Brad Stevens was nearing the end of his press conference Wednesday night when he made a comment that raised a few eyebrows.
“Joe and I — first of all, keep any of those discussions in-house — but we’ve got Joe under contract for multiple years right now,” Stevens said when asked if the team had begun discussing a possible contract extension for head coach Joe Mazzulla. “We certainly want Joe to be around here for a long time.”
The most recent reporting around Mazzulla’s contract suggested the 2025-26 season would be the final year of his current deal, hence the speculation that he could sign an extension this offseason. But that reporting doesn’t seem to align with Stevens’ insistence that Mazzulla is under contract for “multiple years.”
So, what’s going on here? NBC Sports Boston’s Michael Holley shared his take Thursday night on The Off C’season show during the second round of the 2025 NBA Draft.
“I think there may be a team option for Joe Mazzulla,” Holley told co-hosts Tom Giles and Tim Welsh. “So, technically … Joe Mazzulla is not in the final year of his contract if it’s up to the team. Now, I don’t think it will come to that.
“So, in other words, he’s got a year, and a team option that would make it ‘multiple years.’ So, he’s technically under contract for ‘multiple years’ with the Celtics.”
Under this scenario, Mazzulla would be under contract for the 2025-26 season, then the team could decide whether to extend his deal into the 2026-27 season or end it after the upcoming campaign. Holley believes we won’t even get to that point, however.
“What I think is going to happen is, they’re going to tear up the contract and he’s going to get an extension,” Holley added.
“… I think Brad made it clear. He didn’t like how things went down (in the playoffs), especially in those first two games against the Knicks, but he likes Mazzulla, and I’d be shocked if Mazzulla is not signed to a contract extension. … I think a contract extension is just inevitable.”
Mazzulla has built quite the impressive resume since taking over as Boston’s head coach in September 2022 following Ime Udoka’s suspension. Mazzulla currently owns the best regular-season winning percentage of any coach in NBA history (.740) and guided the Celtics to their 18th championship in 2024.
Boston won 61 games during the 2024-25 campaign — the first time the C’s have won 60-plus games in back-to-back seasons since 2008 and 2009 — before falling to the New York Knicks in the second round of the 2025 playoffs.
Mazzulla is about to face his most difficult challenge as Celtics head coach: His best player, Jayson Tatum, is expected to miss most or all of next season due to a ruptured Achilles, while two key pieces of his 2024 title team — Jrue Holiday and Kristaps Porzingis — are out the door, with the possibility of more departures as Boston looks to shed salary.
At this point, however, it sounds like Stevens still believes in Mazzulla’s ability to navigate those challenges — and he could reiterate that belief by handing his head coach a contract extension before the season begins.
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