Hold it with all the "tanking" talk

[Vegas Green]

As our team is currently constructed with Rondo, Jeff Green, Sully, AB, and others is a team that can win some games.  It may be enough to get an 8 seed or the Celtics may just miss out on the playoffs and have a very slim chance to get one of the top picks in the draft.

Danny might be in no-mans land as the roster is currently constructed.  Either trade off (gulp) Rondo and/or Green, Sully and AB or use some of those trade chips to get some real help.

Sorry, but the team as it is constructed has a shot of winning 30 or so games.  Not enough losses to guarantee us a legitimate chance at a top 4 pick

[rondohondo]

simple solution, keep Rondo and Sully out til xmas or january .

No point in trading away Rondo when his value is at an all time low, you can tank and keep Rondo at the same time.

[fantankerous]

As currently constructed, this team wins less than 30 games, even with a fully healthy Rondo and Sully to start the season.  It will be a historically bad team on offense.  We're a team with a huge talent deficit with pieces that don't fit together.

[Surferdad]

I don't believe tanking takes place except in a few rare instances.  OK hit me.

[Vegas Green]

I don't believe tanking takes place except in a few rare instances.  OK hit me.

I'm not suggesting the players willingly lose games, just that we will give our younger guys more playing time, and our starters won't be stars, but still, you can only hold Rondo and Sully out for so long.  Realisticly, both should be back by the beginning of the season unless one gets Derrick Rose disease

[Mr October]

How will this Celtic team score 95+ points per game?
How will they score in the  last 2 minutes of a close game?
Who is going to protect the rim?
Who is going to defend the Gasol, Hibbert, Lopez, Garnett, Duncan, Griffin, Howard, etc quality bigs?
Will Rondo and Sullinger come back healthy? And when?

If healthy, this looks like a 30 win team at best.

Scoring option order appears to be Green, Rondo, busted Wallace, Humphries, Bass.... and then a pupu platter of Bradley, Brooks, Sullinger, Olynyk, Lee, Bogans, Crawford... brutal.

[LarBrd33]

With a healthy Rondo, this team wins 25-38 games max.

But Rondo probably will not be healthy... or we'll trade him.  So we are most definitely tanking.  No need to "hold it".  That's the point of our moves.

[Celtics18]

With a healthy Rondo, this team wins 25-38 games max.

But Rondo probably will not be healthy... or we'll trade him.  So we are most definitely tanking.  No need to "hold it".  That's the point of our moves.

25-38?  Why not give yourself better odds at being right, and say 20-43?

[LarBrd33]

With a healthy Rondo, this team wins 25-38 games max.

But Rondo probably will not be healthy... or we'll trade him.  So we are most definitely tanking.  No need to "hold it".  That's the point of our moves.

25-38?  Why not give yourself better odds at being right, and say 20-43?

Because 25-38 represents late lotto.  43 is a playoff team.  This team can't make the playoffs.  But it could play well enough to barely miss the playoffs and get stuck with a #15 pick.

Also... we just won 41 games WITH Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce.  There is no way in hell we win 41 games without them.  KG was the epicenter of our defense... our team went from having one of the best defensive ratings in the league with him on the court... to one of the worst defensive ratings in the league with him off the court.   Pierce was our only consistent scorer who commanded attention.  I find it completely impossible that you could lose those guys and outperform our dismal 41 win season last year.  And not to mention... Boston was BELOW .500 until Rondo got hurt. 

[Celtics18]

With a healthy Rondo, this team wins 25-38 games max.

But Rondo probably will not be healthy... or we'll trade him.  So we are most definitely tanking.  No need to "hold it".  That's the point of our moves.

25-38?  Why not give yourself better odds at being right, and say 20-43?

Because 25-38 represents late lotto.  43 is a playoff team.  This team can't make the playoffs.  But it could play well enough to barely miss the playoffs and get stuck with a #15 pick.

Also... we just won 41 games WITH Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce.  There is no way in hell we win 41 games without them.  KG was the epicenter of our defense... our team went from having one of the best defensive ratings in the league with him on the court... to one of the worst defensive ratings in the league with him off the court.   Pierce was our only consistent scorer who commanded attention.  I find it completely impossible that you could lose those guys and outperform our dismal 41 win season last year.  And not to mention... Boston was BELOW .500 until Rondo got hurt.

My guess is between 35 and 45 wins.

[LarBrd33]

With a healthy Rondo, this team wins 25-38 games max.

But Rondo probably will not be healthy... or we'll trade him.  So we are most definitely tanking.  No need to "hold it".  That's the point of our moves.

25-38?  Why not give yourself better odds at being right, and say 20-43?

Because 25-38 represents late lotto.  43 is a playoff team.  This team can't make the playoffs.  But it could play well enough to barely miss the playoffs and get stuck with a #15 pick.

Also... we just won 41 games WITH Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce.  There is no way in hell we win 41 games without them.  KG was the epicenter of our defense... our team went from having one of the best defensive ratings in the league with him on the court... to one of the worst defensive ratings in the league with him off the court.   Pierce was our only consistent scorer who commanded attention.  I find it completely impossible that you could lose those guys and outperform our dismal 41 win season last year.  And not to mention... Boston was BELOW .500 until Rondo got hurt.

My guess is between 35 and 45 wins.

How did you feel about the trade?  If you think we're going to remain even by swapping Pierce + KG for Humphries and Wallace... you must be pretty ecstatic about getting three 1st rounders for dead-weight.  Because if you see this collection of talent doing BETTER than they did with KG and Pierce, you must have very little opinion of KG and Pierce.

[Celtics18]

With a healthy Rondo, this team wins 25-38 games max.

But Rondo probably will not be healthy... or we'll trade him.  So we are most definitely tanking.  No need to "hold it".  That's the point of our moves.

25-38?  Why not give yourself better odds at being right, and say 20-43?

Because 25-38 represents late lotto.  43 is a playoff team.  This team can't make the playoffs.  But it could play well enough to barely miss the playoffs and get stuck with a #15 pick.

Also... we just won 41 games WITH Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce.  There is no way in hell we win 41 games without them.  KG was the epicenter of our defense... our team went from having one of the best defensive ratings in the league with him on the court... to one of the worst defensive ratings in the league with him off the court.   Pierce was our only consistent scorer who commanded attention.  I find it completely impossible that you could lose those guys and outperform our dismal 41 win season last year.  And not to mention... Boston was BELOW .500 until Rondo got hurt.

My guess is between 35 and 45 wins.

How did you feel about the trade?  If you think we're going to remain even by swapping Pierce + KG for Humphries and Wallace... you must be pretty ecstatic about getting three 1st rounders for dead-weight.  Because if you see this collection of talent doing BETTER than they did with KG and Pierce, you must have very little opinion of KG and Pierce.

My estimate is based on Rondo (and Sullinger) being healthy, and on Danny making some additional moves to help bolster the lineup.

I am not ecstatic about the trade.  I'm fairly sad about it actually, but I am ready to move on and see what Danny comes up with for the future to build our next contender around Rondo. 

Eternally the optimist. 

[WedmanTellNoTales]

"Gasol, Hibbert, Lopez, Garnett, Duncan, Griffin, Howard"

Those are big men for some of the best teams in the league, what kind of comparison is that? This team isn't EXPECTED to be able to compete with the Nets, Bulls, Thunder, Clippers, Heat, Grizzlies or Nuggets and any suggestion we can is pure lunacy.

We're hurting but the over-reaction sounds like the people in March who were convinced the Red Sox were going to be cellar dwellers with an epically bad team.

, would you trade that for:
The question is who are we worse than? Would you trade
Olynyk-Sullinger-Green-Bradley-Rondo & 4 addtl 1sts for

Vucevic-Davis-Harris-Olidapo-Nelson?
Zeller-Biyombo-MKG-Henderson-Walker?
Noguiera-Horford-Korver-Williams-Teague?
Drummond-Monroe-Magette-Caldwell/pope-Knight?
Len-Morris-Beasley-Dudley-Dragic?
Valcuinas-Johnson-Gay-DeRozan/Fields-Lowry?

I'm not even sure I wouldn't prefer it to lineups like
Sanders-Mbah A Moute-Ilyasova-Reddick-Jennings
Noel-Moultrie-Young-Turner-Williams,

Last year the 9th best team won 31 games. 8 teams finished with 27-34 wins. That's the bunch we'll be in. That's not a bad place.

We don't have a completely dysfunctional lineup. There are issues, and without Rondo most of the season, we could be among the 25 win teams, but I think people are discounting how feeding someone the ball steadily can make anyone a scorer. If it can work for Ricky Davis it can work for Green. Bradley is, simply, the best on-ball defender in the league, better than Allen. I think the surgery, late start and loss of Rondo made for a lost season, but he'll bounce back, and it's hard to know what to make of Sullinger who played at a high-level in college and is basketball smart.

It's certainly not playoff roster, and Olynyk and Sullinger may never be more than 6th and 7th men, but if you can build a roster of solid pros, continue to hit on solid players with your draft picks (as Ainge largely has) you can always deal them for the one or two great players you need. At least it worked once....

[coco]

Unless he is pouting and asking to be traded, I wouldn't trade Rondo.  Good PGs are really hard to come by.  Rondo and JG are a good young start.  So, we have 2 really good young players.  After this draft - now we have length...including Melo, Iverson, Kelly O. Supporting cast still taking shape.  We need one more stud and we are  back in the game baby!

But got to keep Rondo.  Trading Rondo for a late first round  pick doesn't make sense. No matter how good 2014 draft is.