Boston Celtics Rumors | Hoops Rumors

And-Ones: O’Neal, Sterling, Jackson

April 30th, 2014 at 10:26pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Jonathan Abrams of Grantland examines the resurgence of Jermaine O’Neal with the Warriors. O’Neal feels like his years with the Celtics were lost seasons, per the article. O’Neal said, “Those two years [in Boston] were very difficult for me, because not only did I feel like I was wearing down physically, I was wearing down mentally. That was the first time in my life I felt myself starting to break away a little bit.”

Warriors Rumors: Jackson, Erman, Scalabrine

April 29th, 2014 at 10:27am CST by Chuck Myron

The consensus around the league is that it’s “very unlikely” that Mark Jackson will remain as coach of the Warriors next season unless he leads the team on a long playoff run, Grantland’s Zach Lowe tweets. That’s consistent with the widely held belief that Jackson’s future with the team depends on the postseason. Still, a source tells Chris Broussard of ESPN.com that Jackson’s relationship with co-owner Joe Lacob and GM Bob Myers is fine. Here’s more from Golden State:

The Warriors aren’t holding Jackson responsible for what Erman and Scalabrine did, tweets Tim Kawakami of the Bay Area News Group.

Earlier reports:

Former Warriors assistant Darren Erman has landed a job as director of NBA scouting for the Celtics, as Danny Ainge tells Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports. The Clippers, among other teams, had been interested in him after his ouster from Golden State earlier this month.
Lowe lauds Boston’s hiring of a keen basketball mind in Erman (via Twitter), but the timing of the news is odd, considering the revelations about Erman’s departure from Golden State in Broussard’s piece. Erman was secretly recording conversations between Warriors coaches and players, sources tell Broussard. It’s unclear what he did with the recordings, and Broussard’s sources aren’t sure whether he shared them with Warriors management and owners.
Sources tell Broussard that Brian Scalabrine, who was reassigned in March from assistant coach to a job with the Warriors D-League team, exhibited a “consistent pattern of disrespect” for Jackson and the other coaches. At one point, Scalabrine went five weeks without speaking to Jackson, Broussard hears.

And-Ones: Smith, Sterling, Kerr, Pressey

April 27th, 2014 at 11:25am CST by Eddie Scarito

Nolan Smith has received partially guaranteed offers from the Bulls and the Thunder for next season, reports David Pick of Eurobasket.com (Twitter link). Smith played in Croatia this season and averaged 17.0 PPG, 3.3 RPG, and 4.1 APG.

Eastern Notes: Pistons, Woodson, Celtics

April 27th, 2014 at 10:23am CST by Eddie Scarito

Vince Ellis of The Detroit Free Press thinks that the Pistons should focus on finding a GM before concentrating on filling their vacant head coaching position. By waiting until after the playoffs, the franchise could see the pool of available coaches grow. Ellis notes that if their teams get bounced out of the playoffs in the first round, Pacers coach Frank Vogel, Thunder coach Scott Brooks and Warriors coach Mark Jackson could get lose their jobs and become possibilities for Detroit.

Eastern Notes: Nurkic, Sixers, ‘Melo

April 27th, 2014 at 8:43am CST by Eddie Scarito

The Sixers Michael Carter-Williams is the favorite to win this year’s Rookie of the Year award, but Tom Moore of Calkins Media believes that GM Sam Hinkie should examine the possibility of trading him for another lottery pick. Moore isn’t sure if Carter-Williams will become a star, and if Hinkie could land a top five pick for him, he believes that it would be worth considering.

Atlantic Notes: Jackson, ‘Melo, Bayless

April 26th, 2014 at 4:55pm CST by Charlie Adams

Phil Jackson recently spoke to members of the media about Tim Duncan‘s legacy with Spurs, noting Duncan has stuck around in San Antonio long enough for the club to build a roster Jackson described as a “great force.” Jabari Davis of Basketball Insiders thinks the Zen Master’s comments are clearly a message to Carmelo Anthony, who can choose to walk away in free agency in this offseason. Here’s more from around the Atlantic:

Amar’e Stoudemire has a $23MM player option for 2014/15 that he’ll almost surely opt in for. Mary Schmitt Boyer of the Plain Dealer examines a reader-suggested trade scenario where the Knicks send Stoudemire to the Cavs, noting that acting Cleveland GM David Griffin has ties to the big man from their time together in Phoenix. She concludes it’s very unlikely because of his injury history and bloated contract.
Harvey Araton of the New York Times takes a look at the blockbuster deal that sent Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett to the Nets. Although the price was high for the veteran duo, Brooklyn was enticed by the clutch shooting abilities of Pierce and the fiery passion Garnett has for the game, observes Araton.
Celtics guard Jerryd Bayless is set to become an unrestricted free agent at season’s end, and Chris Forsberg of ESPNBoston.com concludes Bayless’ performance this season might not have been strong enough to guarantee that Boston wants to bring him back.

Atlantic Notes: Green, Lowry, Knicks, ‘Melo

April 23rd, 2014 at 5:00pm CST by Chuck Myron

The lone Atlantic Division representatives in the playoffs are duking it out in what’s become a compelling series, with the Raptors saving themselves from an 0-2 hole in Tuesday’s night’s victory against the Nets. While we wait for Friday’s Game 3, here’s the latest from around the Atlantic:

No one on the Celtics is guaranteed to return next season, writes Mark Murphy of the Boston Herald, who takes stock of each player’s chances of coming back. Jeff Green is “eminently available” for a trade, according to Murphy.
Kyle Lowry will surely have plenty of offers to leave the Raptors in free agency this summer, but he’s enjoying Toronto’s revival this season, telling reporters, including Fred Kerber of the New York Post, “I love my team and I’ll tell anybody that.” (Twitter link).
Phil Jackson is surprised that so many have expressed interest in the Knicks head coaching job even though he wants to institute the triangle, as he said today to reporters, including Chris Herring of The Wall Street Journal (Twitter link).
Jackson appears comfortable with the idea of watching Carmelo Anthony leave this summer, Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv believes, judging by the Zen Master’s willingness to make Anthony follow through on his idea of playing for less than the max.
Connecticut point guard and Massachusetts native Shabazz Napier spoke about his dreams of playing for the Celtics, but it’s unlikely that the Celtics will be in position to draft him in June, observes Brian Robb of Boston.com.

And-Ones: Celtics, Rockets, Draft, Price, Parker

April 21st, 2014 at 10:59pm CST by Zachary Links

Celtics GM Danny Ainge says he doesn’t feel pressure from ownership to make a big trade like the one that brought Kevin Garnett to Boston, writes Baxter Holmes of the Boston Globe. “I don’t think that would be very smart, to put pressure on myself,” Ainge said. “That one happened to work out and we were very fortunate that Minnesota was moving in a different direction, that they loved Al Jefferson, and so we were able to get a deal done. But there’s been a lot of deals that I thought we had a way better chance of doing that we couldn’t end up doing.” More from around the Association..

The Rockets announced (via Twitter) that Robert Covington and Isaiah Canaan have been reassigned to the Rio Grande Valley Vipers of the D-League. Covington and Canaan have been bounced back and forth from the Rockets’ varsity squad to the D-League affiliate a number of times this season, as shown in our running list of assignments and recalls for the 2013/14 season.
Veteran Ronnie Price is happy to help take on a leadership role with the young Magic, writes Ken Hornack of FOX Sports Florida. “This year has been kind of refreshing for me in a lot of ways,” the 30-year-old guard said. “And I can’t really explain where it came from or why I feel that way. I feel like a kid again. I really enjoy the game.” Price will be a free agent this summer and if Jameer Nelson winds up elsewhere, Hornack writes that Orlando can’t afford to get too young at the point guard position.
Spurs stars Tony Parker and Tim Duncan have found success together, but their relationship did not start off on such spectacular terms, writes Dave McMenamin of ESPNLosAngeles.com. “He didn’t talk to me for a whole year,” Parker said, reflecting on his rookie season in 2001/02. “It was kind of weird coming from France and you have your superstar player that doesn’t talk to you as a point guard, it’s kind of tough, you know? Because you’re supposed to talk to everybody.“

And-Ones: Celtics, Cleamons, Mudiay

April 20th, 2014 at 12:00pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Jim Cleamons is interested in joining the Knicks organization now that Phil Jackson has taken over, writes Marc Berman of The New York Post. According to the article, Cleamons would have interest in anything Jackson has to offer, including a position in the personnel department. Berman also writes that Cleamons is a big fan of Steve Kerr, and his ability to be a head coach because of his “quick learning curve.’’

Atlantic Rumors: Sixers, Celtics, Bogans

April 19th, 2014 at 10:21am CST by Cray Allred

We rounded up the Knicks news earlier today. Here’s more from around the Atlantic:

Sixers owner Joshua Harris tells Dan Gelston of The Associated Press that Philadelphia’s 19-win season has been a “huge success” towards rebuilding the franchise. While Harris said the Sixers don’t use the term “tanking,” he does think that their losing season was more beneficial than a better, but mediocre performance would have been. “All these pieces are in place to make this an elite team that will compete consistently for the NBA championship,” Harris said. “There [are] no shortcuts to it. Unfortunately, it takes a long time. I’m really happy with the progress.”
Celtics GM Danny Ainge tells Chris Forsberg of ESPNBoston.com that he is working to duplicate the kind of turnaround he has pulled off before in Boston, as early as this offseason. “We’re hopeful,” said Ainge. “I have some ideas and some plans that I’d like to do, but there are just no guarantees that we can do it. We need to find good trading partners. We always are trying to make fireworks. Every summer, we try to do something that’s unique and special and we will definitely try this summer.”
Celtics coach Brad Stevens said in an interview with Boston.com that he is ready to give his input on this year’s draft crop. “I know a lot of the kids that are coming out,” said Stevens. “We have two picks in the top 18, so they’ve gotta be good. They’ve gotta be good for us as far as fitting in with our team for us to continue to progress.”
Stevens also commented on Keith Bogans, who parted ways with the team early in the season. “That was a mutual situation where he wasn’t playing a whole lot, so he decided and we decided that if he wanted to go back home and spend time there then that was okay with us,” said Stevens. “Sometimes you don’t have the exact role that you envision when you start a season. I don’t see a reason why Keith won’t continue to have success and be a player in this league.