Could Celtics add Durant in the offseason? Celtics insider
Meghan Ottolini joins! How much credit does Mazzulla deserve? #NBA JT, DWhite, or PPritch- Who will have the 3pt record end of season?
Could Maine's own Cooper Flagg be a Celtic? Is he the best NCAA freshman ever?
Meghan Ottolini joins! How much credit does Mazzulla deserve? #NBA JT, DWhite, or PPritch- Who will have the 3pt record end of season?
Could Maine's own Cooper Flagg be a Celtic? Is he the best NCAA freshman ever?
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SportsTranscript
00:00And Meggo is here this morning to talk all about that.
00:03Good morning.
00:04Hello.
00:05Good morning.
00:06Winter's back.
00:07How are you?
00:08Yeah, it is.
00:09But I mean, it's going to be 70 on Friday for the home opener, so I think we're getting
00:11there.
00:12I'm going to be in a wonderful Phoenix Suns game without Kevin Durant.
00:17That's where we are in the NBA schedule.
00:19Kevin Durant, I think yesterday said he would love to join the Celtics roster.
00:23You would take like a minimum, right?
00:25Yeah, that's the whispers out there.
00:28Would you want to add Kevin Durant?
00:30No.
00:31No?
00:32You're not interested?
00:33No.
00:34Maybe even three or four years ago, but I like the Celtics team as it is, and I would
00:38like it not to change.
00:39Okay.
00:40Well, it looks like it potentially could be changed.
00:41I know.
00:42I know.
00:43You got about another year, maybe.
00:44Well, look, if we're talking about wishful thinking and idea land, then fantasy land,
00:49then I would say, yeah, don't change the roster.
00:50Well, and the best part about this roster is that Joe Mazzuolo is keeping everybody
00:53engaged.
00:55As you get to this point, he was coach of the month for the East, so you look at Joe
00:59Mazzuolo, how much credit do you give him for keeping everybody in it?
01:02I mean, I think that the program overall deserves a lot more credit than sometimes we give because
01:08we talk so much about all the Celtics spending and into the second apron, and Brad Stevens
01:12gets a ton of credit for what he's done for putting the roster together, but if you look
01:16at the development of the guys, I think is the bigger point, Courtney, year over year,
01:21look at Peyton Pritchard compared to who he was two and a half years ago when he was trying
01:25to leave this team.
01:27Look at Derek White, when they brought him in from the Spurs, I don't know if anybody
01:31thought that he could be a starter in this league, let alone somebody who is breaking
01:35a three-point single season record like he has.
01:38So I think the development team that takes these guys who are from G League to the Stay
01:44Ready group to somewhere in the rotation and is able to bring out what they've brought
01:49out in their guys, they deserve all the credit.
01:52Yeah, because Pete Pritch probably could go somewhere else and be a legit starter on a
01:56team, be a legit scorer for another team, and he's obviously worked his role perfectly.
02:02You talk about, Courtney, you've been on Derek White for several years now, what he's grown
02:06into as a player, I mean, it's pretty impressive.
02:09Yeah, it is.
02:10He passed Isaiah Thomas.
02:12Isaiah Thomas had that record, which was kind of-
02:15Yeah, from 2016, 2017, IT, the best, king of the fourth.
02:19But Pritchard is right there as well.
02:21Yeah, and so is Tatum.
02:22Tatum's at 240, I think, and-
02:24Tatum could break it this week as well.
02:27Derek just said it, Tatum could then break it.
02:30It's a fun place to be.
02:31It could be like a Larry Bird, Kevin McHale thing, like, Derek, you better get up as many
02:35shots as possible because I'm breaking it.
02:38What are you hearing, if anything, about Jalen Brown and seven games left?
02:42Is he going to play a lot?
02:43Is he not going to play at all?
02:47What are you hearing about him?
02:48As always, I think it's a balancing act with how you keep a guy healthy and his conditioning
02:55where it needs to be and getting, honestly, the starters together for a little bit more
02:59play as they head into the stretch of the seven games because they've only played, like,
03:03they've only started 20-odd games together this entire season, which would be more alarming
03:08if they weren't running it back from last year.
03:10With Jalen, it's just that, from what I know, that bone bruise, that contusion, which seems
03:17painful.
03:18I mean, you want to try to find something, I guess, that could be alarming, but then
03:23you realize that the Celtics team in March went 14-1.
03:29So I mean, they're going to have to work hard not to get to the NBA Finals.
03:36Knock on wood.
03:37Yeah.
03:38Yeah.
03:39It's all about them staying healthy and getting to the Finals at this point.
03:44Were you surprised at Jason Tatum once he was back after the ankle roll that he seemed
03:48to be good to go?
03:49No.
03:50Tatum doesn't surprise me at this point.
03:53I think that he really dodged a bullet.
03:55Everybody dodged a bullet with that play, and we talked about that last week, but when
04:00he says he's good to go, he's good to go.
04:02And hopefully there's nothing lingering there at all, but it doesn't seem to be.
04:05And those ankle rolls, like, they're so common.
04:07You brought up Kevin Durant.
04:08How about they're pesky?
04:09You brought up Kevin Durant.
04:10I mean, it's like something that, you know, he had happen.
04:13Is it pesky?
04:14Yes.
04:15What did you say?
04:16It's pesky.
04:17It's pesky.
04:18As soon as I said it, I said it.
04:19What did you say?
04:20It could have been pesky.
04:22She was thinking frisky.
04:23Right.
04:24She said they're pesky.
04:25Well, they're like little pests.
04:26I like that we get an insight into how your brain works.
04:34So the word you feel comes from pest, and then therefore it's pesky.
04:40But were you thinking frisky, though?
04:42No, I was thinking pesky, I think.
04:45But pesky doesn't sound right either.
04:48It's neither here nor there.
04:49It really isn't.
04:50It really isn't.
04:51Damn it.
04:52Don't worry.
04:53That one's not going to haunt you.
04:54No.
04:55So when you think about, I guess, Meg, we're kind of going to fast forward to the playoffs.
05:00Yes, please.
05:01Oh, God.
05:02It's so awful.
05:03Is this the worst part of the season for you?
05:06Yeah.
05:07I would love to see some way that the league could figure this out to make this last stretch
05:11a little bit more meaningful.
05:12What do you want?
05:13Another play?
05:14Like an end of the season play-in tournament?
05:15No.
05:16But with a team this good, I don't know.
05:18Maybe there's something that they can do with tiers of teams, because then you've got other
05:21teams who are clearly tanking.
05:2265 games.
05:23Too many games.
05:24But, Wiki, they're never going to cut games, because they're going to lose so much money.
05:28But I think-
05:29It's the same thing in every sport.
05:30That was Wiki's lead the other day.
05:31What did you want?
05:32How many games did you want?
05:33I think 65, 65 games, 68 games per, because the last 15-
05:37Well, it needs to be even.
05:39Oh, okay.
05:40So let's call it 68, because the last-
05:41I guess the NFL's 17, so we'll go with that.
05:43The last 15 games of the regular season are just like, ugh, this is a waste of time, right?
05:50So when you start to look at the last 15 games of the regular NBA season, it's really a waste
05:55of time.
05:56Even with some of those teams that are fighting for that play-in round, it's like, what are
06:02we doing here?
06:03And I would like to push the start of the season a little bit further back, and then
06:08you could still have this thing where you could still-
06:10And then set the limit.
06:12I know it's at 65 for the awards.
06:14If you had a 68-game regular season, set it at 60 for the awards.
06:18Hey, let's work for me.
06:19I would be for it.
06:21I just don't think they'll do it.
06:22You are well-connected with the Celtics.
06:24You're a great reporter.
06:25You're over there doing some videos for them.
06:26Uh-oh, where is this going?
06:27So I have a question.
06:28No, no, nothing bad.
06:30What is the feeling about how things may change?
06:34Is there trepidation?
06:36Is there confidence that things are going to remain the same when it comes to the eventual
06:40changing of the guard as the primary owner of the Celtics?
06:43I think it's still so early to know because they still haven't put forward with all the
06:49governors the approval of this new ownership.
06:52And I don't think that that's going to happen until after the finals are over.
06:57I don't think there's going to be any kind of an official voting announcement until that
07:02period because the league doesn't want to take anything away from the attention of the
07:06playoffs and the finals.
07:08I think it was very telling what Wick said with you guys talking about every team is
07:13looking to be in that window for two years, or not the window, but in the second apron
07:18for two years.
07:19I'm not a fan of the new CBA second apron, all of that.
07:23I think wanting parity in the league is not a good thing, actually.
07:29And I'm not just saying that as somebody who works with and covers the Celtics.
07:34I don't think that it's good for any league to have a completely different set of teams
07:39in the championship game every single year.
07:42It's been great for the NFL.
07:44No, I'm saying it's good to have a big bad coming back.
07:50It's good to have a Patriots team that you love and the rest of the team hates.
07:54I mean, the rest of the league hates.
07:56So the Chiefs would be an example.
07:58Exactly.
07:59But as an individual fandom, you want big stars and you want big names being back there.
08:04And I think if it's geared towards having eight different champions in a decade, that's
08:11actually not a great thing for getting attention on the league.
08:15And aren't most of the people that are following the sale and everything in the second apron
08:19and the potential penalty?
08:21Quickly, Wiggs.
08:22Have they been in the second apron?
08:23Is this their second year or would next year be the second year?
08:26I believe this is the second year.
08:28I may not be exactly on that, though.
08:31So if we take him at his word, the team will not be the same with stars.
08:35Or he said they're either going to make changes or be penalized, you know, basketball wise
08:41for not making.
08:42No, but he said no team would do it.
08:44So obviously that means his team won't do it.
08:47So they'd have to make changes.
08:48Well, and that's what I was getting ready to ask you.
08:50Doesn't it look like the future?
08:53And when I say the future, the next year, year and a half is that we're going to see
08:57a completely different Celtics team because of the penalties that the new owner is going
09:03to.
09:04I don't know if it has to be completely different.
09:05Like you say goodbye to somebody like Drew Holiday and then you have you were talking
09:08about Peyton Pritchard.
09:09But that's not going to be enough to have somebody who's going to step up.
09:11Yeah.
09:12But I don't I don't think that's going to be enough.
09:13And I think this is maybe the unicorn ends up being gone and you're going to you're going
09:18to have to eat them because he's only got one more year left to bring Al Horford back
09:22for another five years.
09:23Honestly, would you guys rather have Jalen and Jason or no Jalen and Porzingis, Drew
09:28Holiday and Pritchard?
09:29Jalen and Jason.
09:30One thousand.
09:31Yeah.
09:32I'd prefer to have a flag.
09:33Is that possible?
09:34Well, Saturday night.
09:35No, that's not the athletic.
09:37I want your opinion on this.
09:39Athletic wrote a piece yesterday about Cooper Flag being the best freshman ever in the history
09:46of college basketball.
09:48Brawny James, USC.
09:50What do you think about that?
09:51I love it.
09:52I think it's I I like off the top of my head, can I think of somebody else who has had a
09:59greater season?
10:00Kevin Durant was pretty good as freshman.
10:02Yeah.
10:03Wasn't Carmelo like insanely good?
10:04That's who I would think.
10:05Yes.
10:06But like stat for stat, I'm not sure about the comparison.
10:09I just I'm not that deep into the NCAA at this point.
10:14But like for me, it's God.
10:16For me, it's God.
10:17Sham God.
10:19I love that he's from Maine.
10:20Like if there's some way that they could work him to the Celtics when he's in free agency
10:26one day, one day, one day, that'll never happen.
10:32See the way you just watched the other night, the way Red was able to manipulate things
10:36and get Len bias and get that number to pick after winning championship after championship
10:40after championship.
10:41Well, unless unless Brad can pull a rabbit out the hat and get the number one overall
10:45pick.
10:46Yeah.
10:47And then you got to then you got to hope that he may be at one point in time on his second
10:53go around or second contract decides, you know what?
10:56I'll take less money to go play for Boston when he has the ability to potentially become
11:00a free agent.
11:01If you're going to trade Jalen Brown, you can trade Jalen Brown for that number one
11:04pick.
11:05Who's the number one pick is this year?
11:08Who?
11:09Who has it?
11:10Yeah.
11:11I don't know.
11:12Whoever has it.
11:13Who's one of the worst teams in the league?
11:14Wizards.
11:15Yeah.
11:17It would have to be this year, Greg.
11:18So you'd have to trade Jalen Brown this upcoming offseason at the draft, potentially to be
11:24one of those teams to get the lottery pick.
11:26So you have to do that.
11:27Yeah.