View From The Rafters: Behind the Scenes with the Boston Celtics iHeartPodcasts and NBA Celtics

Celtics President of Basketball Operations Brad Stevens joins us for a special bonus episode after a busy 48 hours leading into and through the NBA Draft. Stevens breaks down all of the trades and decisions that he and the Celtics front office made, including the emotions of trading away Marcus Smart, the arrival and fit of Kristaps Porzingis and balancing the roster. Stevens also dives into the value of replenishing Boston’s draft stock with a handful of second-rounders, gives his take on Jordan Walsh, and wraps up with comments about the new coaching staff and how they’ll develop players. 

 

 

1:00 – Trading Marcus Smart

 

3:58 – Kristaps Porzingis’ Fit

 

6:15 – Accentuating Our Best Players

 

7:57 – The Celtics’ Toughness

 

9:29 – Draft Night Chaos & Second-Round Value

 

12:00 – The Jordan Walsh Report

 

15:20 – Coaching Staff’s Development Mindset 
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For our last episode of Season 3, we combed through each episode to pull out our favorite moments. From current and former players, to members of the media and the Celtics front office, enjoy the best clips from View From The Rafters.  

 

00:53 – Luke Kornet Takeover Best Moments

13:33 – Blake Griffin & The Bus 1 Boys

18:05 – Danilo Gallinari Recalls Playing Kevin Garnett

22:16 – Stories of NBA Scout

27:14 – Jayson Tatum’s & ‘The Confetti Game’

32:23 – Rob Williams Balancing Fatherhood

37:20 – Paul Pierce’s Beginning In Boston
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Luke Kornet takes over as the host of this week’s episode, bringing in special guests Malcolm Brogdon, Sam Hauser and President of Basketball Operations, Brad Stevens. 

 

In this episode, Luke Kornet starts by asking his teammate Malcolm the burning questions on his mind. They discuss Brogdon being a finalist for the NBA’s Sixth Man of the Year, Virginia basketball and his presidential nature. Kornet wraps it up by gloating about winning a lockerroom trivia competition.

 

Next, Luke brings in Sam Hauser to chat over a Wisconsin-inspired cheese tasting. In their conversation, Kornet asks Sam why teams target him on defense and gives him some unsolicited marriage advice ahead of Sam’s summer wedding. 

 

To wrap up the episode, Brad Stevens joins Luke, giving Kornet the opportunity to ask Brad about his varied employment history and talk about what it was like to play for Brad. 

 

00:40 - Malcolm Brogdon

11:37 - Sam Hauser

19:25 - Marriage Talk

22:50 - Brad Stevens

33:40 - Questions for Brad “from fans”
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Antoine Walker joins us this week to reflect on his career and share thoughts on this year’s current Celtics roster. He tips off the conversation explaining how he plans to be around the Celtics organization in an ambassador role going forward. He then dives into his early career in Boston, drawing parallels between his relationship with Paul Pierce and what he sees now between Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown. 

 

The conversation pivots into Walker’s college career, the development of the “Walker Wiggle” and what it was like to have his college coach, Rick Pitino, join him in Boston. 

 

As the episode wraps up, Antoine and Marc discuss how he was a player ahead of his time, taking threes and playing the perimeter as many young stars and frontline players in the game do today. Antoine closes with final thoughts on how his career unfolded after being traded by Boston, including reflecting on his championship run with the Miami Heat.

 

2:25 - Updates From Antoine

4:05 - Playoff Outlook

6:48 - Relationship with Paul Pierce

14:21 - Early Years In The NBA

16:10 - Rick Pitino, From Kentucky To Boston

22:42 - Walker Wiggle

25:20 - A Game Of Threes

29:35 - Career After Boston

33:25 - Relationship With KG
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Celtics radio duo Sean Grande and Cedric Maxwell join this week’s episode to share stories of their on-air relationship. The episode begins with Cedric Maxwell praising Sean Grande’s ability to bring energy to their broadcast, regardless of the outcome on the floor. As a former player, Max admits he can get swept up in emotions, recalling a few trophy presentation stories from the 2010 Finals and last year’s 2022 Eastern Conference Finals.

 

From here they go back to the beginning of their on-air relationship, 22 years ago. They discuss how their chemistry developed, their roles on the broadcast team and how beneficial it’s been having the ability to work interchangeably with the broadcast crew at NBC Sports Boston. 

 

Before wrapping up, the crew discusses how their longevity brings a level of intimacy to the stories they share with fans. For example, how intertwined Cedric Maxwell was with Kevin Garnett before he even played for the Celtics. 

 

2:31 – Grande Brings The Energy

4:23 – Max’s Trophy Presentation In Miami

6:50 – How The Duo Began

14:01 – Complimentary Styles 

18:15 – Chemistry From The Start

21:08 - Challenges This Season Splitting Time With Radio & TV

25:04 – Kevin Garnett 

26:40 – KG Welcoming Back Ray Allen

30:00 – Body Of Work Matters

34:20 – Cedric Maxwell’s Multitasking Abilities 
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The Captain and The Truth, Paul Pierce joins this episode to talk all things Celtics basketball. Pierce has been making an effort in his retirement to try to get to as many games and continue to support his franchise whether it’s at TD Garden or meeting them on the road. Just like us, he’s a fan of the organization, but Paul also explains it’s now his job to pass on the culture to the next generation.

 

In discussing the Celtics culture, Pierce recalls seeing Legends not only at games, but any given practice players like Satch Sanders, Jo Jo White and Tommy Heinsohn and that their presence alone would give the current players energy.

 

The Truth then reflects on his early days as a Celtic, sitting down with Red Auerbach, learning from the vets on the team and soaking in the history from Legends on the sidelines. Now he views that at his role, setting the example and helping guide players would want to be the ones to raise another banner in TD Garden.

 

4:55 – Once A Celtic Always A Celtic

8:20 – Presence Of Legends

10:13 – Rookie Year Memories

13:24 - Learning On And Off The Court From Vets

16:02 - Tommy Heinsohn

18:00 – Passing The Torch To The Next Generation

20:00 – Work Ethic

21:39 – Relationship With The Current Roster

23:40 – Predictions
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