How is the NBA's Western Conference looking in a likely down season for the Boston Celtics? Did the Celtics miss a chance to capitalize on the parity era and a weaker West by downshifting their roster after Jayson Tatum got hurt? Or is the Western Conference looking tougher than ever, making it a good moment to retool Boston's roster for the future?

To try to get a handle on how the league's West standings may look by the end of the 2025-26 regular season, the hosts of "Havlicek Stole the Pod" linked up with Thunder Wire editor Clemente Almanza. We give our over-under projections for the West based on preseason projections and the moves each team have (and in some cases, have not) made, as well as touching on the trickle of news still making the rounds late in the month of August.

Tune in to join us as we get our collective bearings on how the Western Conference may look come April 2026 in what might turn out to be a very turbulent season on that side of the standings.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Who are the greatest Boston Celtics villains of all time? With the Celtics being the NBA's winningest franchise in terms of both titles and regular season games won, there is no shortage of players, coaches, and execs who have wanted to see Boston fail over the years, preferably at their expense.

But there have also been some high profile examples of Celtics betrayal from people inside the storied ball club sticking a proverbial knife into the back of the team. And there are plenty of examples of players who aspired to be Celtics villains, but couldn't quite pull off the status for any number of reasons. There are even some who are entirely miscast in such a role, yet keep getting mentioned as such.

To get to the bottom of this important historical debate/peak offseason content, the hosts of "Havlicek Stole the Pod" linked up with Boston-based actor and longtime friend of the pod Evan Turrisini, who has developed the most scientific approach to determining Celtics villainy we have yet come across. Check it out!

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The ownership of the Boston Celtics has officially changed hands from Wyc Grousbeck and his Boston Basketball Partners, LTD. group to Bill Chisholm's semi-eponymous Chisholm Group, the Celtics have made a pair of signings, and the NBA's 2025-26 regular season schedule is out in a busy August week of news.

What changes now that Chisholm is in charge of the Celtics? Why did Boston wait so long to sign two way big man Amari Williams? Will Ron Harper Jr. parlay his Exhibit 10 deal into another tour with the Maine Celtics, or does he have a shot at making the team? And how is Boston's start to their retooling campaign looking? Between this late spurt of activity in the midst of what is usually the NBA's summer doldrums and a surprisingly long list of Celtics villains, the hosts of "Havlicek Stole the Pod" have a feast of late offseason podcasts for you to sink your teeth into.

Part one of this week's fare focuses on the news with hosts Daniel Donabedian, Justin Quinn, and Alex Goldberg, so check it out in this episode. Part two is all Celtics villainy, so keep your eyes peeled for the closer look segment soon to come out.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Boston Celtics owners might help keep WNBA basketball in New England -- or they might help push it out of the region for most of the next decade, if not longer. If that is confusing, that's because the whole situation is, and Celtics owners past and present may play a major role in how the sale of the Connecticut Sun will impact the presence of the league in the Northeast.

The Sun are for sale, and former Boston minority owner Steve Pagliuca is fronting a group trying to bring the team to Massachusetts. But he didn't submit an expansion application to the WNBA given he was busy with a bid to buy the Celtics, ultimately seeing a competing offer from current majority owner Bill Chisholm win the day. And Chisholm's group may be in the lead for a Boston WNBA franchise, but one likely to take shape many years in the future.

How are the Celtics entangled in this sticky situation? Is there a way to keep the Sun from being poached by a team out of the region? Would it be in Boston, the Constitution State, or some other compromise location? And how do we think this saga will play out? The hosts of "Havlicek Stole the Pod" sat down with SB Nation's Noa Dalzell to talk it all over, as well as the rest of the recent NBA news still trickling out. Check it out!

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

With both the Boston Celtics and Indiana Pacers down their best players heading into the 2025-26 NBA regular season, it is safe to say that the league's Eastern Conference is going to be having a down year. But just how bad is a down year going to be in a conference that has rightfully had the reputation of being the worse of the two by a notable margin for over a decade now?

There are some familiar faces among the tank commanders in the Washington Wizards and Brooklyn Nets, but there are also cases to be made that the Charlotte Hornets and Philadelphia 76ers will trade in their tanks for a competent approach to the season. Most analysts agree that the top of the East is the Cleveland Cavaliers and New York Knicks to lose, but do the Orlando Magic, Atlanta Hawks, and Milwaukee Bucks have anything to say about that? And speaking of Boston and Indiana, where exactly do we think these two enigmatic rosters will end up?

To get a bead on how the East might look next season, the cohosts of "Havlicek Stole the Pod" linked up with cohost of the CLNS Media "How Bout Them Celtics!" podcast, Sam LaFrance. We also get into the flurry of late-offseason moves made by Boston, from the Chris Boucher signing to the Joe Mazzulla extension and the rest of the news still percolating into the month of August, so be sure to tune in.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What do the Boston Celtics offseason moves tell us about their future plans for the team? The Celtics dodged what would have been a historic payroll and tax bill by trading away Jrue Holiday and Kristaps Porzingis, and cutting ties with Luke Kornet, Al Horford, and JD Davison. They also brought in cheaper talent via those trades (Anfernee Simons and Georges Niang), signings (Luka Garza and Josh Minott), and the 2025 NBA Draft (Hugo Gonzalez, Amari Williams, and Max Shulga).

This got them under the second apron in total, and Boston now finds their roster within striking distance getting under tax as well. What have they gained from all of these moves in pursuit of Banner 19, and are they actually going to try to get out of the repeater tax?

With so many moving pieces, the Celtics could go a lot of different directions, depending on several important factors. To get a better idea of how cap concerns and possibilities might shape that future, the hosts of the "Havlicek Stole the Pod" linked up with The Third Apron cap expert Yossi Gozlan to talk over what might be coming down the pike for Boston this offseason, at the deadline, and beyond. Be sure to tune in!

Listen to "Havlicek Stole the Pod" on:

Spotify: https://tiny.ee/CdKp

iTunes: https://tiny.ee/RK47

YouTube: https://tiny.ee/cOW3

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Boston Celtics have waived point guard JD Davison, and with that act, have dipped below the NBA's dreaded second apron. One of their most important bits of unfinished business left for the Celtics in the 2025 offseason, Boston now has a few more pending issues to address, not the least of which deciding whether to use the roster spot opened up by Davison's exit.

From the near-certain departure of vet forward Al Horford in free agency to potentially trading one or both of Anfernee Simons and Georges Niang to reduce the Celtics' cap hit, there is still a fair amount of work to be done before training camp rolls around in the fall. Should Boston sign former Los Angeles Clippers big man Ben Simmons, or try to bring on Summer Celtics star Charles Bassey to shore up the big man rotation? Is there another name out there worth pursuing for Boston?

The cohosts of "Havlicek Stole the Pod," Daniel Donabedian and Justin Quinn (Alex Goldberg is taking the pod off) linked up with WEEI's Justin Turpin to talk about all the latest Celtics news from Davison's departure to Jaylen Brown training with Muay Thai, so be sure to tune in to this mid-summer update of what the Celtics have been up to -- and what they might do next.

Listen to "Havlicek Stole the Pod" on:

Spotify: https://tiny.ee/CdKp

iTunes: https://tiny.ee/RK47

YouTube: https://tiny.ee/cOW3

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Boston Celtics hold a 2-1 record in the NBA's 2025 Las Vegas Summer League play, and have one more contest left against the Sin City Los Angeles Lakers later this week. What have we learned about the Summer Celtics so far, and what is left to prove before the last whispers of NBA basketball shut down until fall?

The hosts of "Havlicek Stole the Pod," Alex Goldberg and Justin Quinn (Daniel Donabedian has the week off) linked up with the cohost of the CLNS Media "How Bout Them Celtics!" podcast, Jack Simone, to talk all things Las Vegas Summer League and what we can glean about the signed Celtics players and incoming rookies in this very limited sample size.

We also get into whether we think big man Charles Bassey can find his way onto Boston's roster, sing Max Shulga's praises, and even hit on the secret all-you-can-eat sushi join in Vegas favorited by all the best Celtics beat writer, so don't miss this direct-from-summer league edition of the pod.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Boston Celtics are mostly done making moves in the 2025 NBA offseason, and the team's attention now shifts to the 2025 Las Vegas Summer League and the prospects who will be this year's Sin City Celtics. The full, 14-man roster is out, and features all three picks of the Celtics from the 2025 NBA draft in Hugo Gonzalez, Amari Williams, and Max Shulga, two players signed to Boston already in Baylor Scheierman and Jordan Walsh, and nine other prospective Celtics who may end up in Maine or elsewhere.

On this episode of "Havlicek Stole the Pod," hosts Daniel Donabedian and Justin Quinn sat down with Forbes Celtics beat writer Bobby Krivitsky to talk about where we think each Summer Celtics will end up by opening night, what goes on in Vegas that doesn't stay in Vegas, as well as what Krivitsky has planned for his own trip to Sin City.

We also get caught up on the news, including what Boston president Brad Stevens had to say about the offseason so far, Al Horford's future in the league, some rumored interest from a star floor general, and plenty more, so be sure to tune in.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Boston Celtics have been making moves to reshape their roster as the rest of the NBA does the same. As free agency gets fully underway, we are seeing the order of the league transform in real time. What do we think of what the Celtics have done to put the team in a position for future success, and where is Boston's place in the East order next season as a result?

With players like Luke Kornet leaving the team to join the San Antonio Spurs to the incoming signings the Celtics have made with Luka Garza and Josh Minott, it is clear this roster will be a different sort of Boston ball club than we are used to seeing in recent years. Add in the Celtics' incoming draft class (to say nothing of the summer league action ahead), and there's a lot of promise for when the team returns to building out a roster capable of contending for titles.

To try to get our bearings on all the movement going down in the league and what Boston has been doing themselves, the hosts of "Havlicek Stole the Pod" sat down to soak it all in for this week's episode, as well as a look ahead to the Sin City Celtics riding again. Don't miss this episode if you feel like you need a primer on a very busy week for Boston.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices