Even before Jayson Tatum limped off the court with a torn Achilles tendon during the Celtics’ Eastern Conference semifinals loss to the New York Knicks, GM Brad Stevens knew big changes would be on tap for the franchise this offseason.

Yes, big spending on free agents and contracts had lured in key players like Jrue Holiday and Kristaps Porzingis who, combined with stars Tatum and Jaylen Brown, ultimately helped Boston capture the NBA championship in 2024.

But keeping the core of that roster intact next season with Tatum possibly missing all of it while rehabbing from his injury would have come with a combined payroll and luxury tax bill of more than $500 million. And as a team exceeding the second apron of the salary cap, it would have also meant additional penalties limiting ways they could sign or trade for players.

“We’ve known for a long time that hard decisions were coming,” Stevens said Tuesday on the decisions to trade both Holiday and Porzingis, which both became official this week. “The second apron is why those trades happened. I think that is pretty obvious. And the basketball penalties associated with those are real. ... So that was part of making the decision to push and put our chips on the table and go for the last two years.”

Now under that dreaded second apron, it’s also brought about a different way of looking at what’s next for the Celtics. As the team’s president of basketball operations, Stevens knows their approach will have to change while Tatum is out. But as a former coach, he also said he’s never going to put a ceiling on any team’s potential.

“My expectations are always the same — compete like hell to win the next game,” he said.

Stevens said he doesn’t want to hear any mention of the term “rebuild” this upcoming season.

“That’s not going to be part of the lexicon in our building, and that’s the way we’re going to focus moving forward,” he said.

While the team could make additional moves to get completely out of the luxury tax, Stevens said it’s not the mandate he’s been given by incoming team owner Bill Chisholm.

“Bill has been pretty clear from the get go that he wants to make sure that we’re prioritizing basketball assets and the ability to retool this thing at the highest level that we can,” Stevens said. “The most important acquisition that we’re going to be able to make in the next couple of years is getting Tatum out of a (walking) boot. We’re not beating that one. So that’s going to be the best thing that can happen for us.”

Both Tatum and Brown, who had minor knee surgery last month, were in the Celtics’ facility on Tuesday rehabbing. According to Stevens, Tatum was moving “really fast” in his walking boot, while Brown was already getting shots up and is expected to get full clearance for basketball activities soon.

MAVS’ DAVIS HAD PROCEDURE ON RETINA

The Dallas Mavericks’ Anthony Davis underwent a procedure to repair a detached retina he sustained during this past season, according to a story on ESPN.com, which cited sources.

According to the story, Davis is expected to be ready for training camp. He was traded to the Mavericks during this past season for another superstar — guard Luka Doncic.

Davis played in 11 regular-season games for Dallas as well as two play-in games during the postseason. Davis, 32, averaged 24.7 points and 11.6 rebounds in 51 regular-season games this past season. He averaged 20 points and 10.1 rebounds in nine games for the Mavericks.

RAPTORS SIGN POELTL TO EXTENSION

The Toronto Raptors signed center Jakob Poeltl to a four-year contract extension. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

The 29-year-old from Austria averaged a career-best 14.5 points and 9.6 rebounds, along with 1.2 blocks and 1.2 steals in 57 regular-season games for Toronto (30-52) last season. He also shot 62.7% from the field, which ranked fifth in the league among qualified players.

JOKIC WON’T SIGN EXTENSION THIS OFFSEASON

Nikola Jokic has informed the Nuggets he will not sign a contract extension this offseason, team sources told The Denver Post, as the three-time MVP intends to wait until next summer to engage in contract talks.

Jokic has a minimum of two years remaining on his current supermax contract, as well as a player option for the 2027-28 season. Tuesday was the first day he was eligible for an extension that would add up to three years and $212 million to that deal.

However, he can earn an additional $80 million, approximately, by pushing off an extension until the 2026 offseason.

The Nuggets presented both options to Jokic in conversations with him and his representation. Jokic’s camp is electing to wait a decision that Nuggets leadership was anticipating because of the money on the table, team sources said.