Robert Williams, who fell to the Celtics at No. 27 in Thursday's draft, admitted to sleeping through the team's introductory conference call Friday morning due to a "good night's sleep after a busy two days."
The Celtics were scheduled to have an 11 am conference call with first-round pick Robert Williams but have not been able to get in contact with him and have postponed the call.
Brian Windhorst, Tim MacMahon, Andrew Han and Jackie MacMullan offer reactions to the Luka Doncic trade (2:45), other draft surprises (19:15), the implications on free agency (22:55), the next steps in the Kawhi situation (38:40) and picks they liked (44:50).
Danny Ainge had no idea he was tipping the team's pick when Terry Rozier FaceTimed him during a live broadcast. "I had no idea I was on live, whatever it was. I thought he was FaceTiming me. I had no idea. But anyway, that is sort of funny. We're excited about Robert, and we felt like he was the best player available, and we think he's a great fit for our team."
Celtics president Danny Ainge unknowingly tipped the team's first-round selection of Texas A&M big man Robert Williams when point guard Terry Rozier called him during a live webcast.
Brad Stevens on Robert Williams being available at No. 27: "Danny [Ainge] and Mike [Zarren] really started talking about him around 17 or 18, and he's a really talented guy. ... Each pick, we were hoping more and more that he would be available at 27."
Brad Stevens asked about Kyrie Irving's uncertain future beyond this season: "To us, he's been nothing but awesome. At the end of every year, guys have the right to make their own decisions. All we can do is do the very best we can. I feel really good about our situation."
Analytics will have a greater impact on some teams choices tonight more than others. ESPN's Ben Alamar surveyed executives to find out who in the NBA uses draft analytics the best.
Dan Le Batard, Papi and Izzy Gutierrez question if it's worth it for the Celtics to trade Jaylen Brown for Kawhi, if the government should listen to Favre and end youth tackle football, does Rob Manfred need to make baseball more fun and much more.
Does Marcus Smart see himself in Boston next season? "To be honest, I do. I haven't really put too much thought into the offseason free agency thing. My No. 1 focus is on my family right now. I got a lot of stuff going on with my mom. She needs all the positive thinking."
If San Antonio is trading Kawhi Leonard, what would Boston offer? Zach Lowe explores how far the Celtics should go.
Russillo on all the LeBron and Kawhi rumors plus Jay Bilas previews the NBA Draft and Bobby Marks tells the story of trying to sign LeBron when he was with the Nets.
The banners have a new home. Celtics' Auerbach Center opens today.
The Boston Celtics held a grand opening for their new practice facility — the Auerbach Center — on Tuesday in Brighton's Boston Landing. It's just another asset for the Celtics as they try to attract star talent and construct a long-term contender.
'What I really want is to bring our team, all of us together, to a championship'
Shaquille O'Neal provided some advice to draft prospects Mikal Bridges, Marvin Bagley III and Jaren Jackson Jr. O'Neal and the soon-to-be rookies hosted a day of mentorship for teens in Brooklyn with The Y and provide them apparel from JCPenney. Here's Bridges on receiving advice from O'Neal: "There's a lot fo links in his belt," said Bridges, who said he learned a significant amount from O'Neal: "He's won championships with the Lakers - that's what I dream about.... It's great to hear from someone who has been throughthe process and been through it at the highest level." Bridges is scheduled to work out for Cleveland next week, his final workout before the NBA Draft.
Mikal Bridges joined Shaquille O'Neal and draft prospects Jaren Jackson Jr. and Marvin Begley III to host a day of mentorship for teens in Brooklyn with The Y and provide apparel from JCPenney: "It means the world," Bridges said of speaking to the teens. "It shows it's bigger than us. I just tried to show the kids what we've been through, what can help you. They've never been through it, and to have someone who has been through an experience and can tell you about it, it can be helpful." Bridges has worked out for several teams, including the Knicks and Sixers. He's scheduled to work out for Cleveland next week.
Plenty of picks throughout the lottery could be in play for draft-night trades. So which moves should teams make?
Shaquille O'Neal joined draft prospects Mikal Bridges, Jaren Jackson Jr. and Marvin Begley III to host a day of mentorship for teens in Brooklyn with The Y and provide apparel from JCPenney. O'Neal was asked about LeBron James' free agency. He believes that if James' decision hinges on putting himself in the best position to win a title, it will be difficult for James to beat the Golden State Warriors. "Golden State turning themselves into a dynasty is making it hard for other teams to compete so he's either going to say, ‘I want to get four before (the Warriors) get four' and do a quick fix or Cleveland's going to have to do a lot of phone calls and lot of moves to get him the squad he wants," O'Neal said. "But it's going to be difficult. You have three superstars on one team that actually play the right way. Even with LeBron (on a roster), if you don't play the right way it doesn't matter."
Shaquille O'Neal joined draft prospects Mikal Bridges, Jaren Jackson Jr. and Marvin Begley III to host a day of mentorship for teens in Brooklyn with The Y and provide apparel from JCPenney. O'Neal was asked about LeBron James' pending free agency: "Somebody told me a long time ago, they said your book is already set (before the later stages of your career). You can add index pages toward the end, but your book is already set. So LeBron's book is already set," O'Neal said. "He done already passed up legends, he done already made his mark – he has three rings. His mentality now is probably is I want to get four before (Golden State Warriors guard) Steph (Curry) does. That's probably his mentality now. But if I was him I wouldn't be trying to get four, five and six because it ain't going to matter. It's just something else to talk about, something else to add to the pages. He's a legend, talked about as who is the best between he and Michael Jordan so he's set."
Shaquille O'Neal joined draft prospects Mikal Bridges, Jaren Jackson Jr. and Marvin Begley III to host a day of mentorship for teens in Brooklyn with The Y and provide apparel from JCPenney. O'Neal was asked about LeBron James: "My problem toward the end of my career was I was trying to shut everybody up and I was greedy (for more championships)," O'Neal said, relating that to James' coming free agency decision. "After I got to three (titles) everybody was saying I couldn't get another. So I got four. After I got the fourth, they were saying I couldn't get another one. So I was trying to make quick stops to get it. Phoenix, Cleveland, Boston."
Kevin Arnovitz, Jonathan Givony, Mike Schmitz and Kevin Pelton discuss how a prospect's profile can fluctuate leading up to the draft (1:30), how to sift through the rumor mill (10:50), the top players in the 2018 draft (19:05) and draft night questions (36:10).
| TEAM | W | L | PCT | GB | STRK |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Toronto | 59 | 23 | .720 | - | L1 |
| Boston | 55 | 27 | .671 | 4 | W1 |
| Philadelphia | 52 | 30 | .634 | 7 | W16 |
| New York | 29 | 53 | .354 | 30 | W1 |
| Brooklyn | 28 | 54 | .341 | 31 | L1 |
| RD(PK) | PLAYER | POS | SCHOOL |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1(27) | Robert Williams | PF | Texas A&M |
| YEAR | W | L | PCT |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2017-18 | 55 | 27 | .671 |
| 2016-17 | 53 | 29 | .646 |
| 2015-16 | 48 | 34 | .585 |
| 2014-15 | 40 | 42 | .488 |
| 2013-14 | 25 | 57 | .305 |
