- Juwan Morgan of the Celtics remains sidelined by a hamstring injury, Jared Weiss of The Athletic tweets. The injury imperils Morgan’s chances of making the team. The former Jazz forward, who hasn’t been able to participate in practices, signed a camp deal last month.
Jaylen Brown is ready for the challenge of a new season after finishing the last one on the sidelines, writes Taylor Snow of Celtics.com. Brown had to undergo surgery and miss the playoffs after tearing the scapholunate ligament in his left wrist in May.
“I never had surgery before, so this was a first for me,” he said. “Definitely the mental part of it was interesting. The wrist takes so long to heal, it was kind of frustrating at times. But my body got a chance to heal, my mind got a chance to be refreshed, and right now I feel great. I feel lighter than ever, faster than ever, stronger than ever.”
Brown was limited physically after the operation, so he concentrated on watching film to get a better understanding of his opponents. Much of the film focused on the league’s top playmakers, and Brown hopes to add that aspect to his game this season.
“There’s a few guys, especially in the playmaking department that I watched,” Brown said. “So I’m looking forward to going out and showing all the things that I watched.”
There’s more from Boston:
- Josh Richardson is hoping to re-establish himself with the Celtics after being traded for the third straight offseason, per Jared Weiss of The Athletic. He expects to benefit from a reunion with new head coach Ime Udoka, who was an assistant when Richardson was with the Sixers. “I think that the way we see things basketball-wise lines up and he’s always been a straight shooter,” Richardson said. “That’s how I know him and that’s how I am and that’s how I would like my coaches to be.”
- Al Horford reached out to Dennis Schröder on Instagram as the first step toward getting his former Hawks teammate to sign with the Celtics, according to Jay King of The Athletic. Horford asked for a phone call and then sold Schröder on the benefits of playing in Boston, telling him that his aggressive style would be a good fit and that he would have much more freedom than he did with the Lakers last season. Schröder said Horford told him, “You’re going to have a big year here because we know your value and we know how to put you in place to be successful.’”
- Udoka will tinker with the starting lineup during preseason, but he plans to have a regular group of five when the season begins, tweets Mark Murphy of The Boston Herald. Udoka said he’s not a believer in “plug-in” starters.
So far during the 2021 NBA offseason, five players have signed rookie scale extensions. Of those five, only Robert Williams signed for less than the maximum salary. While it’s uncommon for players to sign non-max extensions so far in advance of the season, Williams said this week that he didn’t want to wait until 2022 to sign his next contract.
“I told my agent before the season even started, when we started discussing contract extensions, I told him I wanted to stay,” Williams said, according to Chris Forsberg of NBC Sports Boston. “I feel like we have a pretty good group here. A good group of coaches, a couple people I came in the league with here with (Marcus) Smart, (Jayson Tatum), (Jaylen Brown), we got Al (Horford) back. So we kinda know what it takes, we just gotta apply it.”
Even though Williams prioritized getting an extension done with the Celtics, it still took him some time to wrap his around the fact that he was able to complete a deal that locks him up through 2025/26 and guarantees him at least $48MM, Forsberg writes.
“Honestly, it was amazing, I went through three days of shock — feel like I’m still in shock,” Williams said. “Just a sense of — they trust me. When people put their trust in you, you gotta take it seriously.”
Let’s round up a few more Celtics notes…
- Al Horford wouldn’t say this week that he regretted his decision to leave the Celtics for the Sixers during the 2019 offseason, but he did acknowledge that his time away from Boston made him better appreciate his time with the franchise, per Adam Himmelsbach of The Boston Globe. Horford was thrilled to be sent back to the C’s in June. “My family and I were all just jumping and screaming,” he said. “It was so exciting, because I know what kind of place this is. I didn’t want to be any other place but here. It’s taken me being away from here and having to go through what I went through to really realize that.”
- Speaking to Jay King of The Athletic, Marcus Smart explained why he wasn’t surprised by Brad Stevens‘ decision to move on from his head coaching position and admitted that he strongly considered passing on the team’s extension offer in favor of reaching free agency. According to Smart, he believed he could potentially get $90MM+ in free agency, but opted for long-term security by accepting Boston’s four-year, $77MM offer. “I was actually willing to go straight into free agency and go to the market. But just talking to my circle, my family, my people and just understanding the pros versus the cons, the good versus the bad and things like that,” Smart said. “What are you willing to sacrifice? What are you willing to gain? So it was a business decision. Especially with the way everything’s going with COVID and everything, nothing’s for sure, nothing’s guaranteed.”
- Ethan Fuller of BasketballNews.com outlines five Celtics roster and rotation battles to watch during training camp.
The Celtics dealt with lots of turmoil last season: injuries, a short turnaround from the Orlando bubble, and COVID-19 outbreaks affecting several players, including star Jayson Tatum. The team is hoping to turn the page entering training camp, and Jaylen Brown appears optimistic, particularly about new head coach Ime Udoka.
“I’m completely bought in,” Brown said of Udoka. “I’m looking forward to this season and being an extension of him on the court.” (Twitter link via Keith Smith of Spotrac).
President of basketball operations Brad Stevens, the former head coach, says that Brown has been cleared by the team’s doctors after recovering from wrist surgery, and will be a full participant in practice, per Jared Weiss of The Athletic (Twitter link).
Udoka participated in media day virtually through Zoom, instead of in person, because the first-year head coach is in the last day of quarantine after contracting a breakthrough case of COVID-19, per ESPN News Services. Udoka is fully vaccinated and asymptomatic, according to team spokesperson Christian Megliola. He’s expected to join the team tomorrow for the start of training camp.
There’s more from Boston:
- Dennis Schröder mentioned yesterday that Tatum and Brown both called to recruit him to the Celtics, but they weren’t the only ones. He told reporters today that Stevens, Udoka, and former Hawks teammate Al Horford called him as well, adding, “I know Al Horford will have the locker room under control.” (Twitter link via Keith Smith of Spotrac).
- Schröder also consulted with Thunder general manager Sam Presti prior to signing with Boston, and Presti endorsed the Celtics organization, per Smith (Twitter link).
- Juan Hernangomez, who dislocated his left shoulder over the summer in an exhibition game prior to the Olympics, says the shoulder is 100 percent now, according to Jared Weiss of The Athletic (Twitter link).
Celtics All-Star forwards Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown are two major reasons why Dennis Schröder chose to sign with the Celtics in free agency, as Taylor Snow of Celtics.com relays (Twitter link).
Tatum and Brown are two of Schröder’s favorite players, and at 23 and 24 years old, respectively, the two young stars are only getting better. Boston could choose to start Schröder alongside Marcus Smart, Brown, Tatum and Robert Williams III this season.
“Jayson and Jaylen are two of my favorite players in today’s game,” Schroder explained. “Very competitive. They’re winners, two guys that will do whatever it takes to win the game. I think it’ll be a great fit and they are a big reason why I picked Boston.
“They both called me and showed a lot of interest, that was nice. I’m really looking forward to joining them soon and winning a lot of games together.”
There’s more from the Atlantic Division tonight:
- A. Sherrod Blakely of Full Court Press dives into the Celtics‘ backcourt situation, noting that Smart should bounce back with a strong defensive season. Blakely also examines some of Boston’s other guards, including Schröder and Josh Richardson.
- Doug Smith of The Toronto Star explores the Raptors‘ roster situation, taking a look at which players will be competing for spots in training camp. Smith highlights Yuta Watanabe, Freddie Gillespie and Isaac Bonga, among others, breaking down the chances of each player making the roster.
- Stefan Bondy of the New York Daily News lists five Knicks storylines to watch ahead of training camp. New York is entering the 2021/22 season with an upgraded roster on paper, adding Kemba Walker and Evan Fournier to a core that already includes the likes of Julius Randle, RJ Barrett and Derrick Rose.
SEPTEMBER 27: Mathews has officially signed with the Celtics, according to RealGM’s transactions log.
SEPTEMBER 24: Free agent guard Garrison Mathews will sign with the Celtics ahead of training camp, tweets Shams Charania of The Athletic. It will be a one-year, non-guaranteed contract, according to Charania’s sources.
Mathews, 24, spent his first two seasons as a two-way player with the Wizards after going undrafted out of Lipscomb in 2019. A shooting specialist, he hit 38.4% from three-point range in 64 games last season while averaging 5.5 points and 1.4 rebounds in 16.2 minutes per night.
The move will bring Boston’s roster up to the camp limit of 20, assuming they complete recently-reported deals with Ryan Arcidiacono and Theo Pinson. The club reached an agreement with Luke Kornet as well earlier this month, but it remains to be seen if or when that deal will be finalized.
The Celtics also have a two-way slot open.
SEPTEMBER 23: The signing is official, per RealGM’s transactions log.
SEPTEMBER 22: Free agent wing Theo Pinson will sign with the Celtics for training camp, reports ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter link).
Pinson, who will turn 26 in November, appeared in 31 games for the Nets from 2018-20, then spent last season on a two-way contract with the Knicks. He appeared in 17 games for New York, but only played a total of 34 minutes in those games, putting up just two points and five rebounds on 1-of-9 shooting (0-for-8 on threes).
While his NBA numbers have been underwhelming, Pinson has played well at the G League level, averaging 19.1 PPG, 5.9 RPG, and 5.5 APG on .441/.382/.841 shooting in 44 games (34.0 MPG) across two seasons for the Long Island Nets.
Pinson will join Juwan Morgan and Luke Kornet as players attending Boston’s training camp without any guaranteed salary. Earning a spot on the 15-man roster will be an uphill battle, since the Celtics have 14 players on guaranteed contracts, plus Jabari Parker on a partial guarantee. However, the club does have one open two-way slot, so Pinson could be a candidate to fill it.
SEPTEMBER 27: Arcidiacono’s deal with the Celtics is now official, per RealGM’s transactions log.
SEPTEMBER 23: Ryan Arcidiacono has agreed to a training camp deal with the Celtics, Shams Charania of The Athletic tweets.
Arcidiacono, 27, has spent the last four seasons with the Bulls, averaging 4.8 PPG, 2.2 APG, and 2.0 RPG with a .431/.373/.807 shooting line across 207 total games (17.6 MPG). He signed a two-way deal with the team in 2017, a one-year contract in 2018, and a three-year pact in 2019.
Chicago turned down Arcidiacono’s third-year team option in July, making him an unrestricted free agent. The free agent guard recently worked out for the Warriors.
The addition of Arcidiacono will give Boston a full 20-man camp roster. With 14 players on fully guaranteed deals, Arcidiacono has a shot to make the final roster with an impressive camp showing. The club traded guards Kris Dunn and Carsen Edwards to Memphis this month.
- Celtics forward Jaylen Brown admits he’s still dealing with soreness in his wrist, he told Marc Spears of The Undefeated. Brown is recovering from a torn ligament in his left wrist, which required surgery in May and sidelined him for the postseason. “My wrist has been healing. Some days it’s better than others,” he said. “I got to continue to push and work, but I’m excited to be there for camp.”
With Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, Robert Williams and Marcus Smart seemingly locked into starting spots for the Celtics, Chris Forsberg of NBC Sports Boston explores the possibilities for the fifth starter. The most likely candidates are Aaron Nesmith, Josh Richardson, Al Horford and Dennis Schröder — Forsberg takes a closer look at what each player could bring to the starting unit.
- Free agent Gary Clark worked out for the Celtics, Emiliano Carchia of Sportando tweets. Clark, a 6’6” forward, played 39 games in the league last season, including 35 with the Magic. He also played two games apiece for Denver and Philadelphia.