Celtics Off-Season News

[Goldstar88]

“Everyone keeps saying Damian Lillard is going to be traded to the Knicks, Damian Lillard should be traded to the Heat, Damian Lillard should be traded to the Celtics, Damian Lillard is going to be traded to the Nets. If one of those trades went through, out of those teams, which one would you be like, ‘Eh, that’s not so bad.’”

“Miami, obviously,” Lillard replied with a laugh. “Bam is my dog for real but Miami is an obvious one. Brooklyn is another obvious one because Mikal Bridges is my dog too.”

On the topic of his future in Portland and a potential trade request, Lillard also stated that his top choice would be “to have an opportunity to win in Portland. We got an opportunity, asset-wise, to build a team that can compete. If we can’t do that… then it’s a separate conversation we would have to have.”

https://www.masslive.com/celtics/2023/06/damian-lillard-picks-heat-nets-over-celtics-in-hypothetical-trade-scenario.html

No income tax in Florida 

What’s his excuse for Brooklyn?  He clearly doesn’t care much about winning a championship; also, how does he expect the Nets to put together a package that doesn’t include Bridges?

With all the picks the Nets got for Durant, they absolutely can put together a package that doesn’t include Bridges.

Sorry forgot about the picks, but no way they take on Simmons’ contract so how are they’d need a 3rd team involved right?

If they're moving Lillard, they're going for a rebuild, so I think Simmons' contract is less of a hurdle.  There are only two years left, and it will come off the books before Sharpe is ready for an extension, and it still saves them money relative to Dame over this year and next.  If they wanted to do something in 2024 after having spent this year rebuilding, Simmons would be an expiring that could be useful in a trade.

This. Tp, you just saved me a bunch of typing. Lol.

[Goldstar88]

“Everyone keeps saying Damian Lillard is going to be traded to the Knicks, Damian Lillard should be traded to the Heat, Damian Lillard should be traded to the Celtics, Damian Lillard is going to be traded to the Nets. If one of those trades went through, out of those teams, which one would you be like, ‘Eh, that’s not so bad.’”

“Miami, obviously,” Lillard replied with a laugh. “Bam is my dog for real but Miami is an obvious one. Brooklyn is another obvious one because Mikal Bridges is my dog too.”

On the topic of his future in Portland and a potential trade request, Lillard also stated that his top choice would be “to have an opportunity to win in Portland. We got an opportunity, asset-wise, to build a team that can compete. If we can’t do that… then it’s a separate conversation we would have to have.”

https://www.masslive.com/celtics/2023/06/damian-lillard-picks-heat-nets-over-celtics-in-hypothetical-trade-scenario.html

No income tax in Florida 

What’s his excuse for Brooklyn?  He clearly doesn’t care much about winning a championship; also, how does he expect the Nets to put together a package that doesn’t include Bridges?

With all the picks the Nets got for Durant, they absolutely can put together a package that doesn’t include Bridges.

Yep. Was just going to say Simmons, plus a few smaller salaries and X amount of first round picks. I’d rather Dame goes to Brooklyn. They still won’t be good enough to contend.

If he goes to Miami for a package around Herro, that’s going to be a problem for the C’s.
Lillard, Butler, Bam core would be tough..

Every respected NBA writer that has discussed it said has said simmons is one of the worst contracts in the NBA. In addition to his chronic back issues which have been going on for years now, there are serious questions if he even wants to play basketball or just be a celebrity. I would be absolutely stunned if he was part of the return for Lilliard.

He’s a salary filler for the most part. Ben is only under contract for 2 more seasons, however If by some miracle he does regain his form, could have some value. If Portland trades Dame they’d be full rebuild. The trade would really be about the picks, maybe Brooklyn adds in Thomas and/or Sharpe to sweeten the pot.

[BringToughnessBack]

Another Lilard article.

Of course he will end up a Heat though barring Brown refusing to sign

https://www.yahoo.com/sports/damian-lillard-potential-trade-offers-181417230.html

[Phantom255x]

Another Lilard article.

Of course he will end up a Heat though barring Brown refusing to sign

https://www.yahoo.com/sports/damian-lillard-potential-trade-offers-181417230.html

Is Herro + Picks really the best POR can get for Lillard out there?? If so, they should just keep him

[gouki88]

Another Lilard article.

Of course he will end up a Heat though barring Brown refusing to sign

https://www.yahoo.com/sports/damian-lillard-potential-trade-offers-181417230.html

Is Herro + Picks really the best POR can get for Lillard out there?? If so, they should just keep him

Yeah, that is a terrible offer. No reason for Portland to be so accomodating of his wishes when he’s contracted for so long - trade him for the best offer. Which is not Miami’s.

Dame seemingly wants to just jump to a contender or somewhere he’d have fun off-court. The dynamics of him joining Miami would be curious, given he would be their best player.

[Goldstar88]

Shaquille O’Neal makes a case for why the Celtics should trade Jaylen Brown:

“I would, business-wise, break them up and use one of them to get the pieces I want,” said O’Neal during an episode of “The Big Podcast with Shaq.”

“I would say Tatum is the No.1,” O’Neal said. “Use Brown to bring in a Brown-type player and then just do it like that. And then it will be good for Brown so that he’ll have the opportunity to be No. 1 somewhere, because he’s a No. 1 caliber player but I can tell that it frustrates him to be the other guy.”

O’Neal recalled his experience of an organization viewing him as a No. 2 option while he considered himself a No. 1.

“That affects you, it really does mentally,” O’Neal said. “Because I went from No. 50 and went to No. 1 and stayed for a long time. Then when I was in LA they tried to force me to be No. 2, but I was like, ‘nope, I’m the king’ and stayed at No. 1. Went through a lot of battles every year. Finally, they said ‘we’re going to kill the king in his sleep’ and they traded me to Miami.”

O’Neal said that it would be difficult to maintain an adequate supporting cast if the Celtics signed Brown and Tatum to supermax extensions with a combined $613 million.
He pointed to the Heat, who have All-Stars Bam Adebayo and Jimmy Butler, and have leaned on role players such as Gabe Vincent, Max Strus, and Caleb Martin as an example of a sustainable core.

“That’s how you do it. I don’t want five stars on my team,” O’Neal said. “I don’t want it. I want a guy I can go to every night, a guy that’s going to lead, and I want three dogs, three others. I would prefer if they were specialists, if one wanted to be a shooter, one wanted to be a rebounder, and one wanted to be a fighter.”

O’Neal said that if he were Brown, he wouldn’t worry about whether the Celtics will trade him or not.

“It’s going to be good for him either way,” O’Neal said. “You’re going to get that supermax, and if they trade you they’re going to trade you to a team where you can be the man, that’s what you’ve always wanted.”

[Who]

“That’s how you do it. I don’t want five stars on my team,” O’Neal said. “I don’t want it. I want a guy I can go to every night, a guy that’s going to lead, and I want three dogs, three others. I would prefer if they were specialists, if one wanted to be a shooter, one wanted to be a rebounder, and one wanted to be a fighter.”

Reminds me of his Lakers teams.

Stars: Shaq and Kobe
Key support staff: Fisher, Fox and Horry

Then a platoon of deep role players. AC Green, Horace Grant and Samaki Walker rotated in and out as a starting PF. Ron Harper one year, Lindsey Hunter the next. Brian Shaw was another constant. Devean George, Kareem Rush.

So you keep your stars. You keep your key glue guys. And you rotate your other role players & deep bench. The stars and key glue guys give you your team identity, mentality & consistency.

[Who]

“I would say Tatum is the No.1,” O’Neal said. “Use Brown to bring in a Brown-type player and then just do it like that. And then it will be good for Brown so that he’ll have the opportunity to be No. 1 somewhere, because he’s a No. 1 caliber player but I can tell that it frustrates him to be the other guy.”

O’Neal recalled his experience of an organization viewing him as a No. 2 option while he considered himself a No. 1.

“That affects you, it really does mentally,” O’Neal said. “Because I went from No. 50 and went to No. 1 and stayed for a long time. Then when I was in LA they tried to force me to be No. 2, but I was like, ‘nope, I’m the king’ and stayed at No. 1. Went through a lot of battles every year. Finally, they said ‘we’re going to kill the king in his sleep’ and they traded me to Miami.”

I agree. It looks to me as well that it bothers JB. That he has difficulty accepting his role. That he wants to breakout and do more. Take more shots. Score more points. Prove he can be more.

Reminds me of Kobe in those 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004 seasons next to Shaq. Kobe did not want to accept that #2 role. He kept fighting to prove he can the guy even though Shaq was clearly better than him like Tatum is clearly better than Jaylen. Jaylen doesn't force the issue as badly as Kobe did but he still has plenty of eye-roll moments with forcing the action / shot selection.

[RJ87]

“I would say Tatum is the No.1,” O’Neal said. “Use Brown to bring in a Brown-type player and then just do it like that. And then it will be good for Brown so that he’ll have the opportunity to be No. 1 somewhere, because he’s a No. 1 caliber player but I can tell that it frustrates him to be the other guy.”

O’Neal recalled his experience of an organization viewing him as a No. 2 option while he considered himself a No. 1.

“That affects you, it really does mentally,” O’Neal said. “Because I went from No. 50 and went to No. 1 and stayed for a long time. Then when I was in LA they tried to force me to be No. 2, but I was like, ‘nope, I’m the king’ and stayed at No. 1. Went through a lot of battles every year. Finally, they said ‘we’re going to kill the king in his sleep’ and they traded me to Miami.”

I agree. It looks to me as well that it bothers JB. That he has difficulty accepting his role. That he wants to breakout and do more. Take more shots. Score more points. Prove he can be more.

Reminds me of Kobe in those 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004 seasons next to Shaq. Kobe did not want to accept that #2 role. He kept fighting to prove he can the guy even though Shaq was clearly better than him like Tatum is clearly better than Jaylen. Jaylen doesn't force the issue as badly as Kobe did but he still has plenty of eye-roll moments with forcing the action / shot selection.

The funny thing is, Brown had an opportunity to show he could be the #1 guy in game 7 of the ECF with Tatum down and he shrunk from the moment.

[DefenseWinsChamps]

“I would say Tatum is the No.1,” O’Neal said. “Use Brown to bring in a Brown-type player and then just do it like that. And then it will be good for Brown so that he’ll have the opportunity to be No. 1 somewhere, because he’s a No. 1 caliber player but I can tell that it frustrates him to be the other guy.”

O’Neal recalled his experience of an organization viewing him as a No. 2 option while he considered himself a No. 1.

“That affects you, it really does mentally,” O’Neal said. “Because I went from No. 50 and went to No. 1 and stayed for a long time. Then when I was in LA they tried to force me to be No. 2, but I was like, ‘nope, I’m the king’ and stayed at No. 1. Went through a lot of battles every year. Finally, they said ‘we’re going to kill the king in his sleep’ and they traded me to Miami.”

I agree. It looks to me as well that it bothers JB. That he has difficulty accepting his role. That he wants to breakout and do more. Take more shots. Score more points. Prove he can be more.

Reminds me of Kobe in those 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004 seasons next to Shaq. Kobe did not want to accept that #2 role. He kept fighting to prove he can the guy even though Shaq was clearly better than him like Tatum is clearly better than Jaylen. Jaylen doesn't force the issue as badly as Kobe did but he still has plenty of eye-roll moments with forcing the action / shot selection.

The funny thing is, Brown had an opportunity to show he could be the #1 guy in game 7 of the ECF with Tatum down and he shrunk from the moment.

He didn't in last year's finals though. He just wasn't able to get us over the hump.

[Who]

“I would say Tatum is the No.1,” O’Neal said. “Use Brown to bring in a Brown-type player and then just do it like that. And then it will be good for Brown so that he’ll have the opportunity to be No. 1 somewhere, because he’s a No. 1 caliber player but I can tell that it frustrates him to be the other guy.”

O’Neal recalled his experience of an organization viewing him as a No. 2 option while he considered himself a No. 1.

“That affects you, it really does mentally,” O’Neal said. “Because I went from No. 50 and went to No. 1 and stayed for a long time. Then when I was in LA they tried to force me to be No. 2, but I was like, ‘nope, I’m the king’ and stayed at No. 1. Went through a lot of battles every year. Finally, they said ‘we’re going to kill the king in his sleep’ and they traded me to Miami.”

I agree. It looks to me as well that it bothers JB. That he has difficulty accepting his role. That he wants to breakout and do more. Take more shots. Score more points. Prove he can be more.

Reminds me of Kobe in those 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004 seasons next to Shaq. Kobe did not want to accept that #2 role. He kept fighting to prove he can the guy even though Shaq was clearly better than him like Tatum is clearly better than Jaylen. Jaylen doesn't force the issue as badly as Kobe did but he still has plenty of eye-roll moments with forcing the action / shot selection.

The funny thing is, Brown had an opportunity to show he could be the #1 guy in game 7 of the ECF with Tatum down and he shrunk from the moment.

He didn't in last year's finals though. He just wasn't able to get us over the hump.

Jaylen in last year's Finals = 23.5ppg on 43% FG% 34% 3PT% and 81% FT% on good volume for a TS% of 54.4%. Jaylen also handed out 22 assists in 6 games for 3.7apg against 20 turnovers.

Those are not great offensive numbers. He was taking almost 20 shots a game along with 5 FTs a game to get those 23.5ppg. Not great efficiency, not good efficiency, just okay. And the AST:TO problems again.

[DefenseWinsChamps]

“I would say Tatum is the No.1,” O’Neal said. “Use Brown to bring in a Brown-type player and then just do it like that. And then it will be good for Brown so that he’ll have the opportunity to be No. 1 somewhere, because he’s a No. 1 caliber player but I can tell that it frustrates him to be the other guy.”

O’Neal recalled his experience of an organization viewing him as a No. 2 option while he considered himself a No. 1.

“That affects you, it really does mentally,” O’Neal said. “Because I went from No. 50 and went to No. 1 and stayed for a long time. Then when I was in LA they tried to force me to be No. 2, but I was like, ‘nope, I’m the king’ and stayed at No. 1. Went through a lot of battles every year. Finally, they said ‘we’re going to kill the king in his sleep’ and they traded me to Miami.”

I agree. It looks to me as well that it bothers JB. That he has difficulty accepting his role. That he wants to breakout and do more. Take more shots. Score more points. Prove he can be more.

Reminds me of Kobe in those 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004 seasons next to Shaq. Kobe did not want to accept that #2 role. He kept fighting to prove he can the guy even though Shaq was clearly better than him like Tatum is clearly better than Jaylen. Jaylen doesn't force the issue as badly as Kobe did but he still has plenty of eye-roll moments with forcing the action / shot selection.

The funny thing is, Brown had an opportunity to show he could be the #1 guy in game 7 of the ECF with Tatum down and he shrunk from the moment.

He didn't in last year's finals though. He just wasn't able to get us over the hump.

Jaylen in last year's Finals = 23.5ppg on 43% FG% 34% 3PT% and 81% FT% on good volume for a TS% of 54.4%. Jaylen also handed out 22 assists in 6 games for 3.7apg against 20 turnovers.

Those are not great offensive numbers. He was taking almost 20 shots a game along with 5 FTs a game to get those 23.5ppg. Not great efficiency, not good efficiency, just okay. And the AST:TO problems again.

He was the best Celtic in the series and single-handedly kept them in some games.

[RJ87]

“I would say Tatum is the No.1,” O’Neal said. “Use Brown to bring in a Brown-type player and then just do it like that. And then it will be good for Brown so that he’ll have the opportunity to be No. 1 somewhere, because he’s a No. 1 caliber player but I can tell that it frustrates him to be the other guy.”

O’Neal recalled his experience of an organization viewing him as a No. 2 option while he considered himself a No. 1.

“That affects you, it really does mentally,” O’Neal said. “Because I went from No. 50 and went to No. 1 and stayed for a long time. Then when I was in LA they tried to force me to be No. 2, but I was like, ‘nope, I’m the king’ and stayed at No. 1. Went through a lot of battles every year. Finally, they said ‘we’re going to kill the king in his sleep’ and they traded me to Miami.”

I agree. It looks to me as well that it bothers JB. That he has difficulty accepting his role. That he wants to breakout and do more. Take more shots. Score more points. Prove he can be more.

Reminds me of Kobe in those 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004 seasons next to Shaq. Kobe did not want to accept that #2 role. He kept fighting to prove he can the guy even though Shaq was clearly better than him like Tatum is clearly better than Jaylen. Jaylen doesn't force the issue as badly as Kobe did but he still has plenty of eye-roll moments with forcing the action / shot selection.

The funny thing is, Brown had an opportunity to show he could be the #1 guy in game 7 of the ECF with Tatum down and he shrunk from the moment.

He didn't in last year's finals though. He just wasn't able to get us over the hump.

Jaylen in last year's Finals = 23.5ppg on 43% FG% 34% 3PT% and 81% FT% on good volume for a TS% of 54.4%. Jaylen also handed out 22 assists in 6 games for 3.7apg against 20 turnovers.

Those are not great offensive numbers. He was taking almost 20 shots a game along with 5 FTs a game to get those 23.5ppg. Not great efficiency, not good efficiency, just okay. And the AST:TO problems again.

He was the best Celtic in the series and single-handedly kept them in some games.

He also had a couple of clunkers in the series (games 2 and 5 shooting under 30% in both games and both losses). He had a great game 6 so people base his finals performance on that. All of our guys struggled in that series, Jaylen included.

Sure. Jaylen could be a #1 guy, but not on a team that's winning a lot of games. He's too limited (Heat game planned to bait him into iso ball and force him to his left. Completely made him ineffective) and he struggles with playmaking, so he doesn't make players around him better.

[Goldstar88]

“I would say Tatum is the No.1,” O’Neal said. “Use Brown to bring in a Brown-type player and then just do it like that. And then it will be good for Brown so that he’ll have the opportunity to be No. 1 somewhere, because he’s a No. 1 caliber player but I can tell that it frustrates him to be the other guy.”

O’Neal recalled his experience of an organization viewing him as a No. 2 option while he considered himself a No. 1.

“That affects you, it really does mentally,” O’Neal said. “Because I went from No. 50 and went to No. 1 and stayed for a long time. Then when I was in LA they tried to force me to be No. 2, but I was like, ‘nope, I’m the king’ and stayed at No. 1. Went through a lot of battles every year. Finally, they said ‘we’re going to kill the king in his sleep’ and they traded me to Miami.”

I agree. It looks to me as well that it bothers JB. That he has difficulty accepting his role. That he wants to breakout and do more. Take more shots. Score more points. Prove he can be more.

Reminds me of Kobe in those 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004 seasons next to Shaq. Kobe did not want to accept that #2 role. He kept fighting to prove he can the guy even though Shaq was clearly better than him like Tatum is clearly better than Jaylen. Jaylen doesn't force the issue as badly as Kobe did but he still has plenty of eye-roll moments with forcing the action / shot selection.

The funny thing is, Brown had an opportunity to show he could be the #1 guy in game 7 of the ECF with Tatum down and he shrunk from the moment.

He didn't in last year's finals though. He just wasn't able to get us over the hump.

Jaylen in last year's Finals = 23.5ppg on 43% FG% 34% 3PT% and 81% FT% on good volume for a TS% of 54.4%. Jaylen also handed out 22 assists in 6 games for 3.7apg against 20 turnovers.

Those are not great offensive numbers. He was taking almost 20 shots a game along with 5 FTs a game to get those 23.5ppg. Not great efficiency, not good efficiency, just okay. And the AST:TO problems again.

He was the best Celtic in the series and single-handedly kept them in some games.

He also had a couple of clunkers in the series (games 2 and 5 shooting under 30% in both games and both losses). He had a great game 6 so people base his finals performance on that. All of our guys struggled in that series, Jaylen included.

Sure. Jaylen could be a #1 guy, but not on a team that's winning a lot of games. He's too limited (Heat game planned to bait him into iso ball and force him to his left. Completely made him ineffective) and he struggles with playmaking, so he doesn't make players around him better.

I tend to agree with this.

[SparzWizard]

Looks like Denver Nuggets and Milwaukee Bucks are early favorites to win 2024 NBA championship...let the next season talks commence!