Boston Celtics Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Kyrie Irving Called LeBron James To Apologize

January 17th, 2019 at 9:48am CST by Luke Adams

Following the Celtics‘ big Wednesday night win over Toronto, Kyrie Irving told reporters, including Tim Bontemps of ESPN.com, that he recently called former teammate LeBron James to apologize for resisting criticism and not fully appreciating his leadership during their time in Cleveland.

“Obviously, this was a big deal for me, because I had to call ‘Bron and tell him I apologized for being that young player that wanted everything at his fingertips, and I wanted everything at my threshold,” Irving said, per Bontemps. “I wanted to be the guy that led us to a championship. I wanted to be the leader. I wanted to be all that, and the responsibility of being the best in the world and leading your team is something that is not meant for many people.

“[LeBron] was one of those guys who came to Cleveland and tried to show us how to win a championship, and it was hard for him, and sometimes getting the most out of the group is not the easiest thing in the world,” Irving added.

Irving’s comments came just a few days after he publicly expressed frustration with some of his younger teammates during the Celtics’ three-game losing streak. As a veteran in Boston, Kyrie has essentially assumed the sort of leadership role that LeBron had in Cleveland, and acknowledged that he made a mistake by calling out his teammates in the press.

“I did a poor job of setting an example for these guys of what it’s like to get something out of your teammates,” Irving said. “You go and you say something publicly and it ends up received in so many different ways and you never know how fragile or what guys are going through when you say things like that. You’re expecting results, but at the same time, I should’ve kept it in-house. Going forward, I want to test these young guys, but I can’t be a bully like that.”

In a fascinating twist, Joe Vardon of The Athletic reports that James was actually having dinner with the other member of the Cavaliers‘ old Big Three – Kevin Love – when Irving called him to apologize. While LeBron missed Kyrie’s call at the time, he returned it privately later, according to Vardon, who hears from a source that James was “very appreciative” that Irving reached out to him.

As Vardon observes, Irving’s admission is a “pretty big deal” to anyone involved with Cleveland’s four-year run of NBA Finals appearances. The trade that sent the star point guard to Boston was essentially the beginning of the end of that mini-dynasty, so hearing Irving confess that he didn’t handle the situation as well as he could have creates some tantalizing “what-if” scenarios.

Still, Irving didn’t go so far as to say he regretted forcing his way out of Cleveland — he welcomes the challenge of leading the Celtics to a title of their own. He also believes he has a better idea now of what it takes to assume that sort of leadership role and wants to share his perspective with the younger C’s.

“Now I’m in this position; I asked for this and I want this. I want the responsibility. And I take it on full force,” Irving said, according to Bontemps. “But it’s also good to reach out for help and really take responsibility for what you’ve done in your career. It takes a real man to go back, call somebody and be like, ‘Hey, man, I was young. I made some mistakes, I wasn’t seeing the big picture like you were. I didn’t have the end of the season in mind.’ I just wanted to get my stats and make All-Star Games, which in his career means like this much at that point. So it was just good, and it gave me a peace of mind to go about what I’ve gotta go do.”

Celtics Notes: Locker Room, Irving, Morris, Rozier

January 13th, 2019 at 12:59pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Celtics‘ disappointing season may have split the locker room between veterans and some of the young players who helped reach the conference finals last year, suggests Chris Mannix of Sports Illustrated (hat tip to Darren Hartwell of NBC Sports Boston). The Eastern Conference favorites heading into the season, the Celtics are in fifth place at 25-17 as some players have been resistant to accepting new roles with the return of Kyrie Irving and Gordon Hayward from injuries.

“It does seem like there’s a divide in that locker room between the veterans on that team and the younger players on that team,” Mannix said Saturday on the Celtics’ post-game show. “I don’t know how big that divide is, how significant it is, is it fractured. But there does seem to be kind of a chasm that exists between those two sides.”

Boston is coming off a disastrous trip to Florida that included two losses and a pair of incidents that shined a light on the internal conflicts. Marcus Morris and Jaylen Brown exchanged words during a time out Thursday in Miami, and Irving was visibly upset after an unsuccessful play at the end of last night’s game in Orlando.

There’s more today from Boston:

Irving seemed to take a shot at his younger teammates in post-game comments Saturday, saying the Celtics are lacking the “experience” it takes to compete for a title, relays Chris Forsberg of NBC Sports Boston. “You’ve got to appreciate being out there and just competing,” Irving said as part of a long answer on why the team has gone through peaks and valleys. “It doesn’t matter who you’re going against. It matters the type of preparation you have, what you’re going out and trying to accomplish. What’s the big picture? What are we doing here? These are things I don’t think some of my teammates have faced just every single day. It’s not easy to be great.”
Morris’ brand of leadership is exactly what the team needs, contends A. Sherrod Blakely of NBC Sports Boston. In addition to being the Celtics’ most consistent player throughout the season, Morris has lived up to his reputation for being willing to confront teammates who he believes aren’t giving their best effort. “To be the team we want to be, we have to be open with each other and be able to discuss things that are going on, on the court,” Morris said. “If it leads to a little bumping, pushing and shoving … it’s nothing. You move past that type of stuff and keep going.”
Terry Rozier had another bad performance last night, missing all five of his shots in 17 minutes, and president of basketball operations Danny Ainge may have missed his best chance to trade him, writes Keith Smith on CelticsBlog. Rozier will be a restricted free agent this summer.

Morris, Brown Get Heated During Timeout

January 11th, 2019 at 6:35pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Tempers flared between Celtics players Marcus Morris and Jaylen Brown during a second-quarter timeout on Thursday but GM Danny Ainge is downplaying the incident. The duo exchanged words and Morris, who apparently told Brown to play harder, shoved the swingman before Marcus Smart separated them, according to Chris Forsberg of NBC Sports Boston. Ainge told Adam Himmelsbach of the Boston Globe the altercation was no big deal. “It’s two good kids that are competitive,” he said. “They both want the same thing. Emotions happen in games, and I’m not worried about it.”

Celtics Unlikely To Shop Any First-Rounders At Deadline

January 11th, 2019 at 10:59am CST by Luke Adams

While they’ll likely have more first-round picks than anyone this June, the Celtics aren’t expected to make any of those selections available at the deadline, sources tell Deveney. Boston will presumably save those picks for the summer, when a bigger move could be in play.

[SOURCE LINK]

Marcus Morris Prioritizing Winning With Celtics

January 10th, 2019 at 6:06pm CST by JD Shaw

Celtics forward Marcus Morris relayed the importance of winning as his major long-term focus, according to A. Sherrod Blakely of NBC Sports. Morris, who’s making $5.3MM this season, is also set to become a free agent this summer. “That’s all I care about; winning,” Morris said. “That other stuff, the big-money contract, being in the conversation for All-Star, none of that happens if you’re not winning. So for me, that’s what all this is about, keeping finding ways to win.”

Celtics Sign R.J. Hunter To Two-Way Deal

January 10th, 2019 at 4:03pm CST by Luke Adams

JANUARY 10: The Celtics have officially signed Hunter to a two-way contract, the team confirmed today in a press release.

JANUARY 9: The Celtics are bringing back former first-round pick R.J. Hunter on a two-way contract, tweets ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. Hunter’s agency, Priority Sports, first announced (via Twitter) that Hunter would be returning to Boston.

Hunter, the 28th overall pick in 2015 out of Georgia State, spent just one season with the Celtics before being waived. He spent time with the Bulls in 2016/17, then signed a two-way contract with the Rockets in 2017/18. The 25-year-old was also in camp with the Hawks this past fall.

Over those few years, Hunter has been unable to carve out a regular NBA role, appearing in just 44 total games. In limited minutes (8.4 MPG), he has posted 2.6 PPG and 1.0 RPG with a .361/.282/.889 shooting line. His career G League numbers – 19.6 PPG, 3.7 RPG, 3.4 APG, and .418/.350/.803 shooting – have been more impressive.

In 22 games for the Erie BayHawks this season, Hunter has averaged 22.0 PPG, 5.6 RPG, 4.3 APG, and 2.0 SPG, earning him a two-way offer from the Celtics.

The C’s have been carrying just one two-way player (P.J. Dozier) since late November, when they waived Walt Lemon Jr., so Hunter will fill their open slot.

Celtics Notes: Irving, Hunter, Horford, Draft Picks

January 10th, 2019 at 9:49am CST by Luke Adams

The Celtics wrapped up a dominant home stand on Wednesday night with a 135-108 win over Indiana, capping off a four-game stretch in which they outscored their opponents by over 20 points per game. Boston has now won seven of nine games since a home loss to Milwaukee on December 21, and Kyrie Irving points to the team meeting that took place after that game a turning point for the C’s, as Tim Bontemps of ESPN.com details.

“At that point, playing against Milwaukee, we weren’t at rock bottom, but we needed to address some s— in this locker room,” Irving said. “It’s just good to get stuff out in the air. As grown men and guys that have expectations for themselves, it was good to hear guys talk about what they wanted for themselves and what they wanted for this team.”

It has been a somewhat inconsistent first half for the Celtics, who were viewed as the Eastern Conference frontrunners entering the season. The club played just .500 ball in its first 20 games and had a couple more bad losses after that. But as the C’s reach the midpoint of their schedule, they’re back on pace for 50+ wins, and Irving believes they’re starting to hit their stride.

“Everything we talked about at the beginning of the season, I feel like it’s translating now as we continue to get to know one another,” he said. “Meat of the season right now and you can tell that our team is just feeling really good being around each other. And it’s totally different in terms of how we feel out there. It’s just really positive. And when I don’t have to go out there and score 30 it’s cool with me. I probably won’t have to score 30 for us until we play one of the best teams in the league — or, if any — until the playoffs. So I’m happy about that.”

Here’s more out of Boston:

Former first-round pick R.J. Hunter, who agreed to a two-way contract with the Celtics, called it a “crazy feeling” to return to his original team two and a half years after being waived, as Gary Washburn of The Boston Globe tweets. “R.J. wants to show the people of Boston they made the right decision when the Celtics drafted him,” agent Mark Bartelstein said, per Mark Murphy of The Boston Herald (Twitter link). “He turned down all kinds of offers from overseas to make his way back to the NBA. I have so much respect for him.”
Al Horford, who missed time with a knee injury in December, figures to remain on a minutes restriction for the foreseeable future, writes Taylor Snow of Celtics.com. After initially looking to limit him to around 25 minutes per game, the Celtics are now willing to go up to 27-28 MPG for Horford, Snow notes.
In an Insider-only piece for ESPN.com, Kevin Pelton explores how valuable the Celtics’ four 2019 first-round picks might end up being. Pelton believes that if Boston makes a play for Anthony Davis during the coming offseason, the team’s young players will likely be more valuable trade chips than those draft picks.

Brown, Rozier Continue To Find Their Footing

January 6th, 2019 at 6:08pm CST by Eric Spyropoulos

After getting off to a rough start this season, Jaylen Brown has stepped up his play in recent games for the Celtics. As Sherrod Blakely points out for NBC Sports Boston, Brown has finally started to hit shots in recent games and has resembled the player he was last season on a more consistent basis.
Speaking of struggling Celtics, Terry Rozier continues to navigate his smaller role now that the team is healthy. As Mark Murphy of The Boston Herald points out, Rozier is struggling with accepting the smaller role for the good of the team versus constricting his career to being a backup point guard.

Wanamaker Shines In Rare Chance To Contribute

January 5th, 2019 at 10:00pm CST by Arthur Hill

Brad Wanamaker was as surprised as anyone when Celtics coach Brad Stevens told him to check in during the first quarter last night, relays Adam Himmelsbach of The Boston Globe. It was the 15th game of the season for the 29-year-old rookie, but most of his time has come late in games that were already decided. He responded with a pair of 3-pointers to help Boston build a lead. “The key word is challenging,” Wanamaker said. “I’m just trying to stay mentally prepared. I’m getting a lot of feedback from my family, friends, just saying, ‘Stay ready.’”

Celtics’ Grousbeck Talks Roster, Draft Picks, Spending

January 3rd, 2019 at 5:32pm CST by JD Shaw

Celtics owner Wyc Grousbeck discussed a variety of topics with Adam Himmelsbach of the Boston Globe this week, touching on subjects such as his team’s spending, draft picks, and the state of the roster.

With lofty expectations around the franchise and its talented roster entering the season, Boston has compiled just a 22-15 record through the campaign’s first 37 games. Asked whether the team could consider making roster changes as the February 7 trade deadline approaches, Grousbeck took an honest approach.

“What we’ll do over the next month is determine if there’s anything we can do in February [prior to the trade deadline] to advance the team to a new level,” Grousbeck said. “But when I look at the team right now, I feel really good about their character, really good about their skill, really good about the upside over the next 5-6 years, with young players and the draft.

“I feel overall confident and excited we can make some noise over the next 5-6 years with this core group, adding on when we can. But this season still does feel like a work in progress, and it feels like we’ve got a long way to go if we want to make some noise in May again, or even in June.”

The Celtics have several young players on their roster today, including the likes of Jayson Tatum, Marcus Smart and Jaylen Brown. The team also has veterans such as Kyrie Irving, Al Horford and Gordon Hayward to round out its roster, sporting a group of talent capable of competing in the Eastern Conference.

Here are some other noteworthy quotes from Grousbeck in the Globe’s story:

On going after a superstar player:

“Well, this team is stacked with a lot of talented players on reasonable contracts, and a ton of draft picks. So that’s why our phone is already ringing. Our history is that we try to make the big deal and have gone for it. We try to put banners in the rafters. There’s only one so far [from our ownership group]. We’d like to have another one up there, and that may require another move, or just continued growth with these guys. We’ll have to see.”

On his role in looking for possible trades:

“We’ll just leave that in the mystery category. But what happens with trades is that they’re proposed by the basketball side and I’m kept up to date all along as the phone calls develop and as we think about what assets we might include and what the team might look like after a trade. And so I approve them or disapprove them, or try to change them, and that’s gone on for 16 years.”

On being in luxury tax territory, this season and beyond:

“We have a 16-year record of spending and putting the best possible team out on the court and I’ll just leave it at that. Everybody can see what we’ve done, knows what we’ve done and knows that we’ve put the Celtics first in every aspect.”

On the team’s stash of draft picks:

“I’m excited about all the draft picks we have now and in future years. It’s one of the reasons I’m so excited about the next six years as opposed to the next six games. The next six games we might go 0-6, but the next six years I feel pretty good about. I know both February and June will be very active. Because we have all these draft picks and young players, we get a lot of calls. And so Danny [Ainge], Mike Zarren, Austin Ainge, they get a ton of calls and try to figure out if there’s anything to recommend to me to make the team better. My view of this draft right now is it’s going to be as many phone calls as we’ve ever had. I don’t worry much about what players we end up drafting, because that’s completely on the basketball side.”