Right here’s what Charles Barkley needed to say concerning the Kristaps Porzingis commerce and Joe Mazzulla’s new assistants

Celtics

“I feel it is definitely worth the gamble.”

Charles Barkley had good issues to say concerning the course of the Boston Celtics. Jessica Hill/AP Photograph, File

The Boston Celtics made one of many largest strikes of this offseason, buying and selling away fan favourite level guard Marcus Good to amass gifted large man Kristaps Porzingis. This commerce has drawn combined reception over the previous few months, as many Boston followers initially struggled to let go of Good and let the oft-injured Porzingis headline this new-look Celtics roster.

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However loads of others consider that the Porzingis commerce was deal for the Celtics. NBA analyst and Corridor of Fame member Charles Barkley went on “The Invoice Simmons Podcast” and gave his reward to the Celtics’ entrance workplace for buying the Latvian All-Star.

“I feel it’s definitely worth the gamble,” Barkley mentioned. “He doesn’t need to be your second-best participant.”

Barkley is correct. Many of the Celtics’ scoring and management duties will go to their All-Star duo Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown. In Boston’s system, Porzingis will possible function an off-ball scorer, a dependable shooter and the Celtics’ premier roll man defender in drop protection, which Porzingis has excelled at all through his profession.

Nobody really is aware of what position Porzingis could have aside from head coach Joe Mazzulla, though his hand-picked assistants could have some enter. This was the primary yr Mazzulla was in a position to decide his workers, a choice that Barkley additionally lauded on Simmons’s podcast.

“I gotta give coach Mazzulla a whole lot of credit score for upgrading his teaching workers, as a result of I believed his inexperience confirmed at totally different occasions,” mentioned Barkley.

Mazzulla will sit on the Celtics’ bench surrounded by skilled assistant Charles Lee, former Celtics Phil Pressey and Sam Cassell, and even Amile Jefferson, Tatum’s teammate at Duke College. Barkley mentioned that the boldness and robust presence of those 4 males will make an enormous distinction for the Celtics subsequent season.

“[Mazzulla] didn’t have any robust assistants,” Barkley mentioned. He ought to’ve gotten any individual, even throughout the season. The perfect he had was Damon Stoudamire, and he left mid-season. You want robust personalities on the bench, as a result of all these guys received egos.”

Barkley’s reward signifies that the Celtics are trending in the best course, and that they could possibly be even higher this season than they had been over the previous few years.