Category: Rumors

Ex-NBAer Antonio Daniels on rumors of Malcolm Brogdon being irked with the Boston Celtics

“I’m not saying I have to like it, but it’s it be something I’m at a point now that I should understand,” said Daniels.

News that the NBA’s 2023 Sixth Man of the Year Malcolm Brogdon is still irked with the Boston Celtics after an attempt to deal him to the Los Angeles Clippers fell through early in the offseason has got Celtics fans a bit nervous, though not everyone believes his ire is warranted.

Count among that crowd former NBAer Antonio Daniels did not hold back on the topic during a recent appearance on Sirius FM’s “NBA Radio” show, saying that “guys deal with this all the time — you’re here, you’re not here. You’re on the trading block, you’re not on the trading block.”

“I get that,” Daniels continued. “I played on teams camp where a player got traded. He was gone, and then the trade didn’t go through, and he came back the next day. How do you think that feels? It happens — That’s a part of the NBA. If I’m Malcolm Brogdon, I have to understand this.”

“I’m not saying I have to like it, but it’s it be something I’m at a point now that I should understand,” he added. “This is what the NBA is, and it’s amazing how guys struggle with grasping that concept. It’s … the business before anything else and guys struggle so much with that business part.”

“A business part is understanding, ‘Yeah, I do like it here. I love it here, man. It’s a great city. It’s a great situation. The fans have taken to me’, whatever it may be, but also have to understand on the flip side that my situation can change like that. That’s the business side of it.”

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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Is Jayson Tatum still recruiting Damian Lillard to the Boston Celtics?

It’s unclear when this advocacy was actually going down, but it’s something to monitor regardless.

In a recent interview with the Oregonian’s “Sports by Northwest” podcast, Andscape’s Hall of Fame NBA reporter Marc J. Spears related that Portland Trail Blazers star point guard Damian Lillard may have another force pulling him eastward from his current club in the Western Conference.

While Lillard remains focused on trying to get himself to another team ahead of the start of the league’s 2023-24 season in what Spears has called “a calculated risk,” All-NBA Boston Celtics forward Jayson Tatum “has called him, tried to get in his ear, but his focus is definitely on Miami.”

Spears has reported on Tatum’s push to persuade his former Team USA teammate to join Boston, before the start of the 2023 free agency period.

Whether this is a return to that specific incidence of the St. Louis native attempting to bring Lillard onto what was then a different iteration of the ball club or represents a sustained effort by Tatum to pitch Lillard on the Celtics, any such move would require a substantial offer from Boston to pull off.

With the Blazers star earning $45.6 million this season, an offer built around Malcolm Brogdon or Derrick White plus additional contracts to make the swap CBA legal could conceivably be assembled.

But with Boston unlikely to want the years on Lillard’s current contract and Portland unimpressed by what the Celtics have to offer, we wouldn’t hold our breath on this trade or something like it happening any time soon.

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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NBA exec believes OKC Thunder would be in best position to trade for Giannis Antetokounmpo

“If Milwaukee decides, OK, we’ve got to move on here, that is the first team you call.”

As the Oklahoma City Thunder’s young core continues to mature, their treasure trove of draft picks proves a valuable commodity for the future. It gives them a chance to land nearly anybody in a trade.

The Thunder enter the 2023-24 season with playoff aspirations after overachieving last season with a 40-42 record. If the Thunder continue to progress with their young core, a contention window will likely start to open.

With so much draft capital, the Thunder could be in every conversation as a potential interested team in the inevitable sweepstakes of the next superstar who requests a trade.

One possibility is two-time MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo. The Milwaukee Bucks superstar recently told the New York Times he wants to continue to compete for championships throughout his career and acknowledged the possibility that might mean eventually moving on to a new team.

As the Bucks’ 2021 championship core continues to age, this doomsday scenario for Milwaukee could quickly materialize. Antetokounmpo is signed through the 2024-25 season.

This means the Bucks have two seasons to persuade Antetokounmpo to either pick up his $51.9 million player option for the 2025-26 season or sign a new extension.

If they fail to do so, an anonymous NBA executive told Heavy Sports’ Sean Deveny the Thunder could be a prime trade partner candidate for the Bucks as they likely would succumb to a rebuild.

“No one would be in better position to go after him than OKC,” the executive said. “Not to say they would, but they’d have to be a starting point. They have the young talent, they have, I think it is nine (first-round) picks in the next three years. If Milwaukee decides, OK, we’ve got to move on here, that is the first team you call. There aren’t many guys who are going to make the Thunder think about a big move, packaging the assets. But Giannis is one, if he’d want to go there.”

While it’s too far in the future to make an educated prediction on how the Antetokounmpo situation plays out in Milwaukee, the Thunder would ideally be a perfect trade partner with their deep bag of future draft picks and intriguing young players.

If the Thunder are at a point where they feel like trading for arguably the best player in the league would skyrocket their title odds, then that is worth what will likely be a hefty haul they have to concede.

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Do the Boston Celtics have competition for Blake Griffin’s services?

The 34-year-old vet would be a valued voice off the bench able to scale up to an occasional spot start for Boston — if they can re-sign him.

If the Boston Celtics hope to bring back veteran big man Blake Griffin, they might have to beat out a few other ball clubs to do it according to recent reporting from Hoops Wire’s Sam Amico. Per Amico, multiple teams ” are expressing interest in free agent power forward … Griffin, including the Celtics”.

Griffin recently gushed about his time in Boston, hinting that the former No. 1 pick is disposed to such a return to the Celtics. Amico suggests that the Philadelphia 76ers and Golden State Warriors may also be interested in signing the Oklahoma alum for the looming 2023-24 season, though it’s unclear if that is sourced reporting or his own estimation.

The 34-year-old vet would be a valued voice off the bench able to scale up to an occasional spot start for Boston, something they may need this season with Kristaps Porzingis, Robert Williams III, and Al Horford all likely to miss frontcourt minutes this season.

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 reportedly working out forward Louis King

It is unclear whether King would be joining Boston as a two way player or if he would compete for a full roster spot alongside reports of TJ Warren and Lamar Stevens doing the same.

The Boston Celtics are ramping up their search to fill their remaining open roster spots according to recent reporting from HoopsHype’s Michael Scotto, who relates that (f)ree agent forward Louis King will meet and work out for the Boston Celtics this week”.

Per Scotto, “King recently worked out with other veterans for the Golden State Warriors” and “was a two-way player for the Philadelphia 76ers” last season. The 6-foot-7, 205 lbs. forward would join guard Payton Pritchard as an Oregon alum on the roster, and averaged career rates of 4.8 points, 1.6 rebounds, and 0.9 assists per game while shooting 41.7% from the field overall and 35.1% from beyond the arc.

King played for the Detroit Pistons and Sacramento Kings in previous stints after going undrafted in 2019.

It is unclear whether King would be joining Boston as a two way player or if he would compete for a full roster spot alongside reports of TJ Warren and Lamar Stevens doing the same.

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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Here’s why the initial 53-man roster is just that: initial

What sort of tactics can the Cowboys employ in order to retain a few players they deem worthy of development? | From @ArmyChiefW3

Trying to predict the Cowboys’ initial 53-man roster is an arbitrary exercise. The team has acquired several young prospects who likely have earned roster spots, yet finding room for them may not be possible. While spots appear locks for several players, the team has to get creative with the use of their practice squad to retain talent for future development. 

An oft-regurgitated phrase around Dallas, player evaluation is a 365-day process. The team will be strategic about who makes the initial roster, who will be sent to returnable injured reserve, who they think they can sneak onto the practice squad, and who they must protect from the vultures known as the 31 other teams looking to upgrade their rosters. It all leads to the fact that initial rosters are just that, initial.

Shams: Boston Celtics to work out TJ Warren, Lamar Stevens this week

“Both players will undergo workouts and are being considered for a potential deal with the Celtics,” relates Charania.

Per new reporting from The Athletic’s Shams Charania, the Boston Celtics are “meeting with two free agent forwards in Boston this week for a potential wing addition” to help flesh out the ball club’s roster for the 2023-24 season. According to Charania, the Celtics “are meeting with free agent forwards TJ Warren and Lamar Stevens in Boston this week”.

“Both players will undergo workouts and are being considered for a potential deal with the Celtics, who still have multiple open roster spots” adds the Athletic reporter. “Warren averaged 7.5 points for the (Brooklyn) Nets last season while Stevens established himself as a defensive-minded force, starting 25 of 62 games for the (Cleveland Cavaliers).”

Both players have some fairly glaring issues with neither shooting well from beyond the arc in recent seasons and Warren not far removed from a serious foot injury that cost him an entire season in 2021-22.

But Warren could provide valuable depth off the bench and has flashed some of the scoring ability that had him on the league’s radar before his foot injury and Stevens could add some much-needed defensive acumen.

Can either add to their limited track record on the other end of the court? Whether the Celtics’ brass believes they might could decide if one of them plays in green and white next season.

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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Report: Justin Jackson being targeted by Israeli Premier League’s Hapoel Tel Aviv

The Texan forward appeared in a total of 24 games over two seasons for Boston.

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It seems another former player of the Boston Celtics might find himself a new team to play for overseas. Word is bubbling up that onetime Boston forward Justin Jackson is being targeted as a potential signing by Israeli Premier League team Hapoel Tel Aviv Basketball Club per new reporting from Walla Sports‘ Aharleh Weisberg and Or Shakdi via Sportando’s Dario Skerletic.

Per the Sportando reporter, Jackson is a player of interest for Tel Aviv, which plays in the same league stashed Boston floor general Yam Madar got his start in. The onetime University of North Carolina standout’s level of interest in such an offer is unclear, but Jackson may be weighing his options regarding trying to stay in the NBA.

The Houston native signed his first 10-day deal with the Celtics in December 2021, n another, regular contract ahead of the 2022-23 season in September of 2022.

The Texan forward appeared in 24 games over two seasons for Boston, putting up 0.9 points and 0.7 rebounds per game over that stretch before he was dealt in the trade that brought big man Mike Muscala from the Oklahoma City Thunder in February of 2023.

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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Cooper Flagg denies rumor of embarassing Bradley Beal at Jayson Tatum’s camp

This tale, it seems, was too good to be true.

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If the beef between rising NBA prospect Cooper Flagg and Phoenix Suns star Bradley Beal sounded a little bit too good to be true, there’s a reason. It might very well have been a made-up tale.

The reports grew out of a rumored embarrassment of Beal by Flagg during a one-on-one contest at star Boston Celtics forward Jayson Tatum’s summer basketball camp.

The rumor took on a life of its own on social media, prompting Flagg to come clean about it in a video circulated by Bleacher Report Hoops. In it, he said “I’m making enemies, first Brad Beal — that was fake though; pointing it out the mic, that was fake, fake business.”

“Me and Brad Beal never played one-on-one, I’ve got no beef with Brad, alright?” he added for good measure, pushing back against the colorful rumor making the rounds in an offseason NBA media sphere thirsty for content.

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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Rumor: NBA prospect Cooper Flagg embarassed Bradley Beal at Jayson Tatum’s summer camp

NBA scouts are paying close attention to his growth, and many believe he will be a future No. 1 pick in the draft, possibly in either 2025 or 2026.

Sixteen-year-old basketball phenom Cooper Flagg is the next big prospect coming to the NBA if league scouts and draft analysts are to be believed.

Word of just how good the 6-foot-8 teenager is trickled out of star Boston Celtics forward Jayson Tatum‘s basketball camp.

Former Celtics center (and current Boston broadcaster) Brian Scalabrine shared via Heavy’s Sean Deveney that Flagg, while at Tatum’s camp, beat Phoenix Suns star Bradley Beal one-on-one.

“I heard a rumor that my boy Cooper Flagg was at Jayson Tatum’s camp, and he was busting Brad Beal 1-on-1, and Brad Beal got mad at him. Started cussing him out,” White Mamba said. “This dude is a major trash-talker.”

“The rumor is that Brad Beal and him were squaring off 1-on-1 and Brad Beal was taking it lightly,” he added. “It’s a high school kid. Then Cooper started giving it to him. And I guess the rumor is, Cooper started talking trash and Bradley Beal got mad. Really mad.”

Flagg has been impressive of late, dominating the 16-year-old group at the Nike EYBL Peach Jam in Atlanta, averaging 25.4 points, 13 rebounds, 5.7 assists and 6.9 blocked shots per game.

NBA scouts are paying close attention to his growth, and many believe he will be a No. 1 pick in the draft, possibly 2025 or 2026.

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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