Boston Celtics Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Eastern Notes: Noel, Maxiell, Bird

March 12th, 2014 at 8:22pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Jason Maxiell hasn’t played in the Magic’s last nine games and has only one appearance since January 29th, but he’s trying to maintain a positive outlook, writes Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel. Maxiell stated, “I’m respecting that this is a year for the young guys to develop and improve for next year. With the coaching staff and [general manager] Rob [Hennigan] and [assistant general manager] Scott Perry, I think more of the bigger picture is moving forward for next year and having a mixture of experienced young guys mixed in with some vets.” Robbins mentions that the lack of playing time could hurt Maxiell in the long run because of his contract. He signed a free-agent contract with the Magic during the offseason, and his salary of $2.5MM for next year is non-guaranteed and he won’t be owed anything if the team waives him before mid-July.

Celtics Owner On Rondo, Stevens, Free Agents

March 11th, 2014 at 10:21pm CST by Ryan Raroque

Celtics owner Wyc Grousbeck sat down with Bob Neumeier of CSNNE at the MIT Sloan Sports Analytics conference to discuss a handful of team-related topics. Although Grousbeck admitted some disappointment about the team’s struggles this season, he remains focused on the future: “I had hoped for a better record than this, I know Brad Stevens had hoped for a better record for sure, because he’s a guy that would light himself on fire to win even a quarter of the game much less the whole game…So we’re about winning around here. It’s not happening for us this year, but we’re going to take a long-term view.”

You can find more of Grousebeck’s notable comments below (link provided from a CSNNE Staff Report).

On Rajon Rondo:

“… I can’t imagine the Celtics without him. It’s challenging. There’s a lot of interest in him. He’s going to come up in a year on his free agency. So we’re going to try to keep him. I hope it works out. If it doesn’t work out we’ll go to Plan B. But he’s been great for us, he’s got us a ring, and is now the captain of the team, and I love having him here.”

On Stevens:

“Now having Brad replace Doc, I wasn’t sure I was ready for Doc to go, but it seemed to be time when it all shook out. Brad is, I can’t think of a more fabulous coach and up-and-coming coach in the league. I think there’s 30 teams one way or the other that are envious of our coach right now.”

On attracting premier free agents to Boston:

“The more I hear about free agency in Boston and the more that I see all the money that’s … the money in the league has doubled just even since I’ve been here. Everything’s doubled and almost doubled again. There’s tons of money. What these guys don’t have is a ring. If we can get it to a place … we really attracted Kevin Garnett here with a chance to win a championship. You can say technically he wasn’t a free agent, but really technically he was. He didn’t have to come to Boston and he did. So in my opinion KG was a free agent who came to Boston and won a championship. And there are other guys out there that want to win rings, and if they want to win them, I think we have to be in the mix.”

Celtics Sign Chris Babb To Second 10-Day

March 11th, 2014 at 10:30am CST by Zachary Links

TUESDAY, 10:30am: The Celtics have formally announced the deal, via press release.

SUNDAY, 8:02pm: Chris Babb confirmed to reporters, including Gary Washburn of the Boston Globe (on Twitter), that he has received a second 10-day deal from the Celtics. Babb had averages of 3.7 PPG and 2.0 RPG while playing 13.3 MPG heading into today’s contest against the Pistons.

Coach Brad Stevens recently offered up high praise for Babb, who initially joined the C’s on February 28th. “He’s a perfect fit for what we need as far as, he’s not going to play 38 minutes a game — he’s going to come in, get open shots, hopefully knock those open shots down, play off of other people, and then be a feisty defender for us. He really is an outstanding defender for a young guy,” Stevens said.

Babb went undrafted in 2013 but played in the summer league for the Suns afterwards. Babb played in 32 games for the Red Claws this season, and averaged 11.9 PPG, 6.1 RPG, 3.3 APG, and 1.2 SPG, while logging 37.5 MPG.

Eastern Rumors: Knicks, Gortat, Pacers, Rondo

March 10th, 2014 at 2:11pm CST by Chuck Myron

Carmelo Anthony‘s camp leaked the information about Joakim Noah‘s All-Star break recruiting pitch, and the Knicks have been open about their pursuit of Phil Jackson, observes Sean Deveney of The Sporting News. Deveney concludes the whispers from both sides are intended as posturing for ‘Melo’s free agency decision this summer. While we wait to see how the latest ‘Melo-drama will play out, here’s the latest from the rest of the Eastern Conference:

Marcin Gortat says the strength of a team’s point guard and its coaching staff will be two qualities he’ll consider when he assesses suitors in free agency this summer, as he tells Kyle Weidie of ESPN.com. Gortat is high on re-signing with the Wizards, though his comments suggest he isn’t interested in signing an extension, reportedly one of Washington’s goals.
The Pacers were concerned that Danny Granger had slacked off on the daily rehab regimen that was to help him regain his form after he missed almost all of last season with injuries, according to Steve Kyler of Basketball Insiders. That helped precipitate the deadline deal that brought Evan Turner and Lavoy Allen to Indiana, but Kyler wonders if the departure of the longtime Pacer did irreparable damage to the team’s chemistry.
Danny Ainge embraces Rajon Rondo, stubbornness and all, as the Celtics president of basketball operations tells Baxter Holmes of the Boston Globe for a piece that examines Rondo’s nuanced personality.

Josh Smith Envisions Pairing With Rajon Rondo

March 10th, 2014 at 9:34am CST by Chuck Myron

Pistons forward Josh Smith acknowledges the idea that he’ll join prep school teammate Rajon Rondo on the same NBA team anytime soon is far-fetched, but he’s optimistic that it will happen sometime, as he tells Baxter Holmes of the Boston Globe. The two have spoken about the possibility multiple times, Smith says.

“He’s my best friend, especially in the NBA,” Smith said. “We definitely connect. We take family vacations together.”

Smith added that Kevin Garnett joined them for those trips. There was trade talk surrounding Rondo and Smith prior to the deadline, but neither ever appeared close to changing teams. Smith says he’s content playing with the Pistons, who last month reportedly shopped him. A pair of reports this summer from fellow Globe scribe Gary Washburn indicated that Detroit was interested in acquiring Rondo via trade. Celtics president of basketball operations Danny Ainge insisted he wasn’t looking to deal the four-time All-Star, and set a steep price tag on him as the deadline approached.

Smith is under contract through 2016/17, while Rondo is set to become a free agent after next season. The Pistons, at this point, have enough cap flexibility for the summer of 2015 to sign Rondo for up to the max if both sides would be willing, but the BDA Sports Management client will surely have plenty of other suitors.

Rondo didn’t speak to Holmes about his relationship with Smith, who was the point guard’s roommate at Oak Hill Academy in Virginia. Oak Hill coach Steve Smith invoked Rondo’s connection to the school earlier this season when he claimed that Carmelo Anthony, another Oak Hill alum, was attempting to recruit Rondo to the Knicks, but Anthony and Rondo denied those talks.

Eastern Notes: Bradley, Bynum, Liggins

March 9th, 2014 at 8:01pm CST by Zachary Links

Celtics guard Avery Bradley missed 32 games last season recovering from shoulder surgery and 16 this season with an ankle injury, but he’s not worried about that affecting his value as he nears restricted free agency, writes Gary Washburn of the Boston Globe. “I think I’ve [proven my worth] throughout this year because you can’t really control something like [the ankle],” he said. “But the last 16 games or whatever that I come back, I am going to go out there and play hard. This is a game I love to play. We need to go out there and prove to our fans and to ourselves we’re going to fight no matter what.” More out of the East..

Pacers big man Andrew Bynum says he’s “probably at 80% but good enough to go,” tweets Candace Buckner of the Indianapolis Star. Even if Bynum isn’t 100%, it sounds like he’ll be making his Pacers debut sometime soon.
DeAndre Liggins played for the Sioux Falls Skyforce in the D-League today and will rejoin the Heat in time for Miami game Monday night, tweets Ira Winderman of The Sun Sentinel. Liggins who was signed to a second 10-day contract on March 8th, has appeared in one game for Miami, scoring two points and grabbing one rebound. The Heat confirmed the news via press release.
The Raptors announced that they have recalled rookie Dwight Buycks from the Bakersfield Jam. The guard is averaging 15.4 points, 2.9 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 28.8 minutes in eight games (two starts) with the Jam. Buycks has appeared in 13 games for the Raptors this season recording 41 points, 10 assists, 20 rebounds and six steals in 124 minutes.

Eddie Scarito contributed to this post.

Celtics Likely To Sign Babb To Second 10-Day

March 9th, 2014 at 10:21am CST by Eddie Scarito

Today is the final day for Chris Babb’s 10-day contract and the team is expected to extend Babb with another 10-day deal, writes Gary Washburn of The Boston Globe. Babb has appeared in three games for the Celtics and has averaged 3.7 PPG, and 2.0 RPG while playing 13.3 MPG.

Coach Brad Stevens said he hopes the club continues the relationship with another contract. Stevens also said, “He’s a perfect fit for what we need as far as, he’s not going to play 38 minutes a game — he’s going to come in, get open shots, hopefully knock those open shots down, play off of other people, and then be a feisty defender for us. He really is an outstanding defender for a young guy.”

Babb went undrafted in 2013, but played in the summer league for the Suns. He then signed with the Celtics on September 30th, 2013, but was subsequently waived by the team on October 26th. He joined the Red Claws on October 31st. Babb played in 32 games for the Red claws this season, and averaged 11.9 PPG, 6.1 RPG, 3.3 APG, and 1.2 SPG, while logging 37.5 MPG. He signed his initial 10-day contract with the Celtics on February 28th.

Eastern Notes: Babb, Onuaku, LeBron

March 8th, 2014 at 4:35pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Chris Babb‘s 10-day contract ends on Monday, but the Celtics are high on him, writes Mark Murphy of the Boston Herald. Coach Brad Stevens said, “He’s a perfect fit for what we need as far as, he’s not going to play 38 minutes a game — he’s going to come in, get open shots, hopefully knock those open shots down, play off of other people, and then be a feisty defender for us. He really is an outstanding defender for a young guy.” There has been no official word on if the Celtics plan to re-sign Babb.

Paul Pierce Open To Return To Celtics

March 8th, 2014 at 10:17am CST by Cray Allred

Nets star Paul Pierce says he’s open to returning to the Celtics as either a player or team employee, he told reporters including Baxter Holmes of The Boston Globe. Responding to a question on the possibility of a return to Boston, he answered, “Yeah, why not? Maybe play for them, maybe work for them.” As final as the departure from Boston of Pierce and fellow star Kevin Garnett felt last summer, the small forward says he remains close with point guard Rajon Rondo and still has affection for the franchise he build his Hall of Fame career with.

The 36-year-old becomes a free agent this summer, and sees hope in Boston despite the losses that have piled up in their first year of rebuilding.

“They’re a young team. They’ve got a mix of some veterans, some young guys who are developing. They’re only going to get better,” Pierce said. “Rondo is ready to lead, he’s leading them right now, moving into the next generation of Celtics. I think their future is going to be very bright.”

A good chunk of Pierce’s 15 years with Boston was spent enduring similar rebuilding efforts before finally enjoying a championship, so he is optimistic about the Celtics current trajectory.

“When you’re in the middle of your prime, like Rondo is, and you’re frustrated with the losing, it’s about just staying patient, staying with the guys, helping them develop, helping them get better,” said Pierce.

Pierce averaged 21.8 PPG with the Celtics, and only experience three winning seasons during his first nine years in the league. After turning their assets and appeal into the Big-Three of Pierce, Garnett, and Ray Allen, the Celtics immediately won a title, reached the Finals again, and won nearly two-thirds of their games over his last six seasons in green.

Pierce is averaging career lows in points, assists, rebounds, and minutes per game this season. Although he has played better of late, it would seem out of character for Celtics GM Danny Ainge to consider adding an expensive contract for a veteran in the twilight of his career. Pierce makes $15.3MM this year, and would likely fetch a salary well north of the veteran’s minimum should he extend his career beyond this season. Ainge has vowed to stay patient and avoid shortcuts in the rebuilding process, which in most cases means prioritizing youth on a roster and reserving cap space for elite players that can help build a long-term contender.

Vitor Faverani Out For Season

March 7th, 2014 at 3:47pm CST by Chuck Myron

Vitor Faverani will miss the rest of the season after undergoing surgery on a torn lateral meniscus in his left knee, the Celtics announced via press release. The rookie center has been out since January 28th. The Celtics have also been hit with a season-ending injury to Gerald Wallace, and the team sent Keith Bogans home earlier this year after a dispute over playing time. Avery Bradley is also out indefinitely, leaving Boston with 11 available players, including Chris Babb, who’s on a 10-day contract.

The continued absence of Faverani is probably a favorable sign for Babb, though the team could just cycle through others on 10-day contracts. The Celtics are seven games out of the playoffs and in 12th place in the Eastern Conference, so Faverani’s injury will have little bearing on the postseason race.

Faverani, 25, had been playing in Spain when he signed with Boston this summer. His contract is guaranteed for a little more than $2MM next year, and it includes a non-guaranteed season in 2015/16.