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Celtics sign J.D. Davison to two-way contract

The Boston Celtics have signed guard J.D. Davison to a two-way contract.

Davison, 6-3/195, was originally selected by the Celtics with the 53rd overall pick in the 2022 NBA Draft. Davison appeared in 12 games during his rookie campaign and averaged 1.6 points and 0.9 assists in 5.5 minutes per game. He recorded season highs with eight points, three made field goals, three rebounds, three assists, and two blocks vs. Atlanta on April 9.

With the Maine Celtics, he appeared in 44 games and averaged 13.2 points, 4.5 rebounds, 7.7 assists, and 0.8 steals while shooting 49.7 percent from the field this season. The Alabama native finished fourth in the NBA G League during the regular season with 339 assists, which also ranks third all-time in franchise history and is the second-most assists in a single season by a Maine player, behind Tim Frazier (2014-15). Davison helped lead Maine to its first Playoff appearance in six years.

Celtics sign Oshae Brissett

The Boston Celtics have signed forward Oshae Brissett to a contract.

Brissett, 6-7/210, has appeared in 172 career NBA games (43 starts) in four seasons with the Toronto Raptors (2019-20) and Indiana Pacers (2021-23). He owns career averages of 7.4 points and 4.2 rebounds in 19.2 minutes per game. Last season, he played in 65 games (two starts) with the Pacers and averaged 6.1 points and 3.4 rebounds in 16.7 minutes per game. He scored a season-high 18 points against Orlando on Nov. 21, including a season-high-tying four three pointers.

The Toronto, Ontario native has also made 42 appearances and 31 starts over two seasons in the NBA G League and earned All G League Second Team honors in 2020-21 with the Fort Wayne Mad Ants when he averaged 18.6 points, 9.8 rebounds, and 2.2 assists per game. Brissett originally signed with Toronto as a free agent on July 23, 2019, and appeared in 19 games during his rookie campaign with the Raptors.

Three-team NBA trade sends Kristaps Porzingis to Celtics, Marcus Smart to Grizzlies

The Memphis Grizzlies on Friday, June 23 acquired guard Marcus Smart from the Boston Celtics in a three-team trade also including the Washington Wizards.

As part of the deal, the Grizzlies traded guard Tyus Jones to the Wizards and traded the draft rights to guard Marcus Sasser (25th overall) and a future first round draft pick to the Celtics.

Washington traded center Kristaps Porzingis to Boston for forward Danilo Gallinari, center Mike Muscala and the draft rights to forward Julian Phillips (35th overall).

A nine-year NBA veteran, Smart (6-3, 220) has competed in 581 regular season games (360 starts) and has averaged 10.6 points, 3.5 rebounds, 4.6 assists and 1.6 steals in 30.0 minutes since he was selected by the Celtics with the sixth overall pick in the 2014 NBA Draft out of Oklahoma State. The 29-year-old Texas native holds career playoff averages of 12.8 points, 4.3 rebounds, 4.9 assists and 1.3 steals in 33.1 minutes in 108 games (73 starts), helping the Celtics make three trips to the conference finals and advance to the 2022 NBA Finals.

“Tyus, Danilo and Mike are talented players accustomed to winning,” said Wizards General Manager Will Dawkins. “They bring professionalism, high basketball intelligence, and a team-first mentality. We are delighted they are Wizards.”

Jones, an eight-year NBA guard, is coming off a career season with Memphis, where he set career highs in points (10.3), rebounds (2.5) and assists (5.2) per game in 80 games played (22 starts). On the season, Jones dished 417 assists, the second-most for Memphis, to just 74 turnovers, giving him the best assist-to-turnover ratio in the NBA last season at 5.63. He has appeared in 535 career games with Minnesota and Memphis and holds career averages of 6.8 points, 3.9 assists and 1.9 rebounds per game.

Gallinari was drafted sixth overall by the New York Knicks in 2008 and has also played with Denver, the L.A. Clippers, Oklahoma City and Atlanta in his 13-year NBA career. He signed with the Celtics during the 2022 offseason before suffering a season-ending left ACL injury while playing for the Italian national team in a FIBA World Cup qualifier in August. Gallinari last appeared during the 2021-22 season with the Atlanta Hawks, where he averaged 11.7 points, 4.7 rebounds and 1.5 assists per game in 66 games. He holds career averages of 15.6 points and 4.8 rebounds over 728 games while shooting .382 from three-point range.

Muscala is a 10-year NBA veteran that has played for Atlanta, Philadelphia, the Los Angeles Lakers, Oklahoma City and Boston. He holds career averages of 6.2 points and 3.2 rebounds per game while shooting .457 from the field and .379 from three-point range. Muscala was traded from Oklahoma City to Boston at the 2023 trade deadline and played 20 games for the Celtics to close the season, shooting .472 from the field and .385 from beyond the arc in 16.2 minutes per game.

Porzingis, who was originally acquired by Washington at the 2022 trade deadline from the Dallas Mavericks, averaged 22.9 points, 8.5 rebounds, 2.7 assists and 1.5 blocks per game in 82 total games with the Wizards.

“Kristaps is a true professional and an exceptionally talented player who established a lasting reputation during his time with the organization,” said Dawkins. “We thank him for his meaningful contributions and we wish him great success in Boston.”

On the Celtics and Kristaps Porzingis

Via Boston.com:

The Celtics are reportedly adding another top talent to their frontcourt next to Jayson Tatum.

According to ESPN and the Boston Globe, the Celtics are finalizing a deal and acquiring forward Kristaps Porzingis from the Washington Wizards in a three-team swap also featuring the Memphis Grizzlies.

As part of the reported deal, longtime Celtics guard Marcus Smart will be traded to Memphis, with the Grizzlies’ Tyus Jones and Boston’s Danilo Gallinari and Mike Muscala heading to Washington. Boston also nets two first-round picks with the move.

Porzingis is already an intriguing addition given his size (7-feet-3-inches) and unique skillset, but there are also some question marks surrounding Boston’s new trade pickup.

Three-team trade will reportedly send Kristaps Porzingis to Celtics, Marcus Smart to Grizzlies

Via ESPN.com:

The Washington Wizards are completing a three-way deal with the Boston Celtics and Memphis Grizzlies that will send Marcus Smart to the Grizzlies, Kristaps Porzingis to the Celtics and Tyus Jones to the Wizards, sources told ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.

The Grizzlies are sending the No. 25 pick on Thursday night and a 2024 first-round pick to the Celtics, sources told Wojnarowski.

The Celtics are sending the 35th pick on Thursday to the Wizards in the deal, sources told Wojnarowski.

Rumor: Clippers, Wizards and Celtics trade discussion

Via the LA Times:

The Clippers are deep in negotiations to make their first roster alterations ahead of the next NBA season.

By Wednesday afternoon, the team remained in discussions toward a three-team trade that, if completed, would send the expiring contract of forward Marcus Morris Sr., the former starter who had lost his rotation spot late last season, promising but little-used forward Amir Coffey and the 30th pick in Thursday’s NBA draft to Washington, and take back guard Malcolm Brogdon from Boston, according to a person briefed on the trade talks but not authorized to speak publicly on the matter.

Celtics forward Grant Williams undergoes hand surgery

Boston Celtics forward Grant Williams today underwent successful surgery to repair a tear of the radial collateral ligament of the 3rd metacarpo-phalangeal joint on his left hand.

The team says Williams should make a full return to basketball activities in 6-8 weeks.

Per Boston.com, “Williams is a restricted free agent, which means the Celtics can match an offer sheet that Williams could sign with another club. Williams posted career-highs in points (8.1) and minutes (25.9) during the 2022-23 regular season.”

Celtics will reportedly hire Sam Cassell as an assistant coach

Per the Boston Herald:

This summer, the Celtics were hoping to expand their coaching team by hiring an assistant coach with NBA experience. They discovered one just a few days into the off-season.

Sam Cassell, a member of the 2008 Celtics championship squad, will work as an assistant coach for Joe Mazzulla in Boston, according to a story published on Sunday by The Athletic.

Cassell, a three-time champion and 15-year veteran point guard in the NBA, has worked as an assistant coach for the past 14 years, the last nine of which he spent working for Doc Rivers in Philadelphia and Los Angeles.

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Miami Heat reach 2023 NBA Finals

Per the NY Times:

On Monday night at TD Garden, the Eastern Conference championship trophy for the NBA had made its way to the other team’s locker room. The trophy, a sterling silver replica of a basketball, was displayed atop a few packing trunks with metallic trim. The Miami Heat had earned it through a humbling 103-84 victory against the Boston Celtics in Game 7 of the conference finals.

Before a late-night flight to Denver, where they will play the Nuggets for the NBA title beginning Thursday, players and staff members stood in front of the trophy while wearing N.B.A. finals hats and T-shirts to commemorate the team’s heroic struggle.

Everyone except the Heat was stunned by their resurgence as the East’s No. 8 seed. Coach Erik Spoelstra stayed with his plan even though the team was struggling throughout the regular season and losing almost as frequently as they were winning. They could get better, according to Spoelstra, if they kept their attention on the tasks at hand. It consisted of getting together after discouraging defeats, watching movies, and working hard in the gym.

“I think probably people can relate to this team,” Spoelstra said. “Professional sports is just kind of a reflection sometimes of life, that things don’t always go your way. The inevitable setbacks happen, and it’s how you deal with that collectively. There’s a lot of different ways that it can go: It can sap your spirit. It can take a team down, for whatever reason.

“With this group, it’s steeled us and made us closer and made us tougher.”

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Celtics eliminated in Game 7 of 2023 NBA Eastern Conference Finals

Per Boston.com:

The Celtics’ season came to an end in the most ideal, microcosmic way possible: they were on the cusp of something extraordinary but were unable to make the decisive step into history.

The Celtics had the appearance of a squad that should have been outstanding but never quite achieved it after their disastrous start. They were surprisingly subpar when playing the Hawks. To defeat the 76ers, they needed seven games. They lost two games at home to a Heat squad that couldn’t match their firepower, as is only natural.

On some level, it’s hard to blame the Celtics for their inability to come back from a 3-0 hole, just as it’s hard to blame them for losing the championship. After all, doing both has historically been challenging. NBA teams have attempted to come back after falling behind 3-0, but none have ever succeeded. Every year, only one squad out of 30 may claim the championship.

However, Monday’s defeat will stay with this team for a very long time, as will the Celtics’ detour from the Finals as a result of it. In recent years, the Celtics have played in a couple of those contests.

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