Celtics 2025-2026 Discussion

[JoeSixPat]

Latest trade rumors indicate Celtics won't be messing around this summer - NewsBreak

The Boston Celtics' elimination may force them to make some tough decisions this summer. Two days after their elimination, there's already a wild rumor goi

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That's actually sourced from Hardwood Houdini, which is pretty much AI written at times I think just to get fans clicking but it's just them coming up with wild theories and trades usually

In this case, their theory is that after going through so much effort to evade hundreds of millions in salary and luxury taxes, instead they will embark on paying even MORE luxury tax by going WAY over the cap with Giannis' $60 million contract as the tax compounds each year unless you do the reboot the Celtics did

 

[Thelonious]

JB is a whiny *****. There's your problem.

This kind of crap is why I pay virtually no attention to the NBA any more. Insufferable narcissists, wall-to-wall. No thanks. That's all I'll have to say about it, which I suppose will make everybody happy, myself included.

 

[bresna]

Anybody that thinks Brown had no grounds for complaining about the refs clearly did not watch any games this year. It was very noticeable that several NBA ref crews had it out for him. The Spurs game was the worst. There was something going on during that game and it was not a good look for the NBA.

I don't know how anyone could listen what Brown has said about how he has been treated, especially how he says it and call it "whining". Brown is one of the most well-spoken players in the NBA and clearly puts a lot of thought to his statements. Hearing his comments, you almost wonder if he is trying to escalate this or else his career is in serious jeopardy.

Which brings us to...

Celtics' Jaylen Brown fined $50,000 for criticizing officials

During Sunday's stream, Brown showed a play in which Sixers forward Paul George appeared to push off slightly before making an offensive move.​

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"If you're going to call push-offs, call that," Brown said. "Same move. Same refs. Oh, it's nothing? It's play on, right?"​

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"But you gonna call me? Everybody does it ... but if it would have been me, it'd have been an offensive foul."​

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Brown was called for 10 offensive fouls in the first round, twice as many as the next-highest player (Jalen Duren, Karl-Anthony Towns, Neemias Queta and Stephon Castle each had five).​

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"Every good basketball player does this. What are y'all talking about? They clearly had an agenda," Brown said. "If Jaylen does this move, call the offensive foul and follow him every time. I don't know if it's because I pissed the refs off. I've been critical about them, and I called them out a bunch of times. So, they were like, 'You know what, I got you in the playoffs. Watch this.' [Because] that's exactly what they did."​

 

[jimnance]

JB is a whiny *****. There's your problem.

This kind of crap is why I pay virtually no attention to the NBA any more. Insufferable narcissists, wall-to-wall. No thanks. That's all I'll have to say about it, which I suppose will make everybody happy, myself included.

Speaking of whiny *****es..

 

[Thelonious]

Speaking of whiny *****es..

Go **** yourself, Jim.

 

[bresna]

I never watched one of Brown's Twitch streams until now. He's so different in them than he is in press conferences. It enforces my belief that what he says at those press conferences is well planned and purposeful.

Brown's postgame Twitch stream was eye-opening:


I'm glad Brown was willing to risk the wrath of the NBA (and pay a fine) to get this out. I doubt these ******* refs will change... they have no incentive to change anyway... but maybe, just maybe, some of them might take a step back and think about it.

BTW watching this Twitch stream makes me think that even if they had beat the 76ers in that game 7, Brown might not even have played in the opener of the next round. He really messed up his back.

 

[bresna]

The Sixers don’t flop!

 

[bresna]

So Embiid only came awake against the Celtics. He plays a team with a real big and he disappears.

 

[One-If-By-Sea]

So Embiid only came awake against the Celtics. He plays a team with a real big and he disappears.

Says something

 

[JoeSixPat]

Says something

I wouldn't want him if he were available

I see the chatter on trading JB for Giannis - their salaries are a decent match though it's unclear if we'd need to sweeten the pot. There's also talk of a 3 team trade that sends Brown to Atlanta

The Lakers are in the mix for Giannis as well but apparently Luka doesn't want them to trade Reeves as part of that

I'd be more open to trading Derrick White although the salaries don't match - even if they threw in Hauser who is also mentioned in trade rumors. Although I think maybe they could use what's allocated to Vooch and cover his salary without triggering the luxury tax

That being said, White's stats for this year aren't as bad as everyone seems to think (though he sure didn't make his mark in the playoffs)

They of course don't actually need to trade anyone - they have the $27.5 million from Simmons which I'd think could land them a better stopgap C for another season - perhaps a big guy on a reasonable under $30 mil contract who is expecting a big extension in 2027 when they will be able to spend again

I guess whether JB stays comes down to whether Stevens thinks his other 3 point shooters - plus Giannis' points (and rebounds - can fill that scoring gap.

You can make a case it would, depending on who else they trade - though the teams isn't so much in need of Giannis' points as it is in his presence in the middle and there might be lower scoring, more affordable Cs on the trade market with the Simmons exemption.

My thought process is that they can be a better team this year without trading Brown, and then in 2027/28 they'd have the ability to sign an even better long term C than Giannis who will be 2 years older by then

Basically I think a JB/Giannis trade will make us better next season but I'd prefer to have the Jays remain together, along with a legit C, for another long-term run starting in 2028

 

[One-If-By-Sea]

I'd prefer to have the Jays remain together, along with a legit C, for another long-term run starting in 2028

I prefer that too, but who is the legit C?

 

[bresna]

If they don't get Giannis now, they likely aren't getting him at all. Any team that trades for him is going to want some assurances that they have him for longer than the one year left on his contract because his 2027-28 salary is a player option. A team that trades big name players or a bucket load of draft picks (and big name players) would be stupid to do that for a one year contract, especially given his recent injury history.

I would guess that any team trading for Giannis is going to want some sort of extension, locking him up for 3-4 more years.

I don't think I'd trade Brown for Giannis at this point. Brown is playing at a peak-level on both sides of the ball and would not be easily replaced on this team.

Now, as crazy as it sounds, if Dallas called and asked about Brown straight-up for Flagg... I don't think I would say no to that.

We're only shooting the **** here, so don't take anything I said too seriously.

 

[JoeSixPat]

I prefer that too, but who is the legit C?

Bearing in mind that you don't need a C to score 27ppt like Giannis if you have the Jays and Pritchard (who I consider too valuable to trade) someone like Nic Claxton or Day'Ron Sharpe from the Nets - either of whom would be more physical and disciplined than Queta

There's other names being floated out there but those are the two that I like. Vooch played like crap - with one of those two we'd be better. Sharpe is cheap and in the end you can spend up to the Simmons exemption for next season and reup someone the next.

 

[ViperGTS]

You need to trade Hauser. He has run his course here. I'd listen on White as well but who wants him after this season. Thats one of the trade early guys and Brad missed that one.

I don't want the Greek Dud unless he comes cheap. Not trading Brown for him thats for sure. Brown IMO is the better player.

All that being said if they did get The Greek Dud it would be interesting to see how his game is called in Boston. Would it shine an anti-Boston NBA bias or would the fact that a foreign star is on the Celtics mitigate that. My guess is his charges would go up exponentially. Ditto for if you swapped the Free Throw merchant to the Celtics. He wouldn't be getting to the line nearly the same amount ( and not because of Mazzulla btw).

 

[JoeSixPat]

You need to trade Hauser. He has run his course here. I'd listen on White as well but who wants him after this season. Thats one of the trade early guys and Brad missed that one.

I don't want the Greek Dud unless he comes cheap. Not trading Brown for him thats for sure. Brown IMO is the better player.

All that being said if they did get The Greek Dud it would be interesting to see how his game is called in Boston. Would it shine an anti-Boston NBA bias or would the fact that a foreign star is on the Celtics mitigate that. My guess is his charges would go up exponentially. Ditto for if you swapped the Free Throw merchant to the Celtics. He wouldn't be getting to the line nearly the same amount ( and not because of Mazzulla btw).

Hauser could be the guy they have to throw in to the trade with JB to get Giannis - he's on a decent contract for a few more years - keep in mind the Giannis trade would probably be a three team trade, maybe with Atlanta, so probably a few players being talked about.

I like his skillset but I think we have some promising options that can step into his role

No disagreements with you on the other points.

As far as Mazzulla, he deserves a coaching critique, but ultimately, we're all second guessing the way in which he compensated for the lack of a big man, which he lacked.

That's the bottom line. It sure wasn't his best coaching but he's come a LONG way as a coach and the guy has done a lot with what he's been given - so I'm not about to lay this season's choke solely at his feet.

This entire season has been, by design live by the 3 and die by the 3 - in part BECAUSE without a strong big man (not to mention Tatum) who can give you the 2s, defense and rebounds when you need them, that's not good enough.

Next season I HOPE we will see a "Live by the 3s and win by the 2s" offense with one or two more big burly C and PF options (they don't need to be tall even - the right type of 6-9 guy can get physical with the best of them. They don't even need to score a lot - just get that 2 point bucket when you need it most.

 

[Ice_Ice_Brady]

You guys all hate Hauser and think he sucks and isn’t worth his contract so why would the Bucks want him? Hauser just doesn’t move the needle much in any direction but I’ll reiterate I think he’s a good fit for the Celtics. Trade him you’ll get back basically another neutral contract. Free up his salary and you’ll be able to buy like a near average player. Personally, I don’t get why we want to trade a guy who consistently shoots over 40% on threes, 85% from the line, one of the best in the league at avoiding turnovers, and improves spacing, due to some neutral cons: his defense isn’t fantastic, he can’t create his own shots, and he’s slow. But good luck finding a guy who checks every box and is a bigger positive net game than Hauser for like $12 million. He’s a good pit for the Celtics because they don’t really need extra athleticism and shot making or if they do he is not the type of guy who you’re going to replace with someone who can do that. He is just closer to an average Joe and does not have the trade value that you guys seem to think.

Pritchard is the guy that should be traded. Great offensive player, poor defender. He’s gonna command a huge contract at some point.

 

[bresna]

I don't hate Hauser at all. I was a big fan for several years. But for the past two years or so, he has just been too inconsistent. His 40% 3 point shooting percentage is the result of games with a lot of hits and others with a lot of misses. If he shot 40% game to game, he'd still be a favorite, but he doesn't. He gets hot & cold, with the cold seeming to happen in bigger games. Now, this might be on Mazzulla, because the game plan doesn't always free him up for his usual shots, but he's been missing open 3s too.

I guess I still miss Simons, ****ty defense and all. He's a free agent, so maybe we'll see him again but I doubt it. Players seem to stay away from teams that "dump" them the year before. He could replace those open 3s that Hauser has been getting. He'd have to work harder on D though. He had trouble covering. He contested shots fairly well but anyone who drove on him seemed to be able to get their shot.

 

[Ice_Ice_Brady]

I don't hate Hauser at all. I was a big fan for several years. But for the past two years or so, he has just been too inconsistent. His 40% 3 point shooting percentage is the result of games with a lot of hits and others with a lot of misses. If he shot 40% game to game, he'd still be a favorite, but he doesn't. He gets hot & cold, with the cold seeming to happen in bigger games. Now, this might be on Mazzulla, because the game plan doesn't always free him up for his usual shots, but he's been missing open 3s too.

I guess I still miss Simons, ****ty defense and all. He's a free agent, so maybe we'll see him again but I doubt it. Players seem to stay away from teams that "dump" them the year before. He could replace those open 3s that Hauser has been getting. He'd have to work harder on D though. He had trouble covering. He contested shots fairly well but anyone who drove on him seemed to be able to get their shot.

Regarding his three-point shooting streakiness, this is like any player in the NBA. iI you compare him to another 40% shooter, you will find the same trends. This is true of basically everyone the reason it stands out with Hauser is because he rarely attempts other types of shots. No three-point shooters who are just going two for five every night.