Brad Stevens is making it quite clear how he feels about Terry Rozier.
Rozier was a first-round pick by the Boston Celtics in 2015 and entering his fourth season with the team. He blossomed last season amid injuries to Kyrie Irving and Gordon Hayward, averaging 11.3 points per game during the regular season and 16.5 points per game during the playoffs.
Boston has until the season opener to extend Rozier beyond his rookie contract, but NBC Sports Boston says that is unlikely to come. Regardless, Stevens hopes the Celtics will have Rozier around for a long time.
Stevens on Rozier: "I think it’s very clear how all of us players, coaches and front office, people in Boston, everybody you run into, how they feel about Terry. And it’d be great if we could have him here for a long, long, time."
— Adam Himmelsbach (@AdamHimmelsbach) October 11, 2018
Rozier says that he is open to signing an extension after the season.
Terry Rozier on possible contract extension: "We’ve been trying to focus on us and I’ve been trying to take the pressure off the extension thing. So I’m focused on the team. If it’s right for me to sign an extension, I will. If it’s not, it still can happen in the summer."
— Adam Himmelsbach (@AdamHimmelsbach) October 11, 2018
Boston has Hayward under contract for potentially three more seasons. Irving says he wants to remain with the team longterm. Marcus Smart is already locked up through 2021-22. Boston has so much money already committed that they may have to make a decision on keeping either Rozier or Jaylen Brown.
