The last three roster spots will be determined in training camp

[Roy H.]

I'm still kinda stuck on the idea that Cousins is better than any of these guys trying to latch on to the end of our roster as a third-string big.  Kornet, Vonleh, Samanic, probably Kabengele as well. 

Maybe his locker room impact is just that bad.  I do concede that throwing Mazzulla into the deep end with Cousins in his first season might be playing with fire.  But I don't know, man... I think I'd take the risk.  Can always cut him if his behavior isn't what we need.

From the outside looking in, I'm puzzled, too.  Cousins was a model citizen under Mike Malone in Sacramento, then in Golden State, Milwaukee, and Denver.  He performed really well last year.  And, he's a hard worker and a good teammate.

His major downside is technical fouls.  Do they outweigh having a guy on your bench who is good enough to start?  In drop coverages, his defense has traditionally been pretty good.  Much like Blake, he's had multiple seasons leading the league in charges taken, along with posting good numbers for rebounds, blocks and steals.

I understand Dwight being passed over.  He has, at times, been a clown in the locker room, has slept with team dancers, and has been hated by his teammates.  Right now, he's focused on becoming a professional wrestler, with no real passion for basketball.  But Boogie?  He seems humbled and ready.

[radiohead]

The fact that he’s still a free agent at this time is really puzzling. I would have preferred him over Blake. But the fact that Brad has passed on him several times already says a lot.

[Goldstar88]

I'm still kinda stuck on the idea that Cousins is better than any of these guys trying to latch on to the end of our roster as a third-string big.  Kornet, Vonleh, Samanic, probably Kabengele as well. 

Maybe his locker room impact is just that bad.  I do concede that throwing Mazzulla into the deep end with Cousins in his first season might be playing with fire.  But I don't know, man... I think I'd take the risk.  Can always cut him if his behavior isn't what we need.

From the outside looking in, I'm puzzled, too.  Cousins was a model citizen under Mike Malone in Sacramento, then in Golden State, Milwaukee, and Denver.  He performed really well last year.  And, he's a hard worker and a good teammate.

His major downside is technical fouls.  Do they outweigh having a guy on your bench who is good enough to start?  In drop coverages, his defense has traditionally been pretty good.  Much like Blake, he's had multiple seasons leading the league in charges taken, along with posting good numbers for rebounds, blocks and steals.

I understand Dwight being passed over.  He has, at times, been a clown in the locker room, has slept with team dancers, and has been hated by his teammates.  Right now, he's focused on becoming a professional wrestler, with no real passion for basketball.  But Boogie?  He seems humbled and ready.

I’d take Boogie over Howard every day of the week. I don’t think Cousins would necessarily be an issue in the locker room, he’s just a loose cannon on the court. He gave the Nuggets 9pts/5rebs In just under 14mpg and they didn’t want him back even on a Vet min.

[Yuckabuck33]

I'm still kinda stuck on the idea that Cousins is better than any of these guys trying to latch on to the end of our roster as a third-string big.  Kornet, Vonleh, Samanic, probably Kabengele as well. 

Maybe his locker room impact is just that bad.  I do concede that throwing Mazzulla into the deep end with Cousins in his first season might be playing with fire.  But I don't know, man... I think I'd take the risk.  Can always cut him if his behavior isn't what we need.

From the outside looking in, I'm puzzled, too.  Cousins was a model citizen under Mike Malone in Sacramento, then in Golden State, Milwaukee, and Denver.  He performed really well last year.  And, he's a hard worker and a good teammate.

His major downside is technical fouls.  Do they outweigh having a guy on your bench who is good enough to start?  In drop coverages, his defense has traditionally been pretty good.  Much like Blake, he's had multiple seasons leading the league in charges taken, along with posting good numbers for rebounds, blocks and steals.

I understand Dwight being passed over.  He has, at times, been a clown in the locker room, has slept with team dancers, and has been hated by his teammates.  Right now, he's focused on becoming a professional wrestler, with no real passion for basketball.  But Boogie?  He seems humbled and ready.

His major downside is not technical fouls but wasting possessions. I cant understand why people blow this off. Remember the outcry every time Marcus Smart wasted posessions, with his heat checks after making a shot or a turnover because he's trying a fancy pass when he could make a safe pass? Are we going to give Cousins a pass when he wastes possessions by hanging back on defense to talk to the ref or pouts on a posession because he didn't get a call? We didn't give Tatum a pass for these things, why does Cousins get one? Tatum could be forgiven because he was up and coming but Cousins is on his way out. I believe Brad will never do this. Ever.

[Roy H.]

I'm still kinda stuck on the idea that Cousins is better than any of these guys trying to latch on to the end of our roster as a third-string big.  Kornet, Vonleh, Samanic, probably Kabengele as well. 

Maybe his locker room impact is just that bad.  I do concede that throwing Mazzulla into the deep end with Cousins in his first season might be playing with fire.  But I don't know, man... I think I'd take the risk.  Can always cut him if his behavior isn't what we need.

From the outside looking in, I'm puzzled, too.  Cousins was a model citizen under Mike Malone in Sacramento, then in Golden State, Milwaukee, and Denver.  He performed really well last year.  And, he's a hard worker and a good teammate.

His major downside is technical fouls.  Do they outweigh having a guy on your bench who is good enough to start?  In drop coverages, his defense has traditionally been pretty good.  Much like Blake, he's had multiple seasons leading the league in charges taken, along with posting good numbers for rebounds, blocks and steals.

I understand Dwight being passed over.  He has, at times, been a clown in the locker room, has slept with team dancers, and has been hated by his teammates.  Right now, he's focused on becoming a professional wrestler, with no real passion for basketball.  But Boogie?  He seems humbled and ready.

His major downside is not technical fouls but wasting possessions. I cant understand why people blow this off. Remember the outcry every time Marcus Smart wasted posessions, with his heat checks after making a shot or a turnover because he's trying a fancy pass when he could make a safe pass? Are we going to give Cousins a pass when he wastes possessions by hanging back on defense to talk to the ref or pouts on a posession because he didn't get a call? We didn't give Tatum a pass for these things, why does Cousins get one? Tatum could be forgiven because he was up and coming but Cousins is on his way out. I believe Brad will never do this. Ever.

I'd love to see the analysis of Cousins' wasted possessions compared to those of other players.  I guess I'd rather have an offensive contributor 4 out of 5 plays, rather than a non-contributor like Kornet for 5 out of 5.

[Celtics2021]

I'm still kinda stuck on the idea that Cousins is better than any of these guys trying to latch on to the end of our roster as a third-string big.  Kornet, Vonleh, Samanic, probably Kabengele as well. 

Maybe his locker room impact is just that bad.  I do concede that throwing Mazzulla into the deep end with Cousins in his first season might be playing with fire.  But I don't know, man... I think I'd take the risk.  Can always cut him if his behavior isn't what we need.

From the outside looking in, I'm puzzled, too.  Cousins was a model citizen under Mike Malone in Sacramento, then in Golden State, Milwaukee, and Denver.  He performed really well last year.  And, he's a hard worker and a good teammate.

His major downside is technical fouls.  Do they outweigh having a guy on your bench who is good enough to start?  In drop coverages, his defense has traditionally been pretty good.  Much like Blake, he's had multiple seasons leading the league in charges taken, along with posting good numbers for rebounds, blocks and steals.

I understand Dwight being passed over.  He has, at times, been a clown in the locker room, has slept with team dancers, and has been hated by his teammates.  Right now, he's focused on becoming a professional wrestler, with no real passion for basketball.  But Boogie?  He seems humbled and ready.

His major downside is not technical fouls but wasting possessions. I cant understand why people blow this off. Remember the outcry every time Marcus Smart wasted posessions, with his heat checks after making a shot or a turnover because he's trying a fancy pass when he could make a safe pass? Are we going to give Cousins a pass when he wastes possessions by hanging back on defense to talk to the ref or pouts on a posession because he didn't get a call? We didn't give Tatum a pass for these things, why does Cousins get one? Tatum could be forgiven because he was up and coming but Cousins is on his way out. I believe Brad will never do this. Ever.

I'd love to see the analysis of Cousins' wasted possessions compared to those of other players.  I guess I'd rather have an offensive contributor 4 out of 5 plays, rather than a non-contributor like Kornet for 5 out of 5.

All I can say with regard to Cousins is that no one seems to want to keep him.  The Warriors had him for a year, and let him walk.  The Lakers had him, he got hurt, and they made no effort to resign him.  He went to the Rockets for half a season, was waived.  The Clippers took a flyer on him for a few weeks, didn't bring him back.  He signed with Milwaukee a month into last season after Brook Lopez got hurt, and they waived him to sign Luke Kornet (?!?!?) 6 weeks later.  He wound up in Denver, who decided that they want to see what DeAndre Jordan had to offer this year instead of another go-round with Cousins.

We might look at the stats and say "those don't look terrible".  We see a highlight or two and see he's still got something left.  We don't hear any bad things about him at his new teams, and he says the right things in the press.  But he's been on 6 teams in 4 years.  He's been waived twice in that period.  This is his second off-season in a row where he's been unable to find a team.  There is probably a reason for this, and whether it's Cousins isn't able to do the things on the court his team needs him to do, or Cousins is more disruptive to a team than he and you would like to believe, I can't say.  But there's something, because he's been on enough teams recently for him to stick if he's worth sticking.

[liam]

I'm still kinda stuck on the idea that Cousins is better than any of these guys trying to latch on to the end of our roster as a third-string big.  Kornet, Vonleh, Samanic, probably Kabengele as well. 

Maybe his locker room impact is just that bad.  I do concede that throwing Mazzulla into the deep end with Cousins in his first season might be playing with fire.  But I don't know, man... I think I'd take the risk.  Can always cut him if his behavior isn't what we need.

From the outside looking in, I'm puzzled, too.  Cousins was a model citizen under Mike Malone in Sacramento, then in Golden State, Milwaukee, and Denver.  He performed really well last year.  And, he's a hard worker and a good teammate.

His major downside is technical fouls.  Do they outweigh having a guy on your bench who is good enough to start?  In drop coverages, his defense has traditionally been pretty good.  Much like Blake, he's had multiple seasons leading the league in charges taken, along with posting good numbers for rebounds, blocks and steals.

I understand Dwight being passed over.  He has, at times, been a clown in the locker room, has slept with team dancers, and has been hated by his teammates.  Right now, he's focused on becoming a professional wrestler, with no real passion for basketball.  But Boogie?  He seems humbled and ready.

His major downside is not technical fouls but wasting possessions. I cant understand why people blow this off. Remember the outcry every time Marcus Smart wasted posessions, with his heat checks after making a shot or a turnover because he's trying a fancy pass when he could make a safe pass? Are we going to give Cousins a pass when he wastes possessions by hanging back on defense to talk to the ref or pouts on a posession because he didn't get a call? We didn't give Tatum a pass for these things, why does Cousins get one? Tatum could be forgiven because he was up and coming but Cousins is on his way out. I believe Brad will never do this. Ever.

I'd love to see the analysis of Cousins' wasted possessions compared to those of other players.  I guess I'd rather have an offensive contributor 4 out of 5 plays, rather than a non-contributor like Kornet for 5 out of 5.

All I can say with regard to Cousins is that no one seems to want to keep him.  The Warriors had him for a year, and let him walk.  The Lakers had him, he got hurt, and they made no effort to resign him.  He went to the Rockets for half a season, was waived.  The Clippers took a flyer on him for a few weeks, didn't bring him back.  He signed with Milwaukee a month into last season after Brook Lopez got hurt, and they waived him to sign Luke Kornet (?!?!?) 6 weeks later.  He wound up in Denver, who decided that they want to see what DeAndre Jordan had to offer this year instead of another go-round with Cousins.

We might look at the stats and say "those don't look terrible".  We see a highlight or two and see he's still got something left.  We don't hear any bad things about him at his new teams, and he says the right things in the press.  But he's been on 6 teams in 4 years.  He's been waived twice in that period.  This is his second off-season in a row where he's been unable to find a team.  There is probably a reason for this, and whether it's Cousins isn't able to do the things on the court his team needs him to do, or Cousins is more disruptive to a team than he and you would like to believe, I can't say.  But there's something, because he's been on enough teams recently for him to stick if he's worth sticking.

Cousins can't defend anyone. I don't remember him being a good defender in his prime and he's well past that now. If Brad wanted to sign him I'd be OK with it but he's probably our 15th man.

[No Nickname]

To me, I didn’t love the rotations.  I hate lineups of five scrubs together, because you get no insight regarding how guys could fit in with real NBA players.

Use Grant as an example.  He’s a limited NBA player, but he’s rotation caliber.  With a few good players on the floor, he looks good.  Add him in with four garbage players, and he looks like garbage.

I agree with this to a point.  Thomas, Jackson, Kabengele with Pritchard and Hauser is a pretty weak unit by NBA standards but so was the Toronto team that was out there.  It was their "may not even make the team" scrubs mostly also.  Pritchard still looked like an NBA player but Hauser didn't do much with that unit.  The Toronto scrubs seized the opportunity and made plays.  Our scrubs and even Hauser didn't.

You are right though.  12 minutes or so of bad basketball in one game may not be fully representative of the ability of the players.  For the guards/wings, if a couple of shots go down, it looks a whole lot better.

What it tells me is that Hauser needs other guys on the floor to keep attention off him. He's not yet ready to be the main option on an offense.

I don't think Hauser will ever be the main option but we need good role players too.

I agree and whether or not he sticks around in the league will depend pretty much entirely on how well he can shoot the ball.  He doesn't need to be Kyle Korver, but he does need to shoot in the 40% range to be worthwhile to keep since he isn't very good at anything else.

Having watched him a ton in college, he's a better shooting, less-athletic version of Max Struss.

He's not as quick off the curl as Duncan Robinson, and might need a tiny bit more room, but he's just as deadly.  Less streaky, and more consistent with his shot than Robinson. 

But Robinson can get crazy hot.  Hauser can too, just maybe not to that level.

He's a better defender than both though.  Much better defensive training.

[Vermont Green]

Cousins is a mystery.  What I have seen from him the last few years is not impressive.  He is an end of the bench guy.  Seems like in theory, he should be able to be more than that, but he is 0-6 with his last six teams trying to be even an end of the bench guy.

I am sure that if the Celtics did sign him, I would find all kinds of reasons to be optimistic but I don't look at this as some great missed opportunity or anything like that.  He may not be any better than Kornet or Vonleh.  And even if he is, how much better and how much difference does he make?

I am OK with passing on him.  I trust the Celtics to make that evaluation.  We can just wait to see who gets waived or who gets shopped as teams cut their rosters down.  Or just go with Vonleh and Kornet to start the season as your end of bench bigs and see what comes available along the way.

[sgrogan]

Cousins is a mystery.  What I have seen from him the last few years is not impressive.  He is an end of the bench guy.  Seems like in theory, he should be able to be more than that, but he is 0-6 with his last six teams trying to be even an end of the bench guy.

I am sure that if the Celtics did sign him, I would find all kinds of reasons to be optimistic but I don't look at this as some great missed opportunity or anything like that.  He may not be any better than Kornet or Vonleh.  And even if he is, how much better and how much difference does he make?

I am OK with passing on him.  I trust the Celtics to make that evaluation.  We can just wait to see who gets waived or who gets shopped as teams cut their rosters down.  Or just go with Vonleh and Kornet to start the season as your end of bench bigs and see what comes available along the way.

I here what your saying but the first back to back is game 3(ORL). Assuming Al plays game 2 against MIA.
What is our starting and/or closing lineup? And bonus points for 96 minutes of "bigs".

[Vermont Green]

Cousins is a mystery.  What I have seen from him the last few years is not impressive.  He is an end of the bench guy.  Seems like in theory, he should be able to be more than that, but he is 0-6 with his last six teams trying to be even an end of the bench guy.

I am sure that if the Celtics did sign him, I would find all kinds of reasons to be optimistic but I don't look at this as some great missed opportunity or anything like that.  He may not be any better than Kornet or Vonleh.  And even if he is, how much better and how much difference does he make?

I am OK with passing on him.  I trust the Celtics to make that evaluation.  We can just wait to see who gets waived or who gets shopped as teams cut their rosters down.  Or just go with Vonleh and Kornet to start the season as your end of bench bigs and see what comes available along the way.

I here what your saying but the first back to back is game 3(ORL). Assuming Al plays game 2 against MIA.
What is our starting and/or closing lineup? And bonus points for 96 minutes of "bigs".

Probably going to see a lot of small ball.

[Moranis]

I'm still kinda stuck on the idea that Cousins is better than any of these guys trying to latch on to the end of our roster as a third-string big.  Kornet, Vonleh, Samanic, probably Kabengele as well. 

Maybe his locker room impact is just that bad.  I do concede that throwing Mazzulla into the deep end with Cousins in his first season might be playing with fire.  But I don't know, man... I think I'd take the risk.  Can always cut him if his behavior isn't what we need.

From the outside looking in, I'm puzzled, too.  Cousins was a model citizen under Mike Malone in Sacramento, then in Golden State, Milwaukee, and Denver.  He performed really well last year.  And, he's a hard worker and a good teammate.

His major downside is technical fouls.  Do they outweigh having a guy on your bench who is good enough to start?  In drop coverages, his defense has traditionally been pretty good.  Much like Blake, he's had multiple seasons leading the league in charges taken, along with posting good numbers for rebounds, blocks and steals.

I understand Dwight being passed over.  He has, at times, been a clown in the locker room, has slept with team dancers, and has been hated by his teammates.  Right now, he's focused on becoming a professional wrestler, with no real passion for basketball.  But Boogie?  He seems humbled and ready.

His major downside is not technical fouls but wasting possessions. I cant understand why people blow this off. Remember the outcry every time Marcus Smart wasted posessions, with his heat checks after making a shot or a turnover because he's trying a fancy pass when he could make a safe pass? Are we going to give Cousins a pass when he wastes possessions by hanging back on defense to talk to the ref or pouts on a posession because he didn't get a call? We didn't give Tatum a pass for these things, why does Cousins get one? Tatum could be forgiven because he was up and coming but Cousins is on his way out. I believe Brad will never do this. Ever.

I'd love to see the analysis of Cousins' wasted possessions compared to those of other players.  I guess I'd rather have an offensive contributor 4 out of 5 plays, rather than a non-contributor like Kornet for 5 out of 5.

All I can say with regard to Cousins is that no one seems to want to keep him.  The Warriors had him for a year, and let him walk.  The Lakers had him, he got hurt, and they made no effort to resign him.  He went to the Rockets for half a season, was waived.  The Clippers took a flyer on him for a few weeks, didn't bring him back.  He signed with Milwaukee a month into last season after Brook Lopez got hurt, and they waived him to sign Luke Kornet (?!?!?) 6 weeks later.  He wound up in Denver, who decided that they want to see what DeAndre Jordan had to offer this year instead of another go-round with Cousins.

We might look at the stats and say "those don't look terrible".  We see a highlight or two and see he's still got something left.  We don't hear any bad things about him at his new teams, and he says the right things in the press.  But he's been on 6 teams in 4 years.  He's been waived twice in that period.  This is his second off-season in a row where he's been unable to find a team.  There is probably a reason for this, and whether it's Cousins isn't able to do the things on the court his team needs him to do, or Cousins is more disruptive to a team than he and you would like to believe, I can't say.  But there's something, because he's been on enough teams recently for him to stick if he's worth sticking.

Kornet is on his 6th team in the last 4 years.  Vonleh was on 6 teams his last 4 seasons and was so bad he wasn't even on a roster last year. Jackson has been on 6 teams the last 4 years as well. 

So that is 3 players in camp that have the same level of movement as Cousins, yet I don't hear any similar chatter with them.

[Vermont Green]

Shams Charania: The Houston Rockets are waiving forward Moe Harkless, sources tell @TheAthletic @Stadium . Harkless, 29, will enter free agency as a 10-year NBA vet. – via Twitter ShamsCharania

A vet wing option?  Better than Justin Jackson?  Is it too late in the preseason?

[Roy H.]

Shams Charania: The Houston Rockets are waiving forward Moe Harkless, sources tell @TheAthletic @Stadium . Harkless, 29, will enter free agency as a 10-year NBA vet. – via Twitter ShamsCharania

A vet wing option?  Better than Justin Jackson?  Is it too late in the preseason?

He’s not special, but he’s better than what we have at SF.  He’s shown an ability to defend and bring energy in the past, although I think Sacramento beat him down.

[Celtics2021]

Shams Charania: The Houston Rockets are waiving forward Moe Harkless, sources tell @TheAthletic @Stadium . Harkless, 29, will enter free agency as a 10-year NBA vet. – via Twitter ShamsCharania

A vet wing option?  Better than Justin Jackson?  Is it too late in the preseason?

He was not good last year, but I’d be happy to bring him in for the unguaranteed minimum instead of sticking with Johnson.