Tag: Hamidou Diallo

Who are the top remaining options for the Boston Celtics in free agency?

Boston needs to find players willing to take a pay cut for a chance to compete for a championship.

The NBA’s new collective bargaining agreement was designed to punish high-spending clubs such as the Boston Celtics. The idea is to make it fairer for the other teams to acquire top-shelf talent. As a result, to fill out remaining roster spots, Boston needs to find players willing to take a pay cut for a chance to compete for a championship.

With the pool of free agents worth signing getting more shallow by the hour, the Celtics need to look at players such as Hamidou Diallo, Kelly Oubre, Christian Wood, Terence Ross, JaMychael Green and T.J. Warren in the hopes of finding the right role player able to help them win some games on the cheap.

To talk over how that might go down in practice, the hosts of the CLNS Media “A-List” podcast recently convened to discuss Boston’s free agency options.

Check out the clip embedded above to hear what they had to say for yourself.

Listen to the “Celtics Lab” podcast on:

Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/3zBKQY6

Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3GfUPFi

YouTube: https://bit.ly/3F9DvjQ

[lawrence-auto-related count=1 category=590969556]

With another open roster spot, who should the Boston Celtics pursue to fill it?

In their search for a suitable player, some names have emerged as potential targets.

The Boston Celtics recently waived Justin Champagnie, leaving an open roster spot they need to fill. The Celtics have 13 players under contract and are required to carry 14. So, the Celtics are looking for potential free agent signings to fill at least one spot. They have limited salary cap space, which may restrict their options, but they offer the opportunity to play for a competitive team that has a chance of making a deep playoff run.

Some names have emerged as potential targets. A few of the more interesting are former Charlotte Hornets forward Kelly Oubre, offensive-oriented big man Christian Wood, veteran point guard Ish Smith and defensive specialist Hamidou Diallo.

The host of the “Locked On Celtics” podcast, John Karalis, and guest Tom Westerholm of Boston.com linked up to talk all of the above in the video embedded below.

Check it out for yourself to see where they came down on who Boston ought to be pursuing.

Listen to the “Celtics Lab” podcast on:

Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/3zBKQY6

Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3GfUPFi

YouTube: https://bit.ly/3F9DvjQ

[lawrence-auto-related count=1 category=590969556]

Analyzing three potential Boston Celtics free agent targets

The potential free agent market for the Boston Celtics to finish their 2023 offseason team building has shrunk greatly in recent days, but a trio of potential options are still left on the board.

The potential free agent market for the Boston Celtics to finish their 2023 offseason team building has shrunk greatly in recent days, but a trio of potential options are still left on the board, some of whom have ties to the franchise.

The trio consists of Hamidou Diallo from the Detroit Pistons; Javonte Green, a former Celtic and a player the Celtics reportedly have an interest in; and Austin Rivers, who has a history with the Celtics due to his father, Doc Rivers, being a former coach for the team as well as a brief stint on a Boston roster.

The hosts of the “How Bout Them Celtics!” podcast talked over the merits and faults of each in terms of their fit with Boston on a recent episode.

Take a look at the clip embedded above to hear their thoughts on these three free agents.

Listen to the “Celtics Lab” podcast on:

Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/3zBKQY6

Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3GfUPFi

YouTube: https://bit.ly/3F9DvjQ

[lawrence-auto-related count=1 category=590969556]

The 10 best remaining free agents the Boston Celtics can sign

Let’s take a look at some of the best remaining free agents who the Celtics could consider signing.

The Boston Celtics are coming off a disappointing campaign that ended in elimination by the Miami Heat in the 2023 Eastern Conference Finals just when Boston hoped to get back to the NBA Finals. Since then, team president Brad Stevens has shaken up the roster by bringing on star big man Kristaps Porzingis while letting go of Marcus Smart and Grant Williams.

The team has made depth signings with Oshae Brissett and Dalano Banton, but the Celtics still need to address a few key areas. Chief among them is a point guard able to step into a bigger role if needed, but Boston now also needs depth at the guard, wing, forward, and big positions as well with between one and three roster spots pending team decisions on non-guaranteed players.

Let’s take a look at some of the best remaining free agents who the Celtics could consider signing on minimum deals to such an end.

In this exercise, we have omitted players who will likely earn more than a minimum deal given the Celtics’ proximity to the second apron.

3 free agent guards that fit, make sense for the Philadelphia 76ers

Here are three free agent guards the Philadelphia 76ers should go after in 2023 free agency.

When it comes to the 2023 free agency period, the Philadelphia 76ers have to focus first and foremost on James Harden. He is going to be the key to everything they want to do going forward.

The Harden and Joel Embiid duo give the Sixers a very good chance at coming out of the Eastern Conference and contending for a championship. The Sixers have to make sure they work something out with The Beard to keep him around.

As far as other free agents go, the Sixers are a bit cash-strapped. They only have, per HoopsHype:

  • Non-taxpayer mid-level exception: $12,220,000 (could lose access to this if they go over the apron)
  • Bi-annual exception: $4,448,000 (could lose access to this if they go over the apron)

Therefore, they will need to offer a serious chance at winning as their biggest pitch in the summer. There are three guards that come to mind for the Sixers:

All the players who could wear a No. 6 jersey in 2022-23 after the NBA’s plans to retire it to honor Bill Russell

The league recently announced plans to retire Russell’s No. 6 jersey across the league to honor the Celtics great, but some players are excepted.

The NBA and Boston Celtics plan to honor Hall of Fame big man Bill Russell for his unparalleled career in the league and his dedication to fighting for civil rights and social justice by retiring his No. 6 jersey league-wide.

The move — unprecedented in league history — honors the singular life Russell lived on and off the court. Russell was the NBA’s ultimate winner with a record 13 titles to his name as a player or player-coach. He also  achieved or was a part of many milestones, including being a part of the first all-Black starting five and the first Black head coach in league history. Through it all, he used his platform to fight for others in a time when that put his career at great risk.

The players in the league wearing No. 6 jerseys in 2021-22 will be allowed to continue to do so until they either switch to a new number or retire from the game. Let’s take a look at the players who could wear that jersey number next season.

Out-of-rotation players who could become trade candidates

Here are some NBA players getting healthy DNP-CDs who could have a potential role in a different team’s rotation.

We are more than three weeks into the NBA regular season and most teams have settled on their rotations. Some aren’t fully healthy and will have tinkering to do when key players return, but some others have some rotation players that are not playing.

Here are some players consistently getting DNP-CDs despite being healthy who could become candidates for a trade.

Out-of-rotation players who could become trade candidates

We are more than three weeks into the NBA regular season and most teams have settled on their rotations. Some aren’t fully healthy and will have tinkering to do when key players return, but some others have some rotation players that are not playing.

Here are some players consistently getting DNP-CDs despite being healthy who could become candidates for a trade.

Dunk guru goes behind-the-scenes for Hamidou Diallo’s dunk contest

The person who helped Hamidou Diallo put together his slam dunk contest plan and elbow dunk over Shaq took his Instagram followers behind the scenes.

To be an NBA dunk contest champion, you need insane athletic ability. Maybe powerful slams come in handy. Perhaps it’s just some creativity.

There are people available to help with the third. Perhaps none are better known around the industry than Chuck Millan, a “dunk guru” who has helped dunkers become champions for years. He has worked with the likes of Zach LaVine, Derrick Jones Jr. and Donovan Mitchell, prepping them for the best and most creative dunks possible.

He posted a video to Instagram going behind the scenes of Hamidou Diallo’s 2019 dunk championship and how they set up the dunk over Shaquille O’Neal.

“We got to work in Miami,” Millan narrated in the video.

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by THE DUNK Guy (@tfbchucktheboss)

Clips showed Diallo working with former Thunder player Victor Oladipo and professional dunker Will Bunton. He caught alley-oops, jumped over items and got prepared for the tasks Millan would set for him.

“This dude’s legs aren’t real, so he can pretty much do whatever dunk I tell him to do,” Millan said.

Interspersed through the video are clips of Diallo dunking that have not been widely shared. They’re taken from the gym with him practicing and getting comfortable dunking over different objects.

Diallo didn’t understand what the point was. It seemed like Millan was not living up to his title.

“He’s like, ‘Chuck, why am I jumping over weird shit? This isn’t gonna get high scores. You’re gonna get fired. I’m gonna lose,'” Millan recalled.

“I said, ‘Nah bro, you’re gonna do an elbow dunk over Shaq and you’re going to win the dunk contest.'”

The rest is history.

Former Thunder guard Hamidou Diallo re-signs with Pistons

Hamidou Diallo has re-signed with the Pistons, who acquired him in a trade with the Thunder last season.

The Detroit Pistons and Oklahoma City Thunder swapped players on inexpensive expiring contracts last season.

It appears to have worked out well for the Pistons.

Hamidou Diallo, traded to Detroit from the Thunder in March, re-signed with the Pistons, the organization announced on Thursday. It is a two-year deal worth $10.4 million, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.

Detroit acquired him from the Thunder in exchange for Svi Mykhailiuk and a 2027 second-round pick. While that pick remains in Oklahoma City, Mykhailiuk is on the hunt for a new NBA home. The Thunder initially tendered a qualifying offer but rescinded it, according to HoopsHype’s Mike Scotto.

Diallo played two and a half seasons in Oklahoma City. He made major strides last season, averaging 11.9 points, 5.2 rebounds and 2.4 assists per game, but the Thunder were apparently unenthused with the idea of re-signing him. They got a second-round pick and took a chance on Mykhailiuk, billed as a potential 3-and-D player.

The Pistons saw enough positives from Diallo to bring him back. Known for his athleticism, Diallo finally began to develop a 3-point shot, hitting 39% on 2.1 attempts per game over his 20 appearances with Detroit. On the Pistons, he averaged 11.2 points, 5.4 rebounds and 1.2 assists in 23.3 minutes per game.

Diallo can try to carve out a role alongside the other young players on the Pistons roster. He’ll have two more seasons to prove he’s deserving of another contract.