BOMB: BOSTON CELTICS HUMILIATED BY JAYLEN BROWN? | 12 MILLION SIGNING CONFIRMED? | 2 TRADES NEWS
The new NBA season is approaching fast. And while the Boston Celtics remain a contender on paper, cracks are already visible. The roster looks different from recent years. Not only because Jason Tatum is sidelined with an Achilles injury, but also because the team lost Drew Holiday, Chris Porzingis, Luke Cornet, and Al Horford in one sweeping offseason shift. What’s left behind is a problem too big to ignore. A problem that will define the Celtics chances this year. Their front court depth is thin, dangerously thin. At the center of it, all stands Nimia Kada. After averaging just under 14 minutes across 62 games last season, he now finds himself projected as the Celtics starting big. Some see that as a risk, others as a chance for Kada to prove himself. And perhaps he is being underestimated. But let’s be honest, beyond Kada, the picture grows murkier. Xavier Tilman is back, lighter and healthier after battling knee problems, even admitting during media day that injections and weight loss helped him feel closer to form. He’s shown flashes, including in the 2024 finals against Dallas. But those same knees raise real questions about whether he can handle the grind of a larger role. Then there are the new faces. Luca Garza arrives with offensive potential, but limited production in Minnesota. Chris Booer, the veteran at 32, brings experience, but has rarely held a starting role and has been inconsistent over his career. Both add options, but neither answers the long-term concerns Boston faces under the rim. Amari Williams, drafted this summer, is expected to develop in the GLeague, not anchor an NBA rotation right away. If he’s forced into action early, that may say more about Boston’s desperation than his readiness. And this is where the issue deepens. Around the league, dominant big men are not going away. In fact, every contender seems to have one or two night after night. Boston’s thin rotation will be tested, and no amount of guard play or wing depth can completely mask what happens in the paint. The Celtics cannot afford to let this weakness linger because in the postseason every flaw is magnified. Reinforcements are not a luxury, they are a necessity. The front office knows it. The coaching staff knows it and opposing teams certainly know it. The Detroit Pistons ended their playoff drought last season in dramatic fashion. From being the worst team in the NBA two years in a row, they stormed back to claim the sixth seed in the East. Now with Cade Cunningham, Jaden Ivy, Jaylen Duran, and Ozer Thompson developing together. And with veterans like Tobias Harris providing balance, expectations are higher than ever. But expectations bring pressure. Detroit knows the East is crowded and standing still could mean slipping backward. That’s why the Pistons are being linked to one of the league’s most reliable role players, a sharpshooter from Boston who has quietly become essential to the Celtics rotation. We’re talking about Sam Hower. The 27year-old forward is a proven weapon from beyond the ark, averaging over 41% from three last season while playing an important role in Boston’s 2024 championship run. For a Pistons team that lost Malik Beasley and Tim Hardaway Jr. this summer, his skill set fits like a glove. Now, here’s where the debate begins. A mock trade has Detroit sending Paul Reed, Javvante Green, and draft capital to the Celtics in exchange for Hower. On paper, it looks simple. The Pistons sacrifice depth and energy pieces in exchange for elite shooting. The Celtics, meanwhile, would cut salary while adding two rotation ready players who bring athleticism and hustle. But is it really that simple? Boston is already thin after losing multiple veterans this off season. And Howser is one of the few remaining shooters who can reliably space the floor around Jaylen Brown and eventually a returning Jason Tatum. Moving him could solve short-term financial headache, but at what cost on the court? Think about it. Boston has been trimming salaries for months to manage the repeater tax. They already shipped out George’s Nyang. They already chose not to bring back Al Horford. Would moving Hower now be another sacrifice of proven value for financial relief? Or would it be the kind of smart, forward-looking deal that balances the roster? Detroit, on the other hand, has to ask a different question. If Hower becomes their primary bench shooter, does that elevate them into the top tier of the East, or is it simply a patch for a much larger hole? Reed and Green may not be stars, but they provide toughness, versatility, and defensive presence that could be just as valuable in a playoff series as Hower’s shooting. The first week of Celtics training camp is over, and with it, plenty of questions are resurfacing. New faces have arrived, but the shadows of what Boston lost this off season are impossible to ignore. Al Horford in Golden State, Luke Cornet gone, and a roster rebuilt almost entirely around minimum deal. But could the Celtics have done things differently? And if so, what would that have meant for the future of this team? Let’s start with Horford. His contract with the Warriors is small, just 5.7 million with an option for next season. On paper, Boston could have matched it, but in reality, the repeater tax made the cost skyrocket. The Celtics are already 12 million over the tax line and every dollar spent now costs 550 in penalties. A 5 million deal for Horford wouldn’t have been 5 million. It would have been closer to 20. That’s why Brad Stevens and his front office only minimum deals across the board. That’s also why Gorjinyang’s 8 million salary was moved in August, replaced with a cheaper contract. Could the Celtics have taken another path? maybe moving Sam Hower or even Anthony Simons to free up money and make Horford’s return possible. Absolutely. But there’s another angle here with Tatum out indefinitely. Was Horford even willing to come back for a season where the chances of another title looked slim? If Golden State was going to give him both money and a real chance to compete, no number from Boston, may have been enough. That’s where the tension lies. This was not just a financial decision. It was also about perception. Did Boston do enough to show Horford he was still central to their plans? Or did the front office accept his departure too quickly? That debate is not going away anytime soon. And then there’s the lineup. Joe Missoula is unlikely to shuffle starters game by game. His track record shows he prefers consistency. And right now, the pieces he has are not strong enough in the front court to justify constant changes. Expect a fixed five with Payton Pritchard and Anthony Simons holding firm roles. The bench rotation will be thinner, likely led by Simons, Chris Buché, and one of the rookies like Baylor Shyman or Hugo Gonzalez. But this is where the real pressure shows. Matchups against teams like the Knicks with Carl Anthony Towns and Mitchell Robinson will expose Boston’s lack of size. It could mean Jallen Brown himself has to guard towns and stretches, something that pulls him away from his natural offensive rhythm and forces him into battles he didn’t sign up for. Against the Sixers, it’s even more uncertain since Embiid and George have yet to play together this preseason and don’t overlook pace. In Vegas, the Celtics pressed defensively, gambling on turnovers to generate quick points. That’s a necessity now because rim protection is thin. But what happens when those gamles fail and leave the defense exposed? Will Boston’s lack of size undo all the effort they are putting into this faster, more aggressive style? These are the questions that define the present. But the bigger one is waiting, and it’s the one no one inside the Hourbox Center will say out loud. If Boston’s front office truly believed this season without Tatum wasn’t about chasing a champion, why let Horford go instead of keeping a leader to stabilize the locker room? And more importantly, without him, who steps forward to carry that weight? Because if the Celtics bet wrong, if they miscalculated loyalty, leadership, and size, the cost will be felt not just this season, but for years to come. Something feels different in Boston, and it’s impossible to ignore. The Celtics have opened training camp in a way that does not look, sound, or even feel like anything we’ve seen before. Joe Mazoula stripped of several veteran pillars is left to reshape the culture from the ground up. No Al Horford, no Juru Holiday, no Chris Porzingis, and no Luke Cornet. And most crushing of all, no Jason Tatum on the court as he battles through an Achilles recovery. So how does a team built around experience and star power suddenly survive without it? The answer, at least for now, is energy, urgency, and a locker room completely redefined. The Hourbox Center has been buzzing with new names. Anthony Simons, once Portland’s leading scorer, has brought offensive flash, but has spent the past month obsessing over defense. Xavier Tilman, Luca Garza, Chris Buchet, rookie Hugo Gonzalez, even unproven pieces like Josh Minet. All of them now part of a younger, hungrier mix. The message is clear. You don’t earn your spot with reputation anymore. You fight for it every possession. Veteran assistant Sam Cassell put it best when he said, “After more than three decades in the league, he has never witnessed a training camp this demanding. His words echo what players themselves have admitted. This is not just preeason preparation. This is survival mode. Behind the scenes, the grind started months ago. Derek White returned early from Colorado. Payton Pritchard gave up vacations to stay inside the gym and Namias Kada flew straight back from Eurob Basket to rejoin the group. Even rookies like Baylor Shyman and Jordan Walsh have lived inside the practice facility since July. Bonds have been built, new duos formed, and small rivalries reborn. Tilman and Garza, once college rivals, now push each other daily in shooting drills, trying to erase doubts after disappointing seasons. But perhaps the most intriguing story line is Jaylen Brown with Tatum sideline. Brown no longer plays the role of co-star. He is the star, the voice, the enforcer of a new standard. And the way he has carried himself has not gone unnoticed. He is demanding more both of himself and of those around him. It is his camp now, his tone, his identity stamped across every drill. Still cracks could appear. One-third of the roster is made up of players on two-way or exhibit 10 deals. Men who already know they may not be part of this team in a month. Yet for now they train alongside the core, fighting for relevance, adding to the chaos and intensity that has defined every session.
BOSTON CELTICS NEWS TODAY
Something feels different in Boston, and it’s impossible to ignore. The Celtics have opened training camp in a way that does not look, sound, or even feel like anything we’ve seen before. Joe Mazzulla, stripped of several veteran pillars, is left to reshape the culture from the ground up. No Al Horford, no Jrue Holiday, no Kristaps Porzingis, and no Luke Kornet. And most crushing of all, no Jayson Tatum on the court as he battles through an Achilles recovery.
So how does a team built around experience and star power suddenly survive without it? The answer, at least for now, is energy, urgency, and a locker room completely redefined.
The Auerbach Center has been buzzing with new names. Anfernee Simons, once Portland’s leading scorer, has brought offensive flash but has spent the past month obsessing over defense. Xavier Tillman, Luka Garza, Chris Boucher, rookie Hugo Gonzalez, even unproven pieces like Josh Minott, all of them now part of a younger, hungrier mix. The message is clear, you don’t earn your spot with reputation anymore, you fight for it every possession.
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