Boston Celtics Blog – Page 35 – NBA Blog

Al Horford to sign with Celtics

Big move for Boston, landing a versatile, undersized but talented center with a nice outside shot, Al Horford. The Hawks will miss him, but they have Paul Millsap and new addition Dwight Howard up front and so it isn’t surprising that Horford is signing elsewhere. Here’s the Boston Herald blog reporting:

In certainly the most expensive free agent signing in franchise history, the Celtics will pay Horford $113 million over the next four years. According to Yahoo/The Vertical’s Adrian Wojnarowski, Horford and the Hawks finished $6 million apart on a five-year max contract offer, and were unable to close the gap.

At 7:16 p.m. Horford posted on his Twitter page “CELTICS PRIDE!!!!!!” followed by a line of 18 shamrocks. Die-hards will clearly read into that number, since the Celtics are one NBA title away from that number of championships.

Horford also painted his Twitter page and avatar in Celtics green and added “Boston Celtics star Forward/Center” to his Twitter bio.

The Celtics have a 30-year-old All-Star center in his prime, and an entirely different look to what they can now do at both ends of the floor.

Expect Celtics to chase Kevin Durant

Every team in the league would love to add a star like Kevin Durant. And although the assumption is still that he’ll remain with the Thunder, there’s no guarantee that he’ll do so. And even if he plans to stay, it makes sense to hear what some other teams have to say. It doesn’t really make sense for him to jump to a team that would blatantly be worse than the Thunder, but what if some good teams find a way to add him and another difference-making star? I still think Durant winds up sticking with OKC. Anyway, here’s the ESPN Boston blog reporting:

If Boston Celtics fans were disappointed with the lack of a big-splash trade on draft night, it was maybe for this reason only: By not adding more established NBA talent, the Celtics seemingly failed to bolster their recruiting pitch for potential free agents looking for a surefire championship contender.

But make no mistake, there’s no shortage of positives surrounding this Celtics team. And part of the reason that Boston was hesitant to make a move on draft night was to maintain the sort of financial flexibility that would allow the team to make the strongest pitch possible to free agents like Kevin Durant.

ESPN’s Marc Stein reported Saturday that the Golden State Warriors, San Antonio Spurs, and incumbent Oklahoma City Thunder would be the first three teams to meet with Durant when free agency opens on July 1. The Vertical reported that Durant’s reps were working to solidify invitations from other teams, including the Celtics.

Report: Sixers want No. 3 pick from Celtics

The 2016 Draft is tonight, and rumors will be flying around like crazy all evening. We’ll share the most interesting stories, and we especially like stories that tell a bigger tale even if the deal doesn’t happen — like what a team’s goals may be and what they hope to accomplish. Here’s ESPN.com with the latest:

The Philadelphia 76ers are increasing their efforts to acquire the No. 3 pick from the Boston Celtics in Thursday night’s NBA draft, league sources tell ESPN.

Numerous rivals described the 76ers as the most active team in circulation, with a trade involving Nerlens Noel looking more and more likely.

Isaiah Thomas recruiting Kevin Durant

The Celtics finished the regular season with a very impressive 48-34 record. They have excellent coaching, and players who compliment each others’ skills nicely. But that was probably their ceiling, as the current roster goes. The team is armed with a ton of draft picks, but most rookies have limited impact. Now, as for free agency, and really fun ideas and big goals, here’s the Boston Globe reporting:

Isaiah Thomas wants Kevin Durant on the Celtics

As Isaiah Thomas sat on his porch at home in Tacoma, Wash., last Monday after watching the Thunder lose Game 7 of the Western Conference finals to the Warriors, he had an idea.

The Celtics point guard knows, like everyone else, that Oklahoma City forward Kevin Durant will become a free agent this summer. He also knows, like everyone else, that adding Durant to a roster would have a seismic impact.

And in that moment on that porch, be thought it might be a good time to spice up the Durant-to-Boston narrative, no matter how unlikely a prospect it might be. So he grabbed his iPhone, opened Twitter, and posted Durant’s No. 35 next to a green shamrock. It was simple, but not especially subtle.

“I just wanted the world to know, that’s who I’m trying to get,” Thomas said.

Kelly Olynyk undergoes shoulder surgery

The Boston Celtics announced today that Kelly Olynyk yesterday underwent a successful right shoulder arthroscopy for recurrent subluxations. He will begin an immediate rehabilitation program and the time frame for his return to basketball activities has not yet been determined.

Olynyk, who completed his third year with the team, averaged 10.0 points, including shooting 40.5 percent from beyond the arc, 4.1 rebounds and 1.5 assists in 20.2 minutes per game during the 2015-16 regular season.

The 7’0” forward/center recorded a season-high 28 points on 11-21 (.524) shooting from the field, six rebounds, three assists, three steals and one block on December 11, 2015 against the Golden State Warriors.

Glance at upcoming Celtics offseason

Here’s ESPN Boston reporting on a Celtics team that made the most of their roster this season and have a lot of help coming in the form of multiple first round draft picks:

Armed with eight picks in June’s draft, including the Brooklyn Nets’ lottery selection headlining three first-round picks, some intriguing young low-cost talent and salary-cap flexibility, Ainge knows there’s potential for the Celtics to bring in the impact talent necessary to leap to true title contender…

The Celtics are hopeful that a young team with a core that currently includes All-Star point guard Isaiah Thomas, Jae Crowder and Avery Bradley, along with a trusted young coach in 39-year-old Brad Stevens, can create a situation where elite free agents will desire to come to Boston.

The Celtics enter the offseason armed with tradable assets — including $18 million in nonguaranteed salary — that could help it start adding pieces on draft night, regardless of how the pingpong balls bounce on May 17. Adding talent in late June could help further persuade those who are intrigued by Boston’s situation when free agency opens on July 1.

This year’s unrestricted free-agent class is expected to be headlined by the likes of Kevin Durant, Al Horford and Hassan Whiteside.

Marcus Smart fined for flopping

Boston Celtics guard Marcus Smart has been fined $5,000 by the NBA for violating the league’s anti-flopping rules during Game 3 of the Celtics’ Conference First Round series against the Atlanta Hawks.

The incident occurred with 4:32 remaining in the fourth quarter of the Celtics 111-103 victory over the Hawks last night at TD Garden.

Boston Celtics sign guard John Holland

The Boston Celtics signed guard John Holland today.

The 6’5” guard has appeared in 37 regular season contests for the NBA Development League Canton Charge this year and has averaged 16.0 points, 3.1 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 1.2 steals in 30.2 minutes per game. He shot 52.0 percent from the floor, 36.9 percent from beyond the arc and 85.2 percent from the free-throw line during the regular season. During the 2015-16 D-League Playoffs, Holland has averaged 28.5 points, 4.5 rebounds, 4.0 assists and shot 62.5 percent from the field and 58.8 percent from the three-point line.

Holland, the 40th Gatorade D-League call-up this season, was named the America East Conference Player of the Year as a Boston University senior when he led the Terriers to the 2011 NCAA Tournament. He finished his collegiate career as just the second player in America East history with at least 2,000 points, 700 rebounds and 200 steals.

A native of the Bronx, New York, Holland has played professionally in France, Spain and Turkey, and was in training camp with the San Antonio Spurs in 2014.

Celtics sign Coty Clarke to second 10-day contract

The Boston Celtics have signed Coty Clarke to a second 10-day contract.

The 6’7” forward has appeared in two games for the Celtics since signing his initial 10-day contract on March 7. Clarke has totaled three points and one rebound in three minutes of game action, but the team seems to like him enough to at least keep him on the squad for another 10 days.

When Clarke was recalled from the Maine Red Claws of the NBA Development League he was averaging 16.1 points, 7.5 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 1.2 steals in 26.0 minutes per game. Clarke has also appeared in one game for the Red Claws on assignment from the Celtics where he recorded 18 points, five rebounds, two assists and one steal in just under 20 minutes against Erie on March 10.

With a 39-29 record this season, the Celtics are tied with the Heat and Hornets for the 4th best winning percentage in the Eastern conference.

Unclear how long Jae Crowder will be out

In announcing that Jae Crowder will be sidelined by a high ankle sprain, Boston Celtics head coach Brad Stevens suggested the fourth-year swingman would miss “a couple of weeks minimum.”

It’s the “minimum” part that left some Boston fans a bit uneasy. While even two weeks is a lengthy period for the team to navigate without possibly their best two-way player, a small sample of recent high-ankle sprains across the NBA suggests a recovery timeline that trends closer to 4-6 weeks.

— ESPN Boston