Kentavious Caldwell-Pope has made strides on the defensive end and his team is taking notice, Rod Beard of The Detroit News writes. “Phenomenal. That kid is one of the best perimeter defenders in the league — KCP locks up,” teammate Reggie Jackson said. “It’s not a fluke. What KCP does on defense night in and night out is not a fluke.”
Here’s more from the Eastern Conference:
- Steve Clifford, who recently agreed to an extension with the Hornets, believes he is lucky to work for Michael Jordan because Jordan has perspective that most owners do not, Dave McMenamin of ESPN.com writes. “There are things that we do that I feel we’ve improved on because of input I’ve gotten from him. But he’s great,” Clifford said. “I think he may be the easiest owner to work for, and because he has a feel for what four [games] in five nights is, what five in seven nights is, I could give you five or six examples of situations where things have gone badly, where he — because he played — he’ll call and be much more reassuring than, ‘Why did we play so poorly?'”
- With Marcus Smart expected to miss a couple weeks, rookie Terry Rozier could see an increased role, A.Sherrod Blakely of CSNNE.com writes. “He’s a guy that I have faith to put in,” coach Brad Stevens said. The Celtics have excellent depth on their roster, but if Rozier can prove he belongs in the rotation, the team could look to trade one of its veterans to open up minutes for the Louisville product, although that is merely my speculation.
Chris, who would you expect the C’s to trade to open up minutes for Rozier? The only guy that comes to mind personally is Avery Bradley, because I don’t believe they trade Thomas or Smart. I don’t think they have interest in dealing Bradley either, unless he is expressing discomfort with coming off the bench.
I personally think that Thomas, Bradley, Turner, and any of their bigs would be available for trade. That being said, I’m not sure that is the case during the season
Well, bigs don’t open up time for Rozier realistically, and I’m not sure they trade Thomas without a huge return considering he consistently puts up over 20-25 points. I did forget about Turner though. Good call. I think Stevens really likes him due to his positional versatility (wing or guard).
Turner and Bradley are the likeliest candidates. Bradley probably has more trade value right now. As far as suitors, he would fit in with the Thunder and maybe Novak, Waiters and a protected first gets a deal done.
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That seems like a lot for Bradley considering he and Waiters are about equal in skill. Also, from the Celtics POV, Waiters is blocking Rozier in minutes anyways, which was the beginning of this discussion. Do you think the pick would be protected in a very unlikely to transfer, or more similar to the Mavs trade for Rondo? (Top-7, top 7, top 7, etc… No protection at the end)
I have Bradley as an upgrade on Waiters and I believe Rozier would get the minutes over him. Bradley is an excellent role player and he has proven to accept that role over a long season. In terms of pure talent, I see how Waiters and Bradley could be equal, but there’s value in being able to accept your role and simply do your job without trying to do too much.
As for the value of the pick in that trade, a top-20-22 protected pick would be the most i’d be willing to offer if I’m OKC. I’d do that deal because of the pressure on the team this season. Let’s give Durant the best shot at a title and I think Bradley would be a excellent pick up.
I don’t see the Celtics incentive to get Waiters in a deal like that. I agree that Bradley would be an upgrade in terms of fit on both sides of the floor for OKC, though I still like Waiters’ individual upside more. I think we need to consider that the Celtics still are likely to change their roster a decent amount moving forward. They have a lot of assets. Young players they already have, and more draft picks are coming, including a possible top pick from Brooklyn. They’re competing while roster building, which makes me think the guys I mentioned are available
Rozier can defend. Coming into the draft, I liked him for a couple of reasons. If you heard any of his interviews, he is well spoken and seems to have a good sense of humor and understanding about himself and what he needs to do. Spoke about how he felt about Dwyane Wade and things he takes from his game. He can shoot it pretty well too. Should be a good combo guard
Rozier should have a nice career. Perhaps he becomes a key reserve for a contender; maybe something more.
RJ Hunter should have a nice career too. He is one of those guys who can not only make his shots, but he can create them too. He should have a nice run in Boston.
Liked him coming into the draft. Thought it was a steal. I think he is more than just a shooter.
Wow, sorry it crashed so I thought it didn’t send my first comment! Oops! ;)
RJ Hunter too. I just feel like he’s got a special something that you don’t see in a lot of players. He is so capable of shooting as well as creating his own shots.
Clifford is a dirtbag who trolls for undergrads. He’s a pig.