The Boston Celtics Also Weren’t Good off the Court, and the Washington Wizards Reportedly Ratted Them Out for It

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The Boston Celtics Also Weren’t Good off the Court, and the Washington Wizards Reportedly Ratted Them Out for It



by Mike Thomas on June 23, 2021



The 2020-21 season is definitely one to forget for the Boston Celtics. That goes for off the court as well. While the Celtics stumbled to a 36-36 record and a first-round playoff exit, they didn’t do so well outside the arena, either. Things got so bad the Washington Wizards reportedly filed a report with the league.

The Boston Celtics are eager to start anew

After a disappointing NBA season, the Celtics are in need of change. They’ve already gotten off to a quick start. The team has seen its president of basketball operations, Danny Ainge, resign. Head coach Brad Stevens also left his post to replace Ainge in the front office.


On the court, Stevens made his first move in his new role by trading veteran point guard Kemba Walker. Walker was reportedly upset with the front office for attempting to trade him during the season. The Celtics traded him in a package deal to the Oklahoma City Thunder that brought back Al Horford.

Boston may have been the NBA’s biggest disappointment this season. The Celtics were fresh off a berth in the Eastern Conference Finals and had high hopes entering the 2020-21 campaign. The year was filled with frustration from beginning to end, and the franchise appears to be making a fresh start.

The Washington Wizards reportedly ratted out the Boston Celtics for off-the-court actions


The Celtics’ woes went beyond the basketball court during the 2020-21 season. According to WEEI, NBA reporter Chris Mannix said the Washington Wizards filed a complaint with the NBA because of some off-the-court actions by the Celtics.

The Wizards and the Celtics played in Boston on Jan. 8. The next three Celtics games were postponed due to COVID-19 issues. The Wizards then had one of the league’s worst COVID-19 outbreaks as seven players tested positive for the virus within a four-day span.

“The Celtics were among the teams that I know of that didn’t take COVID seriously,” Mannix said. “They continued to go out on the road and would find ways to skirt the rules at times when they were traveling. They didn’t take these protocols seriously — not as seriously as some other teams did.


“Washington, when they had all of their COVID issues back in January and early February, they blamed Boston. They complained to the league that the Celtics, because of what they had heard about players going out in Florida I believe it was, they believed they contracted their issues through the Celtics.”

The Celtics reportedly skirted around the NBA rules

The Athletic came out with a report this week that the Celtics have been a dysfunctional team for a while. That report stated one Celtics player convinced free agent Blake Griffin not to sign with the team for that reason. Winning may have not been the most important thing on the minds of the players. Some players didn’t take Stevens seriously, according to the report.

Mannix said they weren’t even taking the league’s protocols seriously. NBA players were supposed to follow strict guidelines this season.

“Most of the league knew what was going on with the Celtics, and how they weren’t really taking these COVID protocols seriously,” Mannix said.

Although the work has already started for a new beginning in Boston, there still is a long way to go.


Bob
MY NOTE:  

1.  If Brad didn't know about his players going out, then it's good he's not the coach anymore.
2.  If Brad knew, but couldn't stop the players that was because they didn't fear him, then it's good he's not the coach anymore.  The rest of the coaches probably need to go too, then.  Same reasons.
3.  If the players who skirted the protocols were ones who felt they were 'above reproach' (e.g. Jayson Tatum, Tristan Thompson) then changes are needed.  Tatum's not going anywhere, for obvious reasons, but Thompson could.  If his Kardashian wife couldn't keep herself and their children from dangerous behavior while they were in LA and then visited Tristan in Boston, then that's not good.  Maybe that's why Brad wanted Moses Brown included in the Walker/Horford deal?  I can't believe OKC would offer to include their only center (Mike Muscala isn't a real center), the player they benched Horford for so they could develop him, that makes little sense to me.  What's more sensible is that Brad dug in his heels and insisted on Brown being part of the package, and that perhaps was the reason why the 1st rounder also had to be included.  We'll see what happens to Thompson in the coming weeks.  I don't think it'll be months before we start seeing more Brad Stevens trades.


.

There may not be any trades until after the 2021 NBA draft. We need the #16 pick that we traded away to have been made and put in the past. That way, the Celtics can include a first rounder from the 2022 NBA draft to sweeten the trade.

Meanwhile, Brad can bide his time and keep his powder dry.

The one exception I see: The Celtics trade for a top 5 (+/-) pick in the 2021 NBA draft. While that happening is extremely unlikely, the odds of it happening are greater than zero.