Jaylen Brown

Atlantic Notes: Celtics, Brunson, Randle, Tsai, Marks

August 4th, 2024 at 1:45pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

After going 64-18 in the regular season and 16-3 in the playoffs en route to their 18th title this June, the Celtics already look like the team to beat next season. In a reader mailbag, Brian Robb of MassLive.com speculates as to which players could improve even more in 2024/25.

Robb believes that reserve big man Xavier Tillman, who has dealt with knee troubles in the last two seasons, still has room to grow at age 25. Robb also believes that Finals MVP swingman Jaylen Brown could improve his scoring efficiency.

Additionally, Robb touches on Tatum’s inconsistent postseason scoring, the team’s contracts, and what in-game elements the club can improve.

There’s more out of the Atlantic Division:

Knicks All-NBA point guard Jalen Brunson inked a four-year, $156.5MM contract extension with New York this summer — far less than the five-year, $269MM contract he could have signed as an unrestricted free agent last year. In an Insider-only story, Bobby Marks and Tim Bontemps of ESPN reflect on how the superstar guard’s below-market deal could impact the future of All-Star power forward Julius Randle – who has just become extension-eligible himself – and the rest of the roster.
Nets owner Joe Tsai has “absolute confidence” that general manager Sean Marks can rebuild the club’s roster, a source informs Brian Lewis of The New York Post (subscription required). Marks’ history of finding talent outside of the draft lottery is a major factor in ownership’s belief in the team’s longtime GM. “[Tsai has] absolute confidence in the ability of the front office to draft well,” that source said. “Sean’s track record there is very good: Jarrett Allen, Caris LeVert, Nic Claxton. [They took] Nic Claxton 31st in the draft. [Tsai] has every confidence in Sean.”
In case you missed it, new Nets head coach Jordi Fernandez believes his experience coaching the Canadian national team helped him book the Brooklyn gig.

Celtics Notes: White, Brown, Harper Jr., Olympics

July 27th, 2024 at 8:16pm CST by Arthur Hill

Derrick White had to alter his summer vacation plans when he got an offer to join the U.S. Olympic team in the wake of Kawhi Leonard‘s injury, writes Adam Himmelsbach of The Boston Globe. Instead of traveling to Cabo San Lucas, White and his family are spending two weeks in Paris, but he won’t get to relax until he’s done trying to win a gold medal.

“I just had to change plans really quickly. I was super excited,” White said about the invitation. “Once I got that call, I changed my focus. It’s really a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.”

Along with Celtics teammates Jayson Tatum and Jrue Holiday, White will be trying to pull off the rare accomplishment of winning an NBA title and Olympic gold just a few weeks apart. In between those feats, he signed a four-year, $125.9MM extension that will keep him under contract through the 2028/29 season.

“I’m excited,” White said. “I wanted to stay in Boston and was able to get it done early, so I don’t have to think about it or talk about it too much. I’m just excited to be in Boston for as long as possible.”

There’s more on the Celtics:

White confirmed to Himmelsbach that Jaylen Brown called him to explain social media comments he made about not being considered for a spot in the Olympics. Brown said he’s happy for White, but he was expressing his frustrations over the selection process. “Jaylen gave me a call and I was like, ‘Yeah, you didn’t need to call me. I know we’re good,’” White said. “He gave me a call and said he just wanted to clear things up and I told him we’re all good. Never any problem or issue with us, for sure. He’s a hell of a player and I’ve never had a bad thing to say about JB.”
Ron Harper Jr. is hoping to make a strong impression on the Celtics after signing a non-guaranteed training camp deal earlier this month, per Gary Washburn of The Boston Globe. Harper appeared in 10 total games on a two-way contract with Toronto before being waived in December following a season-ending shoulder injury. “I was feeling real good before the injury,” he said. “I was going through some shoulder stuff and ended up tearing my labrum, having surgery in December and wasn’t really cleared to play until June. I’m still trying to get into the flow of things. It’s been a long process. It’s the longest time I’ve ever gone without playing basketball since I started hooping. To get back into the flow is real important but I feel like I’m doing a good job.”
Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla will have to be careful not to overextend his three Olympians, Brian Robb of MassLive states in a mailbag column. Tatum, Holiday and White had little time to rest after the NBA Finals ended, and they’ll only have a few weeks off between the conclusion of the Olympics and the start of training camp. Robb expects Sam Hauser and Payton Pritchard to take on larger roles early in the season.

Atlantic Notes: Tatum, Brown, Celtics, Mogbo, Raptors, Thibs

July 25th, 2024 at 10:31pm CST by Luke Adams

Speaking to Chris Mannix of SI.com about his relationship with longtime teammate Jaylen Brown, Celtics forward Jayson Tatum said he never wanted Brown traded, but admitted that he could have expressed that sentiment more vocally earlier in his career as trade rumors swirled around the 2016 lottery pick.

“I’ve always told him that maybe I could have done a better job of voicing my feelings in the public eye,” Tatum said. “He always knew that I wanted him here. I would always tell him like, ‘Man, I don’t get involved with any of those talks.’

“I never went to (Celtics president of basketball operations) Brad (Stevens) or went to any player like, ‘Yo, I want this guy in, I want this guy out of here.’ I show up and I want to do my job and play basketball. And looking back on in those moments, I didn’t know how that could affect somebody, because I was never in that situation. I feel like maybe I could have done a better job of publicly saying, ‘No, we don’t want anybody, we want JB.’ I just was always like, ‘I want to stay out of it.'”

The Celtics made it to the Eastern Conference Finals or NBA Finals in five of Brown’s first seven seasons, but were unable to break through and win a championship until 2024. Now that they have that title under their belt, Tatum is relieved that he and Brown should no longer have to face questions about whether it can thrive together and win at the highest level.

“We’ve figured out that we need each other,” Tatum told Mannix. “We have learned how to coexist. And we know we need to be the best version of ourselves in order for all of this to work. We weren’t necessarily the best play-makers early in our careers but we developed into guys that really bleed the game. We want to be a great example of guys that play on both ends as a floor and guys who are the best teammates that we can be.”

Here’s more from around the Atlantic:

After locking up most of their rotation players to multiyear deals, the Celtics project to have the NBA’s first ever $500MM roster in 2025/26, as Tim Bontemps of ESPN writes. That $500MM+ figure, which includes both player salaries and luxury tax penalties, will loom large over the organization as the team looks to defend its title and the ownership group looks to sell a controlling stake in the franchise.
Josh Lewenberg of TSN.ca takes a closer look at the unconventional path that Raptors rookie Jonathan Mogbo – the No. 31 pick in this year’s draft – took to the NBA and details how the 6’7″ forward boosted his stock significantly during the pre-draft process. According to Lewenberg, entering the second day of the draft, the Raptors did some extra homework on the projected first-round picks who were still available after day one – such as Kyle Filipowski and Johnny Furphy – but ultimately decided they preferred Mogbo, whom they’d ranked in the early 20s. Eventual No. 41 pick Adem Bona was also high on Toronto’s board and received some consideration at the start of the second round, Lewenberg adds.
Tom Thibodeau‘s new three-year extension with the Knicks doesn’t include any option years, according to Ian Begley of SNY.tv. While Begley doesn’t have the full salary details on Thibodeau’s new deal, he says it’s is “in line with the current market for head coaches” (Twitter link).

Team USA Notes: Brown, White, Australia Game, AD, Kawhi

July 16th, 2024 at 4:54pm CST by Luke Adams

Appearing at the Las Vegas Summer League on Monday, Celtics wing Jaylen Brown was asked about his reaction to not making USA Basketball’s Olympic team, either as one of the initial 12 players or as a replacement for Kawhi Leonard. Brown made it clear that, despite his apparent frustration, he was proud of teammate Derrick White for taking Leonard’s spot.

“I called Derrick right away,” Brown said, per Souichi Terada of MassLive.com. “Just to make sure there’s no confusion, my love for you and all of that. He knew that, and he did. You don’t always gotta make everything public. Me and D-White are good.”

Still, Brown – who said he “wasn’t surprised” at being passed over for Team USA – reiterated that he believes Nike was involved in that decision. As Jared Weiss of The Athletic writes, Brown has criticized Nike over the years and isn’t sponsored by the company, whereas White is.

“I do for sure,” Brown replied when asked if he thinks Nike influenced the roster decision. “There will be more stuff to come with that. As of now, I’m not gonna comment on it.”

Here’s more on Team USA:

As Joe Vardon of The Athletic relays, White told reporters in Abu Dhabi over the weekend that he was scheduled to be on vacation in Cabo San Lucas, but that he’d “much rather” be with Team USA. “I got the call and I was ready to go,” White said. “… I just had to talk to the family and try to figure out how we can make it work and as quickly as possible. I’m super thankful and grateful and excited to be here.”
Team USA still wasn’t at its best in Monday’s exhibition game against Australia, but key contributions from Anthony Davis and Anthony Edwards helped the team secure a six-point victory, as ESPN’s Brian Windhorst and The Athletic’s Vardon detail.
With Joel Embiid still trying to round into form and Davis having been the team’s most effective big man through two exhibition contests, head coach Steve Kerr may face a tough decision when determining his starting center for the Olympics, Vardon writes in another story for The Athletic.
Team USA is still playing NBA basketball, according to John Hollinger of The Athletic, who says the squad will need to adjust to better the international rules and style to ensure it wins gold in Paris.
Clippers president of basketball operations Lawrence Frank said on Monday that he and the Clippers were “very disappointed” with USA Basketball’s decision to replace Leonard on the Olympic roster, writes Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN. Frank’s comments are noteworthy, since even though Team USA managing director Grant Hill took responsibility for the move, reporting at the time indicated that Leonard’s camp and the Clippers were involved in making the decision, too. “No, it was USAB’s call and I was quite frankly very disappointed with the decision,” Frank said. “Kawhi wanted to play. We wanted him to play. I was there the first two practices, he looked very good. Was a full participant in everything that they did. I wasn’t there for the third practice where ultimately that was the point where they decided to go in a different direction (last Wednesday). I expressed to them I really wish that they would’ve given Kawhi more time.”

Olympics Notes: Durant, Brown, Edwards, Haliburton, LeBron

July 13th, 2024 at 7:35pm CST by Arthur Hill

Kevin Durant remains sidelined with a calf strain, but Team USA is optimistic that he’ll be ready in time for the Olympics, according to Brian Windhorst of ESPN. Durant missed practice again today in Abu Dhabi and isn’t expected to play in Monday’s exhibition contest against Australia. He also sat out Wednesday’s game against Canada in Las Vegas.

“I know there’s still a couple of weeks before we have to make a decision roster-wise,” coach Steve Kerr said. “So we’re just taking it day by day.”

The U.S. squad has already made one roster move, selecting Derrick White to replace Kawhi Leonard, who has been troubled by inflammation in his right knee since late in the regular season. White is headed to the United Arab Emirates and is expected to participate in his first practice on Sunday, Windhorst adds.

The team doesn’t seem to have a backup plan in place if Durant is unable to play.

“It’s not something we’ve even discussed at this point because we feel good that he is going to be OK,” Kerr said.

There’s more on Team USA:

Jaylen Brown didn’t intend any disrespect toward White when he sent out a series of tweets expressing disappointment that he wasn’t considered to replace Leonard, writes Gary Washburn of The Boston Globe. Brown was upset that he wasn’t a priority after helping the Celtics post the league’s best record and being named MVP of the Eastern Conference Finals and the NBA Finals. Brown also suggested that politics may be involved, as Nike is sponsoring the Olympic team and Brown has been critical of the company in the past, particularly after it dropped Kyrie Irving.
First-time Olympians Anthony Edwards and Tyrese Haliburton are the youngest players on a veteran squad and will likely be part of the future for Team USA, notes Chris Hine of The Star Tribune. The two guards are the only members of last year’s World Cup team that were invited to be part of the Olympics. “We got one common goal in mind and that’s to not come up short this year,” Edwards said. “We the young’uns. We might be in this thing a few years to come. That’s my brother.”
In an interview with Drew Weisholtz of The Today Show, LeBron James confirmed that he won’t be playing in the 2028 Games in Los Angeles. James, 39, already has two Olympic golds and wants to win one more for his country before he retires. “At this point in my career, I still, I have a lot to give,” he said, “and Team USA has given a lot to me, so I feel like it’s an opportunity for me to give back.”

Celtics Notes: Tatum, Brown, Grousbeck, Sale

July 11th, 2024 at 8:30pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

All-NBA Celtics forward Jayson Tatum, fresh off capturing his first NBA title, just signed the biggest contract in league history, a five-year, super-max deal worth a projected $313.93MM. According to Adam Himmelsbach of The Boston Globe, Tatum believes his championship has helped quiet some of the discourse surrounding him in the league at present.

“You know, just being the topic of discussion of so many debates or whatever it is. ‘Can he lead a team? Is he a top-five player?’” Tatum said. “There’s still a lot of things I guess they can debate, but I’ve done some things they can’t debate. I won a championship. I did it at the highest level. So having that under my belt, like, obviously there’s still conversations to be had or whatever people want to say, but they’ve always got to refer to me as an NBA champion.”

Tatum seemed grateful for his lucrative new extension, too.

“For me just to feel wanted, and they want me to be here and want me for the long haul,” Tatum said. “I’ll spend my whole career here and have got nothing but love for the fans, the city, and the organization. You know, we just won a championship and I want to try to win as many as I can.”

During the 2023/24 regular season, the five-time All-Star and four-time All-NBA honoree posted superlative averages of 26.9 points, 8.1 rebounds, 4.9 assists, 1.0 steals and 0.6 blocks across 74 contests, with a .471/.376/.833 shooting line.

There’s more out of Boston:

Tatum’s All-Star teammate Jaylen Brown appeared miffed to have been passed over to replace Kawhi Leonard on Team USA in favor of another Celtics wing, Derrick White, Himmelsbach writes in a separate piece. Brown posted an emoji-packed tweet expressing his apparent displeasure. Sources confirmed to Brian Robb of MassLive that the 6’6″ small forward was indeed frustrated by the choice. Team USA managing director Grant Hill explained the decision on Wednesday. “This is about putting together a team,” Hill told gathered media. “Just kind of overall, you have incredible interest from an abundance of talent that we have here in the United States. I’ve talked a little about when we assembled this roster.”
Celtics owner Wyc Grousbeck recently revealed his intentions to sell his stake in the team. Now, Grousbeck has outlined some supplemental details of the plan, Robb notes in an additional article. “I want to clarify, it’s not my majority stake,” Grousbeck said. “The control of the team is owned by my family, so it’s a family that I belong to and then I have the Celtics family I also belong to, so there’s an intersection and there’s an involvement.” According to Robb, Grousbeck hopes to sell the majority of his family’s ownership stake early next year. “The plan, the expectation is to sell the team in two parts, 51 percent going fairly soon,” Grousbeck said. “49 percent then closing in a second closing, that’s the expectation in 2028. I’m planning or expected to stay on until 2028 (as governor) and we’re going to hire bankers and advisors and this is going to be quite a bidding process.”
Grousbeck may be selling his portion of the Celtics chiefly because of long-term family estate planning, writes Eben Novy-Williams of Sportico. Boston is valued at an estimated $5.12 billion by Sportico, Novy-Williams adds.

Celtics Notes: Brown, Horford, Mazzulla, Offseason

June 22nd, 2024 at 5:25pm CST by Arthur Hill

Even the fans who booed when Jaylen Brown‘s name was announced at a 2016 draft party have to admit the Celtics made the right choice, writes Gary Washburn of The Boston Globe. On his way to capturing an NBA title and the Finals MVP trophy, Brown faced plenty of doubters throughout his eight years in Boston, including those who believed he and Jayson Tatum couldn’t play together, those who wanted him traded for Kevin Durant, and those who thought he was wildly overpaid when he signed a five-year, $286MM extension last offseason.

“Just the story and the journey is awesome,” Brown said. “You know, just being drafted here in Boston, like a lot of the people probably didn’t watch me play in the Pac-12 at Cal. It led to a lot of people feeling a way about that. I just came in and kept my head down and told myself, ‘I’m going to just keep working.’ And to be here in this moment now, through all the years, through all the doubt, through all of the ups and downs, through all of the verdicts, through all of the everything, it just makes the story that much sweeter.”

Brown also addressed the possibility of repeating, something no NBA champion has been able to do since 2018. Boston is in position to keep virtually its entire roster intact, which Brown believes will provide an edge.

“I think we have an opportunity. I think we definitely have a window,” he said. “We take it one day at a time. We definitely have to make sure we stay healthy. But, you know, we’ll enjoy the summer, enjoy the moment, and then we get right back to it next year.”

There’s more from Boston:

This year’s title was especially meaningful to 38-year-old Al Horford, who discussed the bonds he has formed with fans throughout New England, per Jay King of The Athletic. Horford was grateful for the chance to return to the Celtics in a 2021 trade after leaving for Philadelphia in free agency in 2019. “I’ve been all over the country and I just haven’t seen the love, the care and the commitment from people towards not only their sports but their community,” he said.
Coach Joe Mazzulla has been dealing with a torn meniscus in his knee, but he was one of the most active figures during Friday’s championship parade, observes Brian Robb of MassLive. Mazzulla, who jumped off his duck boat and ran through the street to high-five fans, said the injury helped him focus during the latter part of the season. “I’ll tell you what, it was one of the best things that happened to me for the rest of the season because it put me in this fight or flight mentality where I could just not relax,” Mazzulla said. “I had to constantly train to keep it pain-free, had to constantly get physical therapy. My physical therapist has been great and it was just awesome. I’ve been thinking about maybe getting hurt every All-Star break.”
Any changes the Celtics make this offseason are likely to come at the margins, notes Adam Himmelsbach of The Boston Globe. Backup centers Luke Kornet and Xavier Tillman are both unrestricted free agents, but Himmelsbach believes Boston likes the flexibility they offer and will try to re-sign them using Bird rights. Oshae Brissett has a player option on his minimum-salary deal, while the team holds an option on Neemias Queta, and Svi Mykhailiuk will be a free agent. Himmelsbach suggests the Celtics might keep a roster spot or two open in case there are ring-chasing veterans willing to sign for a discount. He also notes that Brad Stevens will be picking in the first round at this week’s draft for the first time since taking over as team president. Boston, which holds the 30th pick, hasn’t made a first-round selection since 2020.

Celtics Win First Title Since 2008; Brown Named MVP

June 17th, 2024 at 10:18pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Celtics won their record-breaking 18th NBA championship and first since 2008 on Monday night, defeating the Mavericks in Game 5, 106-88. Boston now has one more title than the Lakers.

Jayson Tatum racked up 31 points, 11 assists and eight rebounds in Game 5, while Jaylen Brown supplied 21 points, eight rebounds and six assists.

Brown was named the Finals’ Most Valuable Player, Brian Robb of MassLive.com tweets. He received seven of 11 possible votes from media members, with Tatum getting the other four (Twitter link).

Dallas extended the series with a lopsided victory in Game 4 but had no answers for the deeper Celtics when the series shifted back to Boston. The Celtics opened up a 67-46 halftime lead and cruised to the finish line.

Boston, which entered the playoffs as the top seed, is well-positioned to shoot for back-to-back titles. All of its key players — Tatum, Brown, Kristaps Porzingis, Jrue Holiday, Derrick White, Al Horford and Payton Pritchard — are signed through at least next season. The Celtics hold a $2.1MM option on Sam Hauser‘s contract, which they will likely exercise.

Tatum is signed through the next two seasons, though he holds a $37.1MM player option for the 2025/26 season. Tatum is eligible for a five-year super-max extension worth a projected $315MM next month.

The Mavericks also have most of their rotation players signed through at least next season, with Derrick Jones Jr. the only exception — he’ll be an unrestricted free agent this summer. Dallas could look to make at least one significant upgrade via the trade market to provide another scoring option for Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving.

With the Finals decided, the 2024 NBA offseason is officially underway. For the first time, teams will be permitted to negotiate contracts with their own free agents one day after the Finals. Players who won’t be free agents this offseason but who will become eligible to sign contract extensions on July 6 will also be permitted to negotiate with their current teams as of Tuesday.

Thus, it wouldn’t be surprising if some agreements are reported this week. Free agent contracts still can’t be officially finalized until after the July moratorium lifts on July 6.

The draft will be held on June 26-27 with free agency beginning on June 30 at 6 p.m. Eastern time.

Celtics Notes: Tatum, Tillman, Brown, Game 4

June 14th, 2024 at 7:48am CST by Luke Adams

Celtics forward Jayson Tatum has made just 35.9% of his shots from the floor in the NBA Finals, including 29.6% of his three-pointers. While he has contributed in many other ways, including on the boards (8.7 RPG) and as a play-maker (7.3 APG), those poor shooting numbers have made teammate Jaylen Brown the odds-on favorite to be named Finals MVP, assuming Boston finishes off the Mavericks. That’s just fine with Tatum, as he tells Chris Haynes of Bleacher Report.

“Man, I want everybody to be at their best. I want everybody to contribute. Winning will take care of everything,” Tatum said. “Finals MVP or whatever, a champion is a champion. That’s the goal. I want for my teammates what I want for myself. I want everybody to shine. There’s enough attention for all of us. And so, I want everybody to give us theirs.”

Tatum has earned no shortage of individual accolades over the course of his seven-year career, including five All-Star berths, four All-NBA nods (including three as part of the First Team), an Eastern Conference Finals MVP (in 2022), and an All-Star Game MVP (2023). The one thing he feels as if his résumé is missing is a championship.

“I’ve been here before, and I know what it felt like to lose [in the Finals] and that was the worst feeling ever,” Tatum told Haynes. “That was the worst summer I ever had. I made the All-Star team five times. I’m All-NBA first team year after year. The only thing they said I haven’t done is win. I just vowed to myself that if I ever got back to the Finals, then I would literally do whatever I needed to do to ensure that we have a different outcome.”

Here’s more on the Celtics ahead of a potential close-out game on Friday:

Backup center Xavier Tillman averaged just 13.7 minutes per game after being sent to the Celtics at the trade deadline and hasn’t been a regular part of the postseason rotation, appearing in just six of the club’s first 16 playoff games. However, he came up big in Game 3 with Kristaps Porzingis unavailable, hitting a three-pointer, grabbing four rebounds, and blocking a pair of shots. Boston outscored Dallas by nine points in his 11 minutes of action. Al Horford said Tillman was “ready for the moment,” while Derrick White said the big man gave the team “big-time minutes,” per Jake Fischer of Yahoo Sports. “Obviously we’d love to have KP out there,” Brown said, according to Jay King of The Athletic. “We are different when he is. But X stepped in that role, and I thought he was great.”
Within his story on Tillman, Fischer says that more than a dozen teams had legitimate interest in the big man prior to the trade deadline. Tillman had heard the Suns were another “strong possibility” if he didn’t end up in Boston, Fischer adds.
After nearly letting a 21-point fourth quarter lead slip away in Game 3, the Celtics credited their past experiences on this stage as the reason they were able to buckle down and hang on for the victory, writes Tim Bontemps of ESPN. “All year long we’ve been hearing about the Celtics are the past, for the last six to eight months, that’s all we’ve been hearing is all the different shortcomings we’ve had in the past,” Brown said. “This is a new team, you know what I mean. We’ve learned from those experiences. And in these moments, you can see that we learned from it. We stepped up to the plate, and we found a way to win.”
Both Brown and Tatum also pointed to last year’s postseason experience – which ended with a home loss to the No. 8 Heat – as a source of motivation this time around. “I mean, last year, just falling short on your home floor, it definitely hurt,” Brown said, per Bontemps. “It was embarrassing, in my opinion. I felt like the team was relying on me. JT got hurt in Game 7 and I dropped the ball. To me, it was embarrassing. It drove me all summer. Drove me crazy.”
Bontemps, Chris Herring, and Brian Windhorst of ESPN shared their biggest takeaways from Game 3 and weighed in on what to expect in Game 4.

Mavericks Notes: Doncic, Exum, Kidd, Cuban

June 12th, 2024 at 8:01am CST by Luke Adams

For a third straight NBA Finals game, Luka Doncic is the only player to show up on the injury report for the Mavericks. However, after being listed as questionable heading into Game 2 due to three separate ailments, Doncic is considered probable to play on Wednesday, and his right knee sprain and left ankle soreness are no longer mentioned on the injury report, notes Mike Curtis of The Dallas Morning News (Twitter link).

Doncic’s thoracic contusion is now the only injury listed. As Tim MacMahon and Malika Andrews of ESPN reported on Tuesday, the All-NBA guard received a pain-killing injection to treat that issue prior to Game 2 and will likely get another injection ahead of Game 3.

Here are a few more Mavs notes as the team looks to begin erasing its 2-0 deficit:

Reserve guard Dante Exum has played just 16 minutes in the first two games of the Finals, but he knocked down his only shot of the series (a three-pointer) and has been a +11 in his limited minutes. Head coach Jason Kidd sounds open to using Exum a little more in Game 3, as Eddie Sefko of Mavs.com relays. “I thought that Exum did a great job in Game 2,” Kidd said. “We’ll see if we can get that combination out there a little more as a third ball-handler. He’s one of the few that has made a three in this series. We’re going to need that a little bit more from him.”
After referring to Jaylen Brown as the Celtics‘ best player on Saturday, Kidd insisted to Sam Amick of The Athletic that his comments weren’t meant to generate controversy and that he wasn’t trying his hand at gamesmanship. “It wasn’t mind games,” Kidd said. “But for whatever reason, everybody took it that way. … My whole thing was that, watching the Eastern Conference (playoffs), like, he has been (the Celtics’ best player). No one ever said I was wrong. … Like, I was just giving it from a point of view of watching. There wasn’t no mind games. I was just making an observation.” Kidd also pointed out that he and Brown share an alma mater (Cal), hinting that that connection might have factored into his stance, Amick adds.
Longtime Mavericks majority owner Mark Cuban, who sold a controlling stake in the franchise earlier this season, spoke to Steve Bulpett of Heavy.com about the state of the NBA and the growing global popularity of the sport, among other topics. Cuban contended that the introduction of NIL deals in college basketball has actually made life easier for NBA teams. “It keeps kids in school longer, and, more importantly, they know how to manage their money,” he said.

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