Joe Mazzulla’s contractual situation with Celtics on fire after Brad Stevens’ comments – NBC Sports Boston

Brad Stevens was approaching at the end of his press conference on Wednesday evening when he made a comment that raised some eyebrows.

“Joe and I-Prime of everything, we keep one of these internally-but discussions, we have Joe under contract for several years at this time,” said Stevens when he was asked if the team had started discussing a possible extension of the contract for the coach head Joe Mazzulla. “We certainly want Joe to be here for a long time.”

The most recent reports on the Mazzulla contract suggested that the 2025-26 season would have been the last year of its current agreement, therefore the speculation that could sign an extension in this low season. But that reporting does not seem to align with the insistence of Stevens that Mazzulla is under contract for “more years”.

So what’s going on here? Michael Holley by NBC Sports Boston shared his interpretation on Thursday evening The outside of C’season Show during the second round of the 2025 NBA Draft.

“I think there could be a team option for Joe Mazzulla,” Holley said to the Co-Host Tom Giles and Tim Welsh. “So technically … Joe Mazzulla is not in the last year of his contract if he depends on the team. Now, I don’t think he will come to this.

“So, in other words, he is a year and a team option that would make him” more years “. Therefore, he is technically under contract for” more years “with the Celtics.”

In this scenario, Mazzulla would be under contract for the 2025-26 season, so the team could decide whether to extend its agreement in the 2026-27 season or end it after the imminent campaign. Holley believes that we will not even get to that point.

“What I think will happen is that they tear the contract and will have an extension,” Holley added.

“… I think Brad clarified. He did not like the way things went (in the playoffs), especially in those first two games against the Knicks, but he likes Mazzulla, and I would be shocked if Mazzulla was not signed with an extension of the contract. … I think an extension of the contract is simply inevitable.”

Mazzulla has created a rather impressive curriculum since he hired Boston’s head of coach in September 2022 following the suspension of the Udoka. Mazzulla currently has the best winning percentage of the regular season of any coach in the history of the NBA (.740) and led the Celtics to their 18th championship in 2024.

Boston won 61 games during the 2024-25-The first time campaign that the C won over 60 games in the back-to-back seasons since 2008 and in 2009-Prose to fall into the New York Knicks in the second round of the 2025 playoffs.

Mazzulla is about to face his most difficult challenge as head coach of the Celtics: his best player, Jayson Tatum, should lose most or all the next season due to a break by Achille, while two key pieces of his team of title 2024 – Jrue Holiday and Kristaps Porzingis – are out of the door, with the possibility of more departures while Boston seemed to be healthy.

At this point, however, it seems that Stevens still believe in Mazzulla’s ability to navigate in those challenges – and could reiterate that conviction by delivering to his coach an extension of the contract before the start of the season.