Celtics Rumors: Stevens, Smart, Cousins, Crowder

Changes appear to be coming to the Celtics, starting with a shakeup of the rotation, according to Steve Bulpett of The Boston Herald. After three straight losses — and with the impending return of Marcus Smart from a bruised knee — coach Brad Stevens seems ready to try something different. “It’s one of the things that we’ve talked about,” Stevens said. “If we’re going to talk about our depth being a positive, then we should utilize it. So we’ll see. We’ll see what we think is best, not only for this particular game, but more so as we move forward.” 

There’s more this morning out of Boston:

  • A healthy Smart would certainly help, but it could be after Christmas or even the new year before he’s back in uniform, writes Jimmy Toscano of CSNNE.com. The injured guard hasn’t played since colliding with the Nets’ Thomas Robinson in a November 20th game. He was able to do some on-court work Friday and Saturday, but Stevens said he is taking a “wait-and-see” approach with Smart’s return.
  • It will take a major move from president of basketball operations Danny Ainge to get the Celtics beyond their current level, according to Paul Flannery of SB Nation. There have been rumors for some time about Kings center DeMarcus Cousins, but Flannery writes that Boston’s front office isn’t convinced he’s the player to try to build around. Any move will likely focus on draft picks, with the Celtics owning possibly four first-rounders and several second-rounders for 2016.
  • The Celtics have been pleasantly surprised by what they’ve gotten from Jae Crowder since he was included in the Rajon Rondo deal with Dallas last December, writes Taylor Bradford of WEEI.com. Boston has a 43-40 record in games that Crowder has played, and he has averaged 10.4 points per contest in that time. “I knew people had told me they thought he could be a pretty good player,” Stevens said. “I knew he was tough when he played at Marquette. And I knew nothing else.”
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