many assets as he could, making incremental deals to gradually improve his trade pieces, until he was finally in a position to make a big offer for a centerpiece player.  That method worked like gangbusters once, and completely fell apart a second time.

How will Brad prefer to build the team?

I think you need to do what both the Heat and the Nets did:  clear cap space, and hope that you get lucky.  Run it back, but don't offer contracts more than two years, even if you have to overpay in the short term.

If Brad is smart, by the 2023 off-season the only contracts on the books are Tatum, Brown, Nesmith and Pritchard.  That's a bit over $70 million in salary, with a projected $119 million cap.  Embiid is a free agent; maybe he's hoping to pair with a true superstar in Jayson Tatum at that point.

The worst thing to do would be to sign role players to long-term contracts.

[wiley]

1.  Excellent defense

2.  Excellent 3 point shooting

3.  Excellent effort combined with switchability

4.  Lots of ball movement

[fmbl24]

Hopefully his philosophy is "gather three All-NBA level players, and surround them with good role players".

Because, that's the model that wins in the NBA.  The system really doesn't matter all that much.

The tricky thing is ... how?

Right now there's no clear way to get that 3rd All-NBA type player.  I mean, Jaylen Brown might not even be quite at that All-NBA level.


Even if Brad is focused on reaching that point, there are so many different ways to go about trying to assemble that kind of talent.  We know Danny's preferred method was to pile up as many assets as he could, making incremental deals to gradually improve his trade pieces, until he was finally in a position to make a big offer for a centerpiece player.  That method worked like gangbusters once, and completely fell apart a second time.

How will Brad prefer to build the team?

I think you need to do what both the Heat and the Nets did:  clear cap space, and hope that you get lucky.  Run it back, but don't offer contracts more than two years, even if you have to overpay in the short term.

If Brad is smart, by the 2023 off-season the only contracts on the books are Tatum, Brown, Nesmith and Pritchard.  That's a bit over $70 million in salary, with a projected $119 million cap.  Embiid is a free agent; maybe he's hoping to pair with a true superstar in Jayson Tatum at that point.

The worst thing to do would be to sign role players to long-term contracts.

What about Robert Williams? Just let him walk?

[Jvalin]

1.  Excellent defense

2.  Excellent 3 point shooting

3.  Excellent effort combined with switchability

4.  Lots of ball movement

With all due respect, most of these things are generalities which can apply for every team. Is there a vision based on

1. Terrible defense?

2. Terrible 3 point shooting?

3. Terrible effort?

[BruceBanner18]

Hopefully his philosophy is "gather three All-NBA level players, and surround them with good role players".

Because, that's the model that wins in the NBA.  The system really doesn't matter all that much.

The tricky thing is ... how?

Right now there's no clear way to get that 3rd All-NBA type player.  I mean, Jaylen Brown might not even be quite at that All-NBA level.


Even if Brad is focused on reaching that point, there are so many different ways to go about trying to assemble that kind of talent.  We know Danny's preferred method was to pile up as many assets as he could, making incremental deals to gradually improve his trade pieces, until he was finally in a position to make a big offer for a centerpiece player.  That method worked like gangbusters once, and completely fell apart a second time.

How will Brad prefer to build the team?

I think you need to do what both the Heat and the Nets did:  clear cap space, and hope that you get lucky.  Run it back, but don't offer contracts more than two years, even if you have to overpay in the short term.

If Brad is smart, by the 2023 off-season the only contracts on the books are Tatum, Brown, Nesmith and Pritchard.  That's a bit over $70 million in salary, with a projected $119 million cap.  Embiid is a free agent; maybe he's hoping to pair with a true superstar in Jayson Tatum at that point.

The worst thing to do would be to sign role players to long-term contracts.

What about Robert Williams? Just let him walk?

Technically, I think we let him limp, hobble or roll away

[Roy H.]

Hopefully his philosophy is "gather three All-NBA level players, and surround them with good role players".

Because, that's the model that wins in the NBA.  The system really doesn't matter all that much.

The tricky thing is ... how?

Right now there's no clear way to get that 3rd All-NBA type player.  I mean, Jaylen Brown might not even be quite at that All-NBA level.


Even if Brad is focused on reaching that point, there are so many different ways to go about trying to assemble that kind of talent.  We know Danny's preferred method was to pile up as many assets as he could, making incremental deals to gradually improve his trade pieces, until he was finally in a position to make a big offer for a centerpiece player.  That method worked like gangbusters once, and completely fell apart a second time.

How will Brad prefer to build the team?

I think you need to do what both the Heat and the Nets did:  clear cap space, and hope that you get lucky.  Run it back, but don't offer contracts more than two years, even if you have to overpay in the short term.

If Brad is smart, by the 2023 off-season the only contracts on the books are Tatum, Brown, Nesmith and Pritchard.  That's a bit over $70 million in salary, with a projected $119 million cap.  Embiid is a free agent; maybe he's hoping to pair with a true superstar in Jayson Tatum at that point.

The worst thing to do would be to sign role players to long-term contracts.

What about Robert Williams? Just let him walk?

I would, unless he’s a bargain. 

[greg683x]

My only objection is that he loves undersized guards. Obviously, it ain't easy to find an oversized PnR shot creator at the PG position.

Was that Brad's preference or Danny's?

Are we sure about this or is that just the type of guards that were on the roster?

We cannot possibly know for sure. According to Danny, Brad had a participatory role in roster construction/picks etc.

Danny’s been drafting small tweener guards long before Brad was ever here.  Etwan Moore, Delonte West, Tony Allen, Avery Bradley, etc.

Those were all great pics by the way, but undersized guards regardless

[PhoSita]

I think you need to do what both the Heat and the Nets did:  clear cap space, and hope that you get lucky.  Run it back, but don't offer contracts more than two years, even if you have to overpay in the short term.

If Brad is smart, by the 2023 off-season the only contracts on the books are Tatum, Brown, Nesmith and Pritchard.  That's a bit over $70 million in salary, with a projected $119 million cap.  Embiid is a free agent; maybe he's hoping to pair with a true superstar in Jayson Tatum at that point.

The worst thing to do would be to sign role players to long-term contracts.

The Celtics aren't located in Miami or Brooklyn, though.  Seems like that matters.

Also, if the Celts give up on improving (or even maintaining) the roster between now and 2023, that likely means they will spend the next two seasons being a clear cut second or third tier team.  They'll likely have 3 seasons in a row of either missing the playoffs or getting housed by a true contender in the first or second round.

Is a superstar really going to be eager to join that kind of team?

The Heat in 2010 hadn't been particularly good in a while, but the difference there is that apart from being located in South Beach, they also had Pat Riley's championship resume and Wade's experience as a title winner in 2006. 


If you go the "clear cap space and wait" route and you don't really have a great situation ready made for a star or stars to join, you can easily end up like the Knicks (or Mavs pre-Luka).