As the 2023-24 season progressed, Celtics GM Brad Stevens already started preparing for the following season, as he could tell early on that he had a special group on his hands.

In doing so, Stevens re-signed Jrue Holiday and Payton Pritchard on four-year extensions during the season. He was also able to get Kristaps Porzingis to take an early hometown discount at $60 million over two years.

After winning the Finals, Stevens was able to re-sign Jayson Tatum to the largest contract in NBA history, Derrick White, Sam Hauser, Luke Kornet, Neemis Queta, and Xavier Tillman.

Stevens understands the workings of a great team and how important the continuity is for the team, as he explained to Adam Himmelsbach The Boston Globe.

“Any time you get a group that fits together, that accentuates each other, that kind of know who they are and what they bring to the table, I think you want to try to keep that.”

That said, Stevens also understands that they need to always be improving the team if they can. He says that they always have their eyes open for ways to improve the team moving forward.

“We have to keep our eyes on, especially early in the year, because even the same group can be a totally new thing in a new season. So we have to keep an eye on, where are we, really? And do we need to improve? Do we need to make subtle changes? Do we need to make big changes? We’ll just always keep our eye on that.”

The Celtics will likely enter the season with an open roster spot. Stevens likes the flexibility it provides should an injury happen, they’ll be able to add someone with ease.

It’s worth mentioning that Anton Watson filled the final two-way contract for Boston, joining JD Davison and Drew Peterson. Stevens says to Himmelsbach that he’d like to sign some more Exhibit-10 players that will play in Maine.

“We’re still looking to sign a couple of Exhibit- 10s that their most likely path will be to play in Maine. But we’ll see.”

The Celtics have had a busy offseason after winning the Finals. With bringing back 13 of 15 players, Boston’s in position to land back in the Finals.

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Photo Credit: Maddie Malhotra, Getty Images