Celtics alumni, adjacent react to former Boston guard Jeff Teague, Bucks’ Finals win

A number of Celtics alumni and Celtics-adjacent personalities took to Twitter to congratulate Jeff Teague and the Milwaukee Bucks on Tuesday night.

While he couldn’t have known it would be with another team, it seems former Boston Celtics team president Danny Ainge managed to sign a player at the start of the 2021-22 NBA season who would earn himself a championship ring by the end of the season.

That would of course be veteran point guard Jeff Teague, who latched on with the newly-crowned league champion Milwaukee Bucks after being cut by the team he was dealt to by the Celtics at the trade deadline. Several current and former Celtics and Celtics-adjacent personalities took to the Twitterverse to congratulate the former Boston guard and his new team on their hard-fought win secured by a historic 50-point performance by league and finals MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo.

Let’s look at some of their messages.

ESPN’s Jay Williams says hacker behind awful tweet on Boston coaches, hilarity ensues

ESPN’s Jay Williams claims he was hacked when his account made an egregious error on Boston’s coaching history, but folks aren’t buying it.

It seems ESPN’s Jay Williams is having a rough day when it comes to Twitter, whether you buy his story or not. Willliams — or perhaps a hacker — took it upon himself to congratulate the new head coach of the Boston Celtics Ime Udoka for landing the coveted gig, only to make the mistake of suggesting he was the first Black head coach in franchise history.

Except, Udoka very much wasn’t. In fact, the very first Black head coach in league history was hired by Boston more than a half-century ago in one Bill Russell, and there have been five more since, including the one at the helm for their most recent title in one Doc Rivers.

Instead of admitting his likely mistake, Williams instead doubled down.

Celtics players react to Kemba Walker’s trade to Oklahoma City Thunder

The UConn product is loved by his teammates.

Several Boston Celtics took to social media to say their goodbyes to teammate and friend Kemba Walker after the team’s starting floor general was traded to the Oklahoma City Thunder for Al Horford and Moses Brown on Friday morning.

While the UConn product had had his struggles over the prior two seasons with an often-balky knee, he was still close to and beloved by his fellow Celtics players, a common trait of the popular point guard at every stop of his basketball career. Expressing their support and love for their now ex-teammate, a number of Boston’s remaining players voiced their thoughts about Walker’s sudden departure.

Let’s take a look at what they had to say (h/t Reddit user test99999999999):

Boston’s Jaylen Brown tweets on head coaching ‘analytics;’ ex-teammate Terry Rozier reacts

After this tweet, we can likely count the Georgia native as among those who want a head coach of color for the Celtics.

If there was ever any doubt about whether it would be important to All-Star Boston Celtics wing Jaylen Brown whether the next head coach of the Celtics was a person of color, we can probably put that doubt to rest.

The outspoken Celtics star took to Twitter Wednesday evening to comment on a relationship he observed between playoff success in the 2021 NBA Playoffs and head coaching choices, tweeting “Analytics : 7 nba teams are remaining 4 are lead by African American head coaches.” When one considers the NBA only has one other African American head coach at present, Brown’s statement is all the more impactful.

Given recent reporting on the range of candidates for Boston’s head coaching search, this seem to be being taken into consideration by his team’s front office.

Former Celtic Glen Davis tweets – then deletes – apparent joy at Kyrie Irving injury

It was definitely not Big Baby’s finest moment.

Former Boston Celtics big man Glen “Big Baby” Davis turned the ire of NBA Twitter against himself on Sunday afternoon by making some comments about an injury sustained by fellow Celtics alumnus Kyrie Irving in a Brooklyn Nets playoff contest against the Milwaukee Bucks.

After Irving came down on Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo’s foot and appeared to sprain his ankle, Davis tweeted “That’s the same ankle [Irving] stomp on Lucky with … Lucky got his get back.” Davis was referring to an apparent snub the Nets star made after eliminating his former team in the first round that saw Irving step on the Celtics’ Lucky the Leprechaun logo at midcourt.

Twitter users were quick to pounce on the poorly chosen words, rightly taking Davis to task for appearing to revel in the injury to Irving.

At first, he tweeted “Y’all so mad,” seeming to revel in the ire he inspired. But soon afterward, Davis deleted the comments.

An apology would have been better, but it’s always a bad look to wish ill health on others in any walk of life — particularly over such petty things.

This post originally appeared on Celtics Wire. Follow us on Facebook!

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KG, Big Baby, Kendrick Perkins react to Kyrie Irving’s stepping on Celtics’ logo

A number of former Celtics voiced their opinions about Kyrie’s seemingly symbolic logo stomp on Monday.

Whether or not it was supposed to be some sort of deep symbolic act or not, Kyrie Irving’s stepping on the Boston Celtics’ “Lucky the Leprechaun” logo at midcourt stirred up plenty of acrimony among former Celtics who took issue with the Brooklyn Nets star’s gesture.

Wrapped up in the controversy regarding Irving’s words after Game 2 in which he stated he wanted to avoid “casual racism” and “keep it hoop” while playing in front of crowds at his former home court of TD Garden for the first time since the pandemic, Irving seemed to contradict his own wishes with the act.

Among them was Hall of Fame center Kevin Garnett.

Teammates, friends, family react to Tatum’s 53-point night vs. Minnesota

The Duke product got the wider NBA world abuzz after his historic game on Friday.

The NBA world took note of Boston Celtics All-Star forward Jayson Tatum this past Friday evening when the St. Louis native had a historic game and career night against the Minnesota Timberwolves at TD Garden.

In a 145 – 136 win in overtime, Tatum hung 53 points, 10 rebounds and 4 assists on Minnesota, instantly vaulting himself into the range of Celtics legends like Hall of Famers Larry Bird and Kevin McHale with the elite offensive performance. The Duke product might have needed the extra period to put away a pesky Timberwolves squad, but the takeaway from the win ought to be just how deep Tatum can dig to get the win when he is called on to do so.

A number of friends, family and peers took to social media to comment on his big game.

Celtics legend Paul Pierce appears to react to news of being let go by ESPN

The Boston luminary had recently posted a video of himself spending time gambling amidst exotic dancers.

While it isn’t entirely certain the video Boston Celtics Hall of Fame nominee Paul Pierce posted on Twitter Monday afternoon is in response to news of his being let go by ESPN, it seems a likely response to news of his sacking from the Bristol Connecticut-based sports news outlet.

Pierce had recently made waves in the wider NBA media sphere with a recent post in Instagram that showed the former Celtic spending time with exotic dancers, and late Monday afternoon reports began to circulate of the Kansas product having been let go as a result. While there was no official word from ESPN confirming Pierce’s sacking, Front Office Sports’ Michael McCarthy related that the network declined to comment on the issue.

The 2008 Celtic champ has been a regular on shows like “The Jump” and “NBA Countdown” among other popular ESPN productions.

In his Twitter post, Pierce admonished fans to “stay tuned” to “big things coming” — and to smile.

This post originally appeared on Celtics Wire. Follow us on Facebook!

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Walker, Brown react to rumors of chemistry issues, Thompson resentment

Walker, Brown respond to rumors of chemistry issues, Thompson resentment.

Whispers — or if we are being more honest, talk — of a rift between veteran big man Tristan Thompson and his team, the Boston Celtics, caught the attention of fans in a new podcast from The Ringer’s Chris Vernon and Kevin O’Connor on Tuesday.

Speaking to one another on a new episode of “The Mismatch,” the duo discussed the state of the Celtics, talking about how the rumors of a potential Marcus Smart trade might be affecting things in Boston and — later on — Thompson’s situation. The champion center has been in the league’s health and safety protocols for the last four games, and Vernon spoke about how the big man has been flouting COVID-19 safety rules to the chagrin of his teammates.

“I was told he won’t stop going out,” said the Ringer analyst.

 

Celtic icon Bill Russell inks post remembering Kobe Bryant’s passing

The Celtic legend is still in disbelief regarding the sudden loss of Kobe Bryant, his daughter GiGi and the rest of those on the helicopter that crashed a year ago today.

For many NBA fans, today has been a tough one, with the one-year anniversary of Los Angeles Laker icon Kobe Bryant having arrived.

Even among those of us who did not count ourselves fans, even counting some of us who looked on him as a bitter rival  to their favorite team (including most of our readers), the sudden loss of an NBA legend at such a young age has been almost as hard a pill to swallow as it was when it happened. And for some, faults and all, the Laker luminary was more than just a moving image on our television and computer screens across the years.

For Celtic alumni like Jayson Tatum and particularly Bill Russell, he was also a friend.

On the anniversary of Bryant’s fateful, horrific helicopter crash, Russell posted a tribute to his fallen friend on Twitter.

“I have retyped this post so many times trying to find the words,” related the Celtics legend. “But I just can’t find the ones to describe this feeling because it’s still unimaginable. Jeannine & I are thinking & praying for Vanessa, the girls, Kobe’s parent’s & the other families that lost their loved ones.”

This has been an unimaginably tough year in such a regard for so many, and it has not spared Russell with the loss of Kobe, Tommy Heinsohn and K.C. Jones, all people the Boston icon has kept close over the years.

On the anniversary of Bryant’s passing, we are just starting to arrive at a place where we can truly absorb its impact on the wider NBA community.

And while there are still many things to be written about the man and his legacy, for today we will let the words of his friends do the talking, and hope for better times ahead.

This post originally appeared on Celtics Wire. Follow us on Facebook!

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