Boston Celtics Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Celtics Pick Up 2018/19 Options On Brown, Rozier

October 31st, 2017 at 1:44pm CST by Luke Adams

The Celtics have picked up a pair of 2018/19 team options, locking in Jaylen Brown and Terry Rozier for next season, according to RealGM’s log of official NBA transactions.

Brown’s third-year option will count against the Celtics’ cap for about $5.17MM in 2018/19, while Rozier’s fourth-year option is worth approximately $3.05MM. The Celtics will eventually have to make a fourth-year option decision on Brown, but the team’s next decision on Rozier will be whether or not to extend him during the 2018 offseason. If Rozier doesn’t sign an extension, he’ll be on track for restricted free agency in 2019.

Brown and Rozier are two of just four Celtics who finished last season in Boston and remained on the club’s opening night roster, joining Al Horford and Marcus Smart as the lone holdovers. With Gordon Hayward expected to miss the entire season and players like Avery Bradley and Jae Crowder no longer in the mix, both Brown and Rozier figure to be leaned on for increased roles in 2017/18.

So far this season, Brown has averaged 15.4 points in 33.3 minutes per contest, while Rozier has recorded 9.4 points and 5.4 rebounds in 24.6 minutes per game. Each player averaged approximately 17 MPG last year.

Team Adjusting To Life With Hayward

October 30th, 2017 at 5:30pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Celtics are gradually adjusting to the loss of Gordon Hayward, according to Steve Bulpett of the Boston Herald. Hayward’s horrific leg injury in the season opener left the team reeling but it has perked up over the past week, winning four straight heading into Monday’s game against the Spurs. “I think we’re getting used to that reality to what we have in front of us,” power forward Al Horford told Bulpett. “It’s a hard blow, but then as the days go on you kind of realize that this is our reality, this is what we have, and we need to make the most of it with what’s here right now.”

Marcus Morris Practices With Maine Red Claws

October 30th, 2017 at 4:00pm CST by Luke Adams

Celtics forward Marcus Morris, who is working his way back from a knee injury, was assigned to the G League today and was later recalled by the C’s, according to the club (Twitter link). Morris, who participated in practice today with the Maine Red Claws, is expected to play in his first game for Boston at some point this week.

Celtics Notes: Morris, Baynes, Defense, Ojeleye

October 29th, 2017 at 10:23am CST by Arthur Hill

Marcus Morris may be ready for his debut with the Celtics this week, writes A. Sherrod Blakely of NBC Sports Boston. The 6’9 forward was acquired from the Pistons this summer in a deal for Avery Bradley, but has been unable to suit up because of soreness in his left knee. Morris had hoped to be ready for tomorrow’s game with the Spurs, but now Wednesday seems most likely.

“He needs to have at least a day of hard practice with our guys before he could play in a game,” said coach Brad Stevens. “That’s probably a little bit optimistic for Monday.” Morris didn’t travel with the team on its current road trip, staying in Boston for more treatments on the knee.

There’s more news out of Boston:

Aron Baynes was an under-the-radar move in a newsworthy Celtics offseason, but he is turning out to be a valuable addition, Blakely writes in a separate story. The former Piston has provided a physical presence in the paint, something the team lacked last year. Baynes, who signed a one-year, $4.3MM deal, has started three of the six games so far and is averaging 6.8 points and 5.2 rebounds per night. “Everybody has their own role to play and value to add,” Stevens said. “He’s physical and tough.”
There were concerns that Boston’s defense might decline after losing Jae Crowder and Bradley in offseason trades, but early-season numbers show an improvement, Blakely notes in another piece. The Celtics ranked third in the league heading into Saturday’s game with a defensive rating of 95.9. They are in the top 10 in steals, points off turnovers and effective field goal percentage. “It’s great team defense,” said Daniel Theis, who got his first start this week. “Two games in a row now, under 90 points, that’s really good defense.”
Rookie forward Semi Ojeleye only plays about 11 minutes per night, but he gets the toughest defensive matchups when he’s on the court, writes Jay King of MassLive. A second-round pick in this year’s draft, Ojeleye earned a roster spot on the strength of his defense and the Celtics have taken advantage of that attribute since the season began. Ojeleye has found himself matched up with Giannis Antetokounmpo, Kristaps Porzingis and LeBron James. “You just try to prepare, watch film, try to be always ready,” Ojeleye said. “You try to take it seriously, know their tendencies, and go out there and just do what you can.”

Heat Notes: Olynyk, Whiteside, Hayward, Williams

October 28th, 2017 at 7:25pm CST by Arthur Hill

Free agent addition Kelly Olynyk has dropped 16 pounds and made changes to his game since coming to Miami, writes Manny Navarro of The Miami Herald. Olynyk believes the weight loss has made him more mobile, and he is tied for the early-season league lead in drawing charges.

“You’re trying to beat somebody to a spot, and if they’re going to go through you, then you got to go down,” Olynyk explained. “In this league and the way it’s played today, sometimes if you try to stand your ground and try to resist and you go into them, now they flop and now it’s your fault. So why take the risk? It’s a turnover, it’s your ball and now you’re going the other way.”

Olynyk’s four-year, $50MM deal includes a $1MM bonus if he plays 1,700 minutes this season, a figure he never reached in his four seasons with Boston.

There’s more news out of Miami:

Starting center Hassan Whiteside began drills Friday with assistant coach Juwan Howard, but still isn’t ready for a full practice, Navarro adds in the same story. Whiteside has missed four straight games with a bone bruise in his left knee. The Heat prefer that their players participate in a full-contact practice before being cleared for games. “We’re going to be in constant communication as he rehabs and does treatment and starts to get back into the mix and that’s why we’re just continuing to say he’s day by day, because that’s what he is,” said coach Erik Spoelstra.
If not for the season-ending injury to Gordon Hayward, tonight would have been the Heat’s first meeting with a player they tried hard to get in free agency, notes Ira Winderman of The Sun-Sentinel. Miami was among three finalists for Hayward, along with Boston and Utah, and waited through and waited four days before he announced his intention to join the Celtics. “We loved the meeting with Gordon,” Spoelstra said. “There’s a reason why we recruited him. And we thought it went well. You just never know how those things are going to play out.”
Rookie guard Matt Williams, who was assigned to the G League today, only used up three of his allotted NBA days this week, Winderman tweets. Williams, who is limited to 45 days in his two-way contract, spent four games with the team before being demoted. The clock didn’t start until Monday when G League training camps opened, Thursday didn’t count because the Heat had an off day and Friday was considered a travel day as Williams headed for Sioux Falls. The 3-point specialist didn’t get into a game for Miami.

Celtics Granted $8.4MM Disabled Player Exception

October 27th, 2017 at 6:56pm CST by Austin Kent

The Celtics have been granted a $8.4MM disabled player exception to replace Gordon Hayward for the season, Shams Charania of The Vertical tweets.

Disabled player exceptions can be granted to teams that lose a player to a season-ending injury. They’re worth either half the injured player’s salary, or the amount of the mid-level exception, whichever is lesser.

As Bobby Marks of ESPN explains, the C’s already have an open roster spot and can thus sign, claim or trade for a player whose contract will expire at the end of 2017/18.

There’s no particular rush for the Celtics to go out and acquire a player now, however, as the team will have until March 10 to actually use the exception.

It’s possible that president of basketball operations Danny Ainge will continue to audition his new-look roster and narrow down their most glaring need at a later date.

As we wrote about yesterday, there are slim pickings left on the free agent wire but a number of veterans who could conceivably add value to a contending team like Boston.

Latest On Eric Bledsoe

October 26th, 2017 at 12:46pm CST by Luke Adams

Eric Bledsoe continues to sit out games for the Suns and, after a disastrous start to the season, the club has actually looked better with a new starting point guard — and a new head coach. Since Jay Triano replaced Earl Watson on the bench and Mike James replaced Bledsoe in the starting lineup, the Suns have won consecutive games at home, beating the Kings and Jazz.

As the Suns look to build on their recent success, here’s the latest on Bledsoe, from Gery Woelfel of The Racine Journal Times:

NBA sources tell Woelfel that if the Bucks and Suns were to make a deal involving Bledsoe, Phoenix would likely ask for Malcolm Brogdon, plus either John Henson or Mirza Teletovic. Milwaukee has had interest in Bledsoe over the last few years, but is reluctant to part with Brogdon, the reigning Rookie of the Year, per Woelfel.
According to Woelfel, the Bucks are – for now – dangling Matthew Dellavedova, but he’s not of much interest to the Suns — Phoenix remains focused on Brogdon.
The Suns are eyeing young guards, and are also intrigued by Denver’s Emmanuel Mudiay. According to two NBA officials, the Nuggets and Bucks are viewed as “the leaders in the Bledsoe sweepstakes,” writes Woelfel.
Those same two sources tell Woelfel that a number of other teams have internally discussed the idea of making a play for Bledsoe, including the Clippers, Celtics, and Heat.

2017 Offseason In Review: Boston Celtics

October 25th, 2017 at 11:00pm CST by clarkcrum

Hoops Rumors is breaking down the 2017 offseason for all 30 NBA teams, revisiting the summer’s free agent signings, trades, draft picks, departures, and more. We’ll evaluate each team’s moves from the last several months and look ahead to what the 2017/18 season holds for all 30 franchises. Today, we’re focusing on the Boston Celtics.

Signings:

Gordon Hayward: Four years, $127.83MM (30% maximum salary). Fourth-year player option.
Aron Baynes: One year, $4.328MM.
Daniel Theis: Two years, minimum salary. Second year not guaranteed.
Shane Larkin: One year, minimum salary.
Kadeem Allen: Two-way contract. Two years. $50K guaranteed.
Jabari Bird: Two-way contract. One year. $50K guaranteed.

Camp invitees:

Jonathan Holmes: One year, minimum salary. Exhibits nine and 10. (Waived)
Devin Williams: One, year minimum salary. Exhibits nine and 10. (Waived)
Andrew White: One, year minimum salary. Exhibits nine and 10. (Waived)
L.J. Peak: One, year minimum salary. Exhibits nine and 10. (Waived)
Daniel Dixon: One year, minimum salary. Summer contract. (Waived)
Daniel Ochefu: One year, minimum salary. Summer contract. (Waived)

Trades:

Acquired the No. 3 overall pick and the Lakers’ 2018 first-round pick (top-1 protected and 6-30 protected) from the Sixers in exchange for the No. 1 overall pick.
- Note: If Lakers’ 2018 first-round pick doesn’t convey, Celtics will instead acquire more favorable of Kings’ and Sixers’ 2019 first-round picks (top-1 protected).
Acquired Marcus Morris from the Pistons in exchange for Avery Bradley and the Pistons’ own 2019 second-round pick.
Acquired Kyrie Irving from the Cavaliers in exchange for Isaiah Thomas, Jae Crowder, Ante Zizic, the Nets’ 2018 first-round pick, and the Heat’s 2020 second-round pick.

Draft picks:

1-3: Jayson Tatum — Signed to rookie contract
2-37: Semi Ojeleye — Signed to four-year, $6.042MM contract. Second year partially guaranteed ($902K). Third year not guaranteed. Fourth-year team option.
2-53: Kadeem Allen — Signed to two-way contract
2-56: Jabari Bird — Signed to two-way contract

Draft-and-stash signings:

Guerschon Yabusele (2016; No. 16) — Signed to rookie contract.
Ante Zizic (2016; No. 23) — Signed to rookie contract.
- Note: Later traded to the Cavaliers.
Abdel Nader (2016; No. 58) — Signed to four-year, $5.917MM contract. Second year partially guaranteed ($450K). Third year not guaranteed. Fourth-year team option.

Departing players:

Avery Bradley
Jae Crowder
Gerald Green
Demetrius Jackson (waived)
Jonas Jerebko
Amir Johnson
Jordan Mickey (waived)
Kelly Olynyk
Isaiah Thomas
James Young
Tyler Zeller (waived)

Other offseason news:

Paul Pierce signed a one-day contract to officially retire as a Celtic.
Marcus Morris acquitted on aggravated assault charges.

Salary cap situation:

Used up cap room. Now operating over the cap, but under the tax line. Carrying approximately $110MM in guaranteed team salary. Only minimum salary exception available.

Check out the Boston Celtics’ full roster and depth chart at RosterResource.com.

Story of the summer:

While many considered the Celtics to be a legitimate threat to land Gordon Hayward this summer, especially due to his relationship with Celtics coach Brad Stevens, it’s doubtful anybody suspected the blockbuster trade between the Celtics and the Cavaliers that led to Kyrie Irving donning a Boston uniform this season. In addition to those two acquisitions, the Celtics traded the No. 1 overall draft pick to Philadelphia in exchange for the No. 3 overall pick and an additional future first-rounder that projects to be a strong pick.

Hayward only met with three different teams, the Jazz, Heat, and Celtics, with his decision ultimately coming down to Utah or Boston. After an initial report by ESPN that Hayward had selected the Celtics, Hayward’s agent, Mark Bartelstein, publicly and forcefully denied that a decision had been made, worrying the Celtics that the premature report may cause Hayward to change his mind and return to Utah. Fortunately for the C’s, that was not the case, and Hayward announced later that night that he was leaving Utah for Boston.

Unfortunately for the Celtics, Hayward’s arrival meant the need to rework their roster to ensure they would have enough cap room to make a max-salary offer to Hayward. The Celtics ultimately ended up trading starter Avery Bradley and his $8.8MM salary to Boston in exchange for Marcus Morris and his $5MM cap hit, thereby clearing the necessary room to accommodate Hayward’s first-year salary.

Then, despite a career year in which Isaiah Thomas averaged 28.9 PPG and played through the death of his sister and a torn labrum in his hip, the Celtics traded him to Cleveland, along with fellow starter Jae Crowder, Ante Zizic, Brooklyn’s coveted 2018 first-round pick, and a 2020 second-round pick, in exchange for Irving. Read more

Key offseason losses:

Perhaps no team lost as many contributors from a season ago as the Celtics. In addition to the departures of Bradley, Thomas, and Crowder, fellow starter Amir Johnson signed with the Sixers as a free agent, leaving the Celtics with only one returning starter, Al Horford, to begin the 2017/18 season.

Additionally, the Celtics were forced to renounce the rights of key bench player Kelly Olynyk in order to have enough cap room to sign Hayward, resulting in Olynyk heading south and signing with the Heat.

All in all, the Celtics’ top three players in minutes played (Thomas, Bradley, and Crowder) and five of the top seven (Olynyk and Johnson) from last season are no longer on the team. With so many integral pieces moving on and new pieces being added to the puzzle, it will be interesting to see how the new parts fit together. If things don’t look good early on, Boston fans may begin to question Danny Ainge‘s decision to overhaul the roster so quickly after such a successful campaign the season before.

Key offseason additions:

Though the Celtics lost most of their core from a season ago, they also gained as much talent as any NBA team, second only to perhaps the Thunder. In addition to landing Hayward and Irving, the Celtics drafted Jayson Tatum, whom they reportedly believed to be the best prospect in the draft.

Outside of Hayward, Irving, and Tatum, the Celtics also acquired former Pistons Morris and Aron Baynes, albeit in separate transactions. Taking into account returning players Horford, Marcus Smart, Jaylen Brown, and Terry Rozier, the club has a legitimate nine-man rotation (eight after Hayward’s injury) to work with this season.

One of the likely keys to the Celtics success this season is how well head coach Brad Stevens can incorporate his young core with veterans such as Irving and Horford. The Celtics are now the sixth-youngest team in the NBA and will rely heavily on four players still in their rookie contracts: Tatum, Brown, Rozier, and Smart.

Outlook for 2017/18:

Unfortunately, the Celtics outlook for this season took an unexpected and unfortunate turn when Hayward was seriously injured in the team’s opening night tilt against the Cavaliers.

With Hayward unlikely to return this season, the Celtics will need youngsters Brown, 21, and Tatum, 19, to grow up in a hurry if they hope to repeat last year’s success, especially with the losses of Bradley, Crowder, Olynyk, Johnson, and Second-Team All-NBA performer Thomas. Moreover, Irving will need to be more consistent as the now unquestioned leader of this young team.

Given Hayward’s injury, coupled with the loss of so many key contributors from last year’s team as a direct consequence of Hayward’s arrival, it’s unlikely that the Celtics will once again earn home court advantage throughout the Eastern Conference Playoffs and the No. 1 seed. The emergence of Brown or Tatum as a legitimate star – or Irving playing at an MVP level – could change that. For now though, it’s hard to imagine the Celtics winning 53 or more games, knowing what we know at this time.

Salary information from Basketball Insiders used in the creation of this post. Photos courtesy of USA Today Sports Images. Luke Adams contributed to this post.

Knicks Notes: Irving, Hardaway, Lee, Kanter

October 25th, 2017 at 9:59am CST by Arthur Hill

“Close to home” was the explanation Kyrie Irving gave to reporters Tuesday about including the Knicks on his list of possible destinations, writes Marc Berman of The New York Post. However, the Celtics’ new point guard was careful not to say much more as the media congregated around his locker.

“It’s pretty easy man. They were on my list for a reason, I think you guys know that,” Irving explained. “Close to home, that’s about it. I’m not going to go into detail about all that extra stuff because I know where this is going to lead. … Cameras all here, I know exactly where this is going to go.”

New York was among four preferred cities that Irving gave to Cavaliers management when he requested a trade this summer. The Knicks reportedly offered Carmelo Anthony and a collection of draft picks to Cleveland, but never came close to a deal. “Playing with a guy like that would make the game a lot easier,’’ Kristaps Porzingis said. “That’s dreaming how it would be. He’s not here with us. He’s in Boston. That type of player would bring a lot to this team.’’

There’s more out of New York this morning:

A Look Into Gordon Hayward's Rehab Schedule

October 24th, 2017 at 10:17pm CST by marksuleymanov

Gordon Hayward‘s gruesome ankle injury on opening night was not the storyline people expected coming out LeBron James‘ first head-to-head matchup against Kyrie Irving. Nonetheless, the Celtics‘ prized free agent signing is expected to miss the remainder of the season. While it is not impossible that Hayward returns at the end of the season, him going through rehab successfully is the main goal.

Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today chronicled what Hayward’s journey back to the hardwood will entail. In earnest, Hayward can expect to be off a basketball court for about six months until he is cleared for basketball-related activities. After surgery, the Celtics forward will not be allowed to put weight on the damaged ankle about 4 to 6 weeks as he gets around with crutches and/or a knee scooter. Zillgitt further explains that initial stages of rehab will include soft-tissue intervention, manual therapy, and aquatic therapy.

About eight weeks in, Hayward should be cleared for light jogging, another checked off milestone. The Celtics did not release a timeline for Hayward returning and it was for good reason, Robert DiGiacomo, the director of the sports rehabilitation center at the Hospital for Special Surgery in New York, told Zillgitt. “We try not to be beholden to timeline,” DiGiacomo said. “Achieving functional milestones is the most important thing.”