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Celtics Among Teams Exploring Clint Capela Trade

February 3rd, 2020 at 2:37pm CST by Luke Adams

The Celtics are among the teams engaged in talks with the Rockets about a possible Clint Capela trade, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN (Twitter link).

Boston has long been considered a possible fit for Capela, since the team has relied for most of the season on low-cost big men like Enes Kanter and Daniel Theis. Acquiring an impact center like Capela, who’s capable of rim-running on offense and protecting the paint on defense, could make sense for a club that’s loaded with quality wings and has Kemba Walker running the show at the point.

Capela’s $14.9MM cap hit complicates matters to some extent, since the Celtics likely don’t want to move Marcus Smart and have no other expendable mid-level-type contracts for salary-matching purposes. Still, it’s not impossible for Boston to match Capela’s salary without using Smart — the team could package three less expensive players, including one or both of Kanter and Theis, to get to the necessary $9.9MM. Houston may not want to cut multiple players to accommodate those incoming pieces, but some could hypothetically be re-routed to teams with open roster spots.

The Celtics also have extra first-round picks available to include in a trade, if they so choose. In addition to their own 2020 first-round selection, the C’s hold the Grizzlies’ top-six protected first-rounder, and the Bucks’ first-rounder.

As Wojnarowski notes (via Twitter), the Rockets’ ultimate goal in dealing Capela would be to acquire a wing and another center. Securing a package that features one of Boston’s centers and a first-round pick which could be flipped for a wing would be one path to achieving that goal. Robert Covington and Andre Iguodala are among the players on Houston’s radar, Woj adds.

The Hawks have been cited most frequently as a potential landing spot for Capela, and the Kings are said to have expressed interest as well.

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NBA G League Assignments/Recalls: 2/2/20

February 2nd, 2020 at 8:30pm CST by JD Shaw

Here are Sunday’s assignments and recalls from around the NBA G League:

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Celtics Notes: Injury Bug, Kemba, Theis, Brown

February 2nd, 2020 at 4:04pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

The persistent injury bug that has dogged the Celtics has made it hard to decipher just what the team’s ceiling can be when healthy, according to NBC Sports Boston’s Chris Forsberg. The bug is currently affecting All-Star point guard Kemba Walker and center Enes Kanter.

“I don’t know what they’ve officially labeled [Walker’s knee injury] as but it’s been ongoing all year,” coach Brad Stevens said. “And he missed, I think, a game earlier this month for it. But it flared up.”

Marcus Smart started in Walker’s stead for the Celtics in a Saturday 116-95 defeat of the Sixers.

There’s more out of Boston:

  • Speaking of ailing Celtics, Walker is not worried about the knee soreness that will sideline him for at least the next game, Taylor Snow of Celtics.com reports.
  • Boston center Daniel Theis has been a stabilizing defensive presence, Chris Forsberg of NBC Sports Boston details in a separate piece. The 27 year-old Theis has been a pleasant surprise for the Celtics in the wake of several key frontcourt injuries and the trade of Aron Baynes over the summer.
  • Though fourth-year Celtics wing Jaylen Brown may have been snubbed as an All-Star this season in favor his teammate Jayson Tatum, Brown’s chief priority is helping his team make a concerted playoff push, as A. Sherrod Blakely of NBC Sports Boston details. “I’ve been working on my game since I came into the league,” Brown said. “I’m going to continue to get better. That’s it, man.”
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NBA G League Assignments/Recalls: 2/1/20

February 1st, 2020 at 8:59pm CST by Arthur Hill

Here are Saturday’s G League assignments and recalls from around the league:

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Kemba Walker To Miss At Least Two Games

February 1st, 2020 at 11:56am CST by marksuleymanov

Celtics point guard Kemba Walker will miss at least the next two games with a right knee injury before being reevaluated, head coach Brad Stevens told reporters, including Mark Murphy of The Boston Herald (Twitter link).

Walker aggravated the knee issue during Thursday’s tilt against the Warriors but there does not appear to be a major concern that it’s a long-term injury.

The 29-year-old has been a major factor in the Celtics’ strong season, earning a starting spot in the All-Star Game. Through 42 games, the former longtime Hornet is averaging 22.0 PPG, 5.0 APG and shooting nearly 39% from beyond the arc. Boston sports a 32-15 record, good for third in the Eastern Conference and two games behind the Raptors for second place.

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NBA Revises Cap, Tax Projections For 2020/21

January 30th, 2020 at 3:15pm CST by Luke Adams

3:15pm: The NBA’s new projection is a $115MM salary cap and $139MM tax line, according to Wojnarowski (Twitter links). That’s not as significant a drop from the previous projection as some front offices feared, so it shouldn’t have a noticeable impact on teams’ plans at the deadline.

3:07pm: The NBA has informed teams that new projections for 2020/21’s salary cap and luxury tax threshold are on the way, according to Adrian Wojnarowski and Bobby Marks of ESPN. Those new numbers haven’t been revealed yet, but teams are expected to receive that info shortly in order to ensure they’re as informed as possible as they consider deadline trades.

When the NBA last updated its projection in September, it called for a $116MM cap and a $141MM tax line in 2020/21. Each of those numbers would represent a substantial jump up from the figures for 2019/20, which are $109.14MM (cap) and $132.627MM (tax).

However, those estimates were issued before Rockets general manager Daryl Morey published a tweet supporting protestors in Hong Kong. That tweet instigated a controversy between the NBA and China that cost the league sponsors and television partners. The ordeal is believed to have cost the NBA approximately $150-200MM, league sources told ESPN.

Although the cap is still expected to increase beyond this year’s figure, front office executives are preparing for a more modest jump, according to Wojnarowski and Marks, who hear that some teams believe the new projection could dip as far as $113MM. Tim MacMahon of ESPN tweets that some team executives have referred to the expected drop as the “Daryl Deduction.”

A smaller cap increase than expected may not have a massive impact in free agency, since most teams are expected to be over the cap anyway. Still, every dollar counts when it comes to creating cap flexibility and avoiding the tax. Wojnarowski and Marks point to the Celtics, Nets, Warriors, Rockets, and Sixers as teams that could be taxpayers in 2020/21 and would be on the hook for a larger bill if the tax threshold is a few million dollars lower than anticipated.

Players who have signed maximum-salary contract extensions that take effect for the 2020/21 season will also take note of the league’s new cap estimates, since it will have an impact on their projected earnings.

Sixers guard Ben Simmons and Nuggets guard Jamal Murray, for instance, signed maximum-salary extensions that will start at 25% of the cap next season, assuming neither player earns an All-NBA spot in 2019/20. When they signed those deals in July, the league was projecting a $117MM cap, which would have made them worth $169.65MM over five years. A $113MM cap would reduce their projected value to $163.85MM apiece.

Several other figures – including the rookie scale, mid-level exceptions, minimum salaries, and cash available in trades – are also linked to the percentage the salary cap increases from year to year and would be affected by an adjusted 2020/21 projection.

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Celtics Notes: Hayward, Tatum, Walker

January 30th, 2020 at 2:23pm CST by Luke Adams

With Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown banged up as of late, Gordon Hayward has taken on a slightly larger role for the Celtics and has played some of his best basketball of the season, averaging 20.7 PPG on .517/.458/.885 shooting in his last six games. Hayward’s strong play may attract interest from teams around the NBA, who could check in with Boston about the forward’s value, writes A. Sherrod Blakely of NBC Sports Boston.

“Teams will do their due diligence when it comes to Gordon… watching him lately, he’s looked really good,” a league executive told Blakely. “But I still don’t think at the end of the day, (the Celtics) will move him.”

Even if Hayward remains with the Celtics through the deadline, as expected, teams figure to keep a close eye on how he finishes the season. He’ll have the opportunity to opt out of his contract this summer and become an unrestricted free agent. For now though, he’s just focused on the current season, telling Brian Robb of Boston Sports Journal that he’s not thinking about trade or free agency possibilities.

“We haven’t talked about that,” the Celtics forward said. “We just try to talk about, at least with me, what can we do now to try to help us win. I haven’t talked about any of the other stuff.”

  • Speaking to ESPN’s Jackie MacMullan, Celtics forward Jayson Tatum admitted that last season “really wasn’t any fun,” pointing to Kemba Walker as a unifying force for this year’s team. “Everyone knows Kemba is great,” Tatum said, “and the rest of us have worked really hard to put last year behind us.”
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Atlantic Notes: Jordan, Celtics, Sixers, Kobe

January 28th, 2020 at 11:00pm CST by ChrisCrouse

Nets center DeAndre Jordan is set to make his return to the court on Wednesday against Detroit, Malika Andrews of ESPN.com tweets. Jordan has been out since January 20 with a dislocated finger.

Here’s more from out of the Atlantic Division:

  • The Celtics could benefit from having one more experienced role player, Chris Forsberg of NBC Sports contends. Boston’s need for an eighth or ninth man could be exposed come playoff time.
  • Javonte Green‘s play has made Brad Stevens‘ rotation decisions more difficult, Mark Murphy of the Boston Herald writes. “I’m just here to do what the coach asks. Even if I’m not playing I’m going to do my best to pick up my teammates from the bench. He put me in there to just do my job,” said Green.
  • The Sixers paid tribute to Kobe Bryant in multiple ways on Tuesday, as I wrote for Heavy.com. Joel Embiid wore No. 24 in the game against the Warriors, scoring 24 points. The big man hit a fadeaway and yelled “KOBE” during the contest.
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NBA G League Assignments/Recalls: 1/28/20

January 28th, 2020 at 9:44pm CST by ChrisCrouse

Here are Tuesday’s assignments and recalls from around the NBA:

  • The Wizards have recalled Admiral Schofield from the Capital City Go-Go, per the team’s Twitter feed. Schofield was a second-round pick in the 2019 draft.
  • The Celtics are bringing Romeo Langford back from the G League. They’ve recalled him, per Chris Forsberg of NBC Sports (Twitter link).
  • The Spurs have recalled Keldon Johnson from the Austin Spurs, Tom Orsborn of the San Antonio Express-News tweets. Johnson was the No. 29 overall pick in the 2019 draft.
  • The Clippers have assigned Derrick Walton Jr. and Terance Mann to the Agua Caliente Clippers of Ontario, per the team. Los Angeles hasn’t practiced in several days but is expected to hold practice tomorrow.
  • The Jazz have assigned Nigel Williams-Goss, Juwan Morgan, and Miye Oni to the G League, according to the league’s transaction log. All three are were just with the Salt Lake City Stars over the weekend.
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Enes Kanter Battling Right Hip Contusion

January 25th, 2020 at 2:11pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum
  • Due to a right hip contusion, Celtics center Enes Kanter will not return to action until at least Tuesday against the Heat, Brad Stevens relayed to Boston’s team Twitter account (link). In just 18.5 minutes per night, Kanter has produced impressive averages of 9.5 PPG, 8.2 RPG and 60.2% field goal shooting.
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