Boston Celtics center Al Horford stated this weekend that he is hoping for a significant role with the team and is eyeing the starting center job. According to Mark Murphy of the Boston Herald, Horford said, "I want to be in the position that I'm playing when it matters most, that I do like to start. That's just the reality of me as a competitor and me trying to feel like I can contribute and be a great asset." Fellow center Robert Williams III made significant strides last year and is Horford's main competition for minutes, but Enes Kanter is in the picture as well. Williams is by far the most attractive player for fantasy purposes as he averaged 1.8 blocks per game in just 19 minutes per game last year.

Boston Celtics power forward Al Horford saw plenty of load management during his time with the Thunder last season. However, it sounds like the Celtics are not going to put heavy restrictions on the veteran big man. Head coach Ime Udoka mentioned that Horford is expected to play in back-to-back sets this season. The organization does plan on limiting his minutes, but he won't see as many DNPs as he did last year in Oklahoma City. That is good news for his fantasy value heading into the season. Although, he'll battle with Robert Williams III for playing time. There should be enough minutes for both players to have fantasy value in Boston.

Boston Celtics forward Al Horford is expected to run the offense at times, according to head coach Ime Udoka. The veteran big man only played in 28 games for the rebuilding Thunder last season. However, he was productive whenever he was on the court. The Celtics believe Horford can play a sizable role for their team this season. It'll be interesting to see how he plays alongside Robert Williams III. The two of them should be able to hold reliable fantasy value. However, it's looking like Enes Kanter could have a minimal role heading into the season.

BOSTON (AP) — The Boston Celtics have hired Brooklyn Nets assistant Ime Udoka to be their new coach, a person familiar with the decision told The Associated Press on Wednesday. The person spoke on the condition of anonymity because the deal had not been announced. The hiring was first reported by ESPN. Udoka, 43, played a total of 316 games over seven seasons with five NBA teams before retiring in 2012 and joining Gregg Popovich's staff in San Antonio as an assistant coach. He was with the Spurs for seven seasons, including in 2013-14, when they won the NBA title. Udoka joined the Philadelphia 76ers in 2019 and was with the Nets last year. Udoka takes over a Celtics team that reached the Eastern Conference finals in three of the previous four seasons before plummeting to the No. 7 seed this year and losing in the first round to Brooklyn. After the five-game loss to the Nets, basketball boss Danny Ainge retired and coach Brad Stevens gave up his spot on the bench to replace him. Once primed... [More]

BOSTON (AP) — The Boston Celtics have hired Brooklyn Nets assistant Ime Udoka to be their new coach, a person familiar with the decision told The Associated Press on Wednesday. The person spoke on the condition of anonymity because the deal had not been announced. The hiring was first reported by ESPN. Udoka, 43, played a total of 316 games over seven seasons with five NBA teams before retiring in 2012 and joining Gregg Popovich's staff in San Antonio as an assistant coach. He was with the Spurs for seven seasons, including in 2013-14, when they won the NBA title. Udoka joined the Philadelphia 76ers in 2019 and was with the Nets last year. Udoka takes over a Celtics team that reached the Eastern Conference finals in three of the previous four seasons before plummeting to the No. 7 seed this year and losing in the first round to Brooklyn. After the five-game loss to the Nets, basketball boss Danny Ainge retired and coach Brad Stevens gave up his spot on the bench to replace him. Once primed... [More]

BOSTON (AP) — Brad Stevens is still getting used to his new job as the Celtics' president of basketball operations. He’s also keeping tight-lipped about candidates in Boston’s head coaching search. But once he’s made that hire and is done tinkering with the roster this offseason, one thing he promises his successor in advance is that he won’t intervene in day-to-day coaching decisions. He’s got enough to do to get the Celtics back into the top tier of the Eastern Conference. “We obviously have a really good foundation. And you have very talented young players, so I think that that’s a good place to be," Stevens said Monday. "And then, it’s about finding the right fit. There are near-term decisions that can help you improve ... and longer-term decisions that you have to make with the idea of being in the mix. And, ultimately, we want to be in the mix.” That mission began last week when Stevens, who left the bench after eight seasons to succeed retiring front office chief Danny Ainge, executed... [More]

BOSTON (AP) — The Celtics are bringing Al Horford back, trading point guard Kemba Walker to Oklahoma City for the five-time All-Star on Friday in Brad Stevens' first major move since he moved from the Boston bench to the front office. Boston will also send the No. 16 overall draft pick and a 2025 second-rounder to the Thunder and receive 7-footer Moses Brown and a 2023 second-round pick in return. Oklahoma City now holds 19 first-round draft picks over the next seven years. Horford returns to Boston and gives the Celtics the frontcourt presence they've lacked since he left two seasons ago. The 6-foot-9 was forward was a member of the NBA All-Defensive team with the Celtics in 2017-18 while also posting the best assist numbers of his career. Stevens coached Horford for three seasons and says he played a “critical role” while in Boston. "His ability to elevate teammates with his experience and leadership make for a great addition," Stevens said. "We also want to welcome Moses to Boston. He... [More]

BOSTON (AP) — The Celtics are bringing Al Horford back, trading point guard Kemba Walker to Oklahoma City for the five-time All-Star on Friday in Brad Stevens' first major move since he moved from the Boston bench to the front office. Boston will also send the No. 16 overall draft pick and a 2025 second-rounder to the Thunder and receive 7-footer Moses Brown and a 2023 second-round pick in return. Oklahoma City now holds 19 first-round draft picks over the next seven years. Horford returns to Boston and gives the Celtics the frontcourt presence they've lacked since he left two seasons ago. The 6-foot-9 was forward was a member of the NBA All-Defensive team with the Celtics in 2017-18 while also posting the best assist numbers of his career. "Thank you to ... the entire Thunder organization for their professionalism during my time in Oklahoma City," Horford tweeted. “While it was short, it was first class all the way and me and my family are extremely thankful and appreciative.” Walker joins... [More]

BOSTON (AP) — The Celtics traded point guard Kemba Walker to Oklahoma City for forward Al Horford, a person with knowledge of the deal told The Associated Press on Friday. It is Brad Stevens' first major move since he moved from the Boston bench to the front office. The Celtics will also send the No. 16 overall draft pick to the Thunder and receive center Moses Brown in return. The deal includes a swap of future second-round picks. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the deal had not been announced. The trade was first reported by ESPN. Horford is returning to Boston and gives the Celtics the frontcourt presence they have lacked since he left two seasons ago. Horford was an All-Star and a member of the NBA All-Defensive team with the Celtics in 2017-18 while also posting the best assist numbers of his career. Walker, 31, arrived in Boston in 2019 and helped the team reach the Eastern Conference finals in the NBA bubble last season. But knee injuries limited him to 43 games... [More]

BOSTON (AP) — The Celtics traded point guard Kemba Walker to Oklahoma City for forward Al Horford, a person with knowledge of the deal told The Associated Press on Friday. It is the first major move since Brad Stevens moved from the Boston bench to the front office. The Celtics will also send the No. 16 overall draft pick to the Thunder and receive center Moses Brown in return. The person, speaking on the condition of anonymity because the deal had not been announced, added that more draft picks were involved. The trade was first reported by ESPN.

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — The Oklahoma City Thunder finally can move on from the strangest of seasons. A franchise that had missed the playoffs just once in the previous 11 seasons finds itself in the draft lottery with a 22-50 record. It was the Thunder's worst finish since 2008-09, its first season after the move from Seattle. It was a revolving door full of trades, G-League call-ups and late-season additions -- which created quite a set of challenges for first-year coach Mark Daigneault. Chesapeake Energy Arena, known as one of the loudest venues in the league, did not allow fans because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Daigneault said he didn’t have set expectations going into the season -- just an idea of what general manager Sam Presti wanted. “You’ve got to be where your feet are, and you’ve got to be fully in the moment that you’re in,” he said. “That’s the only way that you’re going to maximize that moment, and ultimately it’s the only way you’re going to put yourself in position to accomplish... [More]

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — The Oklahoma City Thunder have signed two-way player Moses Brown to a multi-year deal and waived Austin Rivers. The Thunder made the announcements in releases on Sunday. Brown, a 7-foot-1 center who is in his second year, has emerged this month. In Saturday's game against Boston, he had a career-high 21 points and tied a Thunder record with 23 rebounds. In his last nine games, he’s averaging 12.4 points and 12.3 rebounds while shooting 61% from the field. Oklahoma City announced Saturday that veteran center Al Horford would be inactive for the rest of the season, opening the door for Brown to take over the position. The Thunder originally signed Brown to a two-way contract in Dec. 2020, after he spent the previous season as a two-way player for the Portland Trail Blazers. This season, Brown was named to the All-NBA G League First Team and the NBA G League All-Defensive Team after he averaged 18.9 points, 13.9 rebounds and 1.7 blocks Rivers, a 6-3 guard, was originally... [More]

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — The Thunder said Saturday that veteran center Al Horford will remain inactive for the rest of the season as the team’s young talent develops. Horford, 34, averaged 14.2 points and 6.7 rebounds this season. The five-time All-Star will remain with the team and train, but he will not travel. “When I arrived, I understood the direction of the team, we had a great individual plan in place for me, and I feel like as a result I’ve played really good basketball for the Thunder,” Horford said in a statement. “At the same time, I know what it’s like to be a young, aspiring player, and at this point in the season I understand how important playing meaningful minutes is for their careers and their development.” Moses Brown, a 7-foot-1 two-way player who played 14 games in the G League this season, has shown promise with the Thunder. The second-year player from UCLA has averaged 11.4 points, 11.0 rebounds and 1.8 blocks the past eight games for Oklahoma City while shooting 58% from... [More]

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Like any top NBA executive this time of the season, Daryl Morey is trying to better his roster. Sure, NBA Top Shot — sort of a collectible highlight reel — is in its infancy, but Morey is all in on the frenzy stirred by digital dunks and nonfungible fast breaks. “I just grabbed all the Sixers,” Morey said. “Well, I don’t have all of them because they’re hard to get. But I’ve got Joel (Embiid), I’ve got Ben (Simmons), I’ve got Tobias (Harris), I’ve got (Tyrese) Maxey, I’ve got (Matisse) Thybulle. “Some of the players need to complain and say, ‘Where are my highlights?’” Say, for example, Seth Curry. So Morey juggles answering questions over Zoom about his first season running the Philadelphia 76ers with a Top Shot search on his laptop for clips of their starting shooting guard. Morey needs patience completing his digital lineup. He can revel that the real one on the court has been about as good as it gets in the NBA. The Sixers (26-12) have the best record in the Eastern... [More]

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Some Thunder fans believe tanking to get higher draft picks is the way back to contention. Apparently, the team disagrees. Oklahoma City was expected by experts to be one of the NBA’s worst teams this season -- just like last season, when they shocked the league and made the playoffs. Once again, the Thunder are defying the odds. Oklahoma City is off to a 6-7 start, despite five of its top seven scorers having been in the league three years or fewer and 35-year-old Mark Daigneault taking on his first NBA head coaching assignment. Last year, the Thunder had veterans Chris Paul, Dennis Schroder, Steven Adams and Danilo Gallinari to help them through the tough times. This year, young holdovers Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Lu Dort, Darius Bazley and Hamidou Diallo carry more of the load. And they clearly are out to win, even with losses offering a potentially greater return on the slew of draft picks general manager Sam Presti has collected through trades in recent years. “We’re... [More]

Pelicans first-year coach Stan Van Gundy was hired less than two months before the Pelicans first preseason game earlier this week. Never mind that he's taking over a roster that is loaded with young players and has been entirely overhauled since New Orleans hired David Griffin as executive vice president of basketball operations in 2019. So when Van Gundy was asked whether he expected to have a clear vision for individual players' roles and minutes during the preseason, he didn't hesitate to say he did not even expect to know that when New Orleans' regular season slate opens on Dec. 23. “I’m not sure I’ll be there on Jan. 15 either. It’s going to take some time," Van Gundy continued. "I want these guys in a mindset of competing and having to produce for minutes.” While coaches with overhauled rosters face similar challenges trying to navigate a compressed timeline that is loaded with uncertainty, it's even more difficult for Van Gundy and the eight other NBA teams with new coaches this... [More]

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — The idea of Ben Simmons and Joel Embiid as a modern-day odd couple bunking together in a Center City condominium trash-talking during games of “FIFA 21” after playing taxing real NBA games momentarily got a rise out of 76ers fans. Alas, Simmons was just joking when he said he moved in with Embiid -- who welcomed his first son with his girlfriend in September -- so the Philadelphia 76ers’ All-Stars could tighten their bond. Simmons is good with Embiid, the max-contract cornerstones of a franchise that has not yet reached the championship heights so many expected when they were drafted two years apart. As for the rest of the team, the Sixers are ready to hit the reset button in coach Doc Rivers' first season running a team that netted them just the sixth seed in the Eastern Conference and a first-round exit. Former Sixers guard Josh Richardson, traded to Dallas in the offseason, lamented in August the underachieving season could be pinned on a lack of accountability from... [More]

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — The Oklahoma City Thunder bolstered their frontcourt during the NBA draft on Wednesday night, acquiring Serbian forward Aleksej Pokusevski in a trade with Minnesota. The Timberwolves selected Pokusevski with the 17th pick, but a person with knowledge of the negotiations said they had agreed to send the choice to Oklahoma City in exchange for the 25th and 28th overall selections and point guard Ricky Rubio. The person confirmed the deal to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the trade had not yet been announced. Deals involving players can’t be finalized until free agency officially begins on Sunday for salary cap purposes. Pokusevski, 18, is listed at 6-foot-11 and 215 pounds. He represented Serbia at the 2018 FIBA U-17 World Championship and the 2019 FIBA U-18 European Championship. He played for Olympiacos' second-division team in Greece last season and averaged 10.8 points and 7.9 rebounds per game. It has been a busy month for the Thunder. Last... [More]

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — The Philadelphia 76ers are moving on from Al Horford and will trade him and a protected future first-round pick to Oklahoma City in a major draft-night trade. A person with direct knowledge of the trade told The Associated Press on Wednesday the Sixers will receive Danny Green and Terrance Ferguson from the Thunder. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the deal was not yet announced. The Sixers also sent a 2025 first-round protected from 1-6 overall. The Sixers also sent the 34th pick in Wednesday’s draft to the Thunder and the rights to European point guard Vasilije Micic. The 76ers traded Horford more than a year after he was considered a ballyhooed free-agent signing away for their rival Boston Celtics. Horford was a flop in the first season of a four-year contract worth $97 million and lost his starting spot late in the season. The Thunder are the on hook for Horford’s $27.5 million this season. He averaged 11.9 points, 6.8 rebounds, and 4.0 assists... [More]

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — The Philadelphia 76ers officially named Daryl Morey president of basketball operations and extended the contract of general manager Elton Brand on Monday. Morey stepped down as GM of the Houston Rockets this month after blockbuster moves that failed to lead the franchise to the NBA Finals. The Rockets made the playoffs 10 times since Morey was hired in 2007, including the last eight seasons, for the longest active streak in the NBA. “Talent like Daryl rarely becomes available so we moved quickly and aggressively to bring him here," team owner Josh Harris said. “He has an extraordinary track record of success in this league as an innovator, visionary and leader, and I believe he significantly improves our chances of delivering a championship caliber team to our fans. This offseason, we made it our mission to make this organization better and stronger. ” Brand was named general manager on Sept. 20, 2018. He helped lead the hiring process that landed coach Doc Rivers early... [More]