Carmelo Anthony praises Boston as good destination for free agents

http://www.bostonherald.com/sports/celtics/2016/12/celtics_notebook_carmelo_anthony_praises_boston_as_good_destination_for_free



Celtics notebook: Carmelo Anthony praises Boston as good destination for free agents



Steve Bulpett



Monday, December 26, 2016





Credit: AP
HOLD IT RIGHT THERE: Jae Crowder tries to slow down the Knicks’ Carmelo Anthony during the Celtics’ victory yesterday at Madison Square Garden.



NEW YORK — There are those who believe there was a change last summer in how Boston is viewed as a free agent destination, what with the Celtics’ signing of Al Horford and going to the wire in the Kevin Durant sweepstakes.

But that view apparently is not shared among the NBA elite. Carmelo Anthony told the Herald he doesn’t think a change has taken place.

“I think it’s always been that,” the Knicks star said of the Celtics’ lure. “I mean, when you think about basketball, Boston is one of the top places that you think of.

“I think it’s always been that; it was just a matter of who was a free agent and if they had the money and the (cap) space here to pay them.”

Celtics president of basketball operations Danny Ainge has been offering the same take for years, adding that it’s important to a prospective free agent that he have a chance to play — and play for a good team.

In the latter regard, Anthony seems to believe the Celts are on the right path.

“I think they’ve done a great job over the past three or four years of just . . . building,” he said. “They’ve really built this, starting from scratch when they traded (Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett). They rebuilt.

“They got some draft picks and made some trades and got a great coach. I thought their front office did a hell of a job with just figuring that part of the game out. A lot of it comes from that.”

Looking ahead, if the Celts have any thoughts of going after Anthony when he becomes a free agent in 2018, they shouldn’t bother bringing Tom Brady along for the presentation, as they did with Durant.

“Naw, man,” Melo said, “you know I’m a Ravens fan.”



A Smart game plan

Terry Rozier picked up his first DNP of the season in yesterday’s 119-114 Celtics victory. He came in averaging 18 minutes a game, but Gerald Green filled his spot in what generally is a 10-man rotation.

“It was today,” said coach Brad Stevens, explaining the situational nature of the move. “We talked a little bit about it. The ability to post (Marcus) Smart is helpful, and when Smart can post on (point guards), it’s different than posting on wings.”

Smart, who said he likely will need a stitch or two on his inner lip after getting cut taking a Derrick Rose elbow, did well running the show with a game-high seven assists to go with his 15 points.

“It changes things tremendously,” he said of going against the Knicks’ smaller point guards, “just because my size creates matchup problems for them, and they have to bring help off of one of our best shooters. And now I’m finding people and making plays.”

Said Stevens: “Our bench all has to be ready to play and be ready to play well, and nobody deserved to play better today than Gerald. And everybody, I think, should be happy for him, and I thought he gave us a great lift.”

Green had eight points and four rebounds in 12 minutes. The Celts were a plus-17 with him on the floor.

Of staying ready when this was just his second appearance since Dec. 7, Green said, “You’ve just got to try to get your extra work in. It’s tough at times, but you’ve just got to stay motivated. I give a lot of praise to the coaches and to the players for keeping me ready, keeping me engaged at all times.

“I love Christmas, man. And I want to definitely give my mom a shout-out, too. It’s her birthday today. Christmas has always been a special day to me, not only because of my mom’s birthday, but, you know, you get a couple of gifts every now and then.”



Holiday with family

The Celtics didn’t travel here alone. A number of players and coaches were able to bring their families, and the club had a big Christmas Eve dinner together.

“We’ve only had, I think, two nights at home since Dec. 2, so it hasn’t been an easy month on a lot of our players or coaches, so we wanted to bring as many as we possibly could with us,” Stevens said. “And that’s pretty typical. We have little ones running around the bus and the plane all the time.

“But it’s really important that all of our players’ and coaches’ families feel a part of it, because it is a time-consuming job, and certainly on Christmas Day and Christmas Eve we want to make that something that we prioritize.”



bob
MY NOTE:  No, Danny, no.


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