Boston Celtics Must Waive Jason Terry This Offseason (Yahoo! Contributor Network)
The News COMMENTARY | The Boston Celtics have a lot of needs this offseason, yet they fall under a precarious salary cap situation which could allow very little activity in free agency. Regardless of whether Paul Pierce gets amnestied, or Kevin Garnett retires, or Brandon Bass and Courtney Lee get dealt in sign-and-trades, a great deal of work needs to be done.
The Problems Facing the Boston Celtics This Offseason (Yahoo! Contributor Network)
The News COMMENTARY | It's hard to imagine now, but the Boston Celtics actually looked fairly deep at the beginning of this season. After adding players who were either hurt or played elsewhere last year such as Jeff Green, Jason Terry, Courtney Lee, Jason Collins, Leandro Barbosa, and Chris Wilcox, it seemed as if Danny Ainge had a strong offseason. Surrounding the core of Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett, and Rajon Rondo, this team looked tough enough to make a push in a very vulnerable Eastern Conference.
The 10-man rotation, starring the teeming dislike for Dwight Howard (Ball Don't Lie)
The News A look around the league and the web that covers it. It's also important to note that the rotation order and starting nods aren't always listed in order of importance. That's for you, dear reader, to figure out.
C : Sports on Earth . David Roth on the unique and (since he became a member of the Los Angeles Lakers, at least) ubiquitous dislike for Dwight Howard. A distaste with no real precedent in recent NBA history.
PF : Philadunkia . Phil Jackson probably does not want to coach an NBA team at this stage in his career, preferring to probably take his talents to a front office, he probably does not think much of the Philadelphia 76ers’ roster, and he assuredly wants no part of coaching Kwame Brown or potentially Andrew Bynum ever again. But … is there a chance he comes to Philly?
SF : Mavs Moneyball . If you feel like laughing until you cry, Dallas Mavericks fans, look at some of the worst-case scenario selections Kirk Henderson put together for your 2013-14, post-free agency roster.
SG : Blog a Bull . If you feel like laughing until you cry, Chicago Bulls fans, look at Derrick Rose’s finest plays from the 2012-13 regular season.
PG : True Hoop . Kevin Arnovitz with five things to watch for Thursday’s pivotal Game 3 between the Los Angeles Clippers and Memphis Grizzlies. Two takeaways: Vinny Del Negro has stepped up, and Marc Gasol badly needs to step up on the offensive side of the court.
Celtics lock up East's 7th seed, rout Magic 120-88 (The Associated Press)
The News ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) -- Courtney Lee scored 20 points and Jeff Green added 17 as the Boston Celtics cruised to a 120-88 victory over the Orlando Magic on Saturday night.
The News ORLANDO, Fla. -- Veterans Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce returned to the lineup and Courtney Lee had 20 points to lead the balanced Boston Celtics to a 120-88 victory over the Orlando Magic on Saturday night.
Lee awaits doctor's 'OK'; Hawks' Horford out (Comcast SportsNet New England)
The News The Celtics may get Courtney Lee back for their game against the Hawks tonight. One thing they know for sure is that Atlanta's center, Al Horford, won't be playing due to the flu.
NBA-Highlights of Tuesday's National Basketball Association games (Reuters)
The News March 26 (The Sports Xchange) - Knicks 100, Celtics 85 J.R. Smith, Carmelo Anthony and the undermanned New York Knicks were just too much for the more-undermanned Boston Celtics Tuesday night. Smith and Anthony combined for 61 points and the Knicks, playing without Tyson Chandler and Amar'e Stoudemire, cruised to their fifth straight win, a 100-85 handling of the Celtics, who were missing Kevin Garnett, Rajon Rondo, Courtney Lee and others. ...
The News The Celtics said Kevin Garnett and Courtney Lee are expected to miss Saturday night's game against the Memphis Grizzlies with left ankle injuries.
Our View Lee, a 6-foot-5 guard, crumpled to the court with 1:21 left in the game after spraining his ankle.
Garnett, Lee, Gasol miss Celtics-Grizzlies game (The Associated Press)
The News MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) -- Kevin Garnett and Courtney Lee missed the Celtics' game Saturday night against Memphis with left ankle injuries, while Grizzlies center Marc Gasol sat out with an abdominal tear.
Garnett, Lee, Gasol to miss Celtics-Grizzlies game (The Associated Press)
The News MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) -- The Celtics said Kevin Garnett and Courtney Lee are expected to miss Saturday night's game against the Memphis Grizzlies with left ankle injuries.
The News Boston coach Doc Rivers said Lee, who has been averaging 7.2 points and 1.4 assists in 22 minutes, will start for now in place of the injured Rajon Rondo.
Our View Leandro Barbosa, Avery Bradley, Jeff Green and Jason Terry will also have the ball more without Rondo on the floor.
UPDATE 1-NBA-Spurs roll over Celtics to edge closer to Thunder (Reuters)
The News (adds quotes, detail) * Spurs win for first time in three games * Big fourth quarter key to victory Dec 15 (Reuters) - The San Antonio Spurs broke out of a two-game losing streak in style, demolishing the Boston Celtics 103-88 on Saturday to claw closer to Oklahoma City's Western Conference lead. The Spurs (19-6) surged ahead in the final quarter courtesy of Tony Parker's 22 points and Gary Neal's 20, to close in on the Thunder's Western Conference-leading 19-4 record. Kevin Garnett (13), Courtney Lee (11), Jeff Green (10) also put up double figures on the scoreboard in a solid team effort. ...
The News Lee says he turned down more money to join the Boston Celtics. The guard came to Boston from Houston after a sign-and-trade deal. He said Sunday that ``the expectations every year for this team is to win big and that's one thing I want to do is win big.
Our View Lee says his friendship with Rajon Rondo played a large role in the move to Boston. The Celtics needed to free up more money to sign Lee and wound up making a three-team deal with Portland in the mix. Lee is set to step into the starting lineup, with Jason Terry, also signed as a free agent, coming off the bench. The Celtics will be without the recovering Avery Bradley (shoulder) for the first two months of the season.
Keyon Dooling retires, leaving the players’ union with a big decision (Ball Don't Lie)
The News On Thursday afternoon, the Boston Celtics announced that they had waived veteran combo guard Keyon Dooling , who had re-signed with the club as recently as July 31 . Though Dooling was looking at reduced playing time this season, he performed admirably for the Celtics in 2011-12, providing key pressure defense when guard Avery Bradley had to sit during the bulk of their playoff run with a seriously injured shoulder. The return of Bradley and signings of Jason Terry and Courtney Lee indicated that Dooling would not have a huge role with the Celtics, but he was nevertheless a useful player given their needs.
It turns out that the Celtics might not have waived Dooling for purely basketballular reasons. As their official statement notes Dooling wants to focus on his life away from basketball:
Courtney Lee Joins the Boston Celtics: A Fan’s Reaction (Yahoo! Contributor Network)
The News The Boston Celtics continued to get stronger and add more depth as the Houston Rockets agreed to send Courtney Lee to Boston as part of a sign-and-trade deal involving multiple teams on Friday, July 20.
The News The Houston Rockets are sending Lee to Boston in a multi-team trade.
Our View The Rockets will receive a second-round pick in next year's draft from Boston, via Charlotte, forward JaJuan Johnson, guard E'Twaun Moore and forward/center Sean Williams. Houston will also acquire the rights to guard Job Diebler from Portland. The Celtics completed the deal by trading guard/forward Sasha Pavlovic to Portland.
Rockets trade G Lee to Boston (The Associated Press)
The News HOUSTON (AP) -- The Houston Rockets will send Courtney Lee to the Boston Celtics as part of a multi-team, sign-and-trade deal, completed on Friday.
Report: Celtics' acquisition of Lee involved three teams (The SportsXchange)
The News The Boston Celtics acquired free-agent shooting guard Courtney Lee on Friday in a sign-and-trade deal with the Houston Rockets that also included the Portland Trail Blazers, ESPN.com reported.
Courtney Lee heads to Boston, in a move that deserves polite applause (Ball Don't Lie)
The News When he burst onto the NBA scene as a rookie in 2008-09, a fully formed Courtney Lee bordered on being overrated by the media. In the years since that season, one that saw a Magic team Lee started for make the NBA Finals, Lee's play has stayed remarkably consistent in terms of points per minute, Player Efficiency Rating, and shooting percentage. And it's based on those consistent numbers, along with a more sober view of who Lee is as a player, that we applaud the Boston Celtics' machinations in acquiring the shooting guard.
Marc Spears of Yahoo! Sports reported the sign and trade on Thursday and the terms on Friday : $21.5 million over four years, full guaranteed. That's basically the average salary for a starting quality player, one who will be locked up through his prime (Lee turns 27 in October), and one that fills a need for Boston in the wake of Ray Allen's defection to Miami. Poifect, Boston. Poifect.
The deal certainly won't put Boston over the top, or even guarantee this aging crew a spot in the second round. At times, though he may start, Lee might only be the team's third-best shooting guard, behind veteran Jason Terry and comer Avery Bradley. With Terry being perhaps better served coming off the bench, and Bradley potentially out for the first chunk of 2012-13 as he recovers from duel shoulder surgeries (to say nothing of the point guard height they both come to work with), Lee's a helpful option here.
As for Houston, it'll say goodbye to a player it really didn't need in Lee — with Kevin Martin, Jeremy Lamb and Gary Forbes on the roster — and take a flier on big man JaJuan Johnson in his second season. Johnson and former Boston and Purdue teammate E'Twaun Moore (who was dealt in the sign and trade but soon to be released) disappointed in their first year in Boston, even by lower-round standards. Both have NBA talent and Johnson has NBA size, along with Kevin McHale in his corner and a year under his belt, so this could be the first step in Johnson's move toward working as a reliable NBA reserve center.
Sound work, NBA GMs. Club sandwiches for everyone.
Report: Celtics land Lee in sign-and-trade deal (The SportsXchange)
The News The Boston Celtics have reportedly acquired shooting guard Courtney Lee via a sign-and-trade with the Houston Rockets, according to multiple reports.
Chicago Bulls Add Redd, Bayless to the List: A Fan’s View (Yahoo! Contributor Network)
The News The Chicago Bulls, still wooing Kirk Hinrich and Courtney Lee, have added two more names to the list of free agents they might be interested in.
Chicago Bulls Finally Get a Shot at Courtney Lee: A Fan’s View (Yahoo! Contributor Network)
The News The Chicago Bulls had a couple of chances to trade center Omer Asik to the Houston Rockets for shooting guard Courtney Lee. Now, as they contemplate matching Houston's head-scratching $25 million offer for Asik, the Bulls may finally get a chance at Lee.
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