Brad Stevens' non-answers say it all about Celtics' murky future after Jayson Tatum injury

The Celtics are facing some difficult decisions this summer

The defending champion Boston Celtics were eliminated in the second round of the 2025 NBA playoffs last week by the New York Knicks. Their Game 6 defeat came days after star forward Jayson Tatum underwent surgery to repair a torn Achilles tendon, an injury that will keep him out for the majority, if not all, of next season. 

Where do the Celtics go from here? During an end-of-season press conference on Monday, Brad Stevens, the team's president of basketball operations, didn't provide many answers. 

"I think the majority of this will, from my standpoint, focus on what we just went through -- the season and everything else," Stevens said. "And I know there will be a lot of questions about what's next, but I'll talk probably more about that at the draft when we have a better idea, after meeting with all the key stakeholders and everybody else, about what the next steps might be.

"At the end of the day, I think that will all be driven by the same thing that's always driven us, and that is: How do we get ourselves in the mix to compete for championships best? And I think that we'll have more clarity as we take a deep breath, get a little bit more sleep than we have had [the] last three nights and then figure out how to be the best version of ourselves here moving forward."

Even before Tatum's injury or losing to the Knicks, the Celtics were facing a tricky offseason due to a historic payroll and second-apron restrictions. Now that there's a good chance they'll be without Tatum for all of next season, this summer is significantly more complicated. 

No executive is going to come right out and give away their plans during a press conference, but Stevens' parade of non-answers on Monday said all there is to know about the Celtics' future: it's extremely murky.

For months, it has been an open secret that the Celtics were going to make some sort of changes this offseason. While all of their key figures, save for Al Horford and Luke Kornet, are under contract for next season, their total cost to keep the roster together, between payroll and luxury tax payments, would be over $500 million. 

What's next for Celtics? Three trades Boston could explore with core players potentially on the move

Sam Quinn

"I can tell you that the rest of the league is bracing for some level of change to come to the Celtics from their roster this offseason," Shams Charania reported on May 1. "Sources have been telling me for weeks now that the Celtics will be exploring trade options in the offseason. This iteration is just not gonna be sustainable for this team, and no one around the organization would be surprised if changes there are coming to this roster.

"When you think about the collective bargaining agreement, there are restrictions that come with changes, restrictions that come with freezing draft picks," Charania continued. "That's all the stuff they're dealing with right now... the Celtics knew when they traded for Jrue Holiday that they'd be staring at this in the face this summer."

All of the Celtics' plans for this summer were made assuming that they would have Tatum -- who is expected to soon be named to the All-NBA First Team for a fourth consecutive season -- leading the way. Without him, there's certainly no reason for new Celtics owner Bill Chisholm to pay over $500 million to keep this roster together. 

"The North Star is to have a championship contender," Stevens said on Monday. 

After a catastrophic few days, charting that path forward is going to be more difficult than ever.