Boston Celtics Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Celtics To Sign Hason Ward To Exhibit 10 Deal, Waive Dmytro Skapintsev

October 16th, 2024 at 6:52pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Celtics will sign Hason Ward to an Exhibit 10 contract, sources tell Jay King of The Athletic (Twitter link).

The 6’9″ forward advanced to the NCAA Tournament’s Sweet 16 last spring with Iowa State. A super senior, Ward averaged 6.0 points and 3.8 rebounds for the Cyclones while shooting 62.8% from the field. He transferred two years ago after playing his first three collegiate seasons at Virginia Commonwealth.

Ward is likely headed for the Maine Celtics in the G League, and the Exhibit 10 deal makes him eligible for a bonus worth up to $77.5K if he spends at least 60 days with the team.

To make room on the roster, Boston has waived Dmytro Skapintsev, according to Keith Smith of Spotrac (Twitter link). The 26-year-old Ukrainian center also had an Exhibit 10 deal and is also expected to play in Maine.

The Celtics will be back to the offseason roster limit of 21 players once the addition of Ward is finalized.

Atlantic Notes: George, Nets, Walsh, Raptors

October 15th, 2024 at 4:00pm CST by Luke Adams

Discussing Paul George‘s hyperextended knee on Tuesday, Sixers head coach Nick Nurse told reporters that “everything checks out OK” so far. Nurse added the team will do imaging later in the day and confirmed that George won’t be active for Wednesday’s preseason contest vs. Brooklyn, tweets Derek Bodner of PHLY Sports.

After completing an MRI on George’s injured knee, the 76ers announced that he has been diagnosed with a bone bruise, according to Kyle Neubeck of PHLY Sports, who tweets that the imaging showed no structural damage. The team intends to reevaluate the star forward in approximately one week.

It’s good news for the Sixers and for George, who avoided a more serious injury. However, it remains to be seen whether or not Philadelphia’s top offseason addition will be ready to go when the club’s regular season tips off in eight days vs. the Bucks.

Here’s more from around the Atlantic:

Veteran Nets players have said this month’s training camp is the toughest they’ve ever experienced, according to Brian Lewis of The New York Post. While first-time head coach Jordi Fernandez has focused on conditioning work and demanded high intensity in team scrimmages, he credits the players for fostering that environment. “The ones that are making it competitive, hard, physical and challenging are the players,” Fernandez said on Monday. “Obviously, my demands are to work extremely hard, to be a good teammate, to build relationships, to compete, to get one percent better, so on and so forth. … But the guys are buying into it, and they’re fighting for their opportunities, their spots, their roles.”
Second-year forward Jordan Walsh continued a strong preseason on Sunday with 16 points and 10 rebounds in 30 minutes of action in the Celtics‘ win over Toronto. Head coach Joe Mazzulla said he’s “really proud of (the) growth” he’s seen from Walsh this fall and spoke about the specific areas where the 20-year-old has made strides. “Just having an understanding of what his job is,” Mazzulla said, per Brian Robb of MassLive.com. “Defend at a high level, defend multiple positions, rebound, and then make reads on the offensive end.”
The Raptors lost games over to the weekend to Washington and to a Boston team resting its stars, but there were a few bright spots, writes Eric Koreen of The Athletic. Big man Chris Boucher is having a strong preseason, as is third-year wing Ochai Agbaji, who figures to start on opening night due to RJ Barrett‘s shoulder injury. Newcomer Davion Mitchell, starting in place of Immanuel Quickley, has also made a case for a regular season role, Koreen notes — while defense is his calling card, Mitchell has done a very good job taking care of the ball on offense this preseason, with 14 assists and no turnovers in three games.
In case you missed it, we rounded up several Knicks-related notes earlier this afternoon.

Celtics Notes: Tatum, Scrubb, Walker, Davison

October 12th, 2024 at 7:01pm CST by Arthur Hill

Jayson Tatum was reluctant to go into specifics, but he admits he altered his shooting motion after struggling to make three-pointers during last season’s playoffs and the Summer Olympics, writes Gary Washburn of The Boston Globe. The Celtics star talked about “staying forward, keeping my shoulders forward” to get more power, but didn’t offer any further explanation. The changes seemed to work as he went 6-of-14 from beyond the arc in Boston’s preseason contests against Denver in Abu Dhabi.

“It was a couple of things,” Tatum responded when asked about his adjustments. “But I would just say the shot felt good. It felt good to be back on the court playing basketball again, being with the guys. We’ve still got a long road ahead but we had a good week out there and a good two preseason games.”

Tatum added that he’s very happy with his first seven NBA seasons, which have included five All-Star appearances, four All-NBA selections, an Eastern Conference Finals MVP, an All-Star MVP and a championship last season. He looked back on his training camp debut after the Celtics selected him with the third pick in the 2017 draft.

“Really just how different I am, how fast time has run by,” he said. “It makes me cherish these moments. I remember my first training camp in Rhode Island like it was yesterday. Now it’s Year 8. It’s made me reflect on all the things I’ve been able to accomplish since I’ve been with the team and in the NBA, made me kind of proud of myself, happy and hoping that these next eight years go by a little slower.”

There’s more from Boston:

Jay Scrubb was thrilled to return to the Celtics this week after missing all of last season with a torn ACL, Washburn adds. The 24-year-old guard was waived shortly after suffering the injury last October, but he remained in close contact with the team and was able to get another chance. With all three two-way slots already filled, Scrubb is likely to start the season with Boston’s G League affiliate in Maine. “It’s been a battle, I had a tough injury, had to bounce back but just work hard to get back to where I was at,” he said. “I pretty much knew this is where I wanted to be at. They took good care of me through my rehab process, so I felt like this would be the best place for me to come back.”
Lonnie Walker‘s decision to try to earn a roster spot in Boston on an Exhibit 10 contract was influenced by his longtime Celtics fandom and his connections with Derrick White and Jrue Holiday, according to Chris Forsberg of NBC Sports Boston. Walker and White were teammates in San Antonio, and he spent part of the offseason training with Holiday. “We just ended up working out together in the summer, kind of put in that grind, working. If it’s in the weight room or if it’s on the court,” Holiday said. “Just knowing the work ethic. He has the ability to do a lot of things. He’s very athletic and can score. I think being on a team like this, we can utilize his skill. I mean, who wouldn’t want to play here? … Very positive, very positive person. You see him. He’s always smiling. A very, very grateful dude. So really, really glad to have him here.”
Payton Pritchard can see improvement from JD Davison, who is entering his third straight season on a two-way contract, per Souichi Terada of MassLive. “Every year, as long as he keeps making a step, he’ll have a very successful career,” Pritchard said. “He has a really good head on his shoulders too, so I expect big things from him in the future.”

Horford To Make Preseason Debut This Weekend

October 12th, 2024 at 9:24am CST by Rory Maher

Celtics big man Al Horford sat out Boston’s preseason games vs. Denver in Abu Dhabi, but he’ll make his 2024/25 debut this weekend, per Brian Robb of MassLive.com. The Celtics have back-to-back home games this weekend vs. Philadelphia and Toronto. “Just ramping him up,” Mazzulla said of Horford. “We’re still talking about that. He’ll definitely play in one of them, maybe two, just kind of ramping him up and making sure he stays sharp. That’s all.” The 38-year-old veteran will make $9.5MM this season in the final year of his contract.

And-Ones: Preseason, Abu Dhabi, China, Nakase

October 11th, 2024 at 11:19pm CST by Rory Maher

Unlike the regular season schedule, which is entirely controlled by the NBA, teams around the league dictate their own schedules for preseason, as Mike Vorkunov of The Athletic details.

“It is a fascinating, not well-known part of the NBA ecosystem,” said Warriors chief revenue officer John Beaven. “We’re pretty pleased that control has remained with us. We lean into it. I think there’s some teams that probably do it to check the box.”

One exception is when international teams — like the New Zealand Breakers — come to North America to participate in preseason. NBA teams actually pay those clubs, and the league gets involved to figure out broadcasting rights.

Here are some more odds and ends from around the basketball world:

Speaking of the preseason, the NBA canceled Friday’s contest in Orlando between the Magic and Pelicans due to Hurricane Milton, the Magic announced (via Twitter). The game will not be rescheduled.
The Celtics and Nuggets were eager to travel to Abu Dhabi for the NBA’s third consecutive preseason in the capital of the United Arab Emirates, writes Tania Ganguli of The New York Times. The league says it’s focused on growing the sport globally, but it has drawn criticism from human rights groups for partnering with the UAE, China and Rwanda.
Commissioner Adam Silver believes the NBA will return to China in the future, according to Vorkunov. The league hasn’t played a game in the country since then-Rockets GM Daryl Morey sent out a tweet in support of freedom for Hong Kong in 2019. “I think we will bring back games to China at some point,” Silver said Thursday at a sports management conference at Columbia University. “We had a well-known incident there pre-pandemic with a tweet and China’s government took us off the air for a period of time. We accepted that. We stood by our values.”
Former Clippers assistant Natalie Nakase has been named head coach of the WNBA’s Golden State Valkyries, the team announced in a press release. Nakase has spent the past three season as the top assistant for the Las Vegas Aces. “Being named the head coach of the Golden State Valkyries is a lifelong dream come true,” said Nakase. “I am thankful to Joe Lacob, Ohemaa Nyanin and the Golden State front office for entrusting me with this responsibility. We are committed to building a winning culture of grit, hard work, and competitiveness. We will strive to improve, compete, and ultimately bring home a championship for our fans and this organization.”

Atlantic Notes: Barnes, Olynyk, Barrett, Tillman, Celtics Sale, Lowry

October 10th, 2024 at 12:46pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Scottie Barnes and Kelly Olynyk played fewer than 100 minutes together after Olynyk was acquired by the Raptors at the trade deadline. Barnes will make his preseason debut on Friday and anticipates he could be an ideal pick-and-roll partner for the veteran big man, according to Michael Grange of Sportsnet.

“I think we’ve been working on that a lot. You play with different lines at practices, see how things go,” Barnes said. “Kelly’s great at passing. He can dribble really well for his size and just his vision on the floor. So being able to create those advantages where a (center guarding Olynyk) is used to being in the ball screen, it kind of messes up a team or messes up some rotations, for sure. So just got to try to use that, exploit it at times, and see what works throughout the process, throughout games. If it keeps working, you know, you just keep attacking.”

We have more from the Atlantic Division:

Raptors wing RJ Barrett is expected to miss the remainder of the preseason with a shoulder injury. That could thrust Ochai Agbaji into the starting lineup when the season begins, according to Josh Lewenberg of TSN. In a separate note, Lewenberg reports that Immanuel Quickley should be cleared for contact soon. He’s recovering from a thumb injury.
The Celtics seem determined to expand Xavier Tillman‘s offensive game. Tillman has taken five 3-pointers in two preseason games and made three of them. “You never want to put a ceiling on his game, and now that we have him for an entire offseason and season it’s just continuing to grow,” coach Joe Mazzulla told Adam Himmelsbach of the Boston Globe. “So he does a great job of working, but all facets are important for his development.”
The Celtics are up for sale and majority owner Wyc Grousbeck provided Himmelsbach with an update. “The sale process is gearing up and about to hit full speed,” he said. “It took this long for our advisers to go through the financial and business data of the team and our whole management team, and spend enough time to put together offering books. Now they’re beginning to have discussions with interested parties, and the bidding process will commence in the next month or so.”
Sixers coach Nick Nurse believes Kyle Lowry could become an NBA head coach after the veteran guard retires, he told Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer. “I think that he’s got a couple things that I would think would make him a good coach,” Nurse said. “He really loves the game. He really studies the game. He knows the game, and, obviously, he’s got a toughness level, right? I think he could handle going out there to fight.”

Celtics Sign Jay Scrubb, Waive Tristan Enaruna

October 9th, 2024 at 7:51am CST by Luke Adams

The Celtics have made a change at the back end of their 21-man preseason roster, signing free agent guard Jay Scrubb and waiving forward Tristan Enaruna, according to the official transaction logs at RealGM and NBA.com.

Bobby Manning of CLNS, who first reported during the offseason that Boston was expected to sign Scrubb to an Exhibit 10 contract once he had fully recovered from his ACL injury, confirms (via Twitter) that the 24-year-old did in fact receive an Exhibit 10 deal.

A second-round pick in 2020, Scrubb appeared in 24 games for the Clippers and Magic across his first three NBA seasons. He signed a two-way contract with the Celtics last July, but tore his right ACL during a practice during the preseason and was waived before the regular season began. The 6’5″ shooting guard announced on Instagram on Tuesday that he has been “fully cleared,” approximately a year after sustaining that knee injury.

Scrubb remains eligible for a two-way contract, so his Exhibit 10 deal could be converted before opening night. However, it’s more likely that he’ll be waived and will report to the Maine Celtics, Boston’s G League affiliate. Maine acquired Scrubb’s returning rights from the South Bay Lakers last month.

If Scrubb is waived and then spends at least 60 days with the Celtics’ NBAGL team, he’ll earn an Exhibit 10 bonus worth up to $77.5K.

Atlantic Notes: Yabusele, Knicks’ Starters, Shamet, Nets

October 8th, 2024 at 7:10pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Guerschon Yabusele scored 15 points for the Sixers in their exhibition game against the New Zealand Breakers on Monday and it was a special night for him, Gina Mizell of the Philadelphia Inquirer writes.

“I’m not going to lie, it felt amazing,” Yabusele said. “It’s been a long road, but happy to be here.”

Yabusele signed a one-year contract with the Sixers in late August. He was selected in the first round of the 2016 draft and played two seasons with the Celtics from 2017-19, but hasn’t appeared in a regular season NBA game in five years. The power forward excelled overseas before joining Philadelphia.

We have more from the Atlantic Division:

The Knicks‘ projected starters played anywhere from 13-15 minutes in their preseason opener against Charlotte on Sunday. It’s just a first step as Mikal Bridges and Karl-Anthony Towns try to settle in with their new teammates. “First game, some good, some bad,” coach Tom Thibodeau said, per Zach Braziller of the New York Post. “Obviously, we have a lot of work to do. I figured it would be a little choppy. There are a lot of areas we need to clean up. But there were some good things as well.”
Landry Shamet entered Knicks camp on a non-guaranteed contract but the veteran guard is thrilled to be on a contender after spending last season with the rebuilding Wizards. Shamet scored 16 points, including four 3-pointers, in New York’s preseason opener. “I want to win, I want to compete, we all do. Anybody in the NBA that says otherwise is lying,” he told Braziller. “We all want to compete at the highest level. It’s exciting to be here. Last year was last year. It was what it was. I’m excited to be here and move forward and build with this group.”
With frontcourt players Day’Ron Sharpe and Trendon Watford sidelined by hamstring injuries, the Nets will look at some smaller lineups in the preseason, according to Brian Lewis of the New York Post. “It just forced us to do something that actually we wanted to do sooner or later; so might as well do it the sooner the better,” first-year coach Jordi Fernandez said.

NBA GMs High On Thunder’s Offseason Moves, Celtics’ Title Chances

October 8th, 2024 at 9:40am CST by Luke Adams

The Thunder made the best roster moves during the 2024 offseason, according to the NBA’s general managers. Within his annual survey of the league’s top basketball decision-makers, John Schuhmann of NBA.com writes that 37% of his respondents picked Oklahoma City as having the best summer, with the Sixers coming in second place at 33%. The Knicks got 20% of the vote share, while no other club received more than a single vote.

It was one of many favorable outcomes in the survey for the Thunder, who were overwhelmingly selected as the team with the best young core — 60% of GMs selected OKC, compared to 20% for the second-place Magic.

New Thunder guard Alex Caruso was chosen by general managers as the most underrated offseason acquisition, receiving 23% of that vote share, while last year’s Most Valuable Player runner-up Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was picked as this year’s MVP favorite (40%), narrowly edging Mavericks star Luka Doncic (30%).

The Thunder also received a handful of votes from the league’s GMs as the team that will win the 2025 NBA Finals, but at 13%, they finished a distant second to the Celtics, who earned a whopping 83% of the vote. Besides those two clubs, only the Mavericks (3%) received a vote to become this season’s champions.

Here are a few more interesting results from Schuhmann’s GM survey, which is worth checking out in full:

New Sixers forward Paul George got 60% of the vote as the offseason acquisition who will have the biggest impact in 2024/25, followed by new Knicks Mikal Bridges and Karl-Anthony Towns at 13% apiece. The Towns trade, meanwhile, was named the most surprising offseason move, eking out George leaving Los Angeles for Philadelphia (27% to 23%).
Unsurprisingly, Spurs big man Victor Wembanyama was the overwhelming choice (77%) for which player the GMs would most want to start a franchise with. Gilgeous-Alexander and Nuggets center Nikola Jokic each earned three votes in that category, while Doncic got one.
The league’s general managers are high on No. 3 overall pick Reed Sheppard — the Rockets‘ guard is their pick to win the Rookie of the Year award (50%) ahead of betting favorite Zach Edey of the Grizzlies (30%). Sheppard also comfortably received the largest vote share (43%) when the GMs were asked which rookie will be the best player in five years. Spurs guard Stephon Castle (17%) and Hawks forward Zaccharie Risacher (13%) were the runners-up in that category.
There was no consensus among the GMs on which 2024 draftee was the biggest steal. Wizards guard Carlton Carrington, Kings guard Devin Carter, Pacers wing Johnny Furphy, Lakers forward Dalton Knecht, Timberwolves guard Terrence Shannon, and Thunder guard Nikola Topic each received three votes to lead the way.
Among newly hired head coaches, Mike Budenholzer of the Suns is the one GMs feel will have the biggest impact on his new club. Budenholzer received 40% of the vote, beating out Kenny Atkinson of the Cavaliers and J.B. Bickerstaff of the Pistons (20% apiece). Meanwhile, Spurs guard Chris Paul (30%) and Raptors guard Garrett Temple (20%) are the active players that GMs feel would make the best head coaches down the road.
Asked what they’d change about the NBA, 20% of GMs said the rules related to the tax aprons, trades, and roster construction are too restrictive and/or should be “indexed to (a) team’s market,” per Schuhmann, making it the top response.

Atlantic Notes: Embiid, Drummond, Bridges, Celtics

September 30th, 2024 at 3:06pm CST by Luke Adams

Sixers center Joel Embiid told reporters at Monday’s media day that he has dropped “25 to 30 pounds” during the offseason and that staying healthy in 2024/25 is his number one goal entering this fall, writes Tim Bontemps of ESPN.

“I still got a ways to go. I still want to lose more, but it’s a process,” Embiid said. “As soon as we lost last year, I just texted (Sixers president of basketball operations Daryl Morey) and I was like, ‘We got to do whatever it takes to make sure that in the postseason I’m healthy.’ So this year is all about (that).”

Embiid has made seven straight All-Star teams and five total All-NBA teams in addition to winning a pair of scoring titles and 2023’s Most Valuable Player award. While he has expressed pride in some of those accolades in the past, he made it clear on Monday that individual awards are far down his list of goals in 2024/25.

“There’s no agenda, there’s no All-Star, there’s no All-NBA, there’s none of that,” Embiid said. “It’s whatever it takes to make sure that I get to that point and I’m ready to go because … basically every single year in my career, I’ve been hurt in the playoffs. So that’s the goal, and it’s all about doing whatever it takes to get there.”

Adding a star like Paul George and so many other players to the roster will require an adjustment period this fall, so it’s not as if the Sixers can put Embiid in bubble wrap until the spring. Morey acknowledged on Monday that finding a balance between managing the star center’s minutes and making sure the new-look roster has plenty of opportunities to establish chemistry will be important.

“We’re going to be really smart about it,” Morey said. “Obviously, we’re very focused on April, May and June. That doesn’t mean that the time right now isn’t very important as well, but we’re going to be very smart about how we manage him through the season. There’s going to be a lot of information, as we learn about how everything’s working with the entire roster.

Here’s more from around the Atlantic:

Appearing at the Sixers‘ media day on Monday, veteran center Andre Drummond reiterated his belief that he’s “the best rebounder to ever play the game,” as Sean Barnard of Fox Sports The Gambler in Philadelphia relays (via Twitter). As we noted last September when Drummond made a similar claim, his career rebounding percentage (25.1%) ranks first in NBA history.
Speaking on the most recent episode of the Hoop Collective podcast (YouTube link), ESPN’s Bobby Marks says he doesn’t expect Knicks forward Mikal Bridges to sign a contract extension prior to the start of the season. “The indication I’ve gotten just from talking to people is that there is not going to be an extension, that he will wait until next year to look at what the extension,” Marks said (hat tip to RealGM). “… Because he’s limited as far as the six-month rule as far as what he can extend for. Next year, he can extend for four years. It just gives him more flexibility. That could certainly change by October 21st. Maybe this (Karl-Anthony Towns) trade does change that thinking. This was talking to people before this trade happened.” As Marks alludes to, the most lucrative extension Bridges can sign before this season is for two years and about $61MM. Next offseason, he could get up to $156MM over four years.
The Celtics‘ sale process is expected to begin accelerating this week, a source tells Adam Himmelsbach of The Boston Globe. According to Himmelsbach, the banks facilitating the sale are set to contact a group of individuals that includes both potential buyers who have expressed interest in the team and “other qualified buyers who have been targeted by the sale facilitators.”