While we can't know the mind of Boston Celtics President of Basketball Operations Brad Stevens without him sharing what makes him tick as an NBA executive, his behavior in that role has shown much about how he approaches the job. His predecessor, now- Utah Jazz chief Danny Ainge, would hold out for the best trade possible (and often end up with no deal). Stevens, in contrast, has had more of a "perfect is the enemy of the good" approach to dealing with other front offices.
And that approach was most recently manifest in his trade of Jaylen Brown to the Philadelphia 76ers, a bold move that rankled fans. And while the jury is out on the biggest move yet made by Stevens, his approach continues to have peers up to engage with him. Such is the case
with former Sixers interim president (and current chief of Harris Blitzer Sports and Entertainment, the parent organization that owns the team) Bob Myers, who weighed in on working with Stevens to make a deal in a recent interviewwith the "Cousins" podcast. "(The) Jaylen Brown (trade) was not like, "We lost to the (New York) Knicks and we’re going to go get Jaylen Brown," he explained. "That’s not what happened."
"It just that’s not what happened," emphasized Myers. "You start hearing there was a possibility, and the job then became, 'Is this a real thing with Jaylen Brown? Is it a real thing?'"
"I think Brad Stevens is one of the most straight shooters in the league," said the former Sixers president. "So when you work in the NBA as an executive, you ultimately usually have at least one or two ... I don’t want to say transactions with every other GM. So, if I call, 'Hey, you want to make a deal?,' he might be like, 'Yeah, yeah.' And then he doesn’t."
"It’s like I know you’re not this way, but you have to understand like, he’s honest, or he might tell me what I want to hear, or he might lie to me. This dude just might lie. He lied to me two years ago. He’s going to lie to me again. That’s not Brad Stevens. So, when ... Stevens responded with, 'What are you offering?,' then you knew that there was a shot."
With the worst of the league's current, punitive collective bargaining agreement just starting to wallop cap sheets around the NBA, Stevens could end up looking like a genius for an early, aggressive trade teams across the league may begin to mimic. But if it fails to produce for Boston, that earnest dealing may not be remembered very fondly by fans.
Of the Celtics, anyway.
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This article originally appeared on Celtics Wire: Celtics President Brad Stevens held in high regard for how he handles trades
