What Brad Stevens has in mind for the final spot on the Celtics roster Originally appeared in NBC Sports Boston
The Boston Celtics’ 2024-25 roster will be nearly identical to the group that brought Banner 18 to TD Garden. Celtics president of basketball operations Brad Stevens Re-signed almost all of its free agents, exercised the team option on Sam Hauserand tattooed stars jayson tatum and Derrick Blanco to lucrative contract extensions.
Baylor Scheierman, Boston’s first pick in the NBA Draft, is the only newcomer so far and gives the C’s 14 players under contract. That leaves an empty roster spot with 2024 champions Oshae Brissett and Svi Mykhailiuk still unsigned.
Stevens He addressed his approach to the final roster spotand specifically Brissett’s free agency on Wednesday.
“We have to take into account what the last spot on the roster might need,” he told reporters at the Celtics’ Summer League game in Las Vegas. “Oshae had a fantastic year with us, not only when he got the opportunity to play on the court as a teammate and as a person. Obviously, in his place, there might be a desire to play more. I always want to be respectful of that.”
“We loved having Oshae and as far as how we fill out the rest of the roster, we kept 14 players for most of last year and then added two at the end of the year. We’ll see how the next few months play out as far as player availability. Obviously, Kristaps (Porzingis) will have a long rehab process ahead of him and we have to determine what the best need is for our team at that No. 15 spot. Both Oshae and Svi, to me, are good NBA players that, whether it’s here or somewhere else, fit well on any team. They’re terrific people.”
Brissett chose to terminate his contract Before NBA free agency opened in June, the 26-year-old forward was productive as a reserve during the Celtics’ title run but could look to join a team that can offer him more playing time. His minutes per game fell from 16.7 with the Indiana Pacers in 2022-23 to 11.5 with Boston in 2023-24.
Last season, the Celtics held the No. 15 roster spot open until April, when they converted center Neemias Queta’s two-way contract to a standard deal. Barring injuries, Stevens and Co. could take a similar approach with the roster spot during the 2024-24 campaign.
The Celtics re-signed J.D. Davison and Drew Peterson to two-way contracts earlier this summer. Second-round draft pick Anton Watson is expected to fill the third and final two-way spot.
