2019 Celtics Offseason Thread

2nd team All NBA for Kyrie.

Despite the atrocious showing in the 2nd round, I agree with the voting here.

www.cbssports.com/nba/news/2019-nba-draft-top-130-prospect-rankings-the-risers-and-fallers-on-the-big-board-after-the-combine/

Jalen Lecque PG might be one of the more interesting guys in the draft. Reminds me of Mitchell Robinson last year. No College, raw, but an elite athlete with a huge upside.

heavy.com/sports/2019/05/celtics-nba-mock-draft-two-rounds/

Saying Danny has made a promise, which would be slightly surprising. Yet it's a guy who's likely the best defender in the whole draft. Yet how many defenders do you need?

Yet you can't complain about that mock.

I wouldn't be upset about Thybulle, just more of how do you play certain guys together? You'd have Baynes and Williams, then Smart and Thybulle as basically defenders. I won't trust Smarts shooting till he does it again. It's scary how good the D could be, but also how bad your scoring could be.

Now Washington and Johnson would help with that, both are much more two way type players. They have limited upsides compared to some players. Yet the upside is still very good starter type players. Like I don't get Johnson dropping, which according to mocks he is. You get him at 22 and that is a great pick. Those guys are the type of players that fill out Championship teams.

Yet no swing for the fences type pick? Like most mocks have Little there at 14. I'm not the biggest fan of guys like him, very boom or bust type player. Yet he's like Brown, high recruit, elite athlete, but had a disappointing year. Yet his upside is massive. I'd fully expect Danny to gamble on one guy like him if he makes three picks.

Which brings me to my next point, we will make some trades. No matter what happens, within the next few years trades will happen. I just wish I knew what Danny was thinking, would make picking players easier. Like if your trading Tatum or Brown, Little is a much better fit.

Crazy interesting draft the more you dive into it. Danny has a million different options.

I read the Ringer report on Thybulle and it seems very kind for a four year senior that maxed out at 12 points per 40 minutes as a Junior. Not a ton of reports on him as ESPN and nbadraft.net don't have Bio's for him. From what I've got he just doesn't have the feel for the offensive game. He can shoot some three's, good FT shooter, yet he gets very few and that likely won't change. Decent passer, won't kill you, but not a playmaker. Outside of that it's almost a nothing. It sounds like watching Semi, who for the most part is a three point shot or nothing type guy. Yet Semi showed a lot more in College than Thybulle did.

You can always dream on a guy getting better, it happens. The great unknown of sports drafts. Yet Thybulle sure looks like a guy that will really help your D and hurt your offense. Kinda like a better shooting Roberson. Yet I fear those rather good College shooting numbers don't fully translate to the pros. Was above 50% on two point shots, 35% on three's and 75% from the line, yet maxed out at 11.2 points per game in four years. Like that is a huge red flag when it comes to offensive upside. The plus is he knows his limitations and doesn't force a ton, yet his offensive feel is just not there.

Not a horrible pick, a very safe pick. He's ready to play now, he doesn't need years to develop. His D and hustle fit the team culture. It makes sense, he's likely a 10 year NBA veteran. Just a little weird on a team that already has Smart and he's signed long-term. I bet it would be crazy fun watching those two play D together, but I don't think I would want to watch that offense.

I do have to say I'm a little skeptical on the promise. He's a senior, not some under the radar guy that played one year. You know who he is, you have 135 plus games of College tape. You promise him so he stops workouts? Not the type of guy that jumps up the rankings normally this time of year.

Thybulle kind of takes me back to the discussion of extending Smart or Rozier. At the time, I argued that Smart's defense is elite and you should always take a player with an elite skill over another who is merely good at everything. I still think so and guys who are great at something will always have a role in a NBA team. Who knows, they may even develop some semblance of an offensive game like Smart did.

Steve Kyler (Basketball Insiders) suggesting that Boston is NOT operating like a team that expects to keep Kyrie and go after AD. Hears multiple close to the team that think KI is more than out the door and they are moving forward with that in mind.

Specifically:


Steve Kyler Retweeted Christian Tams MS RD
I can help a little... The Celtics have been actively exploring trades, and draft scenarios for players that would better lineup with a future built around Tatum and Brown... sources close to the team are skeptical that they can get Irving back but remain open to re-signing him.

Well it's kinda big news no? Instead of making moves to try and convince him to stay. It was the hard part of this off-season. Lots of trades made at draft before you know and frankly each path requires different types of players.

Like in the draft, no Irving and guys like Porter Jr., Langford, Dort, and even a guy like Edwards might be guys to target. Guards that dominate the ball and wouldn't fit well with Irving. Yet we are going to need play making and scoring now.

Overall I'm glad Danny is taking this path, it's the smart play.

Yeah Danny is smart. He's not going to just plan for one thing to happen.

KG and Ray Allen were the FALLBACK options after not getting Durant in the draft all that time ago. Critical off-season that could affect the Celtics next 5 years is potentially this off-season.