Long term contract could prove to be a valuable rotation piece. He has shown many flashes of providing scoring inside, and on the perimeter.
He has great potential as a defender as well. But doesn't give you much off the dribble, and not someone who's really going to make a play to get a shot for someone else. Even as a defender, he's pretty light.
My guess: we sign bird to a 4 year deal like Nader and send him to Maine most if not all of the season in hopes that he becomes a cheap rotation scorer. He might be with Williams in Maine as well. and if we see a competent waived veteran, we will cut yabusele
I think Nader is more of a scorer than Jabari. He's got a repertoire of moves and finishing techniques in the lane. So far that hasn't translated at the NBA level; he was poor at converting those shots. Nader shot well from 3 (.354 on 65 attempts, not a huge sample size but promising for his future). He got himself to the line a fair amount, too, which is a good skill for a player on the fringes of a rotation. Again, the sample size is not huge but the result comes right out of his game.
With Bird's spring and length, he'll be able to shoot over a lot of guys. But it would be surprising to see him next season as anything more than a complementary player on offense, as opposed to Nader, who got the ball in order to make a move and score. Spotting up, cutting, running the floor.
Surprisingly difficult choice. I really like what I saw from Jabari in SL. However, if this is the year they get the Finals, you will need to pick up another frontcourt (IMO) veteran for the stretch run.
Your point is well taken. I guess one way to go is to simply plug Bird into the slot that Nader filled last season; the team found a way to both give Nader considerable developmental minutes and also bring Monroe in to play rotation minutes.
But, my guess is that we'll eventually move Morris to get under the tax and be able to sign Bird and a vet. I realize losing Morris leaves another hole, but we have a decent amount of wings (including Bird) and if Morris is forced into a big role (loss of Hayward or Tatum, for instance), we aren't winning the championship anyway.
I'd agree that losing Hayward or Tatum seriously reduces the Celtics' chances at a championship, though you never know (Steph and Draymond bump heads in the conference finals and have to sit out for concussion protocol...).
On the other hand there are other scenarios where Morris gets a bump in minutes (mostly he was competing with bigs and Ojeleye, as well as Tatum, for minutes); and beyond that: if it happens in February, the guy he's replacing might well be coming back in April.
It seems to me wise to stay out of the tax this season, but Morris is a rotation-quality swing. If they think that Ojeleye is ready to take Morris' role, then it makes more sense to move him.
I don’t think Bird is an NBA-level rotation player. I wouldn’t give him anything more than a 2-way deal.
I agree with the first point. At least, he is not
now a rotation player, especially not on the Celtics, who have a lot of wing depth. The lack of strength limits his versatility, despite his assets.
His future? I think that he has rotation-player upside. Good feet and laterals, activity, great length, and a shooting touch. Will it happen on the Celtics? I'm betting against it - he has a lot of guys in front of him, and it's a win-now situation in Boston. If I were Jabari I'd look elsewhere for a better opportunity.
i really do not think the 15th player on this team will make or break the celtics chances for a championship.
I agree - at any rate it's unlikely.
Greg Monroe is not rated very highly around here, but I think that he provided some valuable minutes, especially after Theis went down. He's better than a 15th man - I'm just using him as an example of player who helps you hold it together until the post-season.
I guess I'm more on the side of using the 15th spot on a young player with potential - as you put it, a lottery ticket, while the 13th and 14th are the "in case of fire, break glass" types - the vets you can count on to play team defense, limit mistakes, and stay inside their lanes.