Luckily there is the Celtics! Celtics insider Mego joins! Enjoy it now Celts fans! Maybe not for long? #NBA
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00:00It is a Celtics Wednesday and Meggo is here.
00:02Hello.
00:03Hello.
00:03You look, no offense, frazzled or stressed out.
00:10Holiday stress, man.
00:12I'm coming in hot today.
00:13Holiday stress.
00:15It's real.
00:16What are you stressed out about?
00:17Like 70 different things.
00:19And now I have to worry about drones on top of it.
00:21Like, when are the drones coming to Boston?
00:24I don't know.
00:25I got like Christmas cards to put out.
00:27I just got roped into...
00:28Last night I started getting messages about some secret Santa that I'm supposedly in
00:32that I just found out about on December 10th.
00:35Does anybody like being in the secret Santa?
00:38It's kind of like a...
00:39And you never really get any...
00:40You like a secret Santa?
00:41I hate secret Santa.
00:41As long as it's not like a trash secret Santa.
00:43As long as it's like a favorite things secret Santa.
00:45Well, you know how some people...
00:46Santo used to do it with all of his friends where it was a joke secret Santa.
00:50And they would get stuff from like the trash they'd find on the street.
00:53Those ones aren't fun.
00:54Here are your bed bugs.
00:55Merry Christmas.
00:56Exactly.
00:57Are you doing the couple's card for the first time?
01:00We are.
01:01And I decided to make it extra stressful because I have ADHD.
01:05And I was like, the only way that I'm going to get this done
01:08is if I make the holiday cards also thank you notes from the wedding.
01:12So we're combining the two.
01:16They arrived yesterday and I opened this box and saw the amount of cards.
01:20And I was just like, oh my God, I can't do it right now.
01:24I can't do it.
01:24I know it's good.
01:26You're killing two birds with one stone.
01:27And then I started worrying what if people get a card and they don't understand it's
01:31the thank you note.
01:31So then I like really have to spell it out.
01:33Yeah, you do.
01:34Is the thank you note all like where you can just type it and then you get 200 cards?
01:39No, you got to handwrite those puppies.
01:42Oh, you got to do them handwritten individually.
01:44You got to be like Aunt Lisa, thank you so much for the box of cherries.
01:48I love you, Aunt Lisa.
01:49Merry Christmas.
01:50No, it can't be generic.
01:51Nope.
01:53One good piece of news is...
01:54Otherwise the whole family talks about you.
01:56The Celtics may be the only team in this region that are not stressing you out.
02:00Yes.
02:01So...
02:02What a segue.
02:05She is our Celtics insider after all.
02:07It is Celtics Wednesday.
02:09I read your piece at weei.com this week on the interest kinks.
02:16And kind of where the Celtics stand in comparison to everybody else.
02:20I thank God for Brad Stevens.
02:23Thank God for the current ownership.
02:26But you suggest that we should enjoy this period of time while we have it with the Boston Celtics
02:32because it may not continue for long depending on who the new owner is.
02:35Yes, and I don't want to speculate on who the new owner is.
02:38But I was just thinking about coming off the heels of first the Juan Soto news is when I
02:42wrote this.
02:43And then you get Max Fried and now everyone's praying for Corbin Burns.
02:46So I'm like, guys, I don't know.
02:48You might just have to settle for a split jury on or a hung jury on Alex Bregman and
02:53have him come into town.
02:55But with the Celtics, I do think that they deserve a lot of credit because they go through
03:00these periods as being seen as a less desirable destination compared to even a Miami compared
03:08to L.A.
03:10It wasn't so long ago.
03:10It was just a couple of years ago that you had the video of Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant
03:15laughing together.
03:16Nobody wants to go to Boston.
03:18Everybody knows why.
03:19And that's a whole different topic.
03:21But you go back to the second edition of the big three and part of that big three coming
03:29together and Danny Ainge pulling that off.
03:31It wasn't just about the level of talent that he brought into town, but that he was able
03:35to do it at all, that he was able to after a June 2007 report had KG's agent at the time
03:42saying that is not a destination that he is interested in.
03:46And if that trade is proposed, we will not follow through with it to now having someone
03:50like KG be just about the biggest spokesperson out of Celtics alumni for the Celtics.
03:57And it's just funny to me to see some of these other teams, Red Sox, Patriots in particular,
04:02who, oh, Calvin Ridley.
04:04Oh, we got this bid for Calvin Ridley.
04:06Oh, and it's like, oh, Juan Soto.
04:09Oh, Max Fried.
04:10And I know it's a little bit different with free agents, but even when a trade comes up,
04:15it feels like you can't count on these other teams.
04:17And then you just wake up one morning and you're like, Christoph Spursing is the Celtic.
04:21And it's like, oh, Drew Holliday just happens to be available.
04:24And now he's the Celtic too.
04:25And so I do think because there's change on the horizon, it's just a good opportunity
04:30to sit and be present and appreciate what the Celtics are doing right now, being able
04:36to have the talent in town from the outside that they have.
04:39Boy, do you think that a new owner would come in and be like, oh, I want to move on
04:43from Jalen Brown?
04:44I think as long as you have Tatum and Brown, you're going to be an instant destination
04:52for guys to want to come play because you're going to be one of the best teams in the NBA.
04:56But can you pay guys to come here?
04:58So that's the biggest issue is because of the new CBA and the second apron.
05:02You're going to start having these penalties kick in.
05:05That is beyond just, OK, the payroll and the tax that you're paying is so crazy that
05:11it's hard enough for whether it's somebody like Pags with backers who come in to just
05:16maintain that payroll.
05:17But if you get someone who's like a Bezos level, maybe they look at it and say, from
05:21a business perspective, it doesn't really make sense to keep paying it to this level.
05:25I agree with you.
05:27It should be a destination.
05:28But come on, we don't like athletes don't always think that way.
05:33Sometimes it also wasn't that long ago that you had a new owner in John Henry in that
05:37group and they were willing to pay.
05:39And it doesn't seem like maybe they are now or you're going to have the question if they
05:44are willing to pay Red Sox and Patriots.
05:47Do those free agents consider those teams to be destinations and places that they want
05:52to come to, even if they're willing to pay?
05:54Well, I think the Celtics, because you have Tatum, it's like Golden State, right?
05:58People still want to play with Steph Curry.
06:01I know there's been reports about LeBron talking about if there's a potential trade,
06:07I want to see what Golden State that is.
06:10Well, one of the teams, one of the teams that Jimmy Butler apparently wants is Golden State.
06:15Right.
06:15So when you have Tatum, I think Tatum is a good enough player where people are going
06:21to be like, oh, I want to play with Tatum.
06:23The Jimmy Butler, just really quick, Courtney, the Jimmy Butler rumors are so fascinating
06:27to me because one that I just saw that I'm sorry, I can't remember the exact source,
06:33but the idea, at least, of Jimmy Butler going to Houston.
06:37And I think the combination of Jimmy Butler and Emei Odoka might implode the entire NBA.
06:43They're still on the sidelines together.
06:46I will never forget Spolstra yelling at Jimmy Butler, I knew you were effing crazy on the
06:52sideline when they first got together.
06:54I just think it's weird to hear Wiggy say it's a destination because you've been a big
06:58proponent of Boston's no longer a destination for these athletes and all they care about
07:02is making money.
07:03So if the Celtics can't pay these guys down the road, Boston's not a destination that
07:07athletes want to come to play.
07:08Then it's going to be just guys that will take less to go play with Tatum and Brown
07:12to try to win a chip.
07:14But I think a new owner will pay, guys.
07:19I don't think the new-
07:20You want to hope, but you never know until you actually have somebody that's at the forefront.
07:25Right, but I just feel like if you're investing that type of money into an organization like
07:31Boston, who's already won a championship and it's about now, I have one-
07:35Well, how do you explain John Henry, then?
07:37Because I don't think they're not where the Celtics are right now.
07:41The Celtics are king of the mountain.
07:43So the new owner-
07:44Shouldn't that further incentivize you to spend them?
07:46So the new owner is going to want to stay atop that mountain where the Red Sox, they're
07:50kind of like bottom of the basement.
07:52They're like, why are we going to spend money when it might not-
07:55They were right there four years ago, and they should have invested after that.
07:58So they stayed right there.
08:00And I think it's the opposite.
08:01If I buy the Celtics, I'm looking to cut cash because I just bought them at the top of the
08:05business.
08:06It's been six years, since 2018, since they won a World Series.
08:09It was post-pandemic when they were-
08:112021.
08:112021.
08:12Kyle from Waltham.
08:13Right, right.
08:14I mean, when you look at this-
08:15That's a little over three years ago.
08:17Right.
08:17But when you look-
08:18And they had won four chips.
08:20So when you look at the Celtics, I think the new owner's like, you know, this could be-
08:25I could be part of, obviously, because of a guy like Tatum building something special.
08:30And Brown, we're winning multiple championships.
08:32Like the guy who bought Golden State.
08:36I was about to say, I think that's a really interesting comparison.
08:39And bringing it up earlier, like, if you look at what Golden State did, you have this core
08:44at least with Jalen and Jason.
08:46I don't think you can really count on anybody for the future in terms of if you're talking
08:51about like four or five years from now after these guys' Supermax contracts run out and
08:56you're trying to keep them in town.
08:57But that's a team that was able to have an owner who invested in keeping that core going,
09:03keeping them through kind of like a second chapter of their dynasty, and then building
09:07a new stadium or arena, whatever you want to call it.
09:10And so if you're looking at somebody who's coming in as an outside buyer, say, I don't
09:14think this would happen if Pags and the backers that he would assemble would buy the team.
09:19I think they would stay at TD Garden.
09:20But if you had somebody like a really, really big name, really deep pockets that wanted
09:25to build somewhere in Dorchester or over by Encore or something like that, that's the
09:29model I would look at.
09:30The only thing is now the CBA has made it so much more difficult to keep these teams
09:37assembled because I think they want parity in the league, which, by the way, I think
09:41is a mistake.
09:42Because as much as people complain about Kansas City, the Patriots, the Warriors, the Bulls,
09:50that is what draws eyes to the leagues.
09:52You need big stars.
09:54A league where there's a different champion every single season is not good for any league.
09:59As much as it sounds like it would be, people don't like that.
10:03They like heroes and villains.
10:05They seem to like it in the NFL.
10:07I mean, I well, Kansas City has been winning over and over and over again.
10:13Yeah, I think the issue becomes if you can pay the others what they're like, you know,
10:19next time you have to pay Peyton Pritchard.
10:21Next time you have to.
10:22But she's like, Meg is right.
10:24Those guys will be gone because it'll be about Tatum and Brown or it'll be Drew.
10:27Holiday is gone.
10:28They decide to retain Pritchard.
10:31Derek White moves on.
10:33They backfill that with somebody.
10:35They find the new Derek White.
10:37They find the new.
10:38Which I don't want to think about right now because I'm enjoying it.
10:40And that was the point of the piece, guys.
10:42But it's good.
10:43It's good to appreciate something before it's gone.
10:47Like my sanity before Christmas Eve because I'm going to lose it.
10:50How long do you see the run, though?
10:52I feel like with Tatum and Brown, you're looking at a 10-year window
11:00where you're going to constantly be in the hunt for championships.
11:07I say three.
11:08Three championships.
11:10Oh, OK.
11:10But you see a 10-year.
11:11No, no, not three years.
11:13Three championships.
11:14That's how I think about it.
11:15Not so much the years.
11:16I think that if they can get to three and establish themselves as this version of a
11:21Celtics dynasty, that's that's very much like a goal that I think somebody like Jalen Brown,
11:26Jason Tatum would be interested in.
11:28And how confident are you that it could be a repeat for this season?
11:31Oh, I'm at like I'd say like 85 percent.
11:34What's the one thing that could derail that?
11:36OKC.
11:37Yeah.
11:37OKC's defense is just irritating.
11:40And we haven't seen the Celtics up against them yet.
11:42They don't have Chet back yet.
11:44And so I'm just interested to see they play, I believe, the first time on January 5th.
11:49It's just got to see how those two teams match up for the first time.
11:52You're not worried about Cleveland?
11:54No.
11:54No.
11:55No offense.
11:55Yeah, no offense.
11:58But I'm not worried about Cleveland.
11:59I'm a little intrigued by the Bucks.
12:00They just won last night and they're going to go forward in the NBA Cup just because
12:05Giannis and Dame, like when they get going together, they are a real thing.
12:08And you saw them combine for 61 points when the Celtics played them last week.
12:13I just think that there's not real competition for the Celtics in the east.
12:17There's only somebody who's going to boost them a little bit as they make their way back
12:20to the finals.
12:21But the other interesting point, I know you talked about it, Greg, you brought up a little
12:24bit, it will be like those Jimmy Butler type of players that potentially get moved right
12:31before the trade deadline.
12:33And where do they land?
12:35I'm not saying Milwaukee, but do they land on a team that maybe they can elevate a little
12:42bit, whether it's a Golden State.
12:43Well, like Dallas.
12:44I mean, you add Jimmy Butler, you have a pretty legit big three.
12:48So yeah, I mean, that would be like a big four because you'd have Kyrie, you'd have
12:52Luca, you'd have Clay and you'd have Jimmy Butler.
12:56If you would be the first big four without a single defender.
13:00Yes, they won't play no defense.
13:02Other than Jimmy Butler, they won't play no defense.
13:04They need somebody to.
13:07John, I think has a question for you on a Celtics Wednesday.
13:11Hello, John.
13:13Good morning, good folks.
13:14Thank you, Greg.
13:14I know you don't usually take calls during a segment with a guest.
13:18Mago, first of all, I called your old show once.
13:20I think it was on your 87 combination of partners.
13:24But what I said was I was glad that there was another another smart young woman in our
13:30media's landscape.
13:32Did you catch that adjective, Courtney?
13:34But at any rate, I need a young up and comer in the media to drive for a new thing.
13:42Limiting the number of three point shots, 10 to a half.
13:45Imagine the strategy and the excitement if we got it down to 10 three pointers.
13:50I'm a boomer.
13:50I would go down to zero if I could.
13:52Right.
13:53But 10 and a half.
13:55Is this the golden three rule?
13:58Is that what this is?
14:00I love below the rim basketball.
14:05Good luck with that.
14:06The Celtics are averaging about 51 a game in attempts this year, which is obviously up
14:12from last year.
14:13But I will say a big part of that attempts number is our guy Peyton Pritchard.
14:18He's it's crazy that the Celtics have more attempts when Kristaps Porzingis has only
14:22started playing a couple of weeks ago.
14:24A lot of that is the attempts from Peyton Pritchard.
14:26So, John, I don't think you're going to get that.
14:28I don't think it's ever going away.
14:31No, no.
14:32This is the new NBA.
14:33You know, until you get to a point where like a team can dominate with a big man inside
14:40the paint and that I think those days are gone because of the analytics.
14:44Well, go ahead.
14:45You shoot your two and we'll shoot out three down here.
14:47And we I'm curious what you think about this.
14:50If there should be an adjustment that the league looks at in a way that would be as
14:54radical as it was when they eliminated hand checking because they think that the offensive
14:59side of the game is just gone too far.
15:01Like if you think of the way that football develops, you have like the Seahawks in the
15:06early 2010s.
15:07They start developing these crazy secondaries to combat what they're seeing from the Peyton
15:13Manning's, the Tom Brady's, the takeoff of these quarterbacks.
15:16And the league has to respond to that.
15:18And the way that players change and everything that just doesn't happen in basketball.
15:22Like we've been in this three point era now for so long.
15:27Do you think that the NBA, the league actually needs to step in and say like, well, we at
15:31least need to eliminate the corner three or something like that because it's too much
15:35of a hack towards making it a math equation.
15:38Right.
15:38But then it's like in order to do that.
15:41Now you're like reconfiguring the whole basketball court, right?
15:46How do you eliminate the corner three, you know, and still be able to, well, you just
15:51cut the line, but that's what I'm saying.
15:55Now you're, you're reconfiguring the whole basketball court where I, I just think that
16:00the three pointer is a part of the, like anything else, like in football, it went from used
16:06to run the ball a lot to now it's a passing league.
16:09That's what the NBA is.
16:10It used to be a league of in the post mid range, but now it's a league of what you got
16:16to learn how to defend the three pointer better.
16:19That's just going to be the next step on how can teams realistically do that?
16:26I just, I just really quick.
16:28I just feel like there are people, there are a lot of people in basketball who roll their
16:31eyes at that kind of pitch from fans who say like, I'm sick of the three pointer, but I
16:35don't think it should be ignored.
16:37I think there's a lot of people out there who feel like it's gone too far as a fan and
16:41you should listen to them.
16:42But then you have to go back and start teaching kids in AAU and everywhere else how to play
16:46defense again.
16:47Cause I don't, I don't think they pay any attention to it at all.
16:51The only way, and this is an out, this is probably an outlandish way to maybe minimize
16:56the three pointers is, and I know we see guys do it, move it back, move it to a position
17:04where it's, you know, not extremely difficult to make, but now like guys into just not with
17:10Joe Mizzou is like, all right, we're not just hawking up threes unless you're like a really,
17:14really good shooter.
17:15You could take the shot, but it's never going to happen.
17:17No, I know.
17:18But what about golden blindfold?
17:21What do you think of that?
17:23One player has to wear the golden blindfold for the entire game.
17:31All right.
17:31Well, it's great to see you.
17:33I hope you are okay when it comes to holiday stress.
17:36Don't get, or you can just leave them here so you don't have to waste the stamp.
17:41Okay.
17:42Maybe I did that with a couple of wedding invitations and Adam Jones and Christian
17:46Arcan were very mean about it.
17:47Oh, we don't get stamps.
17:49Oh, you don't actually mail it to us.
17:50All right.
17:51Well, we'll give you our addresses.
17:52It's that time of year.