Boston Celtics

For a man who is known for his outrageous suits, Craig Sager may have just outdone himself with this one. Here are a few of the comments about it from Twitter. Whoever makes Craig Sager's suits should be sued — Trip Lee (@TripLee116) May 25, 2013 Craig Sager has some really bad suits, but this Neapolitan ice cream looking one is the worst. — Danielle Hobeika (@dhobeika) May 25, 2013 Craig Sager's jacket tonight appears to have been selected from the Patch Adams collection. Whoa. — Matt Winer (@matt_winer) May 25, 2013 "@enjoyy0self: RT @king_omar_: Lmaoo Craig sager don't give a f*ck" lookin like a big piece of peppermint ribbon candy — Truth4Life (@CGLoyalist) May 25, 2013 When TNT executives told Craig Sager to go H.A.M. on the sidelines, I don't think they meant for him to dress like he's at an Easter pageant — Not Bill Walton (@NotBillWalton) May 25, 2013 Craig Sager looks like one of those backgammon tables in casinos. — Rey-Rey (@TheNoLookPass) May 25, 2013 And now a word from KG: [Discuss on CG Forums!]

It has been widely reported that the Celtics are working out possible draft picks this week. The workouts scheduled for Friday and Saturday feature mostly point guards and centers, two positions the Celtics could use some help. The Celtics never really had a back up point guard for Rondo last season and after he went down, it was point guard by committee of assorted shooting guards. Doc and Danny both expressed hopes that Terrence Williams could be that back up point guard that they were lacking, but his legal problems this off season will definitely put his status for next season into question. The Celtics have just one pick in this draft, the 16th pick in the first round. However, Danny has said that he's open to all options including trading up, trading down and trading out. He's also been known to buy picks like when the Celtics got Rondo and Bill Walker. So, it's not surprising that he has interviewed players like Nerlens Noel who will be one of the top picks and that he is working out players who aren't expected to go in the first round. Here's a look at some of the players reported to be working out for the Celtics this week. Point Guards Myck Kabongo Point Guard 6'-3", 180 lbs College: Texas Age: 20 Hometown: Toronto, Canada Class: Sophomore Reach: 8'-2" Wingspan: 6'-6 Max Vert: 33.5 Chad Ford has Kabongo at #48 on his big board and projects that he will go late second round to undrafted. According to Draft Express, Kabongo is first and foremost a pass first point guard. He has very good natural point guard instincts, displays a consistently high basketball IQ, and is extremely unselfish. Combine that with his excellent court vision and these are extremely promising qualities for a point guard prospect to have, particularly one at such a young age. Positives: Pure point guard Excellent floor vision/leadership Makes very few mistakes Good athlete with quick first step Great first step to the basket Good shooter with range out to the 3-point line Committed defender Great kid Negatives: A bit undersized Sat out most of the year because of NCAA sanctions Shane Larkin Point Guard 6'-0", 171 lbs College: Miami Age: 20 Hometown: Orlando, FL Class: Sophomore Reach: 7'-6" Wingspan: 5'-11" Max Vert: 44 Larkin is ranked #19 by Chad Ford and projected to go in the mid first round. Larkin's claim to fame in the combine was the fact that he came in with the second highest max vertical leap in the history of the combine. He goes #21 to the Jazz on Ford's mock draft 3.0. Positives: Super quick point guard Excellent shooter with range Pesky defender who racks up steals Sees the floor well Aggressive Negatives: Undersized for his position Rarely gets to the free throw line Struggles as a finisher Phil Pressey Point Guard 6'-0", 177 lbs College: Missouri Age: 22 Hometown: Dallas, TX Class: Junior Reach: 7'-8" Wingspan: 6'-2" Max Vert: 38.5 Ranked #46 on Ford's Big Board and projected to go late second round to undrafted. Positives: Pass first point guard Very quick Super high motor Very confident Excellent leader Negatives: Undersized for his position Needs to improve his jump shot Pierre Jackson Point Guard 5'-11", 176 lbs College: Baylor Age: 21 Hometown: Las Vegas, NV Class: Senior Reach: 7'-6" Wingspan: 5'-10" Max Vert: 42 Jackson is ranked #30 on Ford's Big Board and is a projected late first round pick. Jackson was the best player at the recent New Jersey workouts. Not only did he show off his elite quickness and athletic ability, but he also showed off his floor general skills. He goes #25 to the Clippers on Ford's mock draft 3.0 Positives: Quick, speedy guard Good scoring instincts Explosive leaper, 44-inch vertical Solid shooter, with 3-point range Pesky defender Negatives: Can be prone to turnovers Undersized for his position Is he a

Doc is coming back until he says he's not coming back, but what if he says he's not coming back? Well, it sounds like there's a reason why neither Doc nor anyone on the team would come right out and say with authority that he's coming back next season. Because he still has to make up his mind. Sources: Doc’s return to Celts no sure thing | Boston Herald There still is the possibility — stress possibility — Rivers will choose to walk away from his contract to coach the Celts. A source close to the situation, however, insists it remains far more likely he will return. The word as expressed to us is that it is "90-10" that Rivers will continue on a contract that has three years and $21 million remaining. If he leaves the Celtics, it will not be with the intent of coaching another team. Sounds like he won't be coaching for anyone else next year, and the odds are still that he'll be back, but we just don't know until we know for sure. At this point I have to wonder what's holding back his decision. Is it purely a personal preference thing? Or is it more situational? Like for instance, if Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett are not on the team next year, does that make Doc less likely to return? If so, why on Earth did he sign a 5 year extension? And if Doc wanted to sit out a year or more, who would replace him at the helm? I've watched other teams flounder around with coaching searches and I have to say I do not want to jump into that kiddie pool filled with who-knows-what. So now we can officially add Doc to the "will he be back" watch - if he wasn't already on there before.

Well, it sounds like there's a reason why neither Doc nor anyone on the team would come right out and say with authority that he's coming back next season. Because he still has to make up his mind. Sources: Doc’s return to Celts no sure thing | Boston Herald There still is the possibility — stress possibility — Rivers will choose to walk away from his contract to coach the Celts. A source close to the situation, however, insists it remains far more likely he will return. The word as expressed to us is that it is "90-10" that Rivers will continue on a contract that has three years and $21 million remaining. If he leaves the Celtics, it will not be with the intent of coaching another team. Sounds like he won't be coaching for anyone else next year, and the odds are still that he'll be back, but we just don't know until we know for sure. At this point I have to wonder what's holding back his decision. Is it purely a personal preference thing? Or is it more situational? Like for instance, if Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett are not on the team next year, does that make Doc less likely to return? If so, why on Earth did he sign a 5 year extension? And if Doc wanted to sit out a year or more, who would replace him at the helm? I've watched other teams flounder around with coaching searches and I have to say I do not want to jump into that kiddie pool filled with who-knows-what. So now we can officially add Doc to the "will he be back" watch - if he wasn't already on there before.

Much of the Celtics talk this off season so far has been centered on whether Doc will return. As he does every year, he left the question open after the Celtics were eliminated from the playoffs so that he could take time off to unwind and consider his options. Doc's absence at the draft combine last week caused a stir and led to more than a few rumors. Danny explained to those asking that Doc had injured his hamstring and so was unable to come to the combine. As the questions continued, Danny finally said outright that Doc was coming back. Speaking to Gary Washburn of the Globe, Danny confirmed that Doc would return for his 10th season as Celtics coach. "Yeah (he'll be back), Doc and I are talking about our team next year," Ainge said. "(No suspense) from my perspective. We've got a great coach. We've got a coach everybody would love to have and he's got three years left on his contract and I think Doc likes Boston, too.Coaches get tired, though. It's a hard job. "You guys are the only one (who made it an issue)." Danny wasn't kidding that everyone would love to have Doc. There were the rumors early that the Clippers were making a play to get him. This week, the rumor was that the Nets asked for permission to talk to Doc and were refused permission according to Jackie MacMullan on ESPN Boston. In the same article Danny also reiterated his belief that Doc was returning to coach the Celtics. Boston Celtics president of basketball operations Danny Ainge denied the Brooklyn Nets permission to speak to Doc Rivers about their vacant coaching position, team and league sources confirmed to ESPNBoston.com. Reached late Thursday, Ainge refused to comment on the Nets' interest in Rivers and reiterated that he expects him back on the Celtics' bench next season. "Doc has told me he's coming back," Ainge said bluntly. "I talk to him almost every day about our team and what we are going to do moving forward." Jackie Mac's article also mentioned an offer that Doc received last season that he briefly considered for obvious reasons. Doc started his coaching career with the Magic. His home is in Orlando and that had to be tempting. But, again, he chose to remain with the Celtics as their coach. Last season, the Orlando Magic offered Rivers the job of team president, which would have entailed everything from schmoozing with corporate sponsors to running the front office. Though he had previously insisted he had "little to no interest" in running a franchise, the financial windfall and unilateral power that would come with such a position (not to mention the proximity to his home base) gave him some brief pause. Ultimately, Rivers rebuffed the Magic and determined he wasn't done coaching. This week, Celtics owner Wyc Grousbeck was on with Felger and Mazz and he also expressed his thoughts that he expects Doc to return for this season. "Our indications are that Doc's coming back," Grousbeck said. "Everybody gets time to unwind and decompress," Grousbeck said. "And I expect Doc is gonna help Danny with draft workouts, I expect he'll be in the war room June 27 when all the draft and trades, if any, are made, and the over the free agency period a week after that." Ok, Danny and Wyc seem certain that Doc is coming back, but there is one problem. We haven't heard it from Doc and that leaves some questions. And, it brings us to the article in today's Herald where they quote sources saying that Doc's return isn't a sure thing. Despite the Celtics’ strong desire to put the matter behind them, Doc Rivers’ immediate future with the club has still not been decided. The word as expressed to us is that it is “90-10” that Rivers will continue on a contract that has three years and $21 million remaining. If he leaves the Celtics, it will not be with the intent of coaching another team. Doc is now in Boston. Hopefully he puts an end to all the speculation that is swirling around wheth

Cap space and draft picks is everyone's favorite answer but how do you trade the heart and soul of your team away and get little to no value in return ? well you don't. you have to find the right combination of teams that want to win now with decent draft picks. Larry Sanders is the closest thing to KG anyone is going to find for the next 20 years and the bucks are facing a lot of very difficult and daunting questions. The clippers will do anything to please Chris Paul (can't really blame them there) and the Pelicans (formerly known as the hornets) have a high draft pick that can't really help them contend for a title so the ideal situation would be for them to trade it for a building block to couple with Anthony Davis which leads me to this : http://espn.go.com/nba/tradeMachine?tradeId=nlerp6c with the Pelicans giving Boston their #6 overall pick it gives the C's 2 first round draft picks to go along with a little bit of cap relief and some decent pieces to build around PG: Rondo/ Dennis Schroeder (# 16 pick)/ Jet SG: Avery Bradly/ Victor Oladipo (# 6 pick)/ C Lee SF: Jeff Green/ Brandon Bass/ T-will PF: Ryan Anderson/ Jared Sullinger C: Larry Sanders/ S. Randolf / C Wilcox/ Fab Melo Cap space and draft picks is everyone's favorite answer but how do you trade the heart and soul of your team away and get little to no value in return ? well you don't. you have to find the right combination of teams that want to win now with decent draft picks. Larry Sanders is the closest thing to KG anyone is going to find for the next 20 years and the bucks are facing a lot of very difficult and daunting questions. The clippers will do anything to please Chris Paul (can't really blame them there) and the Pelicans (formerly known as the hornets) have a high draft pick that can't really help them contend for a title so the ideal situation would be for them to trade it for a building block to couple with Anthony Davis which leads me to this : http://espn.go.com/nba/tradeMachine?tradeId=nlerp6c with the Pelicans giving Boston their #6 overall pick it gives the C's 2 first round draft picks to go along with a little bit of cap relief and some decent pieces to build around PG: Rondo/ Dennis Schroeder (# 16 pick)/ Jet SG: Avery Bradly/ Victor Oladipo (# 6 pick)/ C Lee SF: Jeff Green/ Brandon Bass/ T-will PF: Ryan Anderson/ Jared Sullinger C: Larry Sanders/ S. Randolf / C Wilcox/ Fab Melo

Acquiring any player, whether it’s via trade, free agency, or the draft, comes with an air of uncertainty. The NBA has no guaranteed covenant and all sales are final, no matter how talented, proven, or productive the player may have been in year’s past. But these memories—especially recent ones—often clouds the judgment of a fan who thinks of players as actual puzzle pieces as opposed to emotional human beings. We might have a good idea how a player will respond to his new surroundings, but we’re never 100% sure. No matter who we’re talking about. When Jason Terry signed with the Boston Celtics, most (including myself) thought they were getting the second best offensive player from the 2011 NBA champions. Someone who knew what it took to defeat the Miami Heat, and a player who could knock down a PUJIT (pull up jumper in transition) with the consistency of a functioning automatic car window. The narrative behind the signing immediately made Terry “Ray Allen’s replacement,” which was half true. The similarities were on par with the differences, but while Terry wasn’t as prolific as Allen from behind the arc, his addition projected to add a brand new dimension to Boston’s offense. Terry could set up a pick-and-roll. He could pull up off the dribble. He could catch and shoot from almost anywhere on the floor with a legitimate chance of seeing the ball go in. He could attack in the mid-range and be (somewhat of) a threat below the foul line. Unfortunately, the previous paragraph is written entirely in past tense because over the course of 79 regular season games then six in the playoffs, none of its sentences could be used to accurately describe what Jason Terry brought to Boston this season. Let’s paint the picture by comparing how Terry scored the ball in his last season with Dallas with his first season in Boston. For starters, his independent action was drastically altered. On the Mavericks, 49.9% of Terry’s made shots were unassisted. Last season that number dropped to 23.1% (for those wondering if having a ball-dominant point guard like Rajon Rondo was the culprit for this drop, 28.2% of Terry’s shots were unassisted after the All-Star break, long after Rondo hurt his knee). Terry was a player who needed the ball in his hands to succeed, yet having the ball in his hands for any purpose other than to shoot didn’t happen nearly enough this season. Age and natural decline surely did their part in Terry’s overall declining numbers, but he wasn’t the same player in part because he wasn’t used the same way. Last year with Dallas, 25.8% of Terry’s offense was from pick-and-roll action, with 25% coming from spot-up shots and just 7.7% coming with him running off a screen, according to Synergy Sports. On paper the fit was there for Boston to replicate some of the pick-and-roll action that Terry had so much success with in Dallas. There, Dirk Nowitzki was a major factor, with defenses choosing to stay home on the big German for fear of giving up a wide open shot after a hook pass. Once he signed with Boston the thinking was that Terry could just do the same thing with either Kevin Garnett or Brandon Bass, two forwards who hardly ever miss wide open shots from the mid-range. But for whatever reason that never happened. For the season, only 14.8% of Terry’s offense came as the ball-handler on pick-and-rolls, per Synergy Sports. Spot-up shots were the bulk of how he found himself engaged in Boston’s offense, as they took up nearly a third of his production (30.8%); Terry found 18.4% of his offense resulting from running off screens, which wasn’t ever something he specialized in. I guess what I’m trying to say here is this: not all the blame should be placed on Terry and Terry alone for his disappointing season. Boston’s coaching staff didn’t place him often enough in places that emphasize his strengths. Which begs to ask why did they sign him in the first place? Was the plan all along to simply pretend Terry could just plug ri

The offseason is here for the Boston Celtics, and in just a couple of months, they will begin the process of putting next year’s team together.  We will take a look at the current Celtics and try to figure out what to do with each of them.  We continue today with the non-guaranteed players. Photo By: Matthew West/Boston Herald The Celtics, desperate to fill out their roster after a spate of injures, dipped into the Chinese league for Shavlik Randolph, DJ White, and Terrence Williams.  Randolph made a big splash as hustler and rebounder while Williams emerged as a potential back up point guard whose size and instinctive abilities drew quick praise from Kevin Garnett and Doc Rivers.  DJ White was… well… DJ White. But all three got multi-year, non-guaranteed contracts, giving the Celtics about three guys on the roster right now that make a combined $3.1 million. What happens with these guys?  They’re all in very unique situations, but the financial implications are essentially the same.  So they all get lumped together as we close out this series. Trade them Part of the reason you give these guys multi-year, non-guaranteed deals is to have some waive-able money that you can throw into trades.  E’Twaun Moore’s deal helped make the Courtney Lee deal happen, so you never know what DJ White’s deal ($1,027,424) could do for a team looking to shed a little payroll.  Throw him and Terrence Williams ($947,907) into a deal and you’ve got $2 million in salary a team can dump if it’s desperately trying to get under a tax or cap line.   Toss in Randolph’s $1,106,942, and Jordan Crawford’s $2,162,419, and suddenly you’ve got the ability to bring back a mid-level guy for four players you only picked up in desperation.   In that scenario, the Celtics could return a little less salary than what they gave up while the other team could buy out Crawford, waive the other three, and save itself somewhere around $4 million. Waive them You can very easily save yourself some money by letting these guys go on your own.   How much you save depends on when the player is waived.   Terrence Williams’ contract is structured slightly differently that White’s or Randolph’s.  Williams gets $200,000 guaranteed if he’s not cut before June 30.  The Celtics are watching his legal issues closely, and if they extend beyond June 30, the team might just decide to save the whole $947,907 and cut him before then.  Williams gets $300,000 guaranteed if he makes it past September 1.  The whole contract is guaranteed if he’s not waived by October 31. White and Randolph are fully unguaranteed if they’re not waived on or before August 1.  So the Celtics can keep them through the summer league and figure it out then. Keep them  This is obviously a case-by-case basis.  It depends on Williams’ legal issues, and Randolph/White’s performances this summer and their ability to grasp the system.  Randolph seems to be far ahead of White, but they could both prove to be cheap size on a team that need it.  If Williams is cleared, he becomes a candidate for the back-up point guard role.  And again, the total cost for these guys is just north of $3 million, so if the Celtics feel one or all of these guys can be effective (and problem-free), then they’re very cap-friendly options. So to recap… The Celtics could package these guys as waive-able, cost-savers in a trade to a team looking to shave salary The team could save a few million by waiving them before their various guarantee-dates They could keep one or more of them to be cheap contributors or end-of-bench emergency guys My Take DJ White:  Unless he shows up and dominates the summer league, he’s done.  There’s no need to guarantee a guy a million bucks if he’s not going to get off the bench when the team needs size. Terrence Williams:  Before his legal problems, I was excited for the possibil

Former Miami point guard Shane Larkine, one of 6 PGs who will workout for the Celtics this weekend.The Boston Celtics plan to work out 12 NBA draft prospects, including 6 point guards, between Friday and Saturday, as first reported by Baxter Holmes of the Boston Globe.According to Holmes, the list of players includes Steven Adams (Pittsburg), Colton Iverson (Colorado State), Jeff Withey (Kansas), Greg Echenique (Creighton), Phil Pressey (Missouri), Myck Kabongo (Texas), Peyton Siva (Louisville), Pierre Jackson (Baylor), and Shane Larkin (Miami).Danny Ainge and the Boston Celtics own the 16th pick in the 2013 NBA Draft and are without a second round selection, but something tells me Maine Red Claws team president Bill Ryan Jr. will be in attendance.Though Adams, Withey, Larkin, and even Jackson (climbing up draft boards, according to Chad Ford) are potential first-round draft picks, all but Larkin seem destined for the D-League for the foreseeable future.It seems possible that Withey could carve out a role for himself as a defensive-minded center, but the other big guys  appear to be project players (Adams and Iverson), or a poor man’s Ronny Turiaf (Echenrique).  Pressey and Siva are both undersized, turnover-prone point guards who, at best, are streaky shooters. There’s a name for those types of players: D-Leaguers. Kabongo is a correct-sized, turnover prone point guard who can’t shoot.Larkin is an intriguing prospect, a dynamic athlete who ran the fasted 3/4 court sprint and jumped the highest at the NBA combine and is a master of the pick-and-roll game so prevalent in the NBA. Still, the Celtics, lest we forget, have one of the best point guard in the league, on one of the best contracts, who hates to come out of games.  I don’t see Ainge drafting a back up point guard, unless Boston somehow adds a second-round pick. It’d be a waste of the 16th pick, when the Celtics could use a big body to shore up their frontcourt.

Sports Illustrated’s Chris Mannix has the Celtics selecting Lousiville’s Gorgui Dieng in his initial mock draft: With or without the core of Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce — two players who may not be in Boston when training camp opens — the Celtics need size. Dieng, 23, has a defensive reputation (he was the Big East Defensive Player of the Year last season after swatting 2.5 shots and pulling down 9.4 rebounds per game), but his offensive game is better than most think. Dieng is a strong passer with a decent mid-range jump shot. Scouts also say he is one of the best screen men in the draft. With all due respect to Shavlik Randolph, DJ White, Chris Wilcox and Fab Melo, I endorse the selection of Dieng. He’s long, athletic and possesses a motor on the boards. It doesn’t matter that Dieng is one of the best screen men in the draft, once a big man puts on the Celtics uniform he becomes a target for cheap illegal screen calls. Media mock drafts have the Celtics selecting Dennis Schroeder (PG), Kelly Olynyk (C) and Michael Carter-Williams (PG).