When Jayson Tatum ruptured his right Achilles tendon in the Celtics’ conference semifinals loss the the New York Knicks, everything about Boston’s immediate future changed.

"We don't and we won't," Stevens said. "We won't put a projected timeline on him for a long, long time. ... It's baby steps right now. He's actually progressed great, but I don't

Instead of being forced to deal players already on the roster for whatever further goals the team may have, Boston now has two newcomers who still have some value, putting the team in a more flexible position moving forward as Stevens and the Celtics organization seem to value over all in the short term.