New Boston Celtics floor general Jeff Teague spoke with the media on Saturday after a practice session at Auerbach Center, talking about how the team plans to put the 12-season veteran to work for the team in the absence of starting point guard Kemba Walker, how the abbreviated nature of this season’s training camp is impacting team chemistry and several other issues.
As things tend to when talking about the Celtics, several questions fielded by the Indiana native revolved around Boston’s focal points on the wing, teammates Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum, about which the Wake Forest product had plenty to say.
Celtics Jaylen Brown named one of Globe’s ‘Bostonians of the Year’ https://t.co/x6IRscFZzE
— The Celtics Wire (@TheCelticsWire) December 12, 2020
Teague revealed he’d learned a few things about the pair since joining the team in free agency, despite knowing them casually through the league.
“I knew they were really good players,” offered the former Demon Deacon. “I know they both play really hard on both sides of the floor.”
“Both are leaders on the floor — both lead in different ways, but I didn’t know they were that close as friends and that they communicated a lot like that but they are the players that I thought they were and I think they’re both really good players and I think they’re both superstars.”
No faint praise, that.
WATCH: Boston Celtics TD Garden team scrimmage highlights https://t.co/eCPjQ4NrpH
— The Celtics Wire (@TheCelticsWire) December 12, 2020
Brown in particular forged a bond with teague going back to his first stint with the Hawks, where the veteran would sometimes sit in on the Georgia native’s games in high school.
“He’s one of our leaders in the NBA,” said Teague of Brown with a nod to his activism and engagement with the Players Association more generally.
“Off the court, we all know what he does, what he brings to the table — his voice, his activism. And he’s a talented player, a talented person off the court. He’s got a great heart. When I first got who’s the first guy to call me and tell me if I needed anything, he’d show me around the city and let me know anything, but that’s just the kind of person that he is. Since I’ve been here, he’s texted me every day to see if I was cool, if I needed anything, where to go eat, what’s a cool spot to order from and things like that.”
“That’s just the kind of person he is; I think we all know that he’s a special person,” Teague added.
Jeff Teague says Celtics have ‘capability of going to the championship’ https://t.co/J3Ps01Y6I4
— The Celtics Wire (@TheCelticsWire) December 11, 2020
And it’s not just Brown; the duo work extraordinarily well together — and with others.
“They do a great job of listening,” he explained. “They take advice; it’s a back and forth thing.”
“I know how talented they are, and how much they mean to the team. So I just try to get my point in if I can see something. I’ll try to let them know what I see, and vice-versa if they see something, they let me know. But you have got to find your role, and for them, they’re going to be here for years to come, and I’ve just got to find ways I can help them be better. Obviously, they’re going to help me be better, but that’s my thing, trying to help them be the players that they can be, and this team to be the team they can be.”
“It should be a great year,” he added.
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