Tag: Rudy Gobert

As Kevin Durant Trade Speculation Drags On Celtics Should Stay the Course With Core

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While the Kevin Durant soap opera drags on, it seemed like any interest the Celtics may have had in the Slim Reaper evaporated once they started bolstering the current roster with legit rotation guys like Malcolm Brogdon and Danilo Gallinari. These are the exact kind of moves that seemingly fill the holes that the 2021-22 team had. But then a late night Woj bomb said the C’s were still in on KD. In retrospect it looks like Woj and/or Shams may have been doing the bidding of Nets GM Sean Marks looking to drum up a better return, who 4 weeks after the initial trade request has “failed” to find a new home for Durant. Whether that’s by design or not is debatable because it’s impossible to get equal value for a player like Durant. The Jazz getting FOUR first rounders for Rudy Gobert didn’t do teams hoping to lowball the Nets any favors either. Hence, the trade speculation continuing into its third month which is unheard of in today’s NBA.

Either way the question will not go away as there have been reports of specific trade offers the Celtics have made to Brooklyn as well as counter offers by the Nets. (Tatum completely sidestepped the question when asked if he wants the team to keep Brown or go after Durant so that must be confidence inspiring for Jaylen.) My original point remains though, the Celtics need to stay the course rather than blow up their core to bring in Kevin Durant, who is without a doubt an all-time talent, but will also be 34 when the season starts with a significant injury history. As tempting as it is to chase the dragon here after years of the Celtics promising fireworks (and Kevin Durant is the Drogon of NBA trade bait), if I’m the Celtics I am standing pat.

The Celtics literally just got to the NBA Finals and lost to a once in a generation type dynasty. Disappointing, but losing to a team that has won four of the last eight NBA championships is hardly a reason to blow up your entire roster. If I could get Durant without giving up Tatum or Brown then yes absolutely 100%, but that’s only happening in NBA2K after you turn off the fair trade feature.

The Nets super team experiment clearly has imploded with some going so far as to call it “the biggest disappointment in NBA history.” I’m not ready to give it that lofty title quite yet, but it is the kind of calamity that people will write books about. After Kyrie hemmed and hawed about whether he even wanted to come back to Brooklyn (all while trying to secure that max deal from the very same employer), he finally decided to opt in for the last year of his deal. Not long after Kyrie hit send on the tweet, Kevin Durant decided he’d had enough of the clown show and wants off the ride.

While the internet mockery of the Nets has died down in recent weeks, it still seems like just a matter of time until Durant is dealt. With a young team on the verge of a title and having just brought in key reinforcements, I hope Brad Stevens doesn’t try to move up the timeline and make a trade that could derail the whole thing.

PS – With all that being said, it would be high quality entertainment if the Celtics were to trade for Durant and then win a championship at the expense of yet another Brooklyn trade. Nets fans would be screaming at their TVs like Obi-Wan on Mustafar.

12.23.20 Hoop Tales: The Rockets Ruin A Good Thing Edition

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Record: 0-2 (-2 units)

Tuesday Recap: Kawhi needed 26 shots to reach 26 points and we lost by the hook. On the East Coast, the Nets played “too well” and it forced Joe Harris to get rest for most of the second half. Mind you he had 6 points after the first quarter and finished with 10 — a bucket shy of his over.

I just want to preface these picks with a quick mention that I had amazing reasons to play Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s O22.5 points tonight against the Rockets, including an excuse to use a “Hamilton” gif and the Rockets ruined this opportunity.


First Pick: Domantas Sabonis O18.5 Pts (-121) vs NYK

Fact #1: Sabonis faced the Knicks 3x last season totaling 19, 25 and 24 points respectively.

Fact #2: The Knicks’ front court is returning both Julius Randle and Mitchell Robinson, which are matchups that Sabonis took advantage of last season.


Second Pick: Rudy Gobert O13.5 Pts (-117) vs POR

Fact #1: In three meeting last season, Gobert totaled 16, 6 and 16 respectively.

Fact #2: Subtract: Hassan Whiteside (Sac-Town)… Add: Enes Kanter back in Portland and you have a recipe for success

Fact #3: Jusuf Nurkić will reportedly be a minutes restriction (20), which means more Kanter, which means Gobert should get easy looks at the rim.

Should We Be Concerned By What Gordon Hayward’s Ex-Teammates Are Saying About Him?

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So, unless you’ve been under a rock you know we signed Gordon Hayward a little over a week ago to a max deal. He’ll be be that pure scorer we desperately needed to take pressure off IT and keep the points coming, from a bigger man at that. He’s not Durant or Curry or anyone like that but he’ll get buckets and that’s really all we care about him doing for the most part (more on that in a second).

What’s just a teeeeensy tiny bit worrisome is that since the signing two of his former teammates, one of whom wasn’t even on the Jazz last year, have come out with some, in the least not-positive things to say about Hayward and his switching teams. In and of itself this isn’t anything to really take a deeper look at, there’s always going to be teammates rubbed the wrong way – especially when you switch teams – athletes are people and not everyone gets along with everyone. However the comments aren’t of the same nature and come from two widely different people.

First on the 9th, Trevor Booker, the now non-Jazz (he’s on the Nets) in question came out doubted Hayward really wanted to be “the man” and that he, to paraphrase, did not want the pressure that comes along with such a role. Ok, for us this isn’t too much of a biggie. We have IT. We have Horford, Tatum, and Brown. Even if this is true it shouldn’t be too troubling, and Booker also complimented Hayward in his comments, but he still felt comfortable enough with his opinion, and apathetic enough with how Hayward would react, to say them.

Then, just a couple days ago Ruby Gobert, one of Hayward’s teammates for the last 4 seasons, came out to, paraphrasing again, simply say he understood blah blah blah but didn’t exactly like Hayward leaving “went down”, which can mean a million things in the Sports world. I’m guessing Gobert either expected a heads up from Hayward before things became public or didn’t expect him to leave at all and is a bit salty. The bottom line is the Stifle Tower is another ex-teammate that probably will not be making the trip to lovely New England to spend the holidays with the Hayward family.

Again, all of these comments were pretty innocuous but they do beg the question of what Hayward is like around his teammates and in the locker room. They certainly don’t suggest his Jazz teammates hated him but he doesn’t seem completely beloved by them either. We signed Gordon Hayward to fill it up and that is what he is going to due. I don’t think we need him to play a KG-esque captain role, but it wouldn’t have hurt to have gained some leadership or at least a good example of a veteran personality. We still may have, but now we are certainly allowed to wonder.