Which members of the Boston Celtics roster must show improvements next season?
As a retooling team, the Celtics are taking some flyers on younger talent with a point to prove. The hope will be that they can either prove themselves as future contributors or potentially increase their trade value around the NBA to help facilitate a future deal for an additional star.
During a recent conversation on NESN's "Hold My Banner" podcast, the hosts discussed which members of Boston's rotation will need to show developmental jumps throughout the season, with second-year talent Baylor Scheierman, third-year forward Jordan Walsh, and Garza among the three names discussed.
You can watch the full podcast episode by clicking on the embedded video above.
Watch the "Taylor Talks Celtics" podcast on:
YouTube: https://bit.ly/3QnlPcS
Website: https://bit.ly/3WoA0Cf
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
New York Times
30 minutes ago
- New York Times
What Luka Dončić's $165M means, plus grading NBA team offseasons
The Bounce Newsletter | This is The Athletic's daily NBA newsletter. Sign up here to receive The Bounce directly in your inbox. I'm writing today's edition from my laptop in the middle of the Green Park in London. Imagine if you told people 100 years ago that we could send out The Bounce over the internet to people all over the world. Their first question would be: 'What's The Bounce?' And you could tell them: 'You fool! It's a free NBA newsletter from The Athletic, and you can subscribe so easily.' Technology! Dončić signs 3-year, $165 million extension 'Is Luka Dončić going to sign the extension with the Lakers?' It was a question, but it was also mostly a formality. While some doubts can be spun into justifying absurd trade ideas in Dallas, when it came to the question of whether Dončić was going to sign his extension, it never felt like there was a real possibility of him leaving the franchise. The 26-year-old had a player option for next season, but declining that would have made him an unrestricted free agent in the summer of 2026. Advertisement Instead of waiting for next summer and opting for a longer, possibly more lucrative contract over those next four years, Luka did what's best, both for the Lakers in the interim — and in the long term for his earning potential. He agreed to a three-year extension worth as much as $165 million. It's probably more like a two-year extension, though. There is a player option for the 2028-29 season at $57.5 million, which sounds like a lot. Because it is. I would suspect he declines that option. Why? In the summer of 2028, he'll be 10 years into his career, which makes him eligible for a five-year contract worth at least projected $400 million. I'll say it if nobody else will: That is a significant amount of money. He'll be 29 years old at that point, so it's not like they're giving that money to an older player. He'll likely be in his prime, which is eye-popping to consider about someone who has averaged 30 points, 8.8 rebounds and 8.7 assists with 47.4/35.3/75.7 shooting splits since his rookie season. The Lakers are also set up to put players around Dončić. These are the other players they have signed through each season past this one: Assuming they reach a deal with Reaves when he declines his player option in 2026, the Lakers will have quite a bit of roster flexibility. If Ayton works out for them as their long-lost big man, then he probably opts out of that contract next summer, but gets something a bit more lucrative as he keeps proving himself. And, of course, we have no idea what this means for LeBron James. Lakers executive Rob Pelinka mentioned it would be 'great' if LeBron retires a Laker, but what does that mean about his free agency next summer? Or anything potentially happening before the February trade deadline? Do the Lakers still want to pay him the max during whatever short time he has left in the NBA? Can you imagine him taking a discount? A lot of questions about the Lakers remain, but the Luka one has been answered. RFA, revisited 🏀 Does it work? Restricted free agency doesn't seem to work for players anymore. But did it ever? 🃏 Always joking. Gilbert Arenas is under some serious allegations of running an illegal gambling business. ICYMI: Who is Gil, and why is he always joking? 🏀 Dame's back. Damian Lillard is now one of several NBA players to take on a college role. GM at his alma mater, Weber State. 🏀 This is fun. A familiar game has a pretty fun national competition. Welcome to Pop-A-Shot! 🎧 'NBA Daily.' Zena and Es are joined by Amick to discuss trade rumors around the NBA. Watch on YouTube. Fox agrees to a big extension with the Spurs When the Spurs came upon some draft lottery luck and found themselves with the No. 2 pick in this year's draft, it was pretty obvious right away that lead guard Dylan Harper out of Rutgers would be the selection. Sure enough, that's whom the Spurs took, and it at least made some people raise an eyebrow about what that meant for De'Aaron Fox and his future in San Antonio. Advertisement The franchise has Stephon Castle, the reigning Rookie of the Year. He's a very good playmaker, and while he's definitely more of a wing or an off-guard, he fancies himself a point guard in the NBA. Harper, one of the top prospects in the draft, showed a lot of the reasons why so many people believe in him during his Summer League exploits. He looks like the real deal, and the promise of him and Victor Wembanyama together in the future is a lot of fun. Fox is an All-NBA point guard the Spurs traded for last season. But fear not about his future in San Antonio. The Spurs agreed to a four-year, $229 million extension that will keep him in San Antonio through the 2029-30 season. It's a lot of the cap for a guy they might have a replacement for already, but Wemby is on his rookie deal for two more years, Castle for three and Harper is just beginning his. The Spurs have time to pay Fox until they have to make decisions down the road on how to manage the cap under the second apron. Or if we want to get really spicy and raise some eyebrows, maybe in a year or two, the Spurs have a massive contract to use in matching Giannis Antetokounmpo's deal in a trade. Sun could sell for $325 million, head to Boston I mean the WNBA's Connecticut Sun, not the giant gas star you want to stare at while knowing it's such a bad idea. Not that thing that gives sustenance to the plant life Chris Paul and his vegan friends enjoy every day. OK, that's enough about the sun. A group led by Steve Pagliuca, a minority owner for the Celtics, has interest in buying the Connecticut Sun (down at 11th in Power Rankings!). The potential price could be a record-breaking $325 million, with an additional $100 million going toward a practice facility. The reported intention is to move the team to Boston, possibly as early as 2027. This is a pretty big deal for the WNBA in general. While some might scoff at the purchase price when compared to the $10 billion to took to buy the Lakers, remember the Sacramento Kings were sold for $534 million in 2013 and the Milwaukee Bucks for $550 million in 2014. Also remember the NBA had a decades-long head start at creating value for their franchises. With expansion franchises going for $250 million, I'm sure this eye-popping Sun number will make players feel even more emboldened to earn what they're owed. The WNBA is possibly heading toward a lockout during labor negotiations, in which players want a much bigger piece of the thriving league's pie. Grading offseasons is tough, but we did it We've got a little less than two months left in the offseason before we're past media day and knee-deep in some training camp action and soundbites. And while this summer is not completely over for people named Kuminga, Russell Westbrook or Cam Thomas, the majority of teams have filled their rotations and are looking set for the start of next season. So it's the perfect time to start grading each team's offseason. Advertisement That's exactly what my colleagues at The Athletic did this week. Every team has a grade, except for the one team that has earned an incomplete so far. Let's go over four teams I felt were graded too low and four teams I felt were graded too high. Luckily for my colleagues, I'm wrong a lot, so they probably nailed these grades regardless. Four teams I graded lower: Four teams I graded higher: Here are all those grades again. Streaming links in this article are provided by partners of The Athletic. Restrictions may apply. The Athletic maintains full editorial independence. Partners have no control over or input into the reporting or editing process and do not review stories before publication.
Miami Herald
an hour ago
- Miami Herald
Top international prospect Dame Sarr commits to Duke
Duke gained a commitment from Dame Sarr, the top international 2025 prospect, on Thursday, helping the Blue Devils to ease the sting of losing four of their top five scorers to the 2025 NBA Draft. The 18-year-old announced his commitment to Duke via ESPN, calling it "my dream school." "My ultimate goal is to play in the NBA," Sarr said. "There's no better place to prepare you for that than Duke." A 6-foot-8 wing from Oderzo, Italy, Sarr made his Spanish ACB league debut for Barcelona in 2023. Then 16, Sarr became the second-youngest player in club history. He had a strong performance at the Nike Hoop Summit in Portland, Ore., in April, where he recorded 17 points and four boards in 25 minutes against the top high school players in the United States, including future Duke teammates Cameron and Cayden Boozer. Sarr's commitment further bolsters the Blue Devils' recruiting class, which ranks third in the nation, according to the 247Sports composite behind only Houston and Arizona. --Field Level Media Field Level Media 2023 - All Rights Reserved
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
"We never shook hands, we never spoke our whole career" - Dominique Wilkins on why he and Larry Bird never got along over their lengthy NBA careers
"We never shook hands, we never spoke our whole career" - Dominique Wilkins on why he and Larry Bird never got along over their lengthy NBA careers originally appeared on Basketball Network. Dominique Wilkins didn't carry grudges often during his Hall of Fame career, but there was one rivalry that never softened while the games were still being played. It wasn't built on trash talk or off-court friction; it was rooted in competition, the kind that leaves no room for pleasantries. That tension lived between Wilkins and Larry Bird. For over a decade, their names sat on opposite sides of some of the hardest-fought battles in Eastern Conference history. Yet, through all those years of trading baskets and bruises, there was never a word exchanged. Not friends with Bird Their mutual silence became a subplot of a basketball era defined by personality clashes and regional pride. Bird, the stone-faced icon from French Lick, and Wilkins, the high-flying sensation out of Atlanta by way of Georgia and North Carolina, were never destined to be friends on the court. "We never shook hands, we never spoke our whole career, ever until we retire," Wilkins confessed. What separated them wasn't hatred, but a quiet, hardened edge that only long-term competitors can develop. Wilkins entered the league in 1982, at a time when Bird's Boston Celtics were the standard in the East. Boston had won the title in 1981, reached another Finals in '84 and ruled the conference with a type of force that suffocated rising teams like Wilkins' Atlanta Hawks. The Hawks weren't considered serious contenders during the 1980s, but they had toughness — and Wilkins was the engine. His blend of relentless scoring and airborne grace gave Atlanta its pride during those years. Every time the Hawks met the Celtics, it was clear that Wilkins wasn't stepping on the floor to bow to history. He was there to challenge it. Their playoff clashes in the late '80s were particularly intense. The 1988 Eastern Conference semifinals became one of the most celebrated duels in NBA postseason history. In Game 7 of that series, Wilkins dropped 47 points in Boston Garden, but Bird responded with 34, scoring 20 in the fourth quarter alone and pushed the Celtics over the line. Wilkins left the court without a handshake and without regret. The silence between them continued, not because of bitterness, but because neither man needed to speak to know what had just relationship Wilkins didn't forget the feeling of that playoff loss. He carried that loss like a badge, proof that he had given everything. The respect existed, buried beneath the rivalry. They never crossed personal lines, but they never tried to cross paths either. Wilkins admitted later that the lack of interaction was real. The coldness eventually thawed, but only once the jerseys were off for good. In retirement, the competition faded and what remained was respect. Time, more than words, mended the gap. "Larry and I have a very cool friendship, relationship that we see each other we always give each other respect and have a short conversations," Wilkins said. "Larry don't talk a lot, but the respect that he showed me. I remember after that seventh game he said to me, 'Man, you gave us everything. We won but we both deserve to win this game.'" That kind of acknowledgement takes time, sweat and decades of shared battles. Their connection now is down to a memory that only two men who went through it together could fully understand. Their paths would officially cross again in 1994 when Bird was holding an executive role in Boston. The Celtics signed Wilkins and he played for a single season. The respect that had formed through years of collision became more visible in those encounters and the kind of rivalry that defines legacies and burns into basketball history. And in that sense, both men walked away with something story was originally reported by Basketball Network on Aug 2, 2025, where it first appeared.
