Tag: 2024-25 Boston Celtics

Celtics assistant coach Charles Lee reportedly a Los Angeles Lakers coaching target

It is looking increasingly less likely that the Boston Celtics will have assistant coach Charles Lee on their sidelines next season.

It is looking increasingly less likely that the Boston Celtics will have assistant coach Charles Lee on their sidelines next season, with new reporting from the Athletic’s Jovan Buha suggesting another ball club is considering hiring him as head coach.

Lee, who is a candidate for the open Charlotte Hornets head coaching gig, is reportedly also a candidate for the now also-open Los Angeles Lakers coaching job recently vacated by Darvin Hamm. For this job, however, Lee is not one of the top candidates. That short list includes former NBAer and current podcaster JJ Redick, former Atlanta Hawks and Milwaukee Bucks head coach Mike Budenholzer, onetime Brooklyn Nets head coach and current Golden State Warriors assistant coach Kenny Atkinson.

Per Buha, Los Angeles Clippers head coach Ty Lue “would immediately become another candidate” if he were to split with his current employer, and Lee “is also an option.”

While that does not sound like the most ringing endorsement, that doesn’t mean Lee would not get the job, given his extensive experience and popular support in his current and prior coaching gigs.

One of the more popular names in coaching searches in recent seasons, even if this is not the gig he ends up taking, Celtics fans should expect one will open up 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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Which player will be the Boston Celtics’ toughest free agency decision?

We’d expect Kornet to command the biggest raise of the three, so it may end up being him.

Which player will be the Boston Celtics’ toughest free agency decision this coming 2024 NBA offseason? With a rapidly ballooning payroll thanks to the supermax contract extension of star Boston forward Jaylen Brown and fellow star wing Jayson Tatum’s supermax extension soon to follow (to say nothing about Jrue Holiday’s extension and a potential pending one for Derrick White), things could get out of Boston’s reach financially.

For Bleacher Report’s Andy Hughes, this means that the Celtics might need to find some cheaper solutions for their backup big men. “Luke Kornet, and … Xavier Tillman Sr., could present Boston with an either/or decision, as it may not be worthwhile to retain a pair of centers on a roster that already has Kristaps Porzingis and Al Horford.”

Add in Neemias Queta, “whom the Celtics viewed as valuable enough to convert to a standard contract in April with a $2.2 million team option for 2024-25,” and one of them might have to go as a cap casualty.

If Boston does look to cut some costs next season, this does make sense, given all three have shown promise with different skill sets. We’d expect Kornet to command the biggest raise of the three, so it may end up being him.

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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Who is the most likely player on the Boston Celtics’ roster to be traded this coming offseason?

It may likely be a player who has asked off the team in the recent past.

Who is the most likely player on the Boston Celtics’ roster to be traded this coming 2024 NBA offseason? With the team’ payroll about to balloon with Jaylen Brown’s supermax contract extension kicking in, there could be a surprising trade coming soon. And if you ask Bleacher Report’s Greg Swartz, it may likely be a player who has asked off the team in the recent past.

Backup floor general Payton Pritchard once wanted to be on any other ball club not that long ago, but could get his wish if Swartz is right. “Pritchard, 26, is a good backup point guard who’s only set to make $6.7 million next season.

“There’s no reason for Boston to shop him, but if it wants to find salary to send out in a potential deal, he may be the guy to go,” adds the B/R league analyst.

But there is one other player on the Celtics’ roster who Swartz thinks could be on the move — Al Horford.

But given he is “more important as injury insurance” for Kristaps Porzingis, we agree Fast PP is the most likely candidate of any of the Celtics’ core players.

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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Should the Boston Celtics try to trade for Memphis Grizzlies big man Santi Aldama this offseason?

The Celtics will need to keep their frontcourt depth capable and cheap while they contend for titles in the near-term future.

Should the Boston Celtics try to trade for Memphis Grizzlies big man Santi Aldama this offseason? The Celtics will need to keep their frontcourt depth capable and cheap while they contend for titles in the near-term future, and the Grizzlies combo big is cut from the sort of cloth that would work well in Boston. But could Memphis be convinced to part ways with him?

Per Bleacher Report’s Dan Favale, they ought to try. “(Aldama) will make a hair less than (Jaden) Springer, and Boston could use a combo big to back up—and serve as insurances against injuries to—Al Horford and Kristaps Porzingis,” writes the B/R NBA analyst.

“Aldama will cost more in total assets than Xavier Tillman (a free agent this summer),” he adds. “That’s fine. Boston has an armory of seconds, not to mention some firsts, it can dangle.”

“His prospective fit is good enough to contemplate giving up No. 30 as part of any package, even as he enters a contract year,” suggests Favale. “Aldama is pretty good at positioning himself in the right spots on defense, his 3-point clip will tick up above 35% on the Celtics, and he has some shiftiness to him off the dribble.”

We agree wholeheartedly on the fit for Aldama, but think it possible that Memphis simply isn’t interested in dealing him away with frontcourt depth issues of their own to consider. But if he were available, a first projected to go late in the top 30 picks would be worth the expense in our estimation.

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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