was rozier drafted just in case

[Csfan1984]

Many believed IT was worth more than an expiring and late first, hence their satisfaction with the trade. He proved to be a very good player this year.

It can be true that the Celtics got Isaiah for a good price and he was a good player for the Celtics this past year without it also being true that some other team is now willing to trade significantly more value for Isaiah.

The question here is whether Isaiah is worth as much to some other hypothetical team as he is to the Celtics.

Given what I've said above re: Isaiah being the #1 option in Boston, my answer is no, I don't think so.


If you think that's all over the top pessimistic, that's your prerogative.

I would say that is a different question all together. And one that is asked in dealing any player. The question referring to IT was on IT having value. Seems proven that he does. The question we should focus on is the op eluded to. Does Rozier open up the possibility of trading a guard?

We have no idea if drafting Rozier opens up that opportunity it because so far we have no idea of he's a rotation player in the NBA or not.

As for IT, the discussion was not whether has value to the Celtics, but rather whether he could be a major piece in a trade package for an upgrade elsewhere on the roster. My opinion on this is that he is unlikely to fetch a much greater return going out than he cost coming in. That's because I think he's a bench player, and I think other teams view him the same.

We absolutely agree of Rozier.

IT thing is hard because he is a good player off bench or not. If he is packaged with anything and it is an upgrade then IT will be spun as vital/major piece regardless of anyones opinion. We won't be able to win that argument especially how teams pump up acquisitions. In press conferences and the likes a team will sell IT as a key piece. In truth he turned out to be for Celtics push so it's not always not true either.

[ThaPreacher]

Rozier was drafted so that Ainge could trade Isaiah Thomas further down the road.

I don't really think this is how Ainge drafts.


I think Rozier was taken because Ainge went through his first, second, and third options -- trading up to the top of the draft (Okafor), trading into the top 10 (Winslow), trading a few spots up to take a wing with upside (Oubre) -- and found himself sitting at #16 despite his best efforts. 

At that spot, he went with the type of player he felt most confident projecting to the NBA: a shooting-deficient, defense-first combo guard.  In short, a prototypical Ainge pick.

In that situation, left with a selection of less than ideal options, the "best player available" was the one he felt most comfortable betting on to making it as a role player at the NBA level.

This exactly!  Phosita Phosure!  Spot On! TP! for my "amigo de fuego"

[tarheelsxxiii]

Many believed IT was worth more than an expiring and late first, hence their satisfaction with the trade. He proved to be a very good player this year.

It can be true that the Celtics got Isaiah for a good price and he was a good player for the Celtics this past year without it also being true that some other team is now willing to trade significantly more value for Isaiah.

The question here is whether Isaiah is worth as much to some other hypothetical team as he is to the Celtics.

Given what I've said above re: Isaiah being the #1 option in Boston, my answer is no, I don't think so.


If you think that's all over the top pessimistic, that's your prerogative.

I actually wasn't the one to call you a pessimist -- I've been labeled the same.

Agree IT probably isn't like to headline a package for an AS. Wonkier things have happened, and he can be a major asset for a lot of teams looking for a 6th MOY candidate to lead their 2nd unit's offense. Circumscribed role? Yes. Also one that could work for a lot of teams? Yes.

More realistically, he's probably somewhere in between -- trade value has increased since he came to Boston, still probably not moving the needle on a major move. Values can change rapidly, especially for guys on the fringe with questions about their character.

[jambr380]

Many believed IT was worth more than an expiring and late first, hence their satisfaction with the trade. He proved to be a very good player this year.

It can be true that the Celtics got Isaiah for a good price and he was a good player for the Celtics this past year without it also being true that some other team is now willing to trade significantly more value for Isaiah.

The question here is whether Isaiah is worth as much to some other hypothetical team as he is to the Celtics.

Given what I've said above re: Isaiah being the #1 option in Boston, my answer is no, I don't think so.


If you think that's all over the top pessimistic, that's your prerogative.

I actually wasn't the one to call you a pessimist -- I've been labeled the same.

Agree IT probably isn't like to headline a package for an AS. Wonkier things have happened, and he can be a major asset for a lot of teams looking for a 6th MOY candidate to lead their 2nd unit's offense. Circumscribed role? Yes. Also one that could work for a lot of teams? Yes.

More realistically, he's probably somewhere in between -- trade value has increased since he came to Boston, still probably not moving the needle on a major move. Values can change rapidly, especially for guys on the fringe with questions about their character.

The thing is, when IT received his $7M/yr contract, he was coming off a season where he averaged over 20PPG /6APG. Those are pretty gaudy numbers and he only received a very average contract. PHX knew what they were trading when they traded him to us (even with Dragic going to the Heat).

I suppose an argument could be made that IT went from putting up empty numbers for losing teams to being a central piece in an improving playoff team, but I still doubt we could fetch even a late lottery pick for him.

So basically I am in agreement, his value to us is probably quite a bit more than as a trade chip, but I am happy with that. Comparisons to Kyrie (stats) have been made before. Even being able to put those two in the same sentence should make Cs fans quite happy.

[guava_wrench]

I think this I over analysis.  I think Rozier was drafted because our GM thought he was the best player to take.

Pretty sure that is the complete answer.

The Celtics are not going to pass on better talent in order to make it easier to trade Smart. They picked who they liked.

[KG Living Legend]

Yeah. Reports were Ainge and the Celtics loved Rozier, his freshman year. Then he exploded in points per game his sophmore year.
 And we reached for him a tiny bit on the draft so we obviously really like him.