Boston Celtics Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Atlantic Notes: Knicks, Celtics, Sullinger

June 8th, 2013 at 6:14pm CST by Spencer Lund

Jared Zwerling of ESPNNewYork.com talked with two NBA scouts who said the Knicks might need an offensive-minded assistant to help head coach Mike Woodson. The Knicks small ball lineup with Carmelo Anthony at power forward, had them playing well in a run of wins to start and end the 2012/13 season.

Unfortunately, those wins didn't come about with the Knicks' two ostensible superstars sharing the front court together. Amar'e Stoudemire was out with an injury to start the season, and in the month leading up to the playoffs when the Knicks won 10-straight to secure the 2nd playoff seed in the East.

But if the Knicks are going to take advantage of their two highest-paid players–Anthony and Stoudemire, who are set to make $23.742MM and $23.411MM next season–they'll have to find a way to share the ball on offense from their naturally overlapping high-block positions on the court.

A couple of the candidates offered by Zwerling include David Blatt and his Princeton offense, which has been successful with Maccabi Tel Aviv, and former Lakers assistant during the 2011/12 season and an assistant with Woodson on the title-winning 2004 Pistons team, John Kuester. Kuester's "early offense" approach as an offensive assistant with the Cavs from 2007-2009 helped another point forward led team, with LeBron James initiating a lot of that early offense.

Here are some more notes surrounding two of the three Atlantic division playoff teams:

Tony Mitchell, the power forward out of North Texas, thinks he’s the answer for the Knicks’ front court problems this past season, writes Ian Begley of ESPNNewYork.com. He’s expected to be a mid-first round pick, and the Knicks have the 24th pick in this year's draft.
The Knicks also looked at Providence combo guard, Ricky Ledo, during a workout on Friday, which he told Zwerling was his best during the run-up to the draft. The Knicks might use him as a replacement for the recently retired Jason Kidd.
The Celtics have a lot of questions that need answering this offseason regarding franchise cornerstones, Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett, but they’ve also got to figure out what to do with their younger players as well, writes Steve Bulpett of the Boston Herald.
One of those younger players on the Celtics’ roster was last season’s rookie from Ohio State University, Jared Sullinger. He wasn’t able to play for the Celtics in the playoffs because of a back injury before the season ended, but ESPNBoston.com has tracked his recovery and Sullinger told MassLive.com his back is “completely fixed.”
A reader asked ESPNBoston.com’s Chris Forsberg if the Spurs’ success in this year’s finals will persuade Danny Ainge the Celtics can compete for a title with the aging Pierce and Garnett. Forsberg says the Spurs’ fate in the Finals will have no impact on Ainge’s decision making process.

Odds & Ends: Hollins, Nets, Allen, Raptors, Pacers

June 5th, 2013 at 10:41pm CST by Chuck Myron

Game One of the NBA Finals will be ending about 24 hours from now, and while the Spurs will provide more evidence for the rest-versus-rust debate, many expect them to find their rhythm before long. The majority of Hoops Rumors readers who voted in today's poll say San Antonio will beat the Heat. While we wait to see if they're right, here's more from around the NBA:

The Grizzlies rebuffed the Nets when they asked for permission to interview Lionel Hollins the day after the Western Conference Finals ended, but Memphis would likely grant that permission now if Brooklyn inquired again, TNT's David Aldridge hears (Twitter link).
Ray Allen feels his return to the Finals with the Heat provides a measure of vindication for his decision to sign with Miami last summer, observes Gary Washburn of the Boston Globe.
Mike Ganter of the Toronto Sun looks at what Tim Leiweke and Masai Ujiri have done and said since arriving in town and concludes that the Raptors will soon be rebuilding.
Mike Wells of the Indianapolis Star, writing for USA Today, details five key questions the Pacers must answer this summer.
The shakeup continues for the Kings, as Jerry Reynolds will step down as the team's director of player development, he tells Chris Riva of KCRA-TV.
The Knicks worked out Deshaun Thomas today and will get another look at him Friday, reports Sam Amico of Fox Sports Ohio (Twitter link), who also notes that Cody Zeller will work out Thursday for the Suns. Thomas will also work out later this month for the Timberwolves, tweets Jerry Zgoda of the Star Tribune, apparently clearing up earlier confusion involving Adonis Thomas.
The Sixers auditioned Steven Adams, Colton Iverson, Alex Oriakhi, Mouhammadou Jaiteh and Jamelle Hagins today, tweets Jake L. Fischer of SLAM Online.
Ray McCallum, who will work out sometime this month for the Pistons, has also worked out with the Spurs, Rockets and Pacers, notes Vince Ellis of the Detroit Free Press.

Draft Updates: Karasev, Saric, Workouts

June 5th, 2013 at 10:30am CST by Luke Adams

With two teams still standing in the 2013 NBA playoffs, most of the Association's franchises have turned their attention to this month's draft. We're probably still a week or two away from seeing any draft picks change hands via trades, but prospects continue to jockey for draft position, working out for teams, or perhaps pulling out of workouts in the case of at least one international prospect. Here are Wednesday's latest draft-related items:

Sergey Karasev has returned to Moscow and plans to remain in Russia until the draft, fueling speculation that he has been given a first-round promise, writes Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports. With agents Andy Miller and Justin Zanik telling teams their client won't be available for predraft workouts, Wojnarowski think Karasev probably received a guarantee from a team between Nos. 14 and 24.
Appearing on the Taking the Charge podcast, Croatian forward Dario Saric said he still may withdraw his name from this year's draft, though he expects to be selected in the first round. If he stays in the draft and is selected, he still plans to play in Europe for at least one more year, according to HeinNews.com.
The Suns have yet to confirm the participants of today's workouts, but it appears they've brought in a star-studded group that includes Ben McLemore, Victor Oladipo, Cody Zeller, Rudy Gobert, and Shabazz Muhammad, as Paul Coro of the Arizona Republic outlines.
It's unclear where Muhammad will land in the draft, since his stock seems to be on the decline, says Broderick Turner of the Los Angeles Times.
Peyton Silva, Archie Goodwin, and Scootie Randall worked out for the Sixers on Tuesday, according to John N. Mitchell of the Philadelphia Inquirer. None of those prospects are likely to land in the lottery, so Philadelphia appears to be weighing its second-round options.
Working out for the Jazz today, according to Jody Genessy of the Deseret News: Shane Larkin, Tony Mitchell, Reggie Bullock, Lorenzo Brown, Amath M'Baye, and Malik Story.
The Bucks officially announced (via Twitter) that they'll be working out the following prospects today: Trent Lockett, D.J. Stephens, Dewayne Dedmon, Jack Cooley, Korie Lucious, and D.J. Seeley.
Chris Forsberg of ESPNBoston.com and Baxter Holmes of the Boston Globe have the details on yesterday's Celtics workout, which included Mason Plumlee, Reggie Johnson, Ian Clark, and Jonathan Lee. It was the second workout with the C's for Lee.

Atlantic Notes: Kidd, Knicks, Larkin, C’s, Sixers

June 4th, 2013 at 9:05am CST by Luke Adams

Already today, we've passed along word that J.R. Smith will decline his player option, but is likely to re-sign with the Knicks. There are plenty of other news items and rumors floating around the web this morning, relating to the Knicks and their Atlantic rivals, so let's round up the latest out of the division:

After announcing his retirement yesterday, Jason Kidd told ESPN Radio (link via Marc Berman of the New York Post) that he thinks the Knicks have a "solid foundation," though the team may have to make a couple upgrades this summer.
According to both Berman and Nate Taylor of the New York Times, Kidd will forgo the final two years and $6.18MM remaining on his contract. Assuming that's true, it's a nice break for the Knicks, considering teams often agree to buyouts with retiring players. It likely won't give New York any additional cap flexibility, since the team is still in the tax, but at the very least it will reduce that tax bill.
Mark Murphy of the Boston Herald explores whether Shane Larkin may be a fit for the Celtics at No. 16 in this month's draft.
Although Michael Malone was on the Sixers' wish list back when Tony DiLeo, rather than Sam Hinkie, was running the team's coaching search, John N. Mitchell of the Philadelphia Inquirer points out the Kings' hiring of Malone further diminishes Philadelphia's pool of head coach targets.
Over at Philly.com, Michael Levien of SBNation.com is skeptical of a rumor linking the Sixers to free-agent-to-be Josh Smith, writing that he's "very confident" Philadelphia won't be the team that gives the forward a big-money, long-term contract.

Odds & Ends: Celtics, Heat, Cuban

June 1st, 2013 at 10:57pm CST by Spencer Lund

The Celtics are at a crossroads and the shrouded future of Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce are a large reason why. Pierce is only guaranteed $5MM next year if the Celtics waive him before June 30th. But he's owed $15.3MM next year if they decide to make another run with this group, or deal him for assets.

Sources revealed to Jackie MacMullan at ESPNBoston.com yesterday, that Garnett will play next year even if Pierce doesn't come back. But it's likely the aging star would retire if the Celtics blow it up entirely. Garnett still has 2 years and over $24MM left on the 3-year deal he signed last summer.

Then again, anything that's considered "likely" for the Celtics will be "laughed at" because nothing is certain at this point. Plus, trading Pierce and excavating the rest of the Celtics' aging roster will be hard to do with the money still owed Jason Terry, Brandon Bass and Courtney Lee.

Chris Forsberg at ESPNBoston.com attacked the Celtics' offseason plans with a four-pronged approach, and he finally finished with his fourth hypothetical: a complete teardown. Starting over for the C's involves general manager Danny Ainge unloading the rest of the nucleus that won the Celtics a title in 2008, and was just one fourth quarter collapse away from a second in 2010.

Here's what else is happening around the league as the Pacers beat the Heat 91-77 to force a game 7 in the Eastern Conference Finals on Monday night.

Heat owner Micky Arison doesn't care about the summer of 2014 when LeBron James, Chris Bosh and Dwyane Wade all have early termination options. Arison told the Sun-Sentinel's Ira Winderman he's only focused on winning a title this year.
The Oklahoman continues their series of 2012/13 Thunder season reviews with beat reporter John Rohde looking at Nick Collison (also: Collison grades & roundtable with Rohde, Tramel and Mayberry).
Rohde also spent most of the night on Twitter answering questions about the Thunder's offseason questions.
Mavericks owner, Mark Cuban, spoke with Ben & Skin at KRLD-FM 105.3, and the Dallas Morning News has the highlights of their chat.
Mike Malone will be formally introduced to the media as the Kings' new head coach on Monday.
The Bulls head athletic trainer, Fred Tedeschi, was named the 2012/13 Joe O'Toole NBA Athletic Trainer of the Year.

Atlantic Rumors: Robinson, Pierce, Bargnani

June 1st, 2013 at 1:56pm CST by Chuck Myron

Nate Robinson's first priority will be to re-sign with the Bulls, though he wouldn't mind another stint with the Knicks, agent Aaron Goodwin tells Jared Zwerling of ESPNNewYork.com. Both Chicago and New York are taxpaying teams, so it'll be difficult for either to fit in Robinson, who'll likely command more than the minimum salary he made this year. Goodwin's statement is a familiar one for agents this time of year, as Grantland's Zach Lowe points out via Twitter, so there's no reason to count Robinson as either a Bull or a Knick just yet. Here's more from the Atlantic:

Teams around the league have a "healthy interest" in Paul Pierce, but the Celtics aren't about to just give him away, according to Steve Bulpett of the Boston Herald. Even if the C's can find the right deal and start over with younger players, the money tied up in Brandon Bass, Courtney Lee and Jason Terry would be a major obstacle to a rebuild, a general manager tells Bulpett.
The Raptors will reportedly be aggressive in their attempts to trade Andrea Bargnani, and one possible destination could be Golden State, since, according to Ryan Wolstat of the Toronto Sun, the Warriors have long been intrigued by him (Twitter link).
Eric Koreen of the National Post outlines the five most important items on the to-do list for new Raptors GM Masai Ujiri, figuring that an amnesty of Bargnani is most likely the club's next step with the former No. 1 overall pick.
Center A.J. Matthews played his college ball at Division III Farmingdale State and didn't receive an invitation to the league's pre-draft combine in Chicago, but he wowed teams at recent Nets-hosted combine. The Knicks are one of about a half dozen teams bringing the Arn Tellem client in for workouts, reports Marc Berman of the New York Post.
The Knicks are zeroing in on point guards with the 24th overall pick, and though they don't have a second-rounder, Berman expects them to acquire one via trade in return for cash.
Ian Begley of ESPNNewYork.com explains the reasons why Chris Paul signing with the Knicks is but a pipe-dream for New York fans.

Draft Notes: Knicks, Larkin, Hardaway Jr., Bucks

June 1st, 2013 at 10:12am CST by Zachary Links

Otto Porter, Victor Oladipo, Ben McLemore, and Anthony Bennett will likely be among the candidates visiting with the Wizards in the second or third week of June, when the team will look at candidates for the No. 3 overall pick, writes Michael Lee of the Washington Post. For now, the team is concentrating on targets for its pair of second-round pick, and Lee lists more than a dozen such players scheduled for workouts with the team next week. The Wizards' pick may very well come down to a decision between who is left over between Porter and Nerlens Noel, but they'll leave no stone unturned when it comes to their top pick. Here's more draft news..

Former Miami point guard Shane Larkin won’t work out for the Knicks, his agent told Adam Zagoria of SNY. “Currently, Shane’s not scheduled to work out for the Knicks,” agent Steve McCaskill said. “And we don’t have any intentions of scheduling one. We don’t feel like he’s going to be on the board when they select.” The Knicks have the No. 24 pick in the draft and while some view Larkin as a mid-round talent, it's worth noting that DraftExpress currently has him going at No. 23 to the Pacers.
Tim Hardaway Jr. auditioned for the Bucks and told reporters, including Charles F. Gardner of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel, that he has already worked out for the Bulls and T'Wolves. The Michigan product is widely viewed as a fringe first-round talent.
Murray State's Isaiah Canaan says he has already worked out for the Spurs and he has more workouts scheduled with the Pacers, Knicks, Cavs, Suns, Mavs, and Jazz, Gardner writes. Canaan, who auditioned for the Bucks, could be a candidate for the club's No. 43 selection.
Former Creighton and Rutgers big man Gregory Echenique will work out for the Wizards, Suns, and Nets in the coming weeks, Zagoria writes. The 6-foot-9, 260-pound center has already worked out for the Celtics, Timberwolves, and Trail Blazers. At this time, Echenique figures to be a second round pick at best.

Chuck Myron contributed to this post.

Odds & Ends: West, Cousins, Ginobili, Celtics

May 31st, 2013 at 11:21pm CST by Chuck Myron

David West seems content with the Pacers, as he tells Chris Tomasson of Fox Sports Florida, but the Hawks, armed with plenty of cap space, might be planning to make a run at him in free agency this summer, a source tells Sean Deveney of The Sporting News. That's not entirely surprising, since Atlanta is on track to have enough cap room for a pair of max free agents. The Hawks probably wouldn't make West their top priority, since they seem ready to go after Dwight Howard and Chris Paul, but if they strike out on them, West might not be too far down the list. Here's more as we enter the final month before free agency starts:

Rival teams may have been behind a report that the Kings are ready to trade DeMarcus Cousins, Deveney hears, adding that the team's new owners have yet to decide what they want to do with the turbulent big man. Deveney wonders if the Kings might do some message-management of their own and have incoming coach Michael Malone talk up Cousins to increase his value.
As for Cousins, sources tell Jason Jones of The Sacramento Bee that he isn't looking for a trade (Twitter link).
Manu Ginobili's contract is up June 30th, but he told Jeff McDonald of the San Antonio Express-News that he has no plans to retire. The 35-year-old seems likely to return to the Spurs and expects to take a paycut to do so, though he and agent Herb Rudoy aren't starting negotiations with the team until July 1st.
The Celtics attempted to acquire either Paul Millsap or Al Jefferson at the trade deadline, but couldn't work out a deal with the Jazz for one of their big men, tweets Greg Dickerson of CSNNE.com. Boston is reportedly interested in Millsap as a free agent.
The Rockets plan to pursue Dwight Howard and Chris Paul, but with the league telling teams to expect a $58.5 million salary cap and $71.5MM tax line next season, squeezing both onto the team will be nearly impossible, as HoopsWorld's Bill Ingram examines.
Kelvin Sampson would have been Brandon Jennings' choice to coach the Bucks, reports Gery Woelfel of the Racine Journal Times. The team hired Larry Drew instead, a choice that was definitely GM John Hammond's call, unlike the team's hiring of former coach Scott Skiles (Twitter links).

Draft Notes: Zeller, Larkin, Bucks, Celtics

May 31st, 2013 at 1:22pm CST by Zachary Links

Here's a look at today's draft news as we close in on June 27th..

Chad Ford of ESPN.com (Insider sub. req'd) runs down some of the best big men in the 2013 draft. The list starts with Indiana's Cody Zeller who has honed his jump shot and ballhandling skills to make the leap from center to forward. Scouts have been impressed with his ability to round out his offensive skillset, but Zeller says that it has always been a part of his game.
Miami's Shane Larkin is talking up what he could do for the Bucks, telling reporters (including Charles Gardner of the Journal Sentinel, via Twitter) that he could see himself as a fit. Milwaukee, of course, has an unsettled backcourt situation with the uncertain return of Monta Ellis and Brandon Jennings.
Larkin worked out for the Celtics prior to auditioning for the Bucks, tweets Adam Zagoria of SNY (on Twitter). Boston has the No. 16 pick while Milwaukee holds the No. 15 selection.

Celtics Rumors: Schroeder, KG, Millsap, Rivers

May 31st, 2013 at 9:40am CST by Luke Adams

A couple weeks ago, ESPN.com's Chad Ford reported (via Twitter) that international draft prospects Dennis Schroeder and Giannis Antetokounmpo had each received first-round guarantees from unknown teams. According to Aran Smith of NBADraft.net (Twitter link), it may be the Celtics that have made a promise to Schroeder at No. 16. There has also been some chatter linking Schroeder to the Jazz (No. 14) and Bucks (No. 15), so the German guard may not even last until 16th overall, but if he does, it appears the Celtics are interested.

Here's more out of Boston:

Mike Saver of CelticsLife.com passes along a few comments of note made by longtime Boston writer Jackie MacMullan of ESPNBoston.com on CSNNE. According to MacMullan, Kevin Garnett plans to come back for at least one more year, and MacMullan believes KG would play whether or not Paul Pierce remains a Celtic.
MacMullan also reports that the Celtics covet Paul Millsap, and that if there's a "Plan A" for the team, getting Millsap would be it. Given Boston's cap situation, the C's would likely have to sign-and-trade for the free agent big man, unless they could clear cap room by trading or waiving Pierce and making an additional move or two.
While most signs continue to point to Doc Rivers remaining the Celtics head coach going forward, some people "who have basketball business with the club" are concerned that Rivers has yet to publicly state his intentions, writes Steve Bulpett of the Boston Herald. Within his latest piece for the Herald, Bulpett delves into the relationship between Rivers and GM Danny Ainge.