Post by FLCeltsFan on Sept 28, 2015 19:01:34 GMT -5
Training camp is underway and we are getting some reports like the one above. Of course, I have a few random thoughts on camp and what is being reported so far. I can say that nothing so far has dampened my enthusiasm for this season.
One thing that stood out to me was that Danny Ainge is singing the praises of James Young. On Media Day, he said that he had gotten reports from several coaches that Young was one of the best prospects that they had ever seen at age 19. In spite of a less than stellar Summer League, Danny is singing his praises. He may really mean it, but given it's Danny, I'd say that Young should pack his bags as Danny is pumping him up to get the best value he can in a trade. If Perry Jones lives up to expectations, someone else will have to go and at this point, it seems as Young is as good as anyone and I just don't buy the "Young is the best prospect ever" quotes. At least, not from Danny's mouth.
From most reports, even though Jared Sullinger may still be over the 260 lbs that the Celtics would like him at, he worked on his conditioning and is in good shape to start the season. The big question is whether he will stay there during the season. In spite of Danny and Brad Stevens calling him out in the press, it took an intervention to get him into shape for this season. From the Herald:
When the Celtics forward arrived at his apartment later that afternoon, he was greeted by his agent, his family, and a man he’d never met, John Lucas II.
It was an intervention, but an unconventional one. It was regarding his fitness.
Sullinger’s weight has been a talking point since the Celtics drafted him three years ago, and it came to a head last season when he reportedly tipped the scales at 300 pounds. The C’s want to see their 6-foot-9 forward around 260.
For Sullinger to stay in green, something had to change. His family and Lucas saw that.
From reports from John Lucas, Sully did work hard this summer. It is concerning that it took an intervention on top of his coach and his GM calling him out to get him to finally work hard. Perhaps that was the push he needed, but time will tell if he is going to continue to work hard, or fall back into bad habits. Usually a player either has a strong work ethic or they don't. We have to wait and see if Sully can develop one.
Danny may have a 2 for 1 trade brewing. There have been rumbles about the Celtics targeting Al Horford. Or, there may be other players that he has his eye on that may be on shaky ground on their current teams for whatever reason. Danny may decide that Sully is too much of a risk, especially since he is due for a payday at the end of this season. He may package Sully with Avery, or Young, or anyone else and get down to 15 players in that way. It's going to be interesting to see what happens. But if Danny does make trades I hope they are early in the year so that there is chemistry and continuity on the team instead of constant upheaval.
After the first day of practice, Brad Stevens singled out Amir Johnson for his defense and his play. Stevens had this to say about his new big man:
"There's little things that go into winning that you try to talk about that just don't get noticed enough. And we saw it yesterday. In a 10-minute scrimmage, I thought he was terrific defensively in a system he hasn't played in yet -- largely because he played with a motor regardless of whether he made mistakes or not."
And who among his new teammates impressed Amir while he was impressing the coach? Celtics rookie guard, Terry Rozier.
"Terry's incredibly quick and athletic. Works hard. Unbelievable player. The rest of the young guys are the same way. They're high-energy, and it gets everybody going."
I was sad to see that the Sixers waived Gerald Wallace. With their young team, he really could have helped to mentor the young guys. I think he was great in that role in Boston. Hopefully this won't be the end of his career and another team will pick him up. Young teams would do well to bring him in as a mentor and contenders could use him for spot minutes because he always makes good things happen when he comes in. He'd even be great as an end of game inbounds passer. He made some incredible inbounds passes in Boston over the last few years.
Just 8 days until we get to see this team on the court. Woo hoo!!!