It’s no secret that the Celtics’ season has been very complicated, on the outside and on the inside. Symbol of all this? A player in the workforce who has outright … dissuaded a star from joining the team at the deadline!
The construction site in Boston is enormous. Following a bleak season marked by a lack of effort on the part of many players, the time has come to take stock. After the departure of Danny Ainge and the promotion of Brad Stevens, the Celtics are still looking for their coach. And meanwhile, very big tensions point the tip of their nose.
The dysfunction within the franchise is of concern higher up, and it seems profound. A prime example was revealed by The Athletic, and concerns a certain… Blake Griffin.
Brilliant with the Nets during the playoffs, the former mad dunker of Lob City was thinking of joining Boston after his buy-out with the Pistons. He therefore contacted a player from the C’s squad to get his opinion. And surprise … the latter dissuaded him! Jared Weiss reports:
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According to a source, Blake Griffin asked a Celtics player if he should join the team in the middle of the season (after his buy-out, note). The player told him not to come because of the mess in the franchise.
That says a lot about the Boston situation.
The internal problems deeply worry the front office, which for example was moved not to see the players being touched or annoyed by the controversial gesture of Kyrie Irving, who had trampled on the franchise logo. In short, it is an amorphous team with a low head that will have to be re-mobilized for next season.
Griffin, on the other hand, must not regret his choice. He certainly didn’t get the ring he coveted, but he showed the entire league that he had some sacred remains. It is now up to him to choose between a new minimum contract for the Nets, which will surely be offered to him, and another a little juicier elsewhere, but without the possibility of winning the title.
Blake Griffin must have been astonished to hear from a Boston player that it was better not to come. An anecdote that says a lot about the Celtics’ situation …
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