Celtics ☘️ Sentinel

 I certainly get that the current NBA is "Big Business" , and as such, there will always be a battle between the teams making more money and the ethics surrounding any transactions . The essential deal that sent Marcus Smart packing and brought Kristaps Porzingis to Boston seems to have been a positive transaction for the Celtics, but it has put some hurt on a guy that Red Auerbach would have loved. For Smart, it wasn't the trade itself - but the way it went down that took a toll on him: “If I’m being quite frank, I knew I would be traded eventually,” Smart said. “Just figured it would be the next season, just based off my contract and with the new CBA. We already knew that. But it was just the way it happened. I was told everything was good after asking multiple times. Like, ‘I’m hearing (rumors), what’s going on?’ And they’re like, ‘No, you’re good, you’re good, you’re good.’ And then when I do hear about the trade, it’s from  Shams (Charania) on Twitter  before I hea...

  This is what I wrote only three days ago: "The structure of the Brooklyn Nets team is fragile.  Future injuries and/or a string of losses could very well rupture the tenuous underpinnings of that structure." Kyrie Irving has requested a trade from the Brooklyn Nets   According to Shams Charania , Irving is unhappy with the extension offered by Brooklyn: Reporting on Kyrie Irving’s trade request with the Nets and two of the reasons why: pic.twitter.com/dRZcm03YP2 — Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) February 3, 2023  What goes unstated in this occurence is the role played by the Boston Celtics . Going back to last season, the Celtics have defeated the Nets in the last 10 games the two Eastern rivals have met, but the 139-96 thrashing by Boston may have been the catalyst that sealed Brooklyn's fate. Kyrie's "professional" post-game interview following the crushing defeat should have been seen as a "red light". My take is that he viewed the loss as ...