Boston Celtics Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Terrence Williams To Play In Puerto Rico

April 18th, 2014 at 6:20pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Former NBA player Terrence Williams has signed a deal to play in Puerto Rico with Brujos de Guayama, reports Emiliano Carchia of Sportando. The details and length of the deal haven’t been announced. The NBA veteran has struggled to earn a roster spot and playing time since showing some flashes in 78 games as a rookie with the Nets in 2009/10. His last NBA stint was during the 2012/13 season when he appeared in 24 games with the Celtics.

Williams has played two games in Turkey with Turk Telekom Ankara and averaged 4.0 PPG this season. He also played in the NBA D-League with Los Angeles D-Fenders scoring 20.6 PPG with 5.1 RPG and 6.3 APG in 34 games.

In parts of four NBA seasons, Williams’ career numbers with the Nets, Rockets, Kings, and Celtics are 7.1 PPG, 3.6 RPG, and 2.4 APG in 19.1 minutes per game.

Projected 2014 First-Round Draft Order

April 18th, 2014 at 1:54pm CST by Chuck Myron

The NBA has announced the winners of random drawings that broke ties in the draft order among teams that finished with the same records. Only one of those drawings involved lottery teams, and the Jazz were the beneficiaries, snagging the fourth-most lottery combinations instead of the Celtics. It’s only a slight advantage, since the Jazz will have a 10.4% chance at the top pick, while the Celtics will have a 10.3% chance, but perhaps most importantly, Utah will pick ahead of Boston if neither move up on May 20th, when the lottery is held.

Here’s the complete order, with places determined by drawing in bold:

Bucks
Sixers
Magic
Jazz — won drawing against Celtics
Celtics — lost drawing against Jazz
Lakers
Kings
Pistons — will send pick to Bobcats if the fall to ninth or lower in lottery
Cavaliers
Pelicans — will send pick to Sixers unless they win one of top three picks in lottery
Nuggets — will send least favorable of own pick and Knicks’ pick to Magic
Knicks — will send pick to Nuggets
Timberwolves — will send pick to Suns if Phoenix passes them in the lottery
Suns
Hawks
Bulls — from Bobcats
Celtics — from Nets; won drawing against Suns
Suns — from Wizards; lost drawing against Celtics
Bulls — won drawing against Raptors
Raptors — lost drawing against Bulls
Thunder — from Mavs
Grizzlies
Jazz — from Warriors
Bobcats — from Trail Blazers; won three-way drawing against Rockets and Heat
Rockets — finished second in three-way drawing against Bobcats and Heat
Heat — finished third in three-way drawing against Bobcats and Rockets
Suns — from Pacers
Clippers
Thunder
Spurs

Celtics Notes: Rondo, Trades, Draft, Humphries

April 17th, 2014 at 3:08pm CST by Chuck Myron

Rajon Rondo declined an extension offer from the Celtics, as president of basketball operations Danny Ainge said today on WEEI radio. That’s no surprise, given that Ainge said in January that they’d spoken about an extension but that the discussion had ended. Most veterans in Rondo’s position don’t sign extensions, since the collective bargaining agreement makes free agent contracts much more player-friendly, though Ainge said in January that he’d continue to try to strike up talks as the point guard’s 2015 free agency approaches. Ainge made plenty of remarks today on WEEI and 98.5 The Hub, and we passed along Ainge’s willingness to bring back Paul Pierce earlier today. Ben Rohrbach of WEEI.com chronicled Ainge’s comments today, and we’ll hit the highlights. All links go to Rohrbach’s Twitter account, unless otherwise noted:

Rondo’s name has also appeared in trade rumors, and while Ainge said that he can envision the point guard back in Boston next season for the final year of his contract, he also said no one on the roster is off-limits for a trade.
Ainge and his staff will consider trading this year’s lottery pick, and Ainge added that he doesn’t have patience for another losing season.
The team might bring back soon-to-be free agent Kris Humphries, too, Ainge says, but at a pay cut from his $12MM salary this season. Ainge nonetheless suggests that he might include Humphries in a sign-and-trade that would benefit him financially.
Ainge isn’t putting a timetable on the team’s return to title contention after a rough 2013/14, as Chris Forsberg of ESPNBoston.com chronicles.

Celtics Open To Return Of Paul Pierce

April 17th, 2014 at 9:00am CST by Chuck Myron

Paul Pierce can envision playing for the Celtics again, and president of basketball operations Danny Ainge can see Pierce returning to Boston, too, if the price and circumstances are right, as Ainge said this morning on 98.5 The Sports Hub in Boston, tweets Ben Rohrbach of WEEI. The 36-year-old Pierce becomes a free agent in the summer, though the Nets would like to re-sign him, too.

Pierce spent all 15 of his NBA seasons with the Celtics before they traded him to the Nets this past summer. He talked teammate Kevin Garnett into waiving his no-trade clause to help facilitate the move, but Pierce was emotional upon his return to Boston to play against the Celtics this season, and said he never wanted to leave. Much of Pierce’s decision this summer might come down to whether Garnett, who has one more year left on his contract, retires at the end of this season.

The Nets have Pierce’s full Bird rights, though it’s almost certain that he’ll have to take a pay cut from his current salary of more than $15.3MM. The Celtics have about $45MM in commitments for next season, though that doesn’t include the rookie salary for Boston’s lottery pick and a $3.8MM player option for Joel Anthony that he’s almost certain to exercise. Anthony and the rookie would give the Celtics nine players and roughly $10MM worth of cap flexibility, plus some form of the mid-level exception, so there’s probably a path back to Boston for Pierce if both sides are motivated enough to get a deal done.

Western Rumors: Love, Gasol, Cousins

April 13th, 2014 at 10:49pm CST by Cray Allred

DeMarcus Cousins received his 16th technical of the season during tonight’s Kings/Wolves game. If the technical isn’t rescinded by the league, he will incur an automatic one-game suspension and have his season ended prematurely. Here’s more from out west:

A group of writers at Basketball Insiders looks at which marquee players could be traded this summer, including Kevin Love, Rajon Rondo, and Carmelo Anthony.
Mitch Kupchak told Mark Medina of The Los Angeles Daily News that the Lakers are interested in re-signing Pau Gasol this summer. “There’s great interest in re-signing Pau back,” the Lakers GM said. “I don’t know why there would not be interest. He’s a Hall of Famer. But by virtue of being a free agent, he’s in the market place. By being in the market place, we have to see how things play out.”
For his part, Gasol told Mike Trudell of Lakers.com he’s excited about meeting with multiple teams when he becomes a free agent, including the Lakers (Twitter link).

And-Ones: Anthony, Mudiay, Draft

April 13th, 2014 at 12:21pm CST by Eddie Scarito

The Knicks square off with the Bulls tonight at Madison Square Garden. With New York being eliminated from the playoffs the attention will be fully on Carmelo Anthony and if he re-signs with the Knicks or not. Chicago is one of the teams mentioned as a possible landing spots for ‘Melo if he leaves. Coach Tom Thibodeau had quite a few compliments for Anthony, writes K.C. Johnson of The Chicago Tribune. Thibodeau said, “He can score so many different ways. He can hurt you a lot of different ways. He can score the ball very easily. It doesn’t take him much to get going.” When asked about Anthony’s reputation as a “selfish ball-stopper,” Thibodeau said, “It’s interesting because with USA Basketball, they talk about him being a playmaker. He scores and if you a guy is open, he passes the ball. I think oftentimes it’s who he plays with. It’s interesting, a lot of the things that you hear about him, I heard about Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen and Paul Pierce before they came together and won it. That changes perception. Carmelo has been one of the elite scorers in the league for a long, long time.”

Celtics Notes: Grousbeck, Stevens, Draft

April 13th, 2014 at 11:35am CST by Eddie Scarito

Celtics owner Wyc Grousbeck believes in the team’s plan to rebuild through the draft, writes Sam Amick of USA Today. Grousbeck said, “I’m not used to being out of the playoffs. I remember being back to the building phase back from ’03 to ’07, and we knew in ’03 that we didn’t have a team that was capable of winning. So we changed the coach and the general manager and really started over just building through the draft, with the goal eventually of maybe making a couple of transformative trades. And that’s really how it played out in ’07. So we really think we’re going to do the exact same thing. We’re going to draft and be patient and provide the payroll and support and steady hand necessary to bring this back, because I’m only interested in banners. I named my company ‘Banner 17’ – we got that one (championship in 2008). I might as well name it Banner 18, because that’s all we’re interested in.”

Eastern Notes: Celtics, Karasev, Magic

April 12th, 2014 at 11:39am CST by Cray Allred

Speaking in general about the Celtics future, Rajon Rondo told Steve Bulpett of The Boston Herald that Boston’s fan base is a strength for the franchise. “I know that would be a big reason why you wouldn’t want to leave a city like Boston, because every night, even with the season we’re having, we’re probably still leading the league in attendance or at least up near the top.” said Rondo. “So you don’t take that for granted. I know I don’t.” Let’s round up the rest of the notes out of the Eastern Conference:

The Cavs recalled Sergey Karasev from their D-League affiliate, per a tweet from Bob Finnan of The News-Herald.
Steve Kyler of Basketball Insiders tweets that the Magic are approaching the draft looking for the best talent available wherever they select, without prioritizing any one position or player.
Kyler adds that the Magic‘s draft decisions will overlap with extension talks with both Tobias Harris and Nikola Vucevic (Twitter links). Both are entering the final year of their rookie scale contracts, and play positions occupied by players projected at the top of the 2014 draft.
Al Jefferson didn’t expect a playoff berth in his first year with the Bobcats, but the center tells A. Sherrod Blakely of CSNNE.com that he now has his sights set on continued success in Charlotte. “If you ask me did I say when I signed that we would be where we are now, no I didn’t say that,” Jefferson said. “But I feel this is only the beginning. You go back to Oklahoma City when they were not a playoff team, then made the eighth seed, lost in their first round. The next year, went to the Western Conference finals and the following year they went to the Finals. They just kept going until they became a team that everybody had to respect. That’s where we at right now; we’re at the beginning stage. I’m proud of what we’ve done so far. But I believe in my heart, we’re going to accomplish so much more.”
Ryan Wolstat of The Toronto Sun points out the irony of Andrew Wiggins‘ courtside presence in Toronto on the night the Raptors clinched the Atlantic Division title. When the season began, many had Toronto pegged as a team likely to tank, when phrases like “Riggin’ for Wiggins” were being thrown around.

Poll: Experienced Coach Or First-Timer?

April 11th, 2014 at 8:01pm CST by Eddie Scarito

As we approach the end of the NBA regular season, it’s the time of year when the annual coaching carousel begins to spin and a slew of faces will end up in brand new places. Heading into the 2013/14 season there were a total of 13 coaching changes, which if you’re keeping score at home, is the most ever in a single offseason.

We won’t know for sure just how many teams will be making a change on their bench until the playoffs are over. Normally you would think a playoff spot would ensure job security, but Lionel Hollins, Vinny Del Negro, and Larry Drew all weren’t retained after reaching the playoffs last year. So the exact number of vacancies are up in the air, but we know there will be some.

If your team is making a head coaching change, which would you prefer in your new hire? Do you want a veteran coach with years of experience to lead your team? One who has a proven track record, but also could be carrying baggage and bad habits picked up throughout the years. Or, would you prefer the energy and new ideas a first-time coach can provide? A new coach has more to prove, and might be more in touch with the pulse and culture of his players, but has no experience to rely on, and no track record to predict future performance.

Let’s look at how this year’s crop of new coaches fared as an example. First up, the ones with prior experience:

Doc Rivers (Clippers): The team is 55-24, first in the Pacific Division, and the third seed in the playoffs. Last year’s team went 56-26 under Vinny Del Negro, before Del Negro wasn’t retained and the team traded for Rivers.
Maurice Cheeks (Pistons): He was fired 50 games into the year with a record of 20-29. Detroit was 29-53 in 2012/13 under Lawrence Frank. After the team signed Josh Smith and Brandon Jennings in the off season, owner Tom Gores expected a much better record and for the team to make the playoffs.
Mike Brown (Cavaliers): The team sits at 32-47, which is good for tenth in the eastern conference. Last year under Byron Scott the team had a record of 24-58 and ended up with the first overall selection in the draft.
Larry Drew (Bucks): The Bucks sit at 14-64. which is good for the worst record in the league. In 2012/13 under Scott Skiles and Jim Boylan the team went 38-44.

Now for how the first-time coaches performed:

Jason Kidd (Nets): The Nets are at 43-35, which is good for the fifth overall playoff seed. Kidd replaced interim coach P.J. Carlesimo, whose team finished 2012/13 with a record of 49-33.
Brad Stevens (Celtics): Stevens, taking over for Doc Rivers, has gone 23-55, but has the re-building team heading in a positive direction. Last year’s team went 41-40.
Mike Budenholzer (Hawks): The Hawks have gone 35-43 and currently hold the final playoff spot in the east. Last year’s Larry Drew led squad went 44-38.
Steve Clifford (Bobcats): Clifford has led the Bobcats to a 40-38 record and the sixth seed in the east. Under Mike Dunlap the team went 21-61 during last year’s campaign.
Brian Shaw (Nuggets): The Nuggets have been hampered by injuries all season, and sit at 35-44. Shaw replaced coach of the year winner George Karl, who led the team to a record of 57-25.
David Joerger (Grizzlies): Joerger replaced Lionel Hollins and has guided the team to a record of 46-32, and has the team is one game out of the final playoff spot. Last year the team went 56-26.
Brett Brown (Sixers): Under Brown the Sixers have the second worst record in the league at 17-61, including a record-tying 26 game losing streak. Last season under Doug Collins, the team went 34-48.
Jeff Hornacek (Suns): The Suns are one of the most improved teams in the league with a record of 47-31, and hold the seventh seed in the western conference. Last year under Lindsey Hunter and Alvin Gentry the team went 25-57.
Mike Malone (Kings): Under Malone the Kings have gone 27-52. During the 2012/13 season under Keith Smart the team ended up 28-54.

This means that in their first seasons with their new teams, experienced coaches went 121-164 (.424), and the first-timers went 313-391 (.444). There are many different factors outside a coach’s control that contribute to the team’s final record, but the nature of the NBA is that the coach is the first one to take the heat.

Now it’s time to vote. If your team makes a coaching change this off season, do you want an experienced person hired, or would you prefer the team brings in a brand new face? Cast your vote below and feel free to give your thoughts in the comments section below.

Would You Prefer First-Time Head Coach, Or One With Experience?

Bring on the new blood and give me a first-time coach. 53.42% (234 votes)

Give me an experienced coach. 46.58% (204 votes)

Total Votes: 438

Atlantic Notes: Mills, Woodson, Rondo

April 10th, 2014 at 10:53pm CST by Ryan Raroque

Earlier today, we were given an early peek at Steve Mills’ interview with Spike Lee on XM Radio via ESPN New York, where the Knicks GM said that he and team president Phil Jackson could “do something special” while working together. Frank Isola of the New York Daily News weighed-in on the interview, passing along that Mills’ original plan upon being hired was to hire someone to run day-to-day basketball operations while then focusing on the business side of things. Ironically, Mills is now operating under the direction of a basketball executive.

Here’s what else we’ve gathered out of the Atlantic Division, including more from Isola:

During the interview, Mills claimed that he gave up his title as president and retained his title as general manager once Jackson was hired, which implies that Mills had a choice in the matter, opines Isola.
Isola says it’s unclear if Jackson still plans to hire his own personnel guy and what that could mean for Mills. Mills has suggested that his strengths lie in his relationships with players and agents, though Isola wonders how that will mesh with Jackson plans. The Knicks president recently told the media that he doesn’t plan to work as closely with agents or any one agency as the team had done in recent years.
One source tells Isola that Mills was prepared to make a coaching change on several occasions this season; Mike Woodson was ultimately kept on board because the team had either gone on a winning streak or owner James Dolan decided to overrule Mills.
Celtics guard Rajon Rondo hasn’t asked management to inform him about personnel decisions, but he told Gary Washburn of the Boston Globe that he’d like to know what direction the team is going in: “I want to be aware of what’s going on, especially if I’m part of the future here…And being the point guard, I would like to know what the team has in store or wants to do or the moves they want to make. I think I’ll be around in Boston this summer and I’ll look forward to what’s going to happen. I’m very excited.”
This offseason, Boston will have plenty of available assets at their disposal to make significant moves, details Chris Forsberg of ESPN Boston.