Brad Stevens leaves door open for Celtics buying at trade deadline

The Celtics were not supposed to look like this.

Boston sits with the 10th-best record in the league through its first 26 games, a result few expected after Jayson Tatum tore his Achilles last spring and the team lost much of its frontcourt rotation in the offseason.

Instead of sliding, the Celtics have stayed competitive, and that has given president of basketball operations Brad Stevens some breathing room as the trade deadline approaches.

“We will not put a ceiling on this group,” Stevens said, via The Athletic’s Jay King. “If it makes sense for us to look for things that can help us, we certainly will. But it all has to be within good deals and within the ultimate goal.”

That goal, Stevens said, remains competing for a championship, even if the path there is still being mapped out.

Boston is currently operating over the luxury tax, which means a move to shed salary could help financially. At the same time, the Celtics have won 15 of their last 23 games, largely behind Jaylen Brown, who ranks among the league leaders at 29.3 points per game. That success makes a full reset unrealistic.

Stevens acknowledged that much of the league is still in evaluation mode.

“What’s the difference between third and ninth in the East right now?” he said. “There’s hardly anything.”

King notes that if Boston does look to add, the frontcourt would be the most logical area to address. Anfernee Simons, on an expiring $27.7 million contract, could be one name to watch.

All of it, though, still centers on Tatum. Stevens said the Celtics have made a conscious decision not to rush his return and have avoided putting any timeline on it.

“He’s not going to be back until he’s fully healthy,” Stevens said, adding that Tatum still has several strength benchmarks and on-court progressions to clear.

In short, the Celtics are better than expected, flexible by design and still waiting on the biggest variable of all.