The Celtics' search for a star

[greece66]

It is not futile. The idea is to slowly improve the talent of the team through smart moves, generate trade exceptions, and collect more assets. At some point, the opportunity will arise to acquire one or more difference-makers type players. That is how to build a team.

Thank you. TP.

[td450]

So why were the Celtics as successful as they were? I believe the heart of this team is the combination of Smart, Bradley and Crowder. We got rid of two more talented players who didn't play hard every night, and instead played each of these guys 25-30 minutes. This gave us players at the one, two and three that was one of the top 6 or so best defenders in the league at their positions. They played ferocious defense and they were all competent offensive players who had to be guarded out to the three point line.

We also had Zeller, Bass and Jerebko, who complemented that identity. They were solid, flexible defenders who could also make shots. The job of the remainder of the roster was to interject what the core couldn't, which was more advanced offensive creativity and production, without screwing up the defensive identity of the team. Stevens was a talented enough coach to pull this off.

Unfortunately, this is a careful balancing act. It was no coincidence that when Sullinger went down, it didn't matter. We can only give so many minutes to any of the one way guys before the team identity breaks down. It's fun watching IT out there, but it comes at a cost.

I personally hope we continue to build on this identity instead of compromising it to get some offensive talent. That's why I think we should do whatever it takes to get a top 5 pick and nab Winslow. He's one of the best wing defensive prospects I've ever seen, and he has big time offensive potential too. And he plays with attitude. He fits the team identity perfectly.

I like Thomas, Sullinger, KO and Turner, but to me they are just pieces.

[PhoSita]

So why were the Celtics as successful as they were?

Depth, effort, quality coaching, a spread-it-out style that forced undisciplined opponents to rotate and defend the perimeter, and having a team that was unfamiliar to most opponents.

[LooseCannon]

So I suppose the Nets and Hornets simply didn't try hard enough to win this year, huh?  Same with the Pacers?  The Kings and Suns, too ... clearly they just didn't want to win badly enough.

I think with those teams they did indeed try. But neither of them had the upheaval we did in getting their top 2 players traded.

BOS overcame that, CBS righted the ship, and we were on our way.

Next season, with the roster as is, we won't have to worry about those upheavals. Indy and other teams will be better, but so will we.

I expect TOR to falter a bit, NY to still flounder, and - unfortunately - some Star(s) in our conference WILL get hurt, which will help our rankings. This is happening every season, it seems.

Toronto may actually blow it up this summer and rebuild, we could realistically win the division next year.

If they did that, maybe we could snag Amir and Val? Those two could help us up front.

Amir Johnson is a free agent.  Jonas V is probably a player they want to hang on to if they rebuild.

[Hemingway]

There are a lot of maybes this offseason. We have an outside chance at a lot of guys and trades, hopefully one or two of these long shots will come through. If we don't get lucky, I expect we can at least broker a trade similar to getting Zeller and Thorton for free last summer.

The cap increases in 16 and 17 really scare me. Normally we could just wait it out, eventually we would have the best deal when a star is getting traded. But now, every team is getting a ton of cap help. So teams that don't look good next year are going to have a hard 2 years.

Though cap is going up so is the max contract rates. 1/3 or even possibly 2/3 of the league won't have the kind of $ to sign a new max rate player in 2016. C's should remain patient in their spending if they don't land big FA they can afford two (maybe guys that want to pair up) max players next offseason.

This may be true but a lot of teams will be in position to make a minor cap move and then have max space open if they want it next summer.

[Hemingway]

I say the best course of action is to do exactly what we did last off-season. Absorb unwanted contracts (1 year max) and collect picks/ other assets. IMO many teams will be trying to move around unwanted contracts in order to get FA's because of the cap going up. Hopefully the unwanted players we get will be good/great locker room guys ala Wallace and we can use them to help our younger guys while also boosting their stock (Thornton).

In the Draft we trade Avery or + another for a 9-12 pick and get Myles Turner. Then later in the round draft Cliff Alexander. If Upshaw measures a longer wingspan and standing reach than originally thought then we draft him as well. Aleksnader V from Greek league is also another 2nd rounder we can grab.

Am I the only one who sees a vicious circle here? Trade talent for more draft picks, and once the draft picks prove their talent, we trade them for more picks etc...

I see it too, but its not so bad. We draft and develop, but at some point we have to make a decision based on if their new contract would make them an asset or a liability. We decided to keep AB. Sully is up next. It wouldn't surprise me at all if Danny trades Sully for a 1st at some point. If he doesn't believe in him then he can look at it as he simply transferred a 1st round pick to 5 years later and got some cheap decent production over that time.

The general "vicious circle" idea sounds bad because it sounds like you become a "treadmill team." But getting a star takes time and a lot of it is out of Danny's control. As long as we always have the flexability to take on a star and are always increasing our assets we are ok.

[Celtics18]

Right now, I would say the only players we have with star potential are Kelly Olynyk and Marcus Smart.

Luckily, we seem to be in a decent position to pick up more stars or potential stars.  We have some cap space and tons of draft picks. 

We're in a decent situation.

[greece66]

@Celtics18
Kelly can be really good if he gets stronger and learns to play D and rebound. These are a lot of ifs for a player who is already 23. I can see he becoming a solid rotation player, but a 'star' is probably a long shot.

Smart has a lot of potential. I mean, you never know how a player will develop in the long run, but so far he's shown both skill and great character.

Consider also James Young. This is the year when his skills will really be put to the test.

Anyway, as you say, we are in a decent situation. Most journalists predicted us to finish below 25th and we ended being the 7th seed in the East. We have plenty of picks, salary cap, trade exceptions, a bright coach that excels at developing talent, one of the best GMs. We just need time.

[Ilikesports17]

Right now, I would say the only players we have with star potential are Kelly Olynyk and Marcus Smart.

Luckily, we seem to be in a decent position to pick up more stars or potential stars.  We have some cap space and tons of draft picks. 

We're in a decent situation.

Id say smart and young have star potential and sully has close to star potential if his body is right and he can have a Paul milsap like improvement in his 3 pt shot(neither is likely)

I've been up and down on Kelly. I hated the pick initially by every once in a while he shows yu the immense offensve ability he possesses. He's improving on D but he would need to make an unprecedented change in both mentality and strength to become a star

[Ilikesports17]

@Celtics18
Kelly can be really good if he gets stronger and learns to play D and rebound. These are a lot of ifs for a player who is already 23. I can see he becoming a solid rotation player, but a 'star' is probably a long shot.

Smart has a lot of potential. I mean, you never know how a player will develop in the long run, but so far he's shown both skill and great character.

Consider also James Young. This is the year when his skills will really be put to the test.

Anyway, as you say, we are in a decent situation. Most journalists predicted us to finish below 25th and we ended being the 7th seed in the East. We have plenty of picks, salary cap, trade exceptions, a bright coach that excels at developing talent, one of the best GMs. We just need time.

Hey look at that we said basically the same thing at the same time

It's a Christmas miracle!

[greece66]

@ Ilikesports17
Great minds think alike.

[Celtics18]

About the Kelly thing, I agree that he has to toughen up a bit.  I guess I just don't think it's that unlikely that he'll be able to get tougher.

We'll see.