Mobile Menu
HEADLINES

Celtics Rumors

Pistons Notes: Cunningham, Ivey, Duren, Celtics Trade Targets

May 24th, 2025 at 8:37pm CST by Arthur Hill

Cade Cunningham earned a significant raise by landing a spot on the All-NBA team, but the extra money will limit the Pistons‘ options in building around him, writes Hunter Patterson of The Athletic. Cunningham’s salary for next season will now be worth 30% of the cap rather than 25%, pushing the value of his five-year extension to $269MM instead of $224MM.

As Patterson notes, Detroit is left with about $17MM in cap room to work with this offseason. Considering the non-taxpayer mid-level exception is projected at $14.1MM, it’s less likely that any cap space will be used to add or re-sign players, as the Pistons may simply operate as an over-the-cap team.

Patterson states that the Pistons are still in position to bring back free agents Malik Beasley, Dennis Schröder, Tim Hardaway Jr. and Paul Reed without exceeding the second apron. However, with Jaden Ivey and Jalen Duren both eligible for rookie-scale extensions, the organization will have to consider its long-term financial obligations when deciding how to handle its free agents.

Cunningham finished seventh in the Most Valuable Player voting, Patterson adds, and owner Tom Gores believes he might be able to capture that award as the Pistons continue to improve.

“I am focused on MVP for him,” Gores said. “He has that. Everyone saw it this year that he is a superstar in the making. His ability. His poise. I’ve talked to Cade throughout the season to remind him that so much of the character of this team revolves around his ability to stay strong.”

There’s more from Detroit:

  • Ivey’s return from a broken fibula might be the equivalent of a major free agent signing for next season’s team, observes Omari Sankofa II of The Detroit Free Press (subscription required). The last medical update from the Pistons, issued April 26, said Ivey was engaged in shooting and skill work, along with strength and conditioning, in preparation for a return to five-on-five competition.
  • It may be advantageous for Ivey and Duren to wait for restricted free agency in 2026 rather than negotiate extensions this summer, Sankofa states in a mailbag column. Ivey can improve his bargaining position by bouncing back strong from the injury, while Duren excelled during the playoffs and can become more valuable by playing an entire season at that level.
  • The Celtics are expected to make several players available in trade as they try to reduce salary, but it’s too much of a risk for the Pistons to take on the contract of Jrue Holiday or Kristaps Porzingis, Sankofa adds in the same piece. He views Sam Hauser, who’s about to start a four-year, $45MM extension, as a more reasonable target.
Retweet 0 Share 0 Send via email0

Celtics Notes: Tatum, Stevens, Porzingis, Holiday

May 24th, 2025 at 5:08pm CST by Arthur Hill

Celtics assistant coach Sam Cassell is optimistic that Jayson Tatum will reclaim his place as one of the NBA’s best players whenever he fully recovers from Achilles surgery, per Souichi Terada of MassLive. Appearing on Patrick Beverley‘s podcast, Cassell said he plans to help Tatum learn how to view the game from a coach’s perspective while he’s rehabbing the injury.

“It’s good, man,” Cassell said. “When he comes back, he can be even better. He can observe the game of basketball and work on everything he needs to work on. I’m looking forward to the journey with him. Top-five first-team All-(NBA) this year. When he comes back, he’ll be first-team All-(NBA) again. He’s that good.”

Tatum was one of four players to be unanimously selected for first-team All-NBA honors this week, earning the designation for the fourth straight season. No timetable has been set for him to resume playing, but Terada states that the Celtics are confident about his prognosis because he had surgery the morning after tearing his Achilles in Game 4 of their second-round series and he was fortunate to be in New York, which offered greater access to world-class surgeons.

Tatum’s injury derailed any hopes that Boston had of rallying to win the series and it may cause the team to take a step back from contending next season. However, Cassell is confident in the long-term future.

“When you got a great group of guys who understood the situation we were in,” he said, “It’s like, ‘Guys, we’re down 3-1, OK. We’re going to get another lead, so let’s just take advantage of the lead.’ Because we had leads every game. Basketball gods are just not happy sometimes. We’ll grow from this. As a staff, we’ll grow from this as a team. We’re the Boston Celtics, baby.”

There’s more from Boston:

  • The press conference held Monday by president of basketball operations Brad Stevens showed that he has a plan to remake the roster and trim salary this summer, according to Gary Washburn of The Boston Globe. Stevens indicated that he’s willing to use the team’s draft picks at No. 28 and 32 to help get rid of at least the roughly $20MM that will be necessary to get the Celtics below the second apron. Washburn doesn’t expect Stevens to part with Jaylen Brown or Derrick White, but he states that Kristaps Porzingis and Jrue Holiday will likely be made available, while Sam Hauser, Jordan Walsh and JD Davison may also be deemed expendable.
  • In a mailbag column, Brian Robb of MassLive questions how easy it will be to find teams willing to take on Porzingis and Holiday. Robb points out that Holiday is already 35 and will making $37.2MM in 2027/28, while Porzingis’ recent health issues will likely limit his market.
  • Adam Himmelsbach of The Boston Globe continues his offseason series rating the team’s various units, this time focusing on the starting lineup. He notes that injuries to Tatum and Brown, along with Porzingis’ illness and Holiday’s signs of aging leave the group in much worse shape than it appeared to be when the season began.
Retweet 0 Share 0 Send via email0

2024/25 All-NBA Teams Announced

May 23rd, 2025 at 6:09pm CST by Eli Cohen

The 2024/25 All-NBA teams have been officially announced by the league (Twitter link).

A total of 100 media members voted on the All-NBA teams, with First Team votes counting for five points, Second Team votes counting for three points, and Third Team votes counting for one point.

This year’s All-NBA teams are as follows:

First Team

Second Team

Third Team

The top four vote-getters, Antetounmpo, Gilgeous-Alexander, Jokic, and Tatum, were all unanimous selections to the First Team. James led the Second Team with 17 First Team votes, compared to Mitchell’s 61. Cunningham was the only member of the Third Team to receive First Team votes (six) — he also earned 10 more Second Team votes than the next closest vote-getter, as Towns had 40.

This announcement marks the first All-NBA selections for Cunningham, Mobley, and Williams, and – on the other side of the coin – the 21st consecutive selection for James. No other player in NBA history has been named to more than 15 All-NBA teams.

Curry set a franchise record with his 11th All-NBA selection. Edwards became just the fourth Timberwolves player to be named to multiple All-NBA teams, joining Kevin Garnett, Kevin Love, and Towns.

Other players who received votes, along with their respective point totals, were the Rockets‘ Alperen Sengun (58), the Grizzlies‘ Jaren Jackson Jr. (55), the Clippers‘ Ivica Zubac (15), the Cavaliers‘ Darius Garland (6), the Kings‘ Domantas Sabonis (4), the Pacers‘ Pascal Siakam (4), the Heat‘s Bam Adebayo (3), the Hawks‘ Trae Young (3), and the Suns‘ Devin Booker (2).

The Cavs, Knicks, and Thunder were the only teams to feature multiple All-NBA players. Both the Thunder and Knicks are currently playing in the conference finals for a shot at advancing to the NBA finals.

This is the second year that All-NBA teams have been positionless and have required players to meet a 65-game minimum to qualify for consideration.

Several players, starting with Cunningham, gained or lost eligibility for salary increases due to the All-NBA results. We have more details here.

Retweet 0 Share 0 Send via email0

Details On NBA’s Playoff Bonus Money For 2024/25

May 23rd, 2025 at 9:14am CST by Luke Adams

The pool of bonus money for NBA playoff teams this season is worth approximately $34.7MM, according to Kurt Badenhausen and Lev Akabas of Sportico.

The top six teams in each conference earn bonuses based on their regular season records, while the 16 playoff teams also receive a chunk of money from the playoff pool, increasing the value of their payout with each series win. That bonus money is divvied up among the players on each club’s 15-man roster.

Teams eliminated in the play-in tournament aren’t entitled to any of the playoff bonus money, even if they had the seventh- or eighth-best regular season record in their conference.

The breakdown for 2025’s playoff pool money is as follows (rounded to the nearest thousand), per Sportico:

Regular season achievements:

  • Best record in NBA (Thunder): $869K
  • No. 1 seeds in each conference (Cavaliers, Thunder): $761K per team
  • No. 2 seeds (Celtics, Rockets): $609K per team
  • No. 3 seeds (Knicks, Lakers): $456K per team
  • No. 4 seeds (Pacers, Nuggets): $372K per team
  • No. 5 seeds (Bucks, Clippers): $288K per team
  • No. 6 seeds (Pistons, Timberwolves): $204K per team

Postseason achievements:

  • Teams participating in first round (all 16 playoff teams — the 12 listed above, plus the Magic, Heat, Warriors, and Grizzlies): $466K per team
  • Teams participating in conference semifinals (eight teams): $568K per team
  • Teams participating in conference finals (four teams): $951K per team
  • Losing team in NBA Finals: $3,803,000
  • Winning team in NBA Finals: $8,805,000

A team that makes a deep playoff run will cash in on more than one of the bonuses listed above.

For example, if the Thunder win the championship, their payout from the playoff pool would be worth more than $12.4MM in total — that amount would include their bonuses for posting the NBA’s best record, claiming the West’s No. 1 seed, making the first round, making the conference semifinals, making the conference finals, and winning the NBA Finals.

Retweet 0 Share 0 Send via email0

Eastern Notes: Banchero, Magic, Pistons, Bulls, J. Holiday

May 22nd, 2025 at 11:12pm CST by Rory Maher

Forward Paolo Banchero, who will be eligible for a rookie scale extension this summer, is optimistic the Magic can capitalize on the NBA’s parity, according to Jason Beede of The Orlando Sentinel. After Boston was eliminated in the second round, the league will crown its seventh champion in as many years, the first time that has ever occurred.

“You don’t know how excited I am just seeing all of these new teams in the conference finals,” Banchero said. “Definitely going to have a new champion this year and so, it just excites you because that could be us.

“Obviously it’s not going to be easy and it takes a lot of things to go right, but seeing all of these teams get there, all these young players lead their teams … It definitely gets me excited.”

Here’s more from the East:

  • Orlando isn’t the only Eastern Conference team optimistic about its future. The Pistons also believe they can become a contender sooner rather than later after a remarkable turnaround in 2024/25, per Keith Langlois of Pistons.com. Detroit won a league-worst 14 games in ’23/24, but made the playoffs outright as the No. 6 seed after winning 44 games this season. The Pistons also had a highly competitive first-round series with New York, which is now in the conference final.
  • Keith Smith of Spotrac previews the Bulls‘ offseason. While Josh Giddey‘s restricted free agency is perhaps the most pressing issue that needs to be addressed, Chicago also has several players eligible for veteran extensions. Smith views Ayo Dosunmu as the most likely to ink a new deal of the extension-eligible players.
  • Celtics guard Jrue Holiday has come up multiple times in recent trade rumors, though one report stated Boston might have a difficult time moving him due to the $104MM he’s owed over the next three years. With that in mind, Brian Robb of MassLive explores seven hypothetical Holiday trades. According to Robb, the Mavericks could be a good fit if they like Holiday. His fake proposal has Holiday and unspecified draft capital heading to Dallas for Daniel Gafford, Caleb Martin, Jaden Hardy and Olivier-Maxence Prosper.
Retweet 0 Share 0 Send via email0

NBA Announces 2024/25 All-Defensive Teams

May 22nd, 2025 at 1:07pm CST by Luke Adams

The NBA has officially announced its All-Defensive teams for the 2024/25 season (Twitter links).

The teams are determined by a panel of 100 media members, with players receiving two points for a First Team vote and one point for a Second Team vote.

There were no unanimous First Team selections this year, but Defensive Player of the Year Evan Mobley came close, having been named to the First Team on 99 ballots (Twitter link). He was selected to the Second Team on the 100th ballot, for a total of 199 points.

The honorees are as follows, along with their point totals:

First Team

Second Team

The NBA adjusted the voting rules in 2023 to allow All-Defensive ballots to be positionless. Up until that point, each team consisted of two guards, two forwards, and a center.

Despite the lack of positional requirements, this year’s teams are reasonably well balanced — while Mobley, Green, Zubac, Jackson, and Gobert all serve as defensive anchors for their respective clubs, Mobley, Green, and Jackson spend much of their time on the court playing forward rather than center.

It’s the ninth time that Green has made an All-Defensive team and the eighth time that Gobert has earned the honor. Jackson and Mobley have each been recognized multiple times too — it’s the third time Jackson has made the cut and the second time for Mobley. However, Daniels, Dort, Thompson, Zubac, Williams, and Camara have never been named All-Defensive players before this season.

Among the other players who received votes, Knicks forward OG Anunoby came closest to cracking the top 10, having been named to the First Team on two ballots and the Second Team on 45 ballots for a total of 49 points. An additional 13 players received at least one vote, but none of them had more than 18 total points.

That group of players who missed the cut includes Heat big man Bam Adebayo, whose streak of five straight All-Defensive seasons has come to an end.

Players were required to meet the criteria of the 65-game rule in order to qualify for All-Defensive consideration. The full voting results can be viewed here (Twitter link).

As Bobby Marks of ESPN tweets, Dort has earned a $500K bonus for making the First Team this season. In addition to increasing his earnings for this season, that will bump Dort’s cap hit for 2025/26 from $17,722,222 to $18,222,222, since the bonus will now be considered likely to be earned next season.

Conversely, after missing out on All-Defensive spots this season, Derrick White and Jaden McDaniels will see their cap hits for next season reduced by $250K and $431K, respectively, Marks adds (Twitter link). Those bonuses, which had been considered likely after the duo earned All-Defensive nods in 2024, won’t be earned this season, which means the Celtics and Timberwolves will each receive a tax variance credit and both bonuses will be considered unlikely for 2025/26.

Retweet 0 Share 0 Send via email0

Aditya Mittal Joining Celtics’ New Ownership Group

May 22nd, 2025 at 12:53pm CST by Luke Adams

Aditya Mittal is expected to be the second-largest stakeholder of the Celtics once the sale of the team to William Chisholm‘s group is completed, according to Scott Soshnick, Kurt Badenhausen, and Eben Novy-Williams of Sportico, who say Mittal could also become the team’s alternate governor in the future.

Mittal, the CEO of the steel giant ArcelorMittal and a member of one of India’s richest families, is investing roughly $1 billion in the Celtics, per Sportico.

Chisholm reached an agreement in March with the current Celtics ownership group to buy the team in two stages — his group is expected to assume 51% control of the organization this year and then buy out the remaining shares in 2028, with current governor Wyc Grousbeck remaining in that position for a few more years.

However, reporting in the wake of that agreement indicated that Chisholm’s bid – which initially valued the franchise at $6.1 billion (the valuation will reportedly increase to $7.3 billion for the second part of the sale) – was not yet fully financed. Subsequent reports have suggested that Chisholm’s bid is now fully financed and the sale is expected to close in the near future. Mittal’s investment helped close the funding gap, according to Sportico.

As Soshnick, Badenhausen, and Novy-Williams outline, Mittal is the son of Lakshmi Mittal, a Goldman Sachs board member since 2008 who is worth $23.9 billion, per Bloomberg. Goldman Sachs has served as the financial advisor for Chisholm’s group during the sale process.

In addition to Chisholm and Mittal, the new Celtics ownership group will include current minority stakeholder Robert Hale, Bruce A. Beal Jr., and private equity firm Sixth Street, as previously reported.

According to Sportico, Sixth Street is expected to own roughly 12.5% of the team once the sale is finalized. Earlier in the process, there were concerns about Sixth Street having committed more money to the bid than Chisholm, which wouldn’t be permitted, but that will no longer be the case once the deal is finalized. The majority stakeholder in an NBA franchise – Chisholm, in this case – must control at least 15% of the team.

Retweet 0 Share 0 Send via email0

Atlantic Notes: Nets, Knueppel, Raptors, Sixers, Porzingis

May 22nd, 2025 at 8:01am CST by Luke Adams

The Nets control a league-high five picks (all in the top 36) in the 2025 NBA draft, and general manager Sean Marks has an extensive history of making trades during or right around the draft. Those factors point toward Brooklyn being a team to watch on the trade market next month, says Brian Lewis of The New York Post (subscriber link).

According to Lewis, Marks has made a trade within two days of the draft in eight of the last nine years, and the “feeling in league circles” is that he’ll do so again this spring.

Assuming the Nets stay at No. 8, could Kon Knueppel be the choice in that spot? As Lewis writes in another subscriber-only story, Brooklyn is being connected to the Duke sharpshooter by many mock drafters, and some scouts view him as a strong value pick at that spot if he’s still available.

“Is he a really good player, and are you excited to have him on your squad? Yeah,” former Sixers scout Mike VandeGarde told Lewis. “But is he Luke Kennard? Is he Kyle Korver? Is he Gradey Dick? … Knueppel to me isn’t the best player on a playoff team, but I really like his game. And if I’m at eight, I’m looking at him.”

Here’s more from around the Atlantic:

  • With Pascal Siakam and T.J. McConnell playing important roles for Indiana in the Eastern Conference Finals and OG Anunoby logging big minutes for New York, Michael Grange of Sportsnet.ca revisits the Raptors‘ decision to trade away Siakam and Anunoby during the 2023/24 season, while Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer considers whether the Sixers should regret letting McConnell get away in 2019.
  • Exploring potential options for the Sixers‘ No. 3 overall pick, Adam Aaronson of PhillyVoice enlists a series of fellow NBA reporters to help him evaluate hypothetical trades. Aaronson offers up proposals involving the Rockets, Hawks, Nets, Bulls, and Wizards and goes back and forth with writers who cover those teams to figure out if there’s a viable deal to be made.
  • After Celtics president of basketball operations Brad Stevens said in his end-of-season media session that big man Kristaps Porzingis is dealing with post-viral syndrome, Tess DeMeyer of The Athletic takes a closer look at what exactly that means. As DeMeyer explains, post-viral syndrome can make person feel drained and weak for days or months after experiencing a viral illness, and even someone in peak health can have a hard time moving past the symptoms. Stevens expressed optimism on Monday that Porzingis will be back to 100% by the start of next season.
Retweet 0 Share 0 Send via email0

CBA Observations: Kuminga, D. Robinson, Cavs, Frozen Picks

May 22nd, 2025 at 7:26am CST by Luke Adams

While the NBA's current Collective Bargaining Agreement technically went into effect in 2023, many of the rules affecting tax apron teams weren't fully implemented until 2024. As a result, last summer was a crash course for teams, fans, and reporters alike on those new rules, giving us our first look at the impact they'll have on team-building going forward.

With the 2024/25 season under our belts, we're better equipped entering the 2025 offseason to assess how those new rules - and some old ones - will affect teams' ability to make trades and sign free agents this summer. Still, I've seen some confusion and misrepresentation regarding a few specific rules as speculation about offseason roster moves begins to heat up this spring, so we'll use the space below today to provide clarity on some of those issues.

Let's dive in...

A potential Jonathan Kuminga sign-and-trade

With Warriors forward Jonathan Kuminga headed for restricted free agency this offseason after playing an inconsistent role in his fourth NBA season, there has been a good deal of speculation already about whether Golden State will attempt to recoup value for Kuminga via a sign-and-trade rather than simply re-signing him or matching a rival offer sheet.

I'm not here today to weigh the merits of one path vs. the other. I just want to examine what it would look like from a practical perspective if the Warriors do sign-and-trade Kuminga, since the base year compensation rule would come into play.

Unlock Subscriber-Exclusive Articles Like This One With a Trade Rumors Front Office Subscription

BENEFITS
  • Access weekly subscriber-only articles by Luke Adams
  • Join exclusive weekly live chats with Arthur Hill
  • Remove ads and support our writers.
Retweet 0 Share 0 Send via email0

Celtics Notes: Craig, Luxury Tax, Brown, Pritchard

May 21st, 2025 at 2:00pm CST by Arthur Hill

Although he had a limited role after signing with the Celtics, Torrey Craig is interested in staying with the team next season, according to Souichi Terada of MassLive. The veteran forward started the season in Chicago, but was sidelined for weeks by an ankle injury and only got into nine games. The Bulls waived him on February 3, and Boston signed him five days later to fill an opening on its 15-man roster.

“I guess we’ll cross that path when we get there,” Craig said after the team was eliminated last week in New York. “I have to sit down with my representatives, my agents and talk things through and see the options. But I wouldn’t mind re-signing here.”

Craig, 34, appeared in 17 games with the Celtics, making three starts and averaging 2.7 points and 2.8 rebounds in 11.8 minutes per night. He may have a larger role if he re-signs with the team because Jayson Tatum will miss most or all of the season with a torn Achilles and several rotation players might be traded to save money.

Craig said he enjoyed being in Boston despite the limited playing time.

“Just the togetherness,” he said. “Everybody in the locker room is for one another, all the way down to the front office, the coaching staff. Family-oriented. Yeah, it’s just a wholesome place to be around.”

There’s more from Boston:

  • Brian Robb of MassLive suggests the Celtics should set a goal of getting under the luxury tax instead of just ducking below the second apron. The team is facing the repeater tax in 2025/26 with its current roster, and Robb points out that there are long-term benefits that go with resetting the repeater clock. Unloading both Kristaps Porzingis and Jrue Holiday wouldn’t be enough to push the Celtics below the projected $187MM tax line, but Robb notes that they don’t have to get there until the end of the season. That provides time to monitor Tatum’s recovery before making a final decision on the strategy.
  • Watching Jaylen Brown in the unquestioned alpha role is one of the reasons for optimism next season, per Chris Forsberg of NBC Sports Boston. Forsberg states that Brown has steadily improved as a play-maker and tends to have his best performances when Tatum isn’t active, such as Game 2 against Orlando and Game 5 against New York in this year’s playoffs. Forsberg is also looking forward to seeing Payton Pritchard as a possible starter and finding out which of the team’s younger players can excel in an expanded role.
  • There were warning signs of a potential Celtics collapse long before it happened, according to Steve Bulpett of Heavy. Bulpett looks back at a 7-7 stretch in December and January when the team developed bad habits and began letting big leads slip away.
Retweet 0 Share 0 Send via email0
Load More Posts