2018 Boston Celtics offseason

Maybe look at it this way. When a tier 1 guy comes up short he’s still a really good NBA player but when a tier 2 guy comes up short he could be a bust. Fultz would be the first tier 1 bust but I still don’t think that will happen and if it does then it’s because something happened mentally where he started changing things he didn’t have to change. Like the stories about his crazy shot doctor. Ball, I hate, but he’s good and even if he doesn’t fix his shot he’s going to be a borderline all-star.


Philly is opening as favorites before free agency and the draft because they are adding to this team and are Vegas favorites to add LeBron. People think the Celtics are going to waltz into the finals next year and that’s anything but guaranteed Philly could be a freight train next year.

Yeah rjp you are right about people not forgetting but not remembering how good he is. It was someone I was talking to outside of this board who was talking about trading him as a salary saving move. I think Brown and Tatum will learn from him how to play even better as a team in Stevens system and become better passers.

Philly with Lebron would certainly make them very tough but I still question how that will affect Simmons. This offseason should be very interesting to see who ends up where, lots of moving pieces. LA is also pretty high on the list of teams winning a championship next year so Vegas must be looking at them as a Lebron destination also. PG and Lebron in LA would make the West a juggernaut to get thru the playoffs. So I guess we should all be rooting for LA to win the Lebron sweepstakes rather than the Sixers.

 With both Miami and LA coming in at 20/1 and tied for 5th best odds to win means Miami must be in play for Lebron also. Had not heard that.

After reading what I said, I wasn't 100% clear. Tier one isn't sure fire superstar, its superstar potential and sure fire all star.  So for Ball its not that teams thought he was a sure fire superstar, but a sure fire all-star.  I agreed with it then and I still agree with that ranking today. I think what RJP said was right on. Even if scouts and teams get something wrong with tier one guys, they will still be really good players.

As for Philly I have no clue and I think people are forgetting how good Reddick was for them. Sure they might get a better player, but is he a better fit? Unless they overpayed Reddick with a wink wink deal and he'll take way less to resign. If I was the Sixers I'd be very careful about who I add. With Simmons and Embiid you have two players that dominate the ball. I don't see how LeBron and George are great fits frankly. Unless Simmons learns how to shoot.

Sure he was always a very good shooter, but in last season with the Jazz he was an elite shooter and that's what I meant. He probably hasn't even peaked yet.

Absolutely!

I remember suffering much less of an ankle injury and it took a couple of years for true stability..and my confidence in it.. to return. True Gordon had reconstructive surgery by the finest doctors but it was MAJOR. The hope is that he will be ready for training camp but as with Pedroia, there will be ups and downs. Should he make full recovery, I would bet it will take half a season.

HOPEFULLY GH is back fully healthy with no lingering issues by march/april which gives him plenty of time to be 100% mentally and physically. With the emergence of Brown and Tatum the C's have the luxury of taking it slow with no pressure to play big minutes and that is important obviously.

You never know for sure after a major injury how a player is going to come back but I am going to remain optimistic that he comes back 100% the player he was in time for the C's to win the first of a few championships in the coming dynasty!!

I think you can make a great case that after the top 6-7 picks, Rozier is easily worth it.  At the same time I get the sense Danny doesn't want to trade him given the uncertainty with Smart. Morris at this point seems more likely, but you never know with Danny. I also wouldn't sleep on this draft, as it has great depth and lots of good defensive players.

Early reports are the Celtics prefer to resign Smart and keep Rozier next year for depth. Doesn’t indicate if that means they want to just keep Smart on the QO and roll this stuff another year. But seems like they’d like to keep both for next season to have a loaded roster to make a run. I agree with this approach assuming two things:

1. Smart doesn’t cost a lot to resign.

2. Rozier can’t be traded for a lottery pick.

I did mention that about Smart but a couple things have transpired since then.

1. Brown and Tatum have shown even more; especially their playoff performances.

2. UMass, brought up a great point about the value of staying under the tax this year. It’s doable without really hurting the teams ceiling and will have huge implications on the taxes paid in future seasons when they most certainly will have to go over the tax.

As things stand right now, literally the only big time players in the entire league we can conceivably see the Celtics trading for would be Anthony David and Karl Anthony Towns. Towns doesn’t require salary. Davis does, but he’s not a realistic target this year.


So I do still stand by my statement; the best thing for the Celtics would be to delay signing Smart by a year, if he’s going to be resigned. Ideal world not necessarily the real world.

Regarding Bird or Allen, Bird is by far the better prospect. He's much more athletic, moves without the ball, can hit a 3 (he was 3/7, Allen was 0/11) and is 18 months younger.

Allen and Nader are gone, IMO. Ojeleye and Yabusele will be back. That leaves the 15 man at Horford, Irving, Hayward, Tatum, Brown, Rozier, Theis, Ojeleye, Yabusele, Bird, Smart (probably), Baynes (probably), Morris, Larkin, 1st rd draft pick, ?.

If Smart comes back, I think the backcourt is fine. They have 4 capable point guards and Brown, Bird, Hayward and even Tatum could fill in at the 2. Loaded at 3. Horford, Morris at 4 (with Tatum and Hayward of they want to go small).

Center is an issue. Baynes is OK but doesn't pose an offensive threat. I don't recommend bringing back Monroe (too slowwitted and too unresponsive to defensive rotation). Theis is an excellent player but is foul prone. They need one more big, someone who can both defend the rim and score inside. Pachulia's too old. Cousins is too expensive and wouldn't touch him with a 10 foot pole anyway.

Ed Davis or Nerlens Noel might be had at a reasonable price but Bird rights apply. The only UFA non-birds are Baynes, Monroe (nope) and Perkins (yeah, right).

So that leaves the draft or the European free agents. Vesely made 1st team Euro and has talent but his stint with the Wizards was a disaster. One interesting guy is Edy Tavares, a 25 yr old 7:3 center who played 1 game for Cleveland last year (and played well). Per 36, he averaged 13.5 puts, with 11 rebounds and 3.5 blocks. He's played 101 minutes in the NBA between the Cavs and hawks and has a .118 WS/48, which is pretty good for a 10 minute a night type guy. He fouls a lot so that's why he doesn't play more but maybe Brad can devise some schemes that don't expose him.

Finally, quite possible Danny flips the Sacramento pick for one of the big guys this year.

Lots of great thoughts and discussion here. I agree with UMass re: Baynes. He has his warts, but he’s dead-on in his role on this team. If the playoff 3-pt performance wasn’t a complete mirage, even better. I think he’s a bigtime keeper.

Smart is a tough call, particularly with Rozier. Ideally they keep both; like Baynes, Smart probably has more value to the C’s than any other team. His personality is a big part of that: he’s just ferocious. I’m not sure he’d have an opportunity anywhere else to be himself, as a player and person, and be nearly so integral. My hope is that he realizes it and that it’s consistent with his career/life goals. Some guys love having roles, and being appreciated for them. He does/is here, and given his internal fire, he seems like a W over $ type person. Rozier developed quite a bit, and I think he has more. The way he talks about wanting to challenge/be challenged by Irving says a lot to me. I think Irving’s big leadership value on this team is his own desire (infectious desire) for greatness through personal growth. And his idea of growth is subjecting himself to new, difficult, challenges. I think that’s rubbing off and I think Rozier might want to stick around for more of that. He might be another W over $ guy, although he certainly could also be traded for draft position.

The best bit of it all is that it’s all future juggling and no immediate need. Plus, the return of Hayward and Irving means a deeper rotation and more options in terms of lineups. Im not sure even if the Brown/Tatum duo is all that affected minutes-wise, and that depth probably keeps the team fresh come playoff time.

I like both the ideas of Okafor and Noel. And I’m curious to see Theiss and whether he can develop enough finesse to cut back on the foul troubles. But when you’re talking about extensions for the 7/8 men on your roster and how to fill out the last few spots, that’s good news.