The Boston Celtics and Toronto Raptors have joined the Philadelphia 76ers, Brooklyn Nets and Miami Heat in making a "courtesy call" to the Houston Rockets on a James Harden trade, sources tell Brian Windhorst of ESPN.

The Milwaukee Bucks even had an internal conversation and ran it past Giannis Antetokounmpo before deciding not to pursue Harden at all.

There are approximately seven teams in the East that can realistically talk themselves into having an opportunity to reach the Conference Finals, which puts the possibility of a Harden trade for one of them a balance of power shifting move.

K.C. Jones has passed away at the age of 88.

Jones won the NBA championship in eight of his nine NBA season with the Boston Celtics.

Jones also won two titles as head coach of the Celtics in the 1980s. Jones also won one title as an assistant coach with the Celtics and another as an assistant coach with the Los Angeles Lakers.

Jones starred alongside Russell at the University of San Francisco, winning back-to-back NCAA titles in 1955 and '56.

Host Danny Leroux (@DannyLeroux) and Arturo Galletti (@AmericanNumbers) break down the over/unders for the Eastern Conference.

They discuss the win total, division, conference and title odds as well as any pertinent individual award lines for the Knicks (9:52), Cavs (19:48), Pistons (28:38), Hornets (40:52), Bulls (50:01), Magic (1:00:08), Wizards (1:09:56), Hawks (1:21:22), Pacers (1:29:31), Raptors (1:33:59), 76ers (1:41:21), Heat (1:53:40), Celtics (2:00:53), Nets (2:09:20) and Bucks (2:16:54).

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Tristan Thompson has yet to practice due to a hamstring injury, and is unlikely to be ready for opening night with the Boston Celtics.

Brad Stevens also said that Payton Pritchard "had a finger pop out" on his left hand and is hopeful for a quick return. 

The Maine Red Claws are opting out of the expected G-League bubble, sources told Jared Weiss of The Athletic.

The Red Claws are the G-League affiliate of the Celtics.

A G-League bubble in Atlanta, featuring teams playing 12 games before a playoffs, is gaining momentum.

Teams will reportedly have to pay $500,000 to fund the logistics of the bubble.

There are currently no plans for a G-League season outside of the bubble. 

Tristan Thompson will miss the majority of training camp with the Boston Celtics due to a hamstring injury, according to Brad Stevens.

Stevens added that the team hopes to have him healthy by their opening night game on December 23rd. 

The Boston Celtics signed Amile Jefferson to an Exhibit 10 deal, sources told Jay King of The Athletic.

The 27-year-old played 18 games for the Magic last season.

Gordon Hayward decided to leave the Boston Celtics for a richer contract offer with the Charlotte Hornets this offseason signing for $120 million over four seasons. Hayward mentioned having "no-ill will" towards the Celtics after three seasons marred by injury and uneven play.

"Tough decisions were certainly made," Hayward said during a conference call with reporters Tuesday. "There's no ill-will on my end from anybody within the Boston organization, the players. I had an unbelievable time in Boston and I think that it's unfortunate what happened, I obviously had a freak injury right when I got there. And there's a lot of things that were kind of out of my control of when I was in Boston. But I had a great time there and still have great relationships with the people there and some of the players there. And my teammates and coaches and my wife and I had built relationships with members of the community that we live in and to this day we talk to them ... there's no ill will on my end and I really loved my time in Boston.

"Certainly couldn't be more excited about where I'm at now. And looking forward to this next chapter."

Hayward was surprised by how quickly his departure from the Celtics and arrival with the Hornets went.

"Honestly, when you're in the bubble, I was focused on the task at hand," Hayward said. "I missed my family, my wife was about to give birth, there was actually a lot of things that were going on -- free agency wasn't even in the back of my mind at all. And then when I get hurt, I'm just trying to get myself better as fast as I can so I can try to come back and see what I can do to try to help us. So certainly wasn't thinking that this could be the last go-around at all. I think just the circumstances of the bubble and just where the NBA's at right now, and where the world's at with COVID, it was unlike any other circumstance."

Mitch Kupchak believes Hayward can become an All-Star player again.

"I still think he can make an All-Star team," Kupchak said. "He's 30 years old, and I believe it might not be a fair comparison but I think Jimmy Butler was 31 when Miami brought him on board and I think Jimmy had a pretty good year. I think the best years for an NBA player, when their mind catches up to their body is between the ages of 28 and 32. So I think he still has at least two solid, maybe three really solid years where he can play at a high level. Now, whether he makes the All-Star team or not, I don't know. Do we need him to average 25 or 27 points for this team? No, we do not need that. We need the stability in the locker room. We need what he brings to us at that position. Not only scoring but facilitating an offense. And what does that translate into? I don't know, 17 points, 19 points, 6 rebounds? I don't know. But to add a player like that to this young group we just felt that was the move in the right direction."

Kemba Walker received a stem cell injection in his left knee, and was put on a 12-week strengthening program to prepare for the upcoming season.

He is expected to return to on-court activities in early December, and a further update regarding his game availability will be provided during the first week of January.

Walker missed 10 games between January and March due to the left knee and continued to have issues during the restart despite the long layoff.