The Window is Closed...When will it open?

[Sully7]

Josh Smith compete really??  I wouldn't touch him with a 10 foot poll right now.  Unless you love being the 8th seed.

I actually added that last option out of sarcasm...clearly what I thought was foolish others think is a good move.

[rocknrollforyoursoul]

I've read the numerous discussions on Rondo and more importantly the future of the Celtics, but no matter what discussion we are having it seems what is most significant is when we think we can contend again.  If we are more then 3 years away then Rondo will be in his 30's and at best the open window will be short.  Does chasing mid-level stars like Josh Smith and Al Jefferson give us an opportunity or slow down the process?

Mid-level guys like Smith and Jefferson won't win us any titles; you have to have bonafide top-flight guys—at least two of them—in order to be a legit contender. Right now the Cs have good young pieces and good supporting pieces, and one top-flight(ish) player in Rondo. We won in '08 because Danny added two Hall of Famers to the one he already had, and we won't be a legit player again until Danny has added AT LEAST one player to go with Rondo, and it might require two.

If my research is correct, Big Al and Smith have a combined ZERO All-Star selections; they're not taking us to the promised land. And maybe my perception is skewed by having had KG, Pierce, and Allen all these years, but as I look across the NBA landscape, I don't see any "disgruntled stars" of their caliber who might be ripe for the picking in the next couple years. Guys like Love and Aldridge are good, but they aren't "KG good," "all-time-great good," you know what I mean? Seems like the only guys of that type who might still be young enough if we could snag them in the next couple years are LeBron and Durant, and I can't see us getting them. Guys like Nash and Kobe are past their prime and nearly done. There's Dwight, but he's hardly championship material in the mental department.

[LatterDayCelticsfan]

I`ve just posted this elsewhere on the forum. Simply saying we must have X superstars in order to win is putting the cart before the horse. On the other hand saying we must defend and score against the several types of lineup in the NBA at elite level, therefore we must add a particular kind of superstar, that makes more sense. Heck if we are sure that the talent we already have can collectively operate at elite level in the other aspects of the game, then the piece (or pieces) we add won`t necessarily have to be outright superstars to open a new window so to speak.

[blink]

I think we're at least 3-4 years away from having a nice young core similar to what the Pacers have now.  So then add another year or two to get a supporting cast in place and for that young core to cut their teeth in the playoffs.

I'd say 5 or 6 years from now we'll have a nice young team that can challenge some of the big guys.  Possibly a move or three away from being more than that.

In Danny I trust.

You really think it will take 5-6 years?  I think if it takes that long, then DA has made some mis-steps and might be looking for a new job at that point.  I know there is a lot of luck involved, but do you really think it will take that long?

I guess if you are assuming a complete roster turn over, us getting rid of Rondo, Green, AB and Sully, then yeah it may take 5-6 years to find a complete new team, draft them and get them experience.

If DA wants to keep RR, AB, Green, and Sully then I think that the 5-6 years is too long.  If we can't get things going in 2-4 years then we are sunk with this young core anyways.

[vjcsmoke]

I've read the numerous discussions on Rondo and more importantly the future of the Celtics, but no matter what discussion we are having it seems what is most significant is when we think we can contend again.  If we are more then 3 years away then Rondo will be in his 30's and at best the open window will be short.  Does chasing mid-level stars like Josh Smith and Al Jefferson give us an opportunity or slow down the process?

If we land Wiggins, the window is open in 2014.  ^_^

[PhoSita]

I think we're at least 3-4 years away from having a nice young core similar to what the Pacers have now.  So then add another year or two to get a supporting cast in place and for that young core to cut their teeth in the playoffs.

I'd say 5 or 6 years from now we'll have a nice young team that can challenge some of the big guys.  Possibly a move or three away from being more than that.

In Danny I trust.

You really think it will take 5-6 years?  I think if it takes that long, then DA has made some mis-steps and might be looking for a new job at that point.  I know there is a lot of luck involved, but do you really think it will take that long?

I guess if you are assuming a complete roster turn over, us getting rid of Rondo, Green, AB and Sully, then yeah it may take 5-6 years to find a complete new team, draft them and get them experience.

If DA wants to keep RR, AB, Green, and Sully then I think that the 5-6 years is too long.  If we can't get things going in 2-4 years then we are sunk with this young core anyways.

Well, you have to guess that it'll take 2-3 years of drafting in the lottery to get a young core of star quality players to build around.  Then you need another couple years for those players to develop and to put a supporting cast around them.  That's already 5-6 years.

No, I don't think we can just take the core we have right now -- Rondo, Bradley, Green, Sullinger -- and expect to have a potential contender if we just add another decent young talent or two.

I wouldn't be at all surprised if a few years from now, none of those players is on the team anymore.  Sullinger and Bradley are nice players but right now project to be decent role players and not much more.  Rondo will be on the tail end of his prime a few years from now.  Green is a nice complementary scorer and that's about it, and he's also be knocking on 30 a few years from now.