Celtics news & rumors: Garnett weighs in on Udoka; Blake Griffin inks deal

How will Boston Celtics young stars Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown move forward after the season-long suspension of head coach Ime Udoka.

Ex-Celtics star and NBA champion Kevin Garnett feels there is an opportunity for the two stars to rise even higher in dealing with the adversity.

All offseason, both Tatum and Brown have been in the headlines for different reasons.  Brown, of course, was rumored in a trade blockbuster involving Kevin Durant and Tatum had to deal with the disappointment and criticism of his NBA Finals performance.  Through it all, both players remained locked in on leading their team back to the Finals.

Then the Ime Udoka drama dropped.

Boston Celtics young stars Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown need to rise from dark times

Could this be enough of a distraction to stunt the growth of both Tatum and Brown as leaders?  Possibly, but Garnett sees another road the Boston Celtics star duo can take, and this road could glare some light on dark times.

"“Is this the time where Tatum and Jay Brown step up?  The locker room, the cohesiveness gotta be on a thousand,” Garnett said on an episode of Showtime Basketball’s “All The Smoke” with Matt Barnes and Stephen Jackson.  “Just think about it.  Your real leader, your general is not going to be there for a whole year.  Just think about all that promise, all that investment they took on getting to the Finals and what that year was like.  You’ve all been there.  It’s hard as (expletive) to get to the Finals.  And think about going home as a loser, every time you see somebody being reminded of that (expletive) and then you come in here to this.”"

The ever-wise Kevin Garnett went on to say that this should be a time that the players and the team come out and “grow wings.”

Although this situation is much deeper than the challenges both players had to meet over the last couple of seasons in showing the NBA world they can play together, it is yet another challenge on their path of true super stardom.

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All eyes will be on Tatum and Brown to move this Celtics team further and onward.

Celtics rumors: Veteran big man Blake Griffin inks one-year deal

Blake Griffin will finally wear a Boston Celtics uniform.  This is not the high-flying, All-Star version of Blake Griffin, but the veteran big man should bring some energy off the bench and inject some energy in a front court that will be without Robert Williams for the first part of the NBA season.

When ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarwoski first reported the one-year contract with the Celtics on Friday, the first thought was Brad Stevens adding another veteran to the end of the bench, but at just 33 years old, this signing could end up being more than expected.

Let’s not forget, Griffin is just two seasons away from averaging double digits with the Brooklyn Nets.  If the Celtics can get that Griffin, who has also averaged 7.3 rebounds per 36 minutes over the last three NBA seasons, the Celtics may add a little bit of more depth on a bench that was already deep, even without Danilo Gallinari.

Although Griffin won’t give the Boston Celtics the outside shooting Gallinari would’ve injected off the bench, he can knock down the outside shot and likes to throw his body around to help his team win games.

Again, not an extra sexy signing as far as who Blake Griffin is at the age of 33, but this has the making of a sneaky good addition given the veteran leadership and the hunger of a player starving to win an NBA champion.

This is the kind of veteran pick up the late Red Auerbach would’ve made.  So, good job Brad Stevens.