Every morning, we compile the links of the day and dump them here… highlighting the big storyline. Because there’s nothing quite as satisfying as a good morning dump.
Isaiah Thomas isn’t holding back 👀 pic.twitter.com/NkvsGBb58u
— Dante Turo (@DanteOnDeck) August 12, 2018
“Cleveland was a shithole… I see why Bron left… again!”
Isaiah later apologized…
I apologize for my choice of words about Cleveland. I was on my live playing around. They don’t show you everything for a reason smh. Right after that I clarified what I said…. All love to everybody who had love for me in Cleveland.
— Isaiah Thomas (@isaiahthomas) August 12, 2018
Isaiah Thomas is constantly carrying a monster chip on his shoulder. His NBA career isn’t taking the path he’d hoped. I’m sure if he’d had any choice he’d still be in Boston leading this Celtics team. Hell, if Kyrie didn’t want out or if another team had a draft pick that could compete with Brooklyn’s, he might still be a Celtic.
But… he’s now a Nugget, hoping to resurrect a career that was on path to get him financially set for life. As he said in the video, he’s got love for most of is other stops… but Cleveland was different.
Cleveland was an unstructured mess. It was the worst place for a guy like Isaiah to try to work back from his injury. There was no patience from the team or the city to wait for Isaiah to integrate with everyone. Worse, there was no help for Isaiah on the defensive end, which highlighted his most glaring weakness.
In Boston, the Celtics played such good defense behind Isaiah that he could a least try to funnel players towards help and it could work. In Cleveland, there was already almost no effort on the defensive end, so IT just got roasted.
So the Cavs had a small player off a major injury struggling to find his shot and needing a lot of touches to get comfortable… while that same player cost them a lot of points on the other end of the floor. Add to the mix the feeling that each loss pushed LeBron further out the door and you have the most toxic mix possible for a player.
Who was going to stand up for him? Certainly not the coach, who was just going to go along with whatever LeBron wanted to do. Jae Crowder lost himself in this mess too, so his voice didn’t have the same power as a newcomer in that locker room. Isaiah was f’d from the start.
So yeah, he thinks it’s a shithole. We’d all think it’s a shithole too if we were in that position. And the apology? “All love to everybody who had love for me in Cleveland.” In other words, if you didn’t love me, you’re part of the shithole.
I’m not sure how Isaiah will do in Denver but I hope he does well. That team can be pretty good and if they get themselves together, they can be a middle seed in the West. I hope Isaiah is a big part of that.
Page 2: The Celtics are in high demand
“The offseason for us really begins from a business standpoint in February,” Gotham said. “That’s when we renew all of our season tickets. We’ve had a fantastic offseason so far. We’ve pretty much sold out of all of our games next season, the loge, the balcony, the courtside seasons. We’re working with the Garden on premium seating, that stuff has moved really well. There’s a higher than ever demand for pretty much all things Celtics this offseason. The television ratings reflected that during the regular season and during the playoffs.”
[…] “There’s demand for this team beyond of which we’ve seen in the past,” he said. “Hopefully we’ll back up that demand with a great season.”
High interest means more money. More money means more profit. More profit means more willingness to spend on the team to keep them good and keep that profit rolling in.
When we hear about this team’s willingness to pay the luxury tax, this is part of why.
This is a team that is now worth $2.5 billion, a significant increase in worth since this ownership group paid $360 million for the team 16 years ago. There are ways to leverage that worth and more cashflow into the team beyond basketball income. The team has done amazingly well in the Garden, which they lease, as opposed to a team like the Warriors who own their own stadium and virtually print money because of it.
That opens up another interesting possibility for these guys.
We know the Garden is there because that’s where the old Garden was. But… is there a reason for it to stay there?
As the Garden ages, there will be a push to upgrade the building somehow. The team is investing a lot of money in and around that building, but eventually, they might need a new place to play.
What’s keeping them in that particular spot? Is there a spot that’s not too far away that would (a) be easy for fans to get to and (b) give them enough space to build a premium facility?
I’m not sure where that spot would be. They could look into one of the industrial areas of Chelsea and make a big investment there. There have been other locations mentioned for a new Fenway Park that I’m sure would love to have venue like a Celtics home arena. It would give Boston another option to host concerts and other events as well as open the Celtics schedule up since they’d no longer share a place with the Bruins. Maybe the G-League team can move into the Garden at that point. Maybe it would open things up for a WNBA team to come to Boston.
I don’t know if the team would ever do it. I’m not even pushing for it as much as I’m raising the possibility as chance for the owners to maximize their return by owning the facility outright. I think fans would enjoy a bigger, better arena at some point. I’m sure the players would love a Mavericks-style locker room too.
The Celtics lease ends after the 2020-21 season. That’s not that far off. Let’s see what rumors pop up between now and then.
And Finally…
Happy Photo Shoot Day #NBARooks pic.twitter.com/pHG0Owgomh
— NBA TV (@NBATV) August 12, 2018
Well whaddya know… look at who was punctual and leading the rookies onto the floor for this!!
……… or maybe he was the last one in the locker room and thus the first one out…….
Nah… let’s give Robert Williams the win on this one. Every little bet helps break that perception!
Look… HE’S LEARNING!!
Robert Williams said he just got a place right next to the Celtics new practice facility. “Two-minute walk, said Williams who laughed and added, “Can’t be late!”
— Chris Forsberg (@ChrisForsberg_) August 12, 2018
You go, Boo Butt!
The rest of the links
ESPN: Every NBA game we can’t wait to watch, and why
NBCSN Boston: One man’s top 18 games in Celtics’ pursuit of Banner 18
Herald: Wade says if he plays, he’ll be with Heat this season
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