Brad Stevens made the transition from being the Boston Celtics' head coach to being their GM. It has been a transition that has worked wonders for the organization.
Stevens helped build the team that won the NBA championship last season. He made the move to trade for both Jrue Holiday and Kristaps Porzingis before last season started.
It's clear that Stevens has done a really good job managing the personnel on the team. He has done the right thing when it comes to building a team that can play together and like each other.
Stevens mentioned that he almost traded the Celtics' best bench player. He revealed that he almost traded Payton Pritchard away before he became one of the best bench players in the league.
“Payton wasn't playing a couple of years ago and that was hard,” said Stevens. “Part of the reason that that was hard was, he did play a lot his first year, didn't play as much his second at the start, and then at the end of the second played more. And so you have that as your foundation. Sometimes when you have that as your foundation, it's a lot more difficult to then go backwards."
Stevens then mentioned that no deal ended up close to happening. In the end, the Celtics re-signed Pritchard to a four-year extension. Now, he is a key part of what the Celtics want to do.
Pritchard acknowledged that he wanted a bigger opportunity, and asking for a trade wasn't hard for him to do.
“At the time, [asking for a trade] wasn't really that hard because I just didn't see a future,” said Pritchard. "I've always said this: It was nothing to do with the city or the organization. I think the organization is top-notch. I think Boston is the best sports city in the world. The best fans and the games are always sold out. As a player, you want to play in a situation like that."
The Celtics are happy that they decided to keep Pritchard. He is going to be a part of their core for years to come.
