Celtics’ Brad Stevens Gives Outlook On Grant Williams, Payton Pritchard

The Celtics face what likely could be a pivotal offseason after falling short of their quest of an NBA championship.

President of basketball operations Brad Stevens held a news conference Thursday to assess Boston’s Game 7 loss to the Miami Heat in the Eastern Conference finals and to give an early outlook on the offseason to come.

Grant Williams and Payton Pritchard’s futures also are in doubt. The latter wants a trade out of Boston if he is not guaranteed playing time, according to The Athletic on Thursday. And Williams can sign a one-year, $8.5 million qualifying offer and become a restricted free agent, but the Celtics might be in for a bidding war if other teams express sharp interest in the 24-year-old.

“(Grant) is a good player who was on a really deep team,” Stevens told reporters, per The Boston Globe. “We’re big fans of his. I thought he … did a lot of good things when he got the opportunity.”

On Pritchard, Stevens added: “I really feel for a guy like him because there are guys that work at it and there are guys that are obsessed with it. He’s obsessed … that’s kind of his personality.”

Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown urged Mazzulla to play Williams during the final stretch of the season, according to The Athletic, so it’s clear the four-year forward is a valuable member of the locker room. But his inconsistent minutes would set a line for a price tag on Williams.

Boston has a crowded backcourt with Brogdon, Marcus Smart and Derrick White. If one of those players is traded, that could open up more minutes for Pritchard, but he would need to prove he can be a valuable contributor in the postseason first.

Despite reported internal issues and players like Malcolm Brogdon highlighting areas of concern, Stevens backed head coach Joe Mazzulla and believed he could get better in his second season. NBA rules prohibited Stevens from speaking in detail, but he expressed the team’s desire to bring back Jaylen Brown, who is eligible to sign a five-year, $295 million supermax contract this offseason.

The focus among fans and pundits has been on whether or not Boston should keep Brown, but the C’s have other areas of concern, too. Stevens and the front office will have to fill up the rest of Mazzulla’s staff with three assistants reportedly expected to leave to join Ime Udoka on the Houston Rockets.

Stevens was his usual calm and collected self, but the Celtics’ path to an 18th championship next season could hinge on the president of basketball operations making the right moves this offseason.

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