Hoops Rumors

Kristaps Porzingis was showered with profane chants by a New York crowd that used to love him, but that made his Celtics debut even sweeter, writes Tim Bontemps of ESPN. Porzingis posted 30 points, eight rebounds and four blocks on Wednesday and led a late comeback as Boston showed why it’s one of the early-season favorites to capture the NBA title. “That was awesome, I’m not … [Read more...] about Celtics Notes: Porzingis, Holiday, Brown, White

The Cavaliers and Isaac Okoro‘s representatives had “productive” talks ahead of Monday’s rookie scale extension deadline, but the two sides decided it was best to wait until next summer to address the forward’s contract situation, according to Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com. Sources tell Fedor that the conversations about a new deal for Okoro were in the neighborhood of the deal … [Read more...] about Eastern Notes: Okoro, Horford, Matthews, P. Williams, Raptors

Sunday’s announcement that Steven Adams will miss the entire 2023/24 season due to right knee surgery feels like a “gut punch” for the Grizzlies, according to John Hollinger of The Athletic, who writes that the team is facing major frontcourt questions, with backup center Brandon Clarke also expected to miss much of the season while recovering from a torn Achilles. As Hollinger … [Read more...] about Grizzlies Notes: Adams, Frontcourt, Smart, Bane

5:40pm: Both Gabriel and DJ Steward have been officially waived by the Celtics, per NBA.com’s transactions log. 9:56am: The Celtics are placing big man Wenyen Gabriel on waivers ahead of the regular season, sources tell Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link). A four-year NBA veteran, Gabriel spent last season with the Lakers, appearing in 68 games and averaging 5.5 … [Read more...] about Celtics Waive Wenyen Gabriel, DJ Steward

12:04pm: The Celtics have officially signed Knight to a two-way contract, the team confirmed in a press release. As expected, Boston waived Scrubb to make room for Knight. 10:45am: The Celtics will sign Nathan Knight to a two-way contract, tweets ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. The 26-year-old big man was waived by the Knicks on Thursday. He signed a two-way deal with New York in … [Read more...] about Nathan Knight Signs Two-Way Deal With Celtics

Third-year Raptors forward Scottie Barnes exited Friday’s preseason finale against the Wizards with a sprained right foot and was ruled out for the remainder of the contest, tweets Blake Murphy of Sportsnet.ca. The former Rookie of the Year appeared to roll his ankle/foot on a non-contact play, as Esfandiar Baraheni of SDPN relays (Twitter video link). However, after the game, … [Read more...] about Atlantic Notes: Barnes, O. Porter, Harden, Beverley, Celtics

The Celtics have signed and waived free agent centers James Banks and Reginald Kissoonlal, according to NBA.com’s official transactions log. Both players will likely be heading to Maine to play for Boston’s G League affiliate. Banks went undrafted in 2020 out of Georgia Tech. After spending 2020/21 — his first pro season — playing in Israel, the 25-year-old returned stateside … [Read more...] about Celtics Sign, Waive James Banks, Reginald Kissoonlal

The Celtics are facing a massive payroll in upcoming seasons, but they’re willing to spend big to compete for a title, writes Tim Bontemps of ESPN. After coming close several times over the last seven years, including last season’s Game 7 loss to Miami in the Eastern Conference Finals, Boston is committed to hanging another banner in the rafters. The front office began … [Read more...] about Celtics Notes: Porzingis, Salary Issues, Starting Lineup

Appearing on ESPN’s First Take on Wednesday, NBA commissioner Adam Silver said the league is weighing the idea of reverting to the East vs. West format for its All-Star Game, writes Tim Bontemps of ESPN. Since the 2017/18 season, 12 players from each conference have been named All-Stars, but in order to set the two rosters, the top vote-getters in each conference have drafted … [Read more...] about And-Ones: All-Star Game, Porter, Breakout Candidates, More