Now DA should be on the hot seat

[ozgod]

And he just got Thompson.

Still wanna fire him?

Tristian Thompson averaged 12 and 10 on arguably the worst team in the NBA. He is 29, an absolute liability at the end of the game with his FT shooting.

So yes, I’m still on board with firing DA.

I don't want to demand a firing of Ainge.
But there isn't much reason to be thrilled with Thompson.
Clearly Turner is the younger and superior player, if he was on the table in a S-and-T with the Pacers we lost value.

What is worse is you traded a 1st and Kanter, your backup center who makes 5 million to now sign this guy to be a backup at 9 million. You lose offense for defense, lose a pick, plus pay more. The whole league is doing it the other way in paying offense and getting defenders cheap. DA should retire.

Thompson is a *lot* better than Kanter. At least as good a rebounder and garbage man around the basket, far more mobile.

For the money and the pick though? I'd much rather have Veron Carey Jr and Kanter than Thompson all day.

Really? You'd rather have 2 guys that might not even be in the rotation most of the year, than a impact guy who's gonna share starter minutes with Theis? I'm taking Thompson 10 times out if 10.

Thats the point Thompson isn't even good enough to get big minutes. So why not keep Kanter as a backup. Carey can develop into a younger better Thompson in a year or two that moves you closer to contention. Thompson doesn't move the needle towards that this year or next.

I'm just gonna have to disagree on that. He's definitely good enough to give us production, far more than Kanter and Carey ever will. You act as if it's a guarantee that Carey will even develop. Do you know the percentage of 2nd round draft picks that ever even become a role player? It's minuscule. We have a developing big man in RWIII. We don't need another one.

And you act like Thompson is a guaranteed fit. Go look at last year Kanter signing on this board. Thompson can be just as bad as a fit, he very much likes to sit in the paint and clog things, his out side shot isn't consistent or his defense. He has to be "locked in" to be good on D. We can very easily see Thompson benched at end of games, I very much expect it. So how is he a big upgrade over Kanter when they play so much a like? Being more mobile isn't enough it's playing fit. Baynes would have been better. Its a bad move as Thompson is getting paid almost double and it costed a 1st to move Kanter.

Because Thompson is playable against most of the league. Kanter isn't. That's all there is to it. You can say they're basically the same all you want, but that simple fact makes Thompson much more valuable. Brad has a good track record of getting guys to buy into playing defense, so I'm not very concerned on that front.

 
Not everyone buys into BS. We will see if Thompson brings it and fits or goes the way of Kanter.

I'd say a vast majority very much so bought into Brad's defense. In the past 5 years, we've been top 10 in defensive rating for 4 of those years. 3 of those years, we've been top 5. He even got Kyrie to play decent defense for a year, so I'm not worried. Even unmotivated, he's a flat out better defender than Kanter ever will be.

Kanter had his games on defense against the likes of Embiid and Jokic where he was lock down. Why there were so few always made me wonder.... nah he got lucky those games lol

Kanter's issues on D were never against the likes of Embiid or other bigs though, they were in defending against pick and roll or being switched on to perimeter players. That's where he turned into a turnstile because his lateral movement isn't good enough. It wasn't through lack of effort.

[libermaniac]

Rob Pelinka is running circles around DA

He’s got the easiest job in professional sports. Half the people on this site could do it. The strategy is trivial. Ensure that you have expiring contracts at the same time and wait for the superstars to decide to team up. Then use your exceptions and veteran minimums on ring chasers.

[Muzzy66]

And he just got Thompson.

Still wanna fire him?

Tristian Thompson averaged 12 and 10 on arguably the worst team in the NBA. He is 29, an absolute liability at the end of the game with his FT shooting.

So yes, I’m still on board with firing DA.

I don't want to demand a firing of Ainge.
But there isn't much reason to be thrilled with Thompson.
Clearly Turner is the younger and superior player, if he was on the table in a S-and-T with the Pacers we lost value.

What is worse is you traded a 1st and Kanter, your backup center who makes 5 million to now sign this guy to be a backup at 9 million. You lose offense for defense, lose a pick, plus pay more. The whole league is doing it the other way in paying offense and getting defenders cheap. DA should retire.

Thompson is a *lot* better than Kanter. At least as good a rebounder and garbage man around the basket, far more mobile.

For the money and the pick though? I'd much rather have Veron Carey Jr and Kanter than Thompson all day.

Really? You'd rather have 2 guys that might not even be in the rotation most of the year, than a impact guy who's gonna share starter minutes with Theis? I'm taking Thompson 10 times out if 10.

Thats the point Thompson isn't even good enough to get big minutes. So why not keep Kanter as a backup. Carey can develop into a younger better Thompson in a year or two that moves you closer to contention. Thompson doesn't move the needle towards that this year or next.

I'm just gonna have to disagree on that. He's definitely good enough to give us production, far more than Kanter and Carey ever will. You act as if it's a guarantee that Carey will even develop. Do you know the percentage of 2nd round draft picks that ever even become a role player? It's minuscule. We have a developing big man in RWIII. We don't need another one.

And you act like Thompson is a guaranteed fit. Go look at last year Kanter signing on this board. Thompson can be just as bad as a fit, he very much likes to sit in the paint and clog things, his out side shot isn't consistent or his defense. He has to be "locked in" to be good on D. We can very easily see Thompson benched at end of games, I very much expect it. So how is he a big upgrade over Kanter when they play so much a like? Being more mobile isn't enough it's playing fit. Baynes would have been better. Its a bad move as Thompson is getting paid almost double and it costed a 1st to move Kanter.

Thompson has the type of balance beteen size/strength/mobility that allows him to effectively match up against pobably about 90% of the bigs in the league.  He's tough, he's physical, he's been a solid defender his entire career, and hes not afraid to get on the floor and dive for loose balls.  He brings grit, toughness and championship experience that this team is desperately in need of.

Kanter might hold his own defensively agaisnt some of the bigger and slower guys in the league but make no mistake - he's been (statistically) one of the worst defensive players in the NBA his entire career.  Hell his lack of defensive ability was practically a running joke in the NBA for years.  I like Kanter's attitude and I like his offensive rebounding ant touch around the basket, but that rarely did much for the team.

Tristan Thompson has played in how many NBA finals games?  That experience in the locker room will be aof great benefit to our younger guys (Tacko and both Williams') who can learn from his experience and his stories.  That almost justifies the signing alone.  Throw in the fact that he was a double-double guy last year and is an above average defender and you already have a no-brainer upgrade over Kanter. 

If we're comparing which of these guys is more capable of producing, lets look no futher then their playoff history: 
- Trsitan Thompson has a career playoff average of just under 8 points and 9 rebounds in 30 minutes with an average net rating of +21. 
- Enes Kanter has a career playoff averagte of just under 5 points and 4 rebounds in 18 minutes wiht an average net rating of +7. 

Thompson also has a championship ring and has and has played in four teams that went to the NBA finals - most of which he has been a starter on.  That experience counts for something.

[Csfan1984]

And he just got Thompson.

Still wanna fire him?

Tristian Thompson averaged 12 and 10 on arguably the worst team in the NBA. He is 29, an absolute liability at the end of the game with his FT shooting.

So yes, I’m still on board with firing DA.

I don't want to demand a firing of Ainge.
But there isn't much reason to be thrilled with Thompson.
Clearly Turner is the younger and superior player, if he was on the table in a S-and-T with the Pacers we lost value.

What is worse is you traded a 1st and Kanter, your backup center who makes 5 million to now sign this guy to be a backup at 9 million. You lose offense for defense, lose a pick, plus pay more. The whole league is doing it the other way in paying offense and getting defenders cheap. DA should retire.

Thompson is a *lot* better than Kanter. At least as good a rebounder and garbage man around the basket, far more mobile.

For the money and the pick though? I'd much rather have Veron Carey Jr and Kanter than Thompson all day.

Really? You'd rather have 2 guys that might not even be in the rotation most of the year, than a impact guy who's gonna share starter minutes with Theis? I'm taking Thompson 10 times out if 10.

Thats the point Thompson isn't even good enough to get big minutes. So why not keep Kanter as a backup. Carey can develop into a younger better Thompson in a year or two that moves you closer to contention. Thompson doesn't move the needle towards that this year or next.

I'm just gonna have to disagree on that. He's definitely good enough to give us production, far more than Kanter and Carey ever will. You act as if it's a guarantee that Carey will even develop. Do you know the percentage of 2nd round draft picks that ever even become a role player? It's minuscule. We have a developing big man in RWIII. We don't need another one.

And you act like Thompson is a guaranteed fit. Go look at last year Kanter signing on this board. Thompson can be just as bad as a fit, he very much likes to sit in the paint and clog things, his out side shot isn't consistent or his defense. He has to be "locked in" to be good on D. We can very easily see Thompson benched at end of games, I very much expect it. So how is he a big upgrade over Kanter when they play so much a like? Being more mobile isn't enough it's playing fit. Baynes would have been better. Its a bad move as Thompson is getting paid almost double and it costed a 1st to move Kanter.

Thompson has the type of balance beteen size/strength/mobility that allows him to effectively match up against pobably about 90% of the bigs in the league.  He's tough, he's physical, he's been a solid defender his entire career, and hes not afraid to get on the floor and dive for loose balls.  He brings grit, toughness and championship experience that this team is desperately in need of.

Kanter might hold his own defensively agaisnt some of the bigger and slower guys in the league but make no mistake - he's been (statistically) one of the worst defensive players in the NBA his entire career.  Hell his lack of defensive ability was practically a running joke in the NBA for years.  I like Kanter's attitude and I like his offensive rebounding ant touch around the basket, but that rarely did much for the team.

Tristan Thompson has played in how many NBA finals games?  That experience in the locker room will be aof great benefit to our younger guys (Tacko and both Williams') who can learn from his experience and his stories.  That almost justifies the signing alone.  Throw in the fact that he was a double-double guy last year and is an above average defender and you already have a no-brainer upgrade over Kanter. 

If we're comparing which of these guys is more capable of producing, lets look no futher then their playoff history: 
- Trsitan Thompson has a career playoff average of just under 8 points and 9 rebounds in 30 minutes with an average net rating of +21. 
- Enes Kanter has a career playoff averagte of just under 5 points and 4 rebounds in 18 minutes wiht an average net rating of +7. 

Thompson also has a championship ring and has and has played in four teams that went to the NBA finals - most of which he has been a starter on.  That experience counts for something.

Sure all NBA defender Thompson is walking through that door...

[jambr380]

I made the mistake in reading this thread from the beginning. Wow - this is one of the most toxic non-CE threads I've seen in a long time. I appreciate all the people keeping a rational head about the situation. I am actually excited about next year, think we have a much more dynamic/playable bench, and am excited to see if DA pulls anything else out of his hat. Let's go Cs!!

[cman88]

the media is creating this ridiculous narrative that Gordon to Indiana was a done deal and Danny played hardball so he went to Charlotte and that guys like Horford/Hayward/Kyrie leaving boston are bad signs of the culture here. I heard it all day on 98.5 yesterday

If its true, then danny has no excuse. he had an obligation to get something back for hayward.

but no one ever looks at the possibility that maybe Charlotte gave him an offer he couldnt refuse. If Indy was supposedly only wanting to go at 4/100 with the 4th year being an option. vs. 4/120  fully guaranteed.

Much like Horfords large contract that turned out to be a disaster, we may find out that charlotte vastly overpaid for what they will get from hayward.

[wdleehi]

the media is creating this ridiculous narrative that Gordon to Indiana was a done deal and Danny played hardball so he went to Charlotte and that guys like Horford/Hayward/Kyrie leaving boston are bad signs of the culture here. I heard it all day on 98.5 yesterday

If its true, then danny has no excuse. he had an obligation to get something back for hayward.

but no one ever looks at the possibility that maybe Charlotte gave him an offer he couldnt refuse. If Indy was supposedly only wanting to go at 4/100 with the 4th year being an option. vs. 4/120  fully guaranteed.

Much like Horfords large contract that turned out to be a disaster, we may find out that charlotte vastly overpaid for what they will get from hayward.

And we still don't know what the actual trade discussion entailed.  It could have been as simple as the players back were not good enough to put the Celtics in or near the tax level limiting what else they could do.

[LilRip]

the media is creating this ridiculous narrative that Gordon to Indiana was a done deal and Danny played hardball so he went to Charlotte and that guys like Horford/Hayward/Kyrie leaving boston are bad signs of the culture here. I heard it all day on 98.5 yesterday

If its true, then danny has no excuse. he had an obligation to get something back for hayward.

but no one ever looks at the possibility that maybe Charlotte gave him an offer he couldnt refuse. If Indy was supposedly only wanting to go at 4/100 with the 4th year being an option. vs. 4/120  fully guaranteed.

Much like Horfords large contract that turned out to be a disaster, we may find out that charlotte vastly overpaid for what they will get from hayward.

Well, there might be truth to it. If the trade went down a day or 2 earlier, would Charlotte have had time to swoop in and get him? Would we be looking at a Turner/Thompson frontcourt plus Teague for the vet min right now? Idk

It’s entirely plausible that DA overplayed his hand. And it’s entirely plausible that how the Pacers-Celtics talks dragged on left GH with a feeling that he would lose any type of leverage to get a good deal. I mean, us fans were feeling the squeeze and panic because other teams were snapping up FA’s left and right, which meant that these teams were using up their available cap space. And we aren’t even part of the league!

Maybe GH felt like the more the talks stalled, the less options he’d have, and he might end up having to come back to Boston (a place he doesn’t want to play in anymore) for a contract he doesn’t even want either. I saw some similar posts on this board speculating this too.

End of the day, I think Hayward did what was best for him, his career, and his family. Maybe he saw that the two sides were so far apart in the negotiations and maybe that’s why his agent found him a deal with Charlotte.

[Sophomore]

the media is creating this ridiculous narrative that Gordon to Indiana was a done deal and Danny played hardball so he went to Charlotte and that guys like Horford/Hayward/Kyrie leaving boston are bad signs of the culture here. I heard it all day on 98.5 yesterday

If its true, then danny has no excuse. he had an obligation to get something back for hayward.

but no one ever looks at the possibility that maybe Charlotte gave him an offer he couldnt refuse. If Indy was supposedly only wanting to go at 4/100 with the 4th year being an option. vs. 4/120  fully guaranteed.

Much like Horfords large contract that turned out to be a disaster, we may find out that charlotte vastly overpaid for what they will get from hayward.

Good points. I’d say there’s one more reason it’s still too early to judge: Hayward hasn’t inked the contract yet, so it could be converted to a sign and trade. And if that happens we may well get something back for Hayward. I’m not among those who liked Turner. He didn’t seem competitive or physical enough, a modest upgrade over Theis at a premium price. I’m glad we didn’t get him.

[ozgod]

the media is creating this ridiculous narrative that Gordon to Indiana was a done deal and Danny played hardball so he went to Charlotte and that guys like Horford/Hayward/Kyrie leaving boston are bad signs of the culture here. I heard it all day on 98.5 yesterday

If its true, then danny has no excuse. he had an obligation to get something back for hayward.

but no one ever looks at the possibility that maybe Charlotte gave him an offer he couldnt refuse. If Indy was supposedly only wanting to go at 4/100 with the 4th year being an option. vs. 4/120  fully guaranteed.

Much like Horfords large contract that turned out to be a disaster, we may find out that charlotte vastly overpaid for what they will get from hayward.

I think that's already the consensus now. It was a big overpay, but because they're a small market team they will always have to do that to attract players. Whether it's an overpay that cripples them is yet to be seen.

[Sophomore]

Rob Pelinka is running circles around DA

He’s got the easiest job in professional sports. Half the people on this site could do it. The strategy is trivial. Ensure that you have expiring contracts at the same time and wait for the superstars to decide to team up. Then use your exceptions and veteran minimums on ring chasers.

Yeah. Pelinka’s most important moves - by a long, long way - were signing James and AD. His “brilliance” had nothing to do with either signing. Let’s see how this year’s moves turn out. KCP at $40m over three years is a lot, and I don’t think Harrell fits their team. In the end if LBJ and AD are both top-5 players again next year it won’t matter, but that team isn’t a masterpiece.

[Sophomore]

the media is creating this ridiculous narrative that Gordon to Indiana was a done deal and Danny played hardball so he went to Charlotte and that guys like Horford/Hayward/Kyrie leaving boston are bad signs of the culture here. I heard it all day on 98.5 yesterday

If its true, then danny has no excuse. he had an obligation to get something back for hayward.

but no one ever looks at the possibility that maybe Charlotte gave him an offer he couldnt refuse. If Indy was supposedly only wanting to go at 4/100 with the 4th year being an option. vs. 4/120  fully guaranteed.

Much like Horfords large contract that turned out to be a disaster, we may find out that charlotte vastly overpaid for what they will get from hayward.

I think that's already the consensus now. It was a big overpay, but because they're a small market team they will always have to do that to attract players. Whether it's an overpay that cripples them is yet to be seen.

And when you add having to waive and stretch Batum, the cost to them is astronomical. It’s a huge overpay. They should have used their cap space to take on bad contracts: get picks and stockpile assets.

[todd_days_41]

Typical overreaction — amusing:

The simple fact is, if a bad team with cap space was willing to offer what CHA did to Hayward, and he was willing to take it, some sort of IND deal likely wasn’t happening at the end of the day anyway. Do people think Jordan’s phone would have magically stopped working if Ainge and the Pacers agreed to some version of a deal on their end? It was up to Hayward — not Ainge.

Oh, and by the way, Ainge simply may not have liked a Turner / McDermott combo. With a Tatum extension coming, he has to navigate the hard cap and may prefer the large trade exception he hopes to get from CHA anyway.

This is not fantasy sports. Ainge has to make calls he believe in. He may not have felt an IND package without TJ Warren was actually desirable. And I’m fine with that if he has an alternative plan, because Turner is not exactly Bill Russell. 

[RodyTur10]

Kanter and Thompson are comparable players. Kanter is much better offensively, while Thompson is clearly better defensively. Both are extraordinary rebounders and fysical. Both are double-double machines (unless you only play them 10-15 minutes a game  ).

Thompson's playoff numbers are a lot better, but that might have something to do with playing alongside a certain LeBron James. (Timofey Mozgov had a great playoff-run as well with the Cavs, which handed him 64/4).

If I had to choose between: Turner (18M) / Thompson (9M) / Kanter (5M) + #30,
then Thompson would come last. I'm also afraid that Stevens will just use Thompson as a back-up center and in that case he won't provide much which Timelord can't do.

Some people also seem to have forgotten that Kanter had a good year with us. I'm not saying he's a huge loss, but I don't think Thompson is necessarily an improvement.

[Jvalin]

Ainge is possibly the best GM around the league in cap management. Can't remember the last time he gave away a bad contract. Maybe in 2012 to Jason Terry? Not that it was an albatross, but we probably overpaid him a (tiny) bit.

Ainge is simply unwilling to overpay. We could have kept Horford last season, but we refused to match Philly's offer. It was the right thing to do. I bet we could have kept Hayward too, but we refused to match Charlotte's offer. In a vacuum, Ainge is right. Hayward ain't worth a 4-year 120M contract. Problem is, we didn't seem to have a backup plan this season.

At the end of the day, I'm happy with Ainge running the C's. Obviously, he ain't perfect, but no one is anyway.