It’s been a week. I’m sure we’re all a little emotionally worn out after the team sent Jaylen Brown to Philadelphia. When we posted this poll earlier in the week, JB was still a Celtic and 11% of our readers were still looking forward to seeing how he and Brad Stevens would interact in Las Vegas next weekend.
Alas, Brown is a 76er and after a few days of handwringing and tributes, in his words, it’s time to #throwtheballup and move on and that first step will be the league’s yearly sojourn to Sin City for Summer League.
Hugo Gonzalez has already showed out in Spain’s FIBA qualifier on Thursday with 16 points, five rebounds, and five assists. His three-point shot looks true (4-7 from behind the arc) and his passing was strong on a number of drive-and-kicks. He’ll reportedly play in Vegas as well despite his responsibilities with his national team.
He’ll draw a good amount of the attention on The Strip, but our readers are really excited to see the 27th pick in the 2026 NBA Draft, Chris Cenac Jr. Here’s CelticsBlog’s Rich Jensen on the incoming rookie:
Cenac was projected as a top lottery pick before the season started at Houston—but his draft stock fell based on game-time performance. He was overshadowed by teammate Kingston Flemings who went to the Hawks with the eighth pick. His own stats were a rather pedestrian 9.5 points and 7.9 rebounds per game.
Cenac contextualized those numbers during his Ball Is Life podcast appearance, noting that Sampson had a system, and that his primary focus as a player was defense. Asked what had improved the most during his season with Houston, Cenac said it was his basketball IQ and his ability to play the “grit” part of the game.
Cenac pointed out that his game changed significantly from high school to college, before adding that he was “fitting into a role” in college. Cenac said that his goal was to help his team win “however they need me to.”
These words ought to be music to the ears of anyone who favors the green and white.
Gonzalez and Cenac will be joined by Amari Williams who signed another two-way deal to return to another year sharpening his tools in Maine with the occasional call-up to the big club. The 40th pick, Dillon Mitchell, will also be in tow.
The loss of Brown is a big hit, but newly acquired Paul George, Mitchell Robinson, and Mike Conley Jr. will help fill his absence and eventually, players like Gonzalez and Cenac Jr. will hopefully be important rotation pieces on a championship contender.
Speaking of the Larry O’Brien,our friends at FanDuel still have the Celtics as +800 to raise Banner 19, just behind the Knicks at +550 and ahead of the Pistons, Raptors, and yes, the 76ers at +1200.
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