One of the big talking points at Boston’s Media Day is the opportunities their roster turnover has created.
Media Day is a place for optimism. Rarely does the day call for hardball questioning or terse intensity, unless an Ime Udoka-sized controversy breaks out.
For the 2025 Boston Celtics, Media Day can be highlighted by the possibilities that so many unanswered questions bring to a team with as much roster turnover as anybody in the league.
What will the team look like? What do the expectations look like? Who among the supporting cast can emerge after previously limited opportunities?
In past seasons, the Celtics – already stacked with high-level contributors and seasoned pros – had their “Stay-Ready Group” on the fringes of the rotation. Guys like Xavier Tillman, Neemias Queta and Jordan Walsh had to be ready for an opportunity at all times, never knowing if the night ended in minutes on the floor or an outright DNP.
After a day at the podium, there’s a collective embrace around that ideology, and it all feels like one giant Stay Ready rotation.
Early in the day, President of Basketball Operations Brad Stevens mentioned his excitement for the “unproven guys,” noting that what they may have looked like before isn’t necessarily what the team may envision for them now.
“I’m really excited for the guys that are unproven,” Stevens said. “When I say ‘unproven,’ I’m not buying into any narrative of what they have been. We look at what they can do.
“And so can you take what they’re capable of and make it an every night consistent thing? And when you have a chip on your shoulder, when you’re competitive, and when you’re motivated because you haven’t gotten opportunities yet, some really good things can happen.”
Walsh, already accustomed to a Stay Ready mindset entering Year 3 of his NBA career, had one of the day’s more interesting quotes, mentioning the unique possibility of entire lineup changes mid-game to inject energy across the rotation.
“I think that what Joe wants is to be more of a 5-in, 5-out type of rotation, where it’s like we’re all going super hard for four or five minutes, boom, switch out, new five and then fight, fight, fight for four or five minutes,” Walsh said.
Baylor Scheierman is no stranger to the Stay Ready philosophy after a rookie season where he spent 51 games as either a DNP or inactive player but averaged 18.4 minutes across 16 games toward the end of the season. At the podium, he says his emphasis on preparation regardless of if the minutes followed was the biggest thing he learned in his rookie year.
“Just prepare like you’re going to play every night, even if you’re not going to play,” he said. “That way when you’re thrown into the game, you’re prepared and ready to go because you never know when your number’s going to be called.”
Staying ready isn’t reserved just for the guys fighting for opportunities on the bench. The question between starting Payton Pritchard or Anfernee Simons became the great debate of the summer for Celtics fans, and both players brought an open mind to the reality that their seasons could open in the starting lineup or in a sixth-man role.
“My only mindset is when I touch the floor, I bring my best,” Pritchard said. “That really should be the mindset of this whole team. People are going to be asked to do different things each night.”
Simons said he was excited to play in a winning culture, confident that Boston’s spacing and ball movement will benefit his scoring ability.
“I want to contribute to winning at the highest level.. however that looks, I’m fine with it,” he said.
Sam Hauser may have said it best when asked about his approach to more minutes and opportunity as one of the team’s longest tenured players: “Sometimes you learn by getting thrown in the fire.”
Once an undrafted rookie on a two-way contract, Hauser can relate to many of his teammates looking for that breakthrough opportunity. Across the roster, those chances are there for the taking, and the Celtics have players that need to be ready when their number is called.
Category: General Sports
