Boston Celtics Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Odds & Ends: Nolan Smith, Allen, Rondo, Paul

October 21st, 2012 at 12:58pm CST by Chuck Myron

Chris Haynes of CSNNW.com wonders whether Nolan Smith's preseason troubles for the Blazers might be due in part to the pressure of the looming October 31st deadline the team has for picking up the third-year option on his rookie contract. Blazers GM Neil Olshey told Haynes he's going to wait as long as possible to make a decision. Stay up to date on this month's rookie-scale option decisions with the Hoops Rumors Rookie Contract Option Tracker, and check out the latest notes from around the league right here.

The root of the hard feelings between Rajon Rondo and Ray Allen stemmed from a phone call Allen made to his then-teammate to get him to lobby against a trade that would have sent the pair to the Suns in 2009 for Amare Stoudemire, Leandro Barbosa and a 2010 draft pick, Joseph Goodman of the Miami Herald reveals.
Chris Paul was instrumental in recruiting Jamal Crawford and others to the Clippers, and doesn't give the look of someone who wants to leave L.A. as he enters the final season of his deal, Alex Kennedy of HoopsWorld writes (Sulia link).
Marvin Williams is paying early dividends for the Jazz after coming aboard in an offseason trade, as Mike Sorenson of the Deseret News and Bill Oram of The Salt Lake Tribune examine.
Coach Doug Collins pointed to four Sixers whose minutes he wants to limit during the season, and all of them are offseason acquisitions, as Tom Moore of PhillyBurbs.com chronicles.
Jared Zwerling of ESPNNewYork.com and Newsday's Al Iannazzone share the opinion that a cyst in Stoudemire's left knee that will keep him out two to three weeks boosts the chances that Knicks non-guaranteed camp invitee Chris Copeland will make the team (Twitter links).
Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel thinks Garrett Temple, Josh Harrellson and Dexter Pittman will all be on the Heat roster come opening night.

Celtics Rumors: Melo, Joseph, Green

October 21st, 2012 at 8:57am CST by Chuck Myron

It's only preseason, but the Celtics have given their Atlantic Division rivals reason to be discouraged in their last two outings. Boston recorded a 30-point win over the Nets on Thursday and rallied from down 20 points last night to beat the Knicks. They're doing so with one of the league's most overhauled rosters. Even though they still have mainstays Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce and Rajon Rondo, only six players return from last year, fewer than all but three other teams. We've got news on a few of Boston's offseason acquisitions right here.

The Celtics aren't too concerned as first-round draft pick Fab Melo struggles in the preseason, but president of basketball operations Danny Ainge envisions sending him down to the D-League for some work this season, Steve Bulpett of the Boston Herald writes.
Believing his team is deeper and more versatile than last year's Celtics, coach Doc Rivers agrees with point guard Rajon Rondo that this year's Boston team is better than the one that came away with the title in 2008, Bulpett reports.
Kris Joseph, whom the team drafted 51st overall in June, is in camp on a non-guaranteed deal, but drew praise from Rivers, who touts his "unbelievable" rebounding for a 6'7" small forward, as CSNNE.com documents.
Rivers believes Jeff Green struggled after arriving in a trade from the Thunder in 2011 because he deferred too much to the team's stars. Green promised a more aggressive approach when he re-signed this summer, and so far, he's delivered, as A. Sherrod Blakely of CSNNE.com examines.

Atlantic Rumors: Lopez, Brewer, Fields, Lee

October 20th, 2012 at 1:51pm CST by Chuck Myron

The Knicks boast three of the league's top 10 preseason scorers, including Carmelo Anthony, who leads the NBA at 21.3 points per game. Teammates J.R. Smith and Amare Stoudemire come in third and 10th respectively, while Brook Lopez of the crosstown rival Nets is sixth. Lopez is also sixth in another preseason category, and that's a part of our roundup of items out of the Atlantic Division.

After his rebounding rates declined in each of the last three seasons, Lopez is the league's sixth-leading rebounder in the preseason, averaging 9.0 boards in 27.0 minutes per game. If he keeps it up, Zach Harper of CBSSports.com believes there will be much less reason to think the Nets overpaid him with the four-year, $60.826MM contract he signed this summer.
The Knicks made a strong recruiting effort to land Ronnie Brewer, who signed a minimum-salary deal with the team in July. The 27-year-old swingman turned down larger offers from other teams to do so, as he told HoopsWorld's Alex Kennedy (Sulia link). "At the end of the day, it didn’t come down to money," Brewer said. "It came down to the best situation for me, as a person and as a player. I wanted to go somewhere I could win and have success. I wanted to go to a situation where playing basketball would be fun and I would enjoy doing it."
Raptors guard Landry Fields said a personal issue hampered his play on the court for the Knicks last season, and isn't surprised the Knicks let him and Jeremy Lin go over the summer, given the team's unwillingness to stand pat, as Marc Berman of the New York Post documents. "The last two years with the Knicks, it’s been such a roller coaster pretty much. I’m used to that. If things were consistent, that would surprise me."
Courtney Lee's improved defense and diversified offensive game have been pleasant surprises for the Celtics so far, writes Frank Dell'Apa of the Boston Globe.

Eastern Notes: Hawks, Allen, Fields, Ilyasova

October 19th, 2012 at 3:05pm CST by Luke Adams

In this morning's round-up of Celtics items, we linked to ESPN The Magazine's 2012/13 NBA projections, which included the Celtics as a No. 4 seed in the East, behind the Knicks (No. 3). While those ranks are somewhat surprising, the team that ESPN and Basketball Prospectus placed directly behind the top-seeded Heat is even more of a shock: The Hawks will be the East's second-best team, according to the magazine's predictions. We've got updates on Atlanta and a few other Eastern Conference clubs, so let's check them out….

If and when John Jenkins and Mike Scott officially earn spots on the Hawks' roster, they'll be the team's only draft picks in the last five years besides Jeff Teague to do so, says Chris Vivlamore of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
It's been over three months since Ray Allen officially left the Celtics for the Heat, but the veteran's free agent decision is still a hot topic in both Boston and Miami. Allen appeared on WMEN in Miami recently and said he felt the Celtics put him in a position where he had to leave (link via Sports Radio Interviews). Celtics coach Doc Rivers, meanwhile, says he's over Allen's departure but is still "disappointed" with the way it played out (link via the Boston Herald).
Landry Fields told reporters, including Al Iannazzone of Newsday (Twitter link) that he lost some of his confidence and comfort level after the Knicks acquired Carmelo Anthony and needed a change of scenery.
It appears Ersan Ilyasova's new long-term contract with the Bucks has him feeling more comfortable in Milwaukee, writes NBA.com's Steve Aschburner.
The Cavaliers aren't expected to make their final roster cuts for a few days yet, but it appears one of Donald Sloan or Jeremy Pargo has the upper hand in the backup point guard battle — coach Byron Scott just won't say which, according to Jason Lloyd of the Akron Beacon Journal (via Sulia).
Sam Smith fields Bulls questions on Nate Robinson, Kirk Hinrich, and others in his latest mailbag at Bulls.com.

Celtics Notes: Projections, Barbosa, Sullinger

October 19th, 2012 at 8:51am CST by Luke Adams

In their NBA preview issue, ESPN The Magazine teamed up with Basketball Prospectus to project the records of each of the league's 30 teams for the coming season. The magazine's prediction for the Celtics might raise a few eyebrows, as ESPN has them pegged as the fourth seed in the East, and second-best in the Atlantic, behind the Knicks. Let's round up a few more Friday morning Celtics-related links….

Paul Pierce believes a Celtics bench that just added Leandro Barbosa may be the strongest unit he's seen during his time in Boston, according to Steve Bulpett of the Boston Herald. "I think [Barbosa] can definitely help us," Pierce said. "Another veteran who’s one of the better bench players in the league to go along with our bench that’s pretty well rounded. It’s added scoring punch."
Within Bulpett's piece, coach Doc Rivers had praise for the newly-signed Barbosa as well: "I love his speed, his ability to handle the ball. We don’t have a backup point (guard), but we have another ballhandler. Our theory is if we throw three ballhandlers out on the floor, someone can bring the ball up — and that’s the way we’ll play with our second unit."
With two preseason games remaining, Rivers is still seeking chemistry, timing, and cohesion from his rotation, as Bulpett writes in a separate piece for the Herald.
In a mailbag for ESPNBoston.com, Chris Forsberg fields reader questions on whether the Celtics need a true backup point guard, how the minutes figure to be divided at shooting guard, and Jared Sullinger's potential ceiling.

Odds & Ends: Nets, PEDs, Radmanovic, Invitees

October 18th, 2012 at 11:26pm CST by Chuck Myron

Newsday's Roderick Boone says the Nets are a work in progress, but passes along praise from Celtics coach Doc Rivers. "It's like this is a whole new franchise," Rivers said. "It feels like they just plucked this team out of the space, and all of the sudden they've got a hell of a team in our division that wears black uniforms. It's unbelievable. I don't know if they could've done anything better. This is terrific." The Nets also drew admiration from Kevin Garnett, but Brooklyn coach Avery Johnson believes all the talk is just a psychological ploy from the team that's won the Atlantic Division five years in a row, calling it "a straight setup," as Stefan Bondy of the New York Daily News documents (Sulia link). As the gamesmanship intensifies and the regular season draws closer, here's more from around the league.

The head of the World Anti-Doping Agency called upon the NBA to institute testing for human growth hormone, and says there are "gaps" in the league's measures to prevent the use of performance-enhancing drugs, Henry Abbott of ESPN.com reports.
Bulls offseason signee Vladimir Radmanovic is having trouble adjusting to the physical demands of playing for coach Tom Thibodeau, and might not be a part of the team's rotation come opening night, writes Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times.
Eric Pincus of HoopsWorld sizes up the chances each team's training camp hopefuls have of making the opening-night roster.
Micheal Eric and Kevin Jones haven't seen much playing time in preseason games, which makes practice all the more important for the pair, both of whom are trying to make the Cavaliers on non-guaranteed deals, as Mary Schmitt Boyer of The Plain Dealer chronicles.
Vince Carter appears to be the favorite to assume the sixth-man role that Jason Terry played for the Mavericks before departing via free agency this past summer, according to Eddie Sefko of the Dallas Morning News.
Keith Schlosser of Ridiculous Upside identifies six intriguing prospects who are likely to be available in the D-League draft, including Phil Jones, who was in camp with the Timberwolves earlier this month.

Celtics Sign Leandro Barbosa

October 18th, 2012 at 4:28pm CST by Luke Adams

THURSDAY, 5:28pm: The Celtics have confirmed the move in a press release. The Brazilian native won't be available for the team's preseason game tonight against the Nets because of unresolved visa issues.

WEDNESDAY, 3:56pm: Barbosa's deal will be for the veteran's minimum, according to A. Sherrod Blakely of CSNNE.com.

3:21pm: The Celtics and unrestricted free agent Leandro Barbosa have agreed to terms on a one-year contract, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports (via Twitter). Paul Flannery of WEEI.com had reported yesterday that the C's were looking to add another veteran before the end of this week.

After the Celtics waived Dionte Christmas and Jamar Smith yesterday, it left just 16 players left on the team's roster, including Rob Kurz and Micah Downs, who are unlikely to survive cuts. Coach Doc Rivers had said the Celtics planned to open the season with a full 15-man roster, according to Mark Murphy of the Boston Herald, so Barbosa and rookie Kris Joseph appear to be good bets to earn the 14th and 15th spots.

As Rich Levine of CSNNE.com wrote earlier today, the Celtics haven't had a true backup point guard for the last few seasons; Barbosa doesn't exactly match that description either, since he can play both guard positions, and is probably a more natural fit at the two. Still, he seems as likely as anyone to occupy the role that Keyon Dooling had in Boston before Dooling unexpectedly retired last month.

Barbosa, 29, averaged 11.1 PPG on .425/.382/.815 shooting a year ago in 64 games for the Raptors and Pacers. He was said to be seeking more than the minimum, but it was still a little surprising that he remained unsigned this late into the fall. Terms of his agreement with the Celtics aren't known, but I'd guess it'll be a guaranteed, minimum-salary contract. Boston was also believed to have the $1.957MM bi-annual exception in its pocket, but GM Danny Ainge indicated last month that the BAE wasn't available.

Atlantic Notes: Barbosa, Holiday, Wilkins, 76ers

October 17th, 2012 at 10:16pm CST by Alex Lee

As was long rumored, we learned earlier today that the Celtics added Leandro Barbosa to back up both guard positions. After losing Ray Allen to the rival Heat, it appears the Celts have more than replaced him by adding Jason Terry, Courtney Lee and now Barbosa. Chris Forsberg of ESPN Boston breaks down the move in his rapid reaction, even pointing out that Barbosa could facilitate the development of rookie and fellow Brazilian Fab Melo. Forsberg also offers a "roster reset" complete with the team's current obligations and some thoughts on how it will shake out. Gary Washburn of the Boston Globe tweets that a big reason behind the move was a desire for more scoring punch from reserve guards.

Here are some other updates from around the Atlantic division:

Tim Keown of ESPN the Magazine writes a lengthy piece that centers on the enigma that is Carmelo Anthony. While Anthony is as gifted as they come scoring-wise, Keown implies that he may not be the "alpha dog" that most NBA teams, Knicks included, need. Anthony seems to thrive in international play when he is amongst stars, but when he is the best player on the court things seem to stall.
We've been hearing all week about a possible long-term contract extension for Sixers guard Jrue Holiday. John Finger of CSN Philly heard today from a source that the talks have begun to pick up. The Sixers have until October 31 to either extend Holiday or make him a qualifying offer for one year and $3.77MM. If Holiday does not take the offer, he will become a restricted free agent next summer.
Tom Moore from Philly Burbs tweets that he believes that the Sixers will soon cut their roster down to 14, with Damien Wilkins nabbing the last spot. If true, that would make Devin Searcy and Dan Gadzuric free agents in the very near future.
Michael Levin of Sixers blog Liberty Ballers writes a guest column on Sheridan Hoops, listing five reasons to feel positive about the 76ers. If everything goes according the plan, Philly could be a rare example of a team that emerges from the typically inescapable depths of NBA mediocrity to become a legitimate contender.

Odds & Ends: Virginia Beach, West, Mavs, Maynor

October 16th, 2012 at 10:09pm CST by Zachary Links

Links as Tuesday turns into Wednesday..

Voters in Virginia Beach, Virginia are largely against the idea of building an NBA arena in their city, according to a poll released earlier today, writes Dale Kasler of the Sacramento Bee. The poll showed that voters oppose the proposed arena by a 45-38 margin and oppose public funding for it by a margin of 58-32. It already seemed unlikely that an NBA team would move to the area, but the lack of public support further hurts the odds.
Delonte West's suspension for conduct detrimental to the Mavericks didn't last long as he was reinstated this evening, writes Tim McMahon of ESPNDallas.com. Sources said that West's suspension stemmed from an outburst in the locker room after the Mavs' 123-104 preseason win Monday over the Rockets.
Eddie Sefko of the The Dallas Morning News writes that Mark Cuban should have been in attendance for Deron Williams' meeting with the Mavericks this summer, but the owner shouldn't be blamed for the point guard's decision to stay with the Nets. Recently, Williams indicated that his decision to pass on Dallas was influenced by Cuban's decision to attend a taping of his television show rather than meet with him.
Point guard Eric Maynor's return from injury is as good as any free agent pickup the Thunder could have hoped for this summer, writes Berry Tramel of The Oklahoman. The former VCU star is entering his walk year after missing the bulk of the 2011/12 season.
Kevin Garnett gave a strong endorsement of the new look Nets following their preseason game against the Celtics. “They’re going to be a force to be reckoned with. They’re nothing like last year. They’re gonna be strong," said Garnett, according to Stefan Bondy of the New York Daily News (via Twitter).

Atlantic Notes: Celtics, Nash, Raptors, Knicks

October 16th, 2012 at 8:32pm CST by Zachary Links

In case you were worried that Jeremy Lin's move from New York to Houston would cut down on the point guard's face time in the media, you can now rest easy. The former Knicks guard was profiled in the cover story of GQ's November issue and ran down his hectic summer and eventual signing with the Rockets. Mostly everyone was taken by surprise when the Knicks opted against matching General Manager Daryl Morey's offer and Lin disclosed that even the Houston front office wasn't expecting to come away with him. After signing the Rockets' offer sheet, the club told Lin that they believed there was an "80% to 95% chance" that he would wind up back at MSG. Here's more out of the Atlantic..

The Celtics are now looking at adding another veteran player by the end of the week after releasing Dionte Christmas and Jamar Smith, a source tells Paul Flannery of WEEI.com. Coach Doc Rivers says that the club won't limit its search to backcourt help either as Courtney Lee, Jason Terry, and Avery Bradley can also pitch in at one-guard. Meanwhile, it now seems likely that rookie Kris Joseph will make the final roster of 15.
In an interview with QMI Agency, Steve Nash admitted that he was extremely close to signing with the Raptors this offseason, writes Steve Buffery of the Toronto Sun. "I was very close, you know," Nash said. "Because it appeared that they were going to be an option long before free agency started. So I got my head around that and I was comfortable with that and happy with the opportunity to play in Toronto. But when this opportunity (with the Lakers) became a reality, I couldn't pass it up."
If the Knicks can't break through this season with their core of Carmelo Anthony, Tyson Chandler, and Amare Stoudemire, Sam Amico of FOXSports.com believes that they should look into going in another direction.