Category: .News

Grant Williams grills former teammate Derrick White at the 2024 Paris Olympics

Williams tried out being a member of the media, but it did not go as planned.

Recently, when he is not suiting up for his new team, the Charlotte Hornets, former Boston Celtics big man Grant Williams has been putting on his reporter hat to provide a unique angle on the 2024 Paris Olympics. And of course, Williams made a point of showing up for a recent Team USA press conference to give some of his former Boston teammates a hard time.

He singled out Derrick White in particular to harass in a good-natured way, asking the Team USA glue guy a rather pointed question. “I heard a rumor that you were considering naming your son after a former teammate, is that true?,” he asked via the Boston Globe’s Adam Himmelsbach.

“Who was that teammate? And did he end up being the godfather of your children?”

“You know, in this game of basketball you learn a lot of things, and every locker room is a little different,” answered White, whose son’s names are Hendrix and Daxton. “But Grant Williams was never in consideration for my child’s name.”

“My kid will give you a high-five, though, so you’ve got that going for you. Maybe just be around more. You’re an absentee, self-proclaimed godfather.”

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Report: Celtics sign Anton Watson to two-way contract

The Boston Celtics have reportedly signed Anton Watson to a two-way contract.

The Boston Celtics have reportedly signed Anton Watson to a two-way contract. Brad Stevens selected the Gonzaga product with the 54th pick in the 2024 NBA Draft. Watson showcased his polished offensive and defensive game during Boston’s Las Vegas Summer League participation.

Watson played in all five Summer League games for Boston, averaging 11.8 points, 5.2 rebounds and 1.6 assists per outing. He will now have the opportunity to continue developing under the watchful eye of the Celtics’ coaching staff. Nevertheless, he will likely spend the majority of the upcoming season in the G-League, suiting up for the Maine Celtics.

Boston has found success in developing talent through the G-League in recent years. Sam Hauser, Neemias Queta and Luke Kornet all spent time in Maine before landing full-scale deals. As such, Watson should feel confident that he will have an opportunity to develop and fight for a spot in the main rotation. Boston currently has an open roster spot, which they’re not expected to fill heading into the regular season.

Watson will likely be looking to prove himself in the hope of filling out Boston’s roster for the second half of the regular season. But, to do that, he must first impress in the G-League.

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Star Boston Celtics forward Jaylen Brown has a plan to tackle Boston’s wealth divide

“Access to capital, … sustainability and culturally competent initiatives … have informed us on how to create this program,” said Brown.

Star Boston Celtics forward Jaylen Brown has a plan to tackle Boston’s wealth divide. The Georgia native recently made his plan “to launch a project to bring Black Wall Street here in Boston” known, drawing on the historic Oklahoma institution as a model for future prosperity for people of color.

Per Bloomberg’s Randall Williams, Brown has partnered with Harvard Business School, Roxbury Community College and Lauren and Jrue Holiday’s JLH Fund to offer up to $250,000 in investment grants. “To be able to give access to capital, create sustainability and culturally competent initiatives, all of these insights have informed us on how to create this program for Boston,” shared Brown.

“Being able to partner with people who have high influence in other places can make it more impactful,” he added.

Applications to the program can be found at www.bxchange.org and must be submitted by August 15, 2024.

If you enjoy this pod, check out the “How Bout Them Celtics,” “First to the Floor,” “Celtics Lab,” and the many other New England sports podcasts available on the CLNS Media network.

Listen to the “Celtics Lab” podcast on:

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Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3GfUPFi

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Former Celtic Gordon Hayward announces retirement from NBA

Gordon Hayward has announced his retirement from the NBA after 14 seasons.

Former Boston Celtic and 14-year veteran Gordon Hayward announced his retirement from the NBA Thursday morning. Hayward spent the end of the 2023-24 season with the Oklahoma City Thunder.

The Celtics signed Hayward in the summer of 2017 to a four-year, $128 million contract. With Kyrie Irving and Al Horford, Hayward was set to be an integral part of a new era for Boston. A devastating leg injury less than six minutes into the first game of the next season derailed this hope. He missed the entire 2017-18 regular season, and the vision for this Celtics core never materialized. Hayward returned the following season, but soon enough Horford and Irving left Boston. Hayward remained a key contributor alongside the ascendant Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown, however, helping the team reach the conference finals in 2020. After four seasons with the Celtics, Hayward looked for a bigger role, and joined the Charlotte Hornets ahead of the 2020-21 season.

Hayward was an All-Star in 2014, and one of the league’s best offensive players for much of that decade. In his retirement announcement he thanked his parents and family, as well as his fans for providing encouragement in support through the many stages of his career.

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Why you should never talk trash to Boston Celtics legend Larry Bird

Larry Bird taught a team of college all-stars that they should never talk trash to the “Dream Team”

You may have heard the legendary story about the one game that the 1992 USA basketball “Dream Team” actually lost.

The story goes that the team’s head coach and former NBA champion with the Detroit Pistons, Chuck Daly set up a pre-Olympics scrimmage against a college basketball all-star team. Daly stopped the game early and purposely made strange substitutions to ensure the USA lost a game and knew they weren’t invincible.

On The Players’ Tribune podcast entitled “Knuckleheads” hosted by former NBA players Quentin Richardson and Darius Miles, former NBA All-Star Jamal Mashburn tells a different story from those scrimmages. Mashburn was part of the college team put together to play against the greatest basketball team ever assembled, and a moment with former Celtics legend Larry Bird is one he will never forget.

Former Celtic Rodney Rodgers made the poor decision to talk trash after his college team beat Bird’s Team USA. Bird not only gave him around eight buckets in a row during the next scrimmage, but he actually told Rodgers the exact move he was going to score on before he did it.

The lesson is clear: Never talk trash to Celtics legend Larry Bird.

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Celtics receive votes for NBA’s best offseason

The Boston Celtics received votes for having the best offseason in the NBA.

Following the Boston Celtics 18th championship in franchise history, Brad Stevens has focused on roster continuity. Within the last 12 months, he has extended every member of the core rotation outside of Al Horford. During the opening weeks of the 2024 offseason, Stevens has tied down Derrick White, Jayson Tatum and Sam Hauser to long-term deals.

As such, Boston’s summer has been spent ensuring the championship-winning team will be around for multiple years, thus ensuring their window of contention remains open for the foreseeable future. Of course, other teams around the NBA have been doing their best to catch up.

In a recent article by ESPN’s Tim Bontemps, multiple scouts and executives from around the NBA voted on which team has enjoyed the best offseason thus far. The Celtics received two votes, placing them fourth in the overall voting process.

Boston’s commitment to roster continuity and keeping their core together for the long term has clearly gained some appreciation from scouts and executives around the NBA. After all, Joe Mazzulla’s team dominated the league last season, and steamrollered their way to the a championship.

With the entire core locked down for the foreseeable future, the pressure is now on for the Celtics to continue challenging for championships, thus avoiding another 16-year drought.

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Celtics Lab 275: Sussing out the second-best team in the East with Bobby Krivitsky

So who IS the second-best team in the East?

While there has been plenty of excitement over the moves that other ball clubs in the NBA’s Eastern Conference arms race, by and large the Boston Celtics are seen as a cut above the rest of their peers in the league’s weaker conference. But those moves could make for a tougher regular season path to the 2025 NBA Playoffs, especially among teams like the New York Knicks, the Philadelphia 76ers, and maybe even the once mighty Milwaukee Bucks.

So who IS the second-best team in the East? The hosts of the CLNS Media “Celtics Lab” podcast linked up with Sports Illustrated’s Bobby Krivitsky to break down the likely candidates on a recent episode of their show. They also get you up to speed on Celtics in Paris for the Olympics and plenty more.

Check out this week’s latest pod and scratch your Boston basketball itch while we wait for preseason to get here in the fall.


The Celtics Lab is brought to you by Prize Picks and Gametime.


If you enjoy this pod, check out the “How Bout Them Celtics,” “First to the Floor,” “Celtics Lab,” and the many other New England sports podcasts available on the CLNS Media network.

Listen to the “Celtics Lab” podcast on:

Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/3zBKQY6

Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3GfUPFi

YouTube: https://bit.ly/3F9DvjQ

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Celtics Jayson Tatum will be ‘forever grateful’ for Jaylen Brown

Jayson Tatum has admitted he will be ‘forever grateful’ for his partnership with Jaylen Brown on the Boston Celtics roster.

Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown have endured some gut-wrenching moments during their tenure on the Boston Celtics roster. The young wing duo have been knocking on the door of a championship for the majority of their career. However, until the 2023-24 season, they always fell short. Fortunately, all that changed following the additions of Jrue Holiday and Kristaps Porzingis.

Boston dominated all season long and carried that domination in the postseason. Now, the Celtics will head into the 2024-25 season looking to win back-to-back championships, with Tatum and Brown eager to secure their legacies within Celtics history.

During a recent interview with Sports Illustrated via their ’10 Burning Questions’ YouTube series, Tatum credited his partnership with Brown. He noted how the years of falling short and dealing with media criticism made them stronger and got them ready for their success of last season.

“I think over the years it’s just made us stronger,” Tatum said. “Made us more connected. Made us more together in a sense. Now, we have something that they can never take away from us. We did all the things they said we could not do. I’ll forever be grateful for him and what we’ve been able to accomplish together.”

Tatum and Brown are still a year or two away from entering their primes. They are already two of the best forwards in the NBA and have an elite supporting cast around them. As such, it’s not hard to envision them winning another title or two before Brad Stevens is forced to re-tool the roster.

No matter what, though, Tatum and Brown overcame a mountain of challenges to be crowned champions. Their names will forever be etched in Celtics history, despite what they had to go through to get there.

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Daryl Morey stokes the fire with bold championship claim

The Philadelphia 76ers President of Basketball Operations believes his team will be a major challenge for the Boston Celtics next season.

The Boston Celtics will be facing some stiff competition as they look to defend their NBA championship next season. The Eastern Conference has gotten tougher at the top following the Philadelphia 76ers’ addition of Paul George and the New York Knicks’ acquisition of Mikal Bridges. The Milwaukee Bucks can’t be ignored, either.

During a recent appearance on 97.5 The Fanatic, Sixers President of Basketball Operations Daryl Morey noted how his team will be coming for Boston’s championship title next season. Morey likely believes that George’s presence within the Sixers rotation has elevated them into contender status and put them on the same level as Joe Mazzulla’s Celtics.

“Obviously, you have to give the Celtics their credit,” Morey said. “They won the title. They’re an excellent team. They’ve brought everybody back. They’re the target, but we don’t feel like we give up anything to them. We are going to be coming to take the title away from them.”

Philadelphia will undoubtedly be relying on the long-term health of Joel Embiid and George; two players who have struggled with injury issues over the past few years. On the flip side, Boston will be without Kristaps Porzingis for the opening months of the season, as he recovers from surgery.

Retaining their championship will undoubtedly be a tall order for the Celtics. However, they have the depth, elite talent and experience to be cited as favorites for the upcoming season, and will undoubtedly welcome all challengers along the way.

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Celtics’ Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown ‘need each other’

The Boston Celtics duo have accepted they’re at their best when playing together with one goal in mind.

Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown are the Boston Celtics‘ two best players. Both forwards are among the best in the NBA in terms of their positions. And both played a key role in leading the Celtics to the 2024 NBA championship. Brown and Tatum have faced significant criticism throughout their careers, with many questioning whether the duo was talented enough to win at the highest level.

During a recent interview with Sports Illustrated, in an issue that features Tatum as the cover athlete, the St. Louis native admitted he and brown have ‘figured out’ that they’re at their best when playing together.

“We’ve figured out that we need each other,” Tatum says. “We have learned how to coexist. And we know we need to be the best version of ourselves in order for all of this to work. We weren’t necessarily the best playmakers early in our careers but we developed into guys that really bleed the game. We want to be a great example of guys that play on both ends as a floor and guys who are the best teammates that we can be.”

The Celtics need Tatum and Brown on the same page and playing at their best if they want to continue challenging for championships. Over the last 12 months, Brad Stevens has tied them both to Supermax contracts, ensuring their partnership will continue throughout the prime of their careers.

Boston is positioned to make multiple championship runs in the coming years. Tatum and Brown will be at the forefront of those charges. The fact that they will both be on the same page should send a shudder down their opponent’s spine.

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