The media is leaving us for dead.

[SHAQATTACK]

Much of the TV/internet sports media is based in NY. The people that run these networks are NYers. Yankee fans. Knicks fans, etc. Plus NY is the biggest advertising market.

Who have blown the Knicks basketball way out of proportion to their success level.

It pays to  keep pumping hope into that crowd , no matter how dysfunctional the NY or LA teams are ... the major media is sucking up for all they are worth 24/7 only the great players play in those two markets .  Ignore small market cities doing well .

[apc]

The Lakers are being torched by the media on a daily basis.
Rumors will be rumors, I ignore them, they literally change every day.
If we get AD- great. if not i am excited to see our young core play.

[Moranis]

Right now every hot take has Irving going everywhere but staying in Boston, us not trading for AD for that very reason, and every other team in the league getting better practically. We go from the future of the East to nothing because of a single underachieving season with a logjam roster?

Honestly there's a chance we're tanking next season.  Things didn't work out at all.  Our roster lacks talent.  We're in a bad way.

Just because you keep saying this over and over doesn't mean it actually has any merit

Don't bother dude, he's gonna keep saying "we lack talent" in every single post

I found "25-35 win team" truly funny. I guess it makes him feel better

if Irving and Horford aren't on the team, how many games do you think Boston actually wins?

Naturally it depends on who we draft (I'd hope for a Little - Kabengele - Windler / Grant Williams - Leque quadrant from our picks) as they'd likely get significant minutes. LB loves to dismiss all prospects available for us to draft as worthless role players. Wonder if he thought that about the guys Toronto has drafted and picked up over the years.

But if Brad got that 2014-2015 team to 40 wins I reckon he could get that team to at worst 35. I think Hayward would absolutely return to form, and Brad has a history of leading underachievers.

well next year I don't think you can expect much of anything from the draft picks.  Every once in awhile you get someone like Donovan Mitchell, but even someone like Siakam, who has blossomed in his 3rd year, was averaging 4.2 ppg as a rookie.

I mean let's assume Rozier is back and no big name free agents come.  We can keep Baynes and Morris.

so

Rozier, Brown, Hayward, Tatum, Baynes with Smart, Morris, Theis, Williams and some rookies. 

I just don't think that team is very good.  Better than 25 wins, but pushing 40 would be tough.  Lacks a real top end scorer.  Terrible down low.  Just not a very good team.  I know some other moves would probably be made, but that team just isn't very good.

[PhoSita]

There's been whispers.  Supposedly he wants to win a title.  If Kyrie leaves, he's not doing that in Boston.  My shock level if Horford opted out and bailed would be about a 6 out of 10.

I agree that if Kyrie leaves and the Celts don't make a move for Davis or for a competent veteran replacement for Kyrie, it wouldn't be surprising if Horford decides to opt out or request a trade to a contender.

I wouldn't begrudge him that, either.


However, if Kyrie decided to leave and Ainge traded Hayward and a pick to Memphis for Mike Conley, for example, I suspect Horford would stick around.  Conley, Horford and Smart plus the young guns isn't going to win you a title but that team could be pretty good and fun.

[mmmmm]

Right now every hot take has Irving going everywhere but staying in Boston, us not trading for AD for that very reason, and every other team in the league getting better practically. We go from the future of the East to nothing because of a single underachieving season with a logjam roster?

Honestly there's a chance we're tanking next season.  Things didn't work out at all.  Our roster lacks talent.  We're in a bad way.

Just because you keep saying this over and over doesn't mean it actually has any merit

It has merit.  If Kyrie leaves - all bets off.  At that point, Horford might bail.  Could look to shop Jaylen for a guy with more years left on his rookie contract at that point... maybe use #14, #20 and #22 to trade up a few picks if we like someone around #11.  We'd just go full youth and wait for Tatum to develop while we ride out the Hayward albatross.  Possibly feed minutes to Time Lord as our new starting center.  Maybe 25-35 win team.  Tank for a top pick next year... hope to the basketball gods that Memphis doesn't go Sacramento on us and the 2021 pick ends up something tangible.  Maybe target the free agent class after Hayward rolls off the books.

The only way this team becomes a tanking team is if Wyc & Danny decide to tank.   Because losing Irving and Horford isn't enough to turn this into a lottery team.   So outside of those two, any other moves that turn us into a 'tanking team' would have to be deliberate by the Celtics.

And given that they'd still have 3 first rounders in THIS draft and possibly three over the next two years, there is very little reason for them to do that (tank).

[PhoSita]

Right now every hot take has Irving going everywhere but staying in Boston, us not trading for AD for that very reason, and every other team in the league getting better practically. We go from the future of the East to nothing because of a single underachieving season with a logjam roster?

Honestly there's a chance we're tanking next season.  Things didn't work out at all.  Our roster lacks talent.  We're in a bad way.

Just because you keep saying this over and over doesn't mean it actually has any merit

It has merit.  If Kyrie leaves - all bets off.  At that point, Horford might bail.  Could look to shop Jaylen for a guy with more years left on his rookie contract at that point... maybe use #14, #20 and #22 to trade up a few picks if we like someone around #11.  We'd just go full youth and wait for Tatum to develop while we ride out the Hayward albatross.  Possibly feed minutes to Time Lord as our new starting center.  Maybe 25-35 win team.  Tank for a top pick next year... hope to the basketball gods that Memphis doesn't go Sacramento on us and the 2021 pick ends up something tangible.  Maybe target the free agent class after Hayward rolls off the books.

The only way this team becomes a tanking team is if Wyc & Danny decide to tank.   Because losing Irving and Horford isn't enough to turn this into a lottery team.   So outside of those two, any other moves that turn us into a 'tanking team' would have to be deliberate by the Celtics.

And given that they'd still have 3 first rounders in THIS draft and possibly three over the next two years, there is very little reason for them to do that (tank).

What if Wyc and co. really want to own all the green teamers who thought the Celtics were a talented team on the rise?

Is that a valid motivation for tanking?

[celticsclay]

I don't really understand people talking about tanking next year. Do people realize that would mean Tatum and Brown are complete busts and we would have to be tanking for 3-4 years because they are not very good? Brown is entering his 4th year, Tatum his 3rd. If they are still bad enough that a lineup with them smart and hayward can't be a mid playoff team they are awful players.

[ObjectivityOverBias]

This is the same media that has been pushing him out of Boston from day one, with you all plus Boston media making their jobs easier. Ya'll bought everything they sold.

I think we all can agree that if Kyrie scored only 5 field goals, Boston would never beat Golden State like TOR did. As an outsider, what is clear to me is your team was never as good as many believed. Everytime Kyrie was not amazing, Boston lost. When Kawhi struggles, Toronto still manages to win, even in blowout fashion like last night.

Every team has a star & a sidekick. Who is Kyrie's dependable sidekick? There is no consistent second option. That is why you won a total of one road game last year.

Dame + CJ, Curry+Klay or KD, Russ+PG, Kawhi+Pascal, Kyrie+?

If your team is really better without him; will you all expect them to be one game from the conference finals like they were last year when he leaves? Then why continue to bring that up? Brad's team functions best when there are no expectations. if you never have any expectations, how good of a coach are you really?

"Hey, do the best you can, I don't expect much from you" You can only go up in this instance.

[PhoSita]

I don't really understand people talking about tanking next year. Do people realize that would mean Tatum and Brown are complete busts and we would have to be tanking for 3-4 years because they are not very good? Brown is entering his 4th year, Tatum his 3rd. If they are still bad enough that a lineup with them smart and hayward can't be a mid playoff team they are awful players.

Haven't you heard?  Brown and Tatum failed to make the All-Star team this year, so they're trash.

They were never really talented to begin with.

[Monkhouse]

This is the same media that has been pushing him out of Boston from day one, with you all plus Boston media making their jobs easier. Ya'll bought everything they sold.

I think we all can agree that if Kyrie scored only 5 field goals, Boston would never beat Golden State like TOR did. As an outsider, what is clear to me is your team was never as good as many believed. Everytime Kyrie was not amazing, Boston lost. When Kawhi struggles, Toronto still manages to win, even in blowout fashion like last night.

Every team has a star & a sidekick. Who is Kyrie's dependable sidekick? There is no consistent second option. That is why you won a total of one road game last year.

Dame + CJ, Curry+Klay or KD, Russ+PG, Kawhi+Pascal, Kyrie+?

If your team is really better without him; will you all expect them to be one game from the conference finals like they were last year when he leaves? Then why continue to bring that up? Brad's team functions best when there are no expectations. if you never have any expectations, how good of a coach are you really?

"Hey, do the best you can, I don't expect much from you" You can only go up in this instance.

It was supposed to be Irving + GH + combination of the Jays team, but I do agree with your points.

Hayward/Tatum completely sucked. Horford looked a step slow, and our ability to create offense through swinging the ball, and motion movement seemed non-existent. We also lacked mental focus on the defensive end.

[Rosco917]

The media understands that we're doomed if we sign Kyrie and doomed if we don't.

It's true, Kyrie needs a reliable sidekick. Does Kyrie want a reliable sidekick, is the question? Kyrie has a difficult time with trust. If we sign last years version of Kyrie Irving we have troubles.

Can Kyrie learn and mature is the question that needs be addressed before we commit hundreds of millions of dollars on him.

[Donoghus]

Even if the AD trade doesn't come to fruition & Kyrie walks, this team will still be too "good" to effectively tank unless you're talking extended injuries to multiple starters.   

And to be clear, too good, doesn't mean 50 or even 40 wins or anything.  Just not crappy enough to be at the bottom of the barrel.

[celticinorlando]

At this point build around Tatum and Brown.

Hope that Gordon returns to form and Al stays

Use the picks in some fashion to trade for a PG.

I do not think the East is much of a grind...every contender is going to have its roster issues

If Kyrie leaves, i would not waste all my young players and picks for one year of AD.

[jade88]

I hate to say it, but I'm beginning to really lose faith in this team from the top on down.


Danny plays it way too safe, he's so [dang] conservative. We could have had Paul George, Jimmy Butler, or Kawhi Leonard. Maybe even 2 of them. That's In addition to Kyrie mind you. We had the assets to get George or Leonard most notably and it kills me.

Now if this was all to conserve on ammo for Anthony Davis, than so be it. He's a special talent. It looks like the most position in the league right now is SF and he's content to wait on the kids.


That's my issue with the Brooklyn trade. I wanted to turn all of the kids into All NBA vets on disgruntled teams. We could have done it too. I just want the dual timeline thing to be over with, I want the kids gone.

[moiso]

I don't really understand people talking about tanking next year. Do people realize that would mean Tatum and Brown are complete busts and we would have to be tanking for 3-4 years because they are not very good? Brown is entering his 4th year, Tatum his 3rd. If they are still bad enough that a lineup with them smart and hayward can't be a mid playoff team they are awful players.

Haven't you heard?  Brown and Tatum failed to make the All-Star team this year, so they're trash.

They were never really talented to begin with.

I’ve also “heard” that although Tatum lacks talent on the Celtics he will average 25ppg for the Pelicans next year