What should our team be focused on?

[__ramonezy__]

I think everyone, both fans and front office alike, are of the impression that we are just one star away from being a legitimate championship contender. But with how things are shaping up around the NBA, especially with the new CBA, that "one player" simply may not be available.

To begin with there were only a handful of players that would make us legitimate contenders, most of whom are now doubling down with their existing teams angling for the designated player contract. The others would probably make us a slightly better team, but definitely not contenders... this is where I put the Noels, Okafors, Gallinaris, etc.

The only "star" that may be available this trade deadline is Butler and he would be an awful fit for this team... especially with Bradley's improved offensive game. What seems more attractive  is the prospect of having a second unit with Zizic, Brown and possibly a Fultz/Giles/Jackson

So if our future prospects are brighter than our current options, should we still focus on contending or shift to rebuilding? I've said it before... we can't do both.

[PS: in our case the shift to rebuilding isn't about trading away our current stars, but developing our young pieces]

[droopdog7]

Yeah, we should be thinking about 2-3 years down the line rather than trying to win a title this year.

[Who]

It depends on what opportunities are there. It could go either way or Ainge could wait to make the decision further down the line.

[wdleehi]

Long term contending.

[makaveli]

the real question is, who are the impact players that are available right now, at a reasonable price of course.
after you take a closer look, there are only a few guys that maybe fit the description:
1. Davis
2. Coussins
3. PG
4. Butler
5. Griffin
6. Milsap
7. Anthony
8. Drumond
9. Okafor

I'm saying IT, Horford, Bradley and Smart are the untouchables, everyone else is tradable, and what does that get us.
A package of Nets picks, Brown, Crowder, Amir sounds like our max offer, is it good enough for Davis,Cousins, PG or Butler, right? that is the ideal scenario for me aldo i wouldn't take Coussins but what do i know.
The rest of the guys are clearly second Tier guys that don't have the same value and are not getting us over the hill, the hill being Cavs, GSW.
the good thing is, is that we have options, and the value of our assets ( Brown, picks, Rozier, Crowder) is only going to get better.
I have full faith in Danny, no matter what direction or course of action he chooses.

[Chris22]

Contending and then signing Noel and drafting Josh Jackson.

[CelticGuardian]

The team on the floor? Or the organization?

Because I hope the expectations are wildly different for both parties. I'm sure the guys on the team think they are better than their record shows and will look to win it all come playoff time.

In the front office, you can only hope Danny is watching more college games than he is Celtics games.

[PhoSita]

The luxury of having the Nets picks is that we can do both, at least for now.

It's not as if Jaylen Brown is languishing on the bench.  He's getting playing time.  Marcus Smart is getting playing time.  Terry Rozier is getting playing time.

Jordan Mickey isn't very good.  James Young stinks.  Zizic is overseas.  Yabu is overseas.

The Celts will get a top 5 pick from the Nets this year no matter how many games they win in the regular season.

It's likely the same will be true next year.


I don't see the downside here.


The only concern I would have over the next few years is that the team would trade away picks + young assets to go "all in" on a core that can't get beyond the ECF even in a best case scenario. 

Alternatively, I'd be worried about them spending all of their money on free agents before they run out of cap room in 2018, and ending up with veterans that need playing time who cannot be traded for value because of their contracts.

Really, though, I don't expect Ainge to do either of those things, because he's shown he's a competent GM.


The actual biggest concern I have is that the Nets picks, even though they end up high in the draft, won't turn into star caliber prospects.  Some of that is luck.  We can't control that.  Part of it is talent evaluation, and I'm not 100% sure about Ainge's ability to identify star talent in the draft.

We'll see, but there's no urgency right now to "pick a direction."