Celtics out of gas but still no 15th man!

[PAOBoston]

Are they required to have 15 players going into playoffs?

[Celtics2021]

Are they required to have 15 players going into playoffs?

Nope, but they’ll sign someone the last day of the season if not before.

[Goldstar88]

If someone is out there who is better than Kornet and Blake, fine. I haven’t heard such a player mentioned. I wondered why Blake didn’t play at all in the 4th. With his limitations on D he’s still a very effective rebounder.

Cody Zeller and Myers Leonard are both better than Kornet. They recently signed with other teams. Serge Ibaka is available and he is also better than Kornet.

You've repeatedly asserted that Leonard is better than Kornet - how?

He’s better at shooting, scoring, rebounding. There’s a reason Kornet has only played 200 games throughout his NBA career and is rarely on a team for more than a season. He’s just not very good.

[Vermont Green]

If someone is out there who is better than Kornet and Blake, fine. I haven’t heard such a player mentioned. I wondered why Blake didn’t play at all in the 4th. With his limitations on D he’s still a very effective rebounder.

Cody Zeller and Myers Leonard are both better than Kornet. They recently signed with other teams. Serge Ibaka is available and he is also better than Kornet.

You've repeatedly asserted that Leonard is better than Kornet - how?

He’s better at shooting, scoring, rebounding. There’s a reason Kornet has only played 200 games throughout his NBA career and is rarely on a team for more than a season. He’s just not very good.

I am unconvinced.  Kornet, 203 gms, 6 seasons, 5.0 pts, 2.6 rebs.  Leonard, 452 gms, 11 seasons, 5.6 pts, 3.9 rebs.  I see both as end of the bench guys.  I don't see that Leonard moves our needle even a little bit.

Leonard got caught up in the racial slur incident, that is not reflective of his basketball ability, but he has only played about 8 games in the last 3 seasons.  I am not arguing that Kornet is good, I just don't think Leonard is very good either.

[Who]

Muscala does what M Leonard does (stretch big) and does it better than M Leonard. Meyers Leonard was not really of value to the team anymore once Muscala was acquired. Too similar and not as good as Muscala.

[gouki88]

If someone is out there who is better than Kornet and Blake, fine. I haven’t heard such a player mentioned. I wondered why Blake didn’t play at all in the 4th. With his limitations on D he’s still a very effective rebounder.

Cody Zeller and Myers Leonard are both better than Kornet. They recently signed with other teams. Serge Ibaka is available and he is also better than Kornet.

You've repeatedly asserted that Leonard is better than Kornet - how?

He’s better at shooting, scoring, rebounding. There’s a reason Kornet has only played 200 games throughout his NBA career and is rarely on a team for more than a season. He’s just not very good.

Lets look at the recent relevant sample size (so, last 3 seasons for each).

Leonard scores less per minute and per possession than Kornet: try again there.

Leonard's TRB% is 1.3% superior, which is fairly inconsequential.

Leonard is by far the better shooter. He is also by the worse passer and by far the worse defender.

[ozgod]

If someone is out there who is better than Kornet and Blake, fine. I haven’t heard such a player mentioned. I wondered why Blake didn’t play at all in the 4th. With his limitations on D he’s still a very effective rebounder.

Cody Zeller and Myers Leonard are both better than Kornet. They recently signed with other teams. Serge Ibaka is available and he is also better than Kornet.

You've repeatedly asserted that Leonard is better than Kornet - how?

He’s better at shooting, scoring, rebounding. There’s a reason Kornet has only played 200 games throughout his NBA career and is rarely on a team for more than a season. He’s just not very good.

Lets look at the recent relevant sample size (so, last 3 seasons for each).

Leonard scores less per minute and per possession than Kornet: try again there.

Leonard's TRB% is 1.3% superior, which is fairly inconsequential.

Leonard is by far the better shooter. He is also by the worse passer and by far the worse defender.

I checked them both out on basketball-reference as I was curious too. I was surprised, their per-36 is actually pretty similar.

[Roy H.]

Curious why Danny Green picked Cleveland over Boston?

But according to the man himself, per CLNS Media’s Bobby Manning, “it was the Celtics not communicating, not getting back to him.”

“They said they weren’t ready to make a move at that time,” he continued, raising more questions with that news than it answers.

https://www.yahoo.com/sports/why-danny-green-says-did-100055281.html

So we had the chance to sign a 15th man who wouldn't complain about playing time, who could eat a few wing minutes, and who had championship experience.  The player seemingly wanted to sign here.  And instead we said, "nope, we're keeping that spot open for now".

[liam]

Curious why Danny Green picked Cleveland over Boston?

But according to the man himself, per CLNS Media’s Bobby Manning, “it was the Celtics not communicating, not getting back to him.”

“They said they weren’t ready to make a move at that time,” he continued, raising more questions with that news than it answers.

https://www.yahoo.com/sports/why-danny-green-says-did-100055281.html

So we had the chance to sign a 15th man who wouldn't complain about playing time, who could eat a few wing minutes, and who had championship experience.  The player seemingly wanted to sign here.  And instead we said, "nope, we're keeping that spot open for now".

Just cheaping out.

[Sophomore]

Curious why Danny Green picked Cleveland over Boston?

But according to the man himself, per CLNS Media’s Bobby Manning, “it was the Celtics not communicating, not getting back to him.”

“They said they weren’t ready to make a move at that time,” he continued, raising more questions with that news than it answers.

https://www.yahoo.com/sports/why-danny-green-says-did-100055281.html

So we had the chance to sign a 15th man who wouldn't complain about playing time, who could eat a few wing minutes, and who had championship experience.  The player seemingly wanted to sign here.  And instead we said, "nope, we're keeping that spot open for now".

Just cheaping out.

They signed Muscala. My guess is they didn’t want Green for a basketball reason we don’t know.

[Celtics2021]

Curious why Danny Green picked Cleveland over Boston?

But according to the man himself, per CLNS Media’s Bobby Manning, “it was the Celtics not communicating, not getting back to him.”

“They said they weren’t ready to make a move at that time,” he continued, raising more questions with that news than it answers.

https://www.yahoo.com/sports/why-danny-green-says-did-100055281.html

So we had the chance to sign a 15th man who wouldn't complain about playing time, who could eat a few wing minutes, and who had championship experience.  The player seemingly wanted to sign here.  And instead we said, "nope, we're keeping that spot open for now".

Just cheaping out.

Or were after someone else who took longer than Green to make his decision (i.e. Will Barton).

[liam]

Curious why Danny Green picked Cleveland over Boston?

But according to the man himself, per CLNS Media’s Bobby Manning, “it was the Celtics not communicating, not getting back to him.”

“They said they weren’t ready to make a move at that time,” he continued, raising more questions with that news than it answers.

https://www.yahoo.com/sports/why-danny-green-says-did-100055281.html

So we had the chance to sign a 15th man who wouldn't complain about playing time, who could eat a few wing minutes, and who had championship experience.  The player seemingly wanted to sign here.  And instead we said, "nope, we're keeping that spot open for now".

Just cheaping out.

Or were after someone else who took longer than Green to make his decision (i.e. Will Barton).

...and now they are just waiting for the season to end?

[Roy H.]

Curious why Danny Green picked Cleveland over Boston?

But according to the man himself, per CLNS Media’s Bobby Manning, “it was the Celtics not communicating, not getting back to him.”

“They said they weren’t ready to make a move at that time,” he continued, raising more questions with that news than it answers.

https://www.yahoo.com/sports/why-danny-green-says-did-100055281.html

So we had the chance to sign a 15th man who wouldn't complain about playing time, who could eat a few wing minutes, and who had championship experience.  The player seemingly wanted to sign here.  And instead we said, "nope, we're keeping that spot open for now".

Just cheaping out.

They signed Muscala. My guess is they didn’t want Green for a basketball reason we don’t know.

Well, they traded for Muscula.  His salary is less than the combined salaries of Vonleh and Jackson, so we've actually saved payroll since the beginning of the season.

A contender cutting payroll despite several TPEs and a DPE might be seen as cheap, particularly when the team has declined to fill the 15th spot.

[Celtics2021]

Curious why Danny Green picked Cleveland over Boston?

But according to the man himself, per CLNS Media’s Bobby Manning, “it was the Celtics not communicating, not getting back to him.”

“They said they weren’t ready to make a move at that time,” he continued, raising more questions with that news than it answers.

https://www.yahoo.com/sports/why-danny-green-says-did-100055281.html

So we had the chance to sign a 15th man who wouldn't complain about playing time, who could eat a few wing minutes, and who had championship experience.  The player seemingly wanted to sign here.  And instead we said, "nope, we're keeping that spot open for now".

Just cheaping out.

Or were after someone else who took longer than Green to make his decision (i.e. Will Barton).

...and now they are just waiting for the season to end?

Once Barton signed elsewhere, I think so.  He was the only guy we were connected with who had a chance at being in the rotation, and thus was probably the highest priority.  He also took the longest to sign, because a lot of teams were after him.

Now we’ll probably sign someone to a rest-of-season contract with a non-guaranteed year tacked in for next season, who will be a practice body to get a look at during the postseason.  This will probably occur after March 25th, which is when the G-League regular season ends.

[Sophomore]

Curious why Danny Green picked Cleveland over Boston?

But according to the man himself, per CLNS Media’s Bobby Manning, “it was the Celtics not communicating, not getting back to him.”

“They said they weren’t ready to make a move at that time,” he continued, raising more questions with that news than it answers.

https://www.yahoo.com/sports/why-danny-green-says-did-100055281.html

So we had the chance to sign a 15th man who wouldn't complain about playing time, who could eat a few wing minutes, and who had championship experience.  The player seemingly wanted to sign here.  And instead we said, "nope, we're keeping that spot open for now".

Just cheaping out.

They signed Muscala. My guess is they didn’t want Green for a basketball reason we don’t know.

Well, they traded for Muscula.  His salary is less than the combined salaries of Vonleh and Jackson, so we've actually saved payroll since the beginning of the season.

A contender cutting payroll despite several TPEs and a DPE might be seen as cheap, particularly when the team has declined to fill the 15th spot.

Bobby Marks has it that the trade raised Boston’s lux tax bill by about $6.6M
https://twitter.com/BobbyMarks42/status/1623730487289171969?s=20