What Danny Ainge needs to do...(FA signings & trades)

[CsBanner18]

Nobody is off the table when it comes to an offseason trade. Although, I'd say Marcus Smart is the closest to being untouchable.

If I'm Danny Ainge I start off by keeping Smart, Crowder, and Zeller.

Smart is a definite starter at either the PG or SG position. The only way he starts at SG is if Ainge signs an all-star caliber PG (Ty Lawson?) or Brad Stevens decides to start IT4 instead of having him be the 6th man.

Lets say one of the 2 latter occurs, this should result in Bradley coming off the bench. I am convinced that Bradley is perfect for a bench roll due to the way he plays. He finds his shot (the majority of the time) coming off of screens set by the PF or C. He can do this on the bench. Or since he's been coveted for the past year, Ainge could trade him...

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Now its time to sign a few free agents and make a few trades! Who Danny Ainge can sign as a free agent will alter who is made available for trade.

Here are a few free agents I believe the Celtics have a good chance to sign (In no particular order):

-Tobias Harris (SF/PF)
-Khris Middleton (SG/SF)
-Greg Monroe (PF/C)
-Danny Green (SG)
-Wesley Matthews (SG)
-Robin Lopez (C)

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If any of these players are signed, the following players become either trade bait, or expendable:

Brandon Bass
Kelly Olynyk
Jared Sullinger
Jonas Jerebko
Avery Bradley
Evan Turner
Gigi Datome
James Young (don't want to give up on him, but I'd trade him for the right price)

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Here's what I'd do:

1) Sign both Middleton (SG) & Harris (SF)
2) Sign Monroe or Lopez to play Center
3) Package a few of the above mentioned trade bait players for an upgrade in talent of a higher draft pick.

For example:

Olynyk, Turner, & Bradley #28 & #33 to DET in a sign & trade for Greg Monroe & the 8th pick.
Then pick Stanley Johnson if he's still available.

OR then we could trade #8 along with Sully to SAC for the 6th pick.

If for some reason, the assets above are not enough we can offer some of our future picks and opt to keep the 16th pick.

Select Willie "Trill" Cauley Stein out of Kentucky with the #6 pick!

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Projected Lineup:

PG: Smart/IT4
SG: Middleton/Smart
SF: Harris/Crowder
PF: Monroe/Harris/(Bass/Jerebko?)
C: Stein/Zeller

We'd still have the 16th pick. I'd go with Booker or Myles Turner if either are still available.
 
This lineup hinges on signing free agents, how the lottery goes, and making a few trades which lessens the chances of it happening, but I think it can be done!

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Recap:

IN via FA or trade: Middleton, Tobias, Monroe, #6 in 2015 drafts

OUT via FA or trade: Bass or Jerebko, Datome, Bradley, Turner, Olynyk, Sullinger, and picks #8, #28, & #33 in the 2015 draft.

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If Kevin Love suddenly becomes available we could opt to just trade Detroit for the 9th pick and not complete a sign & trade for Monroe. That would give us a lineup of:

PG: Smart/IT4
SG: Middleton/Smart
SF: Harris/Crowder
PF: Love/Harris/(Bass/Jerebko?)
C: Stein/Zeller

With so many assets and extra pieces on this team, I believe there are various combinations of FA signings or trades Danny Ainge could make to take the Celtics to the next level. This is just one idea.

Please let me know what you think...

[Evantime34]

I might be the only one, but I don't like Harris as a 3, would much prefer him as a stretch 4.

Also, I'm not sure it's likely that we can sign two restricted free agents. Signing Harris, Middleton, and Monroe would take us trading a lot of salary to other teams, which would probably cut into our stash of draft picks too much for my liking.

If we can sign Monroe, Harris or Middleton as well as move up to draft WCS I will consider this offseason a win.

[CsBanner18]

I might be the only one, but I don't like Harris as a 3, would much prefer him as a stretch 4.

Also, I'm not sure it's likely that we can sign two restricted free agents. Signing Harris, Middleton, and Monroe would take us trading a lot of salary to other teams, which would probably cut into our stash of draft picks too much for my liking.

If we can sign Monroe, Harris or Middleton as well as move up to draft WCS I will consider this offseason a win.

I kind of agree with your opinion that Harris should play the 4. I think he'd fit well playing either the 3 or 4 position due to his ability to create his own shot and rebound. I'd rather play him at the 3, depending on who our PF and Center is. I'm sure BS will play Tobias at the 4 quite often in small ball lineups since he can rebound and stretch the floor.

If I'm D. Ainge, I try my hardest to get both restricted FA's. If not I'd try and sign Wesley Matthews or Danny Green (maybe POR will try and low ball Matthews due to his injury).

But ultimately, I want WCS the most and would take either Harris or Midddleton. Make it happen Danny!!

[Evantime34]

I might be the only one, but I don't like Harris as a 3, would much prefer him as a stretch 4.

Also, I'm not sure it's likely that we can sign two restricted free agents. Signing Harris, Middleton, and Monroe would take us trading a lot of salary to other teams, which would probably cut into our stash of draft picks too much for my liking.

If we can sign Monroe, Harris or Middleton as well as move up to draft WCS I will consider this offseason a win.

I kind of agree with your opinion that Harris should play the 4. I think he'd fit well playing either the 3 or 4 position due to his ability to create his own shot and rebound. I'd rather play him at the 3, depending on who our PF and Center is. I'm sure BS will play Tobias at the 4 quite often in small ball lineups since he can rebound and stretch the floor.

If I'm D. Ainge, I try my hardest to get both restricted FA's. If not I'd try and sign Wesley Matthews or Danny Green (maybe POR will try and low ball Matthews due to his injury).

But ultimately, I want WCS the most and would take either Harris or Midddleton. Make it happen Danny!!

my problem with Harris at the 3 is he hasn't shown the ability to stay in front of perimeter players at this point in his career.

I'm a big Matthews fan but it's unlikely he is 100% this year, so I'm not sure I would be willing to dish out the money it will take to keep him. If we could get him at a reasonable cost, or he could show that he was ahead of schedule before we signed him to the deal then I would be all for signing him.

[CsBanner18]

I might be the only one, but I don't like Harris as a 3, would much prefer him as a stretch 4.

Also, I'm not sure it's likely that we can sign two restricted free agents. Signing Harris, Middleton, and Monroe would take us trading a lot of salary to other teams, which would probably cut into our stash of draft picks too much for my liking.

If we can sign Monroe, Harris or Middleton as well as move up to draft WCS I will consider this offseason a win.

I kind of agree with your opinion that Harris should play the 4. I think he'd fit well playing either the 3 or 4 position due to his ability to create his own shot and rebound. I'd rather play him at the 3, depending on who our PF and Center is. I'm sure BS will play Tobias at the 4 quite often in small ball lineups since he can rebound and stretch the floor.

If I'm D. Ainge, I try my hardest to get both restricted FA's. If not I'd try and sign Wesley Matthews or Danny Green (maybe POR will try and low ball Matthews due to his injury).

But ultimately, I want WCS the most and would take either Harris or Midddleton. Make it happen Danny!!

my problem with Harris at the 3 is he hasn't shown the ability to stay in front of perimeter players at this point in his career.

I'm a big Matthews fan but it's unlikely he is 100% this year, so I'm not sure I would be willing to dish out the money it will take to keep him. If we could get him at a reasonable cost, or he could show that he was ahead of schedule before we signed him to the deal then I would be all for signing him.

With Smart at PG & WCS at C, Tobias will be just fine. He's capable of guarding 3's. We play team defense so I don't think he'll be a liability at all.

As far as Matthews goes, I'd sign him to a 2 year deal for what I thought he'd be worth before the injury. The 2nd year I'd give him the right to opt out. If he plays up to his potential then I'd sign him to a multiyear contract once the new TV deal commences in 2016

[I told you so]

What Danny Ainge needs to do is pay no attention to the unrealistic proposals advanced on various celticsblog.com posts.

[smiggity]

What Danny Ainge needs to do is pay no attention to the unrealistic proposals advanced on various celticsblog.com posts.

Maybe good advice for you, too?

[CsBanner18]

What Danny Ainge needs to do is pay no attention to the unrealistic proposals advanced on various celticsblog.com posts.

I think you misspelled the letter I....but its okay, I know what you meant to say:

"I need to pay no attention to the proposals advanced on various celticsblog.com posts because I deem them to be unrealistic"

I think you also meant to give a reason why the proposed advances are unrealistic instead of just sounding like a negative Nelson??

Either way, none of these scenarios are unrealistic. Each of the players I mentioned could be given a max by the Celtics.

If ORL gets Winslow, they might not want to match a max for Harris. They also have Aaron Gordon...

MIL has Giannis Antetokounmpo and Parker will be back from injury. If we offer Middleton a max MIL might not accept because their still molding together a winning team. They got rid of Knight because they knew he was looking for a payday. They replaced him with MCW who is on his rookie contract.

[e4sym0de]

1) Harris & Midleton are RFA, therefore their teams can(and most likely will) match any offer which means, we cant sign them.

2) We do not have the requiered capspace to sign multiple max Free Agents like you propose.

3) In your proposed trade with Detroit, Detroit gives away the two most valuable assets, which makes it a horrible trade for them.

Sorry to say and no offense intended, but pretty much everything you would like Danny to do is either impossible or very unrealistic.

[CFAN38]

I might be the only one, but I don't like Harris as a 3, would much prefer him as a stretch 4.

Also, I'm not sure it's likely that we can sign two restricted free agents. Signing Harris, Middleton, and Monroe would take us trading a lot of salary to other teams, which would probably cut into our stash of draft picks too much for my liking.

If we can sign Monroe, Harris or Middleton as well as move up to draft WCS I will consider this offseason a win.

I think Harris does his most damage on offense at the 4 but can be started at the 3 and still play alot of min as the stretch 4. With Harris as a starting 3 I would then want to see a 3/2 in the Danny Green mold signed to come of the bench. This would allow the Cs to play Harris at 4 with good D and spacing coming from the 3.

If I was in DA's position I would leave the existing 3 guard rotation and focus on the front court. I would approach the front court with the idea of adding the single most talented player possible and building from there.

 

[CsBanner18]

1) Harris & Midleton are RFA, therefore their teams can(and most likely will) match any offer which means, we cant sign them.

2) We do not have the requiered capspace to sign multiple max Free Agents like you propose.

3) In your proposed trade with Detroit, Detroit gives away the two most valuable assets, which makes it a horrible trade for them.

Sorry to say and no offense intended, but pretty much everything you would like Danny to do is either impossible or very unrealistic.

There's no need to be offended. I appreciate when someone actually gives a reason for why they think something should or shouldn't be, instead of just bashing it.



1) We could steal either of those players with a max. We could also sign & trade for one of them. I think unrealistic should be considered for names like Jimmy Butler, Kawhi Leonard, & Deandre Jordan. Also, I did mention a few other names that were not RFAs...(Green, Matthews, Lopez)

2) We could sign Middleton & Tobias both a max if we trade Gerald Wallace. So lets just say I'm assuming he gets traded. For sake of clarification: Wallace & a future protected 1st to team B for basically the cap space (like Denver did to trade McGee). It has already been rumored that the Celtics are considering this. You know the Sam Hinkie will be waiting by the phone for that offer ready to accept.   

3) If your trading Detroit for Monroe, its in a sign & trade. Let's not overestimate the trade value Monroe has for the Pistons after he accepted the qualifying offer and said he's going to test free agency. I did say we could add more to the package if its not enough. Whatever is fair enough to make it happen. IMO Bradley is worth a mid round pick in the draft so essentially we're trading him to help match the salaries while getting to keep the 16th pick. Maybe I would add one of our 1st that turn into two seconds. Bradley, Turner, & Olynyk, the 28th & 33rd & that 1st would be enough.

[D Dub]

Here are a few free agents I believe the Celtics have a good chance to sign (In no particular order):

-Tobias Harris (SF/PF)
-Khris Middleton (SG/SF)
-Greg Monroe (PF/C)
-Danny Green (SG)
-Wesley Matthews (SG)
-Robin Lopez (C)

While it'd be great to land any of these players, the reality is that these aren't the most likely to sign with the C's, they are the top FA in the entire league.  Most will be retained by their home teams, & those that aren't will get to be picky.  No, I expect Ainge to get guys that aren't headlining ESPN's list of top free agents, but only after he's exhausted his trade options at the this years draft. 

My guess is Ainge's priority list looks something like this:
1- construct 3-team deal for Cousins by sending Lawson & picks to the Kings
2- s/t for Lamarcus Aldridge
3- wait out NYK's dumpster fire and trade for Anthony

Outside of that, reckon he's content to tread water and accumulate assets for a future opportunity at a cornerstone player. 

If you can make any of these happen this offseason, it dramatically alters the course of the team.  We could start to add cheaper sneaky 3D guys like Wes Johnson around either big, and potentially swap some picks for another veteran ball handler.

But should we strike out, I expect Ainge to keep us in limbo (so to speak) where we are looking to package picks and move up, draft the BPA, add assets, etc.  That way, we are in better position should (when) the Knicks situation gets worse and Phil is ready to cut bait on Carmelo. 

[Geo123]

1) Harris & Midleton are RFA, therefore their teams can(and most likely will) match any offer which means, we cant sign them.

2) We do not have the required capspace to sign multiple max Free Agents like you propose.

3) In your proposed trade with Detroit, Detroit gives away the two most valuable assets, which makes it a horrible trade for them.

Sorry to say and no offense intended, but pretty much everything you would like Danny to do is either impossible or very unrealistic.

+1