Inside the Celtics Locker Room: Dysfunction Junction
- Thread starter RedOctober3829
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Yeah Kemba's agent getting a story out there to explain why Kemba was traded with a first for Uncle Al is the least surprising shit of this offseason.
Subscription article so I couldn't access it--are the sources named? Do we know this didn't come from the Kemba camp?
In general, it's an example that failure is an orphan. Just winning will cure almost all these chemistry problems. And if it doesn't, and it turns out the Jays are not the ones to lead us forward? Well, we're back at square one.
It's a different league now. Back in the day when teams had more cohesiveness and identity, say the Bird-era teams, if the Lakers or Pistons had done that I feel pretty sure it would have gotten a response.
It's one of the last legitimate news outlets in this country, so I'm sure that they got corroboration from other sources. Not questioning that at all.
"Hey Jaylen, we have sources [ed: Kemba, agent] that indicate that coach busted Kemba's balls all year for not playing defense but gave Marcus [ed: who plays defense] a pass, and it caused tension. Is this true?"
"Oh yeah. That definitely happened. Kemba and Brad butted heads over that a lot."
I don’t know the source from those quotes, but it would seem like someone from the coaching/administration side, likely no longer with the organization. (Jerome Allen?)
Doesn’t really matter, and it’s not surprising. I would be surprised if Tatum holds the trade of soon to be CBA star Javonte Green against the organization, but stranger things have happened.
Doesn’t really matter, and it’s not surprising. I would be surprised if Tatum holds the trade of soon to be CBA star Javonte Green against the organization, but stranger things have happened.
I don't think any of the players were aware of it at the time, and by the time the next game began, it was 3-1 Brooklyn and a series that was 90% done when Jaylen went down was over in all but name. It was a classless move by Kyrie, followed by a fan's attempted assault. There really wasn't anything the players could have done at that point without looking like a bunch of assholes.
I’m starting to think TT is a guy management doesn’t like in the locker room but is well liked by his teammates. Maybe he’s good at sewing division and stoking flames that are already there. A few Celts went on the record to proclaim their love for him.
It’s also interesting that they got someone on the team to complain about Stevens’ “college offense” leading to a lot of iso ball, and how it annoyed the team.
If the reports are true about Stevens not being the most well liked coach, on one hand they must be happy that he’s no longer sitting at the end of the bench. But it’s also gotta be a bitter pill to swallow knowing he’s been promoted.
Also seems like there was some Tatum sourcing, noting his friendships with Javonte Green (traded), Kemba (traded), and TT (likely to be traded).
I just read the entire article and it’s funny because my first reaction was that Tristan Thompson was an obvious source for a good amount of it. Well Thompson, Walker and Marcus Smart (who gets a surprising amount of good press in this)
“Thompson is one of Tatum’s good friends and might be shipped out” “Someone told Griffin not to come because of the dysfunction”
I wouldn't, Tatum strikes me as petulant and entitled, both of which can be attributed to youth IMO but time will tell.
I didn't read it as the players didn't like Stevens, just that maybe it was time to move to another voice.
And, if one of those 3 finalists is hired, it would seem that Stevens heard what they were saying.
That last paragraph really doesn’t seem like it’s from Tatum but someone else who’s speaking for Tatum.
Who knows but I’m skeptical that Thompson only gets positive ink in this.
When Chris Vernon, a Memphis host who has 0 connections to Boston and really doesn’t care, reports that Thompson is a problem, I tend to believe that more than an article where it just talks about how much everyone loves him
Karalis quote was "no one outside of the locker room seems to like him".
He said TT said something to the effect of the regular season was almost meaningless, and Stevens was preaching the opposite.
Uh…yeah, that’s not something you want a supposed “leader” preaching to your locker room. And judging by how the team played in regular season games, that sentiment unfortunately sank in
"Brooklyn’s Blake Griffin asked a Celtics player if he should join the team midseason and was told not to come to Boston because of the apparent dysfunction."
KW and Blake Griffin have the same agency (Excel Sports) so I'm betting all my money that this came from KW.
It seems behind his beautiful smile disguise, he may have been hiding something evil and sinister all that time.
So glad he is now prisoned in the NBA version of Siberia.
KW and Blake Griffin have the same agency (Excel Sports) so I'm betting all my money that this came from KW.
It seems behind his beautiful smile disguise, he may have been hiding something evil and sinister all that time.
So glad he is now prisoned in the NBA version of Siberia.
Also both brand Jordan. It’s either him or Tristan Thompson that told him not to come. I am assuming him and Thompson both hung out together a decent amount when they were going out with a Kardasian and a Jenner
I don't know about evil and sinister, but I agree that this too came from Kemba. Most of this piece did.
Kemba telling Griffin to stay away because the coach demands defense from stars is unsurprising, and (side note) I'm grateful that we didn't get Griffin.
I am happier & more relieved than ever that the trade went down so quickly.
TT is the obvious next player to get shipped out, purely from basketball point of view. If it's even remotely true that he was not a good influence on the team, that's a welcomed bonus.
TT is the obvious next player to get shipped out, purely from basketball point of view. If it's even remotely true that he was not a good influence on the team, that's a welcomed bonus.
It's not a big deal but that article is clearly sourced from Kemba's camp, which is fine. It didn't work out, no one should be happy with how it played out.
Good luck to Kemba, Celtics are moving onwards and upwards. Did Kemba get the trade kicker???
The team struggled with Theis and Thompson in a double big lineup last year, but Horford and Williams are far more dynamic scorers and passers and could pair nicely if Horford is still shooting decently
Just for the record, I am vehemently against Horford/TL pairing on the floor. As I was against the Theis/TT pairing
Yea yea, I liked Baynes/Horford pairing 3 seasons ago (for 15mpg) but that was a different time, roster, abilities, situation etc.
Good luck to Kemba, Celtics are moving onwards and upwards. Did Kemba get the trade kicker???
The team struggled with Theis and Thompson in a double big lineup last year, but Horford and Williams are far more dynamic scorers and passers and could pair nicely if Horford is still shooting decently
Just for the record, I am vehemently against Horford/TL pairing on the floor. As I was against the Theis/TT pairing
Yea yea, I liked Baynes/Horford pairing 3 seasons ago (for 15mpg) but that was a different time, roster, abilities, situation etc.
You just have to wait for two years for Mitchell to demand out of Salt Lake City.
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Which is what some of us here (granted, not many) began saying midway through this season. Not surprising.
*yawn*
The NBA is just one big soap opera and this doesn't even sound like a minor subplot.
Wake me when we get to the part where Tatum demands a trade.
The NBA is just one big soap opera and this doesn't even sound like a minor subplot.
Wake me when we get to the part where Tatum demands a trade.
Yeah, I still contend it was fairly clear even then that he was being tuned out to some degree. It happens.
In the games I watched this season Marcus was pretty soft on D it seemed.. didn't have the same fire... but if there's something he should definitely have been reined in on it was how often he shoots and how often he dribbles down the clock when he's the PG. Brad definitely seems to have a soft spot for him and played him a ton of minutes regardless of situation.
Smart earns his minutes. That said, I think he’s a guy who could benefit a lot from a coaching change because there’s a couple things he does on offense that are real negatives that are also easy fixes. The biggest one is Smart needs to not shoot pull up threes. There’s not a clear statistical trend that he’s worse at them than catch and shoots, but they don’t have gravity value on offense the way being willing to take open catch and shoots does. He also needs to hollow out his shot chart more. He settles for runners and tough post up shots too much. He actually shot really well from 3-10 feet this year, but he needs to focus on getting to the rim more. He used to do that but not finish. Now he finishes fine but settles too much.
A coaching emphasis on better shots, not necessarily fewer, would go a long way to helping Smart maximize his considerable talent.
I don't disagree, but I presume Brad also knows this and has tried. Brad may have faults but he is generally very statistically oriented.
Do you mean that finding a coach that says the same things will lead to better results because Smart will listen better to someone else?
Weird how no matter what other key players the Celtics try to put around Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown, those other guys are always causing locker room problems.
Smart needs to be sat when he takes too many shots. Brad never seemed to discipline him as far as I can tell. Other players under Brad were stapled to the bench when they did the same thing as Smart did.
I don’t want to speculate on why. I’m saying a different coach may make headway either by emphasizing the issue more or presenting it differently or something else.
I mostly think this is not the solution. He needs a coach who can make him understand why he is a better player, and the Celtics are a better team, if he changes his approach. Sitting for mistakes may work for rookies, but for vets it is just going to piss players off and create locker room problems. Plus, the Celtics are a worse team benching Smart for inferior players.
Do you know what will really lead to Marcus being more selective with his shots? Tatum not missing a large chunk of the year with covid, Brown being healthy, Fournier being available, and Al being able to stretch the floor. Last year on the very rare occasions that Boston had its guys available, Marcus barely shot the ball. Because it wasn’t necessary and he’s basically the Swiss Army Knife guy.
(This wasn’t directed at you personally. A lot of people keep repeating the claim that Smart is ruining their offense by taking shots away from other players. He does, but the guys he’s taking shots from are Semi, Thompson, Grant and other guys you’d probably not want shooting either.)
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Yeah the only thing this article reveals is that Kemba is way more of a prima donna than I realized. Getting mad cause you suck at defense and the coach calls you out for it is…something.
What is it with undersized PGs who can score but can’t play defense and the Celtics? This is the third one in a row who’s left the Cs on bad terms.
What is it with undersized PGs who can score but can’t play defense and the Celtics? This is the third one in a row who’s left the Cs on bad terms.
IT4 was hurt and got traded; it was fair for him to be upset. He gave us one of the most fun non championship seasons ever. Kyrie is legit crazy and Kemba can’t even score now (guy was regularly 6-19 with matador defense).
In fairness, it wasn't until Kyrie showed up that we started hearing about locker room issues.
Yeah, I'm of two minds on this: on the one hand Marcus takes an outrageous number of three pointers given the rate at which he makes them, on the other, he's often been the only guy on the court willing to create his own shot at all. He has and always will play with confidence.
In the end I find nighthob's argument very convincing although Ive said the opposite in the past. You only have to look at 2018-2019 to see Smart is willing to defer to other teammates. Only 7 fga a game that year, less than Kyrie, Tatum, Brown, Hayward, Horford, Morris, and Rozier.
Assuming Pritchard can attempt 5 or 6 3's of his own a game next year, one of Nesmith or Langford steps up, or someone new and shiny is brought in at their expense, Smart will get to play point and defer.
In fairness I can't imagine how anyone could consider Irving anything less than a locker room cancer given what he did to both Cleveland and Boston. That being said this is actually a worry of mine, that the JayCrew might need a divorce. I'm hoping that the next coach can straighten things out.
The Shank knife the guy on his way out of town article must be coming. Too bad it didn’t work out with Kemba. It wasn’t for lack of trying. Wish him well. If he can consistently stay on the court he can still be a force. Just didn’t work out that way consistently in Boston.
I can see how it’s frustrating to be called out for your defense when the guys sucking on offense get a free pass. Reading between the lines that seems to be where players thought there was a double standard. To be fair, Kemba wasn’t great on offense either.