Tag: 2023 nba offseason

Ex-Celtics point guard Malcolm Brogdon takes a shot at his former team

“I didn’t feel very valued there,” he explained.

Former Boston Celtics point guard Malcolm Brogdon recently let it slip that he did not especially feel appreciated by his former team during his time in Boston. “When I was first traded, I viewed it as an opportunity,” said Brogdon via The Athletic’s Jason Quick. “I was excited to be with a championship coach. And I was excited to go from a place where I wasn’t as valued, and go to place where I am very valued.”

“I was there for a year, won Sixth Man of the Year, and they shipped me out,” added Brogdon on his inclusion in the trade that would bring Jrue Holiday to the Celtics in the 2023 offseason.

“So … I didn’t feel very valued there,” he explained. “Here, I feel valued. Portland has embraced me. And I’ve enjoyed being coached by Chauncey (Billups).”

In fairness, Brogdon actually survived another deal that saw the team swap out a player (Marcus Smart) who had been with the team for nine seasons. After which, he requested a trade himself — and got one.

The NBA is a business, and it’s clear the Celtics did value his play. But the status quo was not enough, leading to a number of valued Boston players getting dealt.

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Bulls indecision on franchise direction has Chicago critized yet again

“It’s difficult for a franchise mired in mediocrity to make marked long-term improvements,” writes The Athletic.

The lack of a direction chosen by the Chicago Bulls‘ front office has the ball club in the crosshairs of another analyst, who has the Bulls as one of the worst offseasons in the league due to their inability to decide on how to move forward as a franchise.

“How about the Chicago Bulls’ decision to keep their veteran nucleus together?” asks the Athletic’s Josh Robbins. “Not moving DeMar DeRozan and Zach LaVine and also re-signing Nikola Vucevic is laudable in the sense the Bulls are trying to win. But that core group has topped out, and the Bulls are 20th out of 30 teams in the standings.”

“In other words, they’re mediocre, and in the NBA, it’s difficult for a franchise mired in mediocrity to make marked long-term improvements,” he adds.

“At this moment, the Bulls seem stuck in the mud,” writes Robbins. “That, along with DeRozan’s expiring contract, makes the Bulls a fascinating team to watch as the trade deadline approaches.”

For the sake of all our eyeballs, let’s hope the Athletic analyst is correct.

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ESPN’s Bobby Marks on Boston Celtics, NBA’s best offseason moves

The Celtics were not alone in making major offseason moves.

The Boston Celtics had themselves quite the offseason this summer, trading away Marcus Smart, Robert Williams III, Malcolm Brogdon, Grant Williams and others to bring in Kristaps Porzingis and Jrue Holiday. But the Celtics were not alone in making major offseason moves, with the Phoenix Suns and Milwaukee Bucks shaking up their respective rosters in a major way.

Other ball clubs also made significant moves that are paying dividends, and others are getting less bang for their buck than they had hoped due to several reasons, such as the Golden State Warriors seeing injuries and suspensions dampen the impact of adding veteran floor general Chris Paul.

To talk about the 2023 offseason moves that had a positive impact on their respective teams, ESPN cap guru Bobby Marks put together a clip that dug deep into the topic based on what we have seen so far.

Check it out above!

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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The Boston Celtics have proved their big offseason moves were worth it

The deals that brought on star big man Kristaps Porzingis and defensive menace Jrue Holiday over the summer set the table for the behemoth the Celtics have become.

The Boston Celtics have proved their big offseason moves were worth it with their elite play on both ends driving them to the top of the league standings this season. Starting even before the summer’s big moves, the trade for point guard Derrick White was one of the first big moves setting up the Celtics as we know them today.

And while that version of Boston’s roster was not quite good enough to win it all, the deals that brought on star big man Kristaps Porzingis and defensive menace Jrue Holiday over the summer set the table for the behemoth the Celtics have become in the first half of the NBA’s 2023-24 season to date.

The host of the “Sporting Logically” show recently took some time to do a deep dive into how those trades have transformed the Celtics ahead of the start of this season.

Check it out above!

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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How a family of Celtics fans bought Marcus and Maisa Smart’s Boston-area home

Marcus and his wife Maisa have sold their home in the Boston suburbs to Marcus Smart superfans. Here’s how it happened.

NBA players are often larger than life. Fans marvel at their talents, their athleticism, and their charisma. And meeting a favorite player, is an incredible experience. We all remember our first autograph, handshake, or chance to see our sports heroes in the flesh. 

Katherine Greaney and her family have taken that fan dynamic to a new extreme. These dedicated Boston Celtics fans spent years rooting for their favorite player, Marcus Smart. As they would describe it, the Greaneys are Marcus Smart superfans, and have always admired his winning plays on the court and charity work off it. Now, the Greaney family just closed on a deal to buy the Smart’s former home in the Boston suburbs, a surreal experience for Katherine and her children. 

Marcus and his wife Maisa spent years building the house into a dream home. The Smarts told Celtics Wire it made them happy to find the right family when it came to selling the property after Marcus was traded this past summer. Oddly enough, the story began at a bowling alley.

Grading the Boston Celtics’ offseason moves at the quarter-point of 2023-24

It is far too early to say how Boston has done compared to the rest of the league definitively, but we have a rough outline of how the Celtics’ offseason moves have gone.

The Boston Celtics had one of the NBA’s biggest offseasons over the summer, pulling off multiple major trades that totally reshaped the team around the Celtics’ two star forwards Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum. Boston was not the only ball club making major moves, with the Milwaukee Bucks, Phoenix Suns, and other teams making consequential trades, but the Celtics seem to have made the most impactful deals over the summer based on the early returns from the 2023-24 season.

Still, it is far too early to say how Boston has done compared to the rest of the league definitively, but we have a rough outline of how the Celtics’ offseason moves have gone.

And to such an end, Bleacher Report’s Grant Hughes has graded the NBA’s offseasons for every team in the league — let’s see how he is rating Boston’s.

Celtics get high marks in Bleacher Report’s final offseason grades of 2023

“The Boston Celtics could have easily justified running it back,” writes B/R.

With the Boston Celtics having played a road and an away game — both wins, thank you very much — we can finally begin to get an informed opinion on the moves Celtics President of Basketball Operations Brad Stevens made over the summer. And in just such an analysis of all the teams in the NBA, Bleacher Report’s Andy Bailey weighed in on Boston’s offseason with an “A+” grade for the team.

“Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown just appeared in their fourth conference finals together,” writes Bailey. “The Boston Celtics could have easily justified running it back with most of the roster that got them there in 2023.”

“Instead, they completely overhauled the supporting cast and now might have the league’s best top six.”

“After those two, Boston’s rotation includes Kristaps Porzingis coming off what was likely his best offensive season, Jrue Holiday as an almost certain upgrade over Marcus Smart and holdovers Derrick White and Al Horford,” adds the B/R analyst.

“There are some legitimate questions about the depth. The Celtics may need Payton Pritchard or Sam Hauser to be better. But deep playoff runs are about the top of the roster, and Boston’s is as good as any.”

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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What are the biggest stories of the Boston Celtics’ 2023 NBA offseason?

Wednesday evening, an exceptionally eventful 2023 offseason will come to a close.

The Boston Celtics are hours away from the start of their 2023-24 NBA season and their opening game thereof, with the Celtics set to face off against the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden on Wednesday evening. With that, an exceptionally eventful 2023 offseason will come to a close.

In it, the Celtics saw Marcus Smart, Mike Muscala, Malcolm Brogdon, and Robert Williams III all dealt away in the trades that brought in Jrue Holiday and Kristaps Porzingis, as well as Grant Williams signed and traded to the Dallas Mavericks for draft assets that would in part turn into Jordan Walsh.

And with all that said, we are just scratching the surface of what has happened to the new-look Celtics since they last played an NBA game that has counted.

What are the biggest storylines of the 2023 offseason? The hosts of the CLNS Media “How Bout Them Celtics!” podcast sat down to discuss them on a recent episode — check it out above!

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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PHOTOS: Jaylen Brown mingles with fans as 7uice Brand and Johnny Cupcakes launch new collaboration

PHOTOS: Jaylen Brown mingled with fans and signed autographs as 7uice Brand and Johnny Cupcakes launched a new collaboration this weekend.

When All-NBA forward Jaylen Brown isn’t playing for the Boston Celtics, he usually has some sort of project in the works, and his latest venture is a collaboration between his apparel company 7uice, and the streetwear brand Johnny Cupcakes. Over the weekend, Brown played host to visiting fans to celebrate a new line of shirts.

The line snaked down Newbury Street in Boston’s Back Bay neighborhood as fans queued in the rain to meet Brown and grab some new gear. Brown signed autographs and talked with fans as they rolled through the store, posing for selfies and sharing laughs with visitors to the establishment. Johnny Earle, the man behind Johnny Cupcakes, was also in attendance greeting eager fans and taking photos. Earle and Brown were all smiles as the event came to a close late in the afternoon, marking just the beginning of what is an exciting project.

The partnership of 7uice and Johnny Cupcakes wasn’t the only exciting collaboration that Saturday. Celticswire was able to link up with photographers Ermis Martinez and Aaron James to capture some of the best moments from the event. Many thanks to Martinez and James.

Jaylen Brown, 7uice Brand collaborate with Johnny Cupcakes to offer new merchandise for fans

Jaylen Brown mingled with fans at the launch event for a new collaboration between 7uice brand and Johnny Cupcakes.

Boston Celtics All-NBA wing Jaylen Brown continues to plant deep roots in the city of Boston, this time collaborating with the clothing brand Johnny Cupcakes to create new merchandise for basketball fans and fashionistas alike. On Saturday, Brown hosted an event in the city’s Back Bay neighborhood to celebrate the launch of the new partnership. Brown signed autographs, took pictures, and modeled some of the new shirts for folks who showed up to check it out.

Brown has stayed busy off the court since joining the Celtics in 2017. He’s worked with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Harvard University to advance his educational goals and has helped provide opportunities to underserved youth through his 7uice Foundation in Boston and beyond. Through his 7uice apparel brand, meanwhile, Brown has worked to connect to the city’s cultural landscape.

Creative director for 7uice Malclom Durr explained that working with Johnny Cupcakes helps Brown’s mission of doing exactly that.

(Photo by Ermis Martinez/Ermartinezflics)

“I think that collaborations like this can kind of jump-start the work and energy within the community,” Durr said. “And then build on it and spread and spread. It’s all piece by piece coming together.”