- Celtics point guard Marcus Smart is expected to be out two weeks with an ankle injury, Mannix tweets. Smart has suffered numerous left ankle sprains before, according to A. Sherrod Blakely of CSNNE.com, but it doesn’t appear to be as serious as some of his previous ones. Since the injury is expected to be a short-term situation, it probably won’t impact the decisions that will be made in the coming days to pare the roster down to 15 players, Blakely adds.
The Celtics have reduced their roster from the maximum 20 players to 17, announcing today (via Twitter) that they’ve waived Marcus Georges-Hunt, Damion Lee, and Jalen Jones. The team will have to remove at least two more players from its roster by opening night to get down to the regular season limit of 15.
While Boston has some tough roster decisions ahead, Georges-Hunt, Lee, and Jones were always expected to be cut before the regular season. Their contracts weren’t fully guaranteed, with Lee getting a $50K guarantee, while Georges-Hunt and Jones got $25K apiece. All three players are candidates to join the Maine Red Claws, the Celtics’ D-League affiliate.
With their roster down to 17, the Celtics still appear likely to cut second-round pick Ben Bentil before the season, and either James Young or R.J. Hunter – each of whom has a guaranteed 2016/17 salary – could join him on the waiver wire. GM Danny Ainge is also likely exploring the trade market in an effort to get something of value for one of his back-of-the-roster players, so it will be interesting to see what moves Boston ends up making in the next several days.
- Kevin O’Connor of The Ringer looked back at how executive Danny Ainge built a “super team” in Boston with Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce and Ray Allen, and what the current state of the Celtics‘ current reconstruction is, as well as what the team needs to take things to the next level.
With 16 fully guaranteed salaries on their books and just 15 regular-season roster spots to work with, the Celtics will have to make a tough decision in about a week. A. Sherrod Blakely of CSNNE.com and Chris Forsberg of ESPN.com each took a closer look at the roster bubble in Boston this weekend, and both writers agreed that Gerald Green and Jordan Mickey look pretty safe to make the cut. Assuming there are no other surprise trades or cuts, that leaves four players for two openings — Demetrius Jackson, R.J. Hunter, James Young, and Ben Bentil (who has a partial guarantee) are vying for those spots.
In Forsberg’s view, Jackson has done enough to make the team, while Bentil seems likely to be released and potentially to end up with the Celtics’ D-League affiliate. That leaves Hunter battling Young for the 15th roster spot, and Forsberg views Hunter as the favorite between the two.
As the Celtics mull their options, here’s more from around the Atlantic division:
- Jonny Auping of RealGM.com makes a case for why the Celtics should view Avery Bradley as more of a foundational piece than an asset available via trade.
- While they don’t have the cap room for him at this point, the Celtics‘ reported interest in Smith is genuine, according to Stein, who suggests Boston could explore moving some salary to another team in order to create space for Smith.
[SOURCE LINK]
The 2016/17 NBA regular season will get underway in just a week and a half, which means it’s time to start getting serious about predictions for the upcoming campaign. With the help of the lines from offshore betting site Bovada.lv, we’re going to run through the predicted win totals for each of the NBA’s 30 teams, by division, and have you weigh in on whether you think those forecasts are too optimistic or too pessimistic. We’ll kick things off today with the Atlantic division…
Boston Celtics
- 2015/16 record: 48-34
- Over/under for 2016/17: 52.5 wins
- Offseason in review: Added Al Horford, Jaylen Brown. Lost Jared Sullinger, Evan Turner.
How many games will the Celtics win?
Under 52.5
54.59%
(802 votes)
Over 52.5
45.41%
(667 votes)
Total Votes: 1,469
(App users, click here for Celtics poll)
Toronto Raptors
- 2015/16 record: 56-26
- Over/under for 2016/17: 50.5 wins
- Offseason in review: Added Jared Sullinger, Jakob Poeltl, Pascal Siakam. Lost Bismack Biyombo, Luis Scola, James Johnson.
How many games will the Raptors win?
Over 50.5
54.63%
(685 votes)
Under 50.5
45.37%
(569 votes)
Total Votes: 1,254
(App users, click here for Raptors poll)
New York Knicks
- 2015/16 record: 32-50
- Over/under for 2016/17: 38.5 wins
- Offseason in review: Added Derrick Rose, Courtney Lee, Joakim Noah, Brandon Jennings. Lost Arron Afflalo, Robin Lopez, Langston Galloway, Derrick Williams, Jose Calderon.
How many games will the Knicks win?
Over 38.5
71.41%
(1,009 votes)
Under 38.5
28.59%
(404 votes)
Total Votes: 1,413
(App users, click here for Knicks poll)
Philadelphia 76ers
- 2015/16 record: 10-72
- Over/under for 2016/17: 23.5 wins
- Offseason in review: Added Ben Simmons, Dario Saric, Jerryd Bayless, Gerald Henderson, Sergio Rodriguez, Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot. Lost Ish Smith, Carl Landry, Isaiah Canaan, Kendall Marshall.
How many games will the Sixers win?
Under 23.5
54.62%
(733 votes)
Over 23.5
45.38%
(609 votes)
Total Votes: 1,342
(App users, click here for Sixers poll)
Brooklyn Nets
- 2015/16 record: 21-61
- Over/under for 2016/17: 20.5 wins
- Offseason in review: Added Jeremy Lin, Trevor Booker, Luis Scola, Greivis Vasquez, Randy Foye, Caris LeVert. Lost Thaddeus Young, Jarrett Jack, Wayne Ellington, Thomas Robinson, Shane Larkin, Donald Sloan, Markel Brown.
How many games will the Nets win?
Under 20.5
60.74%
(755 votes)
Over 20.5
39.26%
(488 votes)
Total Votes: 1,243
(App users, click here for Nets poll)
- It’s highly unlikely the Celtics will be able to add Jazz small forward Gordon Hayward, A. Sherrod Blakely of CSNNE.com opines. Utah’s unwillingness to part with Hayward, who can opt out of his current contract at the end of the season, is the main reason. His trade kicker, and the cost of retaining him long-term, also foster the notion that Hayward isn’t coming to Boston.
Paul Pierce confirmed last month that 2016/17 will be his final NBA season, writing in a piece for The Players’ Tribune that he intends to retire next year. Pierce’s story for The Players’ Tribune didn’t mention how exactly he plans to go out, but in in a conversation today on SiriusXM NBA Radio, Pierce announced that he’ll retire as a member of the Celtics (Twitter link via Justine Termine of SiriusXM).
That decision comes as no real surprise — Pierce has played for a few different teams in recent years, but spent 15 seasons in Boston, winning a championship with the Celtics and making 10 All-Star appearances as a member of the franchise. He figures to join the team one last time during the 2017 offseason when he signs a one-day ceremonial contract to announce his retirement.
- The Celtics continue to have “real interest” in Gordon Hayward, multiple league sources tell Lowe. However, the ESPN scribe thinks Hayward will ultimately decided to re-sign with the Jazz next summer.
[SOURCE LINK]
Point guard Isaiah Thomas believes that if the Celtics are to make any trades this season, the team should focus on adding more scoring punch, Chris Forsberg of ESPN.com relays. When asked what needs Boston still has, Thomas responded, “Someone who can put the ball in the basket. A knockdown shooter would be what we need. I’m not saying anything against the guys that are on this team right now, because we have a talented group, but I think that is the most important thing we need. We need spacing, because we got a lot of guys that can create and attack the basket, but we definitely need spacing.”
When asked if he was thinking ahead to becoming a free agent or signing an extension with the Celtics, Thomas told Forsberg, “To be honest, I haven’t thought about it. I haven’t and that’s the honest answer. I feel like I would be selfish to think about that right now. When the time comes, we can weigh the options and see what they want to do, see what I’m able to do. First and foremost, it is about winning. And bringing the best talent we can to Boston. And trying to hang another banner up here.” Thomas is under contract through the 2017/18 campaign, but will be eligible to ink an extension next season.
- With the Warriors and Cavaliers looking extremely strong heading into the season, the Celtics should hold off on making any drastic moves until next summer, Jeremias Engelmann of ESPN.com (Insider subscription required) opines. The exception would be if players such as Anthony Davis or DeMarcus Cousins become disgruntled and demand trades, Engelmann adds. Forsberg disagrees in the same post, noting that a trade to clear up the guaranteed contract logjam would be beneficial.