Sports Radio Interviews

Wyc Grousbeck on the Glen Davis Altercation: “You’re Not Supposed to do That Stuff When You’re a Professional Basketball Player”

The Boston Celtics did not have the kind of season last year that they were hoping for.  After they started off the season red hot, the Celtics sustained some injuries down the stretch, fell to the number two seed in the Eastern Conference and got knocked out of the playoffs in the second round by the Magic.  Well, this is a new season and after the Celtics brought in Rasheed Wallace, Marquis Daniels and Shelden Williams, they were thinking about possibly bringing another title to Boston.

Despite getting their season off to a good start last night with a win over Cleveland, the Celtics are already dealing with a little unwanted turbulence.  This past weekend, Glen “Big Baby” Davis injured his thumb in an off-the-court incident and will reportedly be out for about a month or so after surgery.  Plus, there’s talk about a suspension coming from the league as well for Big Baby.  On top of that, they are working on a contract extension with point guard Rajon Rondo that is reportedly at a standstill.  It’s safe to say that despite opening the season with a win, the Celtics have not started their quest for Championship Number 18 the way they wanted to.

Wyc Grousbeck, Managing Partner for the Celtics joined The Big Show on WEEIto talk about the mysterious injury to Glen “Big Baby” Davis, the timetable for his return and the negotiations with Rajon Rondo.

On whether or not surgery was performed this morning:

“I believe that’s true.  I don’t know how it went, but I think it would’ve gone well or I would’ve gotten a call.  I don’t have any medical updates for you now other than there was some surgery this morning.”

On the timetable for Glen Davis’ return:

“Don’t have a window yet.  Don’t have anything concrete.  I guess it’s a broken thumb.  Those things are not usually season threatening or three or four months or any of that.  I think it’s going to be shorter than that.”

On whether a suspension will be coming for Glen Davis:

“We’ll suspend or fine.  It’s sort of the same thing.  He’s going to be out for some games anyway, the question is who’s paying the bill for those games.  I think we’re gonna ask him to chip in if in fact it all comes out the way we think it’s going to come out, which is that he was involved in something that violates his contract, he was not allowed to do and he caused himself injury and he’s gonna miss some games.  There’s precedent in the league.  Things happen to players because of their own decisions off the court.  They’re not supposed to do this stuff.  It doesn’t mean they’re bad people, but it means they’ve got to chip in and help bear the burden of it.”

On what happened with Glen Davis off the court:

“I’m sorry.   I don’t want to comment on that right now.  (Host: Why is that?  Why won’t you guys comment on it?)  I actually haven’t spoken to him face to face about it so it really would be second hand at this point for me to be coming to you about it.  I would rather sit down with him, which will probably be tomorrow after I get back from Cleveland.  I would rather sit down with him, hear his side, and have Danny(Ainge) there and Doc (Rivers) and figure things out, then have more to say to people about it after.” 

On the incident that went down with Glen Davis:

“I just think that where we stand is we haven’t resolved exactly what happened, meanwhile he’s had surgery.  We don’t know how that went or I don’t anyway.  We don’t have a prognosis for a recovery yet from the surgery.  My guess is that it’s not going to be as bad as we’ve feared.  We’ve seen some printed reports or press reports that it’s going to be a long time.  I’d be surprised.  It’s a broken thumb.  I don’t think it’s going to be that long.  We’re going to wake up tomorrow after having played Cleveland and turn our attention back to this.  We’re going to make a plan with him and his representatives and we’ll let you guys know at that point about it.  Maybe reveal some more details about it or maybe not.  Not trying to be difficult, but my understanding broadly speaking is that the reports are pretty much accurate.  There was some sort of altercation.  It was with somebody he knew and it went bad.  You’re not supposed to do that stuff when you’re a professional basketball player.”

On the Rajon Rondo contract discussions:

“I’m not going to comment on numbers.  I don’t think it actually helps the process very much.  I really don’t want to get into Rajon’s discussions at the moment.  (Host: Are discussions going to continue before Halloween?)  That’s a fair amount of time between then and now.  There’s going to be a lot going on there.  Whether or not anything happens on this front, we’ll have to wait and see.”

On his reaction to hearing the news about Davis:

“I think it’s best to try to keep real, personal emotions out of it and try to keep it as business-like as possible.  I started to feel badly for him because I knew it was going to come out of his pocket in some way because it’s a teachable moment.  It’s a time to say ‘enough fooling around and here’s the consequences.’  I felt irritated a bit and I tried to turn my attention to figuring out what the next step was with some of the people around here.”

Listen to Wyc Grousbeck on WEEI in Boston with the Big Show

Tags: Boston Celtics, Eastern Conference, Glen Davis, NBA, Rajon Rondo, WEEI, Wyc Grousbeck