R.J. Hunter happy in Boston

http://www.bostonherald.com/sports/celtics/2016/05/nba_notes_celtics_rj_hunter_happy_in_boston



NBA notes: Celtics’ R.J. Hunter happy in Boston


Steve Bulpett Sunday, May 08, 2016

Credit: Matt Stone





Boston Celtics guard R.J. Hunter and president of basketball operations Danny Ainge walk off the court after losing to the Atlanta Hawks 104-92 during the fourth quarter of Game 6 of the NBA basketball first-round playoff series at the TD Garden on Thursday, April 28, 2016.



R.J. Hunter is taking it easy for a week before he dives back into the improvement pool. The summer after a rookie season can be critical for self-aware players who take heed of how much work they need to do now that they understand better the demands of the NBA game.

A year ago, Hunter was heading to the league’s draft combine, where he made a humorous impression on one club. He followed that up by skipping his workout with the Celtics, who decided to draft him anyway at No. 28 overall.

As for the team in the first sentence of that paragraph that he’d rather not name, the situation came about as Hunter went through a series of private interviews at the Chicago pre-draft event. At the end of the session, the team asked him whether he was Batman or Robin. Hunter chose the former.

“First of all, he’s Batman,” Hunter said. “Second, he’s got the cool car. And third, he’s got that utility belt.

“Now that guy,” he added, referring to a rival whose name had come up during the talk, “that (expletive) wanted me to be Catwoman.”

Officials from the team doubled over in laughter.

“I remember that question,” Hunter said. “It was my last interview of the day, and it was like a real intense interview. My brain was fried.

“Of course I said Batman. But it was my 10th interview, so I don’t completely remember how it went. I do know it kind of lightened things up after that.”

The club chose to go in a different direction with its first-round pick, and Hunter figured he’d be going even later than he did when the Celts were on the clock for their second pick in the round.

“I didn’t interview with them,” Hunter said. “I actually canceled my workout with the Celtics. (President of basketball operations Danny) Ainge wasn’t too happy about that, but I was in Toronto and my body wasn’t feeling right. I just had a gut feeling not to go. I was at my boarding gate heading to Boston, and I called my agent and said, ‘I just need to go home for a little bit.’ I guess Danny wasn’t real happy, and my agent told me, ‘Well, you’re probably not going to go to Boston.’ I was like, ‘That’s a bullet I’ll probably have to bite.’

“So it’s crazy how it worked out. I was shocked the Celtics took me. When the pick came up, I just shut off. I was on my phone, and then the call came through. I was like, wow. But I enjoy Boston, man. I didn’t know it was this big of a city. We came to play Northeastern one year, so I saw one part of the town, but it’s a real low-key place. It’s a nice East Coast city. I like the people here. It’s a sports town.”

When Hunter canceled on them, the Celts thought he had a promise from another team or simply believed he was going higher.

“We watch these guys play a lot, so it really didn’t make much difference that he didn’t work out for us,” Ainge said. “It’s not that it doesn’t make a difference sometimes. There are times when a guy comes in and makes a strong impression and makes a decision for us if we’re deciding between two guys. But in that situation, R.J. was among a few guys still left on the board — including Jordan Mickey — that we were trying to figure out.”

Interestingly, sources have said that if the Celtics didn’t take Hunter, Golden State would have grabbed him two picks later.

Brooklyn took Chris McCullough at 29, and the Warriors selected Kevon Looney.


Collins: Turner fits with C’s

The timing is very good for Evan Turner, who gets to be an unrestricted free agent in a summer when a new set of television deals kicks in and explodes the salary cap. But the coach from his first three NBA years hopes he stays with the Celtics.

“It’s just so great to see him playing the way he’s playing,” said former 76ers leader Doug Collins, who caught up with Turner before the season ended. “It’s fun for me to watch him now when I watch the Celtics play, and I watch him playing with joy and enjoying the game and loving being the player that he is.

“Evan Turner, No. 1 he is a terrific player, and he’s one of the best competitors I’ve ever coached. That guy will compete. So, for me, I’m finding great joy in watching him play now and seeing a contentment on his face, like, ‘It’s OK. I don’t need to score 18 points a game to be a damn good player.’”

Collins was there as Turner went through some difficult times with the Sixers. Though Philly went to the playoffs in his first two years, even getting to the second round where they lost in seven games to the Celtics in his second season, it was tough living up to expectations.

“I think it was very hard for him,” Collins said. “You’re the second (overall) pick. You’re coming into Philadelphia. John Wall was No. 1, and Evan was one of the finest players in college, College Player of the Year, and did wonderful things for Ohio State. There was a lot of pressure on him. We had Jrue Holiday at that time, we had Lou Williams, we had Andre Iguodala. It was tough.

“And especially in a city like Philadelphia. There’s a lot of expectations. And it was even tougher for Evan because I brought him off the bench. Here’s the second pick in the draft, and I started Jodie Meeks because I thought Jodie gave us a better chance as a shooter with Jrue and Andre Iguodala out there to space the floor. Then Evan came in with Lou Williams and Thaddeus Young, and I had one of the best benches in the NBA. You saw that one year (2012) when we took the Celtics to Game 7. Evan made the two plays at the end of Game 2 to give us back the homecourt advantage in that series.”

Turner was traded to Indiana during his fourth season and came to the Celts as a free agent in the summer of 2014. He certainly found a fit here, but with so many questions about the roster going forward, he might choose to take a good offer that comes his way early. There are no guarantees in a year when the C’s have three first-round picks and are trying to use their cap space to take a giant step.

If Turner does go elsewhere, Collins hopes he finds a situation similar to what he has with the Celtics.

“I’ve always loved Evan. I love his competitive spirit,” Collins said. “He’s very smart and very witty. He’s one of my favorite people. We spent three years together. I just love seeing a smile on his face. It’s just fun to see him be happy.”



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