Is anyone surprised at Brads off-season moves?

[cman88]

I honestly thought after game 7 Brad would just run it back this year with the same roster.

But instead he's taken a flamethrower to it and radically changed the roster, adding KP and Jrue and trading away fan favorites like Smart/Rob, letting grant walk.

Brad/wyc must really have been disgusted with what they saw against Miami and a major shakeup was needed around brown/tatum

[kraidstar]

I was most disturbed by our choking tendencies against Miami etc. Has this been addressed?

I've branded Smart the "choker in chief" before on this site. That's not to lay all the blame at his feet,
but I do think he was a major factor.  But Holiday has had his issues as well. And we have little info on how Porzingis will react in high pressure situations.

My fear is not just for our lack of depth and for Porzingis's health. Have we truly corrected the psychological issues on this club?

[gouki88]

After the Porzingis deal, anything was on the table. Brad is bold as anything!

[Kernewek]

I am surprised, but mostly because we shipped out some guys I liked for some guys I'm less keen on (specifically swapping Smart for Kristaps).

Like JPotter, I think, put it in another thread: the roster moves seem to be a sign that he's leaning in/investing in his head coach. I'm less hostile to Joe than most of the board, and obviously Stevens wants to win a ring, but I'm not sure most head coaches make enough of an impact to warrant prioritising them over the players.

[cman88]

I was most disturbed by our choking tendencies against Miami etc. Has this been addressed?

I've branded Smart the "choker in chief" before on this site. That's not to lay all the blame at his feet,
but I do think he was a major factor.  But Holiday has had his issues as well. And we have little info on how Porzingis will react in high pressure situations.

My fear is not just for our lack of depth and for Porzingis's health. Have we truly corrected the psychological issues on this club?

I think that's the main question. I'm of the opinion our issues have mainly been mental and not due to talent the last couple of years.

Our issues during last year's playoffs were rather similar to the year before. End of game offensive woes, not taking teams seriously. Coming out flat.

Does this change that? Hopefully it does.

[cman88]

I am surprised, but mostly because we shipped out some guys I liked for some guys I'm less keen on (specifically swapping Smart for Kristaps).

Like JPotter, I think, put it in another thread: the roster moves seem to be a sign that he's leaning in/investing in his head coach. I'm less hostile to Joe than most of the board, and obviously Stevens wants to win a ring, but I'm not sure most head coaches make enough of an impact to warrant prioritising them over the players.

I'm not sure it's leaning into the head coach more than it's just Brad has seen enough with this core.

There's only so many times you can "almost" get there but watch the same issues rear their head and keep losing with the same mix.

I think losing to Miami the way we did was the last straw. We showed great fight after going down 3-0. But that game 7 at home and that's how you come out?

We also need to win because you don't want a LeBron or Embiid situation where guys start thinking of leaving. Nothing is certain.

So I see why Brad did it. Opted for more high end talent. 3 all stars and a fringe all-star in the starting lineup. Hopefully it's enough to get them over the hump.

[boscel33]

I hated the Smart pick when we drafted him and couldn't stand his play style.  I loved the RWill pick but he could stay on the court.

Something had to give, and I love the attempts at a shakeup.  This is for real, JB's and JT's team.  I just hope, this is more for the long term and not a one and doner championship push like the Miami Marlins of old.

[Kernewek]

I am surprised, but mostly because we shipped out some guys I liked for some guys I'm less keen on (specifically swapping Smart for Kristaps).

Like JPotter, I think, put it in another thread: the roster moves seem to be a sign that he's leaning in/investing in his head coach. I'm less hostile to Joe than most of the board, and obviously Stevens wants to win a ring, but I'm not sure most head coaches make enough of an impact to warrant prioritising them over the players.

I'm not sure it's leaning into the head coach more than it's just Brad has seen enough with this core.

There's only so many times you can "almost" get there but watch the same issues rear their head and keep losing with the same mix.

I think losing to Miami the way we did was the last straw. We showed great fight after going down 3-0. But that game 7 at home and that's how you come out?

We also need to win because you don't want a LeBron or Embiid situation where guys start thinking of leaving. Nothing is certain.

So I see why Brad did it. Opted for more high end talent. 3 all stars and a fringe all-star in the starting lineup. Hopefully it's enough to get them over the hump.

I suspect there's a lot of truth to what you're saying, and it's possible that a new supporting cast for our two superstars alleviates the lapses into passivity, but I still think fundamentally this team goes as far as Jaylen and Jayson can take us - same as it ever was, in that regard.

[ozgod]

I honestly thought after game 7 Brad would just run it back this year with the same roster.

But instead he's taken a flamethrower to it and radically changed the roster, adding KP and Jrue and trading away fan favorites like Smart/Rob, letting grant walk.

Brad/wyc must really have been disgusted with what they saw against Miami and a major shakeup was needed around brown/tatum

Not when you look at what he has one since he has been in the job:

2021-22
IN: Al Horford, Sam Hauser, Luke Kornet, Derrick White
OUT: Kemba Walker, Tristan Thompson, Evan Fournier, Romeo Langford, Juan Hernangomez, Daniel Theis
IN AND OUT: Moses Brown, Justin Jackson, Jabari Parker, Ryan Arcidiacono, Garrison Mathews, Chris Clemons, Justin Jackson, Bol Bol, PJ Dozier, Dennis Schroder, Enes Kanter, Bruno Fernando

2022-23
IN: Malcolm Brogdon, Danilo Gallinari, Mfiondu Kabengele, Blake Griffin, Mike Muscala, Justin Champagnie, JD Davison
OUT: Malik Fitts, Juwan Morgan, Nik Stauskas, Daniel Theis, Aaron Nesmith, Justin Jackson
IN AND OUT: Bruno Caboclo, Noah Vonleh

2023-24
IN: Kristaps Porzingis, Jordan Walsh, Oshae Brissett, Dalano Banton, Svi Mykhailiuk
OUT: Marcus Smart, Danilo Gallinari, Mike Muscala, Grant Williams, Malcolm Brogdon

I'm not even including the players who were part of draft day trades or the filler that never spent a day here. He's been one of the most active GMs for a contending team if you look at his history. He's not afraid to shake things up. He's also got a good awareness of player value, where he trades for people who might cause fans (who are all focused on what players bring to the team) to scratch their heads, but later on that player becomes part of a big trade to match salaries or to get back a draft pick. He's not afraid to reach out but also to change things if he doesn't think it will work out.

https://www.basketball-reference.com/executives/stevebr99x.html

[Roy H.]

I was pretty surprised to see Smart go.  I'm also surprised to see the team double-down on four guys making $35+ million with the second apron upcoming.

But, I'm thrilled by the trades.  And I love the additions to the bench.  I'm less impressed by retaining our head coach (although I understand wanting continuity) and I would have preferred more reliable free agent additions.

[Vermont Green]

My reactions vary.  Trading one of Smart, White, Brogdon for a big to me was a very logical trade.  We had a surplus of Combo Guards and not enough bigs.  I and others had posted about this plenty before the trade.  So this one did not surprise me at all, in fact just the opposite, I was expecting it.  I thought it was a great trade.  Essentially Smart and filler for Porzingis and two firsts.  Great trade.

I was similarly not surprised that we let Grant move on.  For the Celtics, he was going to be our 4th big behind Porzingis, Williams, Horford.  You can't pay your 4th big $53M.  On DAL, apparently he is part of their core starting rotation.  We'll see how he does with that.  With Kyrie and Doncic handling the ball, he should be able to sit in the corner and shoot 3s.  That is pretty much his whole game, or at least it has been up to this point.

I was very surprised that we ended up with Jrue Holiday.  I never expected MIL to trade him for Lillard, that was a total surprise, and even then, I did not think we would be the team to get him.  Funny, I feel like we overpaid some for him, just like I felt after the Derrick White trade.  But that Brad Stevens was willing to trade heavy for a player he wants, that is not a surprise as he did it for White and that worked out.

[SHAQATTACK]

Not surprising .  It was a mature logical move that needed doing , not ignoring.  Taking three fan favorites , I liked all three too, and doing the right thing  for the franchise was big boy moves . The injury bug to TL and Brogdon and Smarts game had grown stale for a while now. Much as I hated it , they all needed to go to reset the Celtics .   Glade to see Brad has grown up as a GM and is pushing the team out of a funk with new faces .  I have a more positive outlook as a fan for this season.

The coaching situation is in a stop gag mode .  Hopefully it will work out better this year.  I don’t think the coaching situation is anywhere near “fixed” , maybe patched up for now.

[RodyTur10]

Last year I made a short list of 33 names who made sense to me to make the All Star team based on both traditional as advanced metrics and availability. The Celtics now have four (!!!) of them (Holiday, Brown, Tatum, Porzingis), while White wasn't too far off that list either. No other team has more than two. It's truly incredible.

Trader Brad is getting sh*t done! Even at the cost of fan favorites. I love what Smart and Timelord have done and wish them much success with their new teams. With Pritchard, Hauser and Horford we have perfect role players to stretch te court, while our stars drive relentlessly to the rim.

Nuggets (Murray and Jokic), Bucks (Lillard and Antetokounmpo) and Suns (Booker and Durant) will be strong top-end competition, but this team again has a serious shot at the Championship.

[PAOBoston]

I applaud him for being willingto shake it up and not keep running it back. Ainge used to be like that, not afraid of making moves. I don’t know if this works out or not but I’ll give the guy credit for analyzing and trying to learn and change things up based off prior failures. 

[jbpats]

I applaud him, i think Brad has a 'soft' demeanor about him but deep down he is cut throat. Whether or not these moves work is obviously still TBD, but running it back with the same roster was not an option to me and clearly Brad felt the same way.

As a coach people actually said he was sort of hard on his players which is the opposite of that he portrays in his day to day with the fans and media.