Boston Celtics Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Celtics Re-Sign Christian Watford

September 29th, 2014 at 11:33am CST by Chuck Myron

The Celtics have re-signed power forward Christian Watford, the team announced via press release. The statement also confirmed the team’s deals with shooting guard Rodney McGruder and point guard Tim Frazier. The C’s waived Watford on Saturday to accommodate the team’s acquisition of four players in return for Keith Bogans, but they had an agreement to re-sign Watford even as they let him go, since Boston released others to make room. The Celtics had the capacity to exceed the minimum salary with Watford, McGruder and Frazier, but it’s unlikely they’ve done so. The amount of guaranteed money for the trio is unclear.

Watford went undrafted out of the University of Indiana in 2013, spending time in summer league with the Pacers, Mavs, Pistons and Warriors the past two offseasons and heading to Israel’s Hapoel Eilat for the 2013/14 season. He averaged 12.3 points and 6.3 rebounds in 27.9 minutes per game in his final season with the Hoosiers.

The additions, plus the long-awaited official announcement of the C’s deal with Evan Turner, gives Boston 20 players for camp. Presuming Turner’s deal is fully guaranteed, the Celtics have 16 such contracts, plus a partial guarantee to Erik Murphy, meaning the team will have to return to the trading block to avoid having dead money on the books come opening night. It also means that Watford is unlikely to remain for the regular season, though it’s possible the C’s will retain his D-League rights.

Celtics Sign Evan Turner

September 29th, 2014 at 11:07am CST by Chuck Myron

SEPTEMBER 29TH: The deal is finally official, the team announced via press release. Boston cleared room under the preseason limit of 20 players with a series of moves in the past few days to accommodate Turner.

JULY 21ST: The Celtics and Evan Turner are finalizing a deal for a portion of the mid-level exception, reports Steve Bulpett of the Boston Herald (on Twitter). The Pacers made the former No. 2 overall pick an unrestricted free agent when they declined to tender his qualifying offer last month.

The Wolves appeared to be Boston’s primary competition for Turner, who was reportedly Minnesota’s top priority even though the team apparently envisioned signing him to only a one-year deal. The length of his arrangment with the Celtics is unclear.

Boston has more than $78.7MM in commitments on the roster for the coming season, a figure that puts them above the tax line but below the tax apron. The Celtics can waive close to $7.018MM in non-guaranteed salary, but in any case, the team won’t be able to sign Turner to a starting salary exceeding $3.278MM without triggering a hard cap of $80.829MM for this season.

Celtics Waive Malcolm Thomas, John Lucas III

September 29th, 2014 at 11:07am CST by Eddie Scarito

MONDAY, 11:07am: The releases are official, the team announced.

SUNDAY, 4:26pm: The Celtics have waived Malcolm Thomas and John Lucas III, Marc Stein of ESPN.com is reporting (Twitter link). Both players were recently acquired in the trade that sent Keith Bogans to the Cavaliers, and Bogans has since been traded to the Sixers in a move that garnered Cleveland a valuable trade exception. The Celtics, too, were afforded a trade exception for the same $5,285,817 amount when they relinquished Bogans.

A roster move was expected from the Celtics who had 21 players on their preseason roster. That number includes Evan Turner whose signing has not been formally announced yet. This should change shortly now that Boston is down to 19 players after waiving Thomas and Lucas.

The team had waived Christian Watford on Friday, but reports have indicated that the team intends to re-sign the forward this week. So, Watford’s return would put Boston at the preseason limit of 20 players, including Turner, meaning the team’s camp roster is likely set.

Eastern Notes: Butler, Rondo, Deng

September 28th, 2014 at 11:43am CST by Eddie Scarito

All things being equal, the Bulls would prefer to reach an extension with Jimmy Butler rather than let him hit restricted free agency next summer, as K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune notes. Of course, finding an amenable price point is the challenge, as Chuck Myron of Hoops Rumors examined as he wrote about Butler as an extension candidate.

Here’s more from the east:

Prior to breaking his hand, Rajon Rondo was the subject of trade talk around the league. While this latest setback certainly harms Rondo’s trade value, A. Sherrod Blakely of CSNNE.com thinks there’s still time for it to be rebuilt and the Celtics to determine if they want to re-sign Rondo long-term or deal him.
During the Heat‘s media day Luol Deng spoke with Surya Fernandez of FoxSports.com. When asked about replacing LeBron James at small forward, Deng said, “I would never try to replace anybody, whether somebody is better than me or if I’m better than somebody. I think that we all bring different things. The biggest mistake I would make is to try to be LeBron. I’m not LeBron. My whole life — I’m 29 years old — I’ve never been able to be somebody I’m not. So I just got to be myself, work hard and try to do my best. My ultimate focus is what can I bring to this team and that’s it.”
Deng also was asked about Danny Ferry‘s comments and he said, “It’s been behind me, honestly. I think that it just came back to the surface (in Media Day) because it’s the first time I’m seeing everybody but honestly I think that after I made my statement it was over with. I can’t control what everyone thinks or how everyone feels. My position is I really forgive Danny Ferry and people make mistakes. I’m ready to move on. Whatever it is or whatever it came from, let’s just make sure it doesn’t happen again to someone else and make sure we just improve as human beings and how we view other people. That’s really about it.“
After a breakthrough campaign last season the Wizards look to take the next step towards being a contender in the east. Adi Joseph of USA Today previews Washington’s 2014/15 season and projects they will snag the No. 3 playoff seed.

Chuck Myron contributed to this post.

Eastern Notes: Celtics, Rondo, Raptors

September 27th, 2014 at 4:48pm CST by Eddie Scarito

With the injury to Rajon Rondo, Celtics rookies Marcus Smart and James Young will see significant action sooner than anticipated. Julian Edlow of WEEI 93.7 FM breaks down what to expect from each of Boston’s first-rounders this season.

Here’s the latest out of the Eastern Conference:

The contracts of Kim English, Solomon Jones,and Ben Hansbrough with the Bulls are non-guaranteed camp deals that cover one season at the minimum salary, Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders reports (Twitter link).
While appearing on Arbella Early Edition, Kirk Minihane and Gary Tanguay of WEEI.com said that Rajon Rondo‘s broken hand will destroy any trade value the Celtics‘ point guard had. Minihane was quoted as saying, “Now you’re talking about a guy with a bad knee, he’s had back issues, now he has a broken hand…They’re not gonna be able to trade this guy.”
In his training camp preview for the Raptors, Ryan Wolstat of the Toronto Sun looks at Toronto’s roster and a number of questions the team faces heading into the new season.
Former NBA player Julian Wright has agreed to a deal with Panathinaikos of the Greek League, the team announced on their website (translation by Emiliano Carchia of Sportando). Wright last saw action during the 2010/11 season when he appeared in 52 games for the Raptors. David Pick of Eurobasket.com originally reported the deal (Twitter link).

Celtics Cut, Agree To Re-Sign Christian Watford

September 26th, 2014 at 11:20pm CST by Chuck Myron

11:20pm: The release has taken place, according to the RealGM transactions log, but Watford and the team have agreed on a new deal that he would sign Monday, presuming he clears waivers, as Shams Charania of RealGM reports (Twitter link). It’s an odd turn of events, particularly since the injury to Rajon Rondo would suggest the team would prioritize point guards rather than a big man like Watford. Boston hasn’t publicly acknowledged waiving Watford, just as the team never formally announced that he’d signed, making the situation even more strange. In any case, adding Watford again would force the C’s to cut ties with two other players before they can make their deal with Turner official.

3:39pm: The Celtics are waiving power forward Christian Watford, a source tells Chris Forsberg of ESPNBoston.com (Twitter link). Forsberg’s tweet indicates the release has already taken place, but there’s been no formal announcement of such a move. Boston never officially announced his signing, either, but reports indicated that he put pen to paper last month. The C’s had to remove one player from their roster following Thursday’s Keith Bogans trade and the releases of Chris Johnson and Chris Babb, which left them with 21 contracts, one over the preseason limit.

Watford didn’t last long enough with Boston to suit up for the team, having spent summer league with the Pistons and Warriors instead. He played summer league with the Pacers and Mavs last year, but that’s been the extent of his NBA experience since he went undrafted out of Indiana University in June 2013. Watford, now 23, spent this past season playing with Hapoel Eilat in Israel, averaging 9.6 points and 5.2 rebounds in 26.1 minutes per game.

The Celtics still must clear one more player before they can turn their agreement with Evan Turner into an official contract. Tim Frazier, John Lucas III, Rodney McGruder and Malcolm Thomas are all on non-guaranteed deals, so it’s most likely that one of them will be cut.

Atlantic Notes: Rondo, Nets, Sixers

September 26th, 2014 at 9:52pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Celtics guard Rajon Rondo has suffered a broken hand, and had surgery to repair it earlier today, Baxter Holmes of the Boston Globe reports (Twitter link). The player injured it in a fall at his home according to the team’s official statement regarding the matter. Rondo is expected to miss six weeks, Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports adds. That would slot Rondo’s return to be during the second week of the season. This development certainly complicates any possible deals for the veteran for the time being.

Here’s the latest from the Atlantic Division:

Boston had been considering waiving John Lucas III today, but Rondo’s injury could change those plans, Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today notes (Twitter link).
Alan Anderson said he turned down an offer for more money to re-sign with the Nets, Stefan Bondy of The New York Daily News reports (Twitter link). Anderson inked a two year, $2.6MM deal with Brooklyn in July.
New Nets coach Lionel Hollins said that he never considered adding Lawrence Frank to his staff, Bondy tweets. Frank had a falling out with former coach Jason Kidd, and appears to be on the way to the Clippers as an assistant after reaching a buyout arrangement with Brooklyn.
The Sixers are set to hire Blazers analytics manager Ben Falk for a role that will put him second in command to GM Sam Hinkie in the team’s front office, according to The Oregonian’s Joe Freeman. Grantland’s Zach Lowe believes it’s another in a series of shrewd hires of late for Philadelphia’s front office (Twitter links).

Chuck Myron contributed to this post.

Atlantic Notes: Celtics, Grunwald, Sixers

September 26th, 2014 at 9:25am CST by Chuck Myron

The Keith Bogans trade enables the Celtics to create a trade exception equivalent to the value of Bogans’ $5,285,816 salary, but just how they structure the deal to come up with that exception isn’t clear. They could absorb the $1.6MM salary of John Lucas III into their $2.09MM Courtney Lee trade exception, essentially exhausting it while preserving the full amount of their $4.25MM trade exception from the Kris Humphries deal, a path that Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders suggests (Twitter link). Alternatively, they could fold Lucas into the Humphries exception, reducing its value to $2.65MM while leaving the $2.09MM Lee exception intact. In any case, the minimum salaries of Erik Murphy, Dwight Powell and Malcolm Thomas don’t figure into the equation, since Boston can absorb them into the minimum salary exception. There’s more on the aftermath of the trade amid the latest from the Atlantic Division:

Thomas and Lucas, on non-guaranteed contracts, are long shots to remain with the Celtics come Tuesday, when training camp begins, though Murphy, who has a partial guarantee of $100K, will be “evaluated,” tweets Jeff Goodman of ESPN.com. Goodman indicates that Powell is likely to stick, at least for camp, with his fully guaranteed deal.
Former Knicks GM Glen Grunwald admits that he was caught off guard when the team decided to fire him a year ago and disputes owner James Dolan’s assertion that he wasn’t well-versed in analytics, as Grunwald tells Marc Berman of the New York Post.
It’s a stark reality for the stripped-down Sixers, and coach Brett Brown emphasized that he won’t measure success in terms of wins and losses this year, as he spoke to reporters, including Tom Moore of Calkins Media. Asked whether he’s on board with the drastic rebuilding process, Brown quipped, “I have to be, don’t I?”

Celtics Waive Babb, Johnson

September 25th, 2014 at 8:49pm CST by Eddie Scarito

The Celtics have waived Chris Babb and Chris Johnson, Chris Forsberg of ESPNBoston.com reports (Twitter link). The team has confirmed the moves via a press release. Neither of the players’ deals carried any guaranteed money for the 2014/15 season.

These releases came in the wake of the deal that sent Keith Bogans and two future conditional Sacramento second round picks to the Cavaliers for Dwight Powell, John Lucas III, Malcolm Thomas, Erik Murphy, and Cleveland’s second-rounders in 2016 and 2017. The Celtics still have deals with 22 players, including Evan Turner, whose deal has not been officially announced yet, so they will still have to clear two more players prior to training camp beginning.

The 24 year-old Babb appeared in 14 games for Boston last season, averaging 1.6 PPG and 1.2 RPG in 9.4 minutes per night. Johnson, also 24 years old, played in 40 contest for the Celtics last season, putting up 6.3 PPG and grabbing 2.4 RPG while averaging 19.7 minutes per.

Cavs Acquire Keith Bogans

September 25th, 2014 at 8:25pm CST by Eddie Scarito

8:25pm: The trade is official, the Celtics announced via a press release.

8:20pm: More details about the trade are rolling in, with Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders (Twitter link) noting that the Celtics sent the Cavs the rights to the Kings’ 2015 and 2017 second-rounders, both of which are top-55 protected. Marc Stein of ESPN.com also adds Dwight Powell to the list of players heading to Boston.

8:00pm: The second-rounders going to the Celtics will be Cleveland’s 2016 and 2017 selections, notes Gary Washburn of The Boston Globe (Twitter link).

7:41pm: The Celtics will also get a $5.3MM trade exception as part of the deal, notes Goodman (twitter link).

7:20pm: The Cavs will waive guard Chris Crawford once the deal is official, tweets Chris Haynes of The Plain Dealer.

7:16pm: The Celtics are also receiving two second round draft picks as part of the deal, Jeff Goodman of ESPN.com reports (Twitter link).

6:52pm: The Cavaliers and Celtics are in discussions on a trade that would send Keith Bogans to Cleveland, Marc Stein of ESPN.com is reporting. The Cavs are expected to package the non-guaranteed contracts of Erik Murphy, John Lucas III and Malcolm Thomas in return for Bogans, notes Stein.

The acquisition of the 34 year-old shooting guard out of Kentucky would suggest that Cleveland has either received word from free agent Ray Allen that he isn’t interested in signing with the team, or that he intends to retire, though that’s just speculation on my part. Whatever the case is, it would seem that Bogans is taking the role that the Cavs were intending Allen to fill.

Bogans has played 11 seasons in the league after being selected in the second round of the 2003 NBA Draft by the Bucks. His career numbers are 6.3 PPG, 2.7 RPG, and 1.3 APG. Bogans’ career slash line is .394/.353/.716. He has two years remaining on his contract, both non-guaranteed, and he is scheduled to make $5,285,816 this coming season.

As for the Celtics, they currently have 21 players on their roster, including Evan Turner, whose signing has not been officially announced yet. So it’s highly likely that Boston will waive all three players once the deal is completed.