Atlantic Notes: Celtics, Fultz, Covington, Doyle

The Celtics are unhappy that the Cavaliers are asking for more compensation in the Kyrie Irving trade and may be planning a hard-line response, tweets Gary Washburn of The Boston Globe. The Celtics front office believes it was fully honest about the condition of Isaiah Thomas when the teams discussed his injured hip prior to completing the deal. The Cavaliers seem to think that Thomas is months away from returning to action, according to Tony Jones of The Salt Lake Tribune (Twitter link), who also speculates that Boston could offer to include Terry Rozier to get the trade completed. (Twitter link).

There’s more from the Atlantic Division:

  • A pair of Sixers players are vowing to be ready when training camp opens next month. Markelle Fultz, the top pick in the draft, told Jessica Camerato of CSNPhilly that he is optimistic after suffering a lateral sprain to his left ankle during the Las Vegas Summer League (Twitter link). Robert Covington, who was shut down for the season in late March with a slight tear of his lateral meniscus, also expects to be fully healed by camp (Twitter link).
  • Rookie point guard Milton Doyle is confident that he can earn a roster spot in Brooklyn, according to a story on NetsDaily. A first team all-Missouri Valley Conference player last season at Loyola, Chicago, Doyle signed a training camp deal with the Nets in early August. He caught the eyes of team officials by averaging 10.5 points per game during summer league play, but he may be ticketed for the G League.
  • Phil Jackson’s reign as president of the Knicks didn’t turn out the way he hoped, but New York Liberty president Isiah Thomas doesn’t think Jackson harmed his legacy, relays Marc Berman of The New York Post. “Believe me, Phil, myself, Donnie Walsh, Larry Brown, Lenny [Wilkins], all of us go back and try to figure out, man what did we do wrong?,’’ Thomas said. “If we can do it all over again, what would we do different? That’s the thing we love in New York. It brings out the best in you as a person because you really get pushed to the wall in terms of trying to figure out how to win and put it together and satisfy the fan base. That’s why we all want to crack that egg.” Thomas also praised Carmelo Anthony for the way he handled a string of negative comments from Jackson.
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