Mike Conley arrived in Boston with a clear purpose: help the Celtics’ younger guards, settle into a veteran role, and chase the one thing he still wants before retirement - a championship.
The 38-year-old, now preparing for his 20th NBA season, has already begun working closely with Payton Pritchard. Conley said the conversations have centered on the kind of details that help a smaller guard last in the league.
“We’re talking the game all the time,” Conley said. “I should shoot a floater; you should shoot a midrange shot.
Like different things that complement his game might not complement mine. I recognize that and you just gotta know who you’re talking to and that personnel-specific.
I’m excited to kind of get my hands on different opportunities and to kind of get my brain to as much as those guys that are willing to listen.”
Conley’s role in Boston figures to look a lot like the one he had in Minnesota last season, when he played 54 games and averaged 18.4 minutes per night. He came into free agency looking for a team with a real chance to win it all before he hangs it up, and he believes he found that in the Celtics.
“We got a really deep team, a really deep roster,” Conley said. “Our young guys - who have been working really, really hard this offseason - they’ve got a lot of talent.
They’ve got a lot to their games. They love to learn.
Very high IQ. It’s just about giving them more and more to their plate every day I can.
If there’s something I see, I’m not quiet about it. I’m just going to say, ‘Hey, do this next time or look at this.’”
Conley also came away with a different view of Joe Mazzulla after first hearing about the coach’s intensity from around the league. At his introductory news conference this week, Conley said he once thought Mazzulla was “crazy,” but that impression didn’t hold up once the two started working together.
“He’s not crazy,” Conley said. “No, my impressions have been everything that I expected.
I think from here, from some of the players who played for him, just from around the league, his ideas, he’s not afraid to push the envelope a little bit to try things. To try different schemes and different reactions for players, different ways of getting things across.
It’s refreshing for me.”
The Celtics also got a positive update on Paul George, whose health remains the biggest question around the roster. At that same press conference, George said he’s feeling great again after the trade from Philadelphia to Boston. Julian Benbow of The Boston Globe noted that George has missed nearly 40% of his teams’ games since the 2019/20 season and hasn’t been available for a season opener since 2023.
George said the change of scenery has already helped.
“It’s almost like a rebirth to be in a system, be in a winning culture, a winning environment, and to feel good,” he said.
Boston’s front office, meanwhile, has moved on from the Jaylen Brown trade, according to Chad Finn of The Boston Globe, who also urged Celtics fans to do the same.
In Other News...
Jaylen Brown Trade Debate Just Took On New Meaning For Celtics Fans
The Pistons standoff with Jalen Duren is the kind of offseason mess Celtics fans know all too well, because it brings back the logic behind Bostons decision to move on from Jaylen Brown before he ever reached extension eligibility. Boston was not just thinking about talent in a vacuum. The front office was looking at the larger picture, where a young players next contract can change the direction of a roster and force hard choices about the rest of the payroll.
For Celtics followers, the comparison lands because it goes beyond a simple talent-for-talent debate. Brown was good enough to raise the stakes, but the teams move was also about avoiding the kind of internal conflict and cap squeeze that can linger for years. With Duren now in the middle of his own negotiation fight, the old Brown debate suddenly feels less like hindsight and more like a reminder of how quickly a promising core can turn into a financial decision. [Read more 🡒]
Celtics Could Face A Fast Paul George Reckoning In Boston
The Celtics offseason gamble on Paul George has already put Boston in an awkward place, because the move was never just about talent. Swapping Jaylen Brown to Philadelphia for George and draft picks was always going to invite immediate scrutiny, especially with Georges health history hanging over the deal and every cold stretch or missed game in Boston carrying extra weight.
Now the conversation has moved a step further, with one speculative idea floating around that would send George to Brooklyn for Julius Randle and Terance Mann if things go south quickly. It is the kind of contingency talk that underscores how fragile this setup can be for the Celtics: if George does not hold up or produce, Boston could be forced into an early rethink of a trade that was supposed to reshape the roster, not reopen it. [Read more 🡒]
Jordan Walsh Is Forcing A Tough Celtics Rotation Question
Jordan Walsh spent much of last season in a limited role, but he still found ways to stand out on the defensive end. BBall Index ranked him among the NBAs top-5 point-of-attack defenders, a notable mark for a player who played fewer than 18 minutes per game and was often asked to handle the toughest perimeter assignments. Even in the playoffs, he drew difficult matchups and showed why Boston kept leaning on his energy and length when the game demanded it.
The real question now is whether Walsh can turn that defensive trust into a larger place in the Celtics rotation. Boston already knows what it has when hes locked in on that end, and the next step is making sure his offense gives the staff enough reason to keep him on the floor more often. If that development comes, Walsh could move from a matchup piece to a much more regular part of the picture. [Read more 🡒]