Boston Celtics Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Eastern Notes: Knicks, Celtics, Booker, Cavs

April 10th, 2014 at 5:00pm CST by Chuck Myron

Knicks GM Steve Mills denies last month’s report that he met with Phil Jackson about the possibility of the Zen Master coaching the team, though he admits that the team’s pursuit of Jackson, now team president, caused “problems” with coach Mike Woodson. Mills made his comments to Spike Lee in an interview airing tonight on SiriusXM NBA Radio, and Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPNNewYork.com provides an early peek. Mills also said that he feels he and Jackson can “do something special” as they work together in the Knicks front office. Here’s more from the Eastern Conference:

Danny Ainge wants to “blow off some fireworks” with splashy moves this summer, but he isn’t making promises, as he said today in his weekly radio appearance on 98.5 the Sports Hub (transcription via Chris Forsberg of ESPNBoston.com). Ainge reiterated that he’s looking for rim protection and said he’s also seeking a “closer.” The Celtics boss also expressed concern about the injury history of soon-to-be free agent Avery Bradley, though Ainge once more spoke of the team’s interest in the guard.
Trevor Booker started his 41st game for the Wizards on Wednesday, so the value of the qualifying offer the Wizards must make to keep him from unrestricted free agency this summer has risen from $3,420,443 to $4,677,708. I explained last month that Booker was approaching the league’s “starter criteria” for restricted free agents.
The Cavs have assigned Sergey Karasev and Scotty Hopson to their D-League affiliate in Canton, the D-League team announced (Twitter link). Karasev and Hopson, who’d just been recalled to Cleveland on Wednesday, will be available for Canton’s playoff game tonight.
We rounded up more on the Cavs and other Central Division news earlier today.

Celtics, Kris Humphries Negotiating New Deal

April 9th, 2014 at 10:51am CST by Chuck Myron

The Celtics and agent Arn Tellem, who represents Kris Humphries, have had preliminary conversations about a new contract for Humphries in the offseason, reports Mark Murphy of the Boston Herald. President of basketball operations Danny Ainge said last week that he’d spoken to Humphries directly about a return for next season. The two sides can’t sign an extension, since the power forward is only on a two-year contract, and Ainge said he can’t make promises at this point, given the uncertainty surrounding the rest of the team. Tellem understands Ainge’s position, Murphy writes, but the Celtics boss is a fan of Humphries, who reiterated his desire to remain in Boston.

“Look at the direction we’re heading in,” Humphries said. “Obviously this year there was disappointment. But [coach] Brad [Stevens is] a winner, Ainge has proven to be a winner on multiple levels. The organization and fans are great. The chance to be part of a playoff team here will be great. I think it’s possible. Ultimately it comes down to what the players do, but it’s one of those things where you get comfortable somewhere, and hopefully you can be there for a while and have success.”

The Celtics were reportedly eyeing a sign-and-trade of Humphries this summer shortly after the trade deadline, and he’s recently been identified on a list of players likely to change teams in the offseason. He was open to a trade away from Boston early this season, his first with the Celtics after they acquired him in last summer’s Kevin Garnett/Paul Pierce blockbuster, but he’s clearly warmed to the idea of sticking around.

Humphries is in the final season of a two-year, $24MM deal he signed with the Nets in 2012. He clearly won’t see nearly as much this time around, given his decline in playing time the past couple of seasons, but the 29-year-old’s size and efficient play should have multiple teams at his door, as our Zach Links wrote when he examined Humphries’ free agent stock.

And-Ones: NBPA, Jackson, Irving, Stevens

April 7th, 2014 at 9:30pm CST by Zachary Links

The National Basketball Player’s Association announced tonight that they have hired Sacramento mayor Kevin Johnson to head a search committee to find a new executive director, tweets Howard Beck of Bleacher Report. The NBPA also announced that Kyle Korver has been elected to take over for Matt Bonner on the executive committee after his term expired (link). The press release indicates that the union’s goal is to have a new executive director in place by the start of next season, which would give them a new leader 20 months after firing Billy Hunter. More from around the league..

If the Knicks are going to replace Mike Woodson as head coach, they should put Phil Jackson in his place, Larry Brown opined in an interview with SiriusXM NBA Radio.”You’re not going to make the Knicks better by living in L.A. and being there half the time and not talking to your coach,” Brown said, according to Brian Mahoney of the Associated Press. “Let him coach. He was the best coach probably ever. Let him coach.“
Cavs guards Kyrie Irving and Dion Waiters are downplaying talk of a rift, writes Bob Finnan of The News-Herald. “I just think, man, throughout this whole year with us two not liking each other, it’s total BS,” Waiters said. “We’ve been friends before we even made the NBA, before any of this. I just think y’all saying we don’t like playing with one another. … Yeah, we still need to learn certain things, but I think at the end of the day, we’re genuinely friends. I love him as a friend, teammate, everything. I just want everybody to know that. I don’t hate this guy.“
People around the league have had doubts from the beginning of Brad Stevens‘ tenure with the Celtics that he’ll want to stay for his entire six-year deal, but the coach tells Steve Bulpett of the Boston Herald that he intends to fulfill his contract.
Former Spurs guard Nando De Colo is making an impact with his new team, writes the Toronto Sun’s Frank Zicarelli. De Colo came to the Raptors in an under-the-radar deadline move, but he’s been anything but since February. “[I’m] just being aggressive and playing my game,” said De Colo. “When a shot is open, you have to take it. Whether I’m playing the one (point guard) or two (shooting guard), staying focused on my job and nothing more.“
The Cavs believe Scotty Hopson can play a role for next year’s team, particularly if C.J. Miles signs elsewhere, according to Jason Lloyd of the Akron Beacon Journal.
Timberwolves coach Rick Adelman said he and team president Flip Saunders would talk about signing a player, tweets Jerry Zgoda of the Star-Tribune. The club now has an open roster spot following the release of A.J. Price last week.
Tim Kawakami of the Mercury News writes that Mark Jackson‘s greatest strength is also one of his trouble spots: a dead certainty that he’s doing everything exactly right. Jackson’s contends that the recent staff shakeup doesn’t have anything to do with him, but Kawakami argues that the dispatching of Brian Scalabrine after a philosophical dispute followed by the dismissal of Darren Erman must have something to do with the Warriors head coach.

Chuck Myron contributed to this post.

Amico’s Latest: Allen, Battier, Rivers, Kerr

April 7th, 2014 at 9:30am CST by Chuck Myron

Ray Allen appears unlikely to return to the Heat next season, writes Sam Amico of Fox Sports Ohio. League insiders nonetheless believe that if the Heat’s trio of stars return, there’s a strong chance the team will try to re-sign Allen, too, so it seems his future is contingent on what LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh decide to do. Indeed, those three will have much to say about what happens in free agency leaguewide, and Amico has more on the summer ahead and another member of the Heat as we highlight here:

Several teams are expected to court Heat forward Shane Battier for an executive job or a gig related to player development, Amico hears. Battier recently reiterated his plans to retire at season’s end.
The emergence of Brian Roberts has strengthened the belief around the league that the Pelicans will trade former lottery pick Austin Rivers this summer, according to Amico. Roberts is set to become a restricted free agent.
Sources tell Amico they wouldn’t be surprised if several teams aside from the Knicks try to convince Steve Kerr to run their basketball operations. Kerr has expressed a desire to coach, but it looks like the leaguewide interest in him is as an executive, the role he held with the Suns from 2007 to 2010.
Boris Diaw, Luol Deng, C.J. Miles, Marvin Williams, Luke Ridnour, Kris Humphries, Devin Harris and Jimmer Fredette are other free agents who appear unlikely to be back with their respective teams, Amico writes.

Eastern Notes: Anthony, Cavs, Bucks, Sixers

April 6th, 2014 at 11:08am CST by Eddie Scarito

Celtics center Joel Anthony has a $3.8MM player option this summer that he is expected to exercise, but he’s still unsure of his decision, writes Gary Washburn of The Boston Globe. Anthony said, “When the season’s over, I’ll talk with my agent and look to see what we’re going to do.” Anthony hasn’t seen much playing time, primarily because he is new to the system and the club wanted to play Jared Sullinger and Kelly Olynyk in the frontcourt, opines Washburn. But he also believes that Anthony could be a more useful asset next season when the Celtics move forward from rebuilding mode.

Eastern Notes: Humphries, Turner, Young

April 3rd, 2014 at 7:21pm CST by Ryan Raroque

As a guest on 98.5 The Sports Hub’s Toucher and Rich show, Celtics president of basketball operations Danny Ainge revealed that he’s had discussions with forward Kris Humphries about the possibility of returning next season:

“I have had a few conversations with Kris…(he) knows where we are as an organization and he knows we like him. And he knows there is a lot of uncertainty, depending on which direction we choose to go this summer. None of us know…he knows we like him, his coaches and teammates like him, (but) we just can’t make any promises” (interview transcribed by Gary Dzen of Boston.com).

Here’s more out of the Eastern Conference tonight:

Dzen points out that Ainge was also asked about Jerryd Bayless and Phil Pressey but only offered comment on Humphries.
Having gone from a team with the NBA’s second-worst record to playing for the second seed in the Eastern Conference, Evan Turner has conceivably endured his share of challenges in trying to fit in. The fact that the Pacers have compiled a 12-10 record since the deal while Turner continues to struggle offensively hasn’t helped the situation, but the 6’7 guard tells NBA.com’s Manny Randhawa that he’s confident about being able to contribute sooner rather than later.
Once considered a possible candidate to be traded, Thaddeus Young is looking more and more like a keeper in Philadelphia, writes Dei Lynam of CSN Philly. The 25-year-old forward spoke glowingly about playing for 76ers head coach Brett Brown: “Coach (Doug Collins) didn’t want me to shoot a lot of threes…I didn’t like that at all. And this year Brett tells me, ‘I want you to shoot threes, get to the basket, I want you to do everything.’ I am back to playing the way I was before Coach Collins and Eddie Jordan, just a more free flowing offense…I think I have transitioned and turned things around where (as a player) I can just focus on my job.”
Based on the numbers this season, Brandon Knight‘s production may not have unequivocally surpassed what Brandon Jennings brought to the table during his four-year tenure in Milwaukee; However, Knight being two years younger and more affordable than his predecessor is proof of why the Bucks are better off with him now, opines Steve Aschburner of NBA.com.

And-Ones: Ujiri, Coaches, Gibson

April 2nd, 2014 at 10:35pm CST by Cray Allred

Raptors GM Masai Ujiri tells Bruce Arthur of The National Post that Toronto was very close to a drastic roster overhaul following the Rudy Gay trade earlier this year, but that the decision to give Kyle Lowry and his teammates a chance to perform has paid off. “[We came] very, very close [to a different path],” Ujiri said. “I think it was clear for us that after the Rudy Gay trade we were going to see how this whole thing was going to play out … but one thing that really encouraged me was that Kyle, I think Kyle really grew up. We had some honest discussions, and some honest challenges.” Here’s a rundown of the rest of the league’s notes:

In a video spot, Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders discusses which NBA coaches are on the hot seat, and which available coaches are the hottest candidates for next season.
Daniel Gibson drew interest from NBA teams prior to the deadline, but the former Cavs guard remains unsigned and is focusing on returning to the league next season instead, as he tells Rodney “Mehka” King of Baller Mind Frame.
Jessica Camerato of Basketball Insiders takes a look at what it will take to move the Celtics rebuild along and deliver a winning team. Boston will look to work some magic in the draft and trade market, while making long-term decisions about Rajon Rondo and Jeff Green.

Eastern Notes: Irving, Bayless, Hoiberg

March 31st, 2014 at 10:30pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Celtics coach Brad Stevens would like to see Jerryd Bayless return to the team next season, writes Chris Forsberg of ESPNBoston.com. Stevens said, “You don’t know how all the numbers are going to work themselves out and all the different people, but he’s a good guy to have on your team. He’s bright, he thinks about the game on both ends of the floor, he’s physical, and he can score the ball in a flurry. I like him and I’d like to have him. At the same time, I don’t know how all that stuff is going to work itself out. I’m a big fan of Jerryd Bayless; I like him.” In 35 appearances for Boston, Bayless is averaging 9.7 PPG, 2.2 RPG, and 3.2 APG in 24.7 minutes per contest.

Wiggins Notes: Celtics, Agent, Durant

March 31st, 2014 at 5:38pm CST by Eddie Scarito

The 2014 NBA Draft won’t be held until June 26th, but the fact that it’s still almost three months away won’t dampen the excitement and anticipation of executives and fans around the league. The rush of underclassmen declaring their intent to be a part of the process has already begun. You can check out our latest early entrants list to stay up to date with who teams will have to choose from on draft night. One of the more exciting prospects to declare was Kansas freshman Andrew Wiggins. You can check out our prospect profile on him here.

More talk about Wiggins:

The Celtics are hoping for a little luck when the lottery order is determined now that Wiggins has officially declared for the draft, writes Jeff Pini of Boston.com. The Celtics currently have the fifth-worst record in the NBA and have a strong chance of landing a top-three pick in the draft.
Wiggins is expected to hire Rich Paul of Klutch Sports Group as his agent, reports Sean Deveney of The Sporting News (Twitter link). Paul was formerly with C.A.A. before forming his own firm. He currently represents LeBron James, Tristan Thompson, Eric Bledsoe, Kevin Seraphin and Cory Joseph.
Wiggins started the season as the probable first overall pick, and if a knock on Wiggins’ game developed over time, it was that he could be too passive and did not steal the show nightly, writes Deveney in a separate article. Wiggins’ last game where he scored four points on only six shots didn’t help change this opinion. Kevin Durant had similar criticisms as well before he entered the NBA, according to Deveney. The article references this scouting report on Durant that stated, “One aspect of his game that was put on center stage throughout the (NCAA) tournament was his tendency to disappear throughout stretches of the game. For 10 minutes, you will be watching the best player the college game has had to offer in the last 10 years. Then for 5 minutes, you will forget that he is even on the floor offensively.”

Contract Details: Butler, World Peace, Suns

March 31st, 2014 at 9:38am CST by Chuck Myron

Mark Deeks has updated his salary databases at ShamSports, and, as usual, he’s revealed several nuances about the latest contracts signed around the NBA. We’ll pass along the details we hadn’t previously heard about here:

Caron Butler gave up $1MM in his buyout deal with the Bucks. He signed for that same amount for the remainder of this season with the Thunder, who dipped into their mid-level exception to accommodate Butler’s $1MM salary.
Metta World Peace gave up $305,166 of this season’s $1.59MM salary in his buyout deal with the Knicks. All contracts with player options include a clause indicating whether or not the player receives the money for his option year in the event that he’s waived before deciding on the option. It looks as if the clause in World Peace’s deal stated that he would not receive the option-year pay, since Deeks doesn’t list any of World Peace’s $1,931,550 salary for 2014/15 on New York’s books.
Shavlik Randolph‘s contract with the Suns includes a non-guaranteed year for 2014/15, rather than a team option, as we suspected.
If the Hawks exercise their team option on the fourth season of Mike Muscala‘s deal, the contract will nonetheless remain non-guaranteed until the leaguewide guarantee date. It’s similar to the structure of the contracts a handful of Sixers have, including recent signee Jarvis Varnado.
Chris Johnson also has such a deal with the Celtics, although there are a pair of guarantee dates attached to the third and fourth seasons. The third year becomes fully guaranteed providing he’s not waived on or before September 1st, 2015, and the fourth year becomes fully guaranteed if he’s not waived on or before September 1st, 2016.
The Celtics also arranged for a couple of guarantee dates on Phil Pressey‘s three-year contract. Next season is non-guaranteed if he’s waived on or before July 15th, but if the Celtics keep him beyond that date, it’s fully guaranteed. The same happens for the third year of the deal on July 15, 2015.
The Rockets have a team option on Troy Daniels worth the minimum salary for next season.
Luke Babbitt‘s two-year deal with the Pelicans is for the minimum salary. Next season isn’t guaranteed, but it becomes partially guaranteed for $100K if he isn’t waived on or before July 22nd.
The Magic used cap room to sign Dewayne Dedmon to a three-year contract that gives him $300K for the rest of this season, slightly more than what he would have made on a prorated minimum-salary deal. Dedmon is set to make the minimum salary in the other two seasons covered in the pact. Next season is non-guaranteed if he’s waived on or before opening night, when it becomes partially guaranteed for $250K. The final season is non-guaranteed if he’s waived on or before August 1st, 2015, when it becomes fully guaranteed.