2016 Boston Celtics Offseason Thread

There's not really much in the way of sweeteners on Phlly's roster, though. Maybe Stauskas, but he hasn't shown much. The Sixers could also throw in 24 or 26 in this year's draft, but I don't know how much that really appeals to Ainge (he likes assets, but he's well aware that they can't actually make all of these picks).

Let's take a look at the numbers on Okafor:

On 315 post-up possessions, he scored 0.85 points per possession, with was the 54.7th percentile.
He can certainly score in the post, but his TS% is 53.6, so let's not get carried away..


It's extremely tough to build a team around his skill-set in this league.
When you add in the face that Okafor is one of the worst defensive players in the league, he likely isn't the answer to any question on Boston's roster.


Now Noel... he's interesting. Going to cost so much once his deal is up, but I think they Philly would likely need to throw in a little more to make the deal work -- as others have said, not sure what/who. Robert Covington would likely be too much for them.

I think he's worth the pick more the Okafor

Twitter chatter...

@probballdraft: "Boston has discussed 3 and a contract for Khris Middleton. Danny Ainge wants to add a scorer."


I really like Middleton a lot, hoping we can get a little more value out of the 3, like swapping the #16 and #10 picks.
This looks like the type of deal I figured Danny would make. I'd be content.

Middleton (at least before he signed his extension last year) rated super high by ESPN's RPM especially defensively. The only question I have is if we were going to do that, who are we dealing? The 3rd pick doesn't really make sense for him- he's a 2/3 and our backcourt is crowded, and we have Crowder on the wing, so unless one of bradley/crowder is moved, what do we do there? I'd rather flip crowder for him straight up and maybe get a pick back, given that Crowder is effectively just as good and making half the money. Otherwise you just have another player in front of Smart, which is not what you want in my mind. Setting all that aside, I still wouldn't really like that deal- Middleton doesn't really have the upside to be worth the 3rd pick. We need to swing for the fences for the moment, given the youth/upside that's already on the roster and the picks we have, so if you can't get someone who is a serious upgrade on one our starters and might inhibit the younger guys' development, I don't think you do it

Would absolutely not give Philly the 3rd pick for anything they have on their roster right now. Maybe if we could get the lakers pick next year (which is top-2 protected) and figure out some way of moving up into the mid-late lottery I'd consider it, but none of their young guys have been overly impressive. There's no way Okafor is worth it in the modern NBA- he's basically young Al Jefferson with noticeable character concerns, and maybe not even the chance to be as good a defender (not that big Al is much of one). Nerlens would be a good fit, but not for the third pick- he's in his 4th year now and was the 6th pick in his own draft, why would we give up 3 for a rental who's not certain to move the needle much?

I'm a big Middleton fan. He would be a great get for this team.

If we draft I like Dunn, and I think there is some separation after him.

Yeah, Crowder isn't near the player. I think he's being severely overrated by fans -- but maybe that's normal.
We'd have to add a decent amount to Crowder for that swap to happen. If you haven't had a chance to see Middleton play, you've missed out. He is really good. I have no idea why Milwaukee would want to trade him.

No way you trade #3 for Noel and Philly has nothing to add to balance it out.  

After looking at that hypothetical deal, I think I was wrong.

Boston would likely have to add more to the #3 pick in a deal for Middleton.

How about this for a hypothetical...

Boston sends the number 3 pick, the number 16 pick, avery bradley, and the 2018 Brooklyn pick to Philadelphia in exchange for this year's #1 pick.

Philadelphia ends up with their starting backcourt of the future, Boston ends up with their Superstar and still keeps a playoff nucleus and draft assets. Who says no first?

So you think we can get a star at #3?  If so who do you think that player is?


I think your views of Middleton are a little off.  While not a star, he's much better than solid starter.  Advanced numbers show him as a top 20 player for the last two years and he's 24 years old.  He can also play both SG and SF.  While his defensive numbers went down last year, they were very good the year before.

For me if we keep pick it's Murray if you want a safe pick that has a ceiling that is fairly high or if you want a swing for the fences pick you take Bender. I think some people are getting way to high on Dunn. I think he will be a solid PG in this league, but far from a star. People seem to forget that he is a senior and a year older than Marcus Smart that has two years in NBA already.