Was told some interesting nuggets today by some people who know people who know people (who obviously also know people) Nothing too salacious...
-Ainge wanted his son to take over for him and had been grooming him which was well known, but given white nepotism ain't exactly in style these days, Celts brass was pretty lukewarm on that. Ainge possibly going to try to catch on with a smaller market team like Portland or Utah.
-Next coach will likely be black and perhaps a former player. Probably Lloyd Pierce or Billups as leading candidates.
-Stevens was just over it, hated bubble and the teams '17-21 trajectory building up was over with, didn't wanna reset. Getting paid until '26 so this allows him to still work for the team while getting paid but decent chance he goes elsewhere in a few years.
I dunno how true all of this is but pretty reliable source, not like any of it is that sensational anyway. Mostly logical/obvious stuff.
-Ainge wanted his son to take over for him and had been grooming him which was well known, but given white nepotism ain't exactly in style these days, Celts brass was pretty lukewarm on that. Ainge possibly going to try to catch on with a smaller market team like Portland or Utah.
-Next coach will likely be black and perhaps a former player. Probably Lloyd Pierce or Billups as leading candidates.
-Stevens was just over it, hated bubble and the teams '17-21 trajectory building up was over with, didn't wanna reset. Getting paid until '26 so this allows him to still work for the team while getting paid but decent chance he goes elsewhere in a few years.
I dunno how true all of this is but pretty reliable source, not like any of it is that sensational anyway. Mostly logical/obvious stuff.
An era with so much promise went off the track this year.
I think that both Ainge and Stevens must be very disappointed right now.
Can't speak for Stevens but I know that Danny Ainge was a scrappy gamer when he played the game. Watching these guys play, these guys who he had put together with great expectation, must have drained his soul. That intangible Celtic grittiness never made it onto the floor this season. Players rule in the NBA right now. Big money and long term guaranteed contracts and a soft salary cap may be good for the individual players but it's been toxic to team basketball. Celtic team basketball.
I have no idea where to start to rehabilitate this team. Don't think Ainge did either.
For the first time since Ainge took over the reigns Celtic basketball was not fun for me this year.
Do you guys really think that a change of coaches is gonna get this crew to outperform? I don't.
I think that both Ainge and Stevens must be very disappointed right now.
Can't speak for Stevens but I know that Danny Ainge was a scrappy gamer when he played the game. Watching these guys play, these guys who he had put together with great expectation, must have drained his soul. That intangible Celtic grittiness never made it onto the floor this season. Players rule in the NBA right now. Big money and long term guaranteed contracts and a soft salary cap may be good for the individual players but it's been toxic to team basketball. Celtic team basketball.
I have no idea where to start to rehabilitate this team. Don't think Ainge did either.
For the first time since Ainge took over the reigns Celtic basketball was not fun for me this year.
Do you guys really think that a change of coaches is gonna get this crew to outperform? I don't.
They need more depth, which may already be on the bench. A few guys have shown glimpses
They are the most injury plagued team in the league, that's gonna change eventually
I miss the teams with toughness like AB & Crowder & even IT
They are the most injury plagued team in the league, that's gonna change eventually
I miss the teams with toughness like AB & Crowder & even IT
Celts probably aren’t gonna be the next Spurs which looked possible after their ‘17 and 18 runs when Stevens was playing chess and they had a
deep roster at the end of it, all of that turned out to be more fragile than it looked. How it goes.
However, I wouldn’t put too much into ‘21, they had a ton of injuries, their bench/supporting players were brutal but all of the late run bubble teams ran into similar problems. No off-season was a big deal for the heat, lakers and nuggets as far as injuries went.
But you still got 2 all stars under 25 that can play both ends, that’s a better starting point than most teams.
deep roster at the end of it, all of that turned out to be more fragile than it looked. How it goes.
However, I wouldn’t put too much into ‘21, they had a ton of injuries, their bench/supporting players were brutal but all of the late run bubble teams ran into similar problems. No off-season was a big deal for the heat, lakers and nuggets as far as injuries went.
But you still got 2 all stars under 25 that can play both ends, that’s a better starting point than most teams.
How many big time FAs have even switched teams in nba history? Not many.
Obviously cold weather city that isn’t NYC (knicks have had their issues even, altho incompetence plays a role there) is going to give rich 27 year olds hesitance.
But They signed horford, hayward, kemba who all were hot FAs that had numerous other suitors at the time they signed them. In the span of 4 years.
The idea GS could get a hot FA would’ve been absurd in 2010, then they drafted curry, klay, dray and KD decided lemme get a few cheap rings rather than fail in situations where the deck isn’t stacked in my favor. Stuff happens.
Who did SA sign before Aldridge? If you build it, there is a better chance they will come.
Obviously cold weather city that isn’t NYC (knicks have had their issues even, altho incompetence plays a role there) is going to give rich 27 year olds hesitance.
But They signed horford, hayward, kemba who all were hot FAs that had numerous other suitors at the time they signed them. In the span of 4 years.
The idea GS could get a hot FA would’ve been absurd in 2010, then they drafted curry, klay, dray and KD decided lemme get a few cheap rings rather than fail in situations where the deck isn’t stacked in my favor. Stuff happens.
Who did SA sign before Aldridge? If you build it, there is a better chance they will come.
Durant joining the warriors to be a clear level above what anyone else has done. Obvoously facilitated by the massive cap spike those few years.
The others aren’t in the same category, including Durant to the nets obviously.
Cant make fun of Kevin durant for joining the best team in the league that he blew a 3-1 lead against and thus making basketball pretty uncompetitive for a few years? Tough crowd
And I generally like the fluidity of player movement, but not if a top 2 team signs a top 2 player as it makes the games less
competitive. This probably won’t happen again given cap is never spiking like that again.
The others aren’t in the same category, including Durant to the nets obviously.
Cant make fun of Kevin durant for joining the best team in the league that he blew a 3-1 lead against and thus making basketball pretty uncompetitive for a few years? Tough crowd
And I generally like the fluidity of player movement, but not if a top 2 team signs a top 2 player as it makes the games less
competitive. This probably won’t happen again given cap is never spiking like that again.
True about the FA thing .
Yea not a ton of top 15 players hit the open market . There are exceptions . Lebron for example .
But a lot of these super teams get great players from the have nots when their contract is coming up in a trade .
Pelicans wanted the Boston deal more then the Lakers deal but because AD did not want to play in Boston it never happened .
I have no idea if Boston would be better off with AD - what they would have had to give up but that’s an example .
Pelican fans pretty bitter about these things . Lost 2 HOFers due to this and every time you turn on the tv people are asking where Zion is going to play in 3 or 4 years
Stevens already wheeling and dealing.
Two weeks after replacing Danny Ainge as president of basketball operations for the Boston Celtics, Brad Stevens made a seismic first move in his new role.
Boston is sending All-Star point guard Kemba Walker, the 16th pick in this year's NBA draft and a 2025 second-round selection to the Oklahoma City Thunder for Al Horford, Moses Brown and a 2023 second-round pick, the teams announced Friday.
It is unusual for any trade to happen before next week's NBA combine, let alone one this significant. But Stevens has a long-standing relationship with Thunder general manager Sam Presti, and the deal accomplished key objectives for both franchises.
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"Kemba is a true professional and a great teammate and player," Stevens said in a statement. "I want to thank him for his tremendous impact, and the positive contribution he's made both to the Celtics and the City of Boston."
The Celtics get significant financial flexibility as Stevens tries to retool the roster around young stars Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown. Walker is owed roughly $73 million over the next two years, while Horford is owed $53 million -- $41 million guaranteed -- over the same two years.
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Oklahoma City, on the other hand, is continuing to acquire draft capital as it rebuilds its roster around Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. The Thunder have three first-round picks in this year's draft: their own, Boston's, and either the fifth pick or the 18th pick, depending on whether Oklahoma City gets Houston's top-4-protected first-rounder after Tuesday's NBA draft lottery. The Thunder now have 18 first-round picks over the next seven drafts.
The trade also continues a consistent trend under Presti for Oklahoma City to work with players to find them a suitable new home, something he has done with Chris Paul, Danny Green and now Horford after acquiring all three within the past several months.
Oklahoma City will work with Walker in a similar fashion, sources said.
The move brings an end to a tumultuous two years for Walker, 31, with the Celtics after his celebrated signing in July 2019 to replace Kyrie Irving as the team's starting point guard. After being one of the NBA's most durable players during his eight years in Charlotte to begin his career, missing a total of 35 games, he has missed 45 the past two seasons, including 29 this year alone.
After spending most of the 2020 calendar year battling left knee issues, Walker underwent a 12-week strengthening program in the offseason to try to improve the knee, missing the start of the season, and then was intentionally held out of one half of every back-to-back set. But Walker, who averaged 19.3 points and 4.9 assists in 43 games, still wound up sitting out the final two games of Boston's season -- Games 4 and 5 of the Celtics' first-round playoff exit at the hands of the Brooklyn Nets -- with a bone bruise in that same left knee.
"It's tough," Walker said after the Celtics lost Game 5, in what became his final public comments as a member of the team. "It's been really tough, especially because over the course of my career, I've played so many games when I've been healthy.
"I came to Boston to be a part of those special runs and be a part of high-intensity games and fans going wild, and I wasn't able to be a part of that, unfortunately. Just try to get right. I got to get right."
Horford, who turned 35 earlier this month, played well in 28 games for Oklahoma City, averaging 14.2 points, 6.7 rebounds and 3.4 assists in 27.9 minutes per game, before he and the Thunder mutually agreed to shut him down for the rest of the season to better ensure they could find a suitor for him this offseason. He will likely be Boston's starting center next season.
He thanked the Thunder staff and his teammates in a tweet, adding "While it was short, it was first class all the way and me and my family are extremely thankful and appreciative."
Brown, 21, impressed as a two-way player before signing a multiyear deal with Oklahoma City, averaging 8.6 points and 8.9 rebounds in 43 games -- including going for 21 points and 23 rebounds against the Celtics on March 27 in Oklahoma City.
Two weeks after replacing Danny Ainge as president of basketball operations for the Boston Celtics, Brad Stevens made a seismic first move in his new role.
Boston is sending All-Star point guard Kemba Walker, the 16th pick in this year's NBA draft and a 2025 second-round selection to the Oklahoma City Thunder for Al Horford, Moses Brown and a 2023 second-round pick, the teams announced Friday.
It is unusual for any trade to happen before next week's NBA combine, let alone one this significant. But Stevens has a long-standing relationship with Thunder general manager Sam Presti, and the deal accomplished key objectives for both franchises.
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"Kemba is a true professional and a great teammate and player," Stevens said in a statement. "I want to thank him for his tremendous impact, and the positive contribution he's made both to the Celtics and the City of Boston."
The Celtics get significant financial flexibility as Stevens tries to retool the roster around young stars Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown. Walker is owed roughly $73 million over the next two years, while Horford is owed $53 million -- $41 million guaranteed -- over the same two years.
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-
Celtics-Thunder trade grades: How Al Horford fits in Boston -
Celtics offseason guide: Are more moves coming after the Kemba Walker trade? -
Six NBA head-coaching jobs are available -- which one is the most attractive?
Oklahoma City, on the other hand, is continuing to acquire draft capital as it rebuilds its roster around Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. The Thunder have three first-round picks in this year's draft: their own, Boston's, and either the fifth pick or the 18th pick, depending on whether Oklahoma City gets Houston's top-4-protected first-rounder after Tuesday's NBA draft lottery. The Thunder now have 18 first-round picks over the next seven drafts.
The trade also continues a consistent trend under Presti for Oklahoma City to work with players to find them a suitable new home, something he has done with Chris Paul, Danny Green and now Horford after acquiring all three within the past several months.
Oklahoma City will work with Walker in a similar fashion, sources said.
The move brings an end to a tumultuous two years for Walker, 31, with the Celtics after his celebrated signing in July 2019 to replace Kyrie Irving as the team's starting point guard. After being one of the NBA's most durable players during his eight years in Charlotte to begin his career, missing a total of 35 games, he has missed 45 the past two seasons, including 29 this year alone.
After spending most of the 2020 calendar year battling left knee issues, Walker underwent a 12-week strengthening program in the offseason to try to improve the knee, missing the start of the season, and then was intentionally held out of one half of every back-to-back set. But Walker, who averaged 19.3 points and 4.9 assists in 43 games, still wound up sitting out the final two games of Boston's season -- Games 4 and 5 of the Celtics' first-round playoff exit at the hands of the Brooklyn Nets -- with a bone bruise in that same left knee.
"It's tough," Walker said after the Celtics lost Game 5, in what became his final public comments as a member of the team. "It's been really tough, especially because over the course of my career, I've played so many games when I've been healthy.
"I came to Boston to be a part of those special runs and be a part of high-intensity games and fans going wild, and I wasn't able to be a part of that, unfortunately. Just try to get right. I got to get right."
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Horford, who turned 35 earlier this month, played well in 28 games for Oklahoma City, averaging 14.2 points, 6.7 rebounds and 3.4 assists in 27.9 minutes per game, before he and the Thunder mutually agreed to shut him down for the rest of the season to better ensure they could find a suitor for him this offseason. He will likely be Boston's starting center next season.
He thanked the Thunder staff and his teammates in a tweet, adding "While it was short, it was first class all the way and me and my family are extremely thankful and appreciative."
Brown, 21, impressed as a two-way player before signing a multiyear deal with Oklahoma City, averaging 8.6 points and 8.9 rebounds in 43 games -- including going for 21 points and 23 rebounds against the Celtics on March 27 in Oklahoma City.
