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Atlantic Notes: Celtics, Grunwald, Sixers

September 26th, 2014 at 9:25am CST by Chuck Myron

The Keith Bogans trade enables the Celtics to create a trade exception equivalent to the value of Bogans’ $5,285,816 salary, but just how they structure the deal to come up with that exception isn’t clear. They could absorb the $1.6MM salary of John Lucas III into their $2.09MM Courtney Lee trade exception, essentially exhausting it while preserving the full amount of their $4.25MM trade exception from the Kris Humphries deal, a path that Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders suggests (Twitter link). Alternatively, they could fold Lucas into the Humphries exception, reducing its value to $2.65MM while leaving the $2.09MM Lee exception intact. In any case, the minimum salaries of Erik Murphy, Dwight Powell and Malcolm Thomas don’t figure into the equation, since Boston can absorb them into the minimum salary exception. There’s more on the aftermath of the trade amid the latest from the Atlantic Division:

Thomas and Lucas, on non-guaranteed contracts, are long shots to remain with the Celtics come Tuesday, when training camp begins, though Murphy, who has a partial guarantee of $100K, will be “evaluated,” tweets Jeff Goodman of ESPN.com. Goodman indicates that Powell is likely to stick, at least for camp, with his fully guaranteed deal.
Former Knicks GM Glen Grunwald admits that he was caught off guard when the team decided to fire him a year ago and disputes owner James Dolan’s assertion that he wasn’t well-versed in analytics, as Grunwald tells Marc Berman of the New York Post.
It’s a stark reality for the stripped-down Sixers, and coach Brett Brown emphasized that he won’t measure success in terms of wins and losses this year, as he spoke to reporters, including Tom Moore of Calkins Media. Asked whether he’s on board with the drastic rebuilding process, Brown quipped, “I have to be, don’t I?”

Celtics Waive Babb, Johnson

September 25th, 2014 at 8:49pm CST by Eddie Scarito

The Celtics have waived Chris Babb and Chris Johnson, Chris Forsberg of ESPNBoston.com reports (Twitter link). The team has confirmed the moves via a press release. Neither of the players’ deals carried any guaranteed money for the 2014/15 season.

These releases came in the wake of the deal that sent Keith Bogans and two future conditional Sacramento second round picks to the Cavaliers for Dwight Powell, John Lucas III, Malcolm Thomas, Erik Murphy, and Cleveland’s second-rounders in 2016 and 2017. The Celtics still have deals with 22 players, including Evan Turner, whose deal has not been officially announced yet, so they will still have to clear two more players prior to training camp beginning.

The 24 year-old Babb appeared in 14 games for Boston last season, averaging 1.6 PPG and 1.2 RPG in 9.4 minutes per night. Johnson, also 24 years old, played in 40 contest for the Celtics last season, putting up 6.3 PPG and grabbing 2.4 RPG while averaging 19.7 minutes per.

Cavs Acquire Keith Bogans

September 25th, 2014 at 8:25pm CST by Eddie Scarito

8:25pm: The trade is official, the Celtics announced via a press release.

8:20pm: More details about the trade are rolling in, with Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders (Twitter link) noting that the Celtics sent the Cavs the rights to the Kings’ 2015 and 2017 second-rounders, both of which are top-55 protected. Marc Stein of ESPN.com also adds Dwight Powell to the list of players heading to Boston.

8:00pm: The second-rounders going to the Celtics will be Cleveland’s 2016 and 2017 selections, notes Gary Washburn of The Boston Globe (Twitter link).

7:41pm: The Celtics will also get a $5.3MM trade exception as part of the deal, notes Goodman (twitter link).

7:20pm: The Cavs will waive guard Chris Crawford once the deal is official, tweets Chris Haynes of The Plain Dealer.

7:16pm: The Celtics are also receiving two second round draft picks as part of the deal, Jeff Goodman of ESPN.com reports (Twitter link).

6:52pm: The Cavaliers and Celtics are in discussions on a trade that would send Keith Bogans to Cleveland, Marc Stein of ESPN.com is reporting. The Cavs are expected to package the non-guaranteed contracts of Erik Murphy, John Lucas III and Malcolm Thomas in return for Bogans, notes Stein.

The acquisition of the 34 year-old shooting guard out of Kentucky would suggest that Cleveland has either received word from free agent Ray Allen that he isn’t interested in signing with the team, or that he intends to retire, though that’s just speculation on my part. Whatever the case is, it would seem that Bogans is taking the role that the Cavs were intending Allen to fill.

Bogans has played 11 seasons in the league after being selected in the second round of the 2003 NBA Draft by the Bucks. His career numbers are 6.3 PPG, 2.7 RPG, and 1.3 APG. Bogans’ career slash line is .394/.353/.716. He has two years remaining on his contract, both non-guaranteed, and he is scheduled to make $5,285,816 this coming season.

As for the Celtics, they currently have 21 players on their roster, including Evan Turner, whose signing has not been officially announced yet. So it’s highly likely that Boston will waive all three players once the deal is completed.

Atlantic Notes: Celtics, Sanchez, Nets

September 25th, 2014 at 6:37pm CST by Eddie Scarito

The Celtics versatile roster offers coach Brad Stevens a wealth of rotation possibilities, A. Sherrod Blakely of CSNNE.com notes. “If you go through it, like really go through it, there’s about 150 variations of this you can go with. And more so than last year,” said Stevens. “I thought last year we were pretty hard to figure out. It’s been a fun puzzle to think about. But it’s a puzzle that’s going to figure itself out once we start practice.” The Celtics used 24 different starting lineups last season, which isn’t a great recipe for success in the NBA.

Here’s what else is happening in the Atlantic Division:

If Orlando Sanchez doesn’t make the Knicks opening night roster, one possibility is for him to join the New York’s D-League affiliate in Westchester, Keith Schlosser of SNY.tv writes.
Sanchez is loving the triangle offense that the Knicks are implementing this season, Marc Berman of the New York Post writes. Sanchez said, “I think my game fits the triangle very well. I’ve picked it up quickly so far. My ability to shoot, handle and pass shows in this offense. I would like to make the Knicks roster out of camp, but I also understand going to Westchester is a possibility. I think it would be a positive situation, because the team will practice at the Knicks facility and I can develop with the coaching staff.’’
The Nets are bringing 17 players to training camp this year. Reed Wallach of SB Nation runs down the names of the recent invitees and what they bring to the court.

Hawks Sign Kent Bazemore

September 23rd, 2014 at 3:33pm CST by Eddie Scarito

SEPTEMBER 23RD: The deal is at last official, the team announced via press release.

SEPTEMBER 11TH: The Hawks and Bazemore finally put pen to paper Wednesday, according to Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders (Twitter link). The team has yet to make an official announcement. It’s likely that the signing took so long to complete because Atlanta wanted to preserve cap space, though that’s just my speculation. The Hawks could have used cap space to acquire other players and circled back to sign Bazemore using the room exception. As it stands, they’re using cap space to ink Bazemore.

JULY 11TH: 9:50pm: Bazemore’s agent, Austin Walton, confirmed the deal and that it is fully guaranteed, tweets Michael Scotto of Sheridan Hoops.

9:31pm: Kent Bazemore has reached an agreement to join the Hawks, reports Marc Stein of ESPN.com (Twitter link). The deal is for two years and $4MM, according to Stein. Shams Charania of RealGM tweets that the deal is fully guaranteed, and contains no options.

The shooting guard was traded along with MarShon Brooks from the Warriors to the Lakers in the Steve Blake deal on February 19th of this year. Bazemore’s career numbers are 4.1 PPG, 1.1 RPG, and 0.9 APG.

The 25 year old who originally went undrafted out of Old Dominion also received interest from the Hornets, Lakers, Rockets, Spurs, Warriors and Celtics.

Latest On Rajon Rondo

September 23rd, 2014 at 12:21pm CST by Chuck Myron

12:21pm: Ainge says Rondo has given him the indication that he loves Boston and wants to stay there, adding that “very credible people have made things up” in regard to Rondo trade rumors, as Holmes passes along (Twitter links).

10:58am: Celtics coach Brad Stevens rejects the notion that Rondo is difficult to coach, as Baxter Holmes of the Boston Globe tweets. “He’s been around, he works hard and he’s a guy that I’ve really enjoyed coaching,” Stevens said.

9:59am: Celtics president of basketball operations Danny Ainge left himself plenty of wiggle room in his comments over the weekend, saying that a Rajon Rondo trade is unlikely to happen but refusing to rule it out. Co-owner Wyc Grousbeck took it a step further with full-scale mixed messages, calling Rondo “super stubborn” while also pointing to the All-Star’s generosity and love for Boston, as Adam Kaufman of Boston.com details.

“I know if you ask [former head coach] Doc [Rivers], ‘Was he the most coachable guy, or in the top half, 50%?’ he’d say, ‘No, he’s in the bottom 50% of being coachable.’ It’s hard with him,” Grousbeck said Sunday on WBZ-TV, as Kaufman transcribes.

Still, in the same interview, Grousbeck said he “absolutely” wants to keep Rondo, who can become a free agent next summer, for the long haul.

“It’s intangible,” he said. “You just watch him. He played through sort of a broken elbow, a ripped knee. He’s a gamer, he’s a competitor, and he’s got world-class talent.”

Ainge said that he expects to keep Rondo long-term, tweets Gary Washburn of the Boston Globe, and Ainge denied today that the team has fielded trade calls about its point guard, as Ben Rohrbach of WEEI.com notes (on Twitter). Both Ainge and Grousbeck hinted in their interviews that the Celtics recently had the opportunity to make a significant deal, but not one that would have helped the team accomplish its ultimate goals, Rohrbach observes via Twitter. Ainge also dismissed the notion that free agents don’t want to play with Rondo, according to Rohrbach (Twitter link).

Celtics Notes: Rondo, Smart, Young, Playoffs

September 22nd, 2014 at 8:18am CST by Chuck Myron

Celtics president of basketball operations Danny Ainge hasn’t been shy about batting down trade rumors surrounding Rajon Rondo, but the chatter won’t go away. The conflicting narratives might have root in Ainge’s own uncertainty about the future of his point guard, as he expressed in a public appearance Sunday, according to Bill Doyle of the Telegram & Gazette.

“The possibility of a trade is not out of the question,” Ainge said about Rondo. “Nobody is untradeable, but I don’t see that happening.”

Doyle rounds up more from Ainge’s Q&A with fans at a church in Worcester, Mass., and his entire piece is worth a read for Celtics diehards. We’ll round up a few of the highlights here:

Ainge pointed to mutual interest in a continued relationship between the Celtics and Rondo when asked whether he would trade the All-Star, Doyle notes. “The truthful answer is I really don’t know,” Ainge said. “I have no intention. I’m not trying to trade Rondo, but because he’s a free agent this summer, he assured me that he wants to stay in Boston. We’d love to keep him in Boston.”
Celtics co-owner Wyc Grousbeck first made use of the word “fireworks” in reference to the team’s offseason plans, but Ainge picked up the torch and still isn’t ruling out a flashy move even as he expressed contentment with his pair of first-round picks from June, as Doyle chronicles. “It wasn’t the fireworks that we tried,” Ainge said, “and we continue to try to do, but we’re excited about Marcus [Smart] and his future and James Young and his future. We need to be more patient with James, especially out of the gate. I think Marcus is more physically ready to play at our level than James is today, but we hope for fast progress from James. I felt like we acquired some assets. We didn’t panic and do anything that was silly.”
Ainge admits a championship is out of reach this season, and while he was reluctant to set goals, he doesn’t think the playoffs are out of the question, Doyle writes.

Eastern Notes: Heat, Thornton, Plumlee

September 21st, 2014 at 9:00am CST by Eddie Scarito

Despite the loss of LeBron James and the failure to bring in a superstar to replace him, the Heat did extremely well in free agency, Ira Winderman of the Sun Sentinel writes. Winderman believes that the signing of Luol Deng was the best possible consolation prize, and the veteran small forward will be especially motivated to perform this season after the Danny Ferry controversy in Atlanta.

Here’s more from the east:

With the Celtics in rebuilding mode and the franchise focusing on developing their younger backcourt players including first round pick Marcus Smart, some have called for Boston to trade the recently acquired Marcus Thornton. But despite the presence of Smart, Avery Bradley, and Evan Turner, after his deal is finalized, Kevin O’Connor of SB Nation thinks the team should consider holding onto the 27 year-old, and provides five reasons why.
Mason Plumlee is poised for a breakout season according to SB Nation, who believe the departure of Andray Blatche and the advancing age of Kevin Garnett will open the door for the second year player to shine this season for the Nets.
Former Bucks second-rounder Darington Hobson has signed with Brasilia of the Brazilian League, David Pick of Eurobasket reports (Twitter link). The contract includes outs for both the NBA and the Euroleague, according to Pick. Hobson played one season for Milwaukee, appearing in five games and averaging 0.8 PPG.

And-Ones: Turner, D-League, Rockets

September 20th, 2014 at 10:59pm CST by Cray Allred

Ira Winderman of the Sun Sentinel ran down the free agent movements thus far, organized by each team’s comers and goers around the league. Here’s a look at the league’s news and notes from tonight:

A source tells A. Sherrod Blakely of CSNNE.com that the Celtics will officially complete their signing of Evan Turner before training camp starts at the end of the month (Twitter link). Turner reached an agreement with Boston back in July, but the team is still in the process of shuffling the roster to make room for the former No. 2 overall pick. Not counting Turner, the Celtics currently have 20 total contracts on the books for training camp, which is the maximum allowed.
Flip Bondy of the New York Daily News takes a look at the open tryout process for the Fort Wayne Mad Ants. Players truly off the street have a longshot chance at making D-League training camp, and longer odds at an eventual NBA callup.
The crew at Basketball Insiders previews the Rockets 2014/15 season. They are mostly optimistic about the team, despite GM Daryl Morey‘s misses this offseason.

Eastern Notes: Allen, Chandler, Sixers, Celtics

September 19th, 2014 at 6:49pm CST by Eddie Scarito

The Wizards have reached out to Ray Allen once again, J. Michael of CSNWashington.com reports. Washington is still waiting to get a concrete answer from Allen as to whether or not he’s returning for another season, but one possible note of encouragement is that Allen’s agent Jim Tanner hasn’t told the Wizards that they wouldn’t be a free agency option for the veteran shooting guard.

Here’s what else is happening in the Eastern Conference:

Tyson Chandler takes exception to the rumors that he was traded because he was causing chemistry issues in the Knicks locker room, Tim MacMahon of ESPNDallas.com writes. “I did nothing but try to help the culture there the three years I was there,” Chandler said. “You can say I didn’t live up to whatever or you didn’t like the way I played or anything. But to ever question who I am and the type of leader I am in the locker room, I don’t even know where that came from. I honestly don’t know where that came from. I don’t know if Phil put that out there or who put that out there, but to me, that was the ultimate shock. And you don’t have to say that to get rid of me or to trade me. The trade is over. So to judge my character and what I’ve done, you can go look at all my teammates and ask all of my teammates in the past, and the coaches I’ve played for, and I’ve never been a problem and never had a problem. So that was a shock to me that I didn’t appreciate.”
The 2014/15 season is all about player development for the Sixers and not the won-loss record, Michael Kaskey-Blomain of Philly.com opines. This development includes their unsigned overseas talent like Dario Saric, Jordan McRae, and Vasilije Micic as well, notes Kaskey-Blomain.
The crew over at HoopsHype previews the Celtics‘ 2014/15 campaign, projecting Boston to finish 4th in the Atlantic Division, and 12th overall in the Eastern Conference.