Celtics free agency primer: What's on Brad Stevens' to-do list this summer?

Celtics introduce Kristaps Porzingis

BOSTON -- Brad Stevens has already been hard at work to revamp the Celtics roster following a disappointing end to last season. But his work is far from done.

NBA free agency tips off at 6 p.m. Friday, and while a handful of teams are going to spend a whole lot of cash adding players, the Celtics will be mostly quiet on that front. Most of the heavy lifting is complete following last week's shakeup that sent Marcus Smart to Memphis and brought in big man Kristaps Porzingis to serve as a third wheel to Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown. Now Stevens has to smooth the edges of the roster, hand out some big contracts to players already on the books, and also mend a fence with Malcolm Brogdon.

Then again, it's usually when you think Brad is done when he strikes. No one really saw the Brogdon trade coming last summer on the heels of Boston's trip to the Finals, and we may have another Brogdon trade this offseason after the original iteration of the Porzingis trade (which would have sent the guard to the L.A. Clippers) fell apart. Moving his big salary could help build out the roster, but it may be tough to find any takers.

Or, if Stevens can smooth things over with the veteran, Brogdon could be back as the team's starting point guard. There is a lot up in the air with that situation at the moment.

Assuming Brogdon will remain for now, here's a look at Boston's current roster:

Point Guards: Derrick White, Malcolm Brogdon, Payton Pritchard
Wings: Jaylen Brown, Jayson Tatum, Sam Hauser, Jordan Walsh, Justin Champagnie*
Bigs: Kristaps Porzingis, Al Horford, Robert Williams, Luke Kornet*
*Non-guaranteed contracts

If Brogdon and Stevens can come to a kumbaya agreement and all is well, the C's should be in decent shape at guard, with either White or Brogdon handling the point. They could use a true point guard should Brogdon get hurt again, but between him and White and Tatum as a point-forward, the Celtics are not in bad shape. Pritchard should also get the bigger role he's been begging for in this scenario as well.

Wing depth is the biggest concern, especially with it looking like Grant Williams will not be back. He's a restricted free agent after Boston extended him a qualifying offer, but it may not be financially ideal to match whatever deal he gets on the open market. 

Williams' departure should mean a bigger role for Hauser, which would help his development. We'll also get to see what the rookie Walsh can do with all the energy he brings to the floor, but another wing behind Tatum and Brown would be welcome. A reunion with Javonte Green would work for both sides, since he'd be an affordable option that can knock down threes and is capable of holding his own on the defensive end. And if that J. Green doesn't work out, maybe Jeff Green would like to come back to Boston (again) and show off his shiny new championship ring as motivation for everyone in the C's locker room. Swingman Torrey Craig, a six-year vet who shot 39.5 percent from deep for the Suns last season, could also be an option.

Given the injury history of Porzingis and Williams, not to mention Horford just celebrating his 37th birthday last month, adding another regular-season big wouldn't be a bad idea. Lawrence native Georges Niang could be an intriguing -- and affordable -- option. Maybe Blake Griffin would like to spend another season with Luke Kornet on Bus 1 and eat up a bunch of meaningless minutes from October through March.

None of these are super sexy moves or options, but the Celtics don't have the funds to make the super sexy moves if they want to avoid the second tax apron and gigantic tax bills (and the ramifications that go with them) in the future. The Celtics are all-in when it comes to winning a title, but they also have to plan for life with a pair of max players -- plus Porzingis -- over the next three years.

Brown is due to get his supermax this summer, which will really cook the books starting next season. It's also been widely reported that Porzingis will be getting a two-year extension when he's eligible next week, which will further stress the bean counters on Causeway Street.

It should be a relatively tame summer the rest of the way -- minus the supermax talk -- for the Celtics. Then again, we thought the C's would be content with their roster last summer, and that's when Stevens went out and snagged Brogdon.

We'll see what he has up his sleeve this summer, as he tries to build a Celtics team that will bring the Larry O'Brien Trophy back to Boston.

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