Celtics 2023 - 2024 Discussion

[Kdo5]

My take on the whole team USA thing: yes it’s ******** that Brown wasn’t chosen. He is most likely being excluded because of the Nike thing. He was an All-Star, ECF and NBA Finals MVP and yet three teammates were taken ahead of him. If the selections were based on merit he is in no question but clearly it’s not the case. So I get it, it’s ridiculous.

That being said I wish he had kept a cooler head. It’s one thing if another guy from a different team was chosen. When it’s your own teammate it is a bad look, a really bad look. DWhite is a good dude, unselfish and deserves some recognition himself. I can only hope he is trying to explain himself to his teammates and apologize.

 

[RobertWeathers]

I didn't know about Brown's beef with Nike.
That puts his tweet that I criticized in a slightly different light.
I still think it's a bit of a diss to White( not intentional on JB's part)but nowhere near
as bad as I thought before I knew about his Nike beef.
Obviously he's insinuating that Nike lobbied to keep him off the team.
I'm a little relieved.
I still think he shouldn't have tweeted anything and realized it is a bit of a diss to his teammate, even though it looks unintentional. But tge longstanding feud with Nike seems to have clouded his judgement.

I agree. He should have kept quiet.

 

[rochrist]

Sorry- I don't buy Hill's explanation.

Sure but they chose Kawhi for his pot'l contribution to the team (points, D, etc) which is aligned with JB's skill-set.

The logic for subbing JB for Kawhi is more logical than subbing White for him.

White is a fine choice- that is not the issue.

He should have been chosen AHEAD of Leonard. Leonard hasn't played more than 60 games in a season for 7 years and is clearly on the decline. And yes, Brown wore Nikes. He also removed the Nike label from the shoes.

 

[RobertWeathers]

He should have been chosen AHEAD of Leonard. Leonard hasn't played more than 60 games in a season for 7 years and is clearly on the decline. And yes, Brown wore Nikes. He also removed the Nike label from the shoes.

Agree. I won't draw a parallel to when Larry was chosen in 1992 because of what he meant to the game but you could argue there were other players in 1992 who were superior.

Brown also wore some other brand which I had never heard of.

Ironically, White wears the LeBron Nike shoe.

 

[Ice_Ice_Brady]

White being picked tells me this has nothing to do with politics. I don’t look at Leonard, I look at his replacement in White, to assess the team needs. The team has been practicing and things change in terms of needs, chemistry etc. Had they picked a different shooting guard / small forward instead of Brown, I’d agree something smells fishy, but White is a completely different player. The fact they have a lot of guards but still selected White tells me that is very much about team fit and White’s unique skills. They passed on Maxey, Brunson, Young and Irving for White. How is selecting White political when those four other guards are sexier, more marketable names? Surely not everyone on the team is a Nike player right?

While Bird was picked in 92, that’s an outlier. It isn’t usually based on merit. The team is assembled of the players who give them the best chance to win, mainly in the opinion of Kerr, the other star coaches, Hill, and current team members.

I do think Brown should be on the team but I think White and Holiday are both excellent choices and will both get more playing time than expected. I think Haliburton is the worst fit on the team, his skill set is redundant, and Brown is a better choice.

 

[One-If-By-Sea]

I agree. He should have kept quiet.

I can not agree. Those that keep quiet are ****ies IMO. Sorry, I agree with you like 99% of the time, but in this one specific case you are off the rails. It is OK to stand up and say something is wrong. Tatum knows something is wrong, White knows something is wrong. Even though those guys are your teammates, it is OK to say this ****ed up. Sorry, I mean no insult, but you have your head up your ass.

 

[Ice_Ice_Brady]

The IST is stupid but regardless, this is news I guess. Celtics have a cakewalk “Group”.

Group A

Knicks
Magic
76ers
Nets
Hornets

Group B

Pacers
Bucks
Heat
Raptors
Pistons

Group C

Celtics
Cavaliers
Bulls
Hawks
Wizards

 

[Ice_Ice_Brady]

I can not agree. Those that keep quiet are ****ies IMO. Sorry, I agree with you like 99% of the time, but in this one specific case you are off the rails. It is OK to stand up and say something is wrong. Tatum knows something is wrong, White knows something is wrong. Even though those guys are your teammates, it is OK to say this ****ed up. Sorry, I mean no insult, but you have your head up your ass.

He’s not off the rails. Brown could have made a statement while still congratulating White. Brown was at the ESPYs also and asked to comment on it and just said “no comment.” Brown might be right, but being a good teammate comes first here.

 

[RobertWeathers]

I can not agree. Those that keep quiet are ****ies IMO. Sorry, I agree with you like 99% of the time, but in this one specific case you are off the rails. It is OK to stand up and say something is wrong. Tatum knows something is wrong, White knows something is wrong. Even though those guys are your teammates, it is OK to say this ****ed up. Sorry, I mean no insult, but you have your head up your ass.

All good @One-If-By-Sea.

Maybe because I'm older I find this passive aggressive **** more destructive than Brown just having a presser saying this whole thing is bull ****. I'm confident he would wish White well and congratulate him on his selection.

I guess that's what I meant by, "should have kept quiet" but really meant he, "should have gone to war" and speak plainly about his feelings regarding the matter

 

[One-If-By-Sea]

I am catching up after a few days away and I think that the old guys "get off my lawn" approach is not apporpriate here. I am 10000% with J Brown.

He should have been chosen AHEAD of Leonard. Leonard hasn't played more than 60 games in a season for 7 years and is clearly on the decline. And yes, Brown wore Nikes. He also removed the Nike label from the shoes.

Agree. I won't draw a parallel to when Larry was chosen in 1992 because of what he meant to the game but you could argue there were other players in 1992 who were superior.

Brown also wore some other brand which I had never heard of.

Ironically, White wears the LeBron Nike shoe.

White being picked tells me this has nothing to do with politics.

Dude, "nothing to do with politics"? Really? Are you serious? C'mon Dude.

Nike sales in 2024 were $51.36B. The NBA sales in 2024 were >$10B. Who is your Daddy? Really, I am not being cute. Who is your Daddy? Nike is 5x bigger than the whole NBA. Nike funds the whole NBA players union. The NBA told Lebron to suck President XI's **** to preserve the NBA market in China (a much much smaller market size than Nike), and Lebron did it. And you are saying that it has "nothing to do with politics"? You seem like a nice guy, but you are clueless in this circumstance. JB is correct and is fighting a big corporation. To be clear I do not think there is any racism or DEI stuff involved, but Nike is protecting their brand and JB got in the way. No politics? Please Dude. Maybe you were day drinking when you made your post?

Are you going to start sucking Xi's **** to preserve the Chinese market? Not me. The Asians suck my ****.

 

[Ice_Ice_Brady]

I am catching up after a few days away and I think that the old guys "get off my lawn" approach is not apporpriate here. I am 10000% with J Brown.






Dude, "nothing to do with politics"? Really? Are you serious? C'mon Dude.

Nike sales in 2024 were $51.36B. The NBA sales in 2024 were >$10B. Who is your Daddy? Really, I am not being cute. Who is your Daddy? Nike is 5x bigger than the whole NBA. Nike funds the whole NBA players union. The NBA told Lebron to suck President XI's **** to preserve the NBA market in China (a much much smaller market size than Nike), and Lebron did it. And you are saying that it has "nothing to do with politics"? You seem like a nice guy, but you are clueless in this circumstance. JB is correct and is fighting a big corporation. To be clear I do not think there is any racism or DEI stuff involved, but Nike is protecting their brand and JB got in the way. No politics? Please Dude. Maybe you were day drinking when you made your post?

Are you going to start sucking Xi's **** to preserve the Chinese market? Not me. The Asians suck my ****.

You gonna be okay here? You seem like you’re unhinged.

I’m not disputing that Nike is powerful. I’m disputing the opinion that the 10th man on the Olympic team came down to Nike’s marketing and preference.

So which other players were selected / not selected based on their endorser?

Joel Embiid - Skechers
Steph Curry - Under Armour
Anthony Edwards - Adidas

I don’t believe Derrick White actually has a shoe / apparel contract even though he wears Nike, which again makes it puzzling that his selection is due to “Nike politics” when he isn’t a highly marketable player. In addition, some of these other guys wear Nikes but don’t have an actual dedicated shoe line with them.

 

[One-If-By-Sea]

You gonna be okay here? You seem like you’re unhinged.

I’m not disputing that Nike is powerful. I’m disputing the opinion that the 10th man on the Olympic team came down to Nike’s marketing and preference.

So which other players were selected / not selected based on their endorser?

Joel Embiid - Skechers
Steph Curry - Under Armour
Anthony Edwards - Adidas

I don’t believe Derrick White actually has a shoe / apparel contract even though he wears Nike, which again makes it puzzling that his selection is due to “Nike politics” when he isn’t a highly marketable player. In addition, some of these other guys wear Nikes but don’t have an actual dedicated shoe line with them.

I am always unhinged. You are not aware of that?

Quoting various shoe contracts does not change the fact that JB pissed off Nike more than other NBA player signing with another manufacturer. You appear clueless. There is a difference between professional indifference (signing contracts with various manufacturers) and when JB posted "Since when does Nike care about ethics?". Not the same thing. Maybe you were unaware of JB's post, or maybe you are spooked by "unhinged" language?

You posted lots of examples of other players with outher sports apparel companies, and completely missed the point. Did you miss the point on purpose or are you trying to deflect?

 

[Ice_Ice_Brady]

I am always unhinged. You are not aware of that?

Quoting various shoe contracts does not change the fact that JB pissed off Nike more than other NBA player signing with another manufacturer. You appear clueless. There is a difference between professional indifference (signing contracts with various manufacturers) and when JB posted "Since when does Nike care about ethics?". Not the same thing. Maybe you were unaware of JB's post, or maybe you are spooked by "unhinged" language?

You posted lots of examples of other players with outer sports apparel companies, and completely missed the point. Did you miss the point on purpose or are you trying to deflect?

Deflect? No.

It’s you and JB’s theory about why he didn’t get the call. I’m providing plenty of alternative explanations. No one really complained that he didn’t make the initial cut.

Why was it just presumed he was next in line and suddenly this is political revenge? Maxey, Irving, Brunson, Lillard, Mitchell, Young, Banchero. All deserving choices. Since White really came out of left field and was selected over all these guys, I believe this must have been 100% a basketball decision based on the team makeup and chemistry. White offers a very unique basketball skill set.

Yes, I’m aware of Brown’s comments about Nike. So what? You just pointed out how much sway Nike has over the entire league yet Brown won two postseason awards and was selected all nba 3rd team in 2023 (which many didn’t think he deserved), positioning himself for the league’s biggest contract.

 

[One-If-By-Sea]

Deflect? No.

It’s you and JB’s theory about why he didn’t get the call. I’m providing plenty of alternative explanations. No one really complained that he didn’t make the initial cut.

Please spare me the BS. I will leave it at that. I might be unhinged, but I am not an idiot.

Why was it just presumed he was next in line and suddenly this is political revenge? Maxey, Irving, Brunson, Lillard, Mitchell, Young, Banchero. All deserving choices. Since White really came out of left field and was selected over all these guys, I believe this must have been 100% a basketball decision based on the team makeup and chemistry. White offers a very unique basketball skill set.

I am not sure I agree with what is in highlight, and what I find amazing is that the USA team did not pick Hauser as you had Hauser as a better player than Brown in about 100 posts only 7 months ago. Now you are an expert on White versus Brown. Maybe you are completely wrong now like you were when you said that Hauser should start in place of Brown based on +/-? Or maybe that did not occur to you? When will you finally recognize the Banner 18 Finals MVP? Dude, Brown was the Banner 18 Finals MVP. What can I say when you have Hauser and White above Brown after the 2024 Finals?

Yes, I’m aware of Brown’s comments about Nike. So what? You just pointed out how much sway Nike has over the entire league yet Brown won two postseason awards and was selected all nba 3rd team in 2023 (which many didn’t think he deserved), positioning himself for the league’s biggest contract.

So what? You saw Lebron suck China's **** and now you say, "So what?". Who do you think was concerned with China's reponse? Maybe Nike, who sells a lot of sneakers in China, told the NBA how to respond? Please Dude, get a clue on how the world works.

I have no idea how to respond to such a clueless post (in a higned or unhinged manner).

 

[Ice_Ice_Brady]

Please spare me the BS. I will leave it at that. I might be unhinged, but I am not an idiot.

I am not sure I agree with what is in highlight, and what I find amazing is that the USA team did not pick Hauser as you had Hauser as a better player than Brown in about 100 posts only 7 months ago. Now you are an expert on White versus Brown. Maybe you are completely wrong now like you were when you said that Hauser should start in place of Brown based on +/-? Or maybe that did not occur to you? When will you finally recognize the Banner 18 Finals MVP? Dude, Brown was the Banner 18 Finals MVP. What can I say when you have Hauser and White above Brown after the 2024 Finals?

So what? You saw Lebron suck China's **** and now you say, "So what?". Who do you think was concerned with China's reponse? Maybe Nike, who sells a lot of sneakers in China, told the NBA how to respond? Please Dude, get a clue on how the world works.

I have no idea how to respond to such a clueless post (in a higned or unhinged manner).

Did I pick Derrick White for Team USA? No. Do I understand why Team USA would find White more useful given their other superstar players? Yes. Apparently I’m not alone in this take. I’ve cited articles saying White is a secret superstar, a top 10 player, other GMs saying this, now Team USA with four big time coaches, picking him. But it’s still a crazy thought?

I would take White over all the players I mentioned (Maxey, Irving, Brunson, Young, Mitchell) despite that those guys are all-stars, MVP candidates, etc. They’re mostly great offensive players who love to control the ball. There’s only one ball. There’s so much of this skill set.

Not everything is a persecution. I already said Brown should be on the team over Haliburton. I did not say Hauser > Brown after the Finals…that’s a straight up lie. I said Brown should be Finals MVP, he played fantastic, especially in Game 3 which was the pivotal moment. Indeed, he’s always been capable of it and he adjusted his game in 2024 and played great on ball defense and setup teammates for good shots. I’m happy for the Celtics, for Brown, for all the fans. I eat crow about Brown but point out that all of Brown’s efficiency stats (that I got mocked about) did reflect his positive value in the postseason, since he upped his game, and these +|- and advanced stats did what they always do, which is account for value.

Your emotions seem to be enflamed about China, Nike, whatever other political views are wrapped up in this. You’re just screaming louder despite all the logical points I’m making. Brown is a deserving Team USA player. He isn’t the only one. We don’t know if he was next in line, 2nd in line, 5th in line, as the next replacement. This isn’t necessarily a blackballing.

 

[super36]

Are you going to start sucking Xi's **** to preserve the Chinese market? Not me. The Asians suck my ****.

Are you serious?

 

[One-If-By-Sea]

Are you serious?

Not. It is a joke. You have to have been around for awhile to know the joke.

 

[captain stone]

Don’t know why everyone’s so all fired-up about the… Olympics…

If I were the team’s owner, I wouldn’t allow ANY of my players to participate in ANY competitive basketball-related activities that doesn’t involve the Boston ****ing Celtics. Are the ****ing Olympics going to provide us a similar player if one of ours gets injured under their watch? Yeah didn’t think so.

Just say **** NO to ANY of ours playing for THEM.

 

[captain stone]

…The Asians suck my ****.

Gotta love those LBFMs! They’re PBR!

 

[1960Pats]

Don’t know why everyone’s so all fired-up about the… Olympics…

If I were the team’s owner, I wouldn’t allow ANY of my players to participate in ANY competitive basketball-related activities that doesn’t involve the Boston ****ing Celtics. Are the ****ing Olympics going to provide us a similar player if one of ours gets injured under their watch? Yeah didn’t think so.

Just say **** NO to ANY of ours playing for THEM.

That makes plenty of sense.