Category: Basketball

Why 2025 NBA Draft is so important for Celtics originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston

The NBA Draft is always important for every team. But the 2025 draft, in particular, is a very important one for the Boston Celtics given their current situation.

The Celtics have one of the most expensive rosters in the league as a team in the second apron of the luxury tax. They might have to make a few moves in the offseason to shed salary and get below that threshold.

Our Celtics insider Chris Forsberg wrote about this topic last week:

“The Celtics are already committed to $228 million in contracts next season. They are nearly $20 million over the second apron, and that’s before addressing a pair of free-agents-to-be in Al Horford and Luke Kornet. The team is currently projected to have a $238 million luxury tax bill, which would push the team closer to a half billion total spend if the roster was maintained. The big question now isn’t how Boston keeps as much of its title core as possible, but instead, how does the team shed the necessary salary that will allow it to best compete when Tatum is healthy again?“

If the Celtics decide to move an important player or two in the offseason, replacing them with young, talented players on team-friendly contracts would be the ideal outcome. And the best way to find players who fit that description is through the draft.

The Celtics have the No. 28 overall pick in the first round of the 2025 NBA Draft, and they also own the second pick (No. 32 overall) in the second round. The hit rate on picks this low in the draft isn’t sensational, but there are always good players to be found.

And to the Celtics’ credit, they have done a good job finding value late in the first round in recent years.

Here are some of the best examples:

• 2018, Rob Williams (pick No. 27): Starting-caliber center who emerged into an elite defensive player.
• 2019, Grant Williams (pick No. 22): Reliable, versatile player off the bench who could shoot well from the outside.
• 2020, Payton Pritchard (pick No. 26): Won the Sixth Man of the Year Award this season.
• 2024, Baylor Scheierman (pick No. 30): Remains to be seen if he will be a regular part of the rotation, but he showed flashes of impressive 3-point shooting as a rookie.

Most drafts include players picked near the end of the first round, or early second round, who make a genuine impact as part of their team’s rotation not long into their careers.

In 2020 it was Jaden McDaniels. He was the No. 28 overall pick by the Los Angeles Lakers and was subsequently traded twice, ultimately landing with the Minnesota Timberwolves for his rookie campaign. McDaniels started all 82 games for the T-Wolves this season and averaged a career-high 12.2 points per game. He was selected to the All-Defensive second team last season.

Quentin Grimes has averaged 10.4 points per game in his career since being drafted No. 25 overall by the Los Angeles Clippers in 2021. He was traded to the Philadelphia 76ers during the 2024-25 season and averaged 21.9 points per game over 28 appearances.

Herb Jones was taken at No. 35 overall in the second round of the same draft. He’s one of the best defensive wings in basketball and made All-Defensive first team last season.

The Denver Nuggets drafted Christian Braun out of Kansas with the No. 21 pick in 2022. Braun made an instant impact on the Nuggets’ 2023 title team as a rookie and has since developed into one of their best players. He averaged a career-high 15.4 points per game on 39.7 percent 3-point shooting this season.

The Pacers got a starting guard in Andrew Nembhard with the first pick (No. 31 overall) in the second round in 2022. Nembhard has made a lot of clutch plays for the Pacers in their back-to-back trips to the Eastern Conference finals. He’s also shooting 49.5 percent from 3-point range in his playoff career.

The Jazz took Brice Sensabaugh at pick No. 28 in 2023, and he averaged a career-high 10.9 points per game on 42.2 percent 3-point shooting this past season.

It’s still pretty early to analyze the 2024 draft, but two early second-round picks — Kyle Filipowski (No. 32, Utah) and Jaylen Wells (No. 39, Memphis) — both made a good impact as rookies. Filipowski averaged 9.6 points and 6.1 rebounds per game, while Wells averaged 10.4 points per game and made 74 starts for a 48-win playoff team.

Almost all of these players came from established programs that consistently send players to the NBA, such as Duke, Kansas, Gonzaga, Houston, Alabama and Ohio State. Many of these players had NCAA Tournament experience, too.

It’s going to be tough for the Celtics to make trades and sign free agents as a team in the first or second apron. So if they’re going to build the roster depth required to be a title contender again soon, they must hit on their draft picks. It is absolutely essential for long-term success.

And as noted above, good players consistently fall to the end of the first round and early second round. Are these players superstars? Very rarely. But they can fill important roles on playoff-caliber teams.

The Celtics built a championship roster by drafting Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown. For the C’s to extend their title window, the draft is where they must shine again.

Kerr clarifies what Warriors are asking of Kuminga amid fit concerns originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

Steve Kerr clarified a lot about where things stood and continue to stand with Jonathan Kuminga after some fit concerns with the Warriors. Again.

The conversation will continue to be a trending topic as Kuminga is set to enter restricted free agency this NBA offseason.

After a report from The Ringer’s Logan Murdock recently circulated that Kerr and several Warriors assistant coaches were becoming increasingly “irked” with Kuminga and how he would “wave off” Steph Curry to create his own offense, Kerr clarified how the Warriors want Kuminga to play and how that contrasts to the role Kuminga is comfortable playing.

“I don’t think there’s a disagreement. I think that there is a different view from his perspective and what he’s comfortable doing,” Kerr said Thursday on 95.7 The Game’s “Willard and Dibs.” “Obviously, he’s a natural scorer. You saw that in the Minnesota series when he got his opportunity. He scored really well. And that’s what he’s most comfortable doing.

“But with our team and the way we’re built, with Steph and Jimmy [Butler], they’re going to dominate the ball. [So] what we need from that spot is rebounding, passing, the connection, and yes, we need the scoring, but it has to come within the context of what we’re really good at and what we’re great at over the last two months with Jimmy and Steph.”

Kerr added that he understands it takes some time for young players such as Kuminga, 22, to figure out who they are and the type of player they want to be in the league, and he recognizes that it’s not easy.

The coach also noted he sees plenty of growth ahead for Kuminga.

Kerr then was asked if what the Warriors are asking of Kuminga is a matter of something the young forward can’t do — or won’t do. Kerr said what he’s asking of Kuminga are things the coach believes the former first-round pick can do, but he further explained how it’s become a complicated matter.

“You go down a path and you try to get certain habits that are built and you want them to be consistent. So in Year 4, you would hope that those things are coming. And I would say they have been inconsistent,” Kerr confessed. “I’m talking about the rebounding front, and taking care of the ball. I’ve tried to explain this to the fans and to you guys over the course of the years.

“The way the team is built, we got two guys in Jimmy and Steph who are two of the best in the league and they’re going to have the ball in their hands. We have two guys in Steph and Draymond who are going to turn the ball over quite a bit. It’s just kind of the nature of their games. So the fit with Jonathan, and I’ve been very open with him about this as well, the fit is a little tricky when he’s a guy who needs the ball and he’s a guy who turns the ball over a lot. So you throw all that stuff together and as a coach, you just say, “Alright, what’s the best way for us to win? How does the puzzle fit together?’

“That’s why we ended up in the situation we did, where he fell out of the loop a little bit. Not his fault, young player, we’re trying to win. We went down the path that we felt gave us the best chance to do that.”

That’s a lot to soak in, Dub Nation.

And this is just the beginning of the unknown surrounding Kuminga and his future in Golden State.

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NBA MVP Gilgeous-Alexander rocks Giants hat after OKC's playoff win originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

The Giants might have an unexpected member of their fan base.

Oklahoma City Thunder guard and 2025 NBA MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander sported a plaid baseball cap with an orange San Francisco logo on it after Game 2 of the Western Conference finals.

SGA pulled up in a Giants hat 🥴 pic.twitter.com/2VKT7Jh1ck

— trev (@BayAreaTrev) May 23, 2025

Gilgeous-Alexander, known for his unique fashion sense highlighted by eye-popping game day fits, paired the Giants hat with a nude-colored vest and white tank top with nude pants and, of course, a blinged-out chain necklace.

The 26-year-old finished Thursday night’s contest with a game-high 38 points on 12-of-21 shooting from the field, three rebounds, eight assists and three steals in 42 minutes in Oklahoma City’s 118-103 win to take a commanding 2-0 series victory over Minnesota.

Gilgeous-Alexander led the league in points during the 2024-25 regular season, averaging 32.7 points on 51.9 percent shooting, with 5.0 rebounds and 6.4 assists in 76 games while lifting the Thunder to a league-best 68-14 record.

Now, the MVP’s choice of apparel might have been different had the Warriors defeated the Timberwolves in the Western Conference semifinals and advanced to face Gilgeous-Alexander’s Thunder.

Needless to say, the man’s got good taste.

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Wednesday night was a gut punch. After a stunning 138-135 loss to the Pacers in overtime, the Knicks have to regroup quickly.

New York held a 14-point lead in the fourth quarter with just 3:40 left before conceding 23 points to Indiana for the rest of regulation.

Despite all the reasons for doom and gloom, the Knicks should not panic. There was a list of positives to build on ahead of Game 2 on Friday night.

First, is how efficient the team’s offense was for the majority of Wednesday night. New York’s offense scored 126.2 points per 100 possessions in Game 1 -- a figure that would lead the league in the regular season.

The Pacers don’t switch heavily on the pick-and-roll and their perimeter defenders try to go over every screen. It fits the way they want to play, which is fast and aggressive. But it also allowed New York’s stars Jalen Brunson andKarl-Anthony Towns to cook. The duo combined for an efficient 78 points. Brunson and Towns also were able to regularly march to the charity stripe as they combined for 25 free-throw attempts.

Towns is a different player when guarded by a center. Except for a few attempts to have wing Aaron Nesmith or Pascal Siakam defend him, Pacers big men Myles Turner and Thomas Bryant were assigned to Towns for much of the night.

Towns thrived from deep, knocking down four three-pointers. Against the Celtics, he made just three trifectas in six games. Brunson was able to get to his spots and had advantages offensively. With 43 points on over 50 percent shooting, it was probably one of the easier offensive nights he will have.

Mitchell Robinson and Miles McBride both were solid off the bench. As I hinted at before the series, Robinson is the Knicks’ X-factor. He had eight rebounds in 21 minutes, with four boards coming on the offensive end.

The Knicks could look at more minutes of Towns and Robinson together. The two centers on the floor at the same time has been positive. In 97 minutes during the postseason, Towns and Robinson have outscored opponents by 13.0 points per 100 possessions, per NBA Stats. In Game 1, they were a plus-seven.

It’s not all roses

Even with the positives, it would be hard to ignore the concerns. The Knicks gave up 138 points. Tyrese Haliburton was comfortable and got downhill several times. There were also too many times the point guard found himself wide open for three.

The Knicks also failed to contain Nesmith, who hit six three-pointers in the final five minutes of the fourth quarter. All of the shots were wide open, which sparked Indiana’s comeback.

The main culprit for those mistakes was New York’s inconsistent approach to defending screens. As the game wore on, New York’s players seemed unsure if they were switching or fighting through off-ball screens.

Indiana is a relentless team. Led by Haliburton, they thrive off the pass and man movement. If New York is going to defend better, the team has to be more crisp and communicate better.

Even more of a concern is the continued struggles of New York’s starting lineup. The five man unit has logged a league-high in minutes together and has a negative 8.0 net rating in 292 playoff minutes. They were a negative 16 in the Conference Finals opener. Head coach Tom Thibodeau could make lineup or strategic adjustments.

The loss stings, but there was some good the Knicks can take from it. If the team continues to produce offensively and makes defensive adjustments, they can even this series.

How likely are Celtics to trade up for a lottery pick in NBA Draft? originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston

Let’s start with the obvious: The Boston Celtics almost certainly aren’t trading for Cooper Flagg.

But their work at the 2025 NBA Scouting Combine in Chicago — which reportedly included interviewing the Duke star and projected No. 1 pick — might provide some insight into how they’re approaching the 2025 NBA Draft.

Yahoo Sports’ Kevin O’Connor reported last week that Boston conducted interviews with both Flagg and Texas guard Tre Johnson (a projected top-five draft pick) at the Draft Combine. On a recent episode of NBC Sports Boston’s Arbella Early Edition, O’Connor confirmed the Celtics also spoke to Georgia forward Asa Newell, who projects as a top-15, late-lottery selection.

The C’s currently have picks No. 28 and 32 in the 2025 NBA Draft. So, why are they speaking with players who are seemingly out of their range? O’Connor shared his insight on Early Edition.

“You rank the guys you want to talk to,” O’Connor said. “The way it works at the Draft Combine in Chicago is, you rank the players you want to talk to, and the teams that have the players ranked the highest get the opportunity to talk to those guys.

“Each prospect can talk to up to 13 teams, so the Celtics may have had Cooper Flagg ranked second or third in their rankings of prospects. So, it’s not the biggest deal in the world they got to talk to him. But I do think it’s interesting they talked to at least three guys who could be drafted in the lottery.

“They talked to Cooper Flagg, likely No. 1, they talked to Tre Johnson, likely a top-five pick out of Texas, and then Asa Newell, a big man out of Georgia, a late-lottery pick, mid-first-round draft pick. So, they talked to at least three guys in theory they’d have interest in.

“You’re not going to talk to somebody if you don’t like the player.”

Celtics president of basketball operations Brad Stevens downplayed Boston’s reported interview with Flagg earlier this week, explaining that the team’s goal with these interviews is to gather general intel on players who normally wouldn’t come to Boston for in-person workouts with the team.

“The people we know who we can’t get in to work out is how we decide who we want to talk to. Otherwise, we may never get to talk to them again,” Stevens told reporters Monday. “So, the only people that come and work out for us are the people that think they’re in a range or bottom of our range, or whatever the case may be.”

Stevens also downplayed the possibility of “fireworks” in the form of a trade up on draft night, and Boston would have to give up a massive haul to jump from No. 28 into the top five. A move into the 13-15 range might be more feasible, however, especially if the Celtics see potential in a player like Newell.

At 6-foot-10 and 225 pounds, the Georgia product is an athletic big man who averaged 15.4 points, 6.9 rebounds and 1.0 blocks per game as a freshman last season. With Al Horford and Luke Kornet set to be free agents and Kristaps Porzingis a potential trade target, Boston could use frontcourt reinforcements, and the 19-year-old Newell has plenty of upside.

The Celtics may not want to part with the assets required to trade up in the draft, and they’ve had success near the end of the first round before (Robert Williams at No. 27; Payton Pritchard at No. 26). But if they’re serious about shedding salary to get under the second apron of the luxury tax, they’ll need to hit on draft picks, which could make it worthwhile to move up the 2025 draft board.

A few hours after he finished calling Game 1 of Knicks-Pacers, TNT’s Stan Van Gundy woke up in his New York hotel room and re-watched the tape.

“I really was going back over every play because my impression coming out of it was that the Knicks’ defense was just soft and they had way too many mistakes and breakdowns. And when I watched it again, it was even clearer,” Van Gundy, the longtime TNT analyst, said.

Does Van Gundy think the Knicks will let the loss impact them in Game 2?

“They’ll look at the mistakes and pick themselves (up) and get ready to go. I don’t think (Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau) has to worry about (hangover from Wednesday’s loss) at this time of year,” Van Gundy said. “Their pick and roll defense to me, early on in the game, (Karl-Anthony) Towns was really back. (Myles) Turner was just getting wide-open shots. And then they had some miscommunications on perimeter screens; small-small (screens). Are we switching or not? They had breakdowns there. And then late in the game, they were really soft on their switches and (Aaron) Nesmith was hitting threes. To me, they’ve got to clean up their pick-and-roll coverages, being up and more aggressive. And their communication’s got to be a lot better on what they’re doing.

“….There was not a hard three in that stretch (of Nesmith’s six threes late in the fourth quarter). It’s still hard to make six straight threes. But it wasn’t like the shot-clock ran down and someone had to throw one in. He got great looks. Nesmith, all five of his looks were great looks. And the one (Tyrese) Haliburton got, (Mikal) Bridges gave him a lot of space on that one, too. They got really good shots. I just thought the Knicks' defense in that stretch was very soft. And in the overtime, they had breakdowns on (Obi) Toppin’s dunk and (Andrew) Nembhard’s back cut. They just, defensively, didn’t get the job done.”

Van Gundy spent about an hour talking Knicks-Pacers with a small group of reporters on Thursday. He shared his thoughts on several other topics...

HALIBURTON VS BRUNSON

"(Haliburton) and Brunson are both great players, but their style of play is so different because Haliburton is a quick-decision, get-off-the-ball type of guy and Brunson’s a very ball-dominant guard. So if you look on – I think they chart seconds per touch. Every time I touch the ball, how long do I hold it? Haliburton holds it on the average about 2.5 seconds less than Brunson.

"Brunson holds it the most in the league. Over six seconds per touch. Haliburton is about 3.5 seconds per touch. (Van Gundy points out that Brunson averages three more dribbles per touch than Haliburton). It’s just a difference that sets up the whole style of play. The Knicks being a little more methodical. Brunson, the best comparison to him is probably (James) Harden. Dribble, dribble, dribble - not selfish because he’ll certainly give the ball to other people. But he’s going to keep it in his hands whereas Haliburton gets off of it, let’s other people play and the whole thing….Two great players with different styles.”

OBI TOPPIN’S DUNK ON A PICK AND ROLL TO SEAL INDIANA’S WIN IN OT

"That was really weird defense to me. First of all, they inbounded the ball really easily. Teams have trouble inbounding the ball. You saw the Knicks almost turn it over (earlier in the game). Teams have a lot of trouble inbounding and the Knicks just let them do it. They really didn’t do anything.

"And then on the pick and roll, I don’t really know what they wanted to be in because to me, Mitchell Robinson wasn’t up, he wasn’t really affecting Nembhard at all. But yet he let Toppin roll behind him….

"Those are all very preventable (mistakes) in my opinion and I’m sure in Thibs’ opinion too. Those are all preventable things that are just defensive mistakes and you can’t make that many of them in a game, especially against a team like Indiana.”

PACERS WEARING DOWN BRUNSON

“Indiana’s been a good ball-pressure team. What they try to do – I think Indiana’s plan against New York both within a game and over the course of a series – is they just really want to wear them down. They feel like they’ve got more depth. They play more guys. Their pace and their pressure. The Knicks are gonna face full-court pressure for 48 minutes – 53 minutes (in Game 1) – and we’re just gonna wear on them. And I feel like they think they were able to do that last year in a seven-game series, particularly on Brunson.

"He’s gonna be good, but we’re just gonna wear on him. They don’t blitz him a lot and make him get off the ball like some teams do because, number one, you open yourself up to three-point shooting and to offensive rebounding by other teams. But I also think they want Brunson to keep probing on the dribble and make plays. Obviously (43) points (in Game 1). But I think they feel like, ‘Hey, we’re wearing on them.’ I think that’s what their defense is designed to do. They gave up 62 paint points to New York (in Game 1). They’re so extended and spread out. Forty free throw attempts. So you’re able to attack them, but again, I think it’s calculated on their part to wear you down.”

ON HIS PREVIOUS COMMENTS ON KNICKS FANS BEING FRONT-RUNNERS

“I’ll stand by that. The Knicks fans are great fans, but if things are going bad… I’ve been in all these arenas (and if) things are going bad in Indiana, the Indiana fans are going to try to rally their team back. The Knicks fans are going to boo their team. If that 14-0 run had been the other way early in the fourth quarter and the Knicks went down 16, they’re getting booed. That’s just the way it is. That’s all I was talking about. Knicks fans are great, they’re passionate, they’re enjoying this moment so more power to them. My front-runner comment was just that. When things are going bad they’re not trying to rally everybody, they’re gonna pound you.”

REFS MISSED GOALTEND ON PACERS IN OVERTIME

“It was a goaltend and that was huge. That was huge because – four-point lead, you get the steal, you’re coming down on the break, they call a goaltend, it’s six. Instead, the ball stays in play in transition and Nembhard hits the corner three from Haliburton. That was a huge, huge play in the game on a missed goaltend. Usually, what we’ve seen in the playoffs, on those that are really close on the goaltend, they make the call so then they can take a look at it. But they didn’t make the call, so they couldn’t take a look at it. But on the replay, it got the board first. It should have been (a goaltend).”

LEON ROSE’S ROSTER

“Leon’s done a tremendous job here putting this roster together. You think back, for the value of the contract, has there been – ever – a better free-agent signing than Jalen Brunson…. Shaq to LA? Well, ok. But that’s a max contract. You think Brunson and I mean, a lot of people, even when he got what he got, thought he was overpaid. And he wasn’t getting a max. And now he’s – I think everybody recognizes – one of the best players in the league…. Those (trades for Towns and Bridges) haven’t all been met with great enthusiasm by fans and New York media all of the time. But they’ve proven themselves pretty darn good. They put together a heckuva roster right here. With a chance (to win).”

REGGIE MILLER CALLING GAMES AT MSG AND CALLING THE SERIES FOR TNT

“For us, it's fabulous. For TV, it’s fabulous. If you think about this, it's going to be the last series we’re going to do on TNT and we get Knicks-Pacers in the conference finals with Reggie Miller? That’s storybook stuff … the only thing missing from Game 1, quite honestly, was Spike (Lee). I think it’s great theater having Reggie there. Some of the fans were yelling at him. Most of it good good-natured. Some of it not so much, to be quite honest. Reggie handles it all really well. And for us it’s just a great, great storyline.”