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8 days ago

Paul Pierce’s Contract: Dispelling The Myths and Stating The Facts

The first domino to fall this offseason is Paul Pierce’s contract. Until Danny Ainge figures out what he’s doing there, little else matters. As we wait for this decision, we also must face the rest of the offseason, which means it is also rumor season. With that time of year, comes plenty of information floating [...]

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8 days ago

Final Grade: Avery Bradley (C+)

In his third year in the league, in which promising players often make brash leaps from benchwarmer to starter, from starter to star, Avery Bradley took a big step back. But his regression might be deceptive. When he returned to the Celtics’ lineup on January the 2nd after two in-season months recovering from offseason shoulder [...]

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9 days ago

Danny Ainge Expects Doc Rivers & Kevin Garnett To Return, Unsure About Paul Pierce

A long, challenging offseason awaits Danny Ainge this summer. Before he dives in head first, he joined Salk and Holley on WEEI-FM 93.7 to discuss the multitude of decisions facing him this offseason, as well as the progress of Rajon Rondo in his rehab from ACL surgery. A few of the notable highlights from the interview. Ainge [...]

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9 days ago

Suns Hire Away Celtics’ Assistant GM Ryan McDonough

In one way or another, there will be change this offseason in Boston. That process started in the past couple days, with the first piece moving out coming as a name most C’s fans might not be familiar with. Yet, it was Celtics’ assistant general manager Ryan McDonough, one of Danny Ainge’s top lieutenants, who [...]

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10 days ago

Doc Rivers Finishes 13th in Coach of the Year Voting

It was a tough season for the Boston Celtics, and that includes for head coach Doc Rivers. The long-time coach battled to find the right fit for a lot of new pieces that were both underperforming and/or failed to pick up his schemes on both ends of the floor. Naturally, an unfortunate plethora of injuries [...]

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11 days ago

Overconfident Answers To Offseason Questions (Part 1)

It seems like every offseason since 2010 we’ve been through this: a myriad of questions and concerns about the Celtics’ roster that usually involve the possibility of the core of the team being dismantled. As we head into the summer of 2013, we’ve got a whole batch of questions, many of which will be familiar.  [...]

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“It Got to $11,000 a Month”–Kendrick Perkins

Here’s Perk talking to Peter May (of Boston Globe fame) on HoopsHype this week about his money management during his first year in the league:

“At the beginning, every one I knew had a hand out and I was spending like $200 and $300 a week. That adds up. It got to $11,000 a month. That adds up too,’’ Perkins said. “You have to learn to distance yourself from people, even if that means staying inside at home more. You know, out of sight, out of mind? That first year in the league was to tough for me. You’re worried about offending people if you say no. But you eventually learn that you have to do it.”

This reminded me of a sports/law panel I attended for my regular job a couple of weeks ago at New York Law School. Among the panelists was Andre Buck, a player agent (and lawyer) who represents a number of young NBA players whose names you know. The panel touched on several basketball topics, including player spending habits and the role they might play in a (potential) 2011 lockout. 

Here’s what Buck said:

“They just spend money. It’s unbelievable. It’s just unbelievable. It’s the most unbelievable thing I’ve ever seen. $15,000 nights. Guys spending $35,000 a month just to live. There are so many stories…”

We all perked up hoping to hear some juicy tales of strippers and $1,000 bottles, but Buck’s a smart guy who cares about his clients, so he stopped there. But the point he made is the same one Simmons made in an outstanding column a couple of months ago: a lot of NBA players, especially young ones, spend more than they should and, as a result, depend on every paycheck to keep their lifestyles afloat or just pay bills. 

And Buck echoed another Simmons point: These spending habits give the league owners (and Stern) leverage in collective bargaining talks, because the league knows a lot of players literally can’t afford to miss several paychecks due to a lockout. The owners learned this in ’98-99, Buck said, and they know it’s still true.

A few other NBA tidbits came out at this panel, and I’ve been meaning to write about them–including one about Rajon Rondo. I’ll get to it soon.

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