Boston Celtics Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Atlantic Notes: Celtics, Kirilenko, Karasev

November 29th, 2014 at 8:46am CST by Eddie Scarito

The Celtics are struggling this season and are trying to maximize the talent that they have on their roster, but Boston is a team filled with complementary players and is badly in need of a star, Steve Bulpett of The Boston Herald opines. The coaching staff’s primary focus right now is to try and get the most from the players they currently have, notes Bulpett. “I think that’s the only way for me to look at it, and that’s the only way to do my job to the best of my ability — coach the guys that are available, coach the guys that are here as well as we possibly can,” head coach Brad Stevens said. “And I think we’re getting closer, as far as playing to our standards more often than not. There’s a reason we’ve been right there, and that’s because we’ve been playing pretty well. The key is now can we get a little bit better, so that we’re better than right there.”

Here’s the latest from the Atlantic Division:

In an interview with Russian media, Cavs coach David Blatt relayed that he was a big fan of Nets forward Andrei Kirilenko, whom he coached when both were members of Team Russia, Robert Windrem of NetsDaily reports. “It is unfortunate that Andrei Kirilenko is not playing, because, from my point of view, he is the greatest Russian basketball player of all time,” Blatt said. “He did so much for Russian basketball and for me personally, and I very much support him.“
When asked about the possibility of the Cavs obtaining Kirilenko via a trade, Blatt said, “In the NBA, there are very strict rules that prohibit coaches from commenting on such things about players on other teams. So in this respect, I will not say anything.”
Sergey Karasev‘s father, Vasily, spoke about his son’s frustration with his lack of playing time with the Nets in an interview with Timur Rostomov of Sport-Express (translation via the same NetsDaily piece). The elder Karasev said, “One season in the NBA has already passed on the bench, and now, that Sergey is 21 years [old], it’s imperative that he play, not sit. He understands this and is frustrated. He is not interested in salary. He just wants to get on the court, to grow and develop. As I understand it, the coach of Brooklyn, Lionel Hollins, does not see him in the lineup, so it’s difficult for Sergey to influence the situation. He needs to be patient.”

Eastern Notes: Smart, Sixers, Mitchell

November 26th, 2014 at 10:12pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Celtics rookie Marcus Smart has begun practicing but is still limited in what he is able to do on the court, Chris Forsberg of ESPNBoston.com reports. Head coach Brad Stevens is eager for Smart to return to action but stressed that Smart would only return when the player felt comfortable, notes Forsberg. “I think, obviously, you want him to be as close to pre-injury [health] as possible, otherwise he shouldn’t be full-go,” Stevens said. “Is there a transition period? Absolutely. But sometimes in those first couple days, you’re so excited to be back out that you actually play pretty darn well. So it’s just a matter of him getting back out here and it’s more about the conditioning than anything else right now, just because he hasn’t done anything on the court, physically, as far as 5-on-5, in the last three weeks.”

Here’s more from the east:

With the Celtics‘ early-season record a disappointing 4-8, Stevens said that he doesn’t sense any overwhelming frustration among his players, Forsberg writes in a separate article. “I don’t sense the frustration level to be as high as maybe it’s made out to be, because a lot of that is made out after a game where you lose close and, that soon after, everybody’s disappointed, everybody is — you lose a little perspective immediately after a game,” said Stevens.
“Everyone in the league knows” that some sort of lottery reform is on its way, even though the owners rejected the league’s last proposal, writes Ken Berger of CBSSports.com. The widespread negative perception of the Sixers‘ radical rebuilding hasn’t changed in front offices around the league, as Berger notes. One GM told Berger that aside from Nerlens Noel, Michael Carter-Williams and Joel Embiid, the majority of Philly’s players wouldn’t be claimed off waivers if the Sixers were to release them.
When Detroit assigned Tony Mitchell to the Grand Rapids Drive earlier today he became the first player that the Pistons have sent to their new D-league affiliate, as Peter J. Wallner of MLive.com examines. Mitchell is expected to return to Detroit on Thursday.
Michael Carter-Williams has been struggling for the Sixers since returning to the lineup after his preseason injury. If the young point guard hopes to remain a part of the team’s future he’ll need to improve his decision-making with the ball and his body language when things don’t go well, Michael Kaskey-Blomain of Philly.com writes.

Chuck Myron contributed to this post.

Atlantic Notes: ‘Melo, Green, Raptors, D-League

November 24th, 2014 at 4:58pm CST by Chuck Myron

Carmelo Anthony admits the warm weather and the lack of a state income tax in Texas were factors he considered as he thought about signing with the Rockets this summer, but he has no regrets about his decision to return to the Knicks, as he told reporters today. Marc Berman of the New York Post has the details, including Anthony’s acknowledgment of a conversation with Dwight Howard.

“We had some great dialogue back and forth,’’ Anthony said. “I talked to him. We talked about some things. Ultimately it came down to what I really felt and really wanted at that moment. We had some contact and conversations. He tried. He tried extremely hard. It didn’t have anything to do with Dwight or James [Harden]. It came down to my own personal decision.’’

The Rockets appear none the worse for losing out on ‘Melo, having started 10-3, while the Knicks are but 4-10. Here’s more from the Atlantic Division:

Jeff Green stressed to reporters Sunday that he didn’t mean to imply that he wanted the Celtics to trade him when he expressed his frustration with the team’s losing, notes Chris Forsberg of ESPNBoston.com. “I want to stay here,” said Green, who can opt out of his contract this coming summer “I love this team. I love being here.”
The Raptors rejected a draft-night offer from the Suns that would have given Toronto the draft rights to Tyler Ennis, whom the Raptors coveted, in return for 2014’s 20th overall pick and the 2016 first-rounder that the Knicks owe Toronto, according to Sportsnet’s Michael Grange.
The Celtics have recalled James Young from the D-League, the team announced. It was a one-day excursion for this year’s 17th overall pick, who put up 22 points and eight rebounds Sunday for Boston’s affiliate.
Rookie JaKarr Sampson is back from his three-day D-League assignment, the Sixers announced. The undrafted small forward averaged 15.0 points and 4.5 rebounds in two D-League games.

Atlantic Notes: Bass, Faverani, Calderon, Sixers

November 23rd, 2014 at 12:50pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Celtics‘ Brandon Bass may have increased his trade chances with a strong start to the season, writes Steve Bulpett of The Boston Herald. Bass is earning $6.9MM in the final season of his contract, and should be appealing to a contending team between now and the trade deadline. “If there’s a team competing for a championship and they could steal him, that’d be big,” said Rajon Rondo. “He’s one of the best mid-range shooters in the league.”

There’s more from around the Atlantic Division:

Bulpett also reports that Vitor Faverani is holding out hope of playing for the Celtics this season after two surgical procedures to repair a torn meniscus in his left knee. Faverani originally had the knee worked on in March, then went through a second procedure five weeks ago. “The bad thing is that I worked really hard all summer, and I got injured one more time,” he said. “I just have to recover. That’s my life. That’s all I can do right now.”
The Celtics assigned James Young to the Maine Red Claws of the D-League, the team announced via press release. This is his second stint with the Red Claws, after appearing in one game last week. He has played in three games for the Celtics, averaging 3.0 points in 3.9 minutes.
Carmelo Anthony expects the Knicks to improve now that Jose Calderon is back on the court, according to Ian Begley of ESPNNewYork.com. Anthony praised Calderon’s understanding of the game, and said scorers always love playing with skilled point guards. “His IQ out there on the basketball court, I think is very high,” Anthony said. “That’s something that, at that position, we’ve been missing.” Calderon, who came to the Knicks in an offseason trade with the Mavericks, missed the first 13 games of the season with a strained calf.
Fans of the winless Sixers shouldn’t expect a turnaround any time soon, opines Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer. He said Philadelphia is committed to its strategy of trying to improve by getting high draft picks, even though it hasn’t landed the team an obvious franchise player so far.

And-Ones: Oden, McCants, Giddens, Anderson

November 23rd, 2014 at 12:17pm CST by Arthur Hill

Greg Oden attended the Cavaliers game Saturday, but has no immediate plans for an NBA comeback, tweets Jason Lloyd of The Akron Beacon Journal. Oden, the first player selected in the 2007 NBA draft, said he has other priorities. “I have to deal with other stuff first,” he said. “Life stuff.” Oden allegedly punched his ex-girlfriend in the face during a recent fight and was charged with felony battery, misdemeanor domestic battery and misdemeanor battery resulting in serious bodily injury.

Other players were on the move this weekend:

Free agent Rashad McCants will continue his career in Lebanon, notes Emiliano Carchia of Sportando. McCants, a college star at North Carolina, played four years in the NBA with the Timberwolves and Kings. He has not been in the league since the 2008/09 season. He played last season in Brazil.
J.R. Giddens, a first-round pick by the Celtics in the 2008 NBA draft, has landed a free agent deal in Argentina, tweets David Pick of Basketball Insiders and Eurobasket. Giddens spent two seasons in the NBA with the Celtics and Knicks. He has also played in Poland, Greece, Italy and Puerto Rico.
The Spurs announced that rookie Kyle Anderson has been assigned to the Austin Spurs of the D-League. A first-round pick out of UCLA in this year’s draft, Anderson has seen limited playing time in San Antonio, averaging 1.0 points and 2.8 rebounds in six games.

Celtics Notes: Green, Rondo, Lee, Bass

November 22nd, 2014 at 6:43pm CST by ChrisCrouse

Earlier in the month, Hoops Rumors’ own Chuck Myron broke down the Celtics’ offseason moves. While Boston added some nice pieces, no acquisition moved the needle in the win column as the team started the season with a 4-7 record. It hasn’t been all bad this season as the team owns the fourth best offense in the league, scoring 106.2 points per game.

Here’s more from Boston:

Jeff Green‘s frustration with the Celtics’ losing is at an all-time high, writes A. Sherrod Blakely of CSNNE.com. “I’m tired of losing,” Green said. “[Friday] we let them get whatever they wanted, so we deserved to lose.” The forward can opt out of his current deal at season’s end and become a free agent. Blakely adds that the market for Green is as strong “if not stronger” than it is for fellow teammate Rajon Rondo, according to talks with a league executive. Green is averaging 18.4 points per game and is sporting a player efficiency rating of 16.5.
Courtney Lee liked playing for the Celtics but understood why he was traded to the Grizzlies, writes Blakely in a separate piece. “I enjoyed my time in Boston,” Lee said. “The organization, my teammates, coaching staff; everybody was top-notch. It just didn’t work.” Lee signed in Boston while the team had title aspirations but a year later, the Celtics traded Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce to the Nets to begin their rebuilding efforts. Lee, who most would describe as a complementary player, is thriving as a catch-and-shoot wing in the Grizzlies offense. “Just square up, lick my fingers and knock down shots,” Lee said. “It works for me.”
Brandon Bass is still familiarizing himself with his new role of coming off the bench for the Celtics, writes Blakely in another piece. “I’m adjusting,” Bass told Comcast SportsNet’s Abby Chin. “I’ve been a starter and I’ve come off the bench in the past … I’m adjusting.” Although he would love to start, he understands the importance of making a positive impact when he gets in the game. “It’s important for the guys off the bench to lift the starters each and every night; try to contribute in a major way each and every night,” Bass said. The power forward has begun the season on a positive note, averaging 8.4 PPG and with a player efficiency rating of 16.35.

And-Ones: Bledsoe, Union, Rondo, Mavs, Sixers

November 21st, 2014 at 11:02am CST by Chuck Myron

Eric Bledsoe says he never worried about the Suns‘ acquisition of yet more high-level point guards in the offseason, but staying healthy was a concern as his contract negotiations dragged on, as he tells Chris Mannix of SI.com, who writes in his Open Floor column.

“I stayed in the gym working out. I just had to make sure I didn’t get hurt,” Bledsoe said. “My agent was calling me, telling me not to go play with everybody. I pretty much wrapped my body in bubble wrap.”

Bledsoe’s numbers are off a bit this year after the summer hiatus, so while we wait to see if he can regain his form once he shakes off the rust, here’s more from around the league:

Union executive director Michele Roberts has made an effort to forge a relationship with several top agents, in contrast to predecessor Billy Hunter, who kept agents at arm’s length, as Sean Deveney of The Sporting News examines. Still, some agents are miffed about her choice of of Roger Mason, who supported her candidacy for the executive director job, to conduct a review of agent regulations, as Ken Berger of CBSSports.com wrote earlier this week.
Rajon Rondo doesn’t see this season as a rebuilding year for the Celtics, notes Gary Washburn of the Boston Globe (Twitter link).
The Mavs have been paying greater attention to scouting talent for their D-League club as the connection between Dallas and its affiliate grows, as Eduardo Najera, the coach of the Mavs D-League affiliate, tells Eddie Sefko of the Dallas Morning News.
The Sixers have a plan to return to contention eventually, but they are taking a risk that their players will learn to accept losing in the meantime, Bob Cooney of the Philadelphia Daily News believes.

Atlantic Notes: Sixers, Bass, Calderon

November 21st, 2014 at 9:32am CST by Chuck Myron

The Raptors are the best team in the Eastern Conference at 9-2, but the rest of the Atlantic Division is off to a rough start. The four other teams are all below .500, and the Sixers haven’t won in 11 tries. They’ll visit the 3-10 Knicks on Saturday in a game with early 2015 draft lottery implications. Here’s more from the struggling Atlantic:

Sixers coach Brett Brown and GM Sam Hinkie didn’t realize when they took their respective jobs in 2013 that the team’s roster this season would be so devoid of immediate contributors, Brown admitted Thursday, according to Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer. Brown said the expectation had been that the Sixers would use their pair of lottery picks this year to bring in players who would be on the floor now instead of the injured Joel Embiid and Euroleaguer Dario Saric. “We put our big-boy pants on and made a decision that is best for the club long-term,” Brown said. “Time will tell. But the year that we are all now living in is a result of those types of decisions. That’s why you look on the floor and see a roster like you do and resumés like you do.”
Boston acquired Brandon Bass to be a complementary piece on a contending team, making his value to this version of the Celtics hard to divine, as Chris Forsberg of ESPNBoston.com writes in his mailbag column. If the Celtics make a trade, Bass is among the most likely candidates to go, Forsberg opines.
Much hinges on the return of Jose Calderon as the most significant offseason addition for the Knicks is poised to make his regular season debut for New York, writes Marc Berman of the New York Post.

Eastern Notes: Rondo, Kidd, Butler, Sixers

November 19th, 2014 at 7:27pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Executives from around the league tell Howard Beck of Bleacher Report that Celtics president of basketball operations Danny Ainge has remained resolute with them that he won’t trade Rajon Rondo at this point. Still, many of those execs think the Celtics are in a position in which they simply must trade the point guard to avoid seeing him walk in free agency this coming summer. Ainge nonetheless continues to look for upgrades around Rondo, as he tells Beck. “Philosophically, we know who the players are, we know who the guys are that we would love to get,” Ainge said. “But we also know that certain players don’t make as much of a difference. We can’t sell our stockpile of assets just to appease one player. We’ve got to be smart in rebuilding. And we do have to remain patient. And yet at the same time, be ready to jump into the fray and pay a high price for special players, transcendent players.”

Here’s more from the Eastern Conference:

The Bucks’ roster features two starters who are 19 years old, a stark contrast to head coach Jason Kidd‘s Nets team of a year ago, which featured seven players 32 or older, Sean Deveney of The Sporting News writes. Kidd says it’s still just basketball to him, adding, “It’s just the age difference. They’re basketball players. This is a younger team, the team I had last year was vets. They knew how to play, a couple of them won championships so they knew what it took to win. We won a Game 7 on the road, so experience, time and minutes are probably the only thing that’s different.” The other difference for Kidd in Milwaukee is that he’s now coaching a team on the upswing rather than one constructed to contend for a single year like Brooklyn was last season, notes Deveney.
Jimmy Butler‘s decision to bypass a contract extension from the Bulls that would have netted him roughly $11MM per season could pay off handsomely if he continues his excellent play, Michael Lee of The Washington Post opines.
Former Sixer Evan Turner believes he can speak for those players unfortunate enough to be stuck in the middle of GM Sam Hinkie‘s rebuilding plan, writes Mark Murphy of The Boston Herald. Turner said of Hinkie’s approach, “It’s different. It goes the right way, or not. That kind of trend can make or break certain situations. Hopefully they don’t get penalized for what they’re doing, but if they do put the right guys on the team they can be really successful thanks to the leadership of coach [Brett] Brown. The biggest thing is having the unity. That’s all you have and you have to stay focused on going to battle with who you have.”

Chuck Myron contributed to this post.

Celtics Notes: Thomas, Young, Rondo

November 18th, 2014 at 9:00am CST by Chuck Myron

The Celtics probably didn’t imagine they’d end up with a player who’d make 25 of his first 29 shots from the field when they traded for Tyler Zeller this summer, but the No. 17 pick from 2012 is excelling in his first weeks in green, observes Jimmy Toscano of CSNNE.com. Zeller surely won’t keep up an 86.2% field goal percentage, but the 24-year-old is emerging as a viable option for minutes. There’s more on another 17th overall pick amid the latest from Boston:

Isaiah Thomas received his first call in free agency from Celtics president of basketball operations Danny Ainge, and Thomas acknowledged that he reciprocated that interest to some degree before opting to join the Suns instead, notes Ben Rohrbach of WEEI.com. “I was interested in whoever was interested in me,” Thomas said, “so he was definitely a little interested if he was the first one to call me, but they went their ways and I went mine.”
Swingman James Young spent a couple of days on D-League assignment this past weekend, and he suspects that won’t be the last time he’s sent down, tweets A. Sherrod Blakely of CSNNE.com. If so, this year’s 17th overall pick is on board with it, Blakely adds.
The Celtics are just 3-6 and appear headed for another season as an also-ran, but soon-to-be free agent Rajon Rondo isn’t losing faith in the team, as Chris Forsberg of ESPNBoston.com examines. “We have a lot of young talented guys that listen very well and play hard,” Rondo said. “What more could you ask for?”