Boston Celtics Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Malcolm Brogdon Has Partially Torn Tendon In Right Elbow

May 24th, 2023 at 11:18pm CST by Rory Maher

Celtics guard Malcolm Brogdon has been playing through a significant injury, as he suffered a partially torn tendon in his right elbow during Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals, reports Jared Weiss of The Athletic.

Sources tell Weiss that Brogdon was initially dealing with a sore elbow during Boston’s second-round series against Philadelphia, but it got worse when he tore the tendon boxing out Kevin Love in the first quarter of Game 1 vs Miami. An MRI confirmed the injury.

According to Weiss, Brodgon has been dealing with “pain and swelling in his arm and wrist,” affecting his ability to shoot comfortably. Weiss points out that Brogdon, the Sixth Man of the Year winner, shot 44.4% from three-point range during the season but is just 3-of-14 during the Miami series, which Boston trails 3-1.

Brogdon has also limited his pregame shooting to mitigate the pain and has been driving more to compensate, per Weiss. The veteran guard is just 1-of-11 for two total points over the past two games, so clearly the injury has been limiting his effectiveness. He had posted solid numbers (14.8 points, 4.1 rebounds, 3.6 assists on .446/.435/.846 shooting) in the 13 playoff games prior to tearing the tendon.

Despite the discomfort, Brogdon plans to keep playing through the injury and will determine whether or not surgery is necessary after the season concludes, sources tell Weiss.

Coaching Rumors: Williams, Pistons, Young, Bucks, Griffin, Mazzulla

May 24th, 2023 at 3:55pm CST by Luke Adams

After reporting last week that the Pistons had planned to pursue Monty Williams for their head coaching job if they’d won the draft lottery, Marc Stein writes at Substack that Detroit apparently went ahead with that plan even after slipping to No. 5 on lottery night.

League sources tell Stein that the Pistons made Williams a “big-money” offer to become the team’s new head coach. However, it appears that effort was unsuccessful. As we noted on Tuesday in response to a report that Williams might take the 2023/24 season off, he’s still reportedly owed about $21MM from Phoenix, so it’s not as if he needs another job anytime soon for financial reasons.

With Williams apparently not in play, the Pistons continue to decide between Kevin Ollie, Charles Lee, and Jarron Collins, who are reportedly meeting with team owner Tom Gores for a second time. As Stein writes, the “consistent buzz” in coaching circles is that general manager Troy Weaver prefers Ollie for the position.

Here’s more from Stein on the head coaching vacancies around the NBA:

While he lacks the head coaching experience that some of the Suns‘ other finalists possess, assistant coach Kevin Young has a legitimate chance to be promoted to succeed Williams, according to Stein, who hears that Young has received a “strong endorsement” from All-Star guard Devin Booker.
Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo, who is expected to talk to the team’s head coaching finalists, is said to be “intrigued” by Raptors assistant Adrian Griffin, Stein writes. Griffin is one of three candidates believed to be in the running for the job.
Even before the Celtics won Game 4 of their series vs. Miami on Tuesday, there was push-back against the idea that Joe Mazzulla‘s job as head coach was in real jeopardy, says Stein. While Stein isn’t entirely ruling out the idea that Mazzulla could be replaced this spring, he suggests it would conflict with what we know about president of basketball operations Brad Stevens and how he operates.

Atlantic Notes: Nets, J. Brown, Sixers, Nurse, Raptors

May 24th, 2023 at 10:34am CST by Luke Adams

There’s a good chance that the Nets, who have a surplus of wings, will trade at least one of their veterans this offseason, writes Brian Lewis of The New York Post (subscription required). Brooklyn stocked up on two-way wings at the trade deadline, acquiring Mikal Bridges, Cameron Johnson, and Dorian Finney-Smith in deals with Phoenix and Dallas.

Bridges looks like a player the Nets will build around, and while Johnson will reach free agency this summer, Brooklyn can control that process since he’ll be a restricted free agent. In Lewis’ view, that leaves Finney-Smith and Royce O’Neale as the two wings most likely to be on the trade block this offseason. For his part, Finney-Smith is very aware that more changes could be coming to the Nets’ roster in the coming months.

“Everybody here knows what’s going on, we know the pieces we have and you just never know in this league,” he said. “So I guess we’re going to see after the draft. See what’s going on and go from there.”

According to Lewis, while there’s a belief that the Nets could move one of their three-and-D wings to try to balance their roster, people around the NBA also think the club may trade one of its first-round picks in order to add scoring and/or rebounding. Brooklyn currently controls two consecutive first-rounders at No. 21 and No. 22 in this year’s draft.

Here’s more from around the Atlantic:

If the Celtics were to make Jaylen Brown available this offseason, there would be “robust demand” from “a lot” of teams around the league, ESPN’s Zach Lowe said on The Lowe podcast prior to Boston’s Game 4 victory (hat tip to RealGM). Although Brown has struggled in the Eastern Conference Finals vs. Miami, it’s obviously not groundbreaking news that a 26-year-old All-NBA wing would be popular on the trade market. Brown, who has one year left on his contract, will be super-max eligible this offseason, but wouldn’t be able to sign a super-max deal if he’s traded.
Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer believes that Nick Nurse should be atop the Sixers‘ wish list as they seek a new head coach, arguing that the team would benefit from Nurse’s outside-the-box thinking. According to Shams Charania of The Athletic, Nurse will have interviewed with the Sixers, Bucks, and Suns by week’s end and is believed to be at or near the top of the list for all three jobs. If Nurse is their top choice, the 76ers may need to accelerate their search process in order to avoid losing him to Milwaukee or Phoenix, observes Kyle Neubeck of PhillyVoice.com.
A perfect offseason for the Raptors would see the team hire Monty Williams as its head coach and trade Pascal Siakam to Portland in a package headlined by Anfernee Simons and this year’s No. 3 pick, Eric Koreen of The Athletic contends. In his proposed scenario, Koreen also envisions Toronto drafting Scoot Henderson, re-signing Jakob Poeltl, letting Gary Trent Jr. walk, signing-and-trading Fred VanVleet to Chicago, using the mid-level exception to sign Donte DiVincenzo, and flipping Simons to Memphis in a deal for Tyus Jones and Luke Kennard.

Celtics Notes: Udoka, Mazzulla, Offseason, Gallinari

May 23rd, 2023 at 2:33pm CST by Luke Adams

The Celtics‘ locker room never really got over Ime Udoka‘s sudden departure as the team’s head coach, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski said on Monday during an appearance on NBA Countdown (YouTube link). Udoka was suspended and then dismissed after he engaged in what was described as an improper relationship with a female staffer, and Celtics players never got the full story about what happened, according to Wojnarowski.

“These players did not accept the organization’s reasoning for doing it. They thought it was a wild overreaction. There were a lot of the people on the outside who thought it was an overreaction, (that) it was an HR matter,” Wojnarowski said (hat tip to RealGM). “I think for this team, and talking with management, they never got any more answers than the public was getting on this. That doesn’t mean they haven’t accepted Joe Mazzulla as head coach, but this is a team that really believed in Ime Udoka (and) had a strong connection with him.”

As Wojnarowski notes, the Celtics lost top assistant Will Hardy last spring to Utah, then promoted Mazzulla in September and saw another assistant, Damon Stoudamire, leave for a college job in March. The lack of veteran experience on the staff to support Mazzulla, a first-time head coach, may have been an issue during this postseason, according to Wojnarowski, who suggests Boston perhaps should’ve made it a priority to add a seasoned assistant.

The Celtics are reportedly looking at candidates such as Frank Vogel and Stephen Silas for possible roles on their staff for next season.

As Boston prepares for Game 4 and aims to begin climbing out of a 3-0 hole in the Eastern Conference Finals, let’s round up a few more Celtics notes…

A veteran scout who spoke to Steve Bulpett of Heavy.com believes that Mazzulla is taking too much of the blame for the Celtics’ disappointing showing vs. Miami, arguing that many of the team’s current issues were problems under Udoka and Brad Stevens too. “Sharing the ball, ball movement, just dribbling out the clock, lot of isolation basketball, defensive lapses,” the scout said. “All these things have existed for years.” A coach who spoke to Heavy agreed that Boston’s struggles aren’t Mazzulla’s fault: “At this stage of the playoffs, your weaknesses are exposed. They were exposed last year in the Finals.”
With the Celtics facing elimination on Tuesday, David Aldridge of The Athletic takes a look at two paths available to the franchise this summer, arguing that Boston would be better off staying the course than blowing up its roster.
Celtics forward Danilo Gallinari tore his ACL last August in international play before he appeared in a single game for Boston. Could Gallinari – who missed the entire 2022/23 season and will likely exercise a ’23/24 player option to remain with the C’s – return from that injury for Italy at this year’s World Cup? He spoke to Joe Vardon of The Athletic about that possibility, pointing out that he’s still not taking “game-type” contact and would need the Celtics’ blessing to suit up for the Italian national team.

Coaching Rumors: Mazzulla, Bucks, Williams, Suns, Raptors, Nash

May 23rd, 2023 at 11:03am CST by Luke Adams

Celtics staffers, including president of basketball operations Brad Stevens, have shown “unwavering support” this season for head coach Joe Mazzulla, according to Jake Fischer of Yahoo Sports, who says the sentiment as recently as last week was that Mazzulla would get plenty of runway to continue growing into the role he was thrust into following Ime Udoka‘s suspension last fall.

While it’s possible the Celtics could have a change of heart and decide to make a coaching change if the team is eliminated from the postseason in embarrassing fashion on Tuesday – or in the coming days – it would be a “stark change of direction” from the team’s original plan, Fischer writes.

While Fischer considers it unlikely that Mazzulla is replaced this offseason, he suggests that the Celtics’ coaching staff could undergo some significant changes, with multiple current assistants considered candidates to join Udoka with the Rockets. Frank Vogel and Stephen Silas are among the former head coaches who have been linked to the Celtics as possible assistant coach targets, Fischer notes.

Here’s more on the NBA’s coaching carousel from Fischer:

With the Bucks still focused on contending for championships with rosters built around Giannis Antetokounmpo, there’s some skepticism that Adrian Griffin – the only one of their three finalists without previous head coaching experience – will ultimately claim that job. However, Fischer acknowledges that Griffin has “certainly impressed” Bucks management during the interview process. Milwaukee’s search is expected to conclude this week, Fischer reports.
Many people around the league thought Monty Williams would be a serious candidate for the Bucks‘ coaching job and were surprised that he wasn’t a finalist in that process, per Fischer. The Pistons registered some interest in Williams, but he doesn’t appear to be in the mix for that job either and seems likely to take next season off, Fischer adds. James L. Edwards III of The Athletic also said Williams may not coach anywhere in 2023/24, which shouldn’t come as a surprise — he’s still owed $21MM by Phoenix, so it’s not as if he needs to rush into another position.
Former Philadelphia head coach Doc Rivers is expected to receive consideration from the Suns, but Mike Budenholzer isn’t viewed as a likely candidate for Phoenix, Fischer writes.
The Raptors continue to take their time with their head coaching search, bringing back several candidates – including Kings assistant Jordi Fernandez and Grizzlies assistant Darko Rajakovic – for second interviews, says Fischer. Many of the team’s initial meetings took place on Zoom, according to Fischer, who identifies Warriors assistant Kenny Atkinson as a name to watch in Toronto’s search.
Steve Nash, who interviewed for the Raptors’ vacancy, is “determined to learn from his shortcomings” following his first coaching stint in Brooklyn and has a strong desire to earn another head coaching job at some point, Fischer writes.

Malcolm Brogdon: Celtics’ Defensive Identity Has Slipped Away

May 22nd, 2023 at 8:05pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Malcolm Brogdon admitted on Monday that the Celtics’ issues began well before the Eastern Conference Finals, according to Tim Bontemps of ESPN.

Boston trails in the series 3-0 and got blown out by the Heat on Miami’s home court on Sunday night. Brogdon, who was acquired last offseason to solidify a team that reached the Finals a year ago, said the team has lost its defensive identity.

“Miami, Denver, there are only a few of them — that have a really strong identity, and they play by it every single night. They’re super committed to it,” Brogdon said. “And, for us, our identity has waned all year long. We’ve been trying to figure out who we are, because I think we’re such a great, talented scoring team, but when we don’t make shots, we got to rely on our defense, and our defense isn’t consistent every night. So, playing a team that’s very consistent and disciplined, we struggle.”

The Heat are shooting 51.9% overall and 47.8% from 3-point range in the series. They have also committed just 31 turnovers, compared to Boston’s 45.

Brogdon said the Celtics’ lack of defensive cohesion has been apparent throughout the postseason. They eliminated the Hawks 4-2 in the first round despite Atlanta scoring 119 or more points in each of the last four games of the series. Boston had to scramble back from a 3-2 series deficit to eliminate the Sixers prior to their matchup with Miami.

“We haven’t been consistently great defensively all year long, and that was the team’s identity last year,” Brogdon said. “I think that’s slipped away from us. We’ve had spurts where we’ve been great defensively, but not consistently. And, honestly, we’ve struggled in every series we’ve played. So, now we’re playing a team that’s playing as if they’re the best team in the league, and they’re just incredibly disciplined, incredibly consistent.”

Brogdon is hopeful for a history-making turnaround, starting with Game 4 on Tuesday.

“We still believe we’re the better team,” he said. “We have not played like it in these three games.”

Joe Mazzulla In Jeopardy After Game 3 Loss?

May 22nd, 2023 at 7:57am CST by Arthur Hill

The Celtics‘ embarrassing Game 3 loss to Miami could lead to significant changes this offseason, writes Brian Windhorst of ESPN. Boston entered the conference finals as the odds-on favorite to win the NBA title, but the team didn’t look anything like a champion in Sunday’s 128-102 defeat. The Heat seized control of the game late in the first quarter and led by as many as 33 points before the night was over.

The most obvious questions center on the future of head coach Joe Mazzulla, who has been overmatched by Heat mentor Erik Spoelstra in the series. Windhorst states that Mazzulla seemed well-positioned to return for another season before Game 3, but the Celtics’ lifeless performance makes his job much less safe.

Mazzulla accepted blame for the loss, repeatedly telling reporters, “I just didn’t have them ready to play,” and adding, “I have to get them in a better place ready to play, and that’s on me.”

Windhorst believes Mazzulla went too far in trying to protect his players with his post-game comments, stating that they were so “over-the-top” that they came off as “transparent.”

President of basketball operations Brad Stevens remains a strong supporter of Mazzulla, Windhorst adds. Stevens selected Mazzulla to run the team after Ime Udoka was suspended last fall and then appointed him as permanent head coach in midseason.

However, Windhorst cites a “rising expectation” that Mazzulla will become the fall guy for the disastrous playoff ending it appears the Celtics are headed toward. He was given an undisclosed contract extension when the “interim” was removed from his title in February, but the organization may decide that a 34-year-old with no prior head coaching experience isn’t the right person to run a team with championship aspirations.

The recent firings of high-profile coaches such as Mike Budenholzer, Nick Nurse and Doc Rivers, who have all led teams to titles, may make Mazzulla’s future even more tenuous.

Boston also has to determine this summer whether to give Jaylen Brown an extension worth more than $280MM that he qualified for by earning All-NBA honors. Brown has been particularly bad against Miami, shooting 2-of-20 from three-point range, including an 0-of-7 performance Sunday night.

Windhorst states that questions are re-emerging about whether Brown and Jayson Tatum should be the foundation of the team. It will eventually cost the Celtics more than $50MM apiece annually to keep them together, and the front office has to determine whether that’s the best pairing for the future.

Barring an unprecedented turnaround, the Celtics will enter the offseason haunted by the feeling that the team wasn’t prepared for the Game 3 challenge and quit when things got tough. Another loss Tuesday night could set the direction for a summer upheaval.

Community Shootaround: Celtics’ Offseason

May 21st, 2023 at 9:55pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Celtics completely unraveled in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference Finals at Miami on Sunday night. Coming into the series as the clear favorite, the Celtics would now surprise people by avoiding a sweep after getting completely outplayed and outcoached by the Heat in the series.

Barring a miraculous turnaround, the Celtics will soon face some hard offseason decision rather than making the Finals for the second straight year. Most notably, they have to figure out what to do about their coaching situation and whether to break up their All-Star duo.

Joe Mazzulla had the interim tag removed and received a contract extension in mid-February. The young coach handled himself well during the regular season after getting thrown into the fire following Ime Udoka‘s suspension. He also guided the Celtics past the first two rounds, but has looked overmatched trying to match wits with Miami’s Erik Spoelstra.

Another hot topic of discussion will be Jaylen Brown‘s future. His contract expires after next season and it may behoove the Celtics’ front office to explore trade possibilities for the star wing, who has played poorly in the series.

They’ll also have to decide what to do with Grant Williams, who will be a restricted free agent after being in and out of the rotation this postseason. What price are they willing to match for him, considering their other salary obligations?

Jayson Tatum, Malcolm Brogdon, Al Horford, Marcus Smart, Robert Williams and Derrick White are all under contract through at least the 2024/25 season. Tatum isn’t going anywhere, but the Celtics might look to deal one of those veterans to shake up the rotation and fix the issues that have been exposed by the Heat.

That brings up to our topic of the day: What changes should the Celtics make this offseason?

Please take to the comments section to voice your opinion. We look forward to your input.

And-Ones: Curry, Pelicans, Fredette, Maddox, NBA Con

May 21st, 2023 at 9:15pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Warriors‘ Stephen Curry won another NBA award, but it wasn’t for his on-court prowess. He’s the recipient of the Professional Basketball Writers Association’s 2023 J. Walter Kennedy Citizenship Award for his inspiring work in the community, the PBWA tweets. Curry was selected for promoting youth literacy, fitness and nutrition, as well as fostering gender equity in sports. Lakers center Wenyen Gabriel, Clippers forward Paul George and Celtics forward Grant Williams were the other finalists.

We have more from the basketball world:

The Pelicans’ lease at the Smoothie King Arena expires next June but they plan to renew it to remain there for several more years, Christian Clark of the New Orleans Times-Picayune reports. However, after renewing the lease, they plan to commission a study on whether renovations can be made to upgrade the arena or whether a new one is needed. Commissioner Adam Silver has stated that every arena in the league needs to be state of the art. New Orleans’ arena has the fewest seats of any lower bowl in the NBA.
Former NBA player Jimmer Fredette is among the players chosen for the USA’s Men’s 3×3 World Cup Team, the organization tweets. Timberwolves video associate Kareem Maddox is also on the squad, Minnesota’s PR department tweets. The four-member team will compete in the FIBA 3×3 World Cup from May 30 to June 4 in Vienna, Austria.
The NBA is adding a new fan-friendly event at the Summer League in Las Vegas, according to a league press release. NBA Con, a celebration of the best of hoops culture, will debut at Mandalay Bay from July 7-9, 2023. NBA Con will bring together the fashion, music, cuisine, art and technology that make the league a cultural phenomenon, with appearances by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, top draft prospects Victor Wembanyama and Scoot Henderson and numerous current NBA stars.

Celtics Notes: R. Williams, Horford, White, G. Williams, Tatum

May 20th, 2023 at 5:52pm CST by Arthur Hill

Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla turned around the series with the Sixers by inserting Robert Williams in the starting lineup alongside Al Horford, but that pairing hasn’t been effective against Miami, writes Adam Himmelsbach of The Boston Globe. In the 14 minutes that they’ve played together in the conference finals, Williams and Horford are getting outscored by 51.6 points per 100 possessions, which has made a difference in two close losses.

With the two big men on the floor together, Jimmy Butler has searched for opportunities to draw Williams away from the basket, Himmelsbach adds, and Horford has been outplayed by Bam Adebayo. After Game 1, Mazzulla was hesitant when asked whether he planned to stick with the two-big lineup, but they were both starters again Friday night. However, they played less than five minutes together as Mazzulla didn’t go back to that lineup after the Heat took an early lead.

There’s more on the Celtics:

Himmelsbach’s recommendation for Game 3 is to put Derrick White in the starting lineup and give him more minutes in general. He notes that White is an All-Defensive Team selection who blocked two shots by Butler in Game 2. He makes Boston a better shooting team as well, hitting 6-of-10 three-point attempts in the series. White played just 23 minutes on Friday and hasn’t topped that figure in the Celtics’ last four games.
Mazzulla isn’t upset about Grant Williams‘ trash-talking incident with Butler in the fourth quarter Friday, even though Butler responded by leading Miami’s game-winning rally, per Brian Robb of MassLive. The exchange overshadowed a nice bounce-back performance from Williams, who made 4-of-6 shots after not being used in the series opener. “I mean, he didn’t do anything wrong necessarily,” Mazzulla said. “So, I don’t think it’s emotions getting the best of him.”
The Celtics’ biggest concern is the continued lack of production late in games from Jayson Tatum, observes Matt Vautour of MassLive. Tatum didn’t make a shot from the floor in the fourth quarter of Game 1 or 2, leaving his teammates to try to carry the scoring load.