Celtics player told Blake Griffin not to come to Boston?

Celtics player told Blake Griffin not to come to Boston?

Hoopshype >1 min ago – via Jared Weiss @ The Athletic
According to a source, Brooklyn’s Blake Griffin asked a Celtics player if he should join the team midseason and was told not to come to Boston because of the apparent dysfunction. At season’s end, multiple sources close to the players said several members of the locker room were welcoming a coaching change, noting Stevens did not appear to hold key players accountable, with complaints he was favoring Smart over others.


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The unnamed player and unnamed source (s)

We already know that there were problems on this team so a new voice may be able to impact the negative locker room.  

The mention of accountability is definitely an issue that  I posted about numerous times.

I think Marcus Smart may get traded. I don't know if that is a good thing or a bad thing.

Does anyone have a subscription to the Athletic and could paste the text in a post? I would like to read the article but can't access it without subscribing to the Athletic.

https://www.si.com/nba/2021/06/19/celtics-locker-room-dysfunctional-brad-stevens-kemba-walker-tension?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=news_tab&utm_content=algorithm



Report Exposes Celtics' Dysfunction Under Brad Stevens, 'Tension-Filled' Relationship With Kemba Walker



JOSEPH SALVADOR

2 HOURS AGO



The Celtics' locker room was reportedly dysfunctional throughout the 2020-21 NBA season for a myriad of reasons stemming from friction between head coach Brad Stevens and the players, per The Athletic's Jared Weiss.

It was reportedly so dysfunctional that when former Pistons forward Blake Griffin asked a Celtics player if he should join the team earlier this season, he was advised not to because of the tension.

Kemba Walker, who was traded to the Thunder Friday, was rumored to be on the move during the offseason. However, once Walker heard of the Celtics' effort to trade him, it was evident he would not be there long term.


What didn't help was that Walker and Stevens, were allegedly at odds with each other, and their relationship was characterized as "tension-filled", per the report. Stevens was harder on Walker, specifically for his defensive mistakes than other players, and reportedly showed favoritism for other top players.


Stevens was reportedly more aggressive with some players after Gordon Hayward left for the Hornets. Hayward allegedly told Stevens that he needed to establish a stronger voice if the team wanted to win.


Walker became more open to playing for another franchise after the team started getting booed at TD Garden for their struggles. The boos reportedly "pissed him off."

By the end of the season, it reportedly was widely believed the Celtics lost their culture of winning. This was exemplified when Boston players paid no mind to Nets guard and former Celtic Kyrie Irving stomping on the team's logo.

Players even began to voice their concerns over Stevens's "college offense" that often left the team's best players in isolation situations. They began to welcome the idea of a coaching change for Stevens's favoritism of players and inability to hold some accountable as well, per the report



Bob


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Stories like these that are based on unnamed sources are either true or not true or somewhere in between.

If true my guess is that Kemba Walker is the unnamed player who told Blake Griffin to stay away.

If true the smiley face guy was not happy at all behind the scenes.

The accountability issue is true source or no source because we already saw the result on the court all year.

The Celtics can now turn the page on last season and look forward to the new season. Brad wasted little time moving Kemba and has brought back a stabilizing presence in AH. A new coach will be coming on board and he will have the blessing of Jayson and Jaylen. Over the next few months Brad will go about the business of roster building.