Summer League

Still 31 days away but we can start the thread now because there's commentary about it.

Yam Madar is going to be there, and now Pritchard.  I like that PP took some time off to go back to Oregon to see his folks but is back in Boston with a month to go to start getting ready.  The kid is a worker, worker, worker.


Chris Grenham @chrisgrenham
about 1 hour ago
Payton Pritchard will play for the Celtics Summer League team, according to a source. He is not expected to play in every game, however. Pritchard recently returned to Boston with summer league now just one month away.



Bob
MY NOTE:  PP not playing in every game means more opportunity for Yam Madar.  I really want to see how that kid does, and not just 2nd string cameos.  He's only 20 years old, but that's roughly the same age as most of the summer league rosters.  He's also a multi-year professional basketball player who plays everyday with older players.  Throw him into the fire, let's see if he can handle the minimal amount of heat produced by summer league competition.


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I watched Madar's highlights yesterday: thanks for posting the link.

I see excellent shooting form, footwork and creativity in the clips. I did notice that in many of the clips, his team was down big. So I wonder about his consistency; I understand that he is 20 years old.

His potential is there to see. I am now intrigued.

Has the roster been announced?

Yam Madar has great court vision. However if he can bring his passing game to the NBA level he could be a great facilitator like we were had with Rondo.

112288

I hope Celtics fans will not over-hype Yam.

There is a good chance that he could make the 15 man roster with a good showing in Summer League.  We should not forget that the most difficult position to play in the NBA is PG.  The Celtics need to give him time to develop and let us not overlook PP.  He too needs more time to get better.  I do not see Boston being successful developing two inexperienced PG's simultaneously.  

My suggestions to all is tap your brakes.

First off, I agree with Dboss about tapping the brakes on Yam Madar.  He might be advanced for most 20 year olds but that doesn't mean he's ready for the NBA in any significant way in the near future.

Having said that, watch how quick and high his release is on his shots.




Bob


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I like the kid's natural PG skills, timely steals and shot making. All those highlights look great!

But no one should base their expectations on positive highlight videos.

Let the kid play in the summer league and see how he does against first and 2nd year NBA players and a group of guys in search of an NBA contract.

From my observation he still looks like a 2-3 year project. It is going to take that long just for him to build up his body.

Celtics fans are notoriously impatient.

Highlights…Yawn. The only mix tapes I find worthy of my attention (I sound like Kyrie now. Lord hep me) are Hip Hop and R&B.
Highlights, best of’s can be misleading. I’ll wait.

No one knows how Yam Madar will fare against NBA players, however you cannot teach height. At 6'3" he has good size for a point guard. Further, even if not playing against NBA competition, he has natural passing instincts and great court vision demonstrated in his highlight videos. Can he prove NBA ready? Who knows, he has to be given a chance. At 20 years of age, he needs one more year to season before being thrown against NBA competition.

However, how many people at the beginning of the season thought Pritchard was NBA ready? Further, there are some here that are touting him as the starting point guard next year. Please! He is a nice feel good story and deserves to be part of the Celtics 15 man roster, but starting point guard? No, but he could be part of a 3 point guard rotation. He does have liabilities including height limitations which put pressure on the defensive end of the floor for the team, but he is a scrappy player that can shoot well, but also challenged when trying to get a shot off against taller players guarding him.

Regarding Yam Madar, we shall see! Only time and playing against NBA talent will tell.

112288

Chris Grenham @chrisgrenham
about 1 hour ago
Yam Madar is now in the U.S. and has been working out at the NBPA headquarters in Manhattan. Can confirm that he’ll be playing with the Celtics summer league team next month.


Bob
MY NOTE:  The first day of summer league is August 8th.  The players will probably get together in Boston maybe a half week to a week earlier, let's say August 1-4, to start learning the playbook (NEW!  with the new coach, so even "veterans" like Pritchard, Grant and Nesmith will have learning curves).  That means we're 3 - 3 1/2 weeks away.  It's gonna fly by.

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bobheckler wrote:Chris Grenham @chrisgrenham
about 1 hour ago
Yam Madar is now in the U.S. and has been working out at the NBPA headquarters in Manhattan. Can confirm that he’ll be playing with the Celtics summer league team next month.


Bob
MY NOTE:  The first day of summer league is August 8th.  The players will probably get together in Boston maybe a half week to a week earlier, let's say August 1-4, to start learning the playbook (NEW!  with the new coach, so even "veterans" like Pritchard, Grant and Nesmith will have learning curves).  That means we're 3 - 3 1/2 weeks away.  It's gonna fly by.

.

The new coach will not be at summer league. He will be at the Olympics. One of the new assistant coaches will lead the team during summer league. He (or she) hasn't been named yet.

gyso wrote:

bobheckler wrote:Chris Grenham @chrisgrenham
about 1 hour ago
Yam Madar is now in the U.S. and has been working out at the NBPA headquarters in Manhattan. Can confirm that he’ll be playing with the Celtics summer league team next month.


Bob
MY NOTE:  The first day of summer league is August 8th.  The players will probably get together in Boston maybe a half week to a week earlier, let's say August 1-4, to start learning the playbook (NEW!  with the new coach, so even "veterans" like Pritchard, Grant and Nesmith will have learning curves).  That means we're 3 - 3 1/2 weeks away.  It's gonna fly by.

.

The new coach will not be at summer league.  He will be at the Olympics.  One of the new assistant coaches will lead the team during summer league.  He (or she) hasn't been named yet.  

gyso,

Ime might not be at summer league, but assistant coaches usually run summer league anyway.  Brad (and Danny) would watch from the stands but that's it.  This year it'll likely be Hardy or Stoudemire.  

HOWEVER, the Gold Medal game at the Olympics is scheduled for August 6th.  Medal ceremonies are usually right after the final results are certified.  If we make it to the Gold Medal round Ime could still hop a plane and get to Las Vegas by August 8th.  If we don't make it to the Gold Medal game, if we only make it to the Bronze Medal game (and this would be a a HUGE disappointment), that's on Saturday August 7th, so he'd miss a day or two of Vegas. Bottom line he could still make a lot of summer league.


Bob


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https://www.masslive.com/celtics/2021/07/whats-brad-stevens-plan-for-celtics-front-office-structure-after-his-surprise-elevation.html



What’s Brad Stevens plan for Celtics front office structure after his surprise elevation?


Updated Jul 09, 1:03 PM; Posted Jul 09, 1:03 PM


By Brian Robb | brobb@masslive.com



Brad Stevens wasted little time in his new role as Celtics president of basketball operations reshaping the roster, dealing away Kemba Walker just two weeks into his tenure. He was also the first executive to fill a head coaching vacancy this offseason with the official hiring of Ime Udoka last week.

Yet as the franchise prepares for a pivotal offseason with Stevens getting up to speed in his new role as a top executive, uncertainty still remains about who will be calling the shots with Stevens in the team’s front office more than a month after the former’s coach elevation from the bench.


Stevens, according to multiple league sources, is spending some time in Las Vegas this week at Team USA training camp along with new coach Ime Udoka and countless other coaches and executives from around the league ahead of the team’s trip to Tokyo. Udoka will be part of the Team USA group heading to Tokyo as an assistant, passing along his Celtics summer league coaching duties to a member of his new staff that is still in the process of being fully put together according to league sources.

Stevens spoke highly of Boston’s current front office personnel that remained in key roles with the franchise after Danny Ainge’s retirement on June 2nd. In his introductory press conference, Stevens signaled that hiring a coach would be the top priority on his list over any potential shifts to the team’s current front office hierarchy beyond his addition.

“I’ve spent a lot less time thinking about the structure of the front office,” Stevens said on June 2nd. “I will, obviously, dive into that. I think there are good people in place and I also think there are a lot of priorities now that need to be tackled with obviously hiring a head coach being one.”

Stevens finalized a deal to hire Udoka as Boston’s new head coach on June 21st. However, according to league sources, he handled interviews for the head coaching position individually before the final round of interviews. At that point, Boston’s director of player development Alison Feaster was the only member of the team’s front office that was a part of the final round of interviews with Stevens along with co-owners Wyc Grousbeck and Steve Pagliuca.


The 45-year-old Feaster has received rave reviews internally for her role since joining Boston’s front office two years ago, accompanying the team to the Orlando bubble last season. She’s been considered as a candidate for the general manager position according to Jake Fischer of Bleacher Report, who also lists Hawks assistant general manager Landry Fields as a potential top choice to be pursued by the Celtics.

Two weeks ago, Stevens hinted he was looking to potentially add some fresh perspective to a relatively small circle of executives and scouts in Boston’s front office under Danny Ainge in the wake of the Kemba Walker deal.

“Right now, I think the fair way to do this from this new role is to really assess everything over time and see how operational we are, see what we need, see what we need to add and we have a lot of good people here,” Stevens said of his plans for the front office. “At the same time, I do think that we will probably become a more robust staff. So we’ll see how that goes. That’s kind of our priority list right now. I wish there were more hours in a day to do it all at once. But I think that the smart move is to evaluate and observe and then figure that out.”


With Udoka’s hiring finalized for weeks and the NBA Draft now just under three weeks away, time is running short for Stevens to make any kind of substantial change to the front office structure under him for this offseason. Any kind of shift could lead to a bigger shakeup in regards to the team’s other executive personnel and that’s a slippery slope for the rookie president in his first year on the job before a crucial free agency season for the franchise.

Stevens’ life preparing for the NBA Draft got easier last month when he dealt away that team’s only first round pick as part of the Kemba Walker trade. However, draft week has always been a pivotal time for wheeling and dealing and it’s essential to have a strong structure and plan of attack in place for the weeks leading up to it.


Monster decisions remain leading into free agency as well. Will team extend Marcus Smart or Robert Williams? How much are they willing to commit to Evan Fournier in free agency? How much will the emphasis be on maintain salary cap flexibility over the long-term versus building a team that could contend next year? There are no easy answers to any of these questions.

It’s possible Stevens will simply keep the team’s current front office structure in place to see how this offseason plays out before evaluating whether any further changes are needed. There have been a number of outspoken members of the front office to some of Boston’s moves in recent years under Danny Ainge, something Ainge revealed to MassLive.com exclusively after his retirement.


“They’ve heard my voice, they know how I think and maybe shapes them, maybe that doesn’t but we’ve had a lot of conversations over the last few years, that staff with Brad,” Ainge told MassLive. “Like I said, most every decision we’ve made has been unanimous but there some things that we haven’t done that others or one of them have wanted to do. Anyway, I’m just really excited that they have to take the shot. I think it’s about that time.”

Whether that current group gets that shot to be heard is ultimately up to Stevens. However, the clock is ticking on a decision as the NBA Draft and free agency inches closer on the calendar. If Stevens wants to bring in prominent outside help for the present, he needs to do it now to avoid others being left in limbo and a potential untimely changeover in personnel. Otherwise, letting what’s left of a highly experienced front office do their jobs is probably the best way to help this group reshape itself for the future with Stevens serving as its ringleader.


Bob


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112288 wrote:No one knows how Yam Madar will fare against NBA players, however you cannot teach height.  At 6'3" he has good size for a point guard.  Further, even if not playing against NBA competition, he has natural passing instincts and great court vision demonstrated in his highlight videos. Can he prove NBA ready?  Who knows, he has to be given a chance.  At 20 years of age, he needs one more year to season before being thrown against NBA competition.

However, how many people at the beginning of the season thought Pritchard was NBA ready? Further, there are some here that are touting him as the starting point guard next year. Please!  He is a nice feel good story and deserves to be part of the Celtics 15 man roster, but starting point guard?  No, but he could be part of a 3 point guard rotation. He does have liabilities including height limitations which put pressure on the defensive end of the floor for the team, but he is a scrappy player that can shoot well, but also challenged when trying to get a shot off against taller players guarding him.

Regarding Yam Madar, we shall see!  Only time and playing against NBA talent will tell.

112288

112288  

"However, how many people at the beginning of the season thought Pritchard was NBA ready?"

I did.  I loved the pick and proudly declared that the Celtics drafted our future starting PG.

I like Yam's potential and size, lol.  The Celtics can now purge themselves of the hobbits.  They can feed them to the smaug  

bobheckler wrote:

gyso wrote:

bobheckler wrote:Chris Grenham @chrisgrenham
about 1 hour ago
Yam Madar is now in the U.S. and has been working out at the NBPA headquarters in Manhattan. Can confirm that he’ll be playing with the Celtics summer league team next month.


Bob
MY NOTE:  The first day of summer league is August 8th.  The players will probably get together in Boston maybe a half week to a week earlier, let's say August 1-4, to start learning the playbook (NEW!  with the new coach, so even "veterans" like Pritchard, Grant and Nesmith will have learning curves).  That means we're 3 - 3 1/2 weeks away.  It's gonna fly by.

.

The new coach will not be at summer league.  He will be at the Olympics.  One of the new assistant coaches will lead the team during summer league.  He (or she) hasn't been named yet.  

gyso,

Ime might not be at summer league, but assistant coaches usually run summer league anyway.  Brad (and Danny) would watch from the stands but that's it.  This year it'll likely be Hardy or Stoudemire.  

HOWEVER, the Gold Medal game at the Olympics is scheduled for August 6th.  Medal ceremonies are usually right after the final results are certified.  If we make it to the Gold Medal round Ime could still hop a plane and get to Las Vegas by August 8th.  If we don't make it to the Gold Medal game, if we only make it to the Bronze Medal game (and this would be a a HUGE disappointment), that's on Saturday August 7th, so he'd miss a day or two of Vegas.  Bottom line he could still make a lot of summer league.


Bob


.

Bob,

The article that I read said Ime wouldn't be there, so I thought it was a timing thing. I guess not. Hardy and Stoud were already hired and Ime said that he hadn't decided who the coach would be.

This is a video of Yam Madar working out at the NBPA headquarters in Manhattan on July 9th.  He's meeting with Brad and Ime before heading to Las Vegas for more pre-summer league workout.

Berdugo is Madar's trainer.


Yogev Berdugo
@YogevBerdugo
Yam Madar and Yogev Berdugo. July 9, 2021 at NBPA in NYC. “Poetry in Motion” | 1 of 1 | @overtime @campstepitup @TheCelticsWire @celticsblog @NBCSCeltics @celticslife @BDCCeltics @Timi_093 @chrisgrenham @AdamHimmelsbach @mikeykauf @TheNBPA @TheAthleticBOS

https://twitter.com/i/status/1414822784631558146


Bob


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I just read that Yam Madar was a Celtic fan growing up in Israel.  I like this kid even more now.  That doesn't mean he should make the team, he still needs a killer summer league showing, but who doesn't love a good fairy tale come true story?  

If he shows Brad and Ime something then sign him to a 4 year deal like the one like Semi got (four one-year contracts with team options). This will allow the Celtics to offset the $700K (or whatever the final number is) Wyc will have to pay Hapoel-Tel Aviv to buy him out of his contract.  A good young player with a 2nd round contract is cheap enough that $700K amortized over a couple of years is still doable, and the buyout $ won't count against the salary cap, and if it's a Semi deal and not an Edwards deal we can salvage the mistake by not renewing him or trading his annually expiring contract.


Bob


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bobheckler wrote:I just read that Yam Madar was a Celtic fan growing up in Israel.  I like this kid even more now.  That doesn't mean he should make the team, he still needs a killer summer league showing, but who doesn't love a good fairy tale come true story?  

If he shows Brad and Ime something then sign him to a 4 year deal like the one like Semi got (four one-year contracts with team options).  This will allow the Celtics to offset the $700K (or whatever the final number is) Wyc will have to pay Hapoel-Tel Aviv to buy him out of his contract.  A good young player with a 2nd round contract is cheap enough that $700K amortized over a couple of years is still doable, and the buyout $ won't count against the salary cap, and if it's a Semi deal and not an Edwards deal we can salvage the mistake by not renewing him or trading his annually expiring contract.


Bob


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The buyout should be taken out of their petty cash account. I do think that $700K is a tidy sum. I figure a settlement somewhere in the middle but probably closer to the $500K mark should get the deal done. He obviously wants out and it does neither side any good to prevent that from happening.

Once Yam gets to summer league, the Celtics need to play him a lot to get a real good feel for his upside.

Bobh,

I can think of one team that would like a good fairy tale come true story...The Suns!!

It's going to take some fairy dust to make it happen, though!

db

I'm concerned that Brad did not mention Mike Zarren's name in the article. Maybe he did and Brian "the difficult writer to read" Robb did not include it in his article.

Re Yam, I have been a fan of his from day 1, but I expect nothing from him this year. Nothing. Brad and Ime should do whatever best helps Yam develop for the future. His body is still growing as well...muscle strength and mass,  even though he has probably reached his max height. His body at 6'3" 180 # is bigger than Trae Young's 6'1", 180 #. I'd like to see Yam at 6'3", 195# coming into the NBA season of 2022-23. Then I think he'll be ready for the rigors of an 82 game NBA schedule. Remember, Payton was 22 when he joined the NBA.

Yes, tap the brakes.

worcester wrote:I'm concerned that Brad did not mention Mike Zarren's name in the article. Maybe he did and Brian "the difficult writer to read" Robb did not include it in his article.

Re Yam, I have been a fan of his from day 1, but I expect nothing from him this year. Nothing. Brad and Ime should do whatever best helps Yam develop for the future. His body is still growing as well...muscle strength and mass,  even though he has probably reached his max height. His body is body at 6'3" 180 # is bigger than Trae Young's 6'1", 180 #. I'd like to see Yam at 6'3", 195# coming into the NBA season of 2022-23. Then I think he'll be ready for the rigors of an 82 game NBA schedule. Remember, Payton was 22 when he joined the NBA.

Yes, tap the brakes.

Worcester

Interesting observation about Zarren. Once again i am predicting that he will be gone within a year.

Yam will definitely need time to develop physically. But it makes sense to give him that time rather than Edwards and Waters. The team still needs to go out and find a BU veteran PG to give us more depth. I think Boston could use the lower MLE of $6 million and sign a PF (Jeff Green) and a BU PG, (name)

https://www.yahoo.com/sports/celtics-may-look-add-depth-152938834.html



Celtics may look to add depth via Euroleague with reports of Zach Auguste, Nigel Hayes workouts



Justin Quinn
Mon, July 19, 2021, 8:29 AM



The Boston Celtics may again raid the Euroleague for some depth in their 2021-22 campaign with reports surfacing that the team is planning on working our a pair of players from across the pond this week.

Sportando’s Emiliano Carchia is reporting that the Celtics will work out Panathinaikos’ Zach Auguste and Žalgiris’ Nigel Hayes this week. Auguste is a 28-year-old center who logged 4.6 points and 2.3 rebounds per game in the Euroleague last season, while Hayes — a 26-year-old forward — shot 44.3% from deep overseas last season while putting up 9.5 points, 3.9 boards, and 1.2 assists per game.

While Auguste’s case do not immediately pop based on those numbers, it’s easy to see the potential for a shooter on the wing with the size to play 2 through 4 at 6-foot-7.


We may end up seeing one or both as part of the Celtics’ Las Vegas Summer League squad rotation on a camp deal if their workouts with Boston go well.


Bob
MY NOTE:  Summer League begins on August 8th, 20 days from today.  The draft is on July 29th, 10 days from today.  We don't have a first round pick, as of now, but we do have a 2nd.  


.

Auguste is from  Massachusetts.  played at Notre Dame for 4 years.  he is listed at 6' 10

see highlight reel  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CIqAf0M6svU

r there 2 guys with the same name?

Well the Celtics need point guards. His mentor/coach says he’s a defensive hound dog. Yam’s highlight real impress me a lot, he does play somewhat like Rondo though that’s a tough comp. Let et rip!

BingBang! wrote:Well the Celtics need point guards. His mentor/coach says he’s a defensive hound dog. Yam’s highlight real impress me a lot, he does play somewhat like Rondo though that’s a tough comp. Let et rip!

Keep in mind that highlights are void of mistakes.  I like the highlights but will wait until I see the entire package.