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Celtics trade Brandan Wright to Suns

Celtics trade Brandan Wright to Suns

The Phoenix Suns have acquired forward Brandan Wright from the Boston Celtics in exchange for a protected 2015 first round draft pick via Minnesota.

The Suns have also waived forward Tony Mitchell. Mitchell was acquired by Phoenix in a trade with the Detroit Pistons on December 24 last month.

Phoenix dealt to Boston its right to Minnesota’s protected 2015 first round pick. The pick is top-12 protected in 2015 and 2016, and if the first round pick has not been conveyed by 2016, Minnesota will instead convey its second round picks in 2016 and 2017.

“I have known Brandan since he entered the NBA in 2007,” said President of Basketball Operations Lon Babby. “He is a person of the highest character who will fit perfectly into our burgeoning Suns culture. We look forward to welcoming him to Phoenix.”

“We are excited to add Brandan to our roster,” said General Manager Ryan McDonough. “His length, athleticism and finishing ability make him a great fit for our style of play. He is one of the most efficient scorers in the league and his shot blocking ability will help anchor our defense.”

The 6-10, 210-pound Wright is averaging 7.5 points on 72.4 percent shooting, 3.6 rebounds and 1.3 blocks in 35 games with the Celtics and Dallas Mavericks in this his seventh NBA season. In 58 games with Dallas last season, Wright averaged career-highs of 9.1 points, 67.7 percent shooting (224-of-331), 4.2 rebounds and 18.6 minutes. Wright’s 67.7 percent mark from the field in 2013-14 was the highest mark in the NBA among players with at least 100 field goal attempts for the season.

The eighth overall pick of the 2007 NBA Draft out of the University of North Carolina, Wright holds career averages of 7.1 points on 60.9 percent shooting, 3.6 rebounds, 1.0 blocks and 15.8 minutes in 320 games with Golden State, New Jersey, Dallas and Boston. Wright played in eight games with the Celtics after being acquired in a trade with Dallas on December 18 last month.

With Wright (3.82 blocks per 48 minutes in 2014-15) and center Alex Len (3.77 blocks per 48 minutes), the Suns now have two of the league’s top five in blocks per 48 minutes this season among players who qualify for the blocks per game leaderboard.

The Suns’ roster remains at 15 players.

Rajon Rondo says he had not played defense for several seasons

Here’s Boston.com reporting on former Celtics point guard Rajon Rondo, who now plays for the Dallas Mavericks:

Prior to his season-high 29-point performance Friday night against the Celtics, former team captain Rajon Rondo admitted to the media that his defense hadn’t been there during the last two years of rebuilding in Boston.

While addressing a question about the Mavericks’ improved defense since his arrival in a trade in mid-December, Rondo acknowledged what many Celtics fans had seen lately: his defensive effort was not his focus most nights in green.

“I haven’t played defense in a couple of years,” Rondo explained. “I’ve been able to hide it a lot with Avery Bradley on the ball. He’s helped me out, the young guy. But here [in Dallas] they expect me to play defense. And in the West, if you don’t play defense you’ll get embarrassed every night at the point guard position. I took it as a challenge [for] myself.”

Celtics rookie James Young making progress

Here’s ESPN Boston reporting on a young Celtic:

Boston Celtics coach Brad Stevens continues to suggest that rookie James Young has made the sort of progress that could help him fight his way into the team’s already overcrowded rotation sooner than later.

Young was back with the team Thursday after scoring 25 points during his latest one-game stint with the Maine Red Claws of the NBA Development League. The No. 17 pick in June’s draft has been slowed at times this season by injuries — whether it was the pre-draft car accident that kept him out of summer league, a hamstring injury that kept him out of most of the preseason, or a shoulder injury that recently shelved him for two weeks. But Stevens said Young is making progress behind the scenes and positioning himself for potential playing time. Now he just needs an opportunity.

“I think that he’s really getting better,” said Stevens.

With Rondo gone, Marcus Smart gets first start for Celtics

Here’s ESPN Boston reporting on the post-Rajon Rondo Celtics:

Boston Celtics rookie Marcus Smart drew his first career start in Sunday’s game against the Miami Heat.

Three days after the Celtics traded All-Star point guard Rajon Rondo to the Dallas Mavericks, Smart shuffled into the starting role. Evan Turner, who started Friday’s game, will come off the bench, where coach Brad Stevens thinks he can better utilize Turner’s versatility.

Smart has appeared in only 11 games this season while battling ankle and Achilles injuries.

Celtics trade Rajon Rondo to Mavericks

The Dallas Mavericks announced today that they have acquired four-time All-Star Rajon Rondo and center Dwight Powell from the Boston Celtics in exchange for center Brandan Wright, forward Jae Crowder, guard Jameer Nelson, a 2015 first round pick and a 2016 second round pick.

Rondo (6-1, 186) is an eight-year guard who has spent his entire professional career with the Celtics. In addition to being a four-time NBA All-Star (2010, 2011, 2012, 2013), Rondo has been named All-NBA Defensive Team four times (2009, 2010, 2011, 2012), All-NBA Third Team (2012) and was the starting point guard on Boston’s 2008 NBA Championship team. He has played in 527 career games (474 starts) and holds averages of 11.0 points, 8.5 assists, 4.7 rebounds, 1.9 steals and 32.9 minutes per game.

The veteran point guard also has extensive postseason experience having competed in two NBA Finals and starting each of his 92 career Playoff games. Rondo holds postseason career averages of 14.5 points, 9.2 assists, 6.0 rebounds, 2.0 steals and 38.5 minutes per game.

Rondo currently leads the NBA in assists with 10.8 assists per game. He led the league in that category in both 2011-12 (11.7 apg) and 2012-13 (11.1 apg). He also holds several Celtics’ franchise assists records including single-season total with 794 assists (2009-10), assists per game with 11.7 apg (2011-12) and assists in an NBA Playoff game with 20 (2011).

The Louisville, Ky., native was originally the 21st pick of the 2006 NBA Draft after declaring as an early-entry candidate out the University of Kentucky. In just his freshman season as a Wildcat, Rondo set Kentucky’s all-time single-season steals mark with 87 steals in 34 games.

Powell (6-11, 240) is a rookie center who hails from Toronto, Canada and has seen action in five games this season with averages of 1.8 points, 0.2 rebounds and 1.8 minutes per game.

A former Stanford University standout, Powell was drafted by the Charlotte Hornets with the 45th overall pick in the 2014 NBA Draft. He was originally traded from Charlotte to Cleveland before being acquired by the Celtics in a late-September trade that landed him in Boston, along with John Lucas III, Malcolm Thomas and Erik Murphy, while Keith Bogans was sent to the Cavaliers.

As a senior at Stanford, Powell was named All-Pac-12 First Team while averaging 14.0 points and 6.9 rebounds per game. He was also named Pac-12 Scholar Athlete of the Year.

Celtics rookie James Young dealing with shoulder issue

Here’s ESPN Boston with a Celtics report:

Boston Celtics rookie James Young was undergoing testing Thursday to determine the severity of a right shoulder subluxation sustained in an NBA Development League appearance Wednesday night with the Maine Red Claws.

Young injured the shoulder after absorbing contact from Drew Gordon while trying to corral a pass near midcourt late in the third quarter of a game against the Delaware 87ers. Young was attended to by a trainer on the court before walking off the floor while still clutching the right (non-shooting) shoulder.

Rajon Rondo brushes off criticism

Here’s ESPN Boston reporting on the Celtics:

Boston Celtics point guard Rajon Rondo offered a local pigskin comparison when asked about individual criticism that he’s heard as part of his team’s fourth-quarter struggles this season.

“It doesn’t matter to me,” said Rondo. “I’ve been here longest, I’m the team captain, and I’m the point guard, so, just like in football, in the beginning they blamed [quarterback Tom] Brady a lot [when the New England Patriots struggled]. It’s part of it. It’s not weighing on me at all.”

With Wednesday’s loss in Charlotte, the Boston Celtics fell to 4-9 this season in games in which the team was within five points in the final five minutes of play. The Celtics’ team defensive rating in those “clutch” situation balloons to 116.4 points per 100 possessions, the second worst mark in the league. What’s more, Boston, which actually ranks near the top 10 in turnover percentage for the season, plummets to 23rd overall in frequency of giveaways during crunch time situations.

Celtics assign Dwight Powell, Marcus Smart, James Young to D-League

The Boston Celtics announced today that they have assigned forward Dwight Powell, guard Marcus Smart and guard/forward James Young to the Maine Red Claws.

Powell has appeared in one game for the Red Claws this season, an 81-80 win over the Fort Wayne Mad Ants on November 17, and recorded 21 points on 9-16 (.563) shooting and a game-high 17 rebounds in 38 minutes of action. He scored six points in four minutes for the Celtics against the San Antonio Spurs on November 30 and is averaging 2.7 points in 2.3 minutes per game in three appearances with the team this season.

Smart has appeared in six games for the Celtics this season averaging 5.7 points, 2.2 rebounds, 1.3 assists and 1.0 steals in 17.7 minutes per game. Smart returned to the court against the Detroit Pistons on December 3 after missing the previous 10 games with a left ankle sprain and recorded two assists in just under five minutes of action. He netted a season-high of 12 points against Toronto on November 5.

Young has appeared in two contests for the Red Claws this season and is averaging 21.5 points, 6.5 rebounds, 2.0 assists, 1.5 steals and 1.0 block in 34.9 minutes per game. He recorded six points, one rebound and one block in six minutes for the Celtics against the Houston Rockets on November 1 and is averaging 2.8 points in 4.0 minutes per game with the team this season.

Celtics assign James Young to D-League

The Boston Celtics announced today that they have assigned guard/forward James Young to the Maine Red Claws.

Young has appeared in one game for the Red Claws this season, an 81-80 win over Fort Wayne on November 16. The rookie scored 21 points and pulled down five rebounds in 36 minutes of action.

He made his NBA debut against the Houston Rockets on November 1 and has averaged 3.0 points in 3.9 minutes over three appearances this season.

Celtics recall Dwight Powell and James Young from D-League

The Boston Celtics announced today that they have recalled rookies Dwight Powell and James Young from the Maine Red Claws.

In the Red Claws 81-80 win over the Fort Wayne Mad Ants on Sunday, Powell recorded 21 points on 9-16 (.563) shooting and a game-high 17 rebounds in 38 minutes, while Young scored 21 points and pulled down five rebounds in 36 minutes of action.