Boston Celtics Rumors | Hoops Rumors

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.”

Ainge On Trades: “I Don’t Really See Much Out There”

January 3rd, 2019 at 4:00pm CST by Luke Adams

Viewed as the Eastern Conference’s deepest and most talented team entering 2018/19, the Celtics have been somewhat inconsistent this season and currently sit fifth in the East at 22-15. The club’s intermittent struggles have led to some trade speculation, but Danny Ainge doesn’t sound like someone who expects to be making deals in the coming weeks.

Although Ainge and the Celtics will do their due diligence in exploring the trade market, the team’s president of basketball operations suggested today during an appearance on the radio show Toucher & Rich that a major move is probably unlikely, as Darren Hartwell of NBC Sports Boston relays.

“We’re always looking to upgrade our team if those opportunities present themselves. But I think that’s going to be tough,” Ainge said. “As far as trading players, I don’t really see much out there. We have a lot of good ones. It’s hard to get better players than we have.”

While a player like Terry Rozier looks like a potential trade candidate, moving him before he reaches restricted free agency probably wouldn’t improve the Celtics in the short term. Consolidating some of their depth and building a package for a star player would be another option for the C’s, but that sort of in-season deal is rare. Plus, the team likely wants to save its assets to make a run at Anthony Davis, who is ineligible to be traded to Boston during the 2018/19 league year unless Kyrie Irving is involved.

There are still five weeks to go until the February 7 trade deadline, so injuries and various hot or cold streaks could re-shape the trade market in the coming weeks. For now though, it’s probably safe to bet that the Celtics won’t do anything drastic to their roster.

Kyrie Irving To Miss Extended Time?

January 2nd, 2019 at 5:11pm CST by clarkcrum

As we relayed yesterday, Celtics guard Kyrie Irving suffered a scratched cornea in Monday’s loss to the Spurs after being on the receiving end of an accidental elbow from Marco Belinelli. Irving was able to reenter the game, but it now appears that the injury to both eyes is more severe than previously anticipated.

Speaking earlier today to Zolak & Bertrand of Boston’s 98.5 The Sports Hub (h/t to NBC Sports Boston), head coach Brad Stevens sounded confident that Irving will miss both tonight’s game against the Timberwolves and beyond.

“Yes (Irving’s absence may extend beyond tonight’s game), but that will be re-evaluated tomorrow. He got swiped across the face, and it was a unique deal because it got both eyes. And the right eye was the initial concern with the corneal abrasion.”

“(Now today) the left eye had some inflammation so I mean he was not feeling good. We watched film for, you know, an hour and a half in my office yesterday and (Kyrie) was wearing sunglasses and he’s not doing so hot once he takes those sunglasses off.”

For comparison’s sake, Irving’s former teammate, LeBron James, suffered a corneal abrasion towards the end of the 2016/17 regular season in a game against the Hornets, but didn’t miss any playing time, so hopefully Irving will be back on the court before too long.

In 34 games so far this season, Irving is averaging 23.3 points, 4.9 rebounds and 6.6 assists per game and looks well on his way to a third consecutive All-Star game berth.

Stein’s Predictions: Davis, Leonard, Durant, Cousins

January 1st, 2019 at 3:53pm CST by Arthur Hill

Anthony Davis will turn down a “supermax” extension from the Pelicans, setting up a frenzied competition between the Lakers and Celtics to pull off a trade, predicts Marc Stein of the New York Times in his latest newsletter. It’s one of several prognostications the veteran basketball writer offers up in a New Year’s Day column, but it’s the most explosive and one that will dominate NBA headlines throughout the summer if it comes true.

Davis could short-circuit the story by accepting the offer from New Orleans, which would pay him close to $240MM. But Stein expects Davis to value a shot at winning over money and look to join a loaded lineup in either Los Angeles or Boston. Stein also predicts the Lakers will be aggressive in trying to talk the Pelicans into a deal before the February 7 deadline while there’s not another strong suitor in sight. The Celtics can’t trade for Davis until Kyrie Irving opts out of his current deal because of an NBA rule prohibiting a team from acquiring two players currently on designated rookie extensions through trade.

Stein offers a few more significant personnel-related predictions:

Despite Kawhi Leonard‘s success in Toronto, Stein expects him to sign with the Clippers in July. He adds that the Raptors will likely need to win a title to keep their new star from heading home to Southern California in free agency and predicts Toronto will start rebuilding if Leonard leaves, including a trade of Kyle Lowry.
Kevin Durant may spend one more season with the Warriors before looking to move on in free agency. Stein admits there’s a lot of chatter about Durant joining the Knicks, but he believes the allure of playing in the new Chase Center will keep him him around for another year.
A “wise insider” tells Stein that DeMarcus Cousins will consider returning to the Warriors for another season, although they can only offer a modest raise on his $5.3MM salary. Stein expects other prominent free agents, such as Kyrie Irving, Jimmy Butler and Klay Thompson, to stay where they are.
Carmelo Anthony, currently in limbo on the Rockets‘ roster while looking for his next NBA opportunity, may have played his last game. It has been nearly two months since Anthony was last on the court and it doesn’t appear anyone is willing to take a chance on him, even at a minimum salary.
Kevin Love trade talks will heat up soon, and Stein believes the Nuggets should get involved as they try to hold onto the top spot in the West. Love is projected to return from toe surgery this month and will become eligible to be dealt on January 24, a little more than two weeks before the deadline.

Kyrie Irving Suffers Scratched Cornea In Left Eye

January 1st, 2019 at 9:23am CST by JD Shaw

Celtics guard Kyrie Irving suffered a scratched cornea in his left eye against the Spurs on Monday, according to A. Sherrod Blakely of NBC Sports. Irving was on the receiving end of an accidental elbow from Marco Belinelli, but later re-entered the game for his team. “It’s both eyes,” Irving, who was wearing sunglasses, said postgame. “He [Belinell] smacked the s— out of me. He caught me pretty good.” Celtics coach Brad Stevens noted Irving would take antibiotics, but that he isn’t sure what the injury holds beyond Monday.

Gordon Hayward Talks About Comeback

December 31st, 2018 at 6:07pm CST by Arthur Hill

Gordon Hayward hasn’t regained the All-Star form he had in Utah, but he’s urging Celtics fans to be patient as he works his way back from an injury that cost him all of last season, writes Gary Washburn of The Boston Globe.

Hayward is averaging 10.6 PPG through 31 games, roughly half of where his scoring average was in his final year with the Jazz. The Celtics were expecting the All-Star numbers he put up in Utah, but a horrific ankle injury on the first night of the 2017/18 season put him out for the entire year.

“With each game, I get more comfortable playing with the guys,” he said. “That’s the biggest thing, you gotta be able to have that experience with them on the court, to kind of know who you’re with, know who you’re playing with, just to know what everybody likes to do, try to maximize their strengths. Sometimes that’s running the break, sometimes we have a lot of ball handlers, so that’s just getting out on the wing and getting something easy at the rim.”

The Celtics have undergone major changes since Hayward signed with them in July of 2017. They traded for Kyrie Irving a few weeks later, then Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown emerged as important contributors while Hayward was injured.

Boston’s depth has resulted in Hayward accepting a bench role after starting the season’s first 15 games. Instead of being an integral part of the offense, he has become a complementary player who puts up occasional scoring bursts, as he did Saturday in a comeback win at Memphis.

Hayward has improved from month to month, averaging 11.4 PPG in December while shooting 38.1% from 3-point range. He may become even more important to the team by playoff time, but much will depend on how his body responds to the rigors of his first season since the injury.

“It definitely required a lot of patience, even still,” he said. “I’m still finding my rhythm. Like I was saying, with knowing who I’m out there on the court with, what I’m going to be asked to do, and what the team needs me to do. Patience is a good word for that.”

Coaches Praise Defensive Tenacity From Marcus Smart

December 30th, 2018 at 3:56pm CST by JD Shaw

Before the Celtics‘ game against the Rockets last week, coaches from both teams praised Marcus Smart for the intensity he brings on defense. Smart notched 11 points, three assists and a steal in the game, defending players such as James Harden and Eric Gordon. “Just his ability to stick his nose into everything and stamina, strength, and then being willing to do all the dirty work,” Rockets coach Mike D’Antoni said of Smart, according to Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle. “He’s one of the better defenders in the league. He’s like P.J. [Tucker] for us. They do what’s needed. And some people have noses for the ball, situations they can think they’re way out of defensively. He does that.”