C's owner Wyc Grousbeck discusses possibility of more roster changes

https://www.nbcsports.com/boston/celtics/celtics-owner-wyc-grousbeck-discusses-possibility-more-roster-changes?cid=Yahoo&partner=ya4nbcs



C's owner Wyc Grousbeck discusses possibility of more roster changes



15H AGO

BY NICK GOSS
CELTICS



The Boston Celtics were eliminated from the 2021 NBA playoffs earlier this month, and it didn't take the team long to change the roster in a profound way.

Brad Stevens' first trade as the new team president of basketball operations saw point guard Kemba Walker, a 2021 first-round pick and a future second-rounder go to the Oklahoma City Thunder in exchange for centers Al Horford and Moses Brown, as well a future second-round pick.

More moves could be coming, though. The Celtics have a few free agents to consider re-signing, in addition to a some players who can hit free agency in the near future.

Celtics co-owner Wyc Grousbeck joined 98.5 The Sports Hub's "Felger & Mazz" show Tuesday afternoon and discussed several different topics, including potential roster changes.

"The roster is not complete," Grousbeck said. "There's a lot we have to go do. And there are a lot of potential trades, I would imagine -- just reading the wires and thinking a little bit and talking a little bit to Brad -- there's a lot of stuff that could happen this summer. I don't really know what the roster is going to look like in August. It's going to be a very busy July. We're not hard capped or anything like that, but we are going to have to be clever. If we're going to take money in, by cap rules we're going to have to send money out."

Grousbeck also was asked if he's expecting roster changes.


"I am prepared for it, let's put it that way," he said. "I just want to say very clearly, I'm not saying this roster in my view has to change because of X, Y or Z. I'm saying we have a new team president of basketball operations, we have a new head coach, they're going to spend July figuring out who they want to have and what the roster is going to look like and I'm going to be supportive, as is the rest of ownership. It's really in that order.

"It's not me demanding changes, I'm not expecting changes. I just want us to get farther (in the playoffs), and it could be these guys or there may be changes, but it's not me demanding it or even expecting it. I'm ready for it, because it's the way it happens every year."


The Celtics have a good roster as currently constituted, led by two young All-Star players in Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown. There's a lot to work with, as new head coach Ime Udoka noted during his introductory press conference Monday.

There are a few positions that need to be upgraded, though. Bench scoring should be improved. A veteran point guard would be a nice piece to add, too, especially after Walker's departure. There's also four centers on the roster in Horford, Brown, Robert Williams III and Tristan Thompson. Moving one of those players to free up minutes and/or help address another roster need wouldn't be a bad idea.

Either way, the Celtics could go in a number of different directions this offseason, and the Walker trade gave them a few more options with the money they saved in that deal.



Bob



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Every year he says the same thing. I think he wants some changes and is going about it diplomatically. Let's face it, last year had to be a disappointment to the owners. So it is natural that they would want a more competitive team. Its a good thing this is not the Clippers, that owner has no problem blowing things up and brining in new blood. So far it has not worked for him. It remains to be seen just what will happen here

Talk about corporate speak!? Dude is so full of it. Puhleassse!
Yes it is great that ownership is involved. They should be and they should be supportive. Wyc talks yacky duck stuff all the time.
I heard the entire interview and I will say that I don’t care for Felger and Mazz’s Bulls**t either but they will ask tough questions if nothing else but to start some s**t. Wyc backed off on some very direct questions and jitterbugged like he always does. Oh he’s good.
Sam didn’t like this dude and neither do I. Im just hoping that the rest of the ownership group that don’t do a whole lot of talking are about getting it done.
We’ll see. Ready..action??

Ktron,

Sam didn't like this dude? Our Sam? Interesting.

Do you remember why?

gyso wrote:Ktron,

Sam didn't like this dude?  Our Sam?  Interesting.  

Do you remember why?

Yeah, Sam thought he was a bit uppity and double talked. I started paying attention to it after he pointed that out. I’m not sure if this was pre- Sams forum on BDC or after but I thought Sam had great insight to the team and the game so a lot of what he said stuck with me.

Funny, I do not remember that, as he was overjoyed when new buyers took this team to a different level and got it out of the hands of "Thanks Dad" Gaston. He was singlehandedly destroying the team.

I can remember Sam and the rest of us who posted back and forth, jumping for joy. Remember, Wyc's father is the major stockholder, or was at the time of the purchase. I do not know what the ownership percentages are today.

Wyc has never liked Felger, in fact, when Felger was on the "green teamer" kick and ripping the Celtics with every breath on every show, Wyc is the one who went on his show and put Felger in his place. Sure, he is a typical rich guy in alot of ways, but he loves this team.

I think Wyc hates Felger and thats not hard to do. Felger is a s**t starter who I rarely watch or listen to. His whole anti-Celtic routine is all part of an act. He’s a media clown from the Herald. Nuf said. I did make it a point to listen to this interview because I knew that Felger was going to ask some tough and direct questions (along with some stupid ones) and I wanted to hear Wyc’s reactions. Wyc danced a lot and then finally told Felger that he wasn’t going to address a particular topic anymore and to move on.
Regarding Sam and Wyc, I now remember that it was pre-Sams forum. Because it was the year before we won the title in 08. Wyc and his boys had been in place a good 5-6 years by then. I guess its safe to say Sam grew to not like Wyc or fell out of love with him.

I think the press would be better received and the people would answer their questions more seriously and we the consumers of it all if the media could only ask one question per day or event. That would really force them to take a serious look at themselves, who they are covering, to whom they are asking the questions and to whom is consuming the product/service.

This media world and its participants have degenerated into something that not only isn't believable but it's just not even interesting anymore and all the answers are very predictable.

When you have a KD snapping back at a reporter with "What kind of (stupid) question is that?!!" or a Greg Popovich character who spent his life toying with the press making them look like idiots (which was hilarious for some reason when it shouldn't be) or a reporter that is so comfortable with their job that they can get away with asking even one stupid question, plus add an audience like ours that collectively really has heard it all and can easily do without it not miss a beat, plus all the perceived (or not) fake news, it's time to put that group on notice. Thank God for the record and fast forward buttons on the remote. No one on either side of the question(s) is really adding anything of additional knowledge or value unless it is Inside The NBA, but those guys are not reporters. They are extremely knowledgeable analysts, past players and entertainers. You can tell when they interview players after the game they are asking questions that have been thought out and have balance. They are not trying to show up the players, the players aren't trying to show up the people asking the questions and it is fun and enjoyable to watch.

I know the premise is extreme, but sometimes you have to jam on the brakes to get everyone's attention. How can this crappy overall display be cleaned up so reporting to the public and through the participants can be enjoyable, tolerable and much more informative?

db

The problem is, many of these reporters A. Feel they are smarter than a player/coach/owner, B. Love to bait the person they are questioning, C. Get off on embarrassing the players/coaches especially.

You can tell from watching an interview before or after a game, who the person being interviewed likes the reporter, has a problem with them, or just does not like the way the questions are put to them.

I can name of both hands the guys who hate going out after a game to be interviewed as required, only to have a pointed, embarrassing question posed to them.

Maybe this is why Belechick hates the press!!

I know I am using a small sample space but the Inside The NBA post game interviews are fun and enjoyable to watch.  Everyone respects everyone and of course it is very easy to ask softball questions to the guy/gal that just had the best game of his/her life, but the players always say thank you to those four guys, that they love them/appreciate them, etc.  Nobody wants to be asked why their team sucks, why they can't find their asses with both hands and what are they going to to do change it right after the induced time out or after a game loss.  So?  Don't do it anymore.  Nobody has to talk to the press.  (Or do they?  Is that in the CBA?)  You can't answer questions if you're not there.  Especially if you are not producing anything of content or value.  They can all plead the 5th and not answer any questions.

All sounds kind of silly but let's face it, these pre-/in-/post-game interviews are really an exercise in futility and is a complete waste of time.  

Game analysis?  Keep it up.  Very fascinating to the informed and the uninformed.  Respectful, back and forth, non-argumentative interviews?  Keep it up.  Everything else?  Drop it.  

db

Yes. They do have to talk to the media. TV/Radio Networks invest millions with the various leagues and part of that deal is having access to the players.
There are limits as to when and where but the athletes have to make themselves available. A great deal of the athletes income is derived from the money that the Network pays for the broadcast rights. So like it or not, its part of the deal.
I know firsthand that there are more dumb and repetitive questions asked by some reporters and I can understand why athletes get upset or turned off.
On the other hand, If a reporter writes a story that happens to be true or an opinion on a particular athlete or teams performance, the athlete/team may tend to not want to talk with someone who just wrote an unfavorable piece that just happens to have validity. So its a 2 sided coin. You’re  pissed at me because I wrote a story or gave an honest opinion and you now not only don’t want to talk to me and if you do you’re rude and nasty. That’s not the reporters fault. He/she is just doing their job.
In the past there was only newspaper, radio and TV so there was limited information that we received and when we did get it, in the case of newspapers it was a day later. Back then we didn’t know as much about these athletes and teams that we know now. Digitally delivered content via websites, podcasts and blogs have made it very noisy. There is so much out there that doesn’t have to be substantiated or validated by anyone so now you get a lot of stories by unprofessionals just trying to gain an audience and compile clicks. Now you don’t know what to believe. I can discern who the credible folks are but many can’t so you have bad information overflow and that not only makes it worse for the consumer but for the athletes and teams as well. It’s crowded and extremely noisy out there.
Dbrown, limiting the questions to just one will not solve the problem or even put a dent in it. It’s still numerous people asking one dumb or repetitive question.

dbrown4 wrote:I know I am using a small sample space but the Inside The NBA post game interviews are fun and enjoyable to watch.  Everyone respects everyone and of course it is very easy to ask softball questions to the guy/gal that just had the best game of his/her life, but the players always say thank you to those four guys, that they love them/appreciate them, etc.  Nobody wants to be asked why their team sucks, why they can't find their asses with both hands and what are they going to to do change it right after the induced time out or after a game loss.  So?  Don't do it anymore.  Nobody has to talk to the press.  (Or do they?  Is that in the CBA?)  You can't answer questions if you're not there.  Especially if you are not producing anything of content or value.  They can all plead the 5th and not answer any questions.

All sounds kind of silly but let's face it, these pre-/in-/post-game interviews are really an exercise in futility and is a complete waste of time.  

Game analysis?  Keep it up.  Very fascinating to the informed and the uninformed.  Respectful, back and forth, non-argumentative interviews?  Keep it up.  Everything else?  Drop it.  

db

The TNT crew can be very critical on that show and rightfully so. They very seldom kiss up to any of the players even though some of them are friends. “Inside” is refreshing because it has an edge and is totally unrehearsed. Ernie is the only one who sits in producer meetings in planning the show. They want spontaneity from the guys and thats part of what makes that the best show on Television.