NBA stars comment on C's rebuilding and as a free agency spot

[sed522002]

http://bostonherald.com/sports/celtics_nba/boston_celtics/2014/02/celts_still_get_respect

Kobe

“No matter what, Boston is always going to be Boston,” said Lakers star Kobe Bryant. “You don’t ever get the feeling they’re going to be bad for very long. They’re always going to find a way to get back into it. It’s the same with us. That’s what happens with the great organizations.

Anonymous member from opposing club

“Off the record?” he said. “They scare the (expletive) out of me. If things go right for them in the draft and they’re able to use some of those other picks to make a deal or two, they could be right back in this thing.

“And when you look at some of the teams in our league that have been stuck in the mud for years, it has to be hard for them to watch Boston set themselves up so fast.”

Dwight Howard

“Every team has an opportunity, especially a team like Boston who’s willing to do whatever it takes to win,” said Howard. “I think people will want to go play with the Celtics because of the history there. It’s going to take time, and, you know, a lot of people aren’t patient. They want things to happen right away. But you have to remember that everything takes time, It doesn’t happen overnight.

“I think Boston’s going to be right back. They had a couple of years before they got KG and Paul together where they were terrible and nobody wanted to be a Boston fan at that time. Then KG and Ray Allen come, and everything changes. They win and everybody’s happy. But it takes time.”

AS A FREE AGENCY DESTINATION
http://www.bostonglobe.com/sports/2014/02/16/boston-list-when-free-agents-shop/59M6bePim4l4t11ih1um2K/story.html

Kevin Love

“I’ve never really spent much time in Boston. I don’t know it too well,” he said. “But I think as far as playing there, we love competing against those guys. I think they have a great coach and they have a ton of youngsters that are up-and-comers.

“Boston is a great city. I’m sure free agents would love to go there, especially with [Brad] Stevens as a coach. He’s a guy that can win basketball games. He gets guys to play for him. They’ve been having good success there, even in his first year, and he has a lot of young players. The coach has a lot to do with it, but yeah, Boston is a great place.”

Wade

“It’s a sports town, when it comes to hard-core fans, when it comes to the sport that you love being the biggest thing about a city, it’s one of the main attractions from that standpoint,” Wade said of Boston. “And the rich history, obviously. I don’t think [location] matters. As you see with Ray and KG, it was the right time for them. They were there and did some amazing things, so you never know.

“At the end of the day, you don’t get to spend as much time in [your home] city as you think you do. You’ve got to sell the culture of the organization. You’ve got to sell winning. You’ve got to sell personnel. Those things, to me, are important.

“Obviously, there’s certain cities that are not going to get the look of certain guys, that doesn’t mean only New York or only LA or only San Francisco, these cities are going to be the only ones to get these players. It’s selling your organization and what you’re trying to do, more than anything.”

Carmelo Anthony

“Nobody expected that move [the Big Three] to happen at that time,” Knicks forward Carmelo Anthony said. “Nobody expected Garnett to go there, Ray Allen to go there. I don’t think people expected Rondo to turn out the way he’s turned out.

“Boston had some down years, and somebody like Paul, I have to take my hat off to him because he dealt with it, stuck with it. And then they brought the conglomerate over there and you see what happened.”

Kevin Durant

Kevin Durant said he became emotional when he watched the montages the Celtics put together for Pierce and Garnett last month.

“I was there when Perk [Kendrick Perkins] got his tribute and you can tell they love those guys much more than wins and losses,” Durant said. “As a player, you can definitely appreciate that.”

[BleedGreen1989]

Thanks for posting that.

Don't think you can take anything profound from it, but it's still cool to hear.

No idea Love thought so highly of President Stevens? Book it, Love's coming to Boston 

[colincb]

I'm not buyinhg this happy talk from the Herald and Globe.  What do you expect their writers to say?  We suck?  Don't the Celtics advertise in their papers? We're doomed if we don't _____ (fill in the blank).

[manl_lui]

Durant - if you love the tributes so much, why don't you come here, so we can make you one some day 

[Roy H.]

I'm not buyinhg this happy talk from the Herald and Globe.  What do you expect their writers to say?  We suck?  Don't the Celtics advertise in their papers? We're doomed if we don't _____ (fill in the blank).

While I agree that it's largely fluff talk, it's not like the Herald told Kobe, Howard, Wade, Durant, etc. what to say.  (I think the scared player was Lebron. )

[get_banners]

I'm not buyinhg this happy talk from the Herald and Globe.  What do you expect their writers to say?  We suck?  Don't the Celtics advertise in their papers? We're doomed if we don't _____ (fill in the blank).

While I agree that it's largely fluff talk, it's not like the Herald told Kobe, Howard, Wade, Durant, etc. what to say.  (I think the scared player was Lebron. )

I agree. Lebron has always been scared of Boston. We've knocked him out when we weren't supposed to, and have given his Superfriends team all they can handle.

[badshar]

“I think Boston’s going to be right back. They had a couple of years before they got KG and Paul together where they were terrible and nobody wanted to be a Boston fan at that time. Then KG and Ray Allen come, and everything changes. They win and everybody’s happy. But it takes time."

Did anyone else notice Dwight firing shots at the Celtics fanbase?

[badshar]

I'm not buyinhg this happy talk from the Herald and Globe.  What do you expect their writers to say?  We suck?  Don't the Celtics advertise in their papers? We're doomed if we don't _____ (fill in the blank).

While I agree that it's largely fluff talk, it's not like the Herald told Kobe, Howard, Wade, Durant, etc. what to say.  (I think the scared player was Lebron. )

They don't have a choice. What are they going to say? They have to be nice, else their public image takes a hit.

[pearljammer10]

I'm not buyinhg this happy talk from the Herald and Globe.  What do you expect their writers to say?  We suck?  Don't the Celtics advertise in their papers? We're doomed if we don't _____ (fill in the blank).

While I agree that it's largely fluff talk, it's not like the Herald told Kobe, Howard, Wade, Durant, etc. what to say.  (I think the scared player was Lebron. )

I agree. Lebron has always been scared of Boston. We've knocked him out when we weren't supposed to, and have given his Superfriends team all they can handle.

Yeah I thought the same thing myself.

[Fan from VT]

There is some(small) merit to creating the perfect "ed" for Durant to land in in 2016. Guys drafted this year and next will still be on their rookie deals (2 or 3 years left). Rondo will still be effective. If you can have a distributing veteran PG, a defense/spacing 2 (better than Bradley), a true center (embiid), and a tough rebounding PF (sully if he actually pans out, or a package to grab Love), and max cap room, then you just hope that Durant is disillusioned with OKC's cheapness, small marketness, and that he really does love the Boston tributes and wants to be in the Boston "wing" montage with Havlicek-Bird-Pierce-Durant.

[sed522002]

I'm not buyinhg this happy talk from the Herald and Globe.  What do you expect their writers to say?  We suck?  Don't the Celtics advertise in their papers? We're doomed if we don't _____ (fill in the blank).

While I agree that it's largely fluff talk, it's not like the Herald told Kobe, Howard, Wade, Durant, etc. what to say.  (I think the scared player was Lebron. )

They don't have a choice. What are they going to say? They have to be nice, else their public image takes a hit.

Not necessarily, they can always use the comment "I really don't know, have to wait and see" they don't have to go in detail. Not saying that I take what they're saying to be true, but they aren't forced to say anything nice about another organization. What do you think they'd say if they were asked about Milwaukee's rebuilding plan and free agency? Probably some generic nice things.

[GreenFaith1819]

Thanks for post.

I'm very optimistic about the future of our team. We're not winning a lot of games now, but Sully is having a great year, and we have Rondo back.

And as the quotes mentioned, Coach Stevens is being recognized for his abilities as a coach around the league, which is more good news.

BOS will be back, soon....I don't believe we'll have another "Lean Years" with our team.

Danny will get us there. He has a plan.

[Snakehead]

Thanks for post.

I'm very optimistic about the future of our team. We're not winning a lot of games now, but Sully is having a great year, and we have Rondo back.

And as the quotes mentioned, Coach Stevens is being recognized for his abilities as a coach around the league, which is more good news.

BOS will be back, soon....I don't believe we'll have another "Lean Years" with our team.

Danny will get us there. He has a plan.

All the inept GMs out there and I think Ainge has to look really appealing.  I mean he is known to be a bit cutthroat but if you are successful it's hard to argue with it.  Plus Brad Stevens is going to get respect, especially from the younger players I think.

Also nice shout out to the fans.  I think Celtics fans are really pretty remarkable.  That chant when we were losing to the Heat was still probably the best fan outpour of love I've ever seen... but the KG and Pierce tribute videos were close.

[get_banners]

I definitely think the events with the first return trips for our former players is rare, and if I were an NBA star, I'd find that pretty awesome. I mean...the crowd went nuts for Perk and Big Baby. And they were absolutely bananas for Ray, Doc, and KG and Pierce (I can't imagine ANY players getting the kind of reception Pierce and KG got, anywhere).

[Boris Badenov]

TP as usual sed, these little tidbits you pull together are well-appreciated.

The only thing about these quotes I find unsatisfying is that the sample is of guys who obviously "get it." They're mature vets who care about winning and in many cases have sacrificed toward that goal. (The exception is Howard but I don't believe a word that comes out of his mouth).

I want to hear from Kyrie Irving, Demarcus Cousins, etc...the young guys the Celts will presumably be trying to acquire. Do they get it too?