If the current standings hold, the Boston Celtics and Cleveland Cavaliers, as the Nos. 7 and 2 seeds in the Eastern Conference, respectively, would square off in the opening round of the NBA playoffs.
That scenario would be just fine with Celtics owner Wyc Grousbeck.
“I would love to play (Cavs star LeBron James) in the playoffs somehow,” Grousbeck said this weekend in an interview with CLNS Radio, “and I would love to beat him.”
In the wide-ranging sit-down, the C’s owner also spoke about Brad Stevens and the young head coach’s potential role in luring big-name free agents to Boston.
“I believe that the kind of guy who says, ‘I’m in the prime of my career and there’s one thing I’m missing. I’ve got plenty of money, but I don’t have a ring;’ If he looks at Brad Stevens and says, ‘I want to play for that guy,’ we’re going to be in the mix,” Grousbeck said.
Attracting elite-level players through free agency or the trade market is imperative for teams that hope to have success in today’s NBA, which places a premium on star power. Boston is not seen as a particularly desirable destination for these types of players, but Grousbeck said the team has no plans to stray from its strategy.
“This whole thing that we have to beg people and we have our hat in our hand and we’re telling people to please come,” he said. “Well if you don’t want to be a Boston Celtic, you’re not going to be a Boston Celtic. We’re not going to drag you here. We want you to be here and we want you to chose us. You’ve got a chance potentially to join a team that is on the way back, hopefully, to being a contender. Hopefully in not very long. We actually want people asking us to possibly consider them.”
The Celtics hosted a severely shorthanded Cavaliers team Sunday, as Cleveland opted to rest four of its starters with its playoff spot already locked up.
Thumbnail photo via David Richard/USA TODAY Sports Images
