Am i the only one who isn't overly concerned about our core or draft picks?

[BlackCeltic]

I don't want to get rid of Smart or Brown because I love watching them play. I really enjoy the way Smart plays the game and I think Brown is the kind of electric athlete and scorer that we've been missing for a while.

I'm okay with trading away Bradley, Rozier, Olynyk, or pretty much anyone else (except for Crowder) and future picks to get a star. That said, the 2017 class has been highly touted for the last 2.5 years, and the 2017 Nets Swap looks to be particularly valuable. If there's such generational talent available in 2017, I'd be hesitant to trade away that swap. For example--if we trade 2017 for Boogie at the trade deadline, worst case scenario is that we get 1.5 years of Boogie and lose out on 8+ years of the next Superstar payer.

If I'm Ainge, I'm telling people that they can pick 4-5 of any of the following for an all-star:

IT, Bradley, Rozier, Olynyk, Mickey, Hunter, Yabu, Zizic, 2018 Nets 1st, 2018 Celtics 1st, 2018 Griz 1st, 2019 Celtics 1st, 2020 Celtics 1st.

If that's not enough to get it done, than fine. We're in a great position to go forward with what we have and develop our young players.

I agree 100% with everything said.

[mctyson]

I don't want to get rid of Smart or Brown because I love watching them play.

[boscel33]

Nope, I'm not either.  The Sox have always drafted and then traded and watched the players that were traded blossom.  I'd like to see the C's draft, keep, and develop!  GSW did this and look where they are.  Why can't the C's be in the same position in two years with a core of their young players.

[mctyson]

It seems like so many CB'ers are concerned about the Brooklyn picks and or our young core in every presumed or rumored trade thread.


I'd love some feedback on why we want to hold on to medial assets and players when a Superstar is out there?

The value of draft picks has never been higher given the explosion in the salary cap that we are witnessing.  These are guys that you can have on rookie level deals for 4 years, extend beyond, and keep you in your hands for possibly a decade.

You cannot do that with free agents, or free agents to be, or even veterans under contract for a couple years.  Would I rather have IT or Rozier to win right now?  IT, of course, a million times over.  But if you asked me what player is more valuable to hold on to right now, it is Rozier.  Why?  Because in two seasons IT is going to command Mike Conley money.  Are you willing to give a 5'9" 29-year old $150M over 5 years?  I am not, even if he deserves it (and he does.)

We are in the unique position that we have multiple 1st round picks in each draft for the next 3 years, with a likelihood of at least one of those being Top 5.  You don't just give those away.  Now more than ever.

[mgent]

I dislike the entire idea of "core" players for this roster. We don't really have any clear core players at this point, except Horford but he's older so not who people are talking about.

We don't have a "core" in the sense of a championship core who's just waiting on the right compliments, but I would say we have a decent little core on the perimeter in IT, AB, Jae, Smart, and Jerebko.

It was really our bigs rotation that hurt us more than anything else last year, so adding Horford to that core was a great step.  KO and Amir are both serviceable.

I wouldn't say any of those 8 guys are untouchable, but they're not the type of guys that have other teams calling Ainge and offering great assets/packages in return.  I'd trade any of them in a heart-beat if it's a clear upgrade, but I wouldn't mess with our group of ultra-scrappy players for anything less.  A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush, and we already know these guys play well together.
 
Jae, Smart, and KO especially are guys who we're better off waiting and seeing what they become vs. accepting their current value back in a trade.