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The acquisition of Nikola Vucevic ($21 million per season) for the popular and productive Anfernee Simons ($27 million) not only saved the Celtics money but supplemented their frontcourt. Stevens said he explored upgrading a roster that deserves a boost because of their performance.

“We think we’re materially improved with the move we made, even though we lost a really good player,” Stevens said. “We looked at everything we could to do the best we could, to take advantage of this year, right? And this was a move that hopefully, you know, gives us, again, a little bit more depth at the position, and we’ll see if how it all plans out with a really good player. The result is, we do have increased flexibility moving forward, but we looked at everything like you always would.”

Stevens said it’s difficult to make impactful trades. The Celtics didn’t have a plethora of needs at the trade deadline but Stevens wanted more center depth to match up with the likes of the Pistons, Knicks, and Cavaliers. Vucevic was one of the quality big men available and the good news for the Celtics is his salary was reasonable.

“[It’s not easy] to do a deal when you’re talking about guys that you know are seriously going to take you to a different place than where you are,” Stevens said. “It’s really hard to find those guys, right, that are available. I think we’re all encouraged, not surprised, but encouraged by some of our youth and where they’ve come and a large part of that has been because of opportunity.”

Mazzulla does deserve credit for ensuring that Stevens didn’t need to look for an All-Star player or a player whose price may sacrifice the future because the supporting cast has fared so well.

“Joe has done an amazing job of throwing them all out there, sometimes pulling them fast, but throwing them all out there and letting them gain great experience and great opportunity,” Mazzulla said. “And you’ve seen this kind of jump on a couple of them, and then if you take that away for the next three months, are you actually worse, right? Or can they take another jump? So I think that that’s part of it too. Like we’re in kind of a unique position where some of the things that we’re hopeful for is that our young players continue to take the jump they’re taking. We know our best players are studs. That’s obvious.

“Jaylen is having a ridiculous year, and Derrick White … everybody’s going to focus on his shooting. But every time he’s on the court, we win by a lot and then Payton’s having a year he’s having. We’ve got really good guys that these guys are kind of accentuating, but I think that those are all the things you weigh when, when you really make a move, are you really making your team better, and at what cost. And so we felt pretty good about, you know, this was our move to help us be better, and hopefully we can be as good as we can be.”

The job is not over.

The Celtics have two weeks to add two players to complete their roster. One possibility is signing Ron Harper Jr. to a standard NBA contract as they already did with Amari Williams. The next will be a buyout option, but Celtics faithful shouldn’t get so excited about the midseason addition.

Boston’s history of buyout players such as Greg Monroe, Torrey Craig, and Mike Muscala were good locker room players and teammates but made minimal on-court impact. Stevens made it clear that any buyout candidate won’t be relied upon for significant minutes.

“I would say what we will be looking for, will not be somebody that we’re going to ask to come in and make be a part of the everyday rotation when we’re fully healthy,” Stevens said. “But we also need people that can come in and accept that and be ready to help us move this thing down the hill and forward. And so anybody that comes in here will know that, because that will be well communicated. And sometimes that actually eliminates, maybe people with bigger reputations, or whatever the case may be, but brings in the right person for your team. And so that’s what we’ll look for. And I think we’ll evaluate in house, as we always do. “

“It’s not about what somebody’s done or what their reputation is. It’s more about do they want to be here and do they want to add to us winning?”

There could be some intriguing players who may help the Celtics win a game or play a bench role such as Lonzo Ball, Cam Thomas, or even Arlington native Pat Connaughton.

The Bucks are the fifth team led by Doc Rivers in an NBA coaching career that began in 1999-2000.Matthew J. Lee/Globe Staff

TOUGH TIMES WITH BUCKS

Rivers stays positive amid struggles

Milwaukee coach Doc Rivers is in his fifth NBA coaching job and this perhaps could be his most difficult situation because of the status of Giannis Antetokounmpo, who was not traded at the deadline but is essentially demanding the Bucks surround him with a championship-caliber roster.

Bucks general manager Jon Horst sent off popular swingman Khris Middleton for Kyle Kuzma. He waived and stretched the remaining money owed to all-time-75 player Damian Lillard to sign Myles Turner. He brought in the likes of Gary Harris, Gary Trent Jr., and Kevin Porter Jr. He’s even signed Giannis’s two brothers to contracts over the years just to make him comfortable.

And still, the Bucks are a lottery team and Rivers is taking some of the criticism because of the swift decline. Milwaukee won the championship five years ago and looked to be one of the league’s elite teams, but the downfall began with injuries to Middleton, the decision to trade Jrue Holiday for Lillard and the aging of Brook Lopez, Bobby Portis, and the lack of production from Kuzma.

Since this losing is on Rivers’s watch, his reputation is taking a hit. But he still loves the game, and still wants to be part of the franchise’s bounceback.

“I love coaching,” Rivers said. “That’s the No. 1 thing. I love coaching and it’s hard right now. I had a very close friend [who] was like, ‘Why are you doing this?’ and I said, ‘I love what I’m doing.’ He felt like I was [not having fun]. You don’t enjoy losing but you do enjoy trying to figure it out. I have [Rajon] Rondo on staff part time, I’m watching Rondo’s son play. The relationships are still there and I think that’s why you do it.

“The teaching (is great) but the winning is what you want. That’s what we’re here for. It’s no fun.”

Rivers acknowledges the losing has taken a toll on his younger players.

“It gets hard,” he said. “Every day you’re just trying. I think it’s so much harder now to win and it’s harder now to lose as well because there’s more access to all of our players and they get to read how bad they are and how bad they’re doing. It’s tougher. It used to be easier because the only voice they heard was mine or their assistant coaches. Now they heard everybody’s. Every day we just try to reassure them we’re on the right track and we’re doing the right thing but you have to win a game to make them feel good. You need proof and that’s what we’re looking for.”

Rivers offered his thoughts on the ICE situation in Minneapolis and admonished the tactics used in the killings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti. He knows he’ll get criticized for being outspoken but won’t be muted.

“I’m joking by saying this, but, hell, we’ve lost how many games in a row?” Rivers said when asked whether basketball can be used as a refuge for what’s happening in the world. “I don’t know if this is a refuge right now. I think the best part, I’ve been in this league a long time and the best part in doing your job is you get moments when you forget about life when you work.

“And that’s cool. When I tell my grandkids, they could care less what the score was or how I’m feeling. But what they do is give me an amazing amount of joy and I think all the players, all of us, you get to perform and do something you love. For me, because I get closer to the end, I feel it more than a young player. It’s awesome to do what we do and lose sight of [real] life.”

Rivers was the Clippers coach when owner Donald Sterling was suspended and eventually forced to sell the team because of racist remarks. Clippers players were close to boycotting a playoff game in 2014. Rivers became the voice of reason and advised his players to make their own decision.

“I don’t know if I’ve been lucky or unlucky, I don’t know if going through that Clipper thing was lucky or unlucky but we made it through it,” Rivers said. “I think life prepares us all for everything. You go through things, sometimes you say the right stuff, sometimes you say the wrong stuff. Even when people say the wrong things to me it’s always if the intention was right. They were trying to get to the right thing. That’s what I try to judge more than anything.”

Koby Altman, the president of basketball operations for the Cleveland Cavaliers, made a seismic shake at the trade deadline.Sue Ogrocki/Associated Press

ETC.

Moves show Cavaliers’ level of desperation

The Cavaliers are one of the league’s hottest teams and their latest win streak occurred with Darius Garland on the bench with a toe injury. His injury history and lack of cohesion with Donovan Mitchell encouraged the Cavaliers to send him to the Clippers for James Harden.

And anyone who acquires Harden at this point of his career knows the risk. He’s never been a quality playoff player, he has no issue with looking for his next team if he doesn’t feel his contract is suitable, and he’s also 36 years old. The positives are Harden has turned himself into one of the game’s great playmakers and he’s shown little signs of slippage because his game was never based on athleticism.

The Cavaliers feel they need to win now, to encourage Mitchell to re-sign and capitalize on the windows of Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen. So general manager Koby Altman took the chance, sending the 26-year-old Garland out for a player 10 years older with a considerable résumé that has its warts.

“I was in LA and got a chance to talk to [Garland] and we got teary-eyed,” Altman said. “That’s how much he means to me. The Intuit Dome, he’s going to light that place up, make me look bad in a few years.”

But …

“Obviously we made a monumental trade to land James Harden,” Altman said. “We think that he raises our ceiling and gives us a chance to have real playoff success. James is a top-75 player of all time, one of the greatest players in NBA history that’s still playing at an elite level. He gives us a different look in the backcourt. He’s going to be gritty for our bigs and I know that Donovan is excited to play alongside him.”

The key word here is Donovan and appeasing the All-Star so he will want to stay in Cleveland long term. The Cavaliers also traded away key defender De’Andre Hunter for Dennis Schröder and Keon Ellis, but are expecting swingman Max Strus to return and are banking on the development of second-year forward Jaylon Tyson, who is averaging 14 points per game after just 3.6 as a rookie.

During his first stint with the Clippers, Chris Paul defended against the Celtics’ Rajon Rondo during a March 2012 game in Los Angeles.REUTERS

In their quest to rebuild and shed salaries, the Clippers gave Chris Paul his wish to send him out of Los Angeles, moving him to the Raptors in a roster-clearing move. Paul is unlikely to play a minute for the Raptors and could soon be waived, making him an unrestricted free agent. Paul, 40, wanted to end his career with the Clippers but issues with the coaching staff and management prompted the team to send him home until a trade was made … In Sacramento, the Kings are undergoing a total rebuild and the next move for general manager Scott Perry is a potential buyout of former All-Star DeMar DeRozan, who could seek to join a playoff-contending team with a chance at a championship. The club already sent out Schröder just months after he signed a three-year, $45 million deal to be the starting point guard. But acquiring Hunter from the Cavaliers gives the Kings a potential cornerstone to join Keegan Murray as they reshape the roster. Players such as Domantas Sabonis could be candidates for an offseason trade. Russell Westbrook, who signed a one-year deal and has played well despite his advanced age, could be a buyout candidate … The Bulls’ decision to blow up their roster by sending out Nikola Vucevic (Celtics), Kevin Huerter (Pistons), and Coby White (Hornets) allows a golden opportunity for the Hornets to make a run at their first playoff appearance in 10 years. Charlotte has made two play-in appearances in recent years but lost both times. The Hornets are one of the league’s hottest teams with eight consecutive wins behind a healthier Brandon Miller, rookie Kon Knueppel, and the revived LaMelo Ball. The Bulls were the one team separating the Hornets from the 10th seed but they are expected to spend the rest of the season playing younger players and preparing for the draft lottery … Speaking of the playoffs, the Trail Blazers are intent on making the play-in tournament and will be boosted by the season debut of former third overall pick Scoot Henderson, who has missed all season with a torn hamstring. Portland acquired Vit Krejci from the Hawks for shooting depth. It moved injured big man Duop Reath to Atlanta and he was waived by the Hawks. With the Clippers beginning a rebuild, the Trail Blazers do have a path to the play-in tournament.

This week we dig into Super Bowl LX preparations and if Drake Maye’s shoulder will be the main storyline of Patriots vs. Seahawks this Sunday.

Gary Washburn is a Globe columnist. He can be reached at gary.washburn@globe.com. Follow him @GwashburnGlobe.