Boston Celtics News (2023-2024)

The association's top four in net rating are all Celtics

1. Sam Hauser (14.2)
2. Payton Pritchard (13.6)
3. Derrick White (12.5)
4. Luke Kornet (12.1)


Bob
MY NOTE:  Derrick's is the most impressive because he was elite despite playing against starters and over many more minutes than the other three.  Nevertheless kudos to all of them.  The benches of ALL 29 other teams had roughly the same number of minutes as Sam, Payton and Luke and they aren't on the top four.


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Bob


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https://nesn.com/2024/04/celtics-derrick-white-earns-fitting-unsurprising-honor-in-player-poll/?cjdata=MXxOfDB8WXww&cjevent=083f4b6100e311ef82cba5d60a1cb827&utm_source=cj&utm_medium=affiliate&utm_campaign=100085178&utm_content=Follow+your+favorite+teams+and+NESN+personalities+in+the+links+below%2C+and+click+on+each+one+for+a+full+listing+of+episodes.&utm_term=15596374



Celtics’ Derrick White Earns Fitting, Unsurprising Honor In Player Poll


White brings immense value to Boston


MIKE COLE
Content Editor



It’s easy to see how Derrick White might be overlooked on a star-studded Celtics team, but the guard’s valuable contributions don’t go unnoticed across the NBA.

The Athletic on Monday released its 2024 player poll, and White earned the most votes for the league’s most underrated player. The online publication surveyed 126 players anonymously, and White tied for first with Oklahoma City Thunder forward Jalen Williams as the top vote-getter, topping the ballot for 10.3% (13 votes) for each.

“I say that every single day: He’s one of the most underrated players in the league,” one player told The Athletic. “They talk about him more (now), but they still don’t talk about him enough.”

Anyone who has watched White over the course of his career but especially his last couple of seasons with the Celtics can attest to the guard’s value to one of the NBA’s best teams. White was a second-team All-Defensive selection a year ago, and he followed that up with arguably an even better 2023-24 season. His offense gets overshadowed on a roster featuring the likes of Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown and Kristaps Porzingis, but he can fill it up, too. White averaged 15.2 points this season, a sliver below a career-high he set in San Antonio in 2020-21. That he can put up those sorts of numbers on a team with as many mouths to feed as Boston has speaks for itself. White also exceeded career averages in assists (5.2) and rebounds (4.2) this season.


“(White) defends really well (and) does a little bit of everything on offense,” another player commented.


Bob


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The Lottery is May 12th, so that's just 19 days away.  The actual draft is June 26th, and that's 64 days away.  So things aren't imminent but there is some news regarding the Celtics and the lottery.  Once we get past the Lottery and start getting closer to draft day a separate thread should be started for that.  For now, this is good enough.


https://www.masslive.com/celtics/2024/04/nba-draft-2024-celtics-picks-finalized-after-tiebreakers.html


NBA Draft 2024: Celtics picks finalized after tiebreakers


Published: Apr. 23, 2024, 10:15 a.m.



Boston Celtics president of basketball operations Brad Stevens speaks at a news conference during the NBA basketball team's media day, Monday, Oct. 2, 2023, in Boston. (AP Photo/Michael Dwyer)AP


By Brian Robb | brobb@masslive.com



The Celtics once again were not directly involved in any ties as the NBA held their annual end-of-season random drawing to establish the 2024 NBA Draft order. Yet, they did receive some very minor bad news for their 2024 second-round selection.

Boston had the best record in the NBA by seven games with a 64-18 record so they will hold the No. 30 overall draft pick in the first round in June. Brad Stevens has yet to make a first-round selection during his tenure as team president of basketball operations over the past three years so it will be interesting to see whether that trend will continue in 2024.


The one pick that was impacted during Monday’s tiebreaker was a second-round selection that Boston had previously acquired via the Dallas Mavericks (through Sacramento). Boston picked up the extra pick on draft night in 2023 for trading down in the second round. The Knicks and Mavericks finished tied with their regular season records and the Mavericks won the tiebreaker to finish ahead of New York in the first round at No. 24.


The NBA flips-flops the draft order of ties in the second round so Boston’s draft pick (via Dallas) in the second round will drop one slot lower. However, the team does get bumped up to No. 54 overall since the Philadelphia 76ers (No. 48) had to forfeit their second-round pick as a penalty for free agency tampering.

Boston also sent out their own second-round pick (No. 58) previously as part of compensation to the Hornets to create a TPE in the Gordon Hayward sign-and-trade in 2020. Boston also traded away what ended up being the No. 41 overall pick to the Philadelphia 76ers for young guard Jaden Springer.

The next key night for the NBA Draft will during the May 12 lottery, which will officially set the draft order for the top 14 teams. From there, the 2024 NBA Draft will be held on June 26th in what will be a two-night event for the first time with the second round being held on night two.


Bob
MY NOTE:  So we have #30 and #54.  




If Brad hasn't used a first round pick yet I don't expect him to pick #30.  It's a guaranteed contract because it's a first rounder, but the talent level will be questionable.  Might he trade #30 and a player for a higher pick?  Yeah, especially if he thinks that player could break the bank soon (Sam with his ridiculously cheap contract for one more year? Tillman will be an UFA this summer, but we have Bird Rights so we can sign him for bigger bucks than we want and then trade him?  Springer and his $4M next year?).  He might also trade down for multiple 2nd rounders and avoid contract complications completely.  I, for one, am interested to see what Brad does with Jordan Walsh and Jaden Springer.  They appear to fill the same niche, to me.  Does Brad think we need TWO defenders coming off the bench, if not DEEP bench like both of these players are doing now?


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Bob


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Souichi Terada @SouichiTerada
Jrue Holiday: “We got great 1-on-1 defenders. Before I was here, they talked about guys could play defense. Now that I got here, they all play defense. You talk about the white guys, the white guys play defense.” – 2:38 PM


Bob
MY NOTE:  If Jrue didn't have the reputation for being a great teammate, plus his wife is white, I'd say this was one of the most racist statements I've heard in a while.  I'm sure it was tongue firmly planted in cheek.


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Sean Grande
@SeanGrandePBP
Reconfiguring to include the playoffs.

The Celtics now sit as the 4th most dominant team in NBA history, moving past the '72 Lakers.

The '86 Celtics, who breezed through the playoffs, move onto this list.  The '08 Celtics, outscored by the Cavs in Round 2, drop four spots.





Bob
MY NOTE:  The '71 Bucks (with a, then 23 year old still Lew Alcindor, and The Big O and Bobby Dandridge), '96 Bulls (the Jordanaires with MJ, Pippen, The Worm, Longley, Kukoc and Kerr) and the '17 Warriors (67 wins.  This was the team with Durant on it) all won Championships.



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https://us.yahoo.com/sports/celtics-assistant-coach-charless-lee-224916471.html



Celtics assistant coach Charless Lee reportedly a Los Angeles Lakers coaching target


Justin Quinn

Fri, May 3, 2024 at 3:49 PM PDT·1 min read



It is looking increasingly less likely that the Boston Celtics will have assistant coach Charles Lee on their sidelines next season, with new reporting from the Athletic’s Jovan Buha suggesting another ball club is considering hiring him as head coach.

Lee, who is a candidate for the open Charlotte Hornets head coaching gig, is reportedly also a candidate for the now also-open Los Angeles Lakers coaching job recently vacated by Darvin Hamm. For this job, however, Lee is not one of the top candidates. That short list includes former NBAer and current podcaster JJ Redick, former Atlanta Hawks and Milwaukee Bucks head coach Mike Budenholzer, onetime Brooklyn Nets head coach and current Golden State Warriors assistant coach Kenny Atkinson.

Per Buha, Los Angeles Clippers head coach Ty Lue “would immediately become another candidate” if he were to split with his current employer, and Lee “is also an option.”


While that does not sound like the most ringing endorsement, that doesn’t mean Lee would not get the job, given his extensive experience and popular support in his current and prior coaching gigs.

One of the more popular names in coaching searches in recent seasons, even if this is not the gig he ends up taking, Celtics fans should expect one will open up soon.


Bob
MY NOTE:  If I had to guess I'd say that Tyronn Lue will get the Laker job if Jeannie Buss decides to extend LeBron, but Charles Lee will if she doesn't.  To be honest, I was shocked when Lee agreed to be Joe's assistant coach.  I thought for sure someone would offer him a head coaching job somewhere.  If we win #18 not only will he almost certainly be gone but there's a good chance Sam Cassell will get his shot too.  Everybody wants to poach from winners.


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https://hardwoodhoudini.com/posts/luke-kornet-free-agent-price-point-revealed-should-boston-celtics-pay-up



Luke Kornet free agent price point revealed: Should Boston Celtics pay up?


By Andrew Hughes | May 5, 2024


Kristaps Porzingis's injury has opened up playoff minutes for Luke Kornet in the Boston Celtics frontcourt, and with the opportunity, the Vanderbilt product has a chance to help out his offseason free agency case exponentially.

As MassLive's Brian Robb reveals, Kornet could cost up to a mid-level exception-type salary, something the Cs can pay for given that they own his early bird rights.

"He suddenly has become the most high-profile free agent this summer after Jrue Holiday’s extension last month," Robb prefaced before saying, "Boston does have early Bird Rights at this point on him, so they will be able to pay him up to mid-level money if they decide to. He certainly won’t command close to that on the open market but the truth is he may have played himself into being more than a minimum-level player, particularly if he holds up well in these postseason minutes in the upcoming rounds."


Is Luke Kornet worth bringing back for the Boston Celtics?

Just because the Celtics could bring Kornet back, does it mean they should? There's certainly an argument to be made on both sides of the coin here.

On one hand, you can get a Kornet-level talent at the end of the first round or the second round. You may even be able to sign an undrafted free agent or find a good fit in the Summer League and the Maine Celtics G League system.

On the other hand, the Cs are limited in adding higher salaries because they are past the second tax apron in the CBA and could use such salaries to aggregate in potential future deals. Who knows? Bringing him back and paying up could bring out the best in Kornet too, to the point where a trade isn't on the radar.

You can't go wrong either way. Retaining Jrue Holiday was the most important 2024 offseason goal and it was accomplished.


Bob
MY NOTE:  Wow.  Tough question.  I honestly never thought I'd be saying this but bringing The Green Kornet back might not be such a bad idea.  He has (finally!) developed into a legit NBA backup big, and he's still only 28 years old.  That's his prime (such as it is), and he has no serious injury history (some of that is because he never used to get playing time.  It's hard to get injured playing if you never play).  If we draft a young'un in the late first or 2nd round how many years would it be before they're at Luke's current level, and by that time they're at the end of their rookie contract too?  We're not in "building" mode, we're "built".  The iron is as hot as it's ever going to get right now.  This is the team that can, and should, win #18 and more and Luke is our, what, 9th man?   If you're in the top 10 you are a legit rotation player, he's averaging 15.6mpg this year and, with Al phasing out in a year, he'd get even more minutes in the future.

Question:  Who would you rather keep, if you could only keep one:  Luke Kornet or Xavier Tillman?


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