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Your Morning Dump… Where the Celtics are meeting with Dwight Howard

Mike Dynon (@MikeDynon) June 29, 2016 Free Agency, Jaylen Brown, Marcus Smart, Rumors, The Morning Dump 24 Comments

Every morning, we compile the links of the day and dump them here… highlighting the big story line. Because there’s nothing quite as satisfying as a good morning dump.

Howard, 30, scored fewer points per 36 minutes than he did at any point in the previous decade. Though he still finished seventh in the NBA in total rebound rate, it’s fair to wonder how much his athleticism has eroded – and whether he will be worth his next contract for the duration of the pact. Howard will turn 31 prior to the All-Star break, could hit 34 before his next deal expires, and has already spent more than 31,000 regular-season minutes jostling for position against opposing bigs. He has dealt with back and knee issues in the past, leading former Rockets coach Kevin McHale to note on SiriusXM radio, “He is not what he used to be down there in the low post.”

Still, Howard would provide the Celtics with an elite rim protector and pick-and-roll threat. They finished fifth in defensive rating last season, according to NBA.com, but could potentially push that up a few spots by adding an athlete of Howard’s caliber in the middle. The man can’t move quite like he used to, but can still rise way above guys like Jared Sullinger.

MassLive – Boston Celtics rumors 2016: Dwight Howard scheduled to meet with team in free agency, according to report

There are two free agency topics where Celtics fans agree: 1) we desperately want Kevin Durant to come to Boston; 2) we’d be horrified if Dwight Howard came to Boston.

Well, Celtics Nation is about to be extremely unhappy, as overnight reports say that Howard is indeed on Danny Ainge’s radar. Back at the trade deadline, rumors of a potential move for Howard brought a virtually unanimous reaction from fans: “No. Hell, no!”

But you know what we say: In Danny, we trust. If signing DH would have a positive influence on signing KD, then you do what you have to do. And there’s no denying that Howard would bring the rim protection we’ve been talking about since Kevin Garnett departed.

Another positive is that the Celtics are shaping up as major players in the race to sign free agents. Besides the confirmed meetings with Durant and Howard, they are also reportedly in the mix for Al Horford. In a week or two, we might be able to put to rest the tired theme that the Cs have never signed a major free agent.

Buckle up!

On Page 2: KD remains Topic No. 1

Despite the Howard news, the prospect of Kevin Durant coming to Boston absolutely remains Topic No. 1 with Celtics media, fans, players and former players.

Back in the Boston area for one of his multi-city summer camps at Brandeis University, Smart was peppered with questions about Boston’s upcoming meeting with Durant. Smart, who played collegiately at Oklahoma State, noted how Durant attended a couple of Cowboys games and the two briefly crossed paths. Like Boston’s salivating fan base, Smart is intrigued by the idea of Durant in green.

“It’s incredible. A guy his size to do what he does, it’s unreal. … I think any team would love to see Durant and those type of caliber players on their team,” said Smart. “But we’re not the ones that make that call, so we just kind of sit back and wait. And whatever decisions that the front office makes, we’re ready to run with it.”

ESPN Boston – Marcus Smart ready to join Kevin Durant recruitment … if he gets his number

Marcus is just like the rest of us: he’d love it if KD signed with Boston, he’s hoping for the best, and he simply has to wait and see what happens. Hopeful and optimistic are the best we can do.

The KD question was also posed to another Celtics guard, the legendary Bob Cousy. It’s gratifying to see that Cooz is not at all a “get off my lawn” old-timer.

“All things being equal, I guess at some point tradition plays a role,” Cousy said in a telephone interview. “But cold weather could also play a role. A lot of guys don’t like those Boston winters, I’ll tell you.

“So I’m just not sure in the grand scheme of things, if all things are equal, whether Durant is going to care whether these old farts out here named Cousy and Russell and Heinsohn and whoever did all these wonderful things 50 years ago.” […]

Cousy said that if he met with Durant, he would preach the importance of integrating his otherworldly skills into the equation without disrupting a team-first ethos.

“When you get an individual like Kevin who has been so successful and is such an offensive threat — I don’t know him, maybe he’d adopt this very easily — but I think this would be Brad’s biggest challenge, selling the team concept to him as opposed to just saying, ‘OK, you’re the chief,’ ” Cousy said.

Globe – Bob Cousy doubts that Kevin Durant can be sold on Celtics lore

Another angle to the Durant recruitment is the fact that he wears uniform number 35, which is retired for the late Reggie Lewis. The article below is preposterously premature, although probably anything can come up in negotiations. I’m not superstitious, but if Durant does play here I hope he takes a different number. However, if he requires 35 or else, this is good to know:

I asked Lewis’ mother, Inez Ritch, how she’d feel if the Celtics asked for her blessing to offer No. 35 to Durant as a tribute to her son.

“I don’t think it would take anything from Reggie because his number is still hanging up in the Garden,” Ritch told me over the phone. “If I see Durant running up and down the court with the No. 35, I don’t know how my emotions would be until it happens.

“I don’t think I would be upset about it. I think it would be a good thing because he is a very nice, humble young man. I don’t know a lot about him, but I know of some of the things he has achieved while wearing the No. 35.”

CSNNE – Kevin Durant And Reggie Lewis: A Number Of Similarities

Free agency links:

MassLive – Boston Celtics’ Marcus Smart: Any team would love to have a guy like Kevin Durant

CBS Boston – Smart Brings Important Message, And Fierce Defense, To His Basketball Camp | Robb: Horford Interest At Least An Encouraging Sign For Celtics’ Pursuit Of Durant

ESPN – Marc Stein podcast with guest Zach Lowe (Celtics discussion begins around 16-minute mark) | Sources: Dwyane Wade open to outside offers as Heat talks stall

SB Nation – Ranking the top 117 NBA free agents of 2016

RealGM – Sortable Free Agent List

The Ringer – Five NBA Free-Agency Story Lines to Watch

On Page 3: Jaylen continues to impress

Yesterday, the Celtics released this interview with Jaylen Brown and – as he has since draft night – he said all the right things about being on this roster. If his on-court game can match his off-court presence and maturity, Brown will make a huge impact on Boston. Can’t wait to watch him play in summer league.

“I know that no one works harder than me and no one will out-work me.” Jaylen Brown talks ball and life right here.https://t.co/EV3n2gcF38

— Boston Celtics (@celtics) June 28, 2016

And, finally: As if a Game 7 loss wasn’t bad enough…

In a videotaped conversation his father shared with Bay Area news station KRON-TV, 21-year-old Salvator Bimbo denied rumors he jumped from the balcony following Golden State’s 93-89 loss to Cleveland. “I did not jump,” he said. “I was pushed by a Cavaliers fan.”

Yahoo – Injured Warriors fan claims Cavs fan pushed him off ledge at end of Game 7

What is wrong with people? This poor guy has been in the hospital for more than a week, suffering from serious injuries. If his account of the incident is true, perhaps the Warriors will reach out with tickets or some other gesture to cheer him up.

The Rest of the Links:

CSNNE – Future Uncertain For Johnson And Jerebko As Celtics Pursue Durant

Herald – Marcus Smart happy with Celtics’ progress so far this offseason

Providence Journal – Improving his shooting is summer goal of Celts’ Marcus Smart

MassLive – Boston Celtics rumors: ‘A chance’ Guerschon Yabusele plays in summer league | 2017 NBA Draft: 10 Boston Celtics Prospects, and why fans should be excited about Brooklyn Nets pick

Globe – We’re still waiting for Ainge to take his next big shot

The Undefeated – Don’t worry, this USA basketball team will roll to gold

Luke Walton

I’m not sure howard is better than horford
- MetroGlobe
  
  Depends on what you think out needs are. Horford provides better shooting, but with legitimately terrible rebounding (he averaged 3 rpg in the playoffs). Howard brings much better rebounding, defense, and dunks.
Luke Walton

Someone should consult paul silas, too, as his number is hanging in the rafters as well, and arguably he was the more valuable #35 (and likely did less coke to boot)
- jrleftfoot
  
  what a shit answer
  - Luke Walton
    
    All Reggie Lewis did was send the Celtics into an even deeper tailspin. Reggie = the second coming of Len Bias. Total farce that he effectively killed himself with coke and his number gets raised to the rafters.
    - MetroGlobe
      
      Oh get out of here. He had a congenital heart defect. The same kind of thing that almost killed Jeff Green. The coke rumors are complete BS.
      - Luke Walton
        
        June 26, 1999
        
        An obvious verdict: Lewis used drugs;
        
        When we thought it was all over, Donna Harris-Lewis said she had proven that her husband, Reggie, did not do drugs.
        
        Pardon me.
        
        Three
        people, none of whom knew each other, all testified under oath in
        either pre-trial depositions or in court that they were present and
        “doing” drugs with Reggie Lewis.
        
        One, Wayne Brown, a
        classmate of Lewis’s at Northeastern, said he not only did cocaine with
        Reggie, but also provided it to him. Harris-Lewis later labeled Brown a
        loser.
        
        Wayne Lebeaux, who worked for the Celtics when
        Lewis was on the team, said in his deposition that he did marijuana with
        Lewis and two women.
        
        Businessman Ronald J. Marks said
        he witnessed Lewis sniffing a “shiny white powdered substance” in a
        public restroom at a Saugus pizza parlor. Lewis was a Celtic at the
        time.
        
        Losers? I don’t think so. I give them all the
        credit in the world for standing up under the toughest of circumstances,
        with absolutely nothing to gain, to tell the truth.
        
        Who in their right mind would be willing to testify to being involved with drugs?
        
        “In
        general, most business professionals or athletes who may have been
        caught up in the cocaine vogue of the ’80s and early ’90s have that
        behind them today. They’ve moved on to have families and potentially
        rewarding careers. They are reluctant to admit today to any unlawful
        activities in their past.”
        
        That statement comes from
        Bob Long, former Mass. state police detective and president of LCF
        Associates of Braintree, the investigative firm working with attorney
        William Dailey on the Lewis litigation. “It is very difficult to get
        people to come forward in any type of drug investigation,” said Long,
        who declined any further comment because this Lewis farce may have
        another day in court.
      - RedsLoveChild
        
        It would require “extreme naiveté” to believe that Reggie Lewis was a stranger to cocaine. I`ll just leave it at that.
        
        Bias, Lewis, Jeff Green were all born in Maryland.
        Another Celtic with a cardiac condition was Chris Wilcox, who attended the Univ of Maryland.
        
        The take-away for Boston : Stay away from guys with strong ties to Maryland!
      - forever_green
        
        That’s crazy, didn’t know that. Good stuff.
      - Luke Walton
        
        March 21, 1995
        
        On a warm summer evening in 1985,
        Reggie Lewis and his childhood friend, Derrick Lewis, walked down a
        quiet Marshfield street, side by side with their idol, University of
        Maryland star Len Bias. Reggie Lewis, a sophomore at Northeastern, was
        awestruck. He had repeatedly said the best part about being a counselor
        at Red Auerbach’s summer camp was he got to play ball with Bias.
        
        But
        that wasn’t all Reggie Lewis did with Bias, according to Derrick Lewis.
        On that night, Derrick Lewis said in an interview with the Globe, four
        players, including Bias, Reggie Lewis and himself, snorted cocaine in a
        McDonald’s restaurant less than a mile away from the Celtics rookie
        camp.
        
        “Someone – I ain’t gonna say who – had a half
        gram of cocaine,” said Lewis. “We went into the McDonald’s. It was real
        late, so nobody was there. Len went into the bathroom, took a toot, then
        me, then Reggie, then the next guy. We’d make sure nobody was coming.
        Then we went and had a couple of beers at another place and got real
        toasted. Then we went home. After that, we never talked about it.”
        
        Derrick
        Lewis, who played high school and college basketball with Reggie Lewis
        and now lives in Baltimore, said he used cocaine with the late Celtic
        about “five or six times” from 1985 to 1993, including the night Lewis
        signed his first contract with the Celtics in 1987 and culminating in a
        session at a Maryland hotel less than a week before Reggie Lewis
        collapsed in a playoff game.
        
        Derrick Lewis said he
        decided to speak out now in order to quash what he felt is an emerging
        perception that Reggie Lewis was a cocaine addict. He stressed that
        Reggie had been only a “social user” of cocaine.
        
        According
        to Derrick Lewis, the times he used cocaine with Reggie Lewis were
        during nights of heavy drinking. One of those nights was shortly after
        Reggie Lewis signed a one-year contract with the Celtics.
        
        “The
        night Reggie signed, we went out and partied and had a little hit of
        cocaine,” said Lewis. “But that was after two cases of beer, a few
        bottles of Dom Perignon. We had been up all night, so I said to him,
        ‘Here, take a little toot, to keep you going.’ We were living the high
        life, you know?”
        
        Lewis said he also used cocaine with
        Reggie Lewis outside the Scotch ‘n Sirloin Restaurant in Boston, a
        favorite hangout of Celtic players before it closed in June 1991.
        Derrick Lewis said he and his friend were alone.
        
        “Reggie
        was always careful who he did the stuff with,” said Lewis. “When I used
        to mess with Reggie, I’d always remind him, ‘You’re in the spotlight.
        If someone saw you smoking a joint, they’re going to say you’re smoking
        weed every day.’ ”
        
        Derrick Lewis said the death of Bias
        from cocaine intoxication had frightened Reggie Lewis and for a while
        curtailed his drug use.
        
        “He got to the point where he
        was pretty much skeptical,” said Lewis. “He was scared. Both of us were
        scared after that happened to Lenny. I remember him saying, ‘Damn, that
        (expletive) can kill you.’ It really shook him up.”
        
        Derrick
        Lewis said the last time he saw Reggie Lewis was at the Greenbelt
        Marriott hotel in Maryland, the night before the Celtics played their
        final game of the 1992-93 regular season and five days before Lewis
        stumbled and fell onto the Garden parquet in a playoff game against
        Charlotte.
        
        “I met him at the hotel,” Lewis said. “I
        didn’t have nothing. We just sat down and drank. We were drinking
        heavily, and I think Reggie was doing stuff cocaine.”
        
        Derrick
        Lewis originally told the Globe he did not use any cocaine with Reggie
        Lewis during the visit to the Marriott, but he was quoted in yesterday’s
        Wall Street Journal as saying he went up to Lewis’ room, used cocaine,
        then went down to the hotel bar. Last night, when asked to clarify the
        events of his visit to the Celtics’ team hotel, Lewis said he did use “a
        small amount of cocaine” with Reggie Lewis in his room. He explained
        that he had been uncomfortable recounting incidents of drug use during
        the years his friend was a Celtic, when first interviewed.
        
        Two members of the Celtics organization last night confirmed that Reggie Lewis was at the Greenbelt Marriott that night.
        
        The
        Globe interviewed Derrick Lewis for 2 1/2 hours on tape last Wednesday
        night in Baltimore. No story was published until today because Lewis did
        not agree to put the conversation on the record until yesterday’s Wall
        Street Journal story appeared.
        
        “Reggie dedicated himself to basketball,” said Lewis. “He liked partying, too, but he cared more about basketball.”
        
        Reggie
        Lewis and Derrick Lewis grew up together in Baltimore. Both played
        basketball at Dunbar High School. It was Reggie, said Derrick, that
        convinced him to transfer to Northeastern from South Carolina.
        
        “The
        first couple years he was with Boston, I’d see him all the time,” said
        Lewis. “We’d work out together, hit the town together. But the last
        couple years, I wasn’t around as much.
        
        March 22, 1995
        
        Robert
        J. Fonseca of New Bedford was quoted in the Boston Herald and the New
        Bedford Standard Times yesterday as saying he sold cocaine on two
        occasions to Lewis. Fonseca told the Herald the sales took place in June
        or July 1988. The Standard Times quoted him as saying he sold it to
        Lewis “several times” in 1989 and 1990.
        
        March 23, 1995
        
        The
        horrible story won’t go away because the truth hasn’t been served.
        Reggie Lewis’ fans may never know the truth, and many insist they don’t
        want to know, but it becomes increasingly clear that lies, half-truths
        and coverups were very much a part of the life and death of the late
        Celtic captain.
        
        The latest bomb exploded Friday when
        Northeastern University president John A. Curry said he recently was
        informed by former athletic director Irwin Cohen that Lewis had tested
        positive for cocaine in March 1987. Dr. Job E. Fuchs, the 78-year-old
        former university physician, disputes this claim but says he threw out
        records of the tests.
      - Luke Walton
        
        when you have sworn testimony from multiple, disinterested witnesses, I think we can safely say the evidence is more than rumor
      - MetroGlobe
        
        I found this article: https://groups.google.com/forum/#!topic/alt.gossip.celebrities/nL4p6zKvmpc
        
        At most, the cocaine use was rumor. But I am leaning towards believing it, considering that guy testified under oath about it.
      - jrleftfoot
        
        Most human beings have this thing called empathy. Those who don`t are called sociopaths and are far more destructive to society than casual cocaine users.
    - Falcon Falcone
      
      Just bullshit racism. He had a heart defect that was hereditary.
      - Luke Walton
        
        LOL.
        
        Four witnesses, all black, none of whom know each other, all testified Lewis bought drugs from them or did drugs with them, and they are all racist? Even Lewis’ alma mater (African-American administrator) offered evidence.
        
        The racist card doesn’t work here.
        
        But nice try.
        
        See articles below.
      - jrleftfoot
        
        Throwing stones at dead people is such a classy way to go, right?
      - zippittyay
        
        I guess stating the fact that Dwight Howard can’t make free throws, dribble or pass the ball is racist too, eh?
- RedsLoveChild
  
  There is NO argument…Silas was vastly more valuable in his 4 years here, than Lewis would`ve been had he played 20 years in Boston!
  
  1972-76…Silas was “indispensable” to Boston`s domination of the NBA.
Falcon Falcone

He should wear #53. Reggies mom may approve but I doubt his widow would.
jrleftfoot

I met Reggie Lewis, briefly, at the old Heat arena in overtown. I`m not sure of the year, but it was early in the Heat`s existence. I attended the game with my brother , a Miami cop. We bought tickets outside the arena from scalpers , because we wanted to sit courtside .In those pre- 9/11 days, you could enter the building early and we went in about an hour before game time . Lewis was out there by himself, shooting jumpshots. Besides us the only people around were a couple janitors and 5 or 6 young kids. Reggie took shots from all over the floor and when he finished, signed autographs for all the kids and talked to them for 10 minutes or so .Eddie and I told him we were big Celtic fans, which he probably could have guessed from the way we were decked out. He seemed like a pleasant , humble decent young man Whether or not cocaine contributed to his death is an open question . He had a congenital heart disease. Why some keyboard cowboy should be taking potshots at him and so invested in proving he used cocaine, which was hardly unusual in those days , is a mystery to me.
KGino

Even if we got Dwight, I could never root for him. He’s also coach cancer, but I have a feeling Brad would be immune to the effects
CallingBatman

I for one would NOT be horrified if we got Dwight Howard. He’d be a major upgrade and, like him or not, a legitimate star. While I’d far prefer KD, I’m not getting my hopes up. His polarization effect seems overblown. There was interest in Butler and he isn’t exactly backing up his coach.
- jrleftfoot
  
  There are pluses and minuses to Howard. He immediately becomes the Celtics best rim protector and rebounder. Negatives: like Roberto Duran , he has hands of stone; and he`s a terrible free throw shooter. Despite being coached by some of the great low post players , he still has shitty footwork. The price seems too great , to me , for what amounts to a minor improvement.
forever_green

I’m all for Dwight, wish he came here years ago. Just curious, how much would a Biyombo cost in free agency?

The Latest

Your Morning Dump… Where the Celtics are meeting with Dwight Howard

On Page 2: KD remains Topic No. 1

On Page 3: Jaylen continues to impress

And, finally: As if a Game 7 loss wasn’t bad enough…

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Your Morning Dump… Where the Celtics are meeting with Dwight Howard

On Page 2: KD remains Topic No. 1

On Page 3: Jaylen continues to impress

And, finally: As if a Game 7 loss wasn’t bad enough…

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