Boston Celtics Rumors | Hoops Rumors

And-Ones: Mock Draft, Ownership, Offseason Outlook, Upgrades

February 17th, 2022 at 10:56pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Pistons could wind up with the No. 1 overall pick for the second straight year. In Chad Ford’s Mock Draft 2.0, they’ll take Auburn freshman forward Jabari Smith with the first pick. According to Ford’s sources, Detroit GM Troy Weaver would love to pair up Cade Cunningham with Smith. Ford throws a curveball with the second pick, with the Magic selecting Purdue wing Jaden Ivey. That leaves Gonzaga big man Chet Holmgren for the taking at No. 3, where the Rockets snap him up.

We have more from around the basketball world:

Private equity firms have increasingly become a force in NBA ownership, Mike Vorkunov of The Athletic notes. Private equity firms have purchased stakes in five teams, and their influence will continue to increase as the value of franchises continues to climb.
ESPN’s Bobby Marks not only takes a look at potential buyout candidates this month, he also turns his attention to the offseason, breaking down the free agent class, teams with significant cap space and significant players eligible for extensions. Regarding cap space, he notes that the Pacers and Trail Blazers have moved onto the list due to their trades. The Pistons, Magic and Spurs were already projected to have cap space.
The Nets, Sixers and Celtics did the most to upgrade their 2021/22 rosters before the trade deadline, according to The Athletic’s Seth Partnow. The Bucks, Jazz and Suns made slight alterations that could help them in the postseason, in Partnow’s evaluation.

Poll: Which Team Will Win Eastern Conference?

February 17th, 2022 at 10:58am CST by Luke Adams

With the All-Star break set to begin after tonight’s games, it’s as good a time as any to check in on the NBA’s playoff race and assess which teams are best positioned to finish the season strong and make a deep postseason run.

We’ll start today with the Eastern Conference, which is more competitive in 2021/22 than it has been in years.

No team has been able to pull away from the pack in the East so far, with the 38-21 Bulls currently hanging onto the No. 1 seed by a half-game. If the season were to end today, Chicago’s .644 winning percentage would be the lowest mark for a conference’s top seed since Detroit went 50-32 (.610) in 2002/03.

However, while the East may lack a dominant team, the conference makes up for it in depth. The top five seeds are all within three games of one another, and the top eight seeds are all at least four games over .500 — the same certainly can’t be said of the West, where the 29-31 Clippers are in the No. 8 spot.

The parity in the Eastern Conference has created a fascinating playoff landscape. Instead of having one or two clear-cut favorites to represent the conference in the NBA Finals, the East has at least five or six teams that could realistically make it.

The aforementioned Bulls have the East’s best record despite having dealt with injuries and COVID-related absences to key players all season long. If they’re healthy in time for the postseason, they’ll be an incredibly tough out, especially with DeMar DeRozan shooting the lights out like he has lately.

The 37-21 Heat have also been affected by injuries, but have been dangerous when healthy. Their preferred starting lineup of Jimmy Butler, Bam Adebayo, Kyle Lowry, Duncan Robinson, and P.J. Tucker has a +13.5 net rating for the season.

The Bucks (36-23) are the defending champions, having proven in last year’s playoffs that they can win big games and big series. The upstart Cavaliers (35-23) are on the opposite end of the spectrum in terms of postseason experience, but have one of the NBA’s best defenses and added some more offensive firepower at the deadline by acquiring Caris LeVert.

Further down the standings, the Sixers (34-23) and Nets (31-27) made themselves legitimate title threats by completing a deadline-day trade to acquire stars who actually want to play for them. James Harden is expected to make his Philadelphia debut after the All-Star break, while Ben Simmons will play at some point for the Nets, who will also be getting Kevin Durant back in the coming weeks.

The Celtics (34-26) and Raptors (32-25) were out of the East’s playoff picture earlier this season, but have been two of the conference’s hottest teams as of late. Boston’s +5.4 net rating and 104.9 defensive rating both rank first in the conference, while Toronto’s length and defensive versatility has created problems for many of its opponents — the Raps have a 6-3 record against the East’s current top three seeds.

Of course, the Hornets (29-30), the Hawks (28-30), and a couple others teams remain in the mix for an Eastern Conference playoff spot, but unless Atlanta can replicate its late-season success from a year ago, a spot in the NBA Finals is an extreme long shot for any of those clubs.

What do you think? Who’s your current pick to come out of the Eastern Conference? How many teams in the wide-open East do you think have a realistic chance to make the NBA Finals?

Vote in our poll, then head to the comment section below to share your thoughts!

Celtics Notes: Smart, Theis, Hauser, Open Roster Spots

February 16th, 2022 at 8:31am CST by Luke Adams

The Celtics blew out the rival 76ers on Tuesday by a score of 135-87 and now have the best net rating (+5.5) of any team in the Eastern Conference. Currently the No. 6 seed in the East, Boston is just 3.5 games back of the first-place Heat and Bulls.

However, Tuesday’s resounding win was marred slightly by the departure of Marcus Smart, who didn’t return to the game after spraining his right ankle in the second quarter, writes Tim Bontemps of ESPN.

The Celtics are assessing the severity of the injury today, but head coach Ime Udoka said on Tuesday night that Smart “rolled his ankle pretty bad,” so it seems unlikely we’ll see him back on the court on Wednesday in the team’s last game before the All-Star break.

“We’ll check him out tonight, obviously tomorrow, see how he feels,” Udoka said after the win, per Bontemps. “Didn’t look very good walking out, but we’ll see.”

Here’s more on the Celtics:

Speaking to reporters after being traded back to the Celtics following a brief stint with the Rockets, center Daniel Theis said it feels good to be back in a familiar spot. “I wouldn’t say (I was) shocked,” Theis said (Twitter link via Jared Weiss of The Athletic). “I was kind of relieved, happy. Houston just didn’t work out for me as I planned it. If I could’ve been traded, I wanted it to be here.”
Sam Hauser‘s new contract with the Celtics is a minimum-salary deal that covers next season as well as the rest of 2021/22, tweets Keith Smith of Spotrac. Boston has a team option for the 2022/23 season and Hauser would be assured of a $300K partial guarantee if that option is exercised, Smith adds.
The Celtics still have three open spots on their 15-man roster after promoting Hauser and signing Luke Kornet. However, Chris Forsberg of NBC Sports Boston doesn’t think the club should be in a rush to fill them until confirming whether or not Jaylen Brown will be named an All-Star replacement, since Brown’s All-Star bonus would move team salary much closer to the luxury tax line. Even after that, Forsberg isn’t convinced Boston needs to scour the buyout market for more veterans, suggesting it might make more sense to call up a prospect or two from the G League. President of basketball operations Brad Stevens has acknowledged that’s a possibility.

And-Ones: Freedom, Buyout Market, Sharpe, Salary Cap

February 15th, 2022 at 9:50am CST by Luke Adams

Enes Freedom, who was waived by Houston on Monday, has become increasingly involved in political and social justice activism within the last year, taking aim in particular at China’s record on human rights. However, there’s a sense that if he doesn’t get picked up by an NBA team, it will be more about what he can do on the court than anything he has said off of it, writes Steve Bulpett of Heavy.com.

“I don’t know if anyone else signs him. Maybe not,” one general manager told Bulpett. “I think from a basketball standpoint, it’s really questionable. I’m not sure if any of the other stuff will even come into play. I don’t think he won’t get a job because of anything he’s said or done. I think he just doesn’t guard, and the game is changing. He plays a lot older than he really is.”

There are plenty of teams around the NBA with open roster spots, so there certainly could be one (or more) interested in bringing in Freedom as a bench scorer, despite his defensive shortcomings. If that doesn’t happen, the veteran center would apparently be open to playing in Europe, as Antigoni Zachari of Eurohoops relays.

Here are a few more odds and ends from around the basketball world:

The buyout market is beginning to show signs of life, with word breaking this morning that San Antonio and Goran Dragic have reached a buyout agreement. Before that deal was made, John Hollinger of The Athletic took a closer look at some of the buyout candidates who could shake free in the coming weeks — Dragic was the No. 3 player on Hollinger’s list.
In a separate story for The Athletic, Hollinger handed out his trade deadline awards, dubbing the Kings‘ acquisition of Donte DiVincenzo the “biggest unexpected steal,” calling the Jazz‘s deal for Nickeil Alexander-Walker the deadline’s “most underwhelming trade,” and referring the Celtics‘ addition of Derrick White as the “trade we’ll talk about a lot more in April,” depending on how the rest of Boston’s season plays out.
There’s a possibility Shaedon Sharpe could enter the 2022 NBA draft without playing a single college game, making him one of the most enigmatic prospects in years, according to Jonathan Givony and Mike Schmitz of ESPN (Insider link). Givony and Schmitz explore how NBA teams are evaluating Sharpe, noting that most clubs are preparing for Sharpe to declare for the draft despite John Calipari‘s claim that the freshman guard plans to be back with Kentucky in 2022/23.
Jared Weiss of The Athletic takes an interesting, in-depth look at the creation of the NBA’s salary cap and Bird rights, explaining how they revolutionized the league.

NBA Teams With Open Roster Spots

February 14th, 2022 at 1:49pm CST by Luke Adams

Several NBA teams typically end up with newly-opened roster spots following the trade deadline. This happens for a variety of reasons. Some teams make two-for-one or three-for-one trades; some acquire players in cap-related deals and immediately cut them; others buy out or release players they weren’t able to move at the deadline.

Whatever the reason may be, there are plenty of available roster spots around the NBA, and it’s a good bet that most of them will be filled before the end of the regular season. Contending teams will want to fortify their depth for the playoffs, while lottery-bound clubs will take fliers on prospects willing to accept multiyear deals that aren’t fully guaranteed beyond this season.

Here, with the help of our roster counts page, is a look at the teams that have open roster spots as of February 14:

Teams with open 15-man roster spots:

Atlanta Hawks
Boston Celtics (3)
Charlotte Hornets
Denver Nuggets *
Detroit Pistons
Houston Rockets
Miami Heat (2)
Milwaukee Bucks (3) *
Minnesota Timberwolves
New Orleans Pelicans
Orlando Magic
Philadelphia 76ers
Toronto Raptors
Utah Jazz
Washington Wizards

* The Nuggets (DeMarcus Cousins) and Bucks (Greg Monroe) each have a player on a 10-day contract. We’re counting those roster spots as “open” because Cousins’ and Monroe’s deals will expire this week.

If we count the Nuggets, exactly half of the NBA’s 30 teams have at least one 15-man roster spot available. Twelve of those clubs have a single open roster spot, while the Celtics, Heat, and Bucks have multiple openings.

Since teams are only permitted to dip below 14 players on standard contracts for up to two weeks at a time, Boston, Miami, and Milwaukee will all have to get back to that league-mandated minimum before the end of the month.

The other teams on this list aren’t under immediate pressure to add a 15th man, and some may hold off for a little while for financial reasons — or just to wait to see who else becomes available on the buyout market in the next couple weeks.

Some of these clubs – including the Heat with Caleb Martin, the Pelicans with Jose Alvarado, and the Raptors with Justin Champagnie – might use their open roster spot to promote a player on a two-way contract who has earned regular minutes.

Teams with open two-way spots:

Boston Celtics
Dallas Mavericks
Oklahoma City Thunder
Phoenix Suns
Utah Jazz

The Celtics (Sam Hauser) and Thunder (Aaron Wiggins) have each promoted a two-way player to the 15-man roster since the trade deadline. The other three teams on this list released a two-way player in January, creating an opening.

In the past, teams haven’t been able to sign players to two-way contracts after January 15, but that restriction doesn’t exist this season, so I expect we’ll see some – if not all – of these teams fill their open two-way slots sooner or later.

Celtics Notes: Theis, Schröder, Roster Openings, TPEs

February 14th, 2022 at 10:53am CST by Luke Adams

New Celtics center Daniel Theis waived his 15% trade kicker as part of the trade that sent him from Houston back to Boston, reports Yossi Gozlan of HoopsHype (Twitter link).

Theis gave up $3MM+ as a result of that decision, since the bonus would’ve been worth 15% of the amount of guaranteed money left on his contract. At the time of the trade, the big man was still owed $20MM+ in guaranteed money over the next two-and-a-half seasons.

It’s unclear if Boston would’ve moved forward with the acquisition of Theis if he hadn’t been willing to waive his trade kicker. The Celtics will be able to fill out their 15-man roster while remaining slightly under the luxury tax, but those efforts would’ve been complicated if they’d had to account for a higher cap hit for Theis due to his trade bonus.

Here’s more on the C’s:

Steve Bulpett of Heavy.com hears that the Lakers were offering the Celtics “a couple of second-round picks and some minimum contracts” for Dennis Schröder before Boston sent him to Houston in a package for Theis. Los Angeles would’ve had to trade three minimum-salary players to match Schröder’s salary.
Brian Robb of MassLive.com evaluates the Celtics’ decision to trade for Theis rather than accepting the rumored Lakers offer, which he speculates might’ve included expendable veterans like DeAndre Jordan, Kent Bazemore, and Wayne Ellington. As Robb writes, president of basketball operations Brad Stevens was looking for help in both the present and future, making Theis a better fit than those Lakers vets. Stevens also valued roster flexibility, per Robb — completing a one-for-three trade instead of a three-for-one deal would’ve meant the Celtics came out of the deadline with just one open roster spot instead of five.
The Celtics have already filled two of their five roster openings, and Stevens talked after the deadline about using one or two more of those open spots on young players, with an eye toward the future, as Chris Forsberg of NBC Sports Boston relays. “We’ve got to look at a couple of young prospects that we can hopefully develop and make part of our long-term future and can find a great niche and fit within our team,” Stevens said. “I think a great example of that is a place like Miami that’s done that really well. They’ve found guys that other people passed on or missed on and have created a team that has really, really good players making a lot of money, and really, really good players that are just starting out in their career, but have found the perfect fit.”
The Celtics decided not to use their $17MM+ Evan Fournier trade exception to absorb Derrick White‘s incoming salary last Thursday, according to Adam Himmelsbach of The Boston Globe. If they’d gone that route, the Celtics could’ve created a new $11.6MM trade exception (using Josh Richardson‘s outgoing salary), which wouldn’t have expired until the 2023 trade deadline. Instead, the team opted to keep the bigger exception, which will expire during the 2022 offseason.

Wolves Notes: Harrell, Trade Deadline, Gupta, Simmons, Roster Spot

February 12th, 2022 at 10:06pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Timberwolves wanted to add size to their front line, but the closest they came to making a trade at the deadline was a proposed swap with the Wizards involving Montrezl Harrell, according to Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic. Harrell could have helped a Minnesota team that has been near the bottom of the league in defensive rebounding all season, but Krawczynski states that there was internal debate about how he would have fit in. He’s only 6’7″ and isn’t a good outside shooter or an outstanding defender, so the Wolves passed on the deal and Harrell wound up in Charlotte.

Minnesota talked to the Celtics about acquiring Marcus Smart, but never made much traction, Krawczynski adds. Boston offered Josh Richardson and Romeo Langford in exchange for Malik Beasley, but the Wolves turned it down, feeling that Beasley’s outside shooting is too valuable to part with.

There’s more from Minnesota:

Executive vice president of basketball operations Sachin Gupta had plenty of incentive to make a huge trade by the deadline, but he didn’t feel like the right offer was available, Krawczynski writes in the same piece. Gupta, who took over his position when Gersson Rosas was fired before the start of training camp, could have felt pressure to shake up the roster before the new ownership group decides on his future with the organization. “I could imagine the perception that I would want to put my stamp on things and make a move just for the sake of it. But that’s just not how I operate,” Gupta said. “I’m going to operate from a position of what is best for this franchise, not for me.”
The Timberwolves had been mentioned frequently as Ben Simmons suitors since last summer, but the package the Nets got from the Sixers on Thursday is far better than anything Minnesota could have offered, contends Michael Rand of The Star Tribune. The Wolves didn’t have the star that Philadelphia president of basketball operations Daryl Morey was seeking, and they weren’t able to convince a third team to get involved. Rand also suggests that Minnesota may have benefited from keeping its young core together, rather than breaking it up for a shot at Simmons.
The Wolves have an open roster spot, but they won’t address it right away, at least not on a permanent basis, tweets Chris Hine of The Star Tribune. Gupta said the team doesn’t expect to fill that spot with more than a 10-day contract until at least March due to luxury tax concerns.

Celtics Sign Luke Kornet, Promote Sam Hauser

February 11th, 2022 at 11:00pm CST by Luke Adams

11:00pm: Boston has promoted Hauser, the team announced.

6:33pm: The Celtics have officially signed Kornet, the team announced. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

1:47pm: The Celtics intend to sign free agent big man Luke Kornet to a rest-of-season contract and will promote Sam Hauser from his two-way deal to the 15-man roster, reports ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (via Twitter).

Boston’s series of deadline trades left the team with just 10 players on its standard roster, plus a pair of players on two-way deals. Promoting Hauser and signing Kornet will be a first step toward replenishing the roster, though the Celtics will still have three openings on their main roster, along with one available two-way spot.

Kornet, 26, has bounced around the NBA since making his debut in 2018 as an undrafted free agent out of Vanderbilt. The forward/center has averaged 5.7 PPG and 2.6 RPG in 136 total games (15.0 MPG) for the Knicks, Bulls, Celtics, Cavaliers, and Bucks.

Kornet finished the 2020/21 season in Boston following a deadline trade and has spent much of this season with the team’s G League affiliate, the Maine Celtics. He has averaged 15.6 PPG, 5.1 RPG, and 4.3 APG in 14 G League contests (27.1 MPG) while also spending some time in the NBA on 10-day deals with Milwaukee and Cleveland.

Hauser, meanwhile, signed a two-way contract with the Celtics last August after going undrafted out of Virginia. The 6’8″ forward has played limited minutes in 10 NBA games with Boston, but has been a G League standout, putting up 21.1 PPG, 6.5 RPG, and 3.3 APG on .473/.412/.765 shooting in 18 games (35.1 MPG) for Maine.

Celtics president of basketball operations Brad Stevens said earlier today that he expecting to add a couple players before the weekend and that he was focusing on frontcourt players, ideally ones who could shoot. Kornet and Hauser fit that bill.

After trimming some salary at the deadline, the Celtics are far enough below the luxury tax line that they’ll be able to fill all their roster spots, tweets ESPN’s Bobby Marks.

Celtics Notes: White, Theis, Roster Openings, Pick Swap

February 11th, 2022 at 10:17am CST by Luke Adams

Speaking to reporters on Friday about the Celtics‘ deadline-day trade for Derrick White, president of basketball operations Brad Stevens said the team has thought for years that the longtime Spurs guard would fit with Boston’s best players (Twitter link via Keith Smith of Spotrac). Stevens referred to White as a strong defender who also “makes the right play on offense over and over” (Twitter link via Jared Weiss of The Athletic).

Confirming a previous report that the acquisition of Daniel Theis came together quickly right before the deadline, Stevens said the Celtics were happy to get two players who will be under contract for multiple years to come (Twitter link via Weiss). Both White and Theis are under team control through 2025.

“Neither move was a short-term deal,” Stevens said (Twitter link via Smith). “When trading away two really good perimeter players, we had to get perfect fits. We want to maintain the stretch we’re on, but this is about the long-term. We know these guys can be on the floor in a seven-game playoff series.”

The Celtics’ series of trades opened up five spots on their 15-man roster, so Stevens will remain busy after the deadline as he looks to fill those openings.

According to Weiss (Twitter link), Stevens expects to sign a couple players as soon as today, telling reporters that the front office is looking for “skilled” players, with an eye on outside shooting. He later said during an appearance on the Toucher and Rich radio show in Boston that his immediate focus is on frontcourt players (Twitter link via Weiss).

Here are a few more notes on the Celtics:

The 2028 first-round pick swap the Celtics gave the Spurs in the White deal will be top-one protected, sources tell Brian Robb of MassLive.com (Twitter link). In other words, if Boston gets the No. 1 overall pick in ’28, San Antonio won’t be able to swap first-rounders, but otherwise the Spurs will have that option.
Asked today about the decision to give up a 2028 pick swap in addition to a lightly-protected 2022 first-round pick for White, Stevens acknowledged that risk, but expressed a belief it was worth it. “That can go either way, right? That’s the one you lose sleep over for a couple of days,” Stevens said (Twitter link via Weiss). “But I think the analysis of that is we’ve got some really good players and we’ve got a person who fits in perfectly with them.”
In a story for The Athletic, Weiss and Jay King assessed the Celtics’ deadline moves. Weiss doesn’t think the deals made Boston a legit title contender in the East, but says the gap between the C’s and the East’s top teams has gotten smaller.
In his own breakdown of the Celtics’ trades, Chris Forsberg of NBC Sports Boston acknowledges there’s no guarantee the roster changes will make the team better right away, but notes that Stevens has proven he’s certainly not risk-averse in his new front office role.

Lakers Sought Trades With Knicks, Raptors, Celtics

February 10th, 2022 at 10:55pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Rival executives tried to take advantage of the Lakers’ predicament, which ultimately led to VP of basketball operations Rob Pelinka standing pat at the trade deadline, according to The Athletic’s Bill Oram.

Other teams wanted the Lakers to take on bad contracts or give up their limited draft capital, including their 2027 first round pick, to facilitate potential deals, according to Oram.

The Lakers were unable to gain any traction on a potential Russell Westbrook deal. They tried to put together some lower-level deals, including a proposed three-way trade with the Knicks and Raptors. Toronto big men Khem Birch and Chris Boucher and Knicks wing Cam Reddish could have been on the move, but those fell apart after the other two teams couldn’t agree on draft compensation.

The Lakers also mulled a possible reunion with Dennis Schröder, though there was some pushback from some members of the organization. The Lakers still pursued a deal with the Celtics but Boston’s high asking price ended those negotiations. The Celtics wound up trading Schröder to Houston.

LeBron James and Anthony Davis were consulted on potential trades and understood why Pelinka chose to stand pat, according to ESPN’s Dave McMenamin.

“You can’t force another team to present yourself with a deal that is going to make your team be better. That’s up to them,” Pelinka said. “And throughout this process we had different things we looked at and like I’ve done in the past had conversations with LeBron and Anthony about it and I would say there’s alignment here. And that’s all that matters.”

The Lakers will monitor the buyout market but would have to waive a player since their roster is full.