Boston Celtics Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Celtics Coach Ime Udoka Faces Potential Suspension

September 22nd, 2022 at 5:39am CST by Arthur Hill

SEPTEMBER 22, 5:39am: Udoka had an improper relationship with a female member of the Celtics’ staff, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link), who describes that relationship as “intimate and consensual.”

Sources tell Wojnarowski that no final decision has been made on the length of Udoka’s suspension, but the team has internally discussed scenarios that would keep the head coach out for all of 2022/23.

SEPTEMBER 21, 10:38pm: Udoka doesn’t appear to be in danger of losing his job, Wojnarowski adds (via Twitter), and a final decision on a suspension could be announced by Thursday.

SEPTEMBER 21, 9:41pm: Disciplinary action, including possibly a “significant suspension” is being considered for Celtics coach Ime Udoka, tweets ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. The case involves “an unspecified violation of organizational guidelines,” Wojnarowski adds.

A league source confirmed the news to Adam Himmelsbach of The Boston Globe (Twitter link). The Celtics are reportedly holding internal discussions on how to handle the incident.

Udoka is coming off an NBA Finals appearance in his first season as a head coach. His team got off to a sluggish start, but improved significantly over the second half of the season and put together a memorable playoff run.

Before that, Udoka was among the league’s most respected assistant coaches during a decade with the Spurs, Sixers and Nets. He was also an accomplished player, spending time with five NBA teams over seven seasons.

Celtics Won't Seek Veteran Help At Center

September 21st, 2022 at 8:18pm CST by Arthur Hill

Despite some speculation to the contrary, Jay King of the Athletic hears that the Celtics don’t plan to reach out to a veteran big man to help replace Robert Williams (Twitter link). Sources tell King that the roster spot that formerly belonged to Bruno Caboclo will likely go to another young center or power forward. Williams will undergo arthroscopic surgery and is projected to miss four to six weeks.
Surgeries for both Williams and Danilo Gallinari have been scheduled for Thursday, tweets Gary Washburn of The Boston Globe. Celtics president of basketball operations Brad Stevens called Williams’ injury “short term.”

LaMarcus Aldridge On Celtics' Radar?

September 21st, 2022 at 10:17am CST by Luke Adams

Following Danilo Gallinari‘s ACL tear and Robert Williams‘ knee surgery, it remains to be seen whether the Celtics will look to fortify their frontcourt with a free agent addition. If they do, it’s possible veteran big man LaMarcus Aldridge will be one of their targets.

During a TV appearance on Tuesday, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (video link) said the Celtics showed “a little interest” in Aldridge earlier in the offseason. Dwight Howard, Hassan Whiteside, Blake Griffin, and DeMarcus Cousins are among the other centers and power forwards who remain unsigned with training camps just days away.

Chris Forsberg of NBC Sports Boston considers whether the Celtics need to add any more veteran depth to their frontcourt. He also weighs the idea of Grant Williams moving into Boston’s starting lineup and wonders if Robert Williams‘ health will be a long-term concern.

Celtics Waive Bruno Caboclo

September 20th, 2022 at 4:38pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Celtics have waived forward Bruno Caboclo, Shams Charania of The Athletic tweets.

Boston signed Caboclo to a training camp deal late last month with the expectation he’d compete for a roster spot, so the timing is somewhat surprising. It’s possible the Celtics found a more desirable option, or that Caboclo had a better offer overseas.

His contract included Exhibit 10 language, so it’s also possible he could resurface with the Maine Celtics, Boston’s G League team.

The 20th overall pick in the 2014 draft, Caboclo appeared in a total of 105 NBA regular season games across seven seasons with the Raptors, Kings, Grizzlies, and Rockets. He averaged 4.2 PPG and 2.6 RPG on .403/.308/.836 shooting in 12.3 MPG.

Caboclo, who turns 27 on Wednesday, finished the 2020/21 season in France, then returned to his home country for the ’21/22 campaign, signing with Sao Paolo FC. Caboclo led the club to a BCL Americas title and earned MVP honors in the Novo Basquete Brasil, which is Brazil’s top basketball league.

Robert Williams To Undergo Arthroscopic Surgery On Knee

September 20th, 2022 at 1:33pm CST by Luke Adams

The knee injury that Robert Williams sustained near the end of the 2021/22 season continues to be an issue for the Celtics big man, who will undergo arthroscopic surgery on that troublesome left knee, reports Sean Deveney of Heavy.com.

According to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN (Twitter links), the procedure is expected to require a recovery period of four-to-six weeks. Williams will miss training camp and the preseason, but the hope is that he’ll be back in the Celtics’ lineup early in the regular season, Woj says, adding that the plan is for him to have the surgery later this week (Twitter link).

Williams initially underwent surgery on the knee in March after tearing his meniscus. He was able to return to the court less than a month later and played a part in the Celtics’ run to the NBA Finals, though he wasn’t at 100% in the postseason. The 24-year-old sat out five games in the second and third rounds of the playoffs and reportedly required extensive treatment as he dealt with fluid build-up.

Williams enjoyed a breakout season in 2021/22, establishing new career highs in PPG (10.0), RPG (9.6), BPG (2.2), games played and started (61), field goal percentage (73.6%), and several other categories. He also helped anchor the NBA’s top defense.

As Deveney writes, the hope was that Williams would be ready to go this fall after resting the knee during the offseason, but it appears that won’t be the case. The procedure will leave the Celtics – already missing Danilo Gallinari due to a torn ACL – shorthanded in the frontcourt to open the season.

Al Horford, Grant Williams, Luke Kornet, camp invitee Noah Vonleh, and two-way player Mfiondu Kabengele are among Boston’s top available big men heading into training camp. As Bobby Marks of ESPN observes (via Twitter), we’ll likely see Jayson Tatum play plenty of minutes at power forward in the early going to help fill the gaps in the depth chart.

Contract Details For Layman, Jackson

September 20th, 2022 at 12:46pm CST by Luke Adams

When they signed with the Celtics, Jake Layman and Justin Jackson both received one-year, minimum-salary contracts that are non-guaranteed. However, the terms of those agreements are slightly different — Layman got an Exhibit 10 clause in his contract, while Jackson’s deal is an Exhibit 9, Hoops Rumors has learned.

Both Layman and Jackson are ineligible to have their contracts converted into two-way deals because they have too many years of NBA service under their belts. But Layman’s Exhibit 10 contract makes him eligible to receive a $50K bonus if he’s waived before the season and then spends at least 60 days with the Maine Celtics, Boston’s G League team.

As part of their efforts to honor the late Bill Russell this season, the Celtics have painted his No. 6 in the free throw lanes of their home court, the team announced on Monday (Twitter link). Boston will also wear Russell-themed City Edition jerseys for some of the team’s games in 2022/23 and will hold two nights in his honor, including October 18’s home opener.

Exploring Jaylen Brown's Spotty Ball-Handling, More

September 18th, 2022 at 10:16pm CST by JD Shaw

Steve Bulpett of Heavy.com explores a number of Celtics-related topics in his latest mailbag, including Jaylen Brown‘s ball-handling. Brown struggled to take care of the ball at times last season, averaging 3.5 assists and 3.1 turnovers per game during the postseason. He still held respectable playoff averages of 23.1 points and 6.9 rebounds per contest, shooting 47% from the floor.

Wyc Grousbeck Discusses Celtics Expectations, Brad Stevens, More

September 17th, 2022 at 3:52pm CST by JD Shaw

Speaking to Adam Himmelsbach of the Boston Globe, Celtics owner Wyc Grousbeck discussed his expectations for the team and Brad Stevens‘ green light to spend money, among other topics. Grousbeck is determined to win a championship, allowing Stevens to push team salary well into luxury tax territory to upgrade the roster. The Celtics came within two wins of a title last season and have all of last year’s core players under contract this season.
Eric Nehm of The Athletic examines six Bucks players who have the most to prove this season. Milwaukee won the championship in 2020/21, but the team was unable to overcome Khris Middleton‘s injury in the spring and lost to the Celtics in seven games during last year’s playoffs. The team remains a force, headlined by two-time MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo, Middleton, Jrue Holiday, Brook Lopez, Bobby Portis and others.

Celtics Officially Sign Jake Layman, Justin Jackson, Denzel Valentine

September 15th, 2022 at 8:32am CST by Luke Adams

The Celtics have officially completed three previously reported deals with veteran free agents, signing forward Jake Layman, swingman Justin Jackson, and guard Denzel Valentine to their training camp roster, according to RealGM’s NBA transaction log.

A report in August indicated that Valentine would be signing an Exhibit 10 contract with Boston. The exact terms of the team’s agreements with Layman and Jackson, which were reported more recently, aren’t known, but those are presumably non-guaranteed camp deals as well.

All three veterans are expected to take part in a preseason competition for one of the Celtics’ back-end roster spots. The club currently has 10 players with guaranteed standard contracts, plus Al Horford with a significant partial guarantee. That leaves three – or possibly four – spots available on the regular season roster for a group of players with non-guaranteed or partially guaranteed salaries.

Besides Layman, Jackson, and Valentine, those camp invitees vying for roster spots includes Noah Vonleh, Luke Kornet, and Bruno Caboclo. Two-way players Mfiondu Kabengele and JD Davison could also be in the mix for promotions to standard contracts. Boston has one more open spot on its 20-man offseason roster, with restricted free agent Brodric Thomas among the top candidates to fill it.

A second-round pick in 2016, Layman has appeared in 243 regular season games across six NBA seasons in Portland and Minnesota. In total, the former Maryland forward – who is a Massachusetts native – has averaged 4.8 PPG and 1.7 RPG on .460/.300/.719 shooting in 12.8 minutes per contest over the course of his NBA career.

Jackson, the No. 15 overall pick in the 2017 draft, signed two 10-day contracts with the Suns last season and one with the Celtics, appearing in seven total games (just one with Boston). In Las Vegas this July, he averaged 15.0 PPG in four appearances (29.0 MPG) for Boston’s Summer League squad.

The 14th overall pick in the 2016 draft, Valentine spent the first five years of his NBA career in Chicago before signing last offseason with the Cavaliers. He played a minor role in 22 games for Cleveland, then was dealt in January to the Knicks, who waived him. Following a 10-day contract with the Jazz, Valentine played in the G League for the rest of the 2021/22 season. Considered a strong three-point shooter, Valentine has made 36.0% of his attempts from beyond the arc in 256 NBA appearances (18.8 MPG).

Celtics Notes: Smart, G. Williams, Roster Spots

September 14th, 2022 at 8:40pm CST by Arthur Hill

Marcus Smart agrees with the theory that a shallow rotation left the Celtics exhausted by the time they reached the NBA Finals, writes Jared Weiss of The Athletic. Smart, who admitted that he still rewatches the Finals to see what he could have done differently, said the team exacerbated the problem by getting off to a slow start and not playing to its potential until January.

“I think depth was one of the big things that hurt us,” he said. “You had me, Jayson (Tatum), Jaylen (Brown) and our starters playing, clawing (up the standings) and we did it to ourselves.”

Smart likes the offseason additions the Celtics made, though Danilo Gallinari may be lost for the season with a torn ACL. Smart heard his name mentioned in Kevin Durant trade rumors this summer, but he’s thankful that he wasn’t moved and that the core of the team has remained intact.

“For someone who’s always talked about in trade talks, I didn’t really pay too much mind to that. Until it actually happens, I don’t believe it,” Smart said. “We can sit here and say this person said this, but we don’t even know who said it. It’s like a telephone game. By the time it gets back to you, you don’t know what changed and who said what. Until it actually happens, I try to pay trade rumors no mind.”

There’s more from Boston:

In an interview with Bobby Manning of CLNS Media, Smart revealed that he’s still feeling the effects of injuries from last season’s playoffs. He suffered a sprained right foot in the Eastern semifinals and a sprained right ankle in the conference finals. He also had to miss Game 2 of the Bucks series after aggravating a right thigh injury. “My ankle is feeling better, it’s still healing, so I’m dealing with that,” Smart said. “Just giving it as much rest as I can, but definitely back on the court. I’m definitely back into the action. It feels like yesterday we just started playing, we haven’t really missed a beat, but I’m definitely doing everything I can to be ready for next season and to go deeper. I’m pretty close (to 100%), obviously it’s September, you don’t want to be in June, July, May shape right now so I’m trying not to go too crazy, but I’m really close and I’ve been doing this going into my ninth season.”
Grant Williams‘ hopes for a contract extension will be impacted by the three-year, $33MM deal that Maxi Kleber got from the Mavericks, per Brian Robb of MassLive. Robb believes Williams would be better off taking what he can get in an extension rather than dealing with the unpredictability of restricted free agency.
Chris Forsberg of NBC Sports Boston examines the battle for roster spots at Celtics training camp and views Sam Hauser, Luke Kornet, Mfiondu Kabengele, JD Davison and Jake Layman as having the best shot at making the team.