OT: What's Next Celtics Fans...?

[HuskyHawk]

I’m thinking rozier gets an offer from Chicago.

I have zero interest in porter. One dimensional selfish player.

Herro doesn’t do much. He’s a shooter with limited wingspan. And not much else.

If Danny is gonna reach for a g at 14 I’d rather take Nickeil Alexander-walker.

Him and smart are both combo guards.

Chicago is expected to draft one of the PG at 7. Most of the good recent mocks show Phoenix taking White at #6, Chicago Garland at #7. Consensus Mock Draft: Pelicans take center stage | NBA.com

Rumors that Horford will test free agency. Obviously that changes the math tremendously. With Morris also a FA, PF becomes the biggest need on the team. If Al is gone, I'd take Bitadze maybe a flyer on Clarke.

Edit: this is kind of interesting. The Uniqueness Of Brandon Clarke - The Stepien

 

[the Q]

Chicago is expected to draft one of the PG at 7. Most of the good recent mocks show Phoenix taking White at #6, Chicago Garland at #7. Consensus Mock Draft: Pelicans take center stage | NBA.com

Rumors that Horford will test free agency. Obviously that changes the math tremendously. With Morris also a FA, PF becomes the biggest need on the team. If Al is gone, I'd take Bitadze maybe a flyer on Clarke.

I’m not giving al any extra years. He’s right on the cusp of drop off age.

 

[the Q]

Chicago is expected to draft one of the PG at 7. Most of the good recent mocks show Phoenix taking White at #6, Chicago Garland at #7. Consensus Mock Draft: Pelicans take center stage | NBA.com

Rumors that Horford will test free agency. Obviously that changes the math tremendously. With Morris also a FA, PF becomes the biggest need on the team. If Al is gone, I'd take Bitadze maybe a flyer on Clarke.

I’m seeing mocks that have white and garland going too 6.

Which means Chicago could be classic Chicago and take herro and totally mess up everyone’s mocks

 

[the Q]

Clarke is the obvious pick at 14 to me.

He’s going to have the highest upside. Him and bol.

If al walks you def need both

 

[Dogdeacon]

Every indication I've heard is Al loves Boston, Stevens and wants to stay. I think he'll extend for 3 or 4. During the playoffs his Dad was quoted; "Al loves Boston, Al loves it here etc.."

Check out some of the reviews on Bol Bol - not a good defender and his 'high hips' make him too easy to move out of the post, he might not even be an NBA player. Initially I was intrigued, now after seeing some video of him failing to hold position on the blocks I am out. He could go as high as 10, but I bet he's out of top 20. If you can't guard out on perimeter and can only front in the post, you can't defend anyone in the NBA.

MINUSES

• Poor shot selection: He floats too much on the perimeter and settles for jumpers off the dribble. While that’s the most tantalizing area of his game, he needs to rein it in for now.
• Beanpole frame hinders his screening; he barely ever makes contact, since defenders can so easily sneak around him. Putting actual effort into his screens would pay dividends.
• Slow to react to pressure when playing in the post; it often seems like he doesn’t realize that passing the ball is an option.
• Poor effort plagues his defense: He fails to contest shots, help, communicate, and box out for rebounds. You won’t find him hustling back on defense.
• Lacks fundamentals; he plays high defending the post and can’t get low on the perimeter, which probably isn’t solvable due to his high center of gravity.
• NBA scouts question his work ethic and conditioning, on top of the durability concerns due to his frail body: He suffered a stress fracture to the navicular bone in his left foot at Oregon.

 

[the Q]

Every indication I've heard is Al loves Boston, Stevens and wants to stay. I think he'll extend for 3 or 4. During the playoffs his Dad was quoted; "Al loves Boston, Al loves it here etc.."

Check out some of the reviews on Bol Bol - not a good defender and his 'high hips' make him too easy to move out of the post, he might not even be an NBA player. Initially I was intrigued, now after seeing some video of him failing to hold position on the blocks I am out. He could go as high as 10, but I bet he's out of top 20. If you can't guard out on perimeter and can only front in the post, you can't defend anyone in the NBA.

MINUSES

• Poor shot selection: He floats too much on the perimeter and settles for jumpers off the dribble. While that’s the most tantalizing area of his game, he needs to rein it in for now.
• Beanpole frame hinders his screening; he barely ever makes contact, since defenders can so easily sneak around him. Putting actual effort into his screens would pay dividends.
• Slow to react to pressure when playing in the post; it often seems like he doesn’t realize that passing the ball is an option.
• Poor effort plagues his defense: He fails to contest shots, help, communicate, and box out for rebounds. You won’t find him hustling back on defense.
• Lacks fundamentals; he plays high defending the post and can’t get low on the perimeter, which probably isn’t solvable due to his high center of gravity.
• NBA scouts question his work ethic and conditioning, on top of the durability concerns due to his frail body: He suffered a stress fracture to the navicular bone in his left foot at Oregon.

3-4 years is a huge mistake. Al is what, 32? 33? I’m happy to let him go a year too early rather than a year too late

 

[Dogdeacon]

3-4 years is a huge mistake. Al is what, 32? 33? I’m happy to let him go a year too early rather than a year too late

Plan B is Aaron Baynes and Time Lord? Had Kyrie been what he was supposed to be Al remains the perfect modern day center, can guard all sizes and score inside & out. I think he's got 3 good years left and its fair to make you pay for 4. If they go longer than 3 definitely need the right to trade him though.

 

[the Q]

Plan B is Aaron Baynes and Time Lord? Had Kyrie been what he was supposed to be Al remains the perfect modern day center, can guard all sizes and score inside & out. I think he's got 3 good years left and its fair to make you pay for 4. If they go longer than 3 definitely need the right to trade him though.

Big Swat Bob needs more run anyway. He was excellent in short stints as a rookie.

 

[HuskyHawk]

Big Swat Bob needs more run anyway. He was excellent in short stints as a rookie.

Williams is the mystery factor. He’s a reason I don’t really want Bol. At 6’11 he’s an NBA 5. He had “lottery talent” and slipped. We need to give him a shot.

That said, I think signing Al is a good love at 3 years. I don’t want to pay him $34m for one, rather than say $50-55M for three. He needs to get down around $18M per.

That article on Clarke was intriguing. I think it’s true that oddball players often fall. Curry was too small, nobody knew what to do with Draymond Green, yet they are just really good basketball players. He’s a guy I really think Stevens can get the most out of. If Doc was here, forget it.

 

[the Q]

Williams is the mystery factor. He’s a reason I don’t really want Bol. At 6’11 he’s an NBA 5. He had “lottery talent” and slipped. We need to give him a shot.

That said, I think signing Al is a good love at 3 years. I don’t want to pay him $34m for one, rather than say $50-55M for three. He needs to get down around $18M per.

That article on Clarke was intriguing. I think it’s true that oddball players often fall. Curry was too small, nobody knew what to do with Draymond Green, yet they are just really good basketball players. He’s a guy I really think Stevens can get the most out of. If Doc was here, forget it.

Al staying doesn’t really matter in terms of pursuing free agents this year anyway. And I’m not sure what their path to contention is for the 2020 finals. I’d rather reset the cap and/or give themselves a shot st say Russell or even a dumping of the baynes contract to afford kemba

 

[the Q]

Time to retool.

 

[HanDurley]

Al is seeking a 4 year deal for 100 million dollars...Nets and Clippers are the front runners. I'm shocked. If Al follows Kyrie to the Nets, it makes you question everythingggg that we thought about Kyrie. Just really confused who would pay him 4 years 100 million, and I didn't know that he would want to leave Boston that badly. Nothing is set in stone yet though.

 

[Dogdeacon]

Al is seeking a 4 year deal for 100 million dollars...Nets and Clippers are the front runners. I'm shocked. If Al follows Kyrie to the Nets, it makes you question everythingggg that we thought about Kyrie. Just really confused who would pay him 4 years 100 million, and I didn't know that he would want to leave Boston that badly. Nothing is set in stone yet though.

Kyrie is really good at basketball - I don't think anyone ever questioned that. He's egotistical and mercurial, but first and foremost he's a good basketball player who will be signed to a max contract.
I'd be mildly surprised if anyone on last year's Celtics chooses to play with Kyrie again elsewhere, but my post about Horford aged pretty badly in mere hours. It is all speculation, if I was Al's agent I'd certainly be playing up the 4yrs - $100M thing. And if I'm Al Horford it'd be pretty hard to accept 3yrs - 60 vs open market 100M.

Lastly I want Al back because he has multiple skills and can play with anyone, play different styles and is a pros pro. So if there was a ton of BS on the Celtics last year with both the Kyrie and Hayward situations he could be part of the fallout. Adding Al to a contender would make most contenders much better and would render the Celtics a limp playoff opponent.

 

[navery12]

Al is seeking a 4 year deal for 100 million dollars...Nets and Clippers are the front runners. I'm shocked. If Al follows Kyrie to the Nets, it makes you question everythingggg that we thought about Kyrie. Just really confused who would pay him 4 years 100 million, and I didn't know that he would want to leave Boston that badly. Nothing is set in stone yet though.

Philly is also supposedly a major player for Horford

 

[HanDurley]

Kyrie is really good at basketball - I don't think anyone ever questioned that. He's egotistical and mercurial, but first and foremost he's a good basketball player who will be signed to a max contract.
I'd be mildly surprised if anyone on last year's Celtics chooses to play with Kyrie again elsewhere, but my post about Horford aged pretty badly in mere hours. It is all speculation, if I was Al's agent I'd certainly be playing up the 4yrs - $100M thing. And if I'm Al Horford it'd be pretty hard to accept 3yrs - 60 vs open market 100M.

Lastly I want Al back because he has multiple skills and can play with anyone, play different styles and is a pros pro. So if there was a ton of BS on the Celtics last year with both the Kyrie and Hayward situations he could be part of the fallout. Adding Al to a contender would make most contenders much better and would render the Celtics a limp playoff opponent.

I want Al back more than anything, I'm just shocked that he went from discussing an extension with the Celtics for more years to literally three hours later looking for 100 million on the open market. He came to Boston to compete for a title when the only players we had were IT, Avery and friggin Olynyk. Speaks volumes that he thinks that team has a better chance of winning a title then our current one. No idea what's gonna happen or what happened in those three hours.

 

[HanDurley]

Philly is also supposedly a major player for Horford

No shot Philly gets him. They already can't keep both Butler and Harris. They can only keep one really. Adding Horford would make even keeping just one of them near impossible, in addition to signing Simmons next year.

 

[navery12]

No shot Philly gets him. They already can't keep both Butler and Harris. They can only keep one really. Adding Horford would make even keeping just one of them near impossible, in addition to signing Simmons next year.

It wouldn't be adding him to Butler and Harris, it would be instead of one (likely Harris who I don't think is coming back regardless). And they can easily fit Horford and Butler with their cap

 

[InKembaITrust]

Here's what the Celts should do now that Kyrie and Horford are as good as gone.

The #1 priority should be to sign Julius Randle, a rebounding force who gives us a go-to scoring presence down low that will fill the Al Horford void. Not to mention his timeline matches up nicely with the rest of the team. I think the Pelicans owe us one after the AD fiasco.

My #2 priority would be to go out in the FA market and sign one of the following:

Jonas Valanciunas
Nikola Vucevic
Noah Vonleh
Bobby Portis

This solidifies the big man rotation, which would ideally include Randle, Baynes, Morris and Robert Williams.

Finally, my #3 priority would be to resign Scary Terry and give him the reigns as the starting PG. Included in this would be to go out and sign a veteran PG as his backup, and IMO the best available option is Ricky Rubio. He provides an opposite style of play to Terry for versatility, and would anchor the PG rotation with experience.

PG: Terry/Rubio
SG: Jalen/Smart
SF: Tatum/Hayward
PF: Randle/Morris
C: Baynes/Williams/?

I'm high on Brandon Clarke for the draft and think he would be the cherry on top for extra versatility. Trading up for him would be #4 priority for me.

 

[Dogdeacon]

Here's what the Celts should do now that Kyrie and Horford are as good as gone.

The #1 priority should be to sign Julius Randle, a rebounding force who gives us a go-to scoring presence down low that will fill the Al Horford void. Not to mention his timeline matches up nicely with the rest of the team. I think the Pelicans owe us one after the AD fiasco.

My #2 priority would be to go out in the FA market and sign one of the following:

Jonas Valanciunas
Nikola Vucevic
Noah Vonleh
Bobby Portis

This solidifies the big man rotation, which would ideally include Randle, Baynes, Morris and Robert Williams.

Finally, my #3 priority would be to resign Scary Terry and give him the reigns as the starting PG. Included in this would be to go out and sign a veteran PG as his backup, and IMO the best available option is Ricky Rubio. He provides an opposite style of play to Terry for versatility, and would anchor the PG rotation with experience.

PG: Terry/Rubio
SG: Jalen/Smart
SF: Tatum/Hayward
PF: Randle/Morris
C: Baynes/Williams/?

I'm high on Brandon Clarke for the draft and think he would be the cherry on top for extra versatility. Trading up for him would be #4 priority for me.

Yikes, I'd rather sign Kevin Durant to a one year deal than Noah Vonleh.

 

[InKembaITrust]

Yikes, I'd rather sign Kevin Durant to a one year deal than Noah Vonleh.

Probably the least desirable out of the 4 bigs I mentioned, but has gotten better every year and is solid on the offensive end. Also is only 23 years old and has a lot of potential to get better.

Not the best defensively but can rebound the ball.

 

[the Q]

Here's what the Celts should do now that Kyrie and Horford are as good as gone.

The #1 priority should be to sign Julius Randle, a rebounding force who gives us a go-to scoring presence down low that will fill the Al Horford void. Not to mention his timeline matches up nicely with the rest of the team. I think the Pelicans owe us one after the AD fiasco.

My #2 priority would be to go out in the FA market and sign one of the following:

Jonas Valanciunas
Nikola Vucevic
Noah Vonleh
Bobby Portis

This solidifies the big man rotation, which would ideally include Randle, Baynes, Morris and Robert Williams.

Finally, my #3 priority would be to resign Scary Terry and give him the reigns as the starting PG. Included in this would be to go out and sign a veteran PG as his backup, and IMO the best available option is Ricky Rubio. He provides an opposite style of play to Terry for versatility, and would anchor the PG rotation with experience.

PG: Terry/Rubio
SG: Jalen/Smart
SF: Tatum/Hayward
PF: Randle/Morris
C: Baynes/Williams/?

I'm high on Brandon Clarke for the draft and think he would be the cherry on top for extra versatility. Trading up for him would be #4 priority for me.

As I posted above, the value of the draft is bigs at the Celtics slots.

Get some smalls help in fa. Let big swat bob get some run. He was very good when he was on the floor. Let him spread his wings a bit more

 

[Dogdeacon]

Probably the least desirable out of the 4 bigs I mentioned, but has gotten better every year and is solid on the offensive end. Also is only 23 years old and has a lot of potential to get better.

Not the best defensively but can rebound the ball.

Agreed, but the fact that he's comparable to any of em makes it a motley crew. Horford's numbers are certainly replaceable, but his value and playoff value are not.
Randle is your classic good numbers on bad teams guy, not a winner - don't want any part of him, he's the antithesis to Al Horford.

As to time lord, he was lost on defense 2/3rds of the time - he needs at least another year of seasoning but possibly can learn on the fly. He's certainly got the physical tools, but he's likely a 7th or 8th man type and will get played off the court by the better teams.

I would have liked Conley on the Celtics IF they could keep Horford and contend next year. Utah made a great trade in my opinion as Korver is cooked & Crowder in decline. Although Crowder looked good in playoffs, kind of opposite of his last year on Celtics - my kids still yell "stop shooting 3's Crowder" when someone hoists an ill-advised 3. When teams stop trying as the playoffs near in April, Grayson Allen becomes a volume scorer!

 

[the Q]

Agreed, but the fact that he's comparable to any of em makes it a motley crew. Horford's numbers are certainly replaceable, but his value and playoff value are not.
Randle is your classic good numbers on bad teams guy, not a winner - don't want any part of him, he's the antithesis to Al Horford.

As to time lord, he was lost on defense 2/3rds of the time - he needs at least another year of seasoning but possibly can learn on the fly. He's certainly got the physical tools, but he's likely a 7th or 8th man type and will get played off the court by the better teams.

I would have liked Conley on the Celtics IF they could keep Horford and contend next year. Utah made a great trade in my opinion as Korver is cooked & Crowder in decline. Although Crowder looked good in playoffs, kind of opposite of his last year on Celtics - my kids still yell "stop shooting 3's Crowder" when someone hoists an ill-advised 3. When teams stop trying as the playoffs near in April, Grayson Allen becomes a volume scorer!

I think time lord just made big mistakes that were obvious to see. His defensive metrics are incredible. But a small sample. He needs a chance to play and learn from his mistakes with baynes backing him up.

I really think DeAngelo Russell is their best shot using their max space.

I don’t love the move, but when Horford and Hayward are your 2 biggest fa signings ever, sometimes you take the big swing.

 

[the Q]

Also, a lot of brown trade talk. From teams at the top of the draft...

 

[InKembaITrust]

Agreed, but the fact that he's comparable to any of em makes it a motley crew. Horford's numbers are certainly replaceable, but his value and playoff value are not.
Randle is your classic good numbers on bad teams guy, not a winner - don't want any part of him, he's the antithesis to Al Horford.

As to time lord, he was lost on defense 2/3rds of the time - he needs at least another year of seasoning but possibly can learn on the fly. He's certainly got the physical tools, but he's likely a 7th or 8th man type and will get played off the court by the better teams.

I would have liked Conley on the Celtics IF they could keep Horford and contend next year. Utah made a great trade in my opinion as Korver is cooked & Crowder in decline. Although Crowder looked good in playoffs, kind of opposite of his last year on Celtics - my kids still yell "stop shooting 3's Crowder" when someone hoists an ill-advised 3. When teams stop trying as the playoffs near in April, Grayson Allen becomes a volume scorer!

Randle is 24 years old and averaged 21/9/3 this past season with a 52% FG percentage. I don't care if you're on a good team or bad team, those numbers for a player his age in the NBA are impressive. He's a low post offensive threat, and an aggressive rebounder that the Celtics desperately need, especially with Horford gone.

As for Time Lord, cut the dude some slack it was his rookie year and we saw glimpses of his athleticism and defensive talent. As he matures, gains experience, and keeps a level head on his shoulders Brad's system will become second nature to him and we'll start to see his full potential.

I would take Terry over Conley any day at this juncture. Conley's contract is ridiculously expensive, and I'd prefer Terry's chemistry with the younger players and familiarity with Brad's system over a veteran who's potentially past his prime.