Havlicek Stole the Pod NBA Basketball Podcast

Star Boston Celtics forward Jaylen Brown has officially signed his historic supermax contract extension, and did so with the sort of pomp such a moment deserves, with Olympian and civil rights icon John Carlos in attendance along with lead governor Wyc Grousbeck, team president Brad Stevens, and head coach Joe Mazzulla.

But the most interesting guests at the signing and press conference were Brown's Steam students from his MIT bridge program, Black and brown youth from the greater Boston area. The Celtics star made use of signing his new contract to help shed light on efforts to address systemic racism in the city and hopes to found a new Black Wall Street in Boston, a sign of the depth of his commitment to the community.

The hosts of the CLNS Media "Celtics Lab" podcast dove into Brown's supermax extension contract presser, what we can learn from what was said and done at it, and what the extension means for Boston moving forward.

They also get into the news of Mike Gorman's final season calling games and the rest of the trickle of news still percolating this late in the NBA offseason, so tune in and get up to speed on all things Celtics this last week of July.

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The Boston Celtics are likely to be nearing the finish line when it comes to team building for the 2023 offseason, with limited spending power for a shrinking pool of potential free agent signings. And while trades big and small remain on the table for reshaping the Celtics' roster for the 2023-24 NBA season, signs are starting to drift in that this is close to Boston's finished roster until the trade deadline, at least.

That is not to say that there are some options still unsigned who could provide some real help to the Celtics' designs on contention, so the hosts of the CLNS Media "Celtics Lab" podcast sat down and worked their way through the best remaining free agents to try and narrow down which ones make the most sense for the team to pursue.

We also get into the ongoing Jaylen Brown supermax extension saga and some Las Vegas Summer League-adjacent chatter catching up on the also-shrinking flow of news as we inch closer to the doldrums of the offseason.

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New England sports fans have been spoiled lately, but some lengthy eras of dismay are part of the storied histories of the Boston Celtics, the Bruins, the New England Patriots and Red Sox. They provide ample fodder for the region's equally rich history of sports writers and journalists.

Ahead of the start to the doldrums of the NBA's 2023 offseason, plenty of unresolved aspects remain for this season's Celtics. Chief among them are the Jaylen Brown supermax extension and the finishing touches to the 2023-24 roster.

But as Boston preps the players it hopes to make history with this season, there's a new book on the history of the Red Sox out and another on the Celtics on the way. Author Chad Finn of the Boston Globe sat down with the hosts of the CLNS Media "Celtics Lab" podcast to talk about all of the above with a few spicy takes mixed in for good measure.

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The Boston Celtics made a big splash to start the NBA's 2023 free agency period by trading away veteran point guard Marcus Smart for star center Kristaps Porzingis, drafted Arkansas Razorbacks standout Jordan Walsh, then signed forward Oshae Brissett and point guard Dalano Banton.

Soon afterward (and just before this podcast was recorded), the Celtics dealt away reserve forward Grant Williams for draft assets and breathing room below the new collective bargaining agreement's dreaded second apron. Now the Celtics only need to secure a signature from star forward Jaylen Brown's supermax contract extension to put a bow on their offseason team building.

Or do they? With rumbles out there that the ball club might yet have more moves to make, the hosts of the CLNS Media "Celtics Lab" podcast linked up with co-host of the "How 'Bout Them Celtics?" podcast Sam LaFrance to talk about the Celtics offseason so far -- and what else might be coming down the pike.

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The Boston Celtics shook things up in a big way by dealing away veteran point guard Marcus Smart for star big man Kristaps Porzingis, but we are also hearing that there is more to come in terms of reshaping the Celtics' roster in pursuit of Banner 18.

How do we feel about the moves Brad Stevens and Co. have made so far? What else does this roster need? What other moves do we think might be coming down the pike in free agency and via trade? How do Grant Williams' restricted free agency and the new CBA factor into all of the above?

There's a host of questions in need of answers for this team to have a good chance at making it back to the NBA Finals in 2024, and on this episode of the CLNS Media "Celtics Lab" podcast, the hosts dive in headlong to the issues facing Boston ahead of the start of free agency and beyond.

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Many fans of the Boston Celtics went to bed thinking they would wake up to 2023 Sixth Man of the Year Malcolm Brogdon as a Los Angeles Clipper, reserve forward Danilo Gallinari a Washington Wizard, and Kristaps Porzingis in Boston. Some who went to bed earlier may have thought they'd wake up with Brogdon and Gallo on the Wiz and Porzingis a Celtic.

But pretty much no one had Marcus Smart a Memphis Grizzly well before dawn on the next day. The move by team president Brad Stevens to shake up the ball club by dealing away its longest-tenured player for the Latvian big man and draft capital hit Boston fans right in the feels, even the ones who believe it was a savvy move under the new collective bargaining agreement.

And not everyone is thrilled to have put so much of the team's salary cap into a player who has averaged less than 60 games played per season over a seven-season career, nor one who has problematic allegations in their past.

Cohost of the CLNS Media "Celtics Lab" podcast Cameron Tabatabaie linked up with Celtics Blog's Jack Simone to talk over the unexpected news, and what it means for the team, for fans, and for the future.

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The 2023 NBA draft takes place this Thursday, June 22, and while the Boston Celtics have traded away their first round pick for this class of prospects, they possess an intriguing selection at the top of the second round via a pick owed them by the Portland Trail Blazers at No. 35 overall.

The Celtics could also trade up, back, or even out of this year's draft depending on what sort of trades might be on the table ahead of their time on the clock late Thursday evening, with offseason rumbles already connecting several Boston players with potential moves around the league.

To get a handle on which prospects might be of interest to the Celtics, where in the draft they might be, and what Boston might need to do to get there, the hosts of the CLNS Media "Celtics Lab" podcast brought on friend of the pod Bryan Kalbrosky of For The Win and USA TODAY.

 The trio makes sense of the first big trade of the 2023 offseason in Bradley Beal to the Phoenix Suns, dives into some of the meatier rumors making the rounds, takes a first look at the hire of Phil Pressey as an assistant, and ties it all to the main event on Thursday.

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With the real action of the NBA's 2023 offseason about to start unfolding, it's fair to say that events largely beyond the control of the Boston Celtics set the team up for failure last season even before the 2022-23 campaign even began. But now, the Celtics have a full offseason to surround head coach Joe Mazzulla with the support he'll need and time to make the trades and other moves needed to secure Boston's roster to pursue a title in earnest both now and in the future.

What will a successful offseason look like for the Celtics in light of the sting of the loss in the East finals? How should they progress given Jaylen Brown's potential supermax extension and the new collective bargaining agreement?

Where does Grant Williams' restricted free agency factor into these things? What else does the roster need, and for the players coming back, where is improvement needed?

With a host of things on the Celtics' to-do list, the hosts of the CLNS Media "Celtics Lab" podcast reached to GQ's Howard Beck to put together some expectations for this team's offseason and the campaign ahead of it.

We even get in a little chatter about some of the bigger rumbles we've been hearing ahead of silly season's full florescence along with some criticism of teams holding fanbases hostage.

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One of the biggest challenges the Boston Celtics will need to overcome this season and in the short term moving forward if they want to win another title won't necessarily be an opposing team or player.

As we begin to learn the details of the NBA's new collective bargaining agreement (CBA) and how it was designed to punish ball clubs with rosters and payrolls like the Celtics have, it is becoming increasingly clear that the team's title window will likely be shorter than hoped -- and far more difficult to navigate on top of the more quotidian issues Boston still needs to address in terms of roster construction.

To get a better read on what the Celtics may be facing and what options and specific challenges might be waiting for Boston this offseason, the hosts of the CLNS Media "Celtics Lab" podcast brought on friend of the pod Yossi Gozlan, HoopsHype cap expert, to talk us through the finer points of the league's new CBA.

They also get into the trickle of news still percolating through the Celtics media sphere, advocating for the hire of Sam Cassell shortly before it happened among other coaching staff to flesh out head coach Joe Mazzulla's bench for next season.

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The dust has settled on the Boston Celtics' Game 7 loss to the Miami Heat in the 2023 Eastern Conference finals, with the Celtics now looking at an exceptionally punitive new collective bargaining agreement designed to make life difficult for costly rosters like Boston's just as they need to retool for another run at a title.

The team has major decisions to make in terms of whether to Supermax Jaylen Brown, re-sign Grant Williams, and what to do with the rest of the roster to commit to a financial path that will also put the ball club in the best position possible to hang a banner in the short term.

To do all the above, they will end up choosing one of three general approaches to building the roster for their 2023-24 campaign which would be running it back, making minor moves, or something that would see the team take a step back next season to reload for a longer title window (we hope).

All of them have their own, considerable risks -- and on this pod, we try our best to outline what the contours of each are before diving into specifics on this latest episode of the CLNS Media "Celtics Lab" podcast.

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