Latest news with #BostonCeltics
USA Today
an hour ago
- Sport
- USA Today
What have we learned from the Boston Celtics first week of Summer League?
The Boston Celtics are 2-1 over the opening week of Las Vegas Summer League. Jordan Walsh and Baylor Scheierman headline the Sin City Celtics roster, with recently acquired rookies Max Shulga, Amari Williams and Hugo Gonzalez also part of the roster. However, it's been the late addition of Charles Bassey who has stolen the show with some high-level performances. Given the Celtics' position as a re-tooling roster, there are some additional incentives to impress while in Las Vegas. Joe Mazzulla has gaps that need to be filled in his rotation. As such, we're seeing some highly competitive performances from multiple members of Matt Reynolds' roster. Unfortunately for Walsh, that competitive spirit led him to being ejected against the Miami Heat on Monday, July 14. In a July 15 episode of the "Taylor Talks Celtics" podcast, hosts Adam Taylor and Billy Calabrese discussed the Celtics Summer League performances so far, dissecting which players have stood out, who has underwhelmed and what they're hoping to see over the final few contests. You can watch the full podcast episode by clicking on the embedded video above. Watch the "Taylor Talks Celtics" podcast on: YouTube: Website:
USA Today
2 hours ago
- Sport
- USA Today
Boston Celtics \
Jaylen Brown and Derrick White have both been floated in trade rumors throughout the opening weeks of the NBA offseason. The Boston Celtics have been retooling their roster following the Achilles injury that Jayson Tatum sustained during the playoffs against the New York Knicks. Jrue Holiday and Kristaps Porzingis have already been moved on via trade. Luke Kornet left in free agency, signing with the San Antonio Spurs, while Al Horford is yet to decide on his future. During a recent appearance on CLNS Media's "The Garden Report" podcast, NBA Insider Jake Fischer revealed that Boston "never really planned" on moving Brown or White via a trade. As such, White and Brown will be the top two options in Joe Mazzulla's rotation next season. "I think all along there was never really a plan to move Jaylen or Derrick," Fischer said. "So I don't think anything got close, and I don't think they were really willing to move those guys either. Like, you would have had to make a trade—Desmond Bane, Mikal Bridges–type of offer—for Derrick White. And honestly, for Jaylen—as great as he is—I think a lot of teams look at his salary number and go: 'Why would you be paying what Boston values him at, for that contract?' Tatum won't be on the injury report forever. At worst, he will return to the rotation for the 2026-27 season. Therefore, trading away other top-level stars for a one-season gap year doesn't make sense. Sure, the Celtics have some cap space issues, but there are other ways to approach getting under the second apron. Stevens achieved that goal momentarily, before Josh Minott put the team marginally back over the second luxury tax line. Stevens has made some tough decisions this summer and will likely need to make a few more in the coming weeks and months. Nevertheless, unless a mammoth deal crosses the Celtics' desk, Brown and White should be part of the lineup this season, and in the years to come when Boston is back to contending for championships. Watch the "Taylor Talks Celtics" podcast on: YouTube: Website:
USA Today
6 hours ago
- Business
- USA Today
Adam Silver once called NBA expansion manifest destiny but timeline is murky
Adam Silver once called NBA expansion manifest destiny. It was Dec. 21, 2020, at the start of the 2020-21 season and shortly after the conclusion of the 2019-20 season in the Orlando bubble amid the COVID-19 pandemic. But even manifest destiny comes with a murky timeline. Nearly five years later, the NBA is not ready for imminent expansion. The commissioner wasn't wrong then. There will be NBA expansion at some point. There's just not a definitive process today. Silver told reporters on Tuesday, July 15, that the NBA will form a committee to explore the financial and on-court competitive issues around expansion and go from there. He called owners' appetite for expansion 'more as curiosity and more let's do the work. "We also have this greater obligation to expand, if we do so, in a very deliberate fashion in a way that makes sense holistically for the league," Silver said. Why – when there are markets, notably Seattle and Las Vegas, clamoring for an NBA franchise – has the NBA not moved faster on expansion? To start, the league has been deliberate in its actions. Even when Silver made that 'manifest destiny' comment in 2020, he said expansion was not on the front-burner of the league's agenda. In those five years, much has changed financially, especially with skyrocketing franchise valuations and the influx of money from the league's 11-year, $76 billion TV deal that starts with the 2025-26 season. The Boston Celtics have been sold on a $6.1 billion valuation, and with the way that sale is structured, there is a strong possibility that figure increases. The Los Angeles Lakers are being sold on a $10 billion valuation. The NBA's committee on expansion needs to determine the cost of an expansion franchise. Will it be $6 billion? $7 billion? Then, owners need to decide if that infusion of money is worth it in the long term because as Silver noted with expansion, "you are selling equity, and if for every additional team you add, you're diluting the economics of the current league." The league would have to split its revenue with two extra teams, reducing the amount for each team. Here is crude mathematics: If 30 team owners are splitting $10 billion a year, that's $333.3 million per team. Divide $10 billion by 32, that's $312.5 million per team. That $20 million a year difference over several seasons adds up quickly. It's far more complicated than that, as Silver noted, but you get the idea. "It's just one other factor we have to look at as we are trying to think what is the value of expansion, what does it mean to dilute the existing equity and how additive is this potentially to the league by adding an additional team," Silver said. Adding two teams also means adding another 36 players which adds to Silver's concern about spreading rosters too thin. "How it could potentially affect competition around the league, if we were to expand. How you would stock those teams, all those related issues," Silver said. Silver also mentioned another form of expansion – the creation of an NBA-backed league in Europe, which potentially creates another revenue stream. "The fact that we would be creating new basketball teams in Europe is related," Silver said. "It's separate but related to this notion around building additional organizations in the league. … Part of what we look at is how can we continue to grow this game on a global basis and how can we take advantage of the NBA brand to do that." Silver also mentioned the league needs to figure out where local broadcasting is headed as regional sports networks have struggled. "We would be malpracticing if we didn't figure out how local and regional television is going to work before expanding. … Many of our teams have now taken significant cuts in regional television," he said. Las Vegas, Seattle (or some other city), it's not your time for expansion. Not yet anyway. There is one other option to monitor, and that's relocation of a current franchise. That would come with a relocation fee that is less than a fee for an expansion team but still splits revenue among 30 teams. "A lot of analysis still needs to be done," Silver said. "Nothing has been predetermined one way or the other, and without any specific timeline. We're going to be as thorough as possible and look at all the potential issues."
USA Today
9 hours ago
- Sport
- USA Today
Boston Celtics jersey history No. 27 - Rich Niemann (1968)
The Boston Celtics have had players suiting up in a total of 68 different jersey numbers (and have three others not part of any numerical series) since their founding at the dawn of the Basketball Association of America (BAA -- the league that would become today's NBA), worn by well over 500 players in the course of Celtics history. To commemorate the players who wore those numbers, Celtics Wire is covering the entire history of jersey numbers and the players who sported them since the founding of the team. With 25 of those jerseys now retired to honor some of the greatest Celtics to wear those jerseys, there is a lot of history to cover. And for today's article, we will continue with the fifth of 13 people to wear the No. 27, Boston big man alum Rich Niemann. After ending his college career at St. Louis, Niemann was picked up with the 42nd overall selection of the 1968 NBA draft by the Detroit Pistons. The St. Louis, Missouri native also played for the Milwaukee Bucks before he was cut and claimed on waivers by Boston in 1969. His stay with the team would span just six games before he'd be cut again, heading to the ABA. During his time suiting up for the Celtics, Niemann wore only jersey No. 27 and put up 1.0 points and as many rebounds per game. All stats and data courtesy of Basketball Reference.
USA Today
10 hours ago
- Sport
- USA Today
What has Las Vegas Summer League taught us about the Boston Celtics rookies?
What has Las Vegas Summer League taught us about the Boston Celtics rookies? The Sin City Celtics are close to done with their slate of four games in the great state of Nevada this summer, and we have seen them win two of those three contests despite some uneven play from the three incoming rookies, Hugo Gonzalez, Amari Williams, and Max Shulga. To get a better idea of how the newest members of the Celtics played in Las Vegas, what we should expect from them moving forward, and who else has a shot (if anyone) of making the roster for the coming 2025-26 season, two-thirds of the hosts of "Havlicek Stole the Pod," Justin Quinn and Alex Goldberg, (Daniel Donabedian is off until next pod) convened with the cohost of the CLNS Media "How Bout Them Celtics!" podcast, Jack Simone, to get up to speed on Shulga, Williams, and Gonzalez on the Summer Celtics, whether Charles Bassey makes the team, whether Jordan Walsh getting ejected was bad, and plenty more. We even get caught up on where we think Al Horford will end up next season, what we think on the Damian Lillard to the Celtics chatter, and more, so don't miss out.
