Boston Celtics Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Celtics Sign Jayson Tatum To Five-Year Max Extension

November 25th, 2020 at 7:00pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

NOVEMBER 25: Tatum’s maximum-salary contract extension with Boston is now official, the Celtics have announced on their official site.

NOVEMBER 22: The Celtics have agreed to a five-year, maximum-salary contract extension with forward Jayson Tatum, reports ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (via Twitter). The deal will go into effect for the 2021/22 season, once Tatum’s rookie contract expires. Ryan McDonough of Radio.com tweets that the deal includes a fifth-year player option for the 2025/26 season.

Tatum, 22, blossomed into an All-Star during his third season in Boston. He posted career-high averages of 23.4 PPG, 7.0 RPG, 3.0 APG, 1.4 SPG, and 0.9 BPG across 66 games for the Celtics during the regular season. Tatum also logged impressive shooting splits of .45/.403/.812.

Along with his fellow 2020 Boston All-Star, point guard Kemba Walker, and ascendant young forward Jaylen Brown, Tatum led the Celtics to their second Eastern Conference Finals appearance of his young tenure during the 2019/20 season.

As Bobby Marks of ESPN details (Twitter link), Tatum’s starting salary will be worth at least 25% of the 2021/22 salary cap. If he makes an All-NBA team again in 2021, his deal will start at 30% of next year’s cap. Based on a 3% cap increase, Tatum’s first-year salary will range from about $28.1MM to $33.7MM.

Marks notes in a separate tweet that, if Tatum and/or his fellow recently-extended young All-Star Donovan Mitchell, qualifies for the full 30% extension by making any of the three All-NBA teams next season, either player would earn the biggest rookie extension in NBA history. Sixers All-Star Ben Simmons holds the current record at $177.2MM.

Kings point guard De’Aaron Fox could also earn the 30% max on his new deal, though he’ll have to earn All-NBA First Team honors to do so, per the terms of his own extension. Among this year’s players eligible for rookie contract extensions, Tatum, Mitchell and Fox are the only three who have agreed to terms so far.

With Brown’s own extension (for $103MM in guaranteed money plus an additional $12MM in possible incentives) locked in through the 2023/24 season, getting off the contract of oft-injured veteran forward Gordon Hayward a year early has helped streamline Boston’s books for the immediate future, while securing their young core. Hayward opted out of the final year of his deal with Boston to sign a four-year, $120MM contract with the Hornets yesterday.

In terms of the team’s immediate roster-building, Boston will be able avoid the luxury tax this season thanks to Hayward’s departure. The club can still upgrade its roster using its $3.6MM biannual exception, along with trade exceptions acquired through the moves of Vincent Poirier and Enes Kanter.

Brown, Walker, and Tatum will all be under contract together for the next two seasons. Walker has a $37.7MM player option for 2022/23, his age-33 season. Defensive stalwart Marcus Smart has the team’s next-biggest contract, and is owed $27.8MM through the 2021/22 season.

Yesterday, the Celtics added center Tristan Thompson, signed into the club’s full mid-level exception. He will earn $19MM through 2021/22. Boston also fully guaranteed the contracts of incumbent starting center Daniel Theis and reserve forward Semi Ojeleye. Theis may be in line for a raise when he enters unrestricted free agency in 2021.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Hornets, Celtics Still Exploring Sign-And-Trade Structure For Hayward Deal

November 25th, 2020 at 10:09am CST by Luke Adams

NOVEMBER 25: The Celtics and Hornets have continued to work on ways to turn the Hayward deal into a sign-and-trade, with Charlotte trying to find a team that might be able to take on Batum’s $27MM expiring deal so that he doesn’t have to be waived-and-stretched, tweets Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN.

It sounds as if the Celtics don’t have any interest in taking on Batum or another player from the Hornets, preferring to generate a significant trade exception for signing-and-trade Hayward. The Thunder and Knicks may be the two teams best positioned to accommodate a salary dump, but there would be cap-related challenges in both cases.

NOVEMBER 21: The Celtics and Hornets are still discussing the possibility of turning Charlotte’s signing of Gordon Hayward into a sign-and-trade, according to Adam Himmelsbach of The Boston Globe (Twitter link).

Hayward reached an agreement earlier today to join the Hornets on a four-year, $120MM contract. Charlotte doesn’t have the cap room necessary to fit Hayward’s first-year salary in without making a corresponding roster move, so the team is reportedly planning to waive and stretch the final year of Nicolas Batum‘s contract, creating an extra $18MM in space.

Whether or not the Hornets intend to move forward with their plan to use the stretch provision on Batum, it makes sense to explore the possibility of a sign-and-trade.

Sending out enough salary to altogether avoid having to waive Batum would create future cap savings for Charlotte, though it’s not clear if acquiring a player like Terry Rozier or Cody Zeller would be of any interest to the Celtics after they reportedly reached deals with Jeff Teague and Tristan Thompson tonight.

Even if the Celtics don’t get anything of substance back from Charlotte in exchange for Hayward, the ability to create a massive traded player exception worth the forward’s outgoing salary should appeal to president of basketball operations Danny Ainge, as that exception could come in handy at some point over the next year. Boston may be willing to send the Hornets a small asset – such as a future second-round pick or cash – in order to create a sizeable TPE.

If the two sides don’t reach an agreement, Charlotte can simply move forward with its initial plan to waive and stretch Batum.

Celtics Sign Aaron Nesmith, Payton Pritchard To Rookie Contracts

November 24th, 2020 at 2:46pm CST by Luke Adams

The Celtics have officially signed their two 2020 first-round picks, Vanderbilt’s Aaron Nesmith and Oregon’s Payton Pritchard, to rookie scale contracts, the team announced today in a press release.

After playing a part-time role as a freshman, Nesmith was in the midst of a breakout sophomore year in 2019/20 before a stress fracture in his right foot brought his season to an early end in January. In 14 games (35.7 MPG), he averaged 23.0 PPG and 4.9 RPG with an impressive .512/.522/.825 shooting line. He said today that his foot is 100% healthy and that he’ll be ready for camp, tweets Gary Washburn of The Boston Globe.

As for Pritchard, he tested the draft waters in 2019 before returning to the Ducks for his senior season, which was the best of his college career. He averaged 20.5 PPG, 5.5 APG, and 4.3 RPG, while shooting 41.5% on three-pointers in 31 games (36.6 MPG) in 2019/20.

Nesmith, the No. 14 pick, projects to earn $16.5MM on his four-year contract, assuming he signs for the full allowable 120% of the rookie scale. The No. 26 pick, Pritchard will make $10.45MM on his four-year rookie deal.

Free Agent Rumors: Batum, Thomas, Mudiay, Ferrell, Briscoe

November 23rd, 2020 at 5:39pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Hornets plan to waive Nicolas Batum and use the stretch provision on his $27.1MM contract for the upcoming season in order to sign Gordon Hayward, unless they can figure out a sign-and-trade deal that would save them from stretching Batum.

Assuming he’s released, Batum shouldn’t have trouble finding a new home. His agent, Jeremy Medjana, told Basket Session that the Warriors, Jazz, Clippers, Bucks and Raptors are interested in signing him once he clears waivers (hat tip to Frank Urbina of HoopsHype). Batum, who has played for Charlotte the past five seasons, only appeared in 22 games last season.

Here are more free agency notes and rumors:

Former MVP candidate Isaiah Thomas said his latest hip procedure was a success and he’s eager to prove it, the Boston Globe’s Adam Himmelsbach reports. Thomas says he feels like his former self in workouts. “I was blowing by people,” he said. “I haven’t blown by anybody since I had a Celtics uniform on.” Thomas was waived after the Wizards traded him to the Clippers in February and remains unsigned.
Reserve point guards Emmanuel Mudiay and Yogi Ferrell are generating some interest on the free agent market, Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports tweets. Both players could likely be had for the veteran’s minimum.
Point guard Isaiah Briscoe hopes to return to the NBA, according to Hoops Rumors’ JD Shaw (Twitter link). Briscoe went undrafted out of Kentucky in 2017, but made it onto the Magic’s roster for the 2018/19 season. He spent the 2019/20 season in Poland playing for King Szczecin. In 39 games with Orlando, Briscoe averaged 3.5 PPG, 2.2 APG, and 1.9 RPG, across 14.3 MPG.

Alex Kirschenbaum contributed to this post.

Celtics Re-Sign Tremont Waters To Two-Way Deal

November 23rd, 2020 at 4:53pm CST by Dana Gauruder

NOVEMBER 24: Waters’ deal is now official, according to the NBA’s transactions log.

NOVEMBER 23: The Celtics are bringing back guard Tremont Waters on a two-way contract, Jared Weiss of The Athletic tweets.

Waters also played on a two-way contract last season. With center Tacko Fall also coming back on a two-way deal, Boston has reached agreements to fill both its slots.

A 2019 second-round pick out of LSU, Waters appeared in 11 regular-season games last season and averaged 3.6 PPG and 1.5 APG in 10.8 MPG. He also made a cameo appearance in the postseason.

Waters spent most of his rookie campaign with the Maine Red Claws and was named to the All-NBAGL Second Team. Waters averaged 18.0 PPG, 7.3 APG and 2.0 SPG in 33.8 MPG while starting 36 games for the Red Claws.

Tacko Fall Returns To Celtics On Two-Way Deal

November 23rd, 2020 at 4:20pm CST by Luke Adams

NOVEMBER 24: The deal is official, per the NBA’s transactions log.

NOVEMBER 23: Second-year center Tacko Fall, a fan favorite in Boston, is returning to the Celtics on a second two-way contract, reports Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link).

An undrafted free agent out of UCF, the 7’5″ big man spent his rookie season in 2019/20 on a two-way deal with the Celtics, appearing in seven NBA games for the club. He racked up 23 points, 15 rebounds, and four blocks in just 33 minutes in those seven contests.

Fall was a rotation mainstay for the Maine Red Claws, the Celtics’ G League affiliate, averaging 12.9 PPG, 11.3 RPG, and 3.1 BPG in 29 games (23.3 MPG) for the club.

The Celtics’ issued a qualifying offer to Fall last week, making him a restricted free agent. Now it appears he’ll be back with the team for the 2020/21 season, filling one of the two-way slots. Tremont Waters, the club’s other two-way player last season, also received a QO from the club, but it’s not clear yet whether or not he’ll return.

Southeast Notes: Hayward, Bryant, Wall, Heat

November 23rd, 2020 at 3:32pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

The Hornets made one of the biggest and most controversial splashes in free agency, signing injury-prone forward Gordon Hayward to a four-year, $120MM contract. Due to injuries and the development of his Boston teammates, Hayward was never able to return to his All-Star form while with the Celtics.

Although the Hornets’ $120MM commitment to Hayward is widely viewed as an overpay, it didn’t come out of left field. In today’s edition of The Lowe Post podcast, Zach Lowe of ESPN suggests that the Hornets’ offer to Hayward was not significantly higher than that of some competing clubs hoping for his services in free agency.

“You want to clown the contract?” Lowe said (per RealGM). “That’s fine. Just know it’s not like the Pacers and the Celtics were offering $80MM. They weren’t offering $120MM. But my best intel is something like $105MM, $108MM, $102MM, $110MM.”

Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer examines Hayward’s fit with the Hornets, conceding that the deal is probably an overpay. However, he also contends that Hayward can supply veteran leadership to the Hornets’ young core while being by far their best player, if healthy. Hayward will be leaned on to supply multifaceted scoring and is an expert play-maker. He also will be able to convincingly slot into the lineup at small forward, power forward, and even shooting guard.

There’s more out of the Southeast Division:

Wizards general manager Tommy Sheppard said today that the team informed every center it spoke to in free agency that Thomas Bryant would remain the Wizards’ starter, according to Quinton Mayo of NBC Sports Washington (Twitter link). “Certainly probably rubbed some guys the wrong way who thought they could come in here and start,” Sheppard said. The club ultimately signed Robin Lopez to back up Bryant.
Beyond the churning NBA rumor mill, Wizards point guard John Wall has remained active during the offseason. Wall will purchase an ownership stake in the Australian NBL club the South East Melbourne Phoenix, Marc Stein of the New York Times tweets. Los Angeles entrepreneur Romie Chaudhari heads the ownership group for the Phoenix, which also includes and Cavaliers reserve guard Dante Exum, plus retired big men Zach Randolph and Al Harrington and retired swingman Josh Childress.
Point guard Goran Dragic and backup center Meyers Leonard are excited to return to the Heat, according to Joe Beguiristain of Heat.com. Miami prioritized re-signing both players to lucrative two-year contracts with team options for the second year. “When free agency hit, we pretty much made our quick deal,” Dragic commented. “First of all, it felt like there was unfinished business for our team and for me because, obviously, going through the ankle injury was not easy, and I feel like I could have helped in many different ways,” Leonard said.

Hayward Thanks Celtics For The Memories

November 22nd, 2020 at 9:57pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Hayward posted a message on Twitter, thanking Celtics fans for their support during his three seasons there. “I know there were some ups and downs, but I will always cherish my experience in Boston. I am forever grateful that I was given the opportunity to wear a Celtics uniform and play in front of the Garden faithful,” said Hayward, who also posted a tweet about his excitement to play for the Hornets.

Free Agency Rumors: Ibaka, Iwundu, Hernangomez, Bazemore

November 22nd, 2020 at 8:08pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

Big man Serge Ibaka was not bereft of contending suitors in free agency, according to Michael Scotto of HoopsHype. Scotto notes that the Raptors, the team with whom Ibaka spent most of the last four seasons, apparently offered a one-year, $12MM deal to Ibaka for an encore appearance in 2020/21. Toronto was believed to be unwilling to offer multiple years, which would have cut into the team’s projected 2021 cap space.

The Nets also wanted Ibaka, but could only afford a taxpayer mid-level exception, which would have started at $5.7MM this season. Ibaka ultimately inked a two-year, $19MM contract with the Clippers.

Here are more free agency rumors:

Though swingman Wesley Iwundu ultimately opted to sign a two-year, veteran’s minimum contract with the Mavericks, the Hawks, Pelicans and Kings were also in the running for Iwundu’s services this offseason, Scotto reports in the same piece.
The Mavericks and Kings also considered adding reserve center Willy Hernangomez before he agreed to terms with the Pelicans on a one-year, veteran’s minimum deal, per Scotto. Hernangomez’s 2019/20 club, the Hornets, also apparently wanted to re-sign the 26-year-old big man.
Scotto reports that former Kings wing Kent Bazemore also found himself in high demand this offseason before agreeing to a one-year veteran’s minimum deal with the Warriors. The Lakers, Clippers, Bucks, Celtics, Suns, Knicks, Nets, and Hornets were all interested in adding the three-and-D vet this offseason.

Eastern Notes: Sixers, Celtics, Pistons, Magic

November 22nd, 2020 at 1:03am CST by Luke Adams

Joking that having son-in-law Seth Curry on the Sixers will let him see his granddaughter more often, head coach Doc Rivers said this week that it was an easy decision to acquire a sharpshooter like Curry when the team had an opportunity to make a deal with Dallas.

“One of the things we wanted to do – Elton (Brand), Daryl (Morey), and I – when we got here was create as much shooting as possible around Ben (Simmons) and Joel (Embiid),” Rivers said, per Brian Seltzer of Sixers.com. “This was a no-brainer.”

Curry wasn’t the only prolific outside shooter the 76ers acquired this week. The team also agreed to trade for Danny Green and used one of its draft picks on Arkansas’ Isaiah Joe, who averaged 3.5 made threes per game over the course of his college career.

Here’s more from around the Eastern Conference:

The Celtics and Hornets were among the teams that exhibited interest in free agent guard Avery Bradley before he signed with Miami, league sources told Michael Scotto of HoopsHype.
After reaching agreements with Jeff Teague and Tristan Thompson, the Celtics project to have 16 players competing for 15 roster spots, according to Chris Forsberg of NBC Sports Boston, who notes (via Twitter) that one of those players – Javonte Green – is on a non-guaranteed deal. Two other Celtics had their 2020/21 salaries guaranteed today.
Rod Beard of The Detroit News takes a closer look at how Pistons general manager Troy Weaver has reshaped the team’s roster so far, explaining why the team opted to pay big money to Jerami Grant over Christian Wood and acknowledging that the Mason Plumlee signing was a bit of a “head-scratcher.”
The Magic appear to be running it back for the 2020/21 season with very few roster changes, according to Josh Robbins of The Athletic, who says it’s somewhat surprising that no trade involving Aaron Gordon or Evan Fournier has materialized. While team officials believe the current group can have a winning record, the front office will face criticism if the club once again finishes in the middle of the pack, failing to make any noise in the playoffs and failing to earn a high lottery pick, says Robbins.