Brad Stevens Explains How Celtics Are Approaching NBA Draft

The Boston Celtics currently are scheduled to make two picks in the 2024 NBA Draft: No. 30 and No. 54 overall.

Celtics president of basketball operations Brad Stevens has been known to de-emphasize first-round picks. The Celtics have yet to make a pick in the opening round of the draft in Stevens’ front office tenure.

This year, Stevens is open to keeping the first-round pick but also would not be opposed to moving off of it if an opportunity to better Boston’s roster comes up.

“As far as the picks go, if the right person is available at 30, then we’ll take them,” Stevens told reporters, per MassLive’s Souichi Terada. “If we have a couple people that we think are still the right person, then we’ll see what our options are and what kind of flexibility we have. I anticipate picking a couple picks, whether they’re on roster or two-way, and investing in young players. If they come in and crack our rotation, then they’re really good. And that’ll be a good thing, too.”

The Celtics do have a championship roster as they did take home the Larry O’Brien Trophy in 2024. As of right now, one of the only players testing out his options in free agency is Oshae Brissett.

With most of the Celtics’ roster returning, any incoming rookie will have a tough time cracking Boston’s 2024-25 roster.

“Specifically to this year, we got a lot of guys back,” Stevens said. “It’ll be hard for any draft pick to crack our rotation when healthy. And so, we’ll think about how we can best continue to invest in our young players and their development and growth. If we’re able to continue to move forward with this group, these guys are going to be on the court. This’ll be a good opportunity to bring in somebody who can help us down the road.”