How Brad Stevens and Celtics are approaching the NBA Draft

How Brad Stevens and Celtics are approaching the NBA Draft originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston

Brad Stevens is back to business after celebrating the Boston Celtics‘ 18th championship.

The C’s president of basketball operations will resume front-office duties Wednesday night at the 2024 NBA Draft. Boston enters the event with the 30th and 54th overall picks.

Stevens has yet to make a first-round selection during his tenure as Boston’s general manager. However, it appears there’s a strong chance that trend will come to an end.

🔊 Celtics Talk: Championship parade recap, upcoming offseason and an exclusive with Brad Stevens | Listen & Subscribe | Watch on YouTube

“As far as the picks go, if the right person is available at 30, then we’ll take them,” Stevens said during his Tuesday press conference. “If we have a couple of 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.”

As Stevens also noted during his press conference, the second apron makes it difficult for the Celtics to swing trades. Second apron teams can’t send out cash in a trade, aggregate contracts in a trade, take back more incoming money than outgoing money in a trade, or use trade exceptions from prior years, per the league’s Collective Bargaining Agreement.

If the Celtics use their draft picks, whoever they select will have a difficult time cracking the roster. Boston is set to run it back with virtually their entire championship squad. Oshae Brissett, Luke Kornet, and Xavier Tillman are the only C’s players currently set to test free agency.

The 2024 draft tips off Wednesday at 8 p.m. ET.

You can watch Stevens’ full press conference below or on YouTube: