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Community Shootaround: Who Can Take Down Boston In The East?

September 1st, 2024 at 4:29pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

The Celtics seem well-positioned to repeat as NBA champions in 2024/25.

After posting a league-best 64-18 regular season record, Boston blitzed the competition in the playoffs, going 16-3 en route to the franchise’s record 18th championship.

The reigning champs have retained all of their top rotation pieces, extending Jayson Tatum, Derrick White, and Sam Hauser this summer. In fact, 12 of Boston’s top 13 players from its 2023/24 vintage are back on this year’s roster. The only exception? Free agent forward Oshae Brissett has yet to sign anywhere, but has alluded to a possible Celtics return.

With a focus on vanquishing Boston, several other Eastern Conference contenders retooled significantly during the offseason.

The Sixers are of course the headliners of the offseason, having almost completely reconfigured their roster around incumbent All-Stars Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey. Although Paul George was the big addition on a four-year, $211.6MM deal, Philadelphia president Daryl Morey also made some savvy role player signings, including forward Caleb Martin. But both Embiid and George have had some uniquely underwhelming postseason performances in recent years, and both are on the wrong side of 30 with growing injury histories. Can they keep it together in the playoffs when it matters most?

Last year’s No. 2 seed, the Knicks, saw their playoff run hampered by escalating injuries to much of their rotation. Although New York lost starting center Isaiah Hartenstein to the Thunder in free agency, the team made its own splash with a blockbuster trade for former All-Defensive swingman Mikal Bridges, acquiring him from the Nets.

Despite frequent trade rumors, the biggest offseason change for Cavaliers happened on their bench. Cleveland president Koby Altman jettisoned now-former head coach J.B. Bickerstaff after two consecutive playoff seasons as a top-four seed, replacing him with former Warriors assistant Kenny Atkinson. The team is hoping for internal development from its four stars and more cohesion out of its other pieces.

As the No. 3 seed heading into the playoffs, the Bucks may have been upset by an Eastern Conference Finals-bound Pacers squad in the first round. But Milwaukee has a key asset Indiana does not: All-NBA power forward Giannis Antetokounmpo, still very much in his prime. After trading to acquire All-Star point guard Damian Lillard late in the 2023 offseason, Milwaukee struggled to build out its depth around a pricey top six and underwent a mid-season coaching change. This year, however, the Bucks added several ring-chasing veterans on below-market deals. Will it be enough to get them deep into the playoffs again?

Indiana, to its credit, played the hand it was dealt, riding some injury luck to its first East Finals appearance in a decade. After an underwhelming Olympics run, wherein he did not play in Team USA’s gold medal game, could All-NBA point guard Tyrese Haliburton be due for a leap? Could newly re-signed forward Pascal Siakam develop more chemistry with the team’s longer-tenured stars after his first full offseason in Indiana?

We want to know what you think. Can anyone among the aforementioned crop best Boston and emerge out of the East? Will a spoiler with present talent and the assets to make a trade — perhaps the Magic or Heat — make a surprise run? Weigh in with your thoughts in the comments section below.

Celtics Notes: Holiday, Walker, Bench, Front Office

August 31st, 2024 at 5:30pm CST by Arthur Hill

Celtics guard Jrue Holiday is one of the NBA’s most accomplished players, but even he was impressed by the amount of talent on the U.S. Olympic team, writes Souichi Terada of MassLive. Holiday, who has two gold medals and two NBA titles in the past four years, said this year’s Olympics was especially memorable because of the quality of the players involved.

“Those are some of the best players in the world,” he said. “It was fun to go out there and play. Devin Booker, the way that he played, kind of how you play off each other with him is pretty easy. I think Steph Curry is just different, I mean, one of the best players in the world. So to go out there and be his teammate for the first time ever was cool, too. It was an amazing experience. Played with some legends and against some legends, and again, brought back some gold.”

The offseason is nearly over for Holiday and his teammates, who will report to training camp in a few weeks to begin the process of defending their title. The summer has gone by quickly, as Holiday said his memories are still fresh from Boston’s championship celebration in June.

“The medal in Paris was cool, it was obviously against France, so it was kind of literally us against the world,” he said. “But winning here was amazing. I’m not sure anything tops that. To be able to win here in Boston, Game 5, the crowd, the (halfcourt) shot Payton (Pritchard) hit. It was all just so overwhelming that was amazing. Then the parade was crazy, too. I still feel like I’m still on a high with everything going on.”

There’s more from Boston:

After signing an Exhibit 10 deal, Lonnie Walker IV is hoping to win a roster spot in camp just like he did last year on a veteran’s minimum contract in Brooklyn, Terada adds in a separate story. Terada calls the signing a low-risk move for the Celtics and points out that Walker is only 25 even though he has six years of NBA experience. Walker could provide depth at shooting guard behind Pritchard if he makes the team, or he could wind up with Boston’s G League affiliate in Maine.
Playing time for Boston’s bench appears to be unsettled behind Pritchard and Sam Hauser, Brian Robb of MassLive states in a mailbag column. Walker will be given a chance to earn a reserve role, but he’ll have to outperform midseason acquisition Jaden Springer and rookie Baylor Scheierman in training camp.
In the same piece, Robb gives Boston’s front office an A for how it handled this summer. The roster of last season’s title team returns nearly intact, and big men Luke Kornet, Xavier Tillman, and Neemias Queta were retained on club-friendly contracts.

Lonnie Walker Seems Unlikely To Make Roster

August 30th, 2024 at 5:33pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Don’t expect Lonnie Walker IV to make the Celtics’ opening-night roster, according to Brian Robb of Masslive.com. The veteran wing was signed to a training camp deal and there are financial incentives for the Celtics to leave him off the roster, since it would cost the team millions more in luxury tax penalties to retain him. Robb pegs Walker’s chances of sticking on the 15-man roster to start the season at 30 percent.

Celtics Sign Lonnie Walker To Exhibit 10 Deal

August 30th, 2024 at 3:56pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

AUGUST 30: Walker’s Exhibit 10 deal is official, according to RealGM’s transaction log.

AUGUST 28: The Celtics are signing free agent shooting guard Lonnie Walker IV, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN. According to Shams Charania of The Athletic (via Twitter), Walker will receive an Exhibit 10 training camp contract.

The 6’4″ swingman will be competing for the reigning champs’ 15th and final regular season roster spot. If Walker is waived before the regular season begins and decides to play in the G League with the Celtics’ affiliate, his Exhibit 10 contract would make him eligible for a bonus worth up to $77.5K.

Should he make Boston’s regular season roster, Walker could actually compete for rotation minutes off the bench, at least during the regular season. Kevin O’Connor of The Ringer notes (via Twitter) that the veteran wing connected on almost 40% of his catch-and-shoot three-point tries across his past two seasons, while with the Lakers and Nets.

The 25-year-old is also deceptively athletic, and can finish effectively around the rim when given more extended time on the ball.

The high-flying guard spent his first four pro seasons with the Spurs, who selected him with the No. 18 pick out of Miami in 2018. He spent 2022/23 with the Lakers, providing useful bench minutes sporadically during L.A.’s run to the Western Conference Finals. In 2023/24, while on the lottery-bound Nets, Walker averaged 9.7 points, 2.2 rebounds, 1.3 assists and 0.6 steals across 17.4 minutes per game, with a shooting line of .423/.384/.763.

Boston’s interest in Walker dates back at least to last season. Ahead of February’s trade deadline, the Celtics inquired with Brooklyn about a potential deal for Walker, tweets Jake Fischer of Yahoo Sports.

Tatum Ready To Move On After ‘Challenging’ Olympic Experience

August 29th, 2024 at 5:40pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Jayson Tatum‘s benching became one of the big storylines during Team USA’s run to the gold medal in the Paris Olympics. The Celtics star didn’t see the court in the team’s opening game against Serbia. He did play in four of the other five games and says he’s not bitter over his modest role.

“I wasn’t moping around. I didn’t have an attitude. I wasn’t angry at the world,” Tatum told Jared Weiss of The Athletic. “I stayed ready and did what was asked of me and I won a gold medal, right?”

The first-game benching was big news and Tatum was well aware of it.

“It was a lot. In the age of social media, you see everything,” Tatum said. “You see all the tweets and the people on the podcasts and people on TV giving their opinion on whether they thought it was a good decision or it was an outrageous decision or whatever. Obviously, I wanted to contribute more, and I’ve never been in (this) situation. I started playing basketball at (age) three at the YMCA, and I’ve never not played, so it was different and it was challenging.”

Tatum, who also won a gold medal in the Tokyo Olympics, averaged 5.3 points, 5.3 rebounds, 1.3 assists and 1.0 steals in 17.7 minutes in his Olympic appearances this summer.

If there was a lingering issue to come out of his individual Olympic performances, it’s that his jump shot went AWOL. He shot 38.1% overall and missed all four of his 3-point tries.

Tatum also struggled from long range throughout the NBA playoffs, as he made only 39-of-138 three-point attempts (28.3%). He was still an offensive force while winning the first championship ring of his career, posting averages of 25.0 points and 6.3 assists in 19 playoff games.

He isn’t concerned that his shooting woes will carry into next season.

“I have two (gold medals) now, I have a championship, and everything doesn’t necessarily go the way you expect it to go, right?” Tatum said. “I’ve learned to be like, ‘OK, that’s a part of it.’ You move on, and I’m getting ready to enjoy the last little weeks I have before the season starts and get ready for another season.”

Tatum was one of several Celtics who received extensions after the season. He was rewarded with a five-year, super-max contract that will begin in 2025/26. He’s not going to rest on his laurels as Boston aims to become the first team since Golden State in 2017-18 to win back-to-back titles.

“I’m of the mindset that after ring night, in a weird way, we got to put that behind (us),” he said. “Last year was last year. We did it. It was a dream come true. We worked our (butt) off for it. But after ring night, we gotta move on. We gotta get ready for game two.”

And-Ones: Anthony, Toupane, 2024 Offseason Moves

August 29th, 2024 at 1:32pm CST by Rory Maher

Former NBA star Carmelo Anthony would like to become part of a team’s ownership group, he said on his 7PM in Brooklyn podcast (YouTube link). However, he’s not quite sure how to go about becoming a minority stakeholder.

“I’m out there trying to raise money now, trying to raise money with my sports fund … it’s hard to raise money,” said Anthony, who earned $250MM+ in NBA contracts over his career. “… It’s hard to raise money. … And getting people to understand what sports is. It’s so much money being spent into sports, and people really don’t understand it. People really don’t understand sports.

“(The NBA) is a small piece of sports globally. A small piece in the grand scheme of things. This is one market. … That’s North America, they control basketball, but it’s like, they going global with it.”

Here’s more from around the basketball world:

French guard/forward Axel Toupane, who won a championship with Milwaukee in 2021, is signing with the Diablo Rojos for the Mexican LNBP season, a source tells Jake Fischer of Yahoo Sports (Twitter link). Toupane appeared in 33 regular season games with three different teams over the course of his three NBA seasons. The 32-year-old has had a long international career, playing for teams in France, Lithuania, Greece and Spain since 2011. He played for Metropolitans 92 last season in France’s top basketball league (LNB Elite).
Dan Favale of Bleacher Report lists the biggest 2024 offseason win and loss for each of the NBA’s 30 teams. For the defending champion Celtics, Favale views Derrick White signing a long-term extension as their biggest win, while their biggest loss was losing top assistant coach Charles Lee, who is now head coach of the Hornets. At the other end last season’s standings, Favale liked the contract the Pistons handed out to Simone Fontecchio (two years, $16MM), but was not a fan of the trade that shipped Quentin Grimes to Dallas for Tim Hardaway Jr. and three second-round picks.
In case you missed it, Real Madrid and Guerschon Yabusele have reached an official agreement to end his contract, clearing the way for the French forward to finalize his reported deal with the Sixers.

Atlantic Notes: Knicks Storylines, Drummond, Tatum, Holiday

August 28th, 2024 at 5:59pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

Following a 50-32 season in 2023/24, the Knicks underwent a couple significant changes this summer, acquiring All-Defensive Team swingman Mikal Bridges and losing center Isaiah Hartenstein in free agency. Ahead of training camp, Fred Katz of The Athletic reflects on some of the top storylines in New York, including All-Star forward Julius Randle‘s fit on the new-look squad, how All-NBA point guard Jalen Brunson will quarterback the club’s offense, and more.

There’s more out of the Atlantic Division:

The Sixers reacquired reserve center Andre Drummond in free agency this summer. Gina Mizell of The Philadelphia Inquirer spoke with Bulls beat reporter Julia Poe of The Chicago Tribune about what to expect from the 6’11” big man, after he spent two years in the Windy City. Poe notes that Drummond, though a great rebounder, struggled to carve out a significant role behind starter Nikola Vucevic, in part due to his erratic rim protection and finishing efficiency.
Appearing at a Raising Cane’s event on Wednesday, Celtics combo guard Jrue Holiday discussed teammate Jayson Tatum‘s limited role for Team USA during the 2024 Olympics, per Souichi Terada of MassLive. “I think everybody knows JT — he’s the ultimate professional,” Holiday said. “He already knows what it is and what the ultimate goal is. I don’t think he needed any encouragement. I think it’s more so like staying ready whenever it’s his time to be called.” The All-Defensive Second Team guard had a bigger, more consistent role in the Paris games than Tatum did. Tatum was benched entirely during the Americans’ semifinal game against Serbia.
In case you missed it, former Knicks All-Star Carmelo Anthony recently revealed that New York offered him a bench role when he last hit free agency, in 2022.

Atlantic Notes: Knicks, Anthony, Sixers, Thomas

August 27th, 2024 at 8:18pm CST by Tristan Tucker

The Knicks are facing much higher expectations in 2024/25 than in most recent seasons, Stefan Bondy of the New York Post writes. New York is projected to finish second in the East by most sportsbooks after the team acquired Mikal Bridges via trade this offseason. Their over/under for regular season wins is set at 53.5 by BetMGM and FanDuel despite New York only surpassing 53 wins in a season once since 1997.

On top of adding Bridges, the Knicks are set to be healthier to open next season with Julius Randle back in the fold.

“It’s nice to hear that we’re contenders, but I think we have to go into training camp without having that word be spoken,” star guard Jalen Brunson said. “Obviously, I said I want to get past the second round after getting there two straight years. But we can’t just go into the season and jump right back into the second round. We’ve got to go back and start all over again.”

While the Knicks are in prime position to make it to at least the conference finals, they still have some obstacles to overcome, Bondy writes. For one, they’ll need to be healthier after missing several members of their rotation in the ’23/24 postseason. They’re also not the only Eastern Conference team that improved in the offseason, meaning the playoff competition could be stiffer next spring.

We have more from the Atlantic Division:

Knicks and NBA legend Carmelo Anthony revealed on the 7PM in Brooklyn podcast that he was offered an end-of-bench role by New York in 2022 (YouTube link). “We sat down and had a real conversation. ‘Listen, here’s a spot. You can be on the team tomorrow, but this is the spot,” Anthony said. The 10-time All-Star explained that he always had a goal of returning to New York, but after a handful of successful sixth-man seasons with the Lakers and Trail Blazers, Anthony didn’t want to be relegated to the end of the roster. “The not knowing of when you’re going to play and not play—I’d rather not go through that,” Anthony said. “I’mma bow out gracefully. … Basketball ain’t the issue. I can’t do that. That’s a hell of a decline. When I look at it overall, the overall big picture, that’s a hell of a decline. So I just had to stand on that. No disrespect, but I can’t accept that.“
A city-sponsored impacts study intended to guide decision-makers regarding the Sixers‘ plan for a new downtown arena was released on Monday, per Jeff Gammage and Sean Collins Walsh of The Philadelphia Inquirer. According to the report, the proposed 18,500-seat arena would generate about $1.8 billion in additional economic activity during its construction and planned 30 years of operation. The study showed the arena could cause indirect housing displacement through gentrification. Additionally, concerns were raised about impact on transit, a lack of outdoor spaces at the arena and a disparity between the actual amount of new concerns the venue would be able to hold.
Isaiah Thomas established himself as a key figure in Celtics history after a pair of All-Star seasons and a year in which he averaged 28.9 points per game. However, his exit from Boston was a rocky one after he was traded following a postseason in which he battled through a hip injury and the death of his sister to play for the team. Thomas further explained the situation on the Knuckleheads Podcast (YouTube link). “When I got traded to Cleveland, I was upset because at that point, I put my career on the line for something you could have just broken down to me and told me, ‘If you do play, or if we do this, it could possibly be what it happened to be,’” Thomas said (hat tip to HoopsHype). “It took me three years to really get back to who I am and figure out what was going on. But it was a tough situation. It was a learning experience for myself. I got real love for Boston and everybody in that organization, but it was definitely the wrong way to go about things.” Thomas said that nobody was there to explain that if he played, his could have jeopardized his career by worsening the injury.

Jokic Tops Poll For Best Player; Gilgeous-Alexander Gets Nod For 2024/25 MVP

August 26th, 2024 at 10:14pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Nuggets center Nikola Jokic is the best NBA player right now but he’s not going to win another Most Valuable Player award next season.

That’s the majority opinion of the 18 NBA coaches, scouts and executives that ESPN’s Tim Bontemps polled. All but three of them believe Jokic is the league’s top player.

However, when the subject of next season’s MVP came up, Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander received seven votes. A handful chose Mavericks guard Luka Doncic with Jokic only receiving two votes.

The Thunder and Celtics are the solid favorites to emerge from their respective conferences and square off in the Finals. Boston received 13 votes to win the East, while Oklahoma City picked up 14 votes to emerge from the West. The Celtics received eight votes to repeat as champions, while the Thunder were chosen by seven members of the group.

There was no love for the top pick in the draft, Zaccharie Risacher.The Hawks big man didn’t receive a single vote for Rookie of the Year. The same goes for the topic of best player from the 2024/25 rookie class in five years. Grizzlies center Zach Edey garnered a panel-best eight votes for ROY, while Rockets guard Reed Sheppard was chosen by eight of them to be the best of the bunch in five years.

Spurs big man Victor Wembanyama got two-thirds of the vote for top overall player in five years.

Eastern Notes: Council, Celtics, Lillard, ’24/25 Standings

August 21st, 2024 at 1:23pm CST by Luke Adams

As he prepares for his second NBA season, Sixers swingman Ricky Council has been participating this summer in the private runs held in Los Angeles by Sixers assistant Rico Hines, writes Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer. Council is working on fine-tuning his game in the hope of earning rotation minutes in Philadelphia in 2024/25.

“This summer has been a whole lot of work, maybe even more than last year,” Council said. “Keeping my shooting touch up, working on different finishing moves, just learning the game, playing against good competition every day. All that’s going to help me in the long run.”

Having spent most of his rookie season in 2023/24 on a two-way contract, Council didn’t see a ton of action at the NBA level, but he impressed in his limited minutes, averaging 5.4 points in 32 outings (9.0 MPG), with a shooting line of .482/.375/.746. He knows that in order to get more playing time in ’24/25, he’ll have to show he can excel in a complementary role.

“We have Paul George. We have Tyrese Maxey and we have Joel Embiid,” Council said. “I don’t expect they’ll need much off the dribble in that nature. So I just need to be able to hit open shots and guard people.”

Here’s more from around the Eastern Conference:

There’s “zero truth” to rumors that billionaire Amazon founder Jeff Bezos is interested in bidding on the Celtics, a source close to Bezos tells Nick Wingfield of The Information. As Kurt Helin of NBC Sports notes, there has been speculation in league circles that Bezos may have interest in being involved in an expansion franchise in Seattle, but it doesn’t sound like he’s looking to gain control of the defending champions, whose majority ownership group put its stake up for sale earlier this summer.
Appearing on the Club 520 Podcast (YouTube link), Bucks guard Damian Lillard admitted that his first year in Milwaukee last season was a “harder transition” than he expected. In addition to going through a tumultuous period in his personal life at the time, he also found it challenging to adjust to playing alongside Giannis Antetokounmpo and Khris Middleton after being traded from Portland to Milwaukee just days before training camp. “I’m having to get used to playing with two (great) players and I don’t want to stop them from doing what they do,” Lillard said (hat tip to HoopsHype). “But I got to find how to be the best version of me within this too, so it was just a lot of moving parts. It was more difficult than I thought it would would be.”
The Celtics sit atop ESPN’s predictions for the 2024/25 Eastern Conference standings, followed by the Knicks, Sixers, Cavaliers, and Bucks, in that order. The Magic round out ESPN’s projected group of top-six playoff teams, followed by the Pacers, Heat, Hawks, and Bulls in the play-in group. For what it’s worth, ESPN’s panel sees a big disparity between the the top two and bottom two play-in teams, projecting 46 wins for Indiana and 45 for Miami, compared to 31 for Atlanta and 30 for Chicago.