Around The Horn 2021-2022 Season

https://www.masslive.com/celtics/2022/06/celtics-assistants-will-hardy-joe-mazzulla-to-interview-for-utah-jazz-head-coach-opening-report.html



Celtics assistants Will Hardy, Joe Mazzulla to interview for Utah Jazz head coach opening (report)


Published: Jun. 07, 2022, 11:10 p.m.



San Antonio Spurs summer league head coach Will Hardy looks on during the second half of an NBA summer league basketball game against the Utah Jazz Tuesday, July 7, 2015, in Salt Lake City. The Jazz won 72-70. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer) AP


By Brian Robb | brobb@masslive.com



The Utah Jazz have received permission to interview two Celtics assistant coaches for their open head coaching position according to a report from Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN.com.

Will Hardy and Joe Mazzulla are both expected to interview in Utah, along with Knicks associate head coach Johnnie Bryant, Bucks assistant Charles Lee, Jazz assistant Alex Jensen and former Blazers head coach Terry Stotts.

Former Jazz head coach Quin Synder stepped down as head coach on Sunday after eight seasons despite making six straight postseason appearances. Former Celtics president of basketball operations and current Jazz basketball CEO Danny Ainge will be a part of the team’s coaching search.


Hardy joined the Celtics coaching staff this season as a top assistant to Ime Udoka after spending time with him in San Antonio on Gregg Popovich’s staff. He has been a head coaching candidate over the past few years after quickly rising in the Spurs organization over the past decade.


Mazzulla has been an assistant with the Celtics since 2019 after spending time coaching on the collegiate level. The former West Virginia standout coached Boston’s Summer League team during this past season.


Bob
MY NOTE:  I have mixed feelings about this, specifically about the timing.  I want these guys to focus upon one thing and one thing only and that's to help us win #18.  AFTER the Finals are over, sure, talk to them about a head coaching job, but while the playoffs are on?  I suppose winning the Championship would burnish their credentials and make their interview and eventual hire even more likely, so that could be a positive for us.  Winning, for them, becomes more than just personal, it's about their near-future job prospects.  Like I said, I'm a bit conflicted if I like this.

Danny's already poaching. He needs to do us a solid in return and trade Donovan Mitchell to us for Aaron Nesmith (Just Kidding).

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The league could use some new blood in the coaching ranks.

Mitchell for Nesmith works for me...  Get Danny on the !!

(Danny might laugh so hard he has another heart attack.)

Hey Bob,

I put that trade in the NBA trade simulator. It works!!

db

I know this is a little off topic for today but I found this video and loved remembering just how good, and complete, a player Hakeem "The Dream" was.

Here he is tutoring A young Dwight Howard who, apparently, left the gym and immediately forgot everything Hakeem told him because I never saw much if any of it in the rest of his career.

Somebody send this to RWill, Grant and Theis!!





Bob


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https://www.yahoo.com/sports/the-future-of-le-bron-james-and-the-lakers-hangs-in-the-balance-of-an-extension-174222452.html



The future of LeBron James and the Lakers hangs in the balance of an extension



Ben Rohrbach

Wed, July 27, 2022 at 10:46 AM



Another cloud is coming for Los Angeles. The ones already hanging over the Lakers are about to get darker, unless LeBron James signs the two-year, $97 million contract extension for which he is eligible on Aug. 4.

Otherwise, the NBA's most important player of this century can become a free agent at the age of 38 next summer, when the Lakers may be working on a third straight season without a series victory in the playoffs. On three previous occasions in his career — in 2009-10, 2013-14 and 2017-18 — James played a season for a team with sub-championship future expectations, and it was never kind to his incumbent organization.


That should have the Lakers bracing for a frosty winter in Los Angeles.


LeBron James' long history with free agency

Each time, James said all the right things entering his final season with the Cleveland Cavaliers, Miami Heat and Cavs again. He addressed every impending free agency to start the season, insisting he would only consider his options when the time came and do his best not to let it become a distraction in the meantime. He then referred back to those comments whenever he was subsequently asked about his future decision.

"I've been a Cav for seven years, and I've never given any indication I was leaving," he said in November 2009, days before declaring, "This free-agent talk is getting old, and I'm going to stop. Tonight will be the last time I answer any more free-agent questions until the offseason. I owe it to myself and my teammates."

"I would love to spend the rest of my career in Miami," he said in September 2013, weeks before clarifying, "I owe it to this organization and I owe it to my teammates to really not get involved and not talk about it."

"That hasn't changed," he said in September 2017, when he was asked if previous pledges to finish his career in Cleveland were still his intention, months before asserting, "It’s a discredit to my teammates and the coaching staff here. My only focus now is trying to figure out how we can become a championship-caliber team in these next few months. It’s been so many stories about me in the last few months, in the last few days, about where I’m going and where I’m at and what place I’m in. I’m here. I’m right here."

So, it was fair to still raise an eyebrow when James said of his future in Los Angeles this past February, "This is a franchise I see myself being with. I’m here. I’m here. I see myself being with the purple and gold as long as I can play." Just as it was fair to raise the other eyebrow when he addressed his impending extension eligibility by telling reporters at his exit interview in April, "When we get to that point, we’ll see."

James cited the collective bargaining agreement as reason for not tipping his hand, and a quiet summer from his camp all but confirms he will maintain that appearance of ambiguity, at least until the negotiating window opens next week. But let's be real: He knows whether or not he intends to sign an extension that would pay him roughly $50 million at the age of 40, and flexibility is more important than financial security when the NBA's first-ever active billionaire player is trying to script the end to his carefully crafted career.

Every hour, every day James does not sign the extension will lead to another question about his future, and it will be the first query posed to him on media day, regardless of whether he broaches the subject on "The Shop" or elsewhere this summer. The questions won't stop, no matter how diplomatically he answers them.

To be fair, James has done well to ignore past distractions. He was the league's MVP in 2010 and the runner-up in both 2014 and 2018. He carried his teams as far as he could in the playoffs, and then they folded once they ran up against a superior opponent, and their shortcomings excused his departure.

If lopsided losses in the second round to the 2010 Boston Celtics and in the Finals to both the 2014 San Antonio Spurs and 2018 Golden State Warriors were enough to convince James he no longer had the talent around him to win, what might he think if the Lakers are scrapping for a play-in tournament spot again?


LeBron James could have heads spinning in the Los Angeles Lakers' front office. (Jason Miller/Getty Images)


'The door's not closed' on Cleveland

James has been through this news cycle enough to know the speculation he would stir when he praised another general manager and told The Athletic's Jason Lloyd at the All-Star break, "The door's not closed" on a return to Cleveland, and, "My last year will be played with my son. Wherever Bronny is at, that’s where I’ll be. I would do whatever it takes to play with my son for one year. It’s not about the money at that point."

The Cavaliers won 11 more games than the Lakers last season, despite a rash of injuries, and they can create significant cap space next summer. It is at least a possibility that James could return home again. He has repeatedly said that championships are all that matters at this point in his career, save for that farewell season with his son, and at least 20 teams were closer to vying for a title than the Lakers were last season.

Bronny James is entering his senior year of high school at Sierra Canyon, where he is a four-star recruit. He cannot currently declare for the NBA draft until 2024, and even then it is unclear if he is a surefire prospect. (There is a remote possibility he could become eligible for the 2023 draft, but that would require the NBA or the players' association to opt out of the current CBA in December and renegotiate the age of eligibility.)

The Lakers have only a second-round pick from either the Memphis Grizzlies or Washington Wizards in 2024, and maintaining flexibility may be LeBron's way of influencing who they select with that pick. Other teams may also be willing to draft Bronny, just to recruit his father, but remember: LeBron said, "My last year will be played with my son," which doesn't necessarily mean his last year will be his son's rookie year.

He could sign an extension with the Lakers until 2025 and still play a season with his son in Los Angeles or elsewhere. Rejecting an offer would have more to do with the state of the Lakers than Bronny's career path.


The state of the Lakers

Regardless, LeBron James will be 40 years old before his son can even think about an NBA career. James has been on the injury list more times in his four-year Lakers tenure than he had the entirety of his previous 15 seasons. His only healthy season in L.A. included a four-month layoff for a global pandemic. His window to make meaningful playoff contributions is right now, and the Lakers are nowhere close to title contention.

Russell Westbrook wants out of L.A., and James reportedly wants him out, too, but the Lakers will not find takers without including draft picks. The Lakers have only their 2027 and 2029 first-round picks to trade, since the New Orleans Pelicans hold their rights from 2023-25, and they are rightfully hesitant to deal them, considering James will be 42 by then, and they have no idea what their roster will look like in his absence.

James is openly pressuring the Lakers to trade every available asset to improve the team, but it is unclear if Westbrook's expiring $47 million contract and picks are even enough to land Kyrie Irving from the Brooklyn Nets or Buddy Hield and Myles Turner from the Indiana Pacers, since both teams rejected initial overtures.

We also don't know if either trade would elevate the Lakers into serious contention. They are currently slated to start at least two replacement-level players. That lack of depth is a real issue for a team reliant on the health of James and Anthony Davis, even if the Lakers find a helpful player or two in a Westbrook deal.

So, James and the Lakers are left awkwardly dancing around their commitment to each other. The Lakers want James to commit before they go all in on trading every last asset, and James wants the Lakers to trade every last asset before he goes all in on them. It is not dissimilar to the Cavaliers' situation in the summer of 2017, when Irving wanted out, and they traded him for a package centered around an eventual top-10 pick rather than ones for Paul George, because both James and George could have left in 2018.

A non-committal from James may not be a distraction in the locker room, but it would certainly impact the way the Lakers approach their roster-building strategy, and that might lower their ceiling this year and next.

Every season is invaluable to James at this stage, and this coming year is already starting to feel like a lost one, save for his pursuit of Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's career scoring record. The Lakers can create roughly $20 million in cap space next summer, assuming they retain James, and that may not be enough to alter their title chances in any significant way. The potential is there for a sputtering end to a legendary career.

That might also give the Lakers reason to reconsider their partnership with James. It is not the Lakers' way, given the fact they gave Kobe Bryant a two-year extension at the league's highest salary in the immediate aftermath of his Achilles' rupture at age 35, but trading James for assets and considerable cap space in 2023 is a reasonable pathway to quickly rebuild around Davis and avoid futility for the rest of the decade.

Did we mention Davis can enter free agency in 2024? He joins James on the Klutch Sports client list, and separating their futures in Los Angeles is easier said than done for Lakers general manager Rob Pelinka.

Trading James is at least as reasonable as paying him $50 million at age 40 to play for a team no longer in contention, which raises the issue of whether or not the Lakers should even offer him a max extension. A commitment from James would at least give the front office a direction through 2025, but to what end? The safest bet for all parties may be taking this one year at a time, leaving the rest of the roster in annual limbo.

Sound logic will not prevent all of these questions and more. Such is the difficulty of leaving a legend's exit strategy open-ended. There is a storm coming for Los Angeles on Aug. 4, whether the Lakers like it or not.


Bob
MY NOTE:  August 4th, the day he needs to sign the extension by, is one week from tomorrow.  LeBron will turn 38 years old on December 30th.  Pelinka might be praying he declines.  $48M/year for 2 years to a player that old will prevent any kind of a rebuild.  They want rid of Westbrook, and he wants out.  If they trade him for Kyrie he's on a one-year deal.  Would he sign long-term with the Lakers if LeBron will be gone the year after that?  Can you imagine if Brad drafts Bronny?  Can you imagine LeBron becoming a Celtic to play with his son, in front of a fan base he claimed is racist?!  And attend Red Sox games, a team he is a partial owner of, in person and get booed there?  Can.  You.  Just.  Imagine.


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You are really on a roll here Bob. Basketball starved? I hate this time of the year too. Bronny a Celtic? Nan,,,never happen. Only Danny would have the guts to do that!

No traveling this year?

There is only one thing worse than having KD in green.

Ding, ding, ding. We have a winner!!

Oh come on now, I was told one day on this board that there is not one fan who would not love to have LeBron on the Celtics. I did not bother to respond

gyso wrote:There is only one thing worse than having KD in green.

Ding, ding, ding.  We have a winner!!

gyso,

We've had Dominique, Shaq and Bob McAdoo too; and those are just the big names.  That doesn't include the Bad News Barnes and Telfairs that have worn the green.  If we can have them on the Celtics I can live with LeBron for a year, especially when you know that he knows it's his last hurrah and he wants to win another Championship because that would get his son a ring too.


Bob


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RosalieTCeltics wrote:You are really on a roll here Bob.  Basketball starved?  I hate this time of the year too.  Bronny a Celtic? Nan,,,never happen. Only Danny would have the guts to do that!

No traveling this year?  

Rosalie,

Yeah, it's the dog days here.  A basketball deprivation tank.

As far as traveling goes I was supposed to go with a friend to Nwalins, but he just recently bailed out.  I'm going to Burning Man next month, so you won't hear from me for 2 weeks, but that's interplanetary travel.  I've been to 51 countries but Black Rock City in the Nevada desert might be the strangest place yet.  It takes place at an alkaline, dried up prehistoric lake bed in the high plains of Nevada, on Federal land (the Black Rock National Park).  There is absolutely nothing there.  Nothing.  Then, within a week, there is a city of 80,000 inhabitants that live inside of Black Rock City limits, which covers 7 square miles.  There are named and laid out streets and avenues, medical clinics, an airport with its own code (88NV.  In 2019 it had over 2700 flight operations), a post office with its own zip code (89412), it's own quasi-police force (the Black Rock Rangers.  They are given some training and are backed up by BLM Rangers, (Bureau of Land Management, US Department of the Interior.  Not the other BLM) who generally have light-handed presence in the City but are on hand if needed.  The Feds.  The real deal.  Real law enforcement officers.  It is federal land and we are bound by federal law.  If you commit a serious crime like battery or rape you will get detained by a BRC Ranger and handed over to BLM who will arrest your ass and transport you to a holding cell in Reno and charge you!) a Department of Public Works and a DMV.  Money is not used (except to buy ice).  Everything else is either brought by you or is willingly donated by the supportive community of Black Rock City.  You can barter, you can just give it away as an act of kindness but you cannot sell anything nor have any commercial branding.  In fact, all of the above BRC government services (DPW, DMV, medical, etc) are all manned by volunteers from the community.  I will be volunteering at the airport, doing some shifts there (volunteering is not a requirement, wouldn't be "volunteering" if it was, it'd be conscription.  I didn't in 2019, but I intend to this year).  The event lasts a week, ending on the Sunday before Labor Day.  I'm going 5 days early to help build our camp so it's ready when the gates open on Sunday, that's why I'll be gone for 2 weeks even though the event only lasts one.  At the end everything gets torn down and the desert returns to its pristine state.  Nothing.  And it's serious!  BLM uses satellites to scan the desert to look for MOOP (Material Out Of Place).  That means anything that doesn't belong in a desert, wouldn't be there except for us.  If you do not clean up after yourselves so thoroughly there is no trace of your ever having been there you will be banned from future BMs.  No trace of human presence before and none afterwards.  If you build a shower you cannot let the water seep into the desert floor.  You have to have an impermeable plastic bag underneath it, and allow the shower water to evaporate instead because water from 80,000 people will change the ecology.  And that water, for your shower (if you're lucky or energetic enough to build one) and drinking water?  You have to bring it all!!  Furthermore it is an art colony, so you get people in costumes and there are theme camps (it's camping, literally and figuratively.  Camping permits on Federal land are a fraction of the price of a Festival permit, so we're campers).  The DMV limits how many vehicles can drive in BRC after entrance.  To be permitted your vehicle has to contribute to the art experience, not just run.  It needs an art theme, for one.  To be permitted to be driven at night it has to have lights.  LOTS of lights.  And just like the regular DMV there's a line to get permitted.   Some things never change.  The camp I'm associated with (I was with them for my first and only BM so far, in 2019.  There has been no BM for the last 2 years and I'm with them again this year again) runs a 24X7 saloon.  You can stop by anytime day or night and have a drink, or drinks, for free (no money, remember?) and someone from our camp will be manning the bar to serve you, as much as you want.

Now that my flaky friend bailed out on me for Nwalins I'm considering other destinations.  Ecuador is looking good right now.  I will be making a decision about that over the next month before I leave for Nevada and would be going there as the weather cools around here.  "Cool" in northern California is quite different than New England.  You might call it "refreshingly crisp".

Long story, I know, but you asked.  There's that old saying "never ask a NYer their opinion, because they'll give it to you!", sometimes ad nauseum.  I hope you've learned your lesson.  


Bob


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Ok let me make sure I understand,

Kevin Durant is a two-time NBA champion, former Rookie of the Year (2008), a four-time scoring champion (2010-14), an MVP and a two-time Finals MVP. Durant's four scoring titles ties George Gervin and Allen Iverson for the third-most in NBA history.

LeBron James has won four NBA championships, four NBA MVP awards, four NBA Finals MVP awards, three All-Star MVP awards, and two Olympic gold medals.

And neither are or were worthy of playing for our Celtics?
Are we not getting a little carried away with our emotions?

bobheckler wrote:

gyso wrote:There is only one thing worse than having KD in green.

Ding, ding, ding.  We have a winner!!

gyso,

We've had Dominique, Shaq and Bob McAdoo too; and those are just the big names.  That doesn't include the Bad News Barnes and Telfairs that have worn the green.  If we can have them on the Celtics I can live with LeBron for a year, especially when you know that he knows it's his last hurrah and he wants to win another Championship because that would get his son a ring too.


Bob


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Bob,

I think that the "Draft Bronny and he will come" gambit should be left to the many small market teams that would appreciate the extra boost in interest and the added exposure from all the nationally broadcast games that comes with his presence.  IMO, the Celtics are just fine with playing the long game and having a much longer window with the core that we currently have.  We all saw how quickly and how long a window can shut after 2008.

He said that he would play for the team that drafted his son.  Did he say he would slide into the MLE or Vet Min and not force the team to strip away the future for the now?  Every time he leaves a team, that team is in shambles.  Only the Heat were able to recover and be competitive when he left them in his wake.  Alot of that recovery comes down to good coaching and nice location.

I do not want to sell it all for one. But that is just me.

That is wild Bob I can always trust that there will be some stories after your escapades. I give you credit, you do not let the dust form under your feet, I envy you. Life is too short make the most of it while you can. And. You never bore me, I love hearing about your travels

Jealous I guess. I go to Maine now and it is a big deal!!

A 12 year old Stephen Curry guarding Muggsy Bogues.

Steph must have been a late bloomer because Muggsy was only 5'3" and Steph doesn't look as tall as him.  Steph is 6'3" now.




Bob


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WHO WANTS TO BE THE ONE TO TELL HIM?





Bob



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I see where the Knicks and the Sixers are under investigation by the NBA because of potential tampering violations before the FA period officially began.

Most teams have a pretty good idea about who they want to sign. Teams that have RFA or UFA already know if one of their guys is looking to leave.

We were hearing about Brunson going to the Knicks weeks before FA began. Brunson was an UFA which means the Mavs could not simply match his offer and keep him. However you knew he was going to leave and unless got involved with a sign and trade you would get nothing in return.

I do not particularly like tampering rules because they do not mesh with the way NBA teams, players and agents function.

Every year we see a torrent of FA signings as soon as the bell rings. That cannot happen unless communications are taking place prior to the start of FA.

It seems to me that if you are going into free agency, you and your agent should be able to discuss a framework with teams that may have an interest in signing you including the team that you are currently on.

The Knicks also hired papa Brunson before they signed the son. They started to move assets to clear up cap space. Everybody knew what was going to happen including the Dallas Mavericks.

It’s whiteside never paid attention in geography classes God bless America Hassan

RosalieTCeltics wrote:It’s whiteside never paid attention in geography classes  God bless America Hassan

You and I are old enough to remember when Alaska and Hawaii became states.  

Maybe he was just trying to be facetious or maybe he really does not know.  Hard to imagine but Anything is possible.

However he claims he did not tweet that so I will give him the benefit of a doubt.

Are those your granddaughters.? They are beautiful, scary how fast they grow up huh?

RosalieTCeltics wrote:Are those your granddaughters.? They are beautiful, scary how fast they grow up huh?

Rosalie

Thank you. No doubt they are growing up fast.

Heading to Boston later this month to get my fried clams on.