Celtics Off-Season News

[BitterJim]

Speaking of two-ways, Harry Giles is apparently only on an Exhibit 10 contract.

So I guess his 2-way eligibility might come into play. Interesting

Yep.  The plan may be to waive him and send him to the G-league, but any team could presumably swipe him with a two-way or NBA contract.

Along with Walker, the Nets also inked Dennis Smith Jr., Darius Bazley and Trendon Watford on veteran minimum deals, and Harry Giles on an Exhibit 10 deal. While there is open space on the camp roster, fighting for spots in the rotation is going to be tough with a fairly set top-seven. For that, Walker will have to show well on both ends of the floor. “I think overall he’s still trying to feel how he fits in, first group [or] second group,” coach Jacque Vaughn said. “[He] can do a little bit of everything. I think, for me, the ability to give him simple tasks on both ends of the floor will allow him to flourish. – via Brian Lewis @ New York Post

I think the Nets still have a 2-way spot open, too, so they could convert the deal directly to a 2-way

[ozgod]

Jay Scrubb suffered a torn ACL in practice. Too bad for the kid as he’s had a nice pre season. It would be interesting to see what Brad does. Is a 2-way deal guaranteed? Should Brad look elsewhere for a 2 way player? Waiving him would be harsh though.

Two-ways are not guaranteed.  If there weren’t the second apron, I imagine the Celtics would convert his contract to an nba deal with an amount equal to the 2-way salary guaranteed and subsequently waive him.  Because the second apron exists, I don’t know that they can afford that kindness.  It’s possible the NBA has an insurance policy that covers players on two-ways/exhibit 9 deals that get hurt in training camp, but I admit it would pleasantly surprise me if that were actually the case.

Didn’t this happen to Max Strus in Chicago when he was on a 2way? Wonder if he got paid or had to suck it up. Sucks for these guys who really could use that money 

[radiohead]

https://www.masslive.com/celtics/2023/10/joe-mazzulla-talks-celtics-two-way-guards-torn-acl-injury.html

According to this report, the Celtics will likely sign another guy for a two way deal. It didn’t exactly say what will happen to Scrubb.

[86MaxwellSmart]

Scrubb was pretty good in Summer league, sucks for him.

[jay]

https://www.masslive.com/celtics/2023/10/joe-mazzulla-talks-celtics-two-way-guards-torn-acl-injury.html

According to this report, the Celtics will likely sign another guy for a two way deal. It didn’t exactly say what will happen to Scrubb.

Former first rounder Josh Christopher was just waived.Maybe worth a shot as a 2way player. Still young. Needs to work on 3 point shot. Maybe being in the right organization is all he needs.

[Vermont Green]

The top 6 are set and look great.  I expect that Jrue Holiday will start, along with Porzingis, Tatum, and Brown.  The only question is if Horford or White start.  All 6 of these will play starter minutes though.  I also think the bottom 4-5 or so are also pretty set.  Kornet, Mykhailiuk, Walsh, Banton and maybe Hauser look to be the end of the bench.  None of these bottom 4-5 are going to have much impact on the team.

Where the big questions are is in the middle, 7-10.  Right now, I see us as having just 3 players that have the track record and have shown enough so far in preseason to have solidified a role:

Pritchard  (Combo Guard)
Stevens   (Wing)
Brissett    (Swing/PF)

This middle group is important, not as important as the top 6, but a contribution is needed from this group both in the regular season and in the playoffs.  I think we are both 1 short in this group and a little light overall in talent in this group.  With Hauser, I am not sure if he is going to be in the middle group or the end of the bench group but he and Stevens play the same position, they play it very differently, but still the same.  Hauser may be more in competition with Svi as the off the bench shooter.  I think Stevens' defense and athleticism will win out over Hauser.

Hauser is in the group of "mid-sized" players that is overpopulated right now.  Hauser, Brissett, Stevens, Walsh, Mykhailiuk, all mid-sized wings.  Hauser may end up being the odd man out from this group.

[Surferdad]

The top 6 are set and look great.  I expect that Jrue Holiday will start, along with Porzingis, Tatum, and Brown.  The only question is if Horford or White start.  All 6 of these will play starter minutes though.  I also think the bottom 4-5 or so are also pretty set.  Kornet, Mykhailiuk, Walsh, Banton and maybe Hauser look to be the end of the bench.  None of these bottom 4-5 are going to have much impact on the team.

Where the big questions are is in the middle, 7-10.  Right now, I see us as having just 3 players that have the track record and have shown enough so far in preseason to have solidified a role:

Pritchard  (Combo Guard)
Stevens   (Wing)
Brissett    (Swing/PF)

This middle group is important, not as important as the top 6, but a contribution is needed from this group both in the regular season and in the playoffs.  I think we are both 1 short in this group and a little light overall in talent in this group.  With Hauser, I am not sure if he is going to be in the middle group or the end of the bench group but he and Stevens play the same position, they play it very differently, but still the same.  Hauser may be more in competition with Svi as the off the bench shooter.  I think Stevens' defense and athleticism will win out over Hauser.

Hauser is in the group of "mid-sized" players that is overpopulated right now.  Hauser, Brissett, Stevens, Walsh, Mykhailiuk, all mid-sized wings.  Hauser may end up being the odd man out from this group.

Great post. Based on Pritchard's pre-season performance to-date, I would add him to the top group, making it 7. Coach is going to need a third guard in the rotation.

That leaves the middle group as 8-11:
Stevens, Brissett, Hauser, Mykhailuk
Thing is, they all play more or less the same position. Who is the 3rd big?  Kornet, I guess. 

[Celtics2021]

The top 6 are set and look great.  I expect that Jrue Holiday will start, along with Porzingis, Tatum, and Brown.  The only question is if Horford or White start.  All 6 of these will play starter minutes though.  I also think the bottom 4-5 or so are also pretty set.  Kornet, Mykhailiuk, Walsh, Banton and maybe Hauser look to be the end of the bench.  None of these bottom 4-5 are going to have much impact on the team.

Where the big questions are is in the middle, 7-10.  Right now, I see us as having just 3 players that have the track record and have shown enough so far in preseason to have solidified a role:

Pritchard  (Combo Guard)
Stevens   (Wing)
Brissett    (Swing/PF)

This middle group is important, not as important as the top 6, but a contribution is needed from this group both in the regular season and in the playoffs.  I think we are both 1 short in this group and a little light overall in talent in this group.  With Hauser, I am not sure if he is going to be in the middle group or the end of the bench group but he and Stevens play the same position, they play it very differently, but still the same.  Hauser may be more in competition with Svi as the off the bench shooter.  I think Stevens' defense and athleticism will win out over Hauser.

Hauser is in the group of "mid-sized" players that is overpopulated right now.  Hauser, Brissett, Stevens, Walsh, Mykhailiuk, all mid-sized wings.  Hauser may end up being the odd man out from this group.

You’re way too high on Stevens relative to Hauser.  Hauser is absolutely above Stevens in the rotation.  It’s not even a given Stevens makes the team.  Hauser will be in the opening night rotation, that’s already been decided by the team based on his body of work last year.  They aren’t going to yank him out based on 3-4 preseason games.  Brissett probably will be in the rotation too — the rest of the guys will have to earn their time as the season goes along, assuming they make it to opening day.

[Roy H.]

The top 6 are set and look great.  I expect that Jrue Holiday will start, along with Porzingis, Tatum, and Brown.  The only question is if Horford or White start.  All 6 of these will play starter minutes though.  I also think the bottom 4-5 or so are also pretty set.  Kornet, Mykhailiuk, Walsh, Banton and maybe Hauser look to be the end of the bench.  None of these bottom 4-5 are going to have much impact on the team.

Where the big questions are is in the middle, 7-10.  Right now, I see us as having just 3 players that have the track record and have shown enough so far in preseason to have solidified a role:

Pritchard  (Combo Guard)
Stevens   (Wing)
Brissett    (Swing/PF)

This middle group is important, not as important as the top 6, but a contribution is needed from this group both in the regular season and in the playoffs.  I think we are both 1 short in this group and a little light overall in talent in this group.  With Hauser, I am not sure if he is going to be in the middle group or the end of the bench group but he and Stevens play the same position, they play it very differently, but still the same.  Hauser may be more in competition with Svi as the off the bench shooter.  I think Stevens' defense and athleticism will win out over Hauser.

Hauser is in the group of "mid-sized" players that is overpopulated right now.  Hauser, Brissett, Stevens, Walsh, Mykhailiuk, all mid-sized wings.  Hauser may end up being the odd man out from this group.

You’re way too high on Stevens relative to Hauser.  Hauser is absolutely above Stevens in the rotation.  It’s not even a given Stevens makes the team.  Hauser will be in the opening night rotation, that’s already been decided by the team based on his body of work last year.  They aren’t going to yank him out based on 3-4 preseason games.  Brissett probably will be in the rotation too — the rest of the guys will have to earn their time as the season goes along, assuming they make it to opening day.

I'd be surprised if Stevens didn't make the team, but otherwise I agree.  I don't quite understand why so many folks see Hauser as a question mark for the rotation.  He's an elite shooter who plays passable-to-solid defense.

[Celtics2021]

The top 6 are set and look great.  I expect that Jrue Holiday will start, along with Porzingis, Tatum, and Brown.  The only question is if Horford or White start.  All 6 of these will play starter minutes though.  I also think the bottom 4-5 or so are also pretty set.  Kornet, Mykhailiuk, Walsh, Banton and maybe Hauser look to be the end of the bench.  None of these bottom 4-5 are going to have much impact on the team.

Where the big questions are is in the middle, 7-10.  Right now, I see us as having just 3 players that have the track record and have shown enough so far in preseason to have solidified a role:

Pritchard  (Combo Guard)
Stevens   (Wing)
Brissett    (Swing/PF)

This middle group is important, not as important as the top 6, but a contribution is needed from this group both in the regular season and in the playoffs.  I think we are both 1 short in this group and a little light overall in talent in this group.  With Hauser, I am not sure if he is going to be in the middle group or the end of the bench group but he and Stevens play the same position, they play it very differently, but still the same.  Hauser may be more in competition with Svi as the off the bench shooter.  I think Stevens' defense and athleticism will win out over Hauser.

Hauser is in the group of "mid-sized" players that is overpopulated right now.  Hauser, Brissett, Stevens, Walsh, Mykhailiuk, all mid-sized wings.  Hauser may end up being the odd man out from this group.

You’re way too high on Stevens relative to Hauser.  Hauser is absolutely above Stevens in the rotation.  It’s not even a given Stevens makes the team.  Hauser will be in the opening night rotation, that’s already been decided by the team based on his body of work last year.  They aren’t going to yank him out based on 3-4 preseason games.  Brissett probably will be in the rotation too — the rest of the guys will have to earn their time as the season goes along, assuming they make it to opening day.

I'd be surprised if Stevens didn't make the team, but otherwise I agree.  I don't quite understand why so many folks see Hauser as a question mark for the rotation.  He's an elite shooter who plays passable-to-solid defense.

I too would be surprised if Stevens didn’t make the team, but he’s only on a training camp contract so his spot certainly isn’t a given.  If the right player shakes loose from another team, I think Stevens would be out (but I don’t think such a player will become available).

[theswitch]

I generally agree we are a little light in talent in the Pritchard - Hauser - Stevens - Brissett group, however in the context of this team I think it's totally fine. Pritchard and Hauser I feel good about. Pritchard is a pure scorer and everyone needs a microwave off the bench when it's not otherwise working. Here's some commentary on the other three.

Hauser: I don't understand the concern over two games. The guy can shoot. He's 42% for his career from deep and is a serviceable defender. He is not a focal point for an offense. If he's out on the court with the deep bench, he is not someone who is going to be an offensive engine because he only has one elite skill and the rest of his game is pretty weak offensively. That's okay! He will, at almost all times, but the 4th or 5th best offensive option on the court from a creator / engine perspective. He will hopefully never be one of the top two. If he is, we are screwed anyways. If he's out there with at least three of our top six, he's going to get open looks and he'll knock them down. It's just a totally different scope. Similar to the commentary on how Banton performed well because he was the focal point but wouldn't be successful in other situations. Hauser is not built for that Knicks game setup.

Brissett: I really like his game. I've been saying for a while he's our 7th most important player. He looks strong, athletic, and capable with the ball in his hands. I noticed that when he and Tatum were both in the game, it was Brissett who would pick up guys like Paul Reed. He's going to be useful. Again, he doesn't have to be that good! But he's athletic, can hit open shots, and can do something interesting and athletic with the ball when he has it. That's the spec. We all saw his putback that got disqualified. A couple clips that I absolutely loved:

1 -- https://twitter.com/CelticsRepublic/status/1711400193663353015 -- look at that activity! Tough around the screen and then taking on a much bigger and stronger player. That's terrific. And it's taking the biggest guy on the court with Al out there. That's indicative of the role he can play as a big.
2 -- https://twitter.com/OrgulhoCeltaBR/status/1711180104284491909 -- took a while to track this down. He comes from the other side of the court and outruns a much faster player to get the position and, while he made the shot, influence it and make it much more challenging.

So I'm really excited about Oshae. He's hyper athletic, he's strong. He's offensively limited but totally fine for the 4th or 5th best player out there role. And defensively he's going to be super useful. He's the exact type of guy you want to have to put on Jimmy Butler, Giannis, Durant, Lebron. Athletic, active, not afraid of physicality.

Stevens: More of the same in line with Brissett. What jumped out to me was his ability to dribble / drive and run the offense. He was more of a point forward than I expected. I find him a little duplicative with Brissett and I think ultimately one of them gets the bulk of the minutes, but it was cool to see that skillset which I didn't realize was there. His end of quarter or half play to kick out to JD was fun to watch from someone that strong and defensive.

More than anything, these are NBA players who have played 15-20 minutes a game for playoff teams. That's worth something. Anything from Svi, Banton, and Walsh is gravy.

Here's the thing -- conservatively you're going to get 25 from Tatum, 25 from Brown, 17-20 from Zinger, 15 from Jrue, 10 from Al, 10 from White. Because they have to share the ball. If someone gets hurt, all are capable of upping by five points. So that's 100-ish points from those guys even if you haircut. Fine, maybe it ends up at 90-95. Pritchard gets a few shots off to get to 8-10. Hauser throws in a few more. Point is, you don't need more scoring. You need guys like Brissett. That's why I'm excited about him.

[Vermont Green]

You’re way too high on Stevens relative to Hauser.  Hauser is absolutely above Stevens in the rotation.  It’s not even a given Stevens makes the team.  Hauser will be in the opening night rotation, that’s already been decided by the team based on his body of work last year.  They aren’t going to yank him out based on 3-4 preseason games.  Brissett probably will be in the rotation too — the rest of the guys will have to earn their time as the season goes along, assuming they make it to opening day.

I'd be surprised if Stevens didn't make the team, but otherwise I agree.  I don't quite understand why so many folks see Hauser as a question mark for the rotation.  He's an elite shooter who plays passable-to-solid defense.

I too would be surprised if Stevens didn’t make the team, but he’s only on a training camp contract so his spot certainly isn’t a given.  If the right player shakes loose from another team, I think Stevens would be out (but I don’t think such a player will become available).

I guess that I do see that the shine has worn off some from Hauser.  He was great at times last season but towards the end and then now this preseason, to me, he has regressed, possibly regressing to the mean.  Stevens just looks like more of a NBA athlete to me.  Yes, Hauser shoots better when he shoots better, Stevens does everything else better.  I am not entirely sold on either so wouldn't be all that surprised in any case but at this point, I see Stevens having an edge on getting rotation minutes once the season starts but in my view, neither is a lock.

[Roy H.]

You’re way too high on Stevens relative to Hauser.  Hauser is absolutely above Stevens in the rotation.  It’s not even a given Stevens makes the team.  Hauser will be in the opening night rotation, that’s already been decided by the team based on his body of work last year.  They aren’t going to yank him out based on 3-4 preseason games.  Brissett probably will be in the rotation too — the rest of the guys will have to earn their time as the season goes along, assuming they make it to opening day.

I'd be surprised if Stevens didn't make the team, but otherwise I agree.  I don't quite understand why so many folks see Hauser as a question mark for the rotation.  He's an elite shooter who plays passable-to-solid defense.

I too would be surprised if Stevens didn’t make the team, but he’s only on a training camp contract so his spot certainly isn’t a given.  If the right player shakes loose from another team, I think Stevens would be out (but I don’t think such a player will become available).

I guess that I do see that the shine has worn off some from Hauser.  He was great at times last season but towards the end and then now this preseason, to me, he has regressed, possibly regressing to the mean.  Stevens just looks like more of a NBA athlete to me.  Yes, Hauser shoots better when he shoots better, Stevens does everything else better.  I am not entirely sold on either so wouldn't be all that surprised in any case but at this point, I see Stevens having an edge on getting rotation minutes once the season starts but in my view, neither is a lock.

I'm not sure about "everything else better".  Hauser has him in scoring rate and assists, as well. 

https://stathead.com/basketball/versus-finder.cgi?request=1&seasons_type=forall&year_min=2023&year_max=2023&player_id1=stevela01&player_id2=hausesa01

[No Nickname]

You’re way too high on Stevens relative to Hauser.  Hauser is absolutely above Stevens in the rotation.  It’s not even a given Stevens makes the team.  Hauser will be in the opening night rotation, that’s already been decided by the team based on his body of work last year.  They aren’t going to yank him out based on 3-4 preseason games.  Brissett probably will be in the rotation too — the rest of the guys will have to earn their time as the season goes along, assuming they make it to opening day.

I'd be surprised if Stevens didn't make the team, but otherwise I agree.  I don't quite understand why so many folks see Hauser as a question mark for the rotation.  He's an elite shooter who plays passable-to-solid defense.

I too would be surprised if Stevens didn’t make the team, but he’s only on a training camp contract so his spot certainly isn’t a given.  If the right player shakes loose from another team, I think Stevens would be out (but I don’t think such a player will become available).

I guess that I do see that the shine has worn off some from Hauser.  He was great at times last season but towards the end and then now this preseason, to me, he has regressed, possibly regressing to the mean.  Stevens just looks like more of a NBA athlete to me.  Yes, Hauser shoots better when he shoots better, Stevens does everything else better.  I am not entirely sold on either so wouldn't be all that surprised in any case but at this point, I see Stevens having an edge on getting rotation minutes once the season starts but in my view, neither is a lock.

Towards the end of the season he regressed?

He shot 49% from three in February.  And 42.8% from three in Mar/April.

Against Atlanta in the playoffs he shot 45.5% from three in 10.5mpg.

And then Joe tightened his leash as Hauser only played 4.8mpg against Philly (and put up six total shots that series) and 4.4mpg against Miami (and put up seven total shots).

[Vermont Green]

You’re way too high on Stevens relative to Hauser.  Hauser is absolutely above Stevens in the rotation.  It’s not even a given Stevens makes the team.  Hauser will be in the opening night rotation, that’s already been decided by the team based on his body of work last year.  They aren’t going to yank him out based on 3-4 preseason games.  Brissett probably will be in the rotation too — the rest of the guys will have to earn their time as the season goes along, assuming they make it to opening day.

I'd be surprised if Stevens didn't make the team, but otherwise I agree.  I don't quite understand why so many folks see Hauser as a question mark for the rotation.  He's an elite shooter who plays passable-to-solid defense.

I too would be surprised if Stevens didn’t make the team, but he’s only on a training camp contract so his spot certainly isn’t a given.  If the right player shakes loose from another team, I think Stevens would be out (but I don’t think such a player will become available).

I guess that I do see that the shine has worn off some from Hauser.  He was great at times last season but towards the end and then now this preseason, to me, he has regressed, possibly regressing to the mean.  Stevens just looks like more of a NBA athlete to me.  Yes, Hauser shoots better when he shoots better, Stevens does everything else better.  I am not entirely sold on either so wouldn't be all that surprised in any case but at this point, I see Stevens having an edge on getting rotation minutes once the season starts but in my view, neither is a lock.

So just as I say this, Hauser goes out and has a good game.  I only saw the first half and didn't see Stevens play at all but based on the box score, he didn't appear to have done much.  I base a lot of my player evaluation on what I see on the court.  I consider stats too, especially if I haven't seen a player all that much.

Hauser can shoot, no doubt about that, but it is hard to parse out his shooting in garbage time from his shooting in more critical game moments.  To me, he is on the fringe of a core rotation NBA player.  It is different for him from what I see when he is out there with the "big boys" vs. other less critical times.  Stevens may be on that same fringe but I just see a lot more athleticism and physicality with him.  Like Brissett, he is not a 3-point shooter though and these days, that is important.

I guess we will see how it all works out.  I am not saying there is a big separation between any of Brissett, Stevens, and Hauser.  Mykhailkiuk is now in that same mix also.  But right now, I would rank them as follows in terms of potential value to the team:

Brissett
Stevens
Hauser
Mykhailiuk

I don't think we need all 4 of them.  Even if we start the season with all 4, that may change along the way.  Stevens and Mykhailiuk are both "waiveable", Brissett and Hauser have guaranteed contracts, so that is a factor also.  And Mykhailiuk has looked really good, he is trending up.