Olynyk inks $50M deal with Heat
SALT LAKE CITY — The NBA summer’s unrelenting pace continued last night when Kelly Olynyk, four days after the Celtics withdrew a qualifying offer to their backup center, agreed to a four-year, $50 million deal with Miami.
First reported by ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, Olynyk discovered that his unique perimeter skills had quite a market.
Closer to home, yesterday was Jae Crowder’s 27th birthday, and the forward’s teammates reached out to him via the players’ texting network.
“We all keep up with each other. We have a group chat,” said Jaylen Brown. “Today was Jae’s birthday, so happy birthday to him. We talk. Amir ( Johnson), when he signed with Philadelphia, everyone congratulated him, ( James Young) when he went to New Orleans. It’s a family atmosphere. Everyone wants to make sure everyone is OK, beyond basketball. I’m appreciative of that.”
The irony of yesterday’s benchmark in Crowder’s life is that the Celtics were attempting to finalize a sign-and-trade of him to Utah for Gordon Hayward. Other details of the deal, which Hayward requested as a way of sending something back to the Jazz, were unclear. Chris Paul requested a similar transaction between Houston and the Clippers after he signed with the Rockets last week.
Brown admittedly is curious about what his team is going to look like in another week or two, with Danny
Ainge reportedly looking into all kinds of options to clear salary cap room for Hayward’s four-year, $128 million contract.
“I’m curious for sure, definitely curious. We’ll see what happens,” said the second-year forward, who was told to rest instead of playing in last night’s Utah summer league finale against the Jazz.
“I try not to pay attention to everything but you never know what could happen. The team that reaches the Eastern Conference finals could have a completely new team next year.
“It’s interesting for sure, but at the same time I’m trying to better myself and focus on that.”
But the anxiety created by Ainge’s deal-making has certainly been felt all the way through the roster.
Terry Rozier, another whose name has been a staple in trade rumors, posted a photo on Instagram of himself laying on a sofa, with the focus on his legs stretching out.
He included this caption under the photo:
“Here today . . . Gone tomorrow.”
Brown rests up
Jayson Tatum ran into his first true dose of NBAstyle defense last night when Jazz rookie and former ACC rival Donovan Mitchell (Louisville) guarded the Celtics rookie during last night’s 68-65 summer league loss to the Jazz.
Mitchell bodied him up, talked some trash, and truly seemed to disrupt the rookie’s game. As Tatum later pointed out, they didn’t cross paths much in ACC games. Mitchell, after all, is a very physical guard, and Tatum was primarily a power forward. But a message was sent. “I give Donovan Mitchell a lot of credit, but for Jayson that’s going to be the norm throughout the rest of his career,” said Celtics Utah Summer League coach Jerome Allen. “Guys are going to try and do whatever they can to impose their will on him, and keep him from scoring the ball. I have to do a better job, too, of putting him in positions to be his most effective. But overall he was great, played at his pace.”
Tatum finished with 12 points on 4-for-12 shooting and 12 rebounds.
Mitchell’s pressure, combined with a loud home crowd, brought Utah back from a 13-point deficit to beat the Celtics last night. Abdel Nader led the Celts with 17 points.
Mrs. Hayward talks
Hayward has been the target of a strong social media backlash from Utah fans, not only regarding the AllStar forward, but also his wife Robyn, who responded with the following message on her Instagram page, accompanied by a photo of her and her husband.
“I’m excited to go on this adventure with this man! It’s bittersweet leaving where we’ve called home and grown our family, but I’m excited to see where this path takes us! We are so grateful for everything Utah has done for us! Also, as for all the mean comments and threats. Don’t forget athletes are humans too. Treat others how you would like to be treated. It would never cross my mind to speak so negatively and so full of hate about oneself or their family.”
He hears the razz
Allen was asked if he has heard barbs from Utah fans this week, though the crowd in the first two games here was relatively quiet.
“The only thing I’ve heard from the stands is my wife saying that I’m a horrible coach,” said Allen.