The big question for the Celtics this offseason: What will it take to bring Kevin Durant to Boston?
It appears the Green Team might have an idea.
During an appearance on WEEI, Butch Sterns revealed that Durant’s representatives have told the Celtics organization which guys he wants to play with.
“I have this on pretty good authority: The Celtics have sat with his agent and other representatives of Durant. The Celtics do know — I don’t know who it is — but they do know who he would prefer to be brought here in a LeBron-Chris Bosh-Dwyane Wade-like way. Because that’s how it works in the NBA. You need to know who the guy or guys that that guy wants, which would be a factor
“Now, I don’t know if Durant’s told them that. But the Celtics know. They know. They’ve been told what group of guys he would want to come here.”
It’s unclear if other teams have received a similar list from Durant’s camp, but on the surface it appears Durant could be at least entertaining the idea of joining the Celtics.
Jae Crowder had been the focus of much of the Celtics trade speculation the past few days in the wake of the Gordon Hayward acquisition.
Looks like those plans might be on hold.
After the Celtics reportedly traded guard Avery Bradley to the Detroit Pistons for power forward Marcus Morris, Adam Himmelsbach of the Boston Globe reported that the Celtics say they have no intention of trading Crowder.
The Celtics and Utah Jazz reportedly had been negotiating a sign-and-trade-deal that would send Crowder to Utah to help the C's clear salary-cap space to fit Hayward's four-year, $128 million contract. Crowder famously complained about Celtics fans cheering for Hayward as Crowder's possible replacement when the Jazz played in Boston last season. Now, it appears they'll be together on the same team.
How's Al Horford, Crowder, Morris, Isaiah Thomas and Hayward as a starting lineup?
With the number of forwards on the Celtics roster (Hayward, Crowder, Jaylen Brown, Jason Tatum and now Morris among them), Crowder, 27, who averaged 13.9 points and 5.8 rebounds in 31.6 minutes last season, will likely see those minutes reduced. His team-friendly contract ($6.8 million next season followed by salaries of $7.3M, $7.8M) had made him an attractive trade target.
SALT LAKE CITY -- Longtime Celtic Avery Bradley is on the cusp of being traded to the Detroit Pistons for Marcus Morris, according to ESPN.
CSNNE.com has learned that the trade will also include Boston sending the Pistons a future second-round pick as well.
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Bradley, drafted by the Celtics with the 19th overall pick in the 2010 draft, has established himself as one of the NBA’s top two-way players and was named to the NBA’s All-Defensive first team following the 2015-2016 season.
And this past season, he was the top vote-getter among players not named to the league’s All-Defensive first or second team.
When the Celtics came to terms on a four-year, $127.8 million contract with Gordon Hayward, they had to clearl enough salary-cap space in order to seal the deal. That meant Boston was going to have to part ways with a key player.
The most talked-about names being on the move were Bradley, Jae Crowder and Marcus Smart.
Bradley will make $8.8 million this season and will become a free agent in the summer of 2018. The Celtics were likely going to have to choose between re-signing Bradley or Isaiah Thomas, who also hits the free agent market in 2018.
Morris has this year and one more season left on his contract, but he’s only making $5 million for this season and $5.375 million for the 2018-2019 season.
So in adding Morris, the Celtics gave themselves more financial flexibility in addition to adding a player who addresses a need -- size.
At 6-foot-9 and 235 pounds, Morris can play both power forward and center for the Celtics. And because of his perimeter skills (he shot 33.1 percent from 3-point range last season and is a 35.5 percent career shooter on 3’s), adding him can help fill the void left by Kelly Olynyk, who signed a four-year deal with the Miami Heat worth at least $50 million.
