What did we learn from Brad Stevens' debriefing following Celtics' early playoff exit?

Summary

Podcast Summary: "What Did We Learn from Brad Stevens' Debriefing Following Celtics' Early Playoff Exit?"

Episode Release Date: May 19, 2025
Host: Chris Forsberg, NBC Sports Boston

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1. Introduction & Context

The episode kicks off with host Chris Forsberg welcoming listeners to the "Celtics Talk" podcast. Today’s focus is on dissecting Brad Stevens' post-game press conference following the Boston Celtics' unexpected early exit from the playoffs against the New York Knicks.

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2. Brad Stevens' Debriefing: Key Takeaways

a. Leadership and Management Style

Abby Chin highlights Brad Stevens' adeptness at balancing big-picture vision with understanding team dynamics.

Abby Chin [02:53]: "Brad is so good at seeing the big picture but also understanding dynamics within the locker room, within a coaching staff."

b. Impact of the Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) and Ownership Changes

Both hosts acknowledge that the new CBA and potential ownership transitions are forcing the Celtics to make significant financial and strategic adjustments.

Abby Chin [03:42]: "The CBA and the rules that are becoming a reality for this team have really are going to limit some things and force the team to make tough decisions."

c. Handling Team Injuries

A significant portion of the discussion centers around injuries to key players Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown, and how these affect team dynamics and future planning.

Chris Forsberg [07:57]: "Brad was so careful not to take anything away from the Knicks or to find an excuse for why the Celtics are not still alive."

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3. Series Against the Knicks

a. Performance and Critical Moments

Chris and Abby analyze the pivotal games against the Knicks, emphasizing missed opportunities and crucial turnovers that led to the Celtics falling behind.

Abby Chin [04:29]: "I still have no idea what I'm going to do with myself at this point."

b. Impact of Player Injuries During the Series

Jaylen Brown's partial meniscus tear is discussed as a turning point in the series, impacting the Celtics' competitiveness.

Abby Chin [05:24]: "I was surprised to find out that Jaylen Brown's injury was as significant in the partial meniscus tear."

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4. Future of the Franchise

a. Potential Changes and Strategic Planning

Hosts speculate on possible roster changes, management decisions, and the strategic direction under Brad Stevens, especially in light of financial constraints imposed by the CBA.

Chris Forsberg [08:05]: "The reality is when you look at the... they gotta have... they have to change the way they do business."

b. Draft Considerations and Outlook

Discussions revolve around the upcoming draft picks (#28 and #32), how the Celtics plan to utilize these positions, and the influence of the new CBA on draft strategies.

Chris Forsberg [20:14]: "This year's draft more than any other will probably be affected by the NIL and the new pay for play."

c. Balancing Financial Penalties and Team Competitiveness

The balance between adhering to CBA restrictions and maintaining a competitive team is a recurring theme.

Ryan Reynolds [18:22]: "We're trying to get ourselves in the mix to compete for championships best."

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5. Player Concerns

a. Jaylen Brown's Injury and Outlook

The conversation delves into Jaylen Brown's partial meniscus tear, discussing its severity, expected recovery, and implications for the team's performance.

Ryan Reynolds [16:05]: "There's real benefit to [Jason Tatum's] getting surgery quickly."

b. Jason Tatum's Injury and Recovery

Jason Tatum's injury is a critical point, with discussions on his surgery, recovery timeline, and the team's plans to support his return.

Ryan Reynolds [34:19]: "It's going to be a long road ahead and that there's going to be several steps that he'll have to take before he ultimately gets back out on the court."

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6. Interaction with Media and Fans

a. Brad Stevens' Media Strategy

Chris notes Brad Stevens' cautious approach in addressing media questions, often deferring detailed discussions until after key events like draft night.

Chris Forsberg [03:49]: "Brad really is great at dancing around... asking to wait until draft night."

b. Team Morale and Player Sentiments

The hosts touch on the emotional toll of the playoff exit on players and staff, highlighting the team's resilience and camaraderie.

Abby Chin [04:49]: "I still have no idea what I'm going to do what to do with myself at this point."

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7. Miscellaneous Topics

a. Style of Play: Regular Season vs. Playoffs

A discussion ensues about the differences in playing style between the regular season and playoffs, noting increased physicality and strategic adjustments.

Ryan Reynolds [44:45]: "There's an increased physicality level... we've got to match that."

b. Coaching Considerations and Staff Stability

Concerns about coaching stability in the NBA are raised, with praise for Joe Mazzulla's performance over the past three years.

Ryan Reynolds [47:56]: "Joe's great. Joe's done a great job."

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8. Conclusion

The episode wraps up with a consensus that while the Celtics face significant challenges moving forward—ranging from player injuries to financial constraints—the leadership under Brad Stevens remains focused on positioning the team for future competitiveness. The hosts express optimism about the organization's resilience and the potential for strategic moves in the upcoming draft.

Chris Forsberg [15:13]: "We are so thankful for everybody's support all the way through... it's amazing."

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Notable Quotes with Timestamps

• Abby Chin [03:42]: "The CBA and the rules that are becoming a reality for this team have really are going to limit some things and force the team to make tough decisions."

• Chris Forsberg [05:03]: "It's bizarre. And I keep going back to Joe Missoula, reminding me not to make expectations."

• Ryan Reynolds [14:58]: "Whatever the results are or the results, the loss stings way worse than the championship feels good."

• Abby Chin [08:21]: "He has the ability to keep you guys afloat and lead you guys and be as competitive as possible without Jason."

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Final Thoughts

The Celtics are at a crossroads, grappling with unforeseen playoff hurdles and significant player injuries. Brad Stevens' measured approach to leadership, combined with strategic financial planning under the new CBA, will be pivotal in navigating the team's future. Fans are left anticipating how the Celtics will rebuild and adapt in the coming seasons, especially with the looming draft and potential roster adjustments.

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For more in-depth analysis and updates, tune into future episodes of the "Celtics Talk" podcast.

Transcript

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[Chris Forsberg]

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[Austin Ainge]

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[Chris Forsberg]

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[Abby Chin]

Of $45 for three month plan equivalent to $15 per month required Intro rate first three months only, then full price plan options available, taxes and fees extra. See full [e-mail] ground.

[Ryan Reynolds]

The Celtics Talk.

[Drew Carter]

Podcast is presented by 24autogroup.com 11 locations across New England.

[Chris Forsberg]

What's up everybody? Celtics Talk podcast coming to you from the hour back center. Have we done a Ooh, it's been a while since we've done an Auerback center podcast.

[Abby Chin]

It has. I don't know if we ever have. This could be your first.

[Chris Forsberg]

I've definitely done it, but those were the Ennis Freedom days. So wow. Yeah, we're going way back.

[Abby Chin]

That was a long time ago.

[Chris Forsberg]

I am talking in hushed tones because 1 the selfie season is over and 2 there are people working and Abby has already made everybody mad. I was gonna use other words.

[Abby Chin]

This is an active workplace fair. Bring your headphones people.

[Chris Forsberg]

And honestly, if the Celtics wanted to make it more conducive to working, they should have built a section of this gigantic building that had stand up potential.

[Abby Chin]

There actually is a studio in this building.

[Chris Forsberg]

We are and we're not allowed.

[Abby Chin]

We don't have access to it occasionally.

[Chris Forsberg]

Okay Abby. Anyway, Brad Stevens just talk you're hear the full Brad Stevens presser at the end of this. You you'll maybe hear my little one on one where we go a little bit more in depth on a few of the topics. But star 10,000 foot view what was your biggest takeaway from Brad's meeting with the media?

[Abby Chin]

I am hopeful that while we may see some major changes that I guess I feel like the Celtics have the right man at the helm. Brad is so good at seeing the big picture but also understanding dynamics within the locker room, within a coaching staff. And as far as we've heard I will say the only thing that I was different from the last couple of summers is that Brad was very clear that there would be no handcuffs put on as far as spending and the cba. I'm not saying that this has anything to do with the ownership change, but the CBA and the rules that are becoming a reality for this team have really are going to limit some things and force the team to make tough.

[Chris Forsberg]

Decisions which we knew. And the one thing I've tried to stress in the aftermath of the Celtics filing in the season is that these changes were coming regardless of the outcome.

[Abby Chin]

Of the season, regardless of maybe the ownership change.

[Chris Forsberg]

True. Like it didn't matter who's writing the checks. It's getting prohibitive and they need to make changes. My big takeaway was that Brad really is great at dancing around. He tried his best to avoid every real topic that we wanted to talk about asking to wait until draft night. Which maybe is an indication that while he said that he did not I think he ended by saying he did not expect fireworks on draft night and.

[Abby Chin]

That his he was pretty concrete about that.

[Chris Forsberg]

Fair. Although he was careful with everything he said.

[Abby Chin]

Absolutely. This is not his first rodeo.

[Drew Carter]

No.

[Chris Forsberg]

I mean he's really good at this is why he's a gm. But I do think the big takeaway was that it still stings.

[Abby Chin]

I was gonna say that's my thing. I'm still processing. I don't think I've fully wrapped my mind around the way the season ended. How abruptly. This is the first time that I have not been to an Eastern Conference finals series in years. I still have no idea what I'm going to do what to do with myself at this point.

[Chris Forsberg]

What was the last time we were not in the east finals?

[Abby Chin]

2018.

[Chris Forsberg]

Man. Rogier year. Like I'm trying to think what was that year after? Oh no, no. They made it to the it might have been 17.

[Abby Chin]

Oh, my gosh. Really?

[Chris Forsberg]

It's not long ago.

[Abby Chin]

Wow. Yeah. It's bizarre. And. And I keep going back to Joe Missoula, reminding me not to make expectations. I just assumed we would be there, and I have not mentally prepared for this to happen.

[Chris Forsberg]

What did you take away from the. The Knicks game since we didn't get your hot take on it afterward?

[Abby Chin]

Right. I missed the Knicks game because my daughter Mabel starred as Flounder in the Little Mermaid. She was phenomenal. And I got many texts telling me that I had made the right choice and not going to New York on Friday. But it was in the vein of Joe Missoula. It was something I expected. I feel like a lot of NBA teams, you get that pop, that initial pop after your superstar goes down and there's a burst of energy and. And then it's just hard to maintain. I was surprised to find out that Jaylen Brown's injury was as significant in the partial meniscus tear.

[Chris Forsberg]

But even so, Brad came out today and I thought was one of the few things he kind of peeled back the curtain on was saying that Jalen's been dealing with this for a while, that this was all new information that he actually thought by the end of the playoffs it was getting better. So it wasn't something that hindered the team. That was my other big thing is he was so careful not to take anything away from the Knicks or to find an excuse for why the Celtics are not still alive. I thought it was just very realistic. And yet we're all left. I think we all hope that we'd have a little bit more idea about where it goes from here. And Brad is sort of leaving the door open for. We're going to sit down with new ownership. We're going to, you know, evaluate all the options, and then I'll tell you what the path might be. Or more likely, those moves will find.

[Abby Chin]

Out what the path might be when the moves occur.

[Chris Forsberg]

Exactly. And that's tough. Right. Because I think the hardest part for a Celtic fan is everything has been so definitive the last few years. Just like you said you could plan a. I would always plan that on my vacation stone, or whatever we had planned would not start until the middle of June.

[Abby Chin]

Chris, I'm not joking. I did not know that next weekend is Memorial Day because we just work through holidays. No, we've never. It hasn't been something that matters to me on my calendar.

[Chris Forsberg]

So. Yeah, it's just. I think a lot of us came away today hoping for more answers and we didn't get a whole lot of them. And again, because Brad just doesn't want to go there right now and.

[Abby Chin]

And he may not have them right now.

[Chris Forsberg]

I mean they've been planning for a while.

[Abby Chin]

They. That's true.

[Chris Forsberg]

So I think they have a good idea. But again, I think they're maybe. And the one thing we did sort of ask was about does the Tatum injury change the equation at all? And I think he was again, I think he. He has to balance that line between a Jaylen Brown led team could still be super competitive. And yet the. The reality is like in order to reset the penalties, in order to really set yourself up for the future, there might be some lean years in here where you have to like trim more than maybe we were even expecting. And so that was one of the.

[Abby Chin]

Lines I noted was he said you have to give yourself the best opportunity when you can.

[Chris Forsberg]

When you can.

[Abby Chin]

Next season may not be that.

[Chris Forsberg]

When I did like that when he was asked directly about Jalen and whether he could lead a team and he said, look, you know, superstars get a lot of the credit. But he was confident that whether it's both J's or one J or whatever, whenever you touch the floor with with them on the court, you feel pretty good about your chances to win.

[Abby Chin]

And reiterated that the J's and Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown are the core of this team. Which leads me to believe that I.

[Chris Forsberg]

Would just be careful reading in too much to anything really. I just.

[Abby Chin]

Guys make changes.

[Chris Forsberg]

I don't. The reality is when you look at the. When you try to crunch the numbers with two max salaries, it gets really hard around the periphery and they gotta have.

[Abby Chin]

But how do you battle for championships without those guys?

[Chris Forsberg]

You gotta change the way you do business and it's gonna become, you know, maybe you can have a 1A and a 2A and a C. 3 or 3C. I don't know what I'm doing here, but you might not be able to have a 1A and a 1B long term. And that is gonna be Brad's toughest decision moving forward about how this thing goes. Corral's biggest takeaway. He is pondering it in the moment. Host of the Locked on Celtics podcast. Direct competitor. But yeah, bring it in.

[Abby Chin]

Oh, Austin, would you like to join us as well?

[Ryan Reynolds]

Absolutely.

[Chris Forsberg]

Austin. Austin, future of the franchise. Go you guys. Yes. Scheffler was great. Very awkward.

[Abby Chin]

That was an adorable moment. It was with Scheffler's son.

[Chris Forsberg]

It was sitting in the scores keepers Biggest takeaway?

[Austin Ainge]

Biggest takeaway? Well, I, I liked the, we blew games one and two. The admission he put off all of the next year type of stuff, which was, you know, that's the one thing we're all waiting for.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Right.

[Chris Forsberg]

Like I just vented for eight minutes.

[Austin Ainge]

What's next? What's next? That's why There were like 14 cameras here.

[Chris Forsberg]

Yep.

[Austin Ainge]

So we put off a lot of that stuff, which, which probably is like the biggest takeaway. It's like we didn't learn anything, we didn't hear anything. And you know, the, the North Star is the championship, but North Star can be far away.

[Chris Forsberg]

I think we learned that sports talk radio can stop obsessing about Cooper Flag.

[Abby Chin]

He was pretty definitive on that saying that.

[Austin Ainge]

Shout out to Gary Washburn for being like, hey, you talked to Cooper Flag? Any fireworks coming up? So that was cool.

[Chris Forsberg]

I also, I don't know if it's PTSD or whatever, but we've gone so long without discussing fireworks with like that, like it just, I was like, oh my God, we're back here.

[Abby Chin]

It's slightly taking it out of our.

[Chris Forsberg]

Lexicon, you know, but we are left just waiting, waiting for draft night to figure out.

[Austin Ainge]

Well, I mean I also like the got 28 and 32 for now. For now. So maybe those will be moving. Yeah, man, I, I, you know, I don't think that we got any clarity at all. This was just, you know, we didn't even get much clarity on Jalen or Jason or anything like that. It was just kind of like an admission that the, the Knick series, you know, between exit interviews and this, I think everybody in this organization feels like, man, we biffed the this series, man, we. Those first two games were right there. And I, I don't want to bring up bad memories or, or, or whatever.

[Chris Forsberg]

But I mean, too late, buddy.

[Austin Ainge]

But you win those first two games, the entire series changes. Do you even have the Jason Tatum injury? Do you even have some of the things that.

[Chris Forsberg]

This is what we do after loss, we invariably go back and hindsight is 2020 on everything. Like could you, like if you don't put yourself in this position, does this happen? Does this happen? You can twist yourself into a whole bar. And I'm sure that's why Brad Stevens has not slept for 72 hours. Because you're left thinking about all of that.

[Austin Ainge]

I would rather have seen them win that series and lose to the Pacers in a hard fought like you run out of gas. Right. Like the Bluesmobile at the end. The whole thing just Falls apart. And like, the Pacers are just this there. It's their year. Things are clicking, they're shooting like crazy. Tyrus Halliburton's playing great. You get the Aaron Neesmith revenge. We could all just kind of like, haha, okay, Aaron Neesmith is kind of funny, I think watching some of those Knicks fans celebrate, like, man, you're saying.

[Abby Chin]

It'S worse because it's the Knicks?

[Austin Ainge]

It's a little worse because of, you know, bing bong and all.

[Chris Forsberg]

Did you. Did you wander out into. What time did you leave the building?

[Austin Ainge]

I actually left early because they kick us out, which is a stupid thing that happens at msg. Like, they close, so they kick us out, you know, two hours afterwards. So I didn't even. Like, I wrote my first piece and I was like, I'm out of here. I'm gonna go back to my hotel.

[Chris Forsberg]

I somehow lingered.

[Austin Ainge]

Yeah, I don't know. They normally kick out.

[Abby Chin]

Did you walk through the pandemonium in.

[Chris Forsberg]

The streets and it was still pretty crazy?

[Austin Ainge]

It was crazy. There was a lot of trash everywhere. More so than usual in New York.

[Chris Forsberg]

Most of it hit that poor Pacer fan in the Halliburton jersey. Also not cool to throw trash to throw things at. Brian Windhorst.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Yeah, the wind.

[Austin Ainge]

Like, what is it? You mean? No one. Look, I had Knicks fans, I had Knicks people on my podcast that no one thought that this was going to go this way. Like, congratulations, you broke this 20, whatever year curse, whatever, great. But like, to this whole modern social media driven, like, oh, you picked against us. Let me put you on my phone and be like, how do you feel now? Like, look, you didn't even think you were going to win. You know, you didn't think you were gonna win. Okay, celebrate, but don't cross the line.

[Chris Forsberg]

All right? You got your own podcast to yell about this for an hour, so. Thanks, Rob. We're out of here. Abby, any final thoughts before we go into take a little break? I mean, I'm not.

[Abby Chin]

Have a good summer. Enjoy. No, we can't say that because please try.

[Chris Forsberg]

There's gonna be news every week. We'll be right here with you on the Selfless Talk podcast. We will drag Abby in via Zoom and make her talk about this team. Not a lot of answers today, but here, now you can listen to Brad Stevens and gauge what you will. All right, I'm going to try not to repeat all the same questions. I'm going to try not to put you in a bad spot. You can, like, just reject me if Necessary.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Can filibuster it.

[Chris Forsberg]

You're good at it.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Yeah.

[Chris Forsberg]

Thank you.

[Ryan Reynolds]

It's the nicest thing anybody said to me in a while.

[Chris Forsberg]

What have the last 72, 96 hours been like? And I guess where as you try to process it all, what stays in your mind as you go through it?

[Ryan Reynolds]

Yeah. I mean, every year that you don't end up on top, you're. It hurts and, you know, especially when you have a great shot. And so, you know, certainly it stings. We're all stung by it. We're all thankful for the journey these guys did take us on. But, you know, there's work to do, and that's the way that you look at it when you're in my shoes. And then. And I think everybody kind of feels.

[Chris Forsberg]

That way, making no assumptions about what's to come. But if you just take this last two years where you knew when you brought it together, there would be a little bit of that window. What do you want the legacy to be of that group? And does having that championship make it. Make it easier to digest that little window?

[Ryan Reynolds]

You know, I just, I think, you know, I said this last year, whatever the results are or the results, the loss stings way worse than the championship feels good. And that's just the sick and twisted way I live.

[Chris Forsberg]

You don't go look at the pictures and try to, like, remember the. I mean, I know it's.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Yeah, I love it. And, you know, I think, you know, what does. What does help that is probably time. Right. And the people you did it with, the people here, like, again, I said this in there, the character in our room, player wise, coaches wise, everybody is so fun to be around every day, day. And that's what makes it hard that we're not continuing this year.

[Chris Forsberg]

You said something that caught my ear in there, was that the ability to get Jason into surgery quickly could have benefits long term. Just. I'm not putting. Making you say a timeline. I'm trying to very carefully here, but, like, what is the benefit, as it has been explained to you, to do that as quickly as possible.

[Ryan Reynolds]

So there were just. I forget what the exact benefits were because I'm not a doctor, but you know, whether it was blood supply and different swelling benefits early on in those first 72 hours was the timeframe that we were talking about, and we were just fortunate to be there. And as far as at hss and I thought they did a great job and our team doc, Tony Shenna, did a great job of helping organize it. And then we were there With Brandy and Jason and Jeff Wexler, his agent, and everybody was quick to make that call. And I think there's real benefit to that.

[Chris Forsberg]

How hard will it be to keep him going from going stir crazy? Like, as a gm, how do you.

[Ryan Reynolds]

No, he's going to be stir crazy. That's just. He just. He loves basketball. He gets stir crazy. He'd be stir crazy even though, you know, that our season's over and somebody else is playing. You know, he hasn't missed a summer of playing for USA since I can remember. And so guy just loves to play. And so, yeah, there's. It's going to be. There's going to be. That's going to be hard for him. It's going to be a challenge. But, you know, again, I'm thankful we're on the other side of the surgery and we are only up from here.

[Chris Forsberg]

This people look at running backs in the NFL and say, oh, they came back in eight months. But then, like, do you worry that the people are going to try to put too much of an unreasonable timeline on him and do you want to tread as cautiously as possible?

[Ryan Reynolds]

Yeah, no. This is about full recovery and, you know, and helping him get back to feeling like himself asap. And ASAP can be as long as it takes. You know, we're not. There is no timeline. There will be different, you know, steps along the way that will then say, okay, you can move on to the next step. You can move on to the next step. But ultimately, you know, I think that's the most important thing is let's let this thing heal. Let's rehab appropriately and it takes what it takes.

[Chris Forsberg]

You mentioned you guys are going to sit down, kind of figure out the future. But just give me the balance, like the penalties being in the second apron versus the long term penalties of getting below the tax. Is there. Do you. What kind of balance do you have to strike in your mind as when you just look at the two possibilities?

[Ryan Reynolds]

Yeah, I mean, I think, you know, I start with the basketball penalties part, which is, you know, the second apron. And then you're weighing those against your chances of being a championship contender. And then you then you also obviously consider kind of where you are and where you are financially and. But I think one of the best things that we have going for us is we have a lot of good players under good contracts and guys that everybody knows, you know, if we put all those guys out on the floor, you have a chance to win the next game, even without Jason. And so it becomes a lot Harder to be that sustainably good without a guy of Jason's caliber. But I do think that, you know, we just have a lot of winners in our group, and so we're lucky in that regard.

[Chris Forsberg]

We know how competitive Joe is. How do you. What's your message to him as you go into the off season? You had high praise for him in there. Like, what did you think of the job he did this season?

[Ryan Reynolds]

Yeah, he did a good job. And as I said, we love Joe and we're glad he's here. And, you know, my thing with Joe will be the same as it is every year. We'll see how this all shakes out and then you'll see, you know, what you can do to put everybody in the best position to go compete like hell. And that's, that's, you know, that's what we're always going to try to do. And, and, you know, we've got, again, we've got so many good players and so many good people that I trust that, you know, we'll be in good shape.

[Chris Forsberg]

Last thing, I guess, because I'm trying my best to avoid all the questions as well. Okay, I appreciate that. See, that's the nicest thing anyone said to me.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Yeah.

[Chris Forsberg]

So we're here for each other draft wise. When you just evaluate the draft overall, regardless of where, what are your feelings on this year's draft class?

[Ryan Reynolds]

I think this year's and maybe next year's, well, maybe not next year, but this year's draft class more than any ever has been affected by the nil and affected by the new pay for play. I think people in college, you know, whether they're saying it or not, got ahead of the new nil restrictions and, and kept people in school or. And then there's a lot of people still deciding whether they're going to go back or not. But I think that this, this draft more than any other will probably be affected by, by that. As far as the back end of the draft and even, even into the, even into the late first, people will have really hard decisions to make. Do I come to the NBA and make this much money slotted for this many years or do I take a huge payday from some school and that's the world we live in.

[Chris Forsberg]

And for team drafting 28 and 32, does that change your maybe outlook of how like you have to wait and see who elects to, you know, we've.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Got a pretty good idea of who's staying in and who's not. But we've had, you know, we've had several good players through our doors already that, you know, I could see going either way and in years in the past, you know, would probably have chosen to stay because, you know, the money's can be higher in some of these schools than the bottom of the 20s in the draft, which is kind of crazy. Good for them.

[Chris Forsberg]

I lied last thing. What would your message to the fans be?

[Ryan Reynolds]

Yeah, no, listen, we are so thankful for everybody's support all the way through. It's been as usual, you know, you know, it's such a special place, but every time you walk into the garden or you go somewhere else and you see the green everywhere, it's amazing. And you know, I think that this team, though we came up short, I think the character, the competitiveness, the care factor, you know, I think all that represented Boston well.

[Chris Forsberg]

Thank you, Brad. We'll quiz you more on draft night.

[Ryan Reynolds]

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[Abby Chin]

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[Ryan Reynolds]

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[Drew Carter]

Hoops is changing the game with a roster built for the future. Darius Garland, Tyrese Maxey and Zach Lavine push the pace while Cooper Flagg is set to be the next number one pick. Cam Brink is raising the bar for women's basketball, proving that impact goes beyond the court. Whether it's the HESI low V2s for quick cuts, the two way V5 for all round play, or the KAWAII 4 for those who never stop climbing. New Balance Hoops makes shoes built for every player. Visit newbalance.com basketball to explore more.

[Chris Forsberg]

How many discounts does USAA auto insurance offer? Too many to say here. Multi vehicle discount, Safe driver discount, new vehicle discount, storage discount.

[Abby Chin]

How many discounts will you stack up? Tap the banner or visit usaa.com autodiscounts restrictions apply.

[Ryan Reynolds]

First of all, appreciate everybody coming in. I think the majority of this will, you know, from my standpoint will focus on, you know what, we just went through the season and everything else. And I know there will be a lot of questions about what's next. But you know, I'll talk probably more about that at the draft time when we have a Better idea. After meeting with all the key stakeholders and everybody else about what next steps might be right at the end of the day, you know, I think that will all be driven by the same, 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, that, you know, we'll have more clarity as we take a deep breath, get a little bit more sleep than we have the last three nights, and then figure out how to be the best version of ourselves here moving forward. Questions, Brad? I'd just like to start with a guy like Jaylen Brown who has won a title, has a contract, whatever, you know, had his issues, you know, maybe starting in March. How impressed were you with what he did? It just the gameness that he showed that he wanted to play and continued to play, even if he's got a situation going on with his knee. Yeah, no, listen, the good news is, is, you know, I think first of all, Jalen wants to play. Jalen's a competitor. Jalen's a warrior. Jalen, you know, takes great pride in being out there. And you know, and at the same time, we also, you know, he saw are obviously our team docs and a couple of other people. And, and as he even said a couple weeks ago, the knees in a good place structurally. And, and so, you know, I think he felt comfortable getting out there and going after it and, you know, hopefully, you know, he'll, you know, feel better after being off of it for a couple weeks here. That's the unfortunate part is we're done in, you know, middle of May and you know, but some of these guys have some Nick's bruises and other things that, you know, be good to get some rest. Brad, what is the, do you know, a treatment at this point for Jalen, the plan there, and what is the outlook now going forward for him and Jason health wise? I don't, I don't, you know, I think for everything Jalen said to me and said here, I think that what I just said is probably the outlook. I mean, you know, what was reported this weekend, you know, that's been something that's, he's, he's, he's had for a while and it's been stable and he's played with it. And so that's been several, you know, several scans through and through. So like, we've known that for a long time and he's known that for a long time and. But it just tells you like these guys are, they care like they care about winning, they care about playing. Care about playing well. And, you know, again, I think that that'll probably, you know, he'll. He'll. He'll drive that. But certainly, you know, we're thankful for how much and how hard he's played and. But he was definitely experiencing some discomfort there in March. But, you know, you guys all watched it in the last couple of weeks. I thought it got better and better and better, and I think he actually felt better. At least he told me he felt better at the end of the Knicks series.

[Brad Stevens]

And obviously it's going to be a.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Longer span of time without Jason here.

[Gary Washburn]

How do you anticipate sustaining through that?

[Ryan Reynolds]

And how big of a part is Jalen and kind of having some stability next year as Jason's going to be out? Yeah, I mean, those guys have been the core parts of this whole program for a while, and so there's no question about that. And, you know, those guys are. They've achieved so much and, you know, and certainly deserve all the recognition and praise and accolades they get. And, And. But yeah, that's a huge part of us being the best version of our.

[Brad Stevens]

Hey, Brad, for next season. You guys have a, you know, a historic amount, kind of committed to the corner plays. I know it's a unique situation, as you alluded to with the transition. When do you expect to have an indication of what your limitations, if any, you'll have for next season?

[Ryan Reynolds]

We'll talk about all that stuff in the next few weeks.

[Brad Stevens]

Does. Is that like, are you hoping. How tough is it? There's not just that uncertainty then right now, not having kind of educational.

[Ryan Reynolds]

I mean, listen, we've been talking about this for years, right? I mean, the CBA is. Has been well known for years, and so there are penalties associated with being at certain levels, and we know that. And you just weigh that. You wear where we are, you weigh everything else, and then you make those decisions. But those are, you know, you have to have the clarity of a full season and a full playoffs and like I said, a couple of good night's sleep and everybody gets in a room and put your heads together and figure out what's next.

[Austin Ainge]

Brad, how. How much did Jason's injury. How much does that impact what you are about to embark on this summer?

[Ryan Reynolds]

I mean, I think anytime you're talking about an injury like that, I think you. It's another piece of information that you have to ingest and figure out how that affects you moving forward, both next year and in the future.

[Austin Ainge]

And with the collective Bargaining agreement. We all talk about second apron and blah, blah, blah. But what about the other end where teams that normally had cap space, where you would normally be able to say, hey, you know, salary dumps, those don't exist the way they used to anymore. How much does the lack of that kind of trading partner impacts what kind of moves that you have to make?

[Ryan Reynolds]

Again, we'll talk about all that stuff at draft. You know, I'll have a better idea about all that stuff, but I would say that we have a bunch of really good players and they're, and they're, you know, obviously under contract and we want to first look at everything that we have here and again, try to be the best version of ourselves here.

[Gary Washburn]

Brad, with everything Chris Topps had to go through down the stretch of that season there, like one, how tough was it to watch him have to go through that, especially considering, like you said, all the decisions you guys are gonna have to make this summer and everything. And two, was there ever any clarity as to what exactly was going on or.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Yeah, no, I don't think anybody was more frustrated than him. And you know, I felt for him because he, because he, you know, the way it was described to me was just post viral syndrome, which is just, you know, lingering effects of a long illness. And you know, I think we've, we've seen that and probably all read too much about that over the last several years. But I think that unfortunately he, you know, I thought he had really turned the corner there towards the end of the regular season. We went to Madison Square Garden, he was so good and then even in the first round and then for whatever reason, he just didn't feel as good there early in the Knicks series and never really felt great. Now in the middle of a playoff series where you play every other day, it's not an ideal situation to feeling better, especially with the travel and everything else and the amount of, you know, physical, you know, force these guys put on their bodies. So, you know, our expectation is that it'll probably be the next couple weeks will do him good to be off, but, you know, he's going to play for Latvia. I think that's a good thing. I think it's good to be playing in Euro basket and, and you know, I'm sure it'll be well cleared up by then.

[Gary Washburn]

You mentioned that it was, it popped up right at the end of the season or right before the postseason. Was there anything that triggered him not feeling well again or was it just like out of the blue, he just started feeling Bad.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Just out of the blue.

[Rob Williams]

Brad, you guys have made the playoffs every year since 15 and been seven or eight Eastern Conference finals with your ego in terms of you want to build a championship contender every year. But is there something that says with the new cba, with all the restrictions with Jason's injury, like, maybe we maybe have to take a step back? Like, there could be, like, are you in the brass? Were you kind of pointing to, like, eventually we're going to have to take a step back eventually? Like, how does that go when you want to tell the. You want to tell Boston that they're going to have a championship contender every year, but that might not be sustainable.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Yeah. And I think, again, I think the way to. The way you say it is the North Star is to have a championship contender, right? And so you have to put yourself. You have to do what's best to give yourself the best opportunity to do that, when you can do that. And so we just have to look at it all and decide, you know, how feasible that is on any given year, and then, you know, make sure that we are, you know, we're making the decisions accordingly. But the reality is we, like I said, we have a lot of good players. We're in a unique situation. They're all under contract, and obviously, as you pointed out, there are, you know, several basketball penalties that will come with that, with that amount of salary. And so we just have to weigh it all and make those decisions. And again, I'll have more clarity when, after we meet and talk and go through it.

[Rob Williams]

Is that possible to continue every year under the restrictions to have a championship contender, or do you have to.

[Ryan Reynolds]

I've never put a seal. I never put a ceiling on a group of players. So, you know, some years you put a group together that you think has a better chance than others, but, you know, we'll see how it all looks. But my goal is always and will always be to try to best position us to compete for championships.

[Brad Stevens]

Adam, Zach, Brad, you obviously helped Jason off the court there. It sounds like you were with him afterward, with the surgery and everything. What was that kind of time period like helping him get through such a difficult moment? And how has he kind of, you know, gone through it, the mental aspect of it right now, and how do you expect it to kind of progress physically over these next few months?

[Ryan Reynolds]

You know, obviously that's hard, super hard for Jason. I mean, more than anybody, as has been well documented, loves to play, you know, and I think even missing two games has been, you know, grueling for him. And so we know that there's a, you know, a long road ahead and that there's going to be several steps that he'll have to take before he ultimately gets back out on the court. But the positive was we were 15 minutes away from, you know, Dr. O' Malley, who is a terrific surgeon who has done a number of these, and Dr. Shena was on the phone with him before we left the building on Monday night, and he was out of the MRI in consultation and done with surgery by the time we had an injury report the next day because of the, you know, there was real benefit to doing it early. And so it was a, you know, as tough as that injury is and as tough as it was that night, just an amazing set of circumstances and an amazing thank you for, from our organization to, you know, all of the, you know, Dr. O' Malley, the nurses at HSS and everybody there and the hotel that we were staying in and the accommodations they made, they made Jason feel comfortable in. And just, you know, I thought it was about as good of a transition and about a bleak, you know, of a feeling as you could have.

[Brad Stevens]

And just when you look back at that series against New York, how do you kind of assess what. What do you think was missing? What do you think went wrong over the course of that series?

[Ryan Reynolds]

I'd rather talk about all the CBA and all that crap, but said no questions about that. No, I know, I know, but that's. The first 10 questions were on it. You guys are terrible students. Now, the. Listen, the reality is we blew the first two. First two games, right? And that's why we put ourselves in a tough spot. I realize. And we all realize, listen, these leads go fast, these games go fast, but we had our opportunities. And, and, and, and so, yes, you can win when you're down 2 0, but you've just diminished your margin for error. Because there's going to be games like ours in game five where we go nuts and, you know, we're hard to beat that night, or, you know, you know, ours in game three, where we're hard to beat that night, but that just ties it. You know, you still have to do that two more times. And so, you know, that's not on. That's not on any one person. That's not out of a maliciousness. That's not like a bad decision. It's not like bad luck. It's. We had opportunities to win those first two home games, and then we put ourselves behind the eight ball and New York gained what I thought was not only confidence, but momentum. And like, they, they are peaking. You can see it. And so, you know, I think all four teams that are playing in these semifinals deserve to be there. And all any of the four could win it. But, you know, credit New York for the way they played and the way they came back in those two games specifically.

[Brad Stevens]

Yeah, Brett, a bit of a repeat, I guess, but just curious, looking back and assessing this season, to you, what were the factors that prevented this team from ultimately reaching the end goal that last team, last year's team, was able to.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Well, I mean, again, sometimes it's as simple as those are the margins, what I just mentioned, from winning and losing. We lost an overtime game at home in game one and a game by one point in game two that, you know, we're up 16, 18, 20 with 15 minutes ago in the game. So that's the margin of error that you're dealing with. And so I think that those are all things that, you know, you, you appreciate when you can go on deep runs like we did last year, and ultimately win it, because some things have to go your way. I've said many times, like, like we could easily have been up 3:1 when Jason got hurt, but the reality is, is, you know, we were probably not winning that game anyway, so we were going to be down 3:1. You know, last year in the Indiana series, they could have easily been up 3:1 on us, you know, and I think that that's just kind of these series, you know, you, you get these opportunities and, you know, one team takes advantage of them and that team usually moves on. And the Knicks did that. And again, they deserve, they deserve, they deserve credit for that. They've been, they've been amazing late in games and, you know, certainly played a lot of those in the Detroit series and showed it against us. Brad, when the guys were leaving like this week, over the last, like couple.

[Brad Stevens]

Days, they kind of seem to understand.

[Ryan Reynolds]

The circumstances like this offseason. Have there been any conversations about what's to come? Or, like, have they, or do they just kind of understand it? You know, I think when we do exit meetings here, we do like, just get together as a team, do a quick 10 minute thank you and then hug, and everybody goes their own direction and takes a deep breath, just like I said about our staff. And so. But all of those guys are, you know, have been told my doors, you know, my doors open, my phone's on, anything that I can do to talk through anything as we continue to move forward. You know, I'M always open to that. And listen, we have an amazing group of guys. This is what makes it hard when you come up short, is because, you know, and. And people. And we. I know people say that all the time, but the character in the room is just incredible. And, you know, they are. And they're the kind of guys that, you know, they can go in any gym anywhere and win any one game. You know, we just didn't do it enough.

[Abby Chin]

Brad, with Jaylen Brown potentially being without Tatum for most, if not all of.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Next season, what is your confidence level.

[Abby Chin]

In his ability to kind of keep.

[Ryan Reynolds]

You guys afloat and lead you guys and be as competitive as possible without.

[Chris Forsberg]

The guy that's kind of been by.

[Abby Chin]

His side for most of his career?

[Ryan Reynolds]

Well, I think, first of all, and I know that we always. We always talk in terms of superstars and, you know, don't talk in terms necessarily the other 13 players. Right. And so the reality is, is we have a ton, you know, a ton of good players, and. And everyone leans on everyone. That said, Jalen and Jason have gotten, you know, the majority of attention because of how good they are. And. And I have full faith that any game that you have, you know, those guys on the court, you know, or one of those guys on the court, you have a great shot. And so I have full faith in Jalen. You brought up the three sleepless nights. What has been the process for you guys as you sort of recalibrate after the last week and a half with Jason's injury and then losing to the Knicks? Like, how does the front office get together and kind of work things through.

[Brad Stevens]

After something that really probably is going.

[Ryan Reynolds]

To shift the way you think or.

[Brad Stevens]

At least has the potential to do that?

[Ryan Reynolds]

Yeah, I mean, I think you talk. You talk when you're in this role, you talk, you know, big picture branches and long term all the time. But then, you know, at the end of each season, you have. You glean a little more clarity from the season that just happened and what happened during it. Right. So again, I like to give everybody a few days to take a deep breath because you don't want to make decisions that are rash or emotional. And, you know, we've got a lot to sift through and sort out and think about, and we'll do that. So there will be a, you know, there will be a lot of us in the room, and we'll take the time over the next, you know, couple of weeks to do that.

[Brad Stevens]

Do you believe that championship windows under. Are shrinking, especially under this cba Even compared to the latter half of this decade?

[Ryan Reynolds]

That's a good question. I don't know. But that. I think it's a, you know, it's. It's something that I think, you know, I think certainly there is. It is more challenging if you. In certain circumstances, for sure.

[Brad Stevens]

Obviously you mentioned you'll plan through things through the draft. I'm just wondering, like, how does the draft, I guess, like the prep for fundamentally maybe change just because of the things you guys are going to have to make decisions on. Just, you know, having the two picks coming up here.

[Ryan Reynolds]

I don't think it changes at all for us. We'll be. We'll be. We'll evaluate who we think will be available at 28 and 32. We just got done with two draft workouts today, and. And so we'll have plenty of. Plenty of time to thoroughly evaluate who we think those people might be. And if we want to try to move up, try to move back, you know, whatever, we'll see how it kind of all goes. But nothing, you know, I think when you're at 28 and 32, there's nothing, you know, you're not exactly able to pinpoint exactly how that night's going to go.

[Austin Ainge]

Brad, I'm curious your thoughts about the. The difference in style of play between the regular season and the playoffs.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Yeah, it seems pretty significant.

[Austin Ainge]

Yeah. So. So is that good bad? Like, it feels like you've played 82 games under one style.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Oh, you're talking about our style.

[Austin Ainge]

I'm talking about just the NBA. I'm talking about your style. I mean, it could be anything, but like, I'm talking about, like the officiating is. Is different. Certain things are allowed, not allowed. It feels like the style of play in the regular season, 82 games was one thing, and the playoffs across the board, have been kind of like a different style of basketball. And maybe that impacts your style of play. How do you, how do you see that? Do you think that. That something should be more consistent between the two, whichever way?

[Ryan Reynolds]

Well, no, I don't want this misconstrued by any means. There's absolutely no excuses. Like, both teams are playing under the same set of guidelines with the same whistles and everything else. So that is what it is, but it's clearly more physical. And I think that, you know, a lot of us as we watch it, probably like that, but there's a line, you know, and I think that, you know, in the Orlando series especially, I thought that there. I'm not sure that if we played 82 games like that that anybody would be left. And. But I think that, you know, you know, we just have to. My biggest thing as a league is, is making sure we don't, you know, we. We give the defenders their right to hold their ground. First and foremost, you have to have the right to hold your ground. But I think we've gotten back to a lot of the grabbing and holding that, you know, makes it harder to move. And so hopefully, you know, those things get ironed out. I know our officiating groups in the NBA work on that all the time, and that's not a. Again, it's not an excuse at all for us. I'm not sure that we were hurt by it, nor benefited from it. I just think that we got beat. So. But I do think that it is more physical.

[Austin Ainge]

I wasn't trying to make, like, an excuse for you guys, but as a talent evaluator, as a person who's evaluating what to, you know, what kind of team to build. You can build linebackers. That's right. I mean, you're building a team for the regular season or. Or the play, like, if there's two.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Yeah, but I think you always. Yeah, you're always thinking that. You're always thinking that way. Listen, it. When the. When the rotation shrink in the playoffs, which, you know, not everybody's shrunk. I mean, I think there's some. There's some teams that are playing probably more guys than normal. And I think that, you know, all of that is stuff to look at. But when the rotations shrink, generally, I think it's largely because, you know, there is an even increased intensity level. Right. There's an increased physicality level, whether, you know, no matter what is said. And you just have to match that. And the very best athletes match that. Right. And so, you know that. And so, yeah, you're thinking about. Everybody has these discussions all year where, yeah, that's a person that's in our top seven or eight or nine in a rotation. That's a playoff. You could see that playing in the playoffs. And then there's other guys that you think, okay, we want them to work up to that, or maybe we think they can get up to that. And, yeah, that's a real thing.

[Gary Washburn]

Brad. With everything that's gone on in the coaching world, like the last couple months, like Michael Malone in Denver, Taylor Jenkins in Memphis, it feels like there's never been a time where there's more uncertainty than there is now. So I'm curious, as someone who was in that world for so long. What do you make of this new era of, like, how quickly coaches get fired at weird times? Then two, how pleased have you been with Joe for the past three years?

[Ryan Reynolds]

Yeah, Joe's great. Joe's done a great job. I don't think anyone in coaching ever thought it was certain. So I think uncertainty is what you sign up for in some ways. But listen, there's so many things that go into winning and losing, and, you know, coaching's part of it. Right. But, you know, playing circumstances, injuries, you know, whatever the case may be, there's so many things. And so that's why I think it's so important to, like, I know how hard their jobs are, and I felt for Taylor and for Mike, you know, and obviously talk to both of them and. But every year, you know, good coaches get let go and. And they're way better than everybody talks about them. I'm just telling you because I coached against them. They're way better than everybody thinks or knows. So. But that's the reality of our situation because that's the way the world works. And, you know, there's other coaches that are really good, too, that will get their opportunities and. But, yeah, we're lucky that we have Joe here. We're lucky that we have the staff we have here, and we're thankful.

[Rob Williams]

Brad, you got 28 and 32 with the draft.

[Ryan Reynolds]

We do right now.

[Rob Williams]

Yeah. Right now there's rumors that you talked to two guys, one who's projected to go number one, two interviewed, and the other one's another lottery pick. Like, do you expect around the league fireworks to kind of happen on draft night? You said get back to you on draft night. Do you expect the draft will be able to determine some things?

[Ryan Reynolds]

So the way that this does, we always. We can. We can rank who we want to talk to, and we. The people we know, we can't get into workout is how we decide who we want to talk to at the combine. Otherwise, we may never get to talk to them again. So the only people that will come in and work out for us are people that think they're between, you know, in our range or maybe they're at the bottom end of our range or whatever the case may be. So that's just. That doesn't really have anything to do with any of that. Will there be fireworks on draft night? I can't imagine. But, you know, again, I don't. Who knows? I wouldn't guess with us, no.

[Rob Williams]

But in terms of, like, there's a play, I mean, there's a player in Milwaukee who might be moved. Like there's a there there's a lot of stuff that go on eventually not you want to speak but that couldn't could you could be a part of you could jump in is that I think you have to look out for.

[Ryan Reynolds]

I think, I think generally, you know, one of the concerns with the new CBA was it might limit trade activity or movement. And I don't know. I don't think necessarily in the big picture that's the case. I think they're, you know, no specifics at all. But I, you know, I wouldn't be surprised to see movement continue to happen across the league. But you know, as far as us and moving up to those levels in the draft, that's I would guess that that probably is not on the not on the table.

[Drew Carter]

New Balance Hoops is changing the game with a roster built for the future, Darius Garland, Tyrese Maxey and Zach Lavine push the pace. While Cooper Flagg is set to be the next number one pick. Cam Brink is raising the bar for women's basketball, proving that impact goes beyond the court. Whether it's the HESI low V2s for quick cuts, the two way V5 for all round play or the kawaii four for those who never stop climbing, New Balance Hoops makes shoes built for every player. Visit newbalance.com basketball to explore more.