Hours before NBA free agency officially opened, LeBron James sent the Lakers into a new direction, and Los Angeles suddenly found itself sorting through life after the breakup. With Luka Doncic now at the center of the plan, the purple and gold are chasing a player the Celtics had also been eyeing: Sandro Mamukelashvili.
Mamukelashvili is coming off the best season of his career. In Toronto, he averaged 11.2 points and 4.9 rebounds a game while hitting 38.9 percent of his 3.7 attempts from beyond the arc. He logged 21.9 minutes per night, appeared in 80 of 82 games, and made 13 starts.
At six-foot-nine, he fits as a floor-spacing small-ball center rather than a classic rim-protecting pivot, but he has established himself as one of the better free agents capable of handling minutes at the five. That was the role he filled most often for the Raptors.
For Boston, the center options have already started to dry up. Robert Williams III came off the board before free agency began, and the chance at a reunion with Kristaps Porzingis or Al Horford also disappeared.
The market is getting thinner by the minute, which makes any pursuit of Mitchell Robinson tougher as well. The other path, of course, would be a Jaylen Brown trade.
Even so, the Lakers’ push for Mamukelashvili is not the part of this story that should trouble the Celtics.
Los Angeles is also in on Quentin Grimes, another free agent from the Atlantic division, according to Marc Stein of The Stein Line. Grimes, who is headed into his age-26 season, is unrestricted and coming off a playoff run that included a major moment in Game 5 in Boston.
That was the night Joe Mazzulla kept warning that the Celtics could not let Grimes get rolling. He has the kind of scoring burst that can swing a game in a hurry and give a team’s top options some real breathing room.
He did exactly that, scoring 18 points off the bench on 5-for-8 shooting, including 4-for-7 from three. In the third quarter, he buried two triples that helped Philadelphia erase a 13-point deficit. What had looked like the start of a second-round matchup with the New York Knicks instead turned into the beginning of the 76ers’ collapse from a 3-1 lead, the first time that has happened in franchise history.
If the Lakers pry Grimes away from Philadelphia, that’s a hit for the 76ers and a boost for Boston. And if the Celtics can take that kind of help from one rival while another one keeps moving through the market, they’ll gladly accept it.
In Other News...
Blazers Just Applied New Pressure In Jaylen Brown Talks
The Jaylen Brown trade chatter has taken another turn, and it may be narrowing the field more than it is opening it. Several teams that had been connected to the Celtics wing, including the Clippers, Rockets, Pelicans, Hawks and Trail Blazers, are now reportedly out of the chase, which only sharpens the focus on who is still willing to keep pressing if Boston ever seriously entertains offers.
Portlands situation is the one worth watching here, because the Blazers recently brought back Robert Williams III and are said to be standing pat on other parts of the roster for now. Even with the noise around Brown, there is still a sense that the Blazers are keeping their options open and leaving room for more movement later, which means this story may be less about a finished pursuit than about how long the pressure around it keeps building. [Read more 🡒]
NBA Bombshell Just Put An Unthinkable Star In Boston's Orbit
LeBron James is headed into an offseason unlike any other after informing the Lakers he will play elsewhere next season, which instantly turns him into the biggest name on the free-agent board. With interest already surfacing from places like Golden State and a possible Cleveland return drawing attention, the ripple effect has reached Boston, where the Celtics suddenly find themselves mentioned in a conversation few would have imagined even a week ago.
The fit is at least easy to understand: Boston could put the full midlevel exception on the table, and that kind of financial flexibility is a real hook for a contender chasing one more elite piece. Add in the chance to slot James alongside Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown without asking him to carry the entire offense, and the idea gains a little more traction, even if the broader picture still hinges on how far he wants to chase legacy in his next move. [Read more 🡒]
Jaylen Browns Father Just Took Celtics Frustration Public
Marselles Brown stepped into the Celtics postmortem chatter this week and made clear he was not interested in letting the debate around his son stay confined to basketball. During an appearance on Sway In The Morning, he publicly defended Jaylen Brown from criticism that had picked up steam around ESPN and other media voices after Bostons playoff exit, pushing back on the idea that the conversation was still about one rough series or a few pointed comments.
The noise has followed Brown into an offseason already thick with questions about his place in Boston, even after a career-best year that only sharpened the gap between his production and the scrutiny around him. His father said the attacks have gone beyond the game itself, which is where the tension now sits for the Celtics: a star wing who keeps delivering on the floor, and a discourse around him that keeps getting louder for reasons the team would rather leave alone. [Read more 🡒]