The Boston Celtics are mad at one former rival like it’s 2009 all over again.
Speaking this week with Sean Deveney of Heavy Sports, an anonymous Eastern Conference executive said that the Celtics are not pleased with the Chicago Bulls for releasing veteran guard Goran Dragic. The Bulls waived Dragic in late February, allowing him to sign with the Milwaukee Bucks.
“They are one of the teams pissed that the Bulls let Goran Dragic go,” the executive said of the Celtics. “With Jae Crowder, the Bucks just have all this depth at every spot [now].
“If you go back to the Christmas game, the Celtics have always felt good about what they can do against Milwaukee,” the executive added. “But now, Milwaukee has this extra layer of flexibility they can throw at the Celtics, a guy who can surprise you, play 20 or 25 minutes, and help you win a game.”
The Bucks are easily the biggest threats to the Celtics in the East. After Boston held the No. 1 seed for most of the season, Milwaukee ripped off a 16-game winning streak and recently overtook them. Now the Celtics sit 2.5 games behind the Bucks for that top seed with roughly 15 games left to play.
Meanwhile, Dragic, the former All-Star, has had success against Boston in the playoffs (namely, during the 2020 Eastern Conference Finals with the Miami Heat). He also now gives Milwaukee the true playmaking point guard off the bench they had been lacking and should fit right in when it comes to the growing Celtics-Bucks rivalry.
