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Celtics Notes: Thomas, Rivers, Williams, Henry

July 15th, 2018 at 12:57pm CST by Arthur Hill

Isaiah Thomas is on his third team since being traded from the Celtics, but his role in Boston’s quick turnaround shouldn’t be overlooked, writes Steve Bulpett of The Boston Herald. Thomas, who agreed to sign with the Nuggets this week, helped the Celtics reach the playoffs after coming to the organization in February of 2015, then was part of 48- and 53-win seasons.

That success made Boston an attractive option for free agents Al Horford and Gordon Hayward and put the franchise in a position to trade for Kyrie Irving.

“Isaiah added credibility to our team by making us a legitimate basketball team,” said president of basketball operations Danny Ainge. “And on top of that he was very entertaining. But he was all-in. He was all-in for the team. He was recruiting Al Horford to come. He was recruiting Gordon Hayward to come to play with him. He’s earned a lot of respect in my eyes.”

There’s more Celtics news to pass along:

With the three stars of the Lob City era all gone from the Clippers, coach Doc Rivers plans to use the Celtics’ experience as a blueprint for rebuilding, Bulpett writes in a separate story. “They’ve done it as well as it’s ever been done,” Rivers said, “because all these other teams, including us now, everybody has a plan, but the plan has to work. And if it doesn’t work, then you have to start over again with another plan. And Danny and them have been able to run their plan.”
The Celtics haven’t given up on the possibility of first-round pick Robert Williams playing in the summer league, according to Mark Murphy of The Boston Herald. Williams is getting constant treatment on his aching left knee and is considered questionable for today’s quarterfinal contest. “If Danny wants him to play, if Robert feels he can, if our training staff feels he’s not at risk of reinjuring it, we’d love to have him,” said assistant coach Jay Larranaga. “… He just keeps getting better and better. Who knows when he’ll be able to play, but he does seem to be getting better.”
Pierria Henry has been the best point guard on the Celtics’ summer league team, tweets Gary Washburn of The Boston Globe. Washburn expects him to be considered for a spot with Boston’s G League affiliate if he doesn’t return to Turkey.

Noise From The North: The Latest On Kawhi Leonard

July 14th, 2018 at 2:19pm CST by ChrisCrouse

Kawhi Leonard has dominated headlines all summer and he’ll likely be featured in the rumor mill until either the Spurs trade him or he commits to playing in San Antonio long-term. Rumors of the Raptors making a play for the disgruntled star made rounds during Summer League, and other teams such as the Sixers and Celtics come up in speculation about where Leonard is going to play next season.

Most of the news may simply be noise, as Leonard has long been linked to Los Angeles, the only city he reportedly wants to play for. Cris Carter of Fox Sports hears that Leonard hasn’t changed his stance.

“Nothing’s changed from Kawhi’s side from these standpoints: He still wants to go to Los Angeles, and he’s still not interested in being rented out for one season, so that being Philadelphia, Boston, Toronto or any other team,” Carter said on First Things First on Friday (Twitter link).

Carter, a Hall-of-Fame NFL wide receiver, is an unlikely source for NBA news, though he appears to be dialed into the situation. Longtime sports agent Mitch Frankel, who represents Leonard, was Carter’s agent during his NFL playing days.

Carter relayed that Leonard’s camp has remained in contact with the Spurs and they were told by the organization that they’d be notified if the club was closing in on a deal. That hasn’t happened and no rival team has been in contact with Leonard, something that would typically happen if another team was in conversations to acquire a player in a trade.

Leonard’s camp considered issuing a press release about the rumors of Toronto making a play for him, Carter added. No such thing has since been released and the silence from Leonard’s people is partially to blame for the rampant speculation about the Raptors swooping in and acquiring the former MVP candidate, Sean Deveney of Sporting News writes.

Deveney believes that a Leonard trade remains distant and adds that it’s easy to see why NBA executives are connecting the dots between Toronto and San Antonio. GM Masai Ujiri has the ammunition to pull off a trade that provides value to San Antonio while maintaining Toronto’s status as a serious Eastern Conference contender.

Such a deal could be centered around a package of DeMar DeRozan and young prospects or picks and the Raptors have a deep enough team to give up two or three contributors and still surround Leonard with a top-ranked cast.

However, Deveney believes it would be foolish to make the trade for Leonard without assurance that he’ll stick around past the 2018/19 campaign. For the Raptors or any team outside of Los Angeles, getting that long-term commitment doesn’t appear to be in the cards. Leonard is a generational talent, but for those non-Southern California teams, the risk may be even greater than the reward and a trade seems unlikely until that ratio tilts in one of the other 27 organizations’ favor.

Celtics Unlikely To Use MLE This Offseason

July 13th, 2018 at 10:50pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Celtics are planning to hold onto their $8.641MM mid-level exception for the balance of the offseason, Keith Smith of RealGM tweets. Their priority is to re-sign restricted free agents Marcus Smart and Jabari Bird and see what develops during the season, Smith adds.

Latest On Marcus Smart, Celtics

July 12th, 2018 at 11:28am CST by Luke Adams

While it’s possible that Marcus Smart‘s free agency could be resolved soon, Steve Bulpett of The Boston Herald suggests it could drag on for a while. One source tells Bulpett that if nothing gets done this week, Smart and the Celtics could “take a break” and revisit things a little later. According to Bulpett, the C’s would like to lock up Smart to a multiyear deal, but long-term security seems less important to the 24-year-old than “getting what he thinks is fair.”
A source close to Smart tells Jordan Schultz of Yahoo Sports (Twitter link) that the veteran guard has been “unresponsive” to the Celtics‘ efforts to reach out because he’s “insulted” by a perceived lack of respect from team management.

Marcus Smart Receiving Sign-And-Trade Interest

July 11th, 2018 at 7:32pm CST by Luke Adams

Several teams have inquired about the possibility of doing a sign-and-trade deal with the Celtics to acquire Marcus Smart, according to Jordan Schultz of Yahoo Sports (Twitter link). Schultz identifies the Grizzlies and Nets as two clubs that have considered a sign-and-trade scenario.

Smart reportedly met with four teams, including the Nets, this week in Las Vegas as he looks to secure his next contract. Because he’s a restricted free agent and the Celtics are expected to match any offer within reason, the veteran guard hasn’t had much luck finding a team willing to go through the motions of negotiating and signing him to an offer sheet.

While Smart could negotiate a new deal directly with the Celtics, Boston doesn’t seem all that eager to work something out. We heard earlier in free agency that Smart was frustrated by the lack of communication from the C’s, and Schultz cites a source who says the club has had “zero communication or contact” with the 24-year-old.

A sign-and-trade agreement that sends Smart to a new team could be a win-win, but there will be complications. Any club interested in acquiring Smart will have to offer up an asset or two that appeals to Boston. Additionally, the base year compensation rule would likely apply to Smart’s new deal, meaning the Celtics and his new team would count two different salary figures for salary-matching purposes — that could create issues for an over-the-cap club.

If Smart can’t find a sign-and-trade deal or an offer sheet with another team and the Celtics don’t engage more aggressively in talks on a multiyear contract, accepting his one-year qualifying offer remains a possibility.

Robert Williams Has Artery Condition In Legs

July 11th, 2018 at 5:38pm CST by Luke Adams

Celtics rookie Robert Williams has an artery condition in both of his legs, multiple sources tell Fred Katz of MassLive.com. According to Katz, the condition – known as popliteal artery entrapment syndrome (PAES), is considered “not too serious” for now. NBA teams, including the Celtics, were aware of Williams’ condition heading into the draft, per Katz, who says the team will regular monitor the big man’s PAES.

Ainge Not Saying Much About Smart, Bird

July 11th, 2018 at 3:16pm CST by Luke Adams

While Marcus Smart‘s free agent outlook remains up in the air, Celtics president of basketball operations Danny Ainge calls the RFA guard Boston’s “highest priority” (Twitter link via Brian Robb of Boston Sports Journal).
Asked today about the Celtics‘ plans for two-way restricted free agent Jabari Bird, Ainge replied, “We don’t know yet” (Twitter link via Mark Murphy of The Boston Herald). Bird has been Boston’s best player in Summer League action so far, averaging 18.0 PPG on 57.9% shooting, but it remains to be seen if the C’s will find room for him on their 15-man roster.

Daniel Theis, Wayne Selden Get Salary Guarantees

July 11th, 2018 at 12:45pm CST by Luke Adams

When center Daniel Theis signed a two-year contract with the Celtics last summer, the second year of that deal was non-guaranteed. However, Theis would be assured of his full 2018/19 salary guarantee if he remainder under contract through July 10.

According to multiple reports, including one from Gary Washburn of The Boston Globe (Twitter link), the C’s had no intention of waiving Theis by Tuesday. As such, his $1,378,242 salary for next season is now guaranteed.

It was an easy decision for Boston after Theis enjoyed a solid rookie year as a regular part of the team’s rotation. In 63 games (14.9 MPG), the German big man averaged 5.3 PPG and 4.3 RPG, providing crucial depth in the Celtics’ frontcourt. His season came to an early end in March when he underwent surgery to repair his left knee lateral meniscus, but he should be ready to go for training camp.

Meanwhile, another player – Grizzlies shooting guard Wayne Selden – also had a July 10 guarantee deadline on his salary for 2018/19. However, Michael Wallace of Grizzlies.com recently indicated (via Twitter) that Memphis elected to guarantee Selden’s full $1,544,951 salary prior to the start of Summer League.

Theis and Selden will both be eligible for restricted free agency in the summer of 2019.

Marcus Smart Meeting With Teams In Vegas

July 11th, 2018 at 7:44am CST by Luke Adams

JULY 11, 7:44am: The Nets are among the teams to meet with Smart in Las Vegas, writes Brian Lewis of The New York Post. However, Lewis is skeptical of Brooklyn’s willingness to do an aggressive offer sheet for the veteran guard, noting that the team has less than $11MM in cap room available and has been trying to avoid taking on salary beyond 2018/19.

JULY 10, 3:56pm: As he continues to seek a new deal, restricted free agent guard Marcus Smart met with two teams on Monday in Las Vegas and is meeting with two more on Tuesday, reports Adam Himmelsbach of The Boston Globe. That group of teams includes clubs from both conferences, per Himmelsbach’s source.

There have been conflicting reports in recent weeks on Smart’s asking price and on which teams might be interested in him. According to Himmelsbach, a source familiar with the negotiations said that the Celtics guard is open to a multiyear contract worth less than $15MM per season. Smart’s price tag may have come down since free agency began, since he said in the spring that he believed he was worth more than $12-14MM per year.

As for potential suitors, the Kings were said on Monday to be preparing an offer sheet for Smart, but a report out of Sacramento this morning disputed that notion. A league source tells Jordan Schultz of Yahoo Sports (Twitter link) that the Kings don’t have interest in making a play for the 24-year-old.

If the Kings are really out on Smart, it’s not clear which club represents his best chance for an offer sheet. While the Hawks and Bulls still have cap room available, neither team has been linked to him. The Nets could also have enough room to put together an offer sheet after buying out Dwight Howard, but they have a backcourt logjam of their own and wouldn’t be able to offer more than about $11MM without additional roster moves.

Smart could try to negotiate a new deal with the Celtics, but a source close to the player tells Himmelsbach that Smart’s camp had no further talks with Boston on Monday. The C’s seemingly prefer to let Smart find an offer sheet, with the intention of matching any offer within reason. If no offer sheet emerges, the former sixth overall pick may simply sign his one-year qualifying offer.

Kings Preparing Offer For Marcus Smart?

July 10th, 2018 at 8:11am CST by Dana Gauruder

JULY 10, 8:11am: A source tells Jason Jones of The Sacramento Bee that there’s “nothing to” the report of the Kings’ interest in Smart, suggesting that no offer sheet is imminent (Twitter links).

Over the last couple weeks, Sacramento has been linked to Smart, Rodney Hood, and Jabari Parker, all of whom remain available. There was also a report indicating that the team planned to focus on the trade market using its cap room, so it appears there’s no clear consensus on which direction the Kings will go with that remaining space. The club currently has about $19.5MM available.

JULY 9, 8:30pm: The Kings are preparing an offer sheet to Celtics restricted free agent guard Marcus Smart, A. Sherrod Blakely of NBC Sports Boston tweets.

The Kings have been aggressive in free agency, giving Bulls guard Zach LaVine a four-year, $78MM offer sheet that Chicago opted to match. They are apparently intent on upgrading their off-guard position.

It’s unlikely Smart will get an offer anywhere near that amount but it’s also less likely that Boston will match a large multi-year deal. Smart has been frustrated with the lack of offers and by the Celtics’ unwillingness to reach out to him to negotiate a new contract.

Blakely reported on Saturday that Smart was likely to accept the Celtics’ $6.1MM qualifying offer and try his luck as an unrestricted free agent next summer. The Kings’ interest in Smart could change that dynamic.

Adam Himmelsbach of The Boston Globe recently reported that teams are willing to give Smart about $9MM annually, but he is looking for much more.

Smart battled through injuries last season, appearing in 54 regular-season games while averaging 10.2 PPG, 3.5 RPG and 4.8 APG.