Brad Stevens Discusses Celtics' Trade Deadline Strategy amid Jayson Tatum Injury

Boston Celtics president of basketball operations Brad Stevens provided insight into the team's plans for the trade deadline this season.

"We will not put a ceiling on this group," Stevens said Wednesday, according to Jay King of The Athletic. "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 it all has to be within the ultimate goal, which is the North Star of retooling so we're in a position to compete for what we want to compete for (a championship)."

The Celtics currently sit at No. 4 in the Eastern Conference standings with a 15-11 record and could look to position themselves for a playoff run if they're able to get superstar Jayson Tatum back on the floor.

Tatum, who is recovering from a torn Achilles that he suffered during Boston's 2025 postseason run, is attempting to make his return to the court at some point this year.

Stevens revealed that the six-time All-Star is making "great strides" in his rehab despite having several boxes left to check, per King.

"There's the strength thresholds he has to meet," Stevens said. "And then, after that, several weeks of progressions, right, from the standpoint of scripted against small groups, scripted against bigger groups, scripted in 5-on-5, unscripted random, all the way up through those. But it's a long progression, and it's almost like, once you hit the strength, then you do your thresholds of a progression of play, and then you're also reconditioning to play real minutes, whatever that looks like."

Tatum would undoubtedly provide a boost to the Celtics' chances of contending in the East if he's able to return, as he's coming off a 2024-25 campaign in which he averaged 26.8 points and 8.7 rebounds to go along with a career-high 6.0 assists per game on 45.2/34.3/81.4 shooting splits.

In the meantime, Boston will continue relying on Jaylen Brown as its top scorer.

Brown has excelled with a larger offensive load this season, as his scoring average of 29.3 points per game ranks No. 6 among all players. He's also pulling down 6.2 rebounds and dishing out 4.9 assists on a nightly basis.

The trade deadline is on Feb. 5 at 3 p.m. ET.