Atlantic Notes: Celtics, Lopez, Knicks

The Celtics have made a total of nine trades so far this season. This has meant that a lot of new players needed to be acclimated to Boston’s locker room and culture. Celtics coach Brad Stevens credits veteran Gerald Wallace for keeping the team together amid all of the changes, Julian Edlow of WEEI 93.7 FM writes. “I’m not too worried about chemistry in the locker room, and large credit for that goes to Gerald Wallace,” Stevens said. “Because of the way he, at his age, has accepted his role and how he talks to the young guys. It kind of makes everybody else say ‘I’m going to do what I can the right way every time.’ So I give him a lot of credit for that.”

Here’s more from the Atlantic Division:

  • Stevens isn’t sure what will become of the newly acquired Chris Douglas-Roberts, Chris Forsberg of ESPNBoston.com writes. “I have not heard or gotten a final word one way or another on CDR,” Stevens said. It had been reported that Douglas-Roberts was expected to be waived in the wake of the trade with the Clippers.
  • Nets center Brook Lopez was convinced he was on his way to the Thunder on Thursday night, Robert Windrem of Nets Daily tweets. The trade rumors regarding him have reportedly upset the big man.
  • The Knicks‘ lack of experience within their front office is a potential issue in making trades, Howard Beck of Bleacher Report writes. Team president Phil Jackson appears to have little interest in networking with executives around the league. That means New York doesn’t have anyone who regularly calls around the NBA to gauge the value of players, which can lead to missed opportunities, Beck notes.
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