Tag Archives: cap space

Boston Celtics: New Coaches for a New Direction

Celtics Hire New Coaches

The Boston Celtics hired two new assistant coaches, Kara Lawson and Joe Mazulla, to help their young team. The move comes after the departure of Micah Shrewsberry, who returned to the Purdue University coaching staff. Shrewsberry, a defensive-mined coach, was a Celtics assistant coach from 2013-2019. Shreewsberry also worked with Brad Stevens at Butler University from 2008-2011.

Kara Lawson is the third female coach in the NBA, joining Becky Hammon and Linsday Gottlieb. Gottlieb was hired by the Cavaliers earlier this month. Lawson comes highly decorated as a player. The University of Tennessee product made three Final Four appearances, and won Olympic gold in 2008. The 5th overall pick in the 2003 WNBA draft, Lawson had an All-Star career and was a pioneer in NBA broadcasting.

College-player-turned-coach Joe Mazulla led Fairmont State University to a 22-9 record in 2018-2019. Given that Mazulla played guard at West Virginia, he should relate to the Celtics young guards. In addition, Mazulla was also an assistant coach for the Boston Celtics’ G-League affiliate Maine Red Claws in 2016-2017. His experience with the system and player development could be invaluable.

The Boston Celtics hired former WNBA All-Star and Olympic gold medalist Kara Lawson as an assistant coach this week. (Image credit: Getty Images)

New Blood for Young Blood

The NBA free agency period begins Sunday. The excitement level for fans is likely only surpassed by front office anxiety. The free agency bounty includes franchise-changing players like Kevin Durant, Kawhi Leonard, Kyrie Irving, Kemba Walker and Klay Thompson. These players could be going to any one of several teams, including the Boston Celtics. Considering the moves the Celtics have pulled off in recent weeks, their free agency intentions are clear.

I wrote about the potential 2019-2020 Boston Celtics roster several weeks ago. Not much has changed, save the unexpected departures of Al Horford and Aron Baynes. The Celtics guarantee of Semi Ojeleye’s $1.62 Million next season means the roster has seven signed players. Other than the Celtics recent draft picks, the seven signed players average 23.6 years; that includes 29-year old Gordon Hayward. The recent coaching hires bring fresh perspective to a young basketball team, including the experience Mazulla has with the Celtics.

Brad Stevens and the Celtics front office are making the right moves. Boston is helping continue to break coaching barriers in the NBA. Another key point is hiring people familiar with their system and player development. The recent signing of Kemba Walker will certainly help Hayward anchor this young Celtics team. These coaching hires bring new experience, fresh perspectives and the Celtic familiarity necessary to make this roster a team.

Should the Boston Celtics Sign De’Angelo Russell?

The Need at Point Guard

The Boston Celtics are moving on from Kyrie Irving. To put it more accurately, Irving is moving on from the Celtics. This means the Celtics enter the 2019-2020 season with one point guard (pg) on their roster: Marcus Smart. Terry Rozier has a $4.3 million (M) qualifying offer, but a cap hit of $9M, which means he’ll be restructured if he comes back at all. The Celtics clearly need another PG, which has been discussed here.

What are the Boston Celtics options? The is a lot of potential in tonight’s draft. The question is: Do the Celtics really want to pair a rookie PG with their young stars in Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown? Even drafting a generational talent such as Ja Morant, an almost impossible scenario, would not solve the Celtics immediate issues. It was reported today the Celtics are shopping Aaron Baynes’ $5.4M contract. If the Celtics lose Baynes their team averages 23.5 years old; even with Baynes the team averages 24.7 years old. The Celtics need a young, veteran point guard to help lead the other young Celtics to the next level.

The future of the Boston Celtics is clearly in the hands of Jayson Tatum (*Left*) and Jaylen Brown (*Right*).

Put Snapchat in the Past

One qualifying player that immediately comes to mind is De’Angelo Russell. I’ve written about the possibilities of signing Russell, but questioned his maturity. It could be argued those issues were put to rest after this last season with the Brooklyn Nets, on which Russell was an All-Star and led Brooklyn to the playoffs. The 2016-2017 All-Rookie member averaged 21.7 points per game, 3.9 rebounds per game and 7 assists per game in 2018-2019, on shooting splits of 43.4/36.9/78.0. Russell’s PER was 19.4, ranking 7^th among PGs, and 37^th in the NBA.

The 23-year old 6’5” PG could be the perfect fit in Boston. The 2^nd pick in the 2015 NBA Draft would also be a nice prize from a draft in which the Celtics essentially only managed to draft Rozier. Russell has the skill set, the demeanor, and now the experience, both in the playoffs and living up to his original hype. People will point to Russell’s Snapchat blunder, which ultimately cost him his spot with the Los Angeles Lakers. I point to alternate perspectives. The Snapchat “victim” was Swaggy P, a.k.a. Nick Young. Young, although older, is arguably more immature than Russell. Consider: Russell was outing Young for cheating on – and bragging about cheating on – his longtime girlfriend. Forget “bro code” in 2019, who’s the immature one in this scenario? I rest my case.

https://twitter.com/CelticsExtra/status/1141148229486153728

Desperate Times

They say desperate times call for desperate measures. The Boston Celtics have now lost Irving and reportedly could lose Al Horford. When a city mourns the potential lose of Horford and his $30.1M cap hit you know there’s a serious problem. That problem is veteran bodies to pair with a handful of young budding stars.

De’Angelo Russell barely qualifies as that veteran, but he does. Picture pairing All-Rookie members from 2014-2017 and that’s what you’d have with the Boston Celtics (Smart; Russell; Brown; Tatum). Marcus Smart, the heart of the team, was also a member of the 2017-2018 All-Defensive team. Add two-time All-Star Gordon Hayward, who should continue to get back to form, and things don’t look so bad. The Boston Celtics might be entering desperate times, but signing De’Angelo Russell is no desperation move. It’s the right move, and a move that could keep the Celtics competitive in the Eastern Conference for years to come.

Patriots Latest Moves and Rumors 3/23

Move: The Stephon Gilmore Contract

Stephon Gilmore and Tom Brady on the field after the 2018 AFC Championship game.

Thursday, the Patriots reworked Stephon Gilmore’s contract for 2019.

Gilmore, who was originally scheduled to have a cap hit of $14,837,500, saw $8.5 million dollars worth of his contract get converted into a signing bonus.

Doing this frees up $5.67 million dollars for the Patriots in cap space. The current cap for the Pats is now $8,332,763.

This move should not be the only one for the Patriots as more money will need to come their way. The Patriots still have key free agents like Stephen Gostkowski and Chris Hogan, who remain unsigned.

The Patriots also must compensate for the projected $8,970,997 dollars it will take to sign all their draft picks.

With their cap as it is, expect the Patriots to move some money around with players like Devin McCourty, Tom Brady, and maybe even Rob Gronkowski, D’onta Hightower, and Lawerence Guy.

Many expect Gostkowski to be back and Hogan looks more likely to return by the day. The Patriots will need at least 6 million in cap for those two signings alone.

Expect them to restructure some contracts, resign some players, and trade a couple of draft picks.

Rumor: Patriots Schedule Meeting With WVU Quarterback Will Grier

Will Grier playing Texas Tech during his time at West Virginia.

The Patriots lack of attention to the quarterback position in this year’s draft might hint what they have planned for next year’s.

Although, one quarterback prospect who they have scheduled a meeting with is former West Virginia quarterback Will Grier.

Grier, who was in the Heisman conversation for a brief time last year, seems to be moving up draft boards each day.

After his very impressive pro day, several teams have called to meet with him.

In fact his pro day was so impressive that he has potentially moved up into late first-round consideration.

Grier makes sense as a potential fit in the Patriots system. In addition, some other quarterbacks that scouts think could come to New England are Daniel Jones of Duke, Brett Rypien of Boise State, and Ryan Finley of North Carolina State.

Rumor: Stephen Gostkowski Resigning Reports

Stephen Gostkowski waiting on bench with the Patriots.

It seems inevitable that the Patriots and veteran kicker Stephen Gostkowski will reach an agreement to reunite.

Now it appears that after the readjustment of Stephon Gilmore’s contract that the Patriots now have the money to resign their long-tenured kicker.

Tom Curran reported on Thursday that the Patriots and Gostkowski are making progress and are actively talking about a return.

Curran also reported that other teams are interested in Gostkowski. Almost any team would kill for a kicker like Stephen. Although, Gostkowksi’s interest in other teams seem very small and he obviously holds the Patriots as his top destination.

Gostkowski will be entering his fourteenth year in the NFL and will not consider retirement at this time.

Most expect Gostkowski’s contract number to be in the $3mil to $4mil range.

Losing a kicker like Gostkowski would obviously be bad news for New England. Replacing his production would certainly not be an easy task.

Boston Sports Extra

By Boston Fans, For Boston Fans