Boston Celtics Rumors
Adam Wexler: With Pacers win, the East playoff matchups are set. (1) Bucks vs (8) Magic (2) Raptors vs (7) Nets (3) Celtics vs (6) 76ers (4/5) Heat vs (4/5) Pacers
Jay King: Jaylen Brown and Donovan Mitchell hating on each other has been pretty funny. “He wanna talk about me? Look at him. Creeping ass.” Lol. pic.twitter.com/vQ0zXSHTsu
The Boston Celtics have signed head coach Brad Stevens to a contract extension, the team announced today. Per team policy, terms of the deal were not disclosed. Stevens, who was named the franchise’s 17th head coach on July 3, 2013, has produced a 318-245 win-loss record (.565) in six-plus seasons with the Celtics. His 318 wins are the fourth-most by any Celtics coach in franchise history (795-Auerbach, 427-Heinsohn, 416-Rivers).
“Brad is an accomplished coach and an outstanding person,” said Boston Celtics Lead Owner and Governor Wyc Grousbeck. “We are proud to have him lead our team forward in our quest for Banner 18.” “We are thrilled that Brad Stevens will continue to be our coach,” said Boston Celtics Co-Owner Steve Pagliuca. “He has become one of the best coaches in the NBA and is a real leader on and off the court. This is a great day for the Boston Celtics.”
“Brad is one of the most intelligent and hard-working coaches in the game today,” said Boston Celtics President of Basketball Operations Danny Ainge. “More importantly, his character and integrity have contributed to a culture that we all highly value here. Brad is a great teammate, and a leader people want to follow. We are honored to have him with us as we continue to pursue our next championship.”
Currently in his seventh campaign with the Celtics, Stevens has notched multiple milestones during the 2019-20 season. He became just the fifth coach in franchise history to reach the 300-win mark with a victory at Orlando on January 24, and surpassed K.C. Jones (308 wins) for the fourth-most wins on the franchise ledger with a victory at Minnesota on February 21.
Jaylen Brown: I’ve seen @Donovan Mitchell 10 times this week and it’s just Wednesday 🤦🏾♂️ pic.twitter.com/7qUYExZ4Gc
Donovan Mitchell: That’s crazy bro…. you told me to come back 😒😒😒
“There was a lot of concern,” Jaylen Brown, a union vice president, told SI. “There was a lack of information at one point. There’s still some questions with COVID. We still don’t know what the long-term effects are. Your hair could fall off in five years. We have no idea. It’s just a new virus. So those were some of the questions. And information was being filled in, but it was not being filled in at the pace that a lot of players felt comfortable with.”
Aaron J. Fentress: FINAL Blazers 134 Mavericks 131 Damian Lillard tied career-high with 61 points. Blazers moved into eighth-place in the West, ahead of Memphis, which lost earlier today to Boston. Portland can lock in at No. 8 for the play-in round with a win Thursday over Brooklyn. #RipCity
Jay King: Brad Stevens, on Taylor Jenkins calling the Celtics an elite team: “Nice.” No further response.
Jayson Tatum: Congrats Melo! One of the greatest. Simple as that.
Jared Weiss: Jaylen Brown opens his press conference giving a speech on the words “police brutality.” There’s really just nobody like him. “There are plenty of Americans who have a birthright to see police as their protectors. I’m not from that side of America.”
Chris Grenham: Brad Stevens on Robert Williams: “He’s way more comfortable. … He’s getting better at a bunch of the little things. He’s obviously a real vertical threat. … I think it’s just a matter of experience and hard work.”
Abby Chin: But, this isn’t goodbye just yet. When I received the news, I was offered the choice to finish out the season and I’m taking it! I’m not ready for this incredible ride to be over. I’ll see you tonight. Go #Celtics
Sure, there was money to be made for network partners but there also was the potential for something powerful to emerge for what they believed was a necessary distraction at this time. “Our league has a long history of addressing racial and social issues,” said Tatum, who is Black. “You go back to Bill Russell, Oscar Robertson, and the lineage from those guys today, to LeBron (James). A guy like Malcolm Brogdon. A guy like Jaylen Brown. We have a responsibility and an obligation, given the prominence of our players and the influence that they have. We’ve always encouraged our players to take a stand on issues that are important to them and they are doing it.”
How did how does the knee feel right now? And as you project forward to the playoffs? Do you see it being any kind of, you know, inhibition to your ability? Kemba Walker: Well, it feels good man. That’s me being completely honest. You know, the whole reason I’m only stretching is to see how it reacts after every game. And it’s been it’s been doing well and it’s me feeling better and better after every game, so I’m definitely trending upwards. I think I’m gonna be fine. I think I’ll be fine.
Kemba Walker seriously considered the Knicks
Kemba Walker, the four-time All-Star point guard who joined the Boston Celtics in 2019 after eight years with the Charlotte Hornets, said the Knicks were “very serious” contenders for his services: “To be honest, yes. Yes, very serious. Very,” Walker said on The Ringer’s R2C2 podcast with Ryan Ruocco and CC Sabathia. “… Before Boston actually came along, the Knicks was one of my top priorities, actually, because I was thinking they were gonna get another player, but it didn’t work out.”
Brad Stevens: In 1965, this passed with an overwhelming, bipartisan vote. John Lewis’s Voting Rights Advancement Act was written to reinforce this and eliminate any barriers or obstacles to vote. Voter suppression is real and unjust. The senate needs to honor John, and simply do what’s right
Ian Begley: Nets say Jamal Crawford is unavailable tonight against Boston due to the hamstring strain. Joe Harris and Caris LeVert are probable.
Kemba Walker: Super excited to join #TeamBODYARMOR . No sports drink like @DrinkBODYARMOR !! #ad pic.twitter.com/7gVWwuprMH
NBC Sports Boston has been hit hard by a decision from parent company NBC Sports to slash its digital and regional cable staffs the past two days. Nearly 20 on-air and behind-the-scenes staffers at NBC Sports Boston were laid off Monday and Tuesday, including longtime anchor Gary Tanguay, Celtics sideline reporter Abby Chin, host Danielle Trotta, and Celtics reporter A. Sherrod Blakely.
The timing in letting go of Chin and Blakely in particular is curious considering NBC Sports Boston is the regional home of the Celtics and the NBA relaunched its season last week after being shut down for the pandemic. According to multiple sources, the network may keep some laid-off staffers around for 60 days. Blakely, whose contract is up in October, is expected to be one.
Jared Weiss: Gordon Hayward on Education Reform: “Everybody should have an equal opportunity, and certainly there’s a lot of places that don’t and so it’s those places that really need our support… My wife and I have been in the education sector in Boston since we’ve gotten here.”
Justin Kubatko: The @Lakers Anthony Davis recorded his 29th career game with at least 40 points and 10 rebounds last night, tying Larry Bird and Karl Malone for the third-most such games since the ABA-NBA merger. The two players ahead of Davis are Shaquille O’Neal (43) and Michael Jordan (33).
Other notable backers of the polo look: Boston’s Brad Stevens, Denver’s Michael Malone, Orlando’s Steve Clifford, Houston’s Mike D’Antoni, Charlotte’s James Borrego, Sacramento’s Luke Walton, Golden State’s Steve Kerr, and Washington’s Scott Brooks. (Kerr was so passionate, he requested his name appear on this list in larger font — John Hancock-style.) “I was against [polos], but now that I’m down to my summer weight, I love them,” Brooks said. Most of the above coaches said they would support carrying over the look to the normal NBA environment.
Jason Anderson: The Grizzlies might not even get to the play-in games. They’re 0-3 in the NBA bubble now. Remaining games: Jazz, Thunder, Raptors, Celtics, Bucks. Blazers and Pelicans have inside track right now, but Portland’s schedule is brutal, too.
The award, named in honor of longtime NBCA executive director Michael Goldberg, is voted on by the league’s 30 head coaches, with each coach voting for a single winner. Among those who also received votes, sources said: Memphis’ Taylor Jenkins, Indiana’s Nate McMillan, Miami’s Erik Spoelstra, Boston’s Brad Stevens and the Lakers’ Frank Vogel.
Even if he remained almost 1,500 miles away, Boston Celtics forward Jayson Tatum sensed he was not too far from family. His son, Deuce, joined the virtual fan section and became giddy after seeing his dad on the screen in uniform for Sunday’s game against the Portland Trail Blazers. “He’s a fan favorite,” Tatum said. “I was happy he was able to watch the game.” Deuce saw his old man help the Celtics to a 128-124 win over the Trail Blazers by scoring 34 points on 11-of-22 shooting. He also saw Tatum have a bounce-back game coincidentally after getting a haircut here on the NBA Disney campus.
Although his role has been that of a deep bench player for the most part, Toronto Raptors wing Patrick McCaw has been a reigning NBA champion for quite a long stretch now – 1,148 days, to be exact. That’s three years, one month and 25 days straight that McCaw has been a champion, dating back to his stint with the Golden State Warriors and stretching through until now, his time with the Toronto Raptors. McCaw’s championship reign has been so lengthy, in fact, that it’s reaching historical proportions. It’s actually the second-longest consecutive stretch that one player has been a champion in NBA history since the Boston Celtics dynasty of the 1960s.
Marc J. Spears: NBA referee Marc Davis comments to a pool reporter after today’s game between the Celtics and Trail Blazers: pic.twitter.com/xyqkFRESjF
