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Atlantic Notes: Embiid, Hayward, Lin, Raptors

October 20th, 2017 at 11:09am CST by Luke Adams

Heading into the Sixers‘ season opener on Wednesday, Joel Embiid was only expected to receive between 15 and 20 minutes of playing time, prompting the fourth-year center to sound off with his thoughts on the minutes restriction.

However, prior to tip-off, head coach Brett Brown suggested that Embiid’s minutes limit could increase quickly (Twitter link via Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer), and Brown made good on that statement just hours later. Embiid played 27 minutes in the Sixers’ opener against Washington, which surprised the former third overall pick.

Having successfully pushed to increase his minutes – for at least one game – Embiid is now hopeful that he’ll be cleared to participate in back-to-back games, as Pompey writes at Philly.com. The Sixers’ first set of back-to-back games will take place this weekend, as the team hosts Boston on Friday before heading to Toronto for a Saturday contest.

“Yesterday I played, and my body feels great today,” the Sixers’ star center said on Thursday. “My knee feels amazing. So I feel like if I have to play today, I would play depending on how I feel. But I feel like I’m ready.”

As we wait to see how the 76ers handle Embiid, let’s check in on a few more Atlantic notes…

  • Asked about Gordon Hayward‘s potential return, Celtics president of basketball operations Danny Ainge said on Thursday that it’s too early to put a timetable on the forward’s recovery, as Steve Bulpett of The Boston Herald details. “I think it’s just safe to say that we’re not counting on him this year and go from there,” Ainge said. “Just take the pressure off him and let him heal correctly is the most important thing and not even really talk about when he should return to play. That’ll work itself out over time.”
  • Ainge, who said the Celtics are exploring possible roster additions, added that the club is “not in a major rush” to make any moves, per Bulpett.
  • Brian Lewis of The New York Post spoke to orthopedic surgeon Dr. James Gladstone about the outlook for Nets guard Jeremy Lin‘s recovery from his season-ending knee injury.
  • The Raptors will face an interesting balancing act this season as they focus on both short-term success and long-term development of their younger players, writes Doug Smith of The Toronto Star. That balancing act got off to a promising start on Thursday, with youngsters like Delon Wright and OG Anunoby playing key roles in Toronto’s win over Chicago.
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Agent: Gordon Hayward Unlikely To Return This Season

October 19th, 2017 at 8:02am CST by Luke Adams

Celtics forward Gordon Hayward underwent surgery on Wednesday night to repair a dislocated left ankle and fractured tibia, and while that surgery was deemed successful, agent Mark Bartelstein tells ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski that his client is unlikely to return to the court this season.

Although Bartelstein isn’t expecting Hayward to be back during the 2017/18 campaign, he remains confident in the 27-year-old’s long-term prognosis, suggesting to Wojnarowski that the injury isn’t career-threatening.

“We expect him to make a full recovery and return to his All-Star form,” Bartelstein said.

With Hayward likely to miss the entire season, the Celtics will be eligible to apply for a disabled player exception to help replace their star forward, and the league should grant that exception at some point. The DPE would give Boston the opportunity to sign, claim, or trade for a player earning up to $8.406MM. If the C’s were to use the exception to trade for someone, that player would need to be in the final year of his contract.

While there’s no guarantee that the C’s will make use of that disabled player exception right away, the team does have an open spot on its 15-man roster, and head coach Brad Stevens indicated on Wednesday that there’s a decent chance the club will fill it, as Wojnarowski details. In the meantime, Boston made two-way player Jabari Bird active on Wednesday to help add some depth, and the game won’t count as one of Bird’s 45 NBA days, since that clock doesn’t start until G League training camps do.

Assuming Hayward misses the season, the Celtics would be able to recoup up to about $7.2MM of his $29.73MM+ salary via insurance, ESPN’s report notes.

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Celtics Plan To Fill Roster Spot; Hayward Undergoes Surgery

October 18th, 2017 at 7:37pm CST by Arthur Hill

In the wake of Gordon Hayward‘s horrific injury in Tuesday’s season opener, the Celtics plan to use their roster opening to add another player, relays Chris Forsberg of ESPN.

Boston trimmed its roster to 14 players last week, along with a pair of two-way deals. One of those two-way players, Jabari Bird, was added to the active roster before tonight’s game against the Bucks. Until G League camps open, Bird’s time with the Celtics won’t count against the 45 days he is permitted to be in the NBA.

“I think we will at least be actively looking for that roster spot, just because, obviously, the standpoint of the youth, but also because you lose one of your better shooters and more versatile players,” coach Brad Stevens told reporters. “A guy who can put the ball in the basket for you. We’ll see how that works itself out. We haven’t really gotten into it too much because we have our hands full tonight.”

Boston is more than $12MM over the cap and already used its room exception to sign Aron Baynes, so the team can only offer a minimum-salary deal. If Hayward’s injury is determined to be season-ending, the Celtics can apply for an $8.4MM disabled player exception. That money is only usable for free agents, players on waivers or anyone with a single season left on their contract.

Hayward will undergo surgery tonight, tweets ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, to fix a dislocated and fractured left tibia. The team hasn’t set a timetable for his return.

Hayward got a huge ovation from Boston fans when a videotaped message from his hospital bed was played before the start of tonight’s game, Forsberg tweeted. “It’s hurting me that I can’t be there,” Hayward told the crowd. “… I want nothing more just to be with my teammates and walk out onto that floor tonight.” (Twitter link)

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Gordon Hayward Dislocates, Fractures Left Tibia

October 18th, 2017 at 4:53pm CST by marksuleymanov

OCTOBER 18, 4:53pm: Hayward has been diagnosed with a dislocated and fractured left tibia, and will undergo surgery to repair the injury, reports Shams Charania of The Vertical (Twitter link). Head coach Brad Stevens said the team is expecting a “full recovery” for Hayward, but declined to speculate on a recovery timeline, tweets Jay King of MassLive.com.

OCTOBER 17, 8:35pm: Gordon Hayward suffered a gruesome fractured left ankle less than six minutes into the Celtics‘ regular-season opener against the Cavaliers on Tuesday, the team announced.

Hayward collapsed after an attempted alley-oop off a pass from Kyrie Irving. He landed on the hardwood and his leg collapsed underneath his weight. Players from both teams were distraught as medical personnel put an air cast on Hayward’s leg and took him into the locker room on a stretcher.

A fractured ankle is a preliminary diagnosis as Hayward will likely undergo an MRI to determine the full extent of the injury, per Mannix (via Twitter).

Several players, including LeBron James and Isaiah Thomas, went to the locker room area to see Hayward before he was taken to the hospital, per ESPN’s Brian Windhorst (Twitter links). Droves of NBA players sent Hayward well wishes over social media, including Thunder forward Paul George, who suffered a gruesome leg fracture during a Team USA scrimmage in August 2014.

Hayward’s injury is devastating for everybody involved as the 27-year-old signed a lucrative four-year, $128MM deal with Boston this offseason. Hayward spent the first seven seasons with the Jazz before signing with the Celtics this offseason. Alongside acquisition Irving and incumbents such as Al Horford, Hayward was expected to help Boston contend for an NBA championship.

Hayward set career highs in PPG (21.9), APG (5.4), RPG (4.7) and field goal percentage (.471%) in 73 games last season with the Jazz. The Butler University product made his first NBA All-Star team last season, too.

While it’s unclear whether or not Hayward’s injury is career-threatening, it seems unlikely that we’ll see him on the court again this season. As Bobby Marks of ESPN notes, in the event of a season-ending injury, the Celtics will be eligible to apply for a disabled player exception worth $8.4MM. That DPE could be used to sign a free agent claim a player off waivers, or trade for a player with one year left on his contract.

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Celtics Notes: Hayward, Smart, Offseason

October 18th, 2017 at 2:35pm CST by Luke Adams

Gordon Hayward‘s ugly left ankle injury was a horrible way for the Celtics and their prized free agent acquisition to start the 2017/18 season, but Chris Mannix of The Vertical (video link via NBC Sports Boston) hears from sources that there’s some “cautious optimism” about Hayward’s eventual recovery.

According to Mannix, the injury, which has been described to him as a “clean break,” is one that could have been worse, even if it didn’t look that way at the time. Mannix suggests that the All-Star forward should be able to make a full recovery.

The Celtics have yet to issue an update on Hayward themselves, so while Mannix’s report is encouraging, we’ll wait for official word from the team on Hayward’s diagnosis, possible surgery, and recovery outlook. In the meantime, here’s more out of Boston:

  • Applying for a disabled player exception would give the Celtics some flexibility to sign or trade a replacement for Hayward, as we noted on Tuesday night. Alex Kennedy of HoopsHype identifies some potential targets in free agency or on the trade market in the event that Boston does attempt to add reinforcements.
  • Charles Curtis of USA Today makes the case for why the Celtics are still a legit contender even without Hayward in the lineup.
  • Before the season opener on Tuesday, Marcus Smart spoke to reporters – including Mark Murphy of The Boston Herald – about his failed contract extension talks with the Celtics, suggesting that he’ll be more expensive to lock up as a restricted free agent next summer. “We thought it was close from the fact that we didn’t ask for much,” Smart said. “We were going to take less money than what we probably are valued, and some other things, but they just weren’t budging. (Luxury tax was) the big issue. They weren’t willing to pay the luxury tax. We even gave them options of things where they wouldn’t have to pay or be so deep into the luxury tax, and they still wouldn’t budge.”
  • In an in-depth piece for The Boston Globe, Adam Himmelsbach revisits the Celtics’ eventful offseason, with several Celtics executives, including Danny Ainge and Mike Zarren, providing quotes.
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Atlantic Notes: Hayward, Saric, Rambis

September 28th, 2017 at 6:54pm CST by Austin Kent

Among the biggest things that Gordon Hayward will have to adjust to when suiting up for the Celtics this year is the big market environment, Mark Murphy of the Boston Herald writes.

Ever since rumors started to swirl that Boston may be the ultimate landing spot of the 2017 free agent (thanks in large part to Celtics head coach Brad Stevens), Hayward started to notice just how much attention he was generating in New England.

“It is different, and that’s something that’s different for me because I’ve flown under the radar since I’ve been in high school,” Hayward said. “Going into making this decision [to join the Celtics], we talked about how there’s going to be more of a spotlight.”

Hayward averaged 21.9 points and 5.4 rebounds per game for the Jazz last season. This year he’ll look to mesh well with a Celtics team dead-set on competing for the Eastern Conference title.

There’s more from the Atlantic Division:

  • Despite a solid string of performances when given the opportunity to lead the Sixers, Dario Saric is poised to come off the bench for the squad at the start of the 2017/18 season. As Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer writes, there were spacing issues when Saric played alongside Joel Embiid last season and it’s hard to envision a good fit for him with the rest of Philly’s expected starters on defense.
  • After a dismal 2016/17 season, Kurt Rambis has been relieved of his unofficial duties as the Knicks‘ defensive coordinator, Marc Berman of the New York Post writes. Rambis remains an associate head coach with the team, however.
  • Unsurprisingly, the Sixers have not engaged with Nik Stauskas about a possible contract extension, Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer writes. Despite that, the shooting guard would be open to remaining with the team beyond this season.
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Atlantic Notes: Raptors, Simmons, Carroll

September 22nd, 2017 at 9:13pm CST by Austin Kent

The Raptors have four players on non-guaranteed deals effectively auditioning for the final two guaranteed slots on their roster, Josh Lewenberg of TSN writes. Given the number of veterans the team lost over the offseason, the individuals who end up in the 14th and 15th spots on the squad could actually see meaningful minutes in 2017/18.

Among those battling for one of the final openings on the lone Canadian team’s roster is Canadian national team forward Kyle Wiltjer. Wiltjer didn’t make much of an impact on the playoff-bound Rockets last season but serves as a potent deep ball threat, not unlike outgoing Raptors forward Patrick Patterson.

Wiltjer will face stiff competition making the Raptors, especially from the versatile K.J. McDaniels who failed to stick with the Nets last season but has otherwise shown promise as an incredibly versatile, Swiss army knife of a forward.

Also vying for the final two spots will be Kennedy Meeks and Alfonzo McKinnie, the latter of whom Lewenberg mentions along with McDaniels to be the ones to watch as training camp begins and the Raptors inch closer to finalizing their roster.

There’s more from the Atlantic Division:

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Atlantic Notes: Knicks, Embiid, Celtics

September 4th, 2017 at 11:28am CST by Austin Kent

A pair of Knicks bigs have turned heads at EuroBasket 2017 and that bodes well for the future of the franchise. Between Kristaps Porzingis‘ offensive showcase with Latvia and Willy Hernangomez‘s dominance in the post with Spain, New York fans ought to be drooling with anticipation, Marc Berman of the New York Post writes.

Squashing any concerns about a knee bruise that kept Porzingis out of some exhibition games with his national team, the 7’3″ Knicks forward has flaunted his length, range and just about everything else that’s made him such a tantalizing, unique NBA package. Through two games so far, Porzingis has averaged 22.5 points per game.

Hernangomez may not have pumped out any similarly viral highlight reel plays through his first two games in the tournament but the 23-year-old has stepped up as a foundational component of his Spanish team. The 18 points and nine boards he dropped in 20 minutes during the club’s opener is reminiscent of his impressive string of performances for the Knicks in the second half of 2016/17.

Even Knicks forward Mindaugas Kuzminskas, Berman writes, has looked impressive through three EuroBasket games averaging 16.0 points per match.

There’s more from the Atlantic Division:

  • The Sixers need to figure out the best way to handle Joel Embiid‘s contract extension – our very own Dana Garauder wrote about it here – but one thing that can’t be overlooked when weighing injury risks and production is the impact that Embiid has on the Sixers brand. “He’s got the public on his side,” a league source told Tom Moore of the Bucks County Courier Times. “[The idea of alienating or losing Embiid altogether] is a public relations nightmare.“
  • Between Gordon Hayward leaving money on the table in Utah and Kyrie Irving leaving a team that made three straight Finals appearances, the newest Celtics made big sacrifices to be where they are now. “They were doing what I thought was fair game and very grateful that both of them chose to come here and make those sacrifices,” Danny Ainge told A. Sherrod Blakely of CSN New England.
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Lowe’s Latest: Celtics, Irving, Hayward, Butler

August 30th, 2017 at 12:11pm CST by Luke Adams

In our recap earlier today of where things stand on the Kyrie Irving front, we passed along several items of interest from ESPN’s Zach Lowe, who identified a number of potential trade partners for the Cavaliers if their deal with the Celtics falls through. Lowe also cited sources who said that there’s at least a slight chance Isaiah Thomas could miss the entire 2017/18 season if his recovery doesn’t progress as smoothly as hoped.

Lowe’s in-depth piece on the Irving situation included a few more noteworthy details, which we’ll pass along here:

  • Timing played a major part in the Celtics‘ decision to go hard after Irving, rather than Paul George or Jimmy Butler. As Lowe notes, the team wanted to add two star players this summer, but wanted to make sure it could land Gordon Hayward in free agency before giving up key assets for that second star. Because the Bulls and Pacers agreed in June to trade their stars, they were no longer options for Boston, post-Hayward.
  • Irving’s age was also a key consideration for the Celtics, says Lowe. With Boston poised to build around young pieces like Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown, the fact that Irving is two years younger than either George or Butler was important, and allows the C’s to extend their window of contention.
  • The Celtics also had some concerns about how Butler and Hayward might mesh – on and off the court – if they were to acquire both players, sources tell Lowe.
  • Even if the Celtics have to include a little more in the Irving deal to get it done, they still may be the most well-stocked team in the league in terms of trade assets, according to Lowe, who notes that could become important if the Pelicans eventually make Anthony Davis available. There’s no indication at this point that New Orleans will do so, but the Celtics’ eyes “are very much trained on” Davis, says Lowe.
  • According to Lowe, if Irving officially becomes a Celtic, he could play a part in helping to recruit an additional superstar, since the league’s stars respect Irving’s “ballsy showman’s game.” Celtics president Danny Ainge likes Irving more than many of his peers around the NBA for some of the same reasons, Lowe adds.
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Ex-Cavs GM Suggests Celtics On Irving’s List

August 8th, 2017 at 5:15pm CST by Joshua Fischman

In an appearance on ESPN’s “The Jump” on Monday (h/t to CSNNE.com), former Cavaliers general manager David Griffin suggested that the Celtics are on Kyrie Irving’s short list of preferred destinations.

Griffin mentioned Brad Stevens and Gregg Popovich as “really good coaching situations” that Irving covets, as well as Irving’s desire to play with “Gordon Hayward in Boston” or “Kawhi Leonard in San Antonio.”

The Spurs had previously been reported as a team on Irving’s list, but this is the first the public is hearing about the Celtics as a desired destination for the disgruntled point guard. Aside from the Spurs, the Knicks, Heat, and Timberwolves were reported by Chris Haynes as Irving’s top choices for landing spots.

While the Celtics certainly have the assets to land Irving, with a trove of draft picks and Marcus Smart, Jaylen Brown, and other desirable players, Danny Ainge has been reluctant to part with these assets in trades for Paul George and Jimmy Butler, which led to the pair being traded elsewhere for far less than the Celtics could have offered.

Furthermore, if the Celtics were to strike a deal for Irving, he and Isaiah Thomas would make for an awkward fit starting in the backcourt, and a particularly troublesome pairing for Boston on defense, with neither point guard known for his defensive prowess. Irving also has reportedly wanted to be the lead guy on his next team, but Thomas is – and would likely continue to be – the Celtics’ franchise player. More likely, in the improbable event that the teams make a trade involving Irving, Thomas would have to head the other way.

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