2020-2021 Celtics Season

I see people always on Stevens when they play like this, but doesn't Ainge deserve some of the blame too? He is the one that put this team together. The past 6 years or so he had a treasure trove of draft picks to work with and has yet to get an NBA finals appearance to show for it. There are no more draft picks left to work with, so barring some blockbuster trade what you see now is likely what you get for awhile.

They are short at most every position and that shows up in the rebounding. Too many offensive rebounds given up and not enough gotten on offense. They got to the line pretty good tonight, but most nights it seems they fall short there too.

Ok, I am finished with my frustrated griping.

Exactly. This roster just isn't enough to be more than a middle of the pack team. It's up to Danny to fix it. The fact that they competed with the Nets for a half is impressive, but they just don't have enough scorers to go blow by blow until the end of the game.

James Harden put Celtics on his trade list. Do we have anything to offer in a package? JT and JB are untouchable of course.

James Harden is almost impossible for anyone to trade for when it comes to matching up contracts and what the rockets want for him.

Heres a trade that works once Nesmith is trade eligible, assume maybe Bulls swing Theis to a 4th team? Its essentially our youth+picks for Harden but keeping JB. We also absorb Otto Porter into the trade exception for salary matching and get another solid wing for the season, even if he walks at the end of the year. And add all the Celtics picks/swaps possible, basically.

tradenba.com/trades/kAwBUCDmQ

Still feels like a 5 nickels for a quarter type of trade, but maybe Rockets really like that Bulls trio (Lauri/WCJ/Coby). Carsen is just there for salary matching. But do the Bulls feel they are close enough/believe in Kembas knees enough to do this? Idk.

Sell to Rockets as 2 top 5 picks and two lottery picks + future war chest of assets, plus could see what they have in Markannen (another top 7 pick).

So they shouldn’t try to upgrade the roster and put themselves in a better position to compete? What if someone like Orlando wants to rid themselves of Gordon’s contract, and the Celts can take him on without giving up a ton? (Personally, I’d much prefer Gordon’s skill set to Barnes’ for this roster, particularly because of the cap implications. But either player makes them better.)

The Celtics don’t look like a team that can win the Eastern Conference right now, never mind the NBA championship. But similar things were said about last year’s Heat team and the 2018-19 Raptors. While you don’t want to bank on injuries from other teams, they can happen and open up unexpected pathways to a title. However, this current roster isn’t good enough even if that happens.

Also, I know it feels like the window is pretty large with Jaylen/Tatum just now approaching their primes, but championship windows in the NBA have a way of closing faster than expected. I’m against making desperation moves like you are, but I do think Ainge needs to be more aggressive than he’s been in the past, even if it means a “fair trade” instead of fleecing another team in a trade.

I think he needs to be selectively aggressive and now isn’t the time for that. I don’t think there’s a move out there that puts them over the top. Harrison Barnes does nothing for me. I wouldn’t complain about Aaron Gordon but I don’t think he really turns them into a contender. You do make a good point about last years heat though

I do think this offseason is the time to get aggressive and then you have about a 5 year window of being major competitors in Jaylen/Jaysons prime. Hopefully they acquire somebody who fits their timeline.

This year I’m rooting for continued development of those 2 and the emergence of some young guys as legitimate rotation pieces. I’m expecting a playoff birth and maybe a series win but not much more than that. If let’s say 2 of Grant/TimeLord/Nesmith/Langford/Pritchard emerge as legitimate pieces that makes the build to a title team a lot easier.

umass took the words out of my mouth. The only thing I’ll add is that banking on a 5-year window with Jaylen/Tatum sounds a little high to me. It could be that long (or even longer), but there’s just no guarantee of that - particularly if they remain a perennial second round/ECF team.

Not saying Ainge should get desperate and overpay with picks and young players, but I like the term you used in “selectively aggressive.” I just think they should aim to make a move mid-season rather than next offseason.

Hes ridiculously good. Imagine having him instead of TT right now... Or if the Pistons were smart and actually traded him to us rather than losing him for nothing (no guarantee he resigns but still)

The third quarters have become a complete joke at this point. Hard not to blame coaching when the same problem happens with every single roster.

We still think Turner can't switch? His D impacts drives, Thompson is post D. Mute point because Williams looks great. Yet huge problem our best depth is center and they can't play together in today's NBA. Maybe with Walker, yet it's crazy hard if Smart is your third best scorer.