Boston Celtics Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Wizards Still Pursuing George, Celtics Remain Favorite

June 27th, 2017 at 7:08pm CST by Joshua Fischman

Despite the odds stacked against the Wizards landing Paul George in a trade, the Washington front office continues to pursue the star forward via trade, reports J. Michael of CSN Mid-Atlantic. Michael adds that the Celtics appear to be the frontrunners in the George trade sweepstakes.

John Wall confirmed on Monday that he has been recruiting George in an effort to get him to push for a trade to Washington. However, it’s not clear if the Wizards have the necessary assets to get anything done. Certainly, the team’s collection of appealing young players and future draft picks pales in comparison to Danny Ainge‘s stockpile in Boston.

George, 27, posted averages of 23.7 PPG (a career-high), 6.6 RPG, 3.3 APG, and 1.6 SPG this past season. His slash line was extremely impressive too at .461/.393/.898.

Atlantic Notes: Rose, Zizic, Bradley, Iguodala

June 27th, 2017 at 5:44pm CST by Joshua Fischman

The Knicks have legitimate interest in re-signing Derrick Rose, reports Ian Begley of ESPN. At 28 years old, Rose will be a free agent for the first time in his career in the coming days. The report also states that the Knicks are not interested in paying large salaries for any free agents, so that may play a role in whether Rose re-signs with the team. The Knicks are also keen on ensuring Rose’s health, as the point guard’s career has been riddled with injuries both major and minor.

Here’s what else you need to know from the Atlantic division:

The Celtics‘ 2016 draft pick, Ante Zizic, arrived in Boston and will begin practicing with the team this week, reports Adam Himmelsbach of The Boston Globe. Zizic was drafted 23rd overall and played the 2016/17 season in the EuroLeague with the Turkish club, Darussafaka Dogus, where he was coached by David Blatt. “I took him downtown last night a little bit,” Celtics director of player personnel Austin Ainge said. “He’s just doing things like getting workouts in, getting medical stuff, physicals done, all that type of stuff. He’s ready for summer league.”
Despite being named in several blockbuster trade rumors, Avery Bradley remains unfazed, writes A. Sherrod Blakely of CSN New England. “I try not to worry about it too much because it’s out of my control at the end of the day,” Bradley said, adding, “It’s part of the business, man. You just got to accept and understand that your name is going to be thrown in trade talk. You can get traded at any time. You just have to be prepared and focus on just being the best player that you can be.”
As passed along earlier, the 76ers are one of the seven teams from which Andre Iguodala is drawing interest. Iguodala spent the first eight seasons of his career in Philadelphia.

Celtics Working To Land Both Hayward And George

June 27th, 2017 at 1:54pm CST by Luke Adams

With the free agent period fast approaching, the Celtics are pursuing an “aggressive” plan that would include signing Gordon Hayward and acquiring Paul George in a trade, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical. The plan – first reported by Adam Kaufman of 98.5 The Sports Hub (Twitter link) – would require specific sequencing, and would hinge on getting a commitment from Hayward.

As Wojnarowski explains, the Celtics would want to get a verbal commitment from Hayward before attempting to finalize a deal with the Pacers for George. However, Indiana won’t necessarily be operating on the same schedule as Boston, and could look elsewhere in an effort to get something done with George while the C’s are waiting on Hayward.

Hayward is expected to start taking meetings with the Celtics and Heat on July 1, and the Jazz continue to fight to hang onto their star forward, according to Wojnarowski. The Vertical’s report indicates that Utah is exploring alternative offseason plans should Hayward leave, but is also working to upgrade its roster before July 1.

The Jazz have approximately $16MM in cap room that will expire on July 1, so that space could be used to accommodate a significant acquisition. For instance, ESPN’s Marc Stein has tweeted that Utah is among the teams to express trade interest in Timberwolves guard Ricky Rubio. With their available cap room, the Jazz could absorb Rubio’s entire $13.5MM+ salary without having to send out any contracts.

If Hayward ultimately chooses Utah or Miami, the Celtics may look to substitute Clippers big man Blake Griffin in his place in an effort to land both Griffin and George, writes Wojnarowski. Griffin is also eligible for unrestricted free agency and can earn the same maximum starting salary as Hayward.

The Celtics and Pacers were said to be in “serious” talks involving George on draft night before those discussions stalled. As Wojnarowski points out, Boston is probably the Pacers’ preferred trade partner, since the C’s have a huge stockpile of young prospects and picks that would aid Indiana’s rebuilding process. Meanwhile, the Celtics also have a “growing confidence” that they could sign George to a contract extension and make him more than a one-year rental, which is “fueling” the team’s willingness to part with some of its assets, per The Vertical.

If the Celtics were to acquire George, he’d be eligible to sign an extension, but Boston would have to clear out even more cap room in order to renegotiate his contract and give him the sort a raise that might convince him to postpone his free agency. Like the rest of the Celtics’ plan, that wouldn’t be impossible, but there are a lot of moving parts involved that could complicate the situation.

Brad Wanamaker Hoping To Land Deal With Pelicans Or Celtics

June 27th, 2017 at 12:32pm CST by Luke Adams

Pick also provides an update on Brad Wanamaker, reporting (via Twitter) that Brad Wanamaker is putting Euroleague offers on hold in the hopes of securing an NBA deal with the Pelicans or Celtics. Wanamaker, who played for Turkey’s Darussafaka last season, was voted to 2016/17’s All-EuroLeague team.

Celtics Renounce Rights To Marcus Thornton

June 26th, 2017 at 4:00pm CST by Luke Adams

The Celtics have renounced their rights to 2015 second-round pick Marcus Thornton, per RealGM’s transactions log. According to Mark Murphy of The Boston Herald (via Twitter), Boston made the move at Thornton’s request, since he’d like the opportunity to play for another team in Summer League.

Thornton, 24, was the 45th overall pick out of William & Mary in the 2015 draft. He shares a name with a veteran shooting guard, but this isn’t the LSU alum who spent the 2016/17 season with the Wizards — this Thornton has yet to make his NBA debut.

Since being drafted by the Celtics two years ago, Thornton has primarily played international ball, with a brief 2016 stint for the Maine Red Claws sandwich in between overseas stops. In 2016/17, Thornton spent the season with Italian team Consultinvest Pesaro, averaging 13.5 PPG on .436/.342/.747 shooting.

Renouncing Thornton won’t free up any cap room for the Celtics, since draft-and-stash prospects who were second-round picks don’t count against the cap. The move simply looks like an act of good will by the C’s, who didn’t anticipate having a spot on their NBA roster for Thornton anytime soon.

Brogdon, Saric Headline 2016/17 NBA All-Rookie Teams

June 26th, 2017 at 11:39am CST by Luke Adams

The NBA has announced its All-Rookie teams for the 2016/17 season, with Bucks guard Malcolm Brogdon and Sixers forward Dario Saric headlining the First Team. Brogdon and Saric were the only two players who were unanimously named to the NBA’s All-Rookie First Team.

Here’s the full breakdown of this year’s All-Rookie squads:

First Team:

Malcolm Brogdon (Bucks)
Dario Saric (Sixers)
Joel Embiid (Sixers)
Buddy Hield (Kings)
Willy Hernangomez (Knicks)

Second Team:

Jamal Murray (Nuggets)
Jaylen Brown (Celtics)
Marquese Chriss (Suns)
Brandon Ingram (Lakers)
Yogi Ferrell (Mavericks)

Brogdon, Saric, and Embiid are the finalists for the 2016/17 NBA Rookie of the Year award, which will be announced later tonight during the league’s TV broadcast on TNT.

Pluto’s Latest: George, Love, Ingram, Butler

June 25th, 2017 at 8:59am CST by Arthur Hill

The Pacers want to make a Paul George deal while they can still get value, but they aren’t interested in taking back Kevin Love from the Cavaliers, according to Terry Pluto of Cleveland.com. Indiana is focused on getting young players and draft picks in return for its star forward, who has announced that he will opt out of his contract next offseason and has expressed a desire to return to his hometown of Los Angeles and play for the Lakers.

The Pacers proposed a deal to the Lakers involving Brandon Ingram, the No. 2 pick in last year’s draft. However, Magic Johnson, L.A.’s president of basketball operations, doesn’t want to part with Ingram, who averaged 9.4 points and 4.0 rebounds in 79 games as a rookie.

Pluto passes on several other tidbits in his latest column:

The Celtics could have as many as 10 first-rounders over the next three years and seem like a natural facilitator to take on Love and get George to Cleveland in a three-team trade. But an unidentified NBA executive tells Pluto the Celtics also want George and are more likely to deal with the Pacers directly.
The Bulls weren’t interested in Love either, which is why the Cavaliers had little chance of trading for Jimmy Butler. Chicago has gotten tired of being mediocre and is looking for young talent to start rebuilding around. However, Pluto says most of the league iwas “stunned” that the Bulls couldn’t get more than Zach LaVine, Kris Dunn and a swap of first-rounders in return for Butler. The Celtics reportedly offered a better package that included several future draft picks.
The Cavaliers are still waiting to hear if Chauncey Billups will accept their GM offer. Sources tell Pluto that Billups has been pursuing a GM job for more than a year, so it’s not clear why there’s a delay. Billups has never worked in an NBA front office, Pluto notes, so he would need to hire an experienced executive as an assistant. A top candidate is George David, a former assistant GM with the Pistons who has a background in scouting.

Suns May Have Pushed Josh Jackson To Cancel Celtics Workout

June 24th, 2017 at 8:29pm CST by Arthur Hill

There are rumblings out of Boston that the Suns may have encouraged Josh Jackson to skip his workout with the Celtics so he would be available for Phoenix with the fourth pick.

A. Sherrod Blakely of CSNNE passes along the theory that Suns GM Ryan McDonough, who spent 10 years in the Celtics’ organization, was behind Jackson’s decision to cancel a scheduled session with the team in Sacramento. McDonough joked about the situation Friday in Jackson’s introductory press conference, but later offered hints that there might be some truth to the allegations.

“Look, it is a competition,” he told reporters. “The Celtics were ahead of us at No. 3 and they could have selected whoever they wanted to. I think they got a very good player in Jayson Tatum, but that doesn’t mean [Jackson’s agent] B.J. [Armstrong] and I and … other members of my staff couldn’t talk and try to formulate the best plan to get a player we were really high on to a place we felt he really wanted to go and would be a great fit for him.”

McDonough pointed out that it wouldn’t violate any NBA rules if he and Armstrong had worked together to steer Jackson to Phoenix.

The Boston contingent, made up of president of basketball operations Danny Ainge, coach Brad Stevens and assistant GM and team counsel Mike Zarren, didn’t find out about the cancellation until their plane landed in Sacramento, which sparked some anger toward Jackson.

“Flew across the country, are you kidding me? I had to get up at 4 o’clock and fly back home,” Ainge said.

Jackson claimed he had a phone conversation with Stevens this week, but Ainge said on draft night that no one in the organization had direct contact with the Kansas forward, Blakely relays in a separate story. Some believe Jackson was bitter that the Celtics didn’t give him serious consideration when they had the No. 1 pick and he didn’t want to join the team after it traded back to No. 3.

“There was something that he didn’t want to play for the Celtics,” Ainge added.

Atlantic Notes: Jackson, Ainge, Raptors, Nets, Sixers

June 24th, 2017 at 10:15am CST by marksuleymanov

After much speculation, the Knicks ultimately decided to select French point guard Frank Ntilikina with the eight pick in the NBA Draft. Names like Dennis Smith Jr. and Malik Monk — both of whom were still available when the Knicks were on the clock — were bypassed in favor of the athletic guard.

As Ian Begley of ESPN writes, team president Phil Jackson spoke about New York’s highly-debated selection and the ability that made the 18-year-old a must-have prospect.

“We like the size of this young man, we like his aptitude for the game, athleticism, actually the ability to incorporate himself in a winning type of a situation,” Jackson said.

New York used its 44th pick on Houston’s Damyean Dotson and its 58th pick on Serbian guard Ognjen Jaramaz. Under Jackson, the Knicks have emphasized selecting European talent and college seniors; with the team looking to build aorund young talent, it’s likely that the 2017 draft picks — particularly Ntilikina — get decent looks next season.

Here are additional notes from around the Atlantic Division:

Per Josh Lewenberg of TSN Sports (via Twitter), the Raptors tried trading up in the draft to select OG Anunoby but were pleasantly surprised when he was still available come the 23rd pick.
On a similar note, the Nets liked Michigan’s D.J. Wilson and tried trading up, but did not have the assets to do so, according to ESPN’s Ohm Youngmisuk (via Twitter). Wilson was taken 17th overall by the Bucks.
Despite rumors linking the Celtics to Jimmy Butler, general manager Danny Ainge told reporters, including ESPN’s Chris Forsberg, that no recent discussions to acquire the former Bulls All-Star happened.
Per Jessica Camerato of CSN Philly (via Twitter), all of the Sixers‘ international picks are expected to stay overseas next season.
After drafting Markelle Fultz this year, Ben Simmons last year, and assembling a drove of young talent, now is the time for Sixers head coach Brett Brown to put together a winning product, Philadelphia Inquirer’s Bob Cooney writes.

Lowe’s Latest: Butler, Nuggets, Wolves, Ibaka

June 23rd, 2017 at 1:18pm CST by Luke Adams

Before they accepted the Timberwolves‘ offer for Jimmy Butler, the Bulls canvassed the league in search of a more appealing offer, according to Zach Lowe of ESPN.com.

Lowe writes in his latest piece for ESPN that the Bulls spoke to the Suns about a package centered around Eric Bledsoe and the No. 4 overall pick, but the two sides never really got close. Chicago also had discussions with the Nuggets and Celtics, but Denver drew the line at including Jamal Murray in any potential deal, and Boston wouldn’t include the No. 3 pick, according to Lowe.

As Lowe notes, teams like the Suns and Nuggets had to consider the fact that Butler may not have re-signed with them in free agency in 2019 if they acquired him. Although Butler’s contract would give teams an extra year of control over someone like Paul George, the star forward might still have ultimately been a rental if he didn’t love where he ended up. That cooled the market somewhat, as the Bulls explored potential trade scenarios.

Here’s more from Lowe’s latest piece:

The Bulls were never entirely comfortable with the idea of Butler as their foundational player, says Lowe. A source tells ESPN that Butler’s bristling at Fred Hoiberg‘s instructions made some people on the team uncomfortable. Lowe suggests that Hoiberg’s calm personality wasn’t a good match for Butler, who requires a coach more like Tom Thibodeau.
At one point, the Timberwolves were intrigued by the possibility of pursuing Serge Ibaka in free agency, but their interest “has faded a bit,” according to Lowe, who adds that most teams expect Ibaka to re-sign with the Raptors.
The Lakers were dangling a future unprotected first-round pick to teams with cap room recently in an effort to move the Timofey Mozgov and Luol Deng contracts, per Lowe. The earliest first-round pick the Lakers could trade at this point is 2020’s selection, so it’s understandable that D’Angelo Russell appealed more to the Nets than a pick that far down the road.