Paul Pierce

Kyler On Dwight, Hornets, Beasley, Gay, Magic

Steve Kyler of HoopsWorld.com answered some questions from his Twitter followers on Saturday regarding various free agency and trade rumors.

Earlier updates:

Berger On Gay, Pierce, Stoudemire

Earlier today, Ken Berger of CBSSports.com reported that 24 Hour Fitness founder Mark Mastrov, who previously attempted to buy the Golden State Warriors, is interested in buying the Kings from the Maloof brothers and keeping the team in Sacramento. For a full recap of Berger's information and other reports that have emerged today regarding a potential Kings sale, keep an eye on HoopsRumors.com's roundup.

Berger wrote another column today that features updates on several high-profile players who may be on the move at the trading deadline. Here are the highlights:

  • Berger gives an update of the rumors surrounding the Grizzlies' efforts to move Rudy Gay. The Warriors, Suns, Raptors, and Kings have shown the most interest in trading for the seven-year veteran, whom Berger writes the Grizzlies are looking to move primarily to avoid paying luxury tax.
  • Berger writes that the Suns' offer would be centered around Jared Dudley, draft picks, and the ability to absorb the majority of Gay's contract. The Raptors could offer Andrea Bargnani and Jose Calderon, although the Grizzlies are looking to get at least one good young player in return.
  • A potential deal with the Warriors is unlikely, writes Berger, because it would likely involve Memphis taking back either Andris Biedrins or Richard Jefferson, neither of whom the Grizzlies have any interest in.
  • Berger writes that the Knicks are open to trading Amare Stoudemire for cap relief, although he does not believe it likely that a team would be willing to trade for him given his health and contract.
  • Berger is more optimistic that the Celtics would be able to move Paul Pierce if they were so inclined, because his contract is only partially guaranteed for next season and he is still performing at a high level.

Celtics Waive Joseph And Varnado, Blockbuster In The Works?

10:35pm: Sam Amick of USA Today says that "Cousins is not going to the Celtics" and that teams who have been asking about his availability continue to being rebuffed (Twitter link). 

7:08pm: Alex Kennedy of HoopsWorld (via Twitter) says that while nothing is imminent, Boston is one team to keep an eye on around the trade deadline. 

6:51pm: Blakely writes that although it's unlikely that Rajon Rondo, Kevin Garnett, or Paul Pierce will be moved, there has been "growing" interest in Courtney Lee, who may be expendable with the return of Avery Bradley to the Celtics' lineup. Blakely also mentions forward Brandon Bass as another player who could possibly be on the move. 

6:45pm: A. Sherrod Blakely of CSNNE.com tweets that the decision to waive Joseph and Varnardo may have opened the door to what could be a blockbuster deal, according to a league source. One name that has repeatedly been mentioned in speculative trade talk has been Kings' center DeMarcus Cousins (Twitter link). 

5:10pm: While rounding up today's list of waived players, ESPN's Marc Stein also tweeted that forward Kris Joseph and center Jarvis Varnado had both been waived by the Celtics today. 

The 6'7 Joseph had been selected by Boston as the 51st pick of the 2012 NBA Draft, appearing in six games this season and averaging 1.2 PPG in 4.0 MPG. Varnado had only played in five games, averaging 1.2 PPG in 3.6 MPG. 

With the roster now at 13, ESPN Boston's Chris Forsberg speculates that the Celtics could target a veteran big man and a backup ball-handling guard to fill the two newly created roster spots. Forsberg also mentions that those potential moves could depend on the big man's asking price. 

Celtics Links: Pierce, Roster, Bradley, Ainge

The Celtics will jockey for early-season Atlantic Division position tonight when they play the Sixers in Philadelphia, as both teams enter the game with 10-8 records. In advance of the evening's contest, here are a few C's notes:

  • Appearing on WEEI in Boston, Paul Pierce discussed the Celtics' slow start, the effect Jason Terry has had on the locker room, and the value of Rajon Rondo, among other topics. Steven Cuce of Sports Radio Interviews has the quotes.
  • Within his ESPNBoston.com mailbag, Chris Forsberg says there's no rush for the Celtics to fill their 15th roster spot, and that the best opportunity for an addition likely won't happen until the trade or waiver deadline.
  • Although Danny Ainge didn't commit to a specific timetable, he said yesterday that Avery Bradley is "getting closer" to returning, writes Greg Payne of ESPBoston.com. Bradley is still unlikely to play for the C's before the new year.
  • Jerry Spar of WEEI.com examines the moves Ainge has made since the Celtics' last title, suggesting that the Celtics president's moves have missed more than they've hit over the last few years.

Atlantic Rumors: Kidd, Knicks, Richardson, Pierce

The seismic NBA news in the last 24 hours has come out of the West, but that doesn't mean the East is all quiet with the season two days away. Here's the latest from around the Atlantic Division.

Odds & Ends: Rivers, Pierce, Grizzlies, Magic, Heat

The Hornets suffered a scare earlier this evening as rookie guard Austin Rivers injured his surgically-repaired right ankle in the first quarter of tonight's preseason game against the Mavericks.  The 20-year-old was helped off the floor and was unable to put weight on the right leg, writes Jimmy Smith of the Times-Picayune.  Thankfully, Rivers' postgame X-rays came back negative, according to Marc Stein of ESPN.com (via Twitter).  Here's more from around the league…

  • Celtics star Paul Pierce confessed to CSNNE's Mike Gorman that he considered moving on from Boston after last year's exit at the hands of the Heat in the Eastern Conference Finals.  Pierce now says that he has a hard time envisioning himself in another uniform.
  • Robert Pera's bid to own the Grizzlies will be on the agenda Wednesday at the NBA's Board of Governors meetings in New York City, sources familiar with the process told Geoff Calkins of The Commercial Appeal.  To finalize the transaction, Pera will need to receive approval three-fourths of the league's majority owners.  Pera has already made waves with a celebrity cast of minority partners including Justin Timberlake and Ashley Manning, the wife of NFL quarterback Peyton Manning.
  • Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel looks at the roster crunch facing the Magic as the deadline approaches.  Swingman Chris Johnson and point guard Armon Johnson are near locks to be cut in the coming days.  That leaves combo forward Justin Harper, power forward Josh McRoberts and swingmen Christian Eyenga, DeQuan Jones, and Quentin Richardson to battle for the final two spots on the roster.
  • Heat guard Dwyane Wade admitted that it's going to be a challenge to get all of the team's new talent to mesh, tweets Chris Tomasson of FOX Sports Florida.  “We have a lot of guys that are so used to being kind of the main focus and not a lot of us are going to be the main focus now,’’ Wade said. “So that’s a challenge to see how we all can incorporate ourselves within our offense and keep each other happy.’’

Celtics Notes: Dooling, Pierce, Garnett, Cap

A week after the Celtics announced his surprise retirement, Keyon Dooling opened up to Jessica Camerato of CSNNE.com about his motivations for ending his playing career early. Camerato's piece is extremely engaging, and is worth a read for any NBA enthusiast, Celtics fan or otherwise. Here are the rest of today's Celtics notes from the team's media day in Boston:

  • If Kevin Garnett had retired or signed with another team this summer, Paul Pierce would have seriously contemplated retirement, Pierce told the media today (Twitter link via Chris Forsberg of ESPNBoston.com). The longtime Celtic says he didn't want to endure another rebuild.
  • Pierce's plan now is to retire when Garnett does, tweets Gary Washburn of the Boston Globe. That could happen in the summer of 2015, when KG's newly-signed deal expires.
  • While GM Danny Ainge says he had some doubts about whether Garnett would be back (Twitter link via A. Sherrod Blakely of CSNNE.com), head coach Doc Rivers was skeptical about the big man's retirement talk: "He told me that all year; it was a bunch of crap. I never believed him" (Twitter link via Forsberg).
  • Ainge says the Celtics don't have the bi-annual exception available, based on money committed thus far, according to Forsberg (via Twitter). That news is surprising, since it was believe the Celtics signed players using either Bird rights, the mid-level exception, or the minimum-salary exception. Like the Bulls, the Celtics are hard-capped at $74.307MM because they used the non-taxpayer MLE, so perhaps the team is just getting uncomfortably close to that hard cap.
  • As we noted earlier today, the Celtics have formally announced the signings of Darko Milicic, Rob Kurz, and Micah Downs.

Kennedy On Brown, Lakers, 2014 Free Agent Class

Alex Kennedy of HoopsWorld has weighed in today on several relevant NBA topics, including the expectations placed on the Lakers and their options in free agency in coming years:

  • Kennedy tweets that Mike Brown will likely receive the majority of blame if the Lakers fall short of their championship aspirations following the additions of Steve Nash and Dwight Howard this offseason.
  • Kennedy also tweets that he would be surprised if Howard did not re-sign with the Lakers when he hits free agency in July 2013.
  • In a Sulia post, Kennedy takes a look at the 2014 free agent class, some of which could be options for the Lakers. Top players available include Carmelo Anthony, Dirk Nowitzki, Paul Pierce, Danny Granger, and, should they choose to opt out of their contracts in Miami, LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, and Chris Bosh.
  • In the same post, Kennedy quotes an anonymous NBA executive as believing the 2014 class has the potential to be more impressive than that of 2010.

Odds & Ends: Ginobili, Pierce, Gee, Warriors, D12

While others, notably Mavericks owner Mark Cuban, decry the use of NBA players in the Olympics, Spurs GM R.C. Buford and coach Gregg Popovich believe they've reaped benefits from the pressure situations and team building Manu Ginobili has experienced while routinely playing for Argentina's national team, as Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports writes. Ginobili is adding to his Hall of Fame resume during the London Games, and his success this summer is further evidence he can still produce at a high level for the Spurs in 2012/13. Here's what's going on stateside this evening:

  • Gary Washburn of the Boston Globe has more from Paul Pierce, who also spoke at length with the Celtics team website. Pierce, whose current deal includes a team option for 2013/14, said he wants to "see what it feels like to be a free agent for once in my life" when his contract is up.
  • Earlier today when Luke Adams looked at wing players who might be candidates to join the Lakers, restricted free agent Alonzo Gee wasn't on the list. Sam Amico of Fox Sports Ohio says that's with good reason, since the Cavs are likely to match any offer the Lakers would make (Twitter link).
  • There's been plenty of optimism from the Warriors this week, but Andrew Bogut acknowledges the team still has work to do if it's going to make the playoffs, notes Marcus Thompson II of the Bay Area News Group (Sulia link).
  • Baseball crowds don't always mix with basketball fans, but if there's anything that can be gleaned from the boos Dwight Howard got at the Dodgers game tonight, as noted by Arash Markazi of ESPNLosAngeles.com, L.A. might take a while to warm to D12 if he winds up with the Lakers (Twitter link).

Paul Pierce Talks Celtics’ Offseason

Heading into the offseason, Paul Pierce was one of the few Celtics under contract, with two years remaining on his four-year deal. Over the last month, GM Danny Ainge has worked to surround Pierce and Rajon Rondo with new and returning faces, retooling a roster that was one win away from reaching the Finals in 2011/12. Pierce sat down with Celtics.com for an exclusive interview to discuss the club's moves, and ESPNBoston.com's Chris Forsberg transcribed a number of the veteran's more notable quotes. Here are the highlights from the discussion:

On Ray Allen signing with the Heat:

"Ray made the best decision for him. That’s what it’s all about: You get in these situations, you become a free agent, and you make a decision based on what’s best for you and your family. Ray will always be a brother for me. If it wasn’t for him, I probably wouldn’t be wearing a championship ring. So the things he was able to do for this organization, will never be forgotten."

On whether he's talked with Allen since his decision:

"A couple texts. I’m a little bitter that he went to Miami, but he’s still a brother of mine."

On Boston's free agent signings:

"I love what Danny’s been able to do. It was a tough decision this summer; A lot was riding on what direction we were going to head in. It was just a domino effect, once we signed Kevin [Garnett], we knew were going to try to make another run at it. That’s pretty much the way I looked at it. Once we signed him, a number of guys were able to jump on board…. I think the guys coming in here — Jason Terry, Courtney Lee, trying to get a healthy Jeff Green, even some of our rookies — I think we’ve added a lot more depth, and it’s going to take a lot of pressure off me this upcoming season.

On which new Celtic he's most excited to play with:

"I’ve always been a big fan of Jason Terry. Playing against him in college for a couple years, then watching his NBA career flourish over the years. From winning a championship to just bringing that element to our ball club now — he’s one of best sixth men all-time to play the game. That’s something we were lacking a year ago, and that was only due to injuries, so hopefully he can bring that consistency, that championship experience, so we can get back to where we were a few years ago."

On the health of his knee:

"The knee is a lot better. It’s not completely healed, but I figure I’m about 90% now. So I’ve been doing a lot to strengthen it, so I can come back a stronger player. It really hampered me, I thought, the last 10-15 games of the year. I couldn’t explode like I wanted to. But everybody was hurt at that point of the year. Everybody was dealing with nagging injuries. That’s why I didn’t really stress on it too much in the playoffs, because I know everyone is dealing with injuries and that’s just another excuse."