Tag: Wyc Grousbeck

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.

Jayson Tatum’s (Probably) Favorite Rapper Nelly to Perform at Halftime of Game 3. Celtics By a Million Tonight.

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Jayson Tatum’s fellow son of St. Louis, the one and only Nelly, is performing at halftime of Game 3 of the NBA Finals in Boston tonight. I don’t know if Tatum requested a little pump up music from (probably) his favorite rapper or if Wyc think JT and the team needs a little extra juice going into the 3rd quarter, but I like it. If I’m the Celtics I’m letting Nelly put on a 45 minute set like it’s the Super Bowl halftime show. Just let Nelly play “Heart of a Champion” 12x in a row like he’s Jay-Z and Kanye in Paris, solely to get Tatum fired up.

It’s impossible to not wanna run through a wall after hearing that absolute banger, even though Tatum was like Deuce’s age when the Sweatsuit album dropped back in 2004…

True story: “Heart of a Champion” was the Power Song on my Nike+ app back in 2007. And if you don’t know what a Power Song or a Nike+ app are then I have successfully flooded this blog with enough 10-15 year old references for one day.

Could Kendrick Perkins Return to the Celtics as a Coach?

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I first heard this rumor the other morning on 98.5 and I believe CelticsLife was the originator of this theory. With the disaster that was this past Celtics season they are obviously in need of some changes, both on and off the court. What was the one thing the Celtics lacked this year, aside from wins? Grit and Balls. This could all be #fakenews but hear me out for a second.

Would the Celtics consider bringing back Kendrick Perkins as an assistant coach?

Perkins has been extremely critical of the Celtics and their issues, yet all while sounding eerily like an assistant coach on the bench.

Perk has also been making the rounds on TV and radio more recently as he breaks down what he sees as the biggest problems on this Boston team. Hint hint: not a fan of Kyrie playing hero ball.

This sounds like a guy who wants to be on a bench somewhere imparting wisdom to younger players. I mean just look at this article from nearly two years ago about how Perk is “destined” to be a coach.

It makes a ton of sense. There was really no one to tell Kyrie Irving to stop acting like a dickhead because he was surrounded by Horford (quiet, lead by example type), Hayward ($30M bench player), a bunch of young guys, and mild mannered Brad Stevens. On one hand I think its a total crock of shit to say you *need* a coach who has played in the NBA to be successful, but on the other hand perception is reality. If players don’t respect the coach then it doesn’t matter how good of a coach he is. So while Brad may be the best X’s and O’s coach in the league, if Kyrie is tuning him out it doesn’t matter. Well, what if Kendrick Perkins is there to provide that street cred? A guy who played FOURTEEN seasons in the league and is a scary sonofabitch to boot. You think Kyrie, or Tatum, or anyone is going to ignore this guy??

Not to mention, there is suddenly an opening on Brad Stevens’ coaching staff.

Lending more credibility to the rumor is the fact that Perk recently pulled out of the BIG3 League, just a couple of weeks after rosters were officially announced, which I blogged about extensively.

Hmmm. The connection to the C’s is still there with Perk; enough that he actually reached out to Danny Ainge last season about returning as a player for the stretch run, before ultimately retiring. Here’s what I wrote back in November:

I LOVE Perk, but we all saw him last year with Cleveland in a suit. The guy would make a phenomenal coach or more likely a corrections officer, but we all understand his playing days are over…If Kendrick Perkins was born 20 years earlier he might be in the Hall of Fame today. I’m not joking. The guy was straight out of the 1980’s NBA. Bill Laimbeer would have been throwing hands with Perk twice a season. He was just an absolute force in the paint; a real old school bully. And that was exactly what the Celtics needed in 2007. A bodyguard for Rondo, a No. 2 to KG’s crazy, a guy willing to do the dirty work while the Big 3 handled all the scoring. He was the perfect fit for that team and both teammates and fans alike adored him.

So while there has been absolutely zero indication from the Celtics, Danny, Wyc, or even Perk himself about this move actually happening, it’s one that I would be completely on board with. The Celtics have lacked a scary strong veteran voice of leadership in the locker room for a long time and I think Perk could bring some Grit and Balls back to this team.

Celtics Have a 2 Percent Chance of Getting the Number 2 or 3 Overall Pick at the NBA Draft Lottery Tonight

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Lost in all the excitement of this unexpectedly deep playoff run for the Celtics is the fact that they are still sitting on yet another potential goldmine. The Celtics have an outside shot at having a Top 3 pick fall into their laps this year.

The NBA Draft Lottery is tonight before Game 2 and the C’s will be watching with great interest as they could walk away with Philly’s first round pick (via Los Angeles) tonight. Boston is basically riding a heater after landing the No. 1 overall pick for the first time in franchise history last summer. Tonight will be a heat check from Danny.

To recap last year’s draft day trade that got us here, Danny Ainge traded the No. 1 overall pick to Philadelphia (who drafted Markelle Fultz) in exchange for the No. 3 overall pick (C’s drafted Jayson Tatum) and a future first round pick, which could be Philly’s pick this year that the Sixers had previously acquired from the Lakers. There were some protections on that pick though. The Celtics will get the Sixers/Lakers first round pick this year if it falls at No. 2 or No. 3 overall, which has a 2.87% chance of occuring at the Draft Lottery tonight.

Those aren’t great odds, but imagine the chaos we’d see on NBA Twitter if the Celtics, who are already pushing the Cavs to the limit and are expecting both Kyrie Irving and Gordon Hayward back next season, get a Top 3 pick? People would be screaming about frozen envelopes and crafting conspiracy theories about Danny Ainge having naked pics of Adam Silver to explain this great run of luck in Boston.

However, the Sixers (via the Lakers) are currently projected to get the No. 10 pick based on the Draft Lottery odds. We’ve seen teams make crazy jumps before (i.e. Cleveland jumping from 8th to 1st in 2011 to draft Kyrie Irving) so this wouldn’t be out of the realm of possibility. If the Cavs somehow jump from their current spot at No. 8 to No. 1 with the Brooklyn pick the Celtics sent them in the Kyrie trade I’m gonna snap though. Cleveland has had the No. 1 overall pick 3 times in the last 7 years. So who’s rigging the league for who? It would be hilarious though to watch Trader Danny hoard those Brooklyn picks for YEARS and then jump off the bandwagon at the last second to flip his last Nets pick, only to see it fall all the way to No. 8. Seriously though, Danny should be a stock broker.

If the Philly/Lakers pick ends up being anything other than No. 2 or No. 3 then the Celtics’ return for the Fultz/Tatum trade gets kicked to next summer when the C’s will receive a first rounder from the Sixers. The Sixers have their own pick next year as well as the Sacramento Kings’ first rounder so the Celtics would get the higher of the two next year unless either lands on No. 1 overall then they’d get the other pick instead.

In case you were wondering, the Kings finished 27-55 this year, which was tied for the 6th worst record in the NBA, with no signs of improvement next year. So either way the Celtics could be nabbing another Top 5 pick if not this year then very likely next year.

Rapid Reaction to the Celtics Draft Night: #WycFireworks Postponed (Again)

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So after all the hype, the rumors, and the Woj Bombs I think a lot of people were expecting the Celtics to make a trade Thursday night, but ultimately they stood pat and drafted their guy Jayson Tatum at No. 3. Again.

Look I fully admit I’m not a college basketball expert so I wasn’t going nuts over who they should draft. It sounds like Tatum will be a good fit, a guy who can get to the basket and create offense on his own, which is exactly what the Celtics need.

But, now we’re hearing rumors about the Celtics STILL being in on a potential Paul George trade.

All I’m saying is, the last 3 years have been full of trade speculation and Wyc shouting from the rooftops to expect fireworks.

Well, I don’t know how much more of the “Celtics are in on player X” I can take. First it was Jimmy Butler (who got traded to Minny last night), then it was Paul George, then it was Kristaps Porzingis. In years past it was Kevin Love and Carmelo Anthony. Now everyone’s already got Gordon Hayward penciled into the starting 5 next season, despite the fact that he’d have to eat like $30-$40 million dollars to leave Utah. Its a merry go round and I’ve been on it way too long. I’ll keep my Woj notifications on, but I refuse to get hyped for anything until Woj tells me its happening. Anthony Davis is not walking through that door.

Celtics Defy All My Expectations And Land the No. 1 Overall Pick. What’s Next?

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In a stunning turn of events last night, the Celtics did NOT get hosed by the ping pong balls in the NBA Draft Lottery. More than 12 hours later and I am still shocked.

I was biting a towel, I was ready for it, I was fully expecting the C’s to get porked last night. We even had that smiling bastard Magic Johnson up there threatening to steal our shine.

I just want to take a quick second to once again thank the Brooklyn Nets for what may go down as the worst/best trade in the history of sports. Hershel Walker, please sit down.

I mean the number of times the C’s have taken a beating by the ping pong balls is insane. This team has never won the draft lottery. Ever. Now obviously having 17 championships doesn’t routinely put you in pole position to win the No. 1 overall pick. But even when they’ve been up there hoping against hope, they typically get fucked. Lets just run through the past few years real quick.

  • 2014: Best odds at No. 5 overall. C’s dropped to No. 6 and took Marcus Smart
  • 2007: The Oden/Durant draft that would make or break two franchises. Best odds at No. 2 overall. C’s dropped to No. 5 somehow and draft Jeff Green. Green then got shipped out in the Ray Allen trade.
  • You can go through the whole history of the Celtic’s lottery results here, but the only time the C’s EVER improved their position was 1986, when they had the best odds at No. 5 and ended up at No. 2 where they took Len Bias. Who, ya know, died 2 days later. So, not a great example.

Now we turn our attention to the beautiful and shiny words “Number One Overall Pick.” By most accounts Markelle Fultz is the guy to take here.

Unless of course Danny wants to wet his beak in the Big Baller Brand and take Lavar (I mean Lonzo) Ball.

Everyone after that is too much of a project to reach for at No. 1. I don’t give a shit that the Celtics have 11 guards on their roster, don’t mess around, take the best player. And as previously mentioned, me and Markelle are already best friends and he’s looking forward to wearing green, so just make it official Danny.

Or the C’s could trade the pick. I don’t know about you, but now that its officially the No. 1 pick I’m a little more hesitant to deal it unless you are getting an absolute stud. I love Jimmy Butler, but 2 years of Butler for 10 years of a potential stud like Fultz? Eh. Paul George? Not for the 1 year he has left on his contract. By all accounts George wants to be a Laker, so I don’t see this happening.

I heard Toucher and Rich this morning throw out Anthony Davis, who I would trade legitimately everyone on the roster to get. I don’t know why The Brow always gets thrown out in trade rumors. I legitimately believe he is going to be the best player in the NBA sooner than later and teams don’t just give those guys away.

The move here is to draft Fultz and let Brad Stevens figure it out. Him and Isaiah would be a dynamite 1-2 scoring punch. Team them up with Horford, Crowder, Jaylen Brown, Marcus Smart and Avery Bradley (assuming no one gets traded) and thats a pretty goddamn good team. Or maybe the C’s deal one of their guards like Bradley and bring in a guy like Gordon Hayward.

Either way, I think you keep the pick and continue to build. If you can swing a max guy like Hayward then that only accelerates things. What I don’t wanna see is perennial all-star Markelle Fultz playing for someone else while we bemoan the fact we sold that guy for 2 years of some to-be-named rental.

The C’s have traded a couple of lottery picks over the years that look bad. (No, not Jeff Green because he sucks.) The fact that the C’s traded Chauncey Billups and Joe Johnson, who were drafted 4 years apart, instead of building with a core of Billups, Johnson and Pierce, is nuts. Thats a pretty solid team right there. Throw in Antoine Walker with that core? Kobe and Shaq woulda had no rings and maybe Toine wouldn’t be broke playing ball in Puerto Rico.

PS – I can’t help but dance on the graves of the fallen.

Coming to a TD Garden Near You: Boston eCeltics

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SI – The Boston Celtics may be the next NBA organization fielding a team for the league’s new 2K eLeague. On a Forbes SportsMoney podcast earlier this month, Celtics Managing Partner, Governor and Chief Executive Officer Wyc Grousbeck spoke with host Mike Ozanian…There will be an eCeltics.”

Can I see myself watching, nevermind paying to watch, an NBA 2K game? Probably not, but hey money talks. And the NBA is seeing some serious dollar signs. So as dumb as it may seem to some, eSports is a cash cow.

Video games like League of Legends have HUGE eSports followings with tons of people tuning in. Not to mention the kids playing for these eSports teams are bringing in legit paychecks. It’s not like these kids are getting paid in Baja Blast and Slim Jims, these guys are earning like $65k base salaries. Sign me the fuck up because I would play Madden 40 hours a week for $65k a year, I would make that sacrifice.

So the NBA is the first professional sports league to put together a legitimate effort to squeeze a little cash outta the nerds.

And it sounds like Wyc is serious as shit about it.

“We will find players, we will compensate these players. We’ll house them in Boston. They’ll be a team. They will train. There’s training for this. And then we’ll go compete against the other NBA teams in 2K…We will stream these matches.”

Wyc sounds more like he’s assembling The Avengers than a squad of guys who play entirely too much NBA2K.

Even Jonas Jerebko is getting in on the action and bought a franchise, the Detroit Renegades, so thats how ya know its a can’t miss idea.

I am still pretty pissed at Wyc for shit canning me in Year 4 of my Celtics rebuild in NBA2K16. We were building something special and you just threw it away. Sad!

Brace Yourselves, Ads On Jerseys Have Arrived

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Here we go. Logos on NBA jerseys have arrived. I talked about how disastrous this would be for jersey guys last April and I haven’t changed my mind. One little GE patch isn’t the end of the world, but guys come on…you just slapped a washing machine logo on one of the most iconic jerseys of all time.

But my point is, this won’t be the end of it. The NBA isn’t going to just stitch one logo on a jersey, pocket the money and move on. No, no, no. In fact according to Darren Rovell, a bunch of owners already asked Wyc Grousbeck how much GE paid to have that logo on the Celtics jersey. I believe it was reportedly $7 million. So yea, I’m sure owners will just do that once and be done with it.

Nope, sooner than later the NBA is going to look like a goddamn La Liga game or a NASCAR race with all the advertising vomited onto jerseys.

laliga

nascar1

nascar-2

And that is the No. 1 thing I hate about soccer; you don’t even know what the freaking team name is by looking at the jersey. That’s insane. If you weren’t a soccer fan, what would you think the name of this team is?

waynerooney

You’d think it was the Chevys or something. You would not know this is Manchester United OR a team from Manchester at all. So a quick preview of what to expect from NBA jerseys sooner than later:

 

PS – If anyone thinks that adding logos to jerseys will stop or even reduce the onslaught of commercials during an NBA game you are outside of your mind. Teams and owners will continue to squeeze blood out of a stone because we are all sheep who will sit through 12 commercials in the last 2 minutes of a game.

 

Celtics Banking on Banners to Bring in Free Agents, Again

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ESPN – Boston Celtics coach Brad Stevens seems flattered when it’s suggested to him that free agents might consider Boston as a destination because of his presence, but he firmly believes that the 17 championship banners that hang above the TD Garden floor are the team’s biggest attraction.

This is what drives me nuts about the Celtics every summer. I’m sure Stevens is just being modest trying to push the focus off himself, but let’s be real. I appreciate the history of the Celtics — Red Auerbach, 17 titles, Russell, Bird etc. Danny Ainge appreciates the history of the Celtics so do Wyc Grousbeck and all the fans. But NBA players don’t give a shit. Nothing better than a little self awareness, guys.

Not to say there aren’t players out there who really do love the history like Pierce and KG, but those guys learned to love it. Garnett initially refused a trade to come to Boston. It was only after playing here that he grew to love the city, the banners and of course Gino. That’s why the Celtics have never landed a big free agent…ever. Guys want to play in LA and schmooze or down in South Beach and duck state taxes. So I just can’t buy into the pipe dream yet again that this free agent class is the one that will be full of history students. The only way to really rebuild this team is through mammoth, monster trades. Make these guys realize what they’re missing.