I was having a hard time seeing how this team was going to be championship caliber before the trade. I can see how that might happen now, if the picks fall right, and if the extra money is used well in a couple of years. This feels more like letting some Tatum career time go by though. I always did appreciate that Brown tried to develop some sophistication in his social analysis and be forthright about all that in words and actions. We need more of that from people. Whether I agree with him or not on a particular topic is just detail.
I don't think we'll have to wait half a decade to get the full fruition of the trade and first round draft picks.
It's the cap flexibility that they gained as having two max contract players back to back is difficult if not impossible to sustain.
Paul George fills that other max salary slot for next season but I can see him being traded by the 2027/28 season and at that point they'll have money to spend (as you point out) either on an extension on a traded player or potentially go shopping for someone in free agency if they can trade him without taking on another big contract in return.
It is unfortunate that we have another gap year in Tatum's prime- that's what this past season was too, though they still gave us a great regular season - and who knows, if some of the young players step up and we get more from the Center position during crunch time, they could be just as good - but not a contender until they have their desired 2nd Max player (hopefully a C) with space between that contract and Tatum's.
As much as Stevens bemoaned the Jays potentially counting for 70% of the cap, they may eventually be back up to that but as long as the extensions are staggered, it's workable from a player continuity and luxury tax perspective
I think Stevens was also factoring in the fact that there's a handful of stacked teams right now (including the Sixers now) but they'll have their own cap challenges in a year or two and might have to be dumping salary themselves. The CBA is really set up to create a degree of parity for all teams, navigating a purposefully designed luxury tax that allows teams to overspend for a time, until it just becomes too onerous
So part of Steven staggering our Max players of the present and future, is also meant to stagger the Celtics ability to peak when other teams are on their way down - which makes more sense than mortgaging the future to contend NOW against the Knicks, Heat, Sixers (and that's just the East!)
Add to that, the first round picks we gained, plus the way they use their current picks to stockpile raw young players with HUGE upside - who should also be beginning to peak by the time we're out of this "gap" period, and Stevens actually has us in a position to draft multiple, hopefully high, draft picks who are more likely to be game-ready out of college, and you've got the makings of 2 guys on Max/Supermax deals surrounded by a bunch of FUTURE Max guys but who will be on controlled, relatively cheap, contracts for a half decade themselves (i.e. think Pritchard who has and continues to be underpaid, but that's how the CBA works)
In five years, when we get that Sixers unprotected pick, it could even be a lottery pick, and with the change in how they run the lottery, that could be a HUGE pickup for the Cs if Saint Red Auerbach can works some magic! So that should get us some game ready rookies and stars of the future too if he drafts well. As we've seen, for now, Stevens is drafting for the future - not the upcoming season.
For now he's smart to draft guys like Cenac, who needs G-league time now in the gap year, but in 3-5 years will hopefully have developed into a starter or key bench player at least, as one of many similar picks Stevens is fond of making, finding value in 2nd round picks
Time will tell, but I see what Stevens is trying to do, and it's smart and logical, if not painful to see the team possibly take a step back next year before taking some giant leaps in the future
All of these grand plans can get thrown off by a big injury as we all know, so fingers crossed.
In a weird way, the Celtics needed to get out of the back to back extensions for the Jays no matter what, but Tatum's injury made Steven's previous plans irrelevant - and he was actually smart enough to use that unintended gap year to reboot the salary cap/luxury tax and make it work to his long term advantage.
If it does work, we'll be looking back to what on the surface is going down as one of the worst trades of all time. And in a way, it is, but today's game, unlike the games of the past, are as much a product of cap and salary management as it is on simply putting together a good team and then paying to keep them together.
That's just not allowed by the CBA/Luxury tax structure any more, and while parity is no doubt a goal, Stevens is trying to be smart to see if he can create a financially sustainable dynasty, as well as one that can truly PLAY as a TEAM - and I think the notion that JB might not like no longer being the main option, can't be easily dismissed, as Stevens doesn't want to have a HUGE financial commitment to a guy who is not on the same page as the coach and GM, let alone his teammates.
media0.giphy.com 
