Celtics coach Brad Stevens reaffirmed yesterday that there is no timeline for the return of star guard Rajon Rondo, writes Chris Forsberg of ESPNBoston.com. While former teammate Paul Pierce and current teammate Jared Sullinger have hinted that he might not return until December, Stevens insists there is no target date at the moment. While his ETA is TBD, Stevens says Rondo is keeping things positive. "My general sense is that he’s really excited," said Stevens. "He is excited about the challenge of the new season, he’s excited about the challenge of a new situation. He seems to be excited. I don’t want to speak for him, and I don’t want to put words in his mouth, but every time we’ve talked it’s been a really engaging conversation." Here's more from the Atlantic Division..
- Stevens' predecessor, Doc Rivers, acknowledged that the 2011 Kendrick Perkins–Jeff Green trade was a mistake that ultimately hurt Kevin Garnett, writes Justin Barrasso of WEEI.com. “We needed the toughness. The one thing we did by losing Perk was we removed Kevin’s protector. I didn’t think it was a coincidence that, after Perk left, that Kevin got into all those little flicks with the other teams. Perk deflected all that," Rivers said.
- The Raptors will have 17 players in camp, including Julyan Stone and Chris Wright, but that's far from a guarantee that Toronto will go with the maximum 15 players to start the season, writes Doug Smith of the Toronto Star. Currently, GM Masai Ujiri has the roster at 14.
- The Sixers announced that they appointed Brandon D. Williams as the first ever GM of the D-League's Delaware 87ers. Williams has spent the last eight seasons in the NBA’s League Office, most recently as the NBA’s Associate Vice President of Basketball Operations.