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“So, now put yourself in Joe Mazzulla’s shoes. Take me through the conversations you’d be having with Tatum today, all day leading up to it, and then during the game. What are you going to be saying to him, and what are you listening for him to say to you?” Michael Malone: “I’m telling him to relax and enjoy this. You’ve done all the hard work. I think the hardest part about this 10-month stretch that Tatum’s gone through is the mental—the dark days, the rehab, doubting yourself: ‘Can I get back?’ I’m sure the Celtics, Joe Mazzulla, and Brad Stevens have made sure they surrounded Tatum. They’ve loved him, and there was no pressure for him to come back. They wanted him to come back when he felt ready. So, if I’m Joe Mazzulla, I’m putting my arm around him. I’m telling him how much I love him, how much I believe in him, and how much I have his back. We’re not looking to see him go out there and get 25 points tonight. We want him to come along slowly, build his minutes up. There’ll be a minute restriction tonight.”
Bernie Lee: 1. The amount of alignment and respect from Brad Stevens to his coaches was unparalleled; and 2. If anyone asked Joe to do anything other than compete like the world was about to end, they would probably only get the chance to ask him once. Fast-forward 58 games, and not shocking to me, Joe was right. If I am lucky enough to do this another 20-plus years, I highly doubt I will ever see another midstream pivot with this amount of success, and most importantly, a group that was built through adversity versus giving in to it. And that, to me, is the principle that all of this has to be built on. Period. End of sentence.
Through all the success, Nate Oats is continually asked about his potential interest in one day jumping to the NBA. Wednesday brought another one of those questions. Oats admitted there are still a lot of boxes to check at Alabama before he moves on. His family is another factor Oats brings up in the equation, citing the tough travel schedule of the NBA and how it relates to raising his three daughters. “We would have to win an awful lot of games here for me to make that jump,” Oats said via SiriusXM Radio. “Probably the one who’s done it best most recently is Brad Stevens, and man, he went to a national championship at Butler.”
Noa Dalzell: Anfernee Simons said he had just woken up from a pregame nap in Dallas when he learned he was traded to the Bulls: “Brad is a good guy, and he's always been open and honest about everything. Obviously, it was a tough conversation for him, for me to accept, but I understood.”
“What can you say about where Jason is at right now? Obviously, we’re in February. What kind of things is he doing? You’ve talked about the strength progressions—anything you can share?” Brad Stevens: “He’s hit a lot of the thresholds. He’s doing more and more, and will continue to do more and more. He’s still got a ways to go.”
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Michael Scotto: The Boston Celtics signed Amari Williams to a two-year, $2.64 million deal, which includes a team option for the 2026-27 season, league sources told @hoopshype. Brad Stevens: “I think Amari’s got a real chance to be a player… We're excited about the progress he's made.”
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Bobby Manning on Celtics’ untouchables: Everybody else beyond Brown and Tatum is under discussion at this point Cyro Asseo: If you had to say somebody that if people were buying a jersey, whose jersey would you be fine buying knowing that they're going to be around for the next foreseeable future? Bobby Manning: I feel pretty good about Jaylen Brown after the season that he's had here where he's shown signs of being one of the best players in the league. And so with his contract situation, with he and Jayson Tatum having the amicable relationship that they do here, being willing to make it work with each other for the sake of winning and their commitment to him ultimately, they've had a lot of opportunities to break that duo up in more dire circumstances than this and they've held firm. And I know Brad Stevens obviously in a different cap environment, but throughout his tenure and even his coaching days leading both of those guys into the players that they become here, his vision for this team has been that if we have those two guys, we can figure it out around them and make this roster work. And that's why they signed them to the contracts that they did. It's why that they've accepted that they're going to have a balance when it comes to the top of this roster and this two stars. And then beyond that, like they're going to try to compliment them as best as they can. And Derrick White's been a big part of that. I don't think White's untouchable into the future. I think he's a guy that you do have discussions about given how valuable he is and where he's at in his career pushing 30. Same deal with Payton Pritchard and Sam Hauser and others down the line. I think everybody else beyond Jaylen and Jayson is under discussion at this point as you try to reshape this core into the future here.
Bobby Manning: From everything I've heard, given where they're at in the standings, given the ownership's commitment, the new ownership's commitment to this team, they are not going to be under pressure to dodge the tax unless it makes sense from a basketball standpoint to do that. And that obviously could be beneficial to them in the long term. You have to dodge the tax two straight years to get out of the repeater tax territory, which is of course the stressor more than any I feel like that caused some of their offseason trades to just dump salaries. But they can probably eat 30 million in tax to keep this team together as much as they can.
"What's this year been like for you? I know you and Kristaps had a sense that you might get traded over the offseason. What was your reaction to that, and how's the year that's followed gone since?" Jrue Holiday: "I think I've said this a few times, but I knew I was getting traded. Brad had told me that there was a possibility, and then whenever it happened, he was upfront and told me what happened. So it felt like it was a great transition. Me and my family were doing well in Portland. A lot of people that we actually know love the organization — even before they traded me here. But to circle back and get me means a lot to me. So, I've been doing well."
“We will not put a ceiling on this group,” Stevens said after practice Wednesday. “If it makes sense for us to look for things that can help us, we certainly will. But it all has to be within good deals, and it all has to be within the ultimate goal, which is the North Star of retooling so we’re in a position to compete for what we want to compete for (a championship).”
