An elite Top-5

How did the Celtics fare in HoopsHype's top-100 player listing?

Good morning, and happy Monday! There are 9 days left until the Boston Celtics media day!

Let’s dive in!

🫖 Taylor’s Tea Time

☕ According to a bombshell report by Josh Kosman of The New York Post, Irving Grousbeck has been displeased with the level of spending the Celtics are committed to as they keep their current roster tied down for the foreseeable future. That displeasure is reportedly part of the decision to put the franchise up for sale, as Wyc and his father go head-to-head over the cost of success.

“The Boston Celtics’ ballooning payroll allegedly sparked a rift within the family that owns the team – leading the aging patriarch to demand his free-spending son sell the iconic franchise, The Post has learned,” Kosman wrote. “Irving Grousbeck, a 90-year-old Massachusetts-born entrepreneur who owns a controlling roughly 20% stake in the team, balked at funding big losses on the horizon from the massive contracts that helped the Celtics capture a record 18th NBA championship in June, multiple sources told The Post.”

🗣️ Taylor: There’s no telling how much truth there is to this report. Sure, it’s logical that the cost of the Celtics roster may be causing friction among the ownership group, but that doesn’t mean it was the catalyst for putting the team on the market; it doesn’t mean it wasn’t the catalyst, either.

Whatever the reason, the decision has been made, and the Celtics will eventually have a new ownership group.

“The proposed plan for the Celtics sale is a compromise between father and son in which they fork over a 51% stake in the next few months and then the rest in 2028,” Kosman wrote. “Wyc Grousbeck would remain the controlling owner until the sale is complete.”

If Wyc remains in control until 2028, there’s every reason to believe the Celtics championship window is open for at least another four years. I also find it difficult to envision a new ownership group walking through the door and tearing down the roster, as that would be a surefire way to immediately alienate itself from the fanbase and get things off to the worst possible start.

The point of owning an NBA team is to contend for championships.

☕Midway through last week, the Celtics reportedly signed Jordan Schakel to an Exhibit 10 contract. However, according to the NBA Transaction logs, it would appear the team has since waived him. HoopsRumors has reported that Schakel will receive a $77.5K bonus, which he’ll earn by spending at least 60 days with Maine.

“The Celtics have waived Schakel, according to NBA’s official transaction log. Schakel’s Exhibit 10 deal includes a $77.5K bonus, which he’ll earn by spending at least 60 days with Maine.”

🗣️ Taylor: Schakel averaged 13.2 points and 5.9 rebounds during his 13 games in Maine, shooting 41.1% on 6.9 attempts per game. By waiving him and funneling him back to the G-League, Boston has ensured Schakel will earn a little extra cash in the upcoming season if he remains with the Maine Celtics — thus creating an incentive.

The decision to waive Schakel was likely due to Jay Scrubb needing a spot in training camp — Schakel had previously taken the 21st spot on the roster, which put Boston at its limit. Scrubb will be fighting for the 15th roster spot after suffering an ACL injury last season.

Lonnie Walker IV, Ron Harper Jr and Tristan Enaruna are the other players fighting to prove themselves and earn a contract with the Celtics during training camp.

An elite Top-5

On September 10, HoopsHype released their top-100 player rankings. The Celtics had their entire starting five make the list. However, there was no room for Al Horford, who may or may not have been snubbed — I’ll let you decide.

Here’s where each of the Celtics starting five were ranked within the NBA:

54th - Jrue Holiday

50th - Derrick White

44th - Kristaps Porzingis

18th - Jaylen Brown

6th - Jayson Tatum

There are a couple of takeaways from this list. First, the Celtics have four players in the top-50 of the NBA. Five players in the top-54. And two players in the top-20. There’s no denying that their starting unit is the most talented in the league.

However, Horford’s omission from the top-100 has left the Celtics lingering outside the top two teams for having an a sixth man residing on the list.

Last week

Jonathan Macri

of the

Knicks Film School

newsletter broke down HoopsHype’s top-100 listings and where each team ranked based on the number of players on the list and where they were situated. Macri’s breakdown looks like this:

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Best Top One:

1. Denver (Jokic)

2. Dallas (Doncic)

3. Thunder (SGA)

Best Top Two:

1. Lakers (2 of the top 13)

2. Sixers (2 of the top 15)

3. Suns (2 of the top 16)

Best Top 3:

1. Sixers (3 of the top 27)

2. Timberwolves (3 of the top 32)

3. Thunder (3 of the top 43)

Best Top 4:

1. Celtics (4 of the top 50)

2. Knicks (4 of the top 57)

3. Cavs (4 of the top 60)

Best Top 5:

1. Celtics (5 of the top 54)

2. Pelicans (5 of the top 74)

3. Knicks (5 of the top 81)

Best Top 6:

1. Pelicans (6 of the top 78)

2. Knicks (6 of the top 86)

Shoutout to Macri for the legwork on the above breakdown! He always does fantastic work.

Elite Depth?

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The first thing I try to remember is that grading talent in terms of the top 100 is always subjective. I like to think that everyone reading this newsletter would rank players differently, and we could all do a top 100, and there would be variations across the board. However, HoopsHype usually gets things pretty close, so I feel confident running with their listings for the sake of this article.

The first thing I want to point out, is that Boston would rank 4th in terms of having “The best top two,” with two players in the top 18. They would also rank in the top 4th for “The best top three” with three players in the top 44.

Let’s list this out just for the Celtics

• Best top one — Celtics rank 6th with Tatum

• Best top two — Celtics rank 4th with Tatum and Brown

• Best top three- Celtics rank 4th with Tatum, Brown and Porzingis

• Best top four — Celtics rank 1st with Tatum, Brown, Porzingis and White

• Best top five — Celtics rank 1st with Tatum, Brown, Porzingis, White and Holiday

We can’t go any further than this. We need to know where Horford ranks outside of the top 100 to determine whether the Celtics had a top-three six-man rotation or were somewhere within the top 5. I like to think Horford is good enough to have the Celtics sitting third, and to be honest; I think he was snubbed and should have been somewhere in the mid-to-late 90s.

Standing within the East

When looking at Macri’s listing and the rankings from HoopsHype, there are some interesting details for teams around the Eastern Conference.

• The Philadelphia 76ers have the highest-ranked big three of all Eastern contenders, but their depth quickly falls off, and their standing in terms of a top four, five and six-man ranking quickly begins to drop out of the top five.

• The Milwaukee Bucks have three players in the top 100. Giannis Antetokounmpo is 4th. Damian Lillard is 21st. And Khris Middleton is 96th. They have one of the best two-man duos in the NBA but sit behind the Celtics with Tatum and Brown (when averaging the distance between their best and second-best player) and sit pretty far down the list in terms of top three, four and five.

• The Knicks have some elite depth. Brunson sits 8th. They trail Boston in top 4 and top-5, but sit ahead of them in top-6. Factor in Mitchell Robinson and they could also lead the league in top-7. Their depth, versatility and defensive approach make them my pick for biggest contender.

• The Cleveland Cavaliers have a highly-ranked top 3 but their depth quickly falls off. Nevertheless, having Donovan Mitchell’s future sorted out should lift a dark cloud from over the franchise and they have enough young talent to shock some teams around the league.

• The Indiana Pacers are quite well-represented in the top 100. Tyrese Haliburton is ranked 12th. Pascal Siakam is 25th and Myles Turner is 53rd. They will sit quite high in the top two and top three listings. I also think that they have enough young talent to take a jump in next years rankings, too.

When looking at the Eastern Conference through this lens, it’s safe to say the top five teams is pretty clear-cut. I have it as follows:

1. Boston

2. New York

3. Philadelphia

4. Milwaukee

5. Cleveland or Indiana (I prefer Indiana)

In the comments section, please let me know how you rank the East and where you would rank the Celtics players.

A lesson learned

If there’s one thing I’ve learned this summer, it’s that I need a content plan for future offseasons. I’ve really disliked how easy it was to fall out of rhythm with writing these newsletters each day and the lack of consistency that generated.

Still, this was always going to be a summer of change for me. I’ve set up the newsletter to be my primary hub of Celtics content moving forward, and that took some behind-the-scenes work. I’ve also toyed with multiple podcast formats and naming systems — one more change to come as I resurrect something from the past.

Still, with media day right around the corner, we’re finally getting close enough to the new season that I’m feeling the pressure to get back on track. The aim for the next 9 days is consistency and quality, so we’re all settled in before the season begins!

Lesson learned for next summer and some exciting times ahead! Catch y’all tomorrow!