Waituntilnextyear?

[Fred Ziffel]

Before 2004 this was what people said about the Red Sox.  Now there are a ton of excuses/reasons for the Celtics to wait.  First it was we must wait for Lebron to get out of the east.  Then it was Jaylen and Jason are young.  Now it is we will be hard capped.  When will be the right year, month, day, minute when we are all in.  I hate to bring this up but IT'S TIME TO GO FOR A CHAMPIONSHIP.

[mobilija]

For the past 5 or so years many people called each year a "bridge" year while we waited for Danny to pick a direction, youth or vets? He straddled that line and finally this year there is a clear direction. The youth look good and are growing fast!

That being said....this is more of a bridge year than any other in the past handful of years. Our roster has a lack of full grown players, lots of inexperience and even tho we have a big shiny TPE to use to strengthen our roster, I doubt its enuff to push us over the top. We certainly could make a move to edge us closer to being true contenders but i fear it will all be for naught unless it's a move that sets us up for next year also.

This team needs this year of growth, maybe add some talent w the TPE but it really needs a full off season to shape the roster for a championship run.

I guess what I'm saying is...this isnt the year to push all the chips on the table and go all in. Should we try and strengthen our position and get some higher quality players? Of course! But next year should be the true and full opening of that championship window. Just dont think we have all the cards this year.

[NKY fan]

For the past 5 or so years many people called each year a "bridge" year while we waited for Danny to pick a direction, youth or vets? He straddled that line and finally this year there is a clear direction. The youth look good and are growing fast!

That being said....this is more of a bridge year than any other in the past handful of years. Our roster has a lack of full grown players, lots of inexperience and even tho we have a big shiny TPE to use to strengthen our roster, I doubt its enuff to push us over the top. We certainly could make a move to edge us closer to being true contenders but i fear it will all be for naught unless it's a move that sets us up for next year also.

This team needs this year of growth, maybe add some talent w the TPE but it really needs a full off season to shape the roster for a championship run.

I guess what I'm saying is...this isnt the year to push all the chips on the table and go all in. Should we try and strengthen our position and get some higher quality players? Of course! But next year should be the true and full opening of that championship window. Just dont think we have all the cards this year.

I think we need to preserve our draft picks and if possible roll over some picks into the future. I will be completely fine trading away some of our rookie contracts as substitute for picks as I don’t think they have high ceilings . Brad is squeezing the max out of them and with the exception of Pritchard everyone else is not that great. Like Grant will have got shooting stretch then become invisible and DNP. TL will have insane blocks then the next play score own basket. Nesmith can’t even sniff playing time and Romeo is injured as usual. Any of these guy plus Carsen can go for an ok role player

[Fred Ziffel]

I disagree. Kemba's knee will not be better next year.   Brown developing knee problems?  Hopefully not.  Will Tatum be OK waiting year after year for the Celtics to put a legit team around him.  He is signed but if he decides he wants out the player usually gets their wish.  What we have to wait for Durant to retire?  You never know what might happen next year.  You can't decide on paper when it's time to pursue a championship.

[W8ting2McHale]

To me this falls under the True Contender Myth.

Every year a couple of teams get anointed as True Contenders, but they are only really that on paper. Last year is was the Bucks and Lakers. The Lakers made it, did the Bucks?

Neither the Celtics nor the Heat were considered True Contenders, but who were the two teams playing in the ECF? In my opinion any team playing in the ECF or WCF is a Contender. No team has ever won a championship that hasn’t made it to the championship. The Celtics were close, and it hurts that we didn’t beat the Heat, but they were contenders last year.

Could they have beaten the Lakers last year? We’ll never know, but they were in contention even if they didn’t get the trophy.

My point is that the Celtics are not True Contenders on paper. They were not True Contenders any of the 3 out of the last 4 years they played in the ECF, yet every team that plays in the ECF or WCF are the teams that are actually contending for a championship, not the paper tigers knocked out in the first or second round.

The Celtics can be in the finals this year, just like any of the other teams that make the playoffs, even if the aren’t True Contenders on Paper, because the contenders are the ones that actually win the games. The Celtics have been knocking on the door, and I will be happy to see them kick it in this year if they do. They just need the opportunity.

Writing them off because they don’t look like the best team in February is the wrong approach. At least to me. Celtics fan since 1973.

[Atzar]

I've stated this elsewhere, but my opinion is that we were contenders for the last three years.  For a variety of reasons, it didn't work out for us.  It is what it is. 

This year, we're no longer contenders.  Tatum and Brown are learning how to lead.  Our bench is full of young players who are not finished products.  We could probably try to trade several of them for immediate help, but that doesn't magically morph the Jays into guys who can carry a team to a championship.  That particular transformation takes time, and there's no shortcut. 

If/when that happens, this window opens again.  Until then, pushing all of our chips to the center of the table is just a good way to run out of chips.  Of course you stay opportunistic... but I'm not looking for aging vets like Tucker or rentals like Lowry.  We need to be looking for guys who will be ready when the Jays are.  Those aren't exactly the easiest pieces to acquire.

[hwangjini_1]

I disagree. Kemba's knee will not be better next year.   Brown developing knee problems?  Hopefully not.  Will Tatum be OK waiting year after year for the Celtics to put a legit team around him.  He is signed but if he decides he wants out the player usually gets their wish.  What we have to wait for Durant to retire?  You never know what might happen next year.  You can't decide on paper when it's time to pursue a championship.

i never realized that all that stood between the celtics and a championship was choosing to win it now.

[Fred Ziffel]

You do make the decision whether you are going all in by how aggressive you are during the trade deadline period.  Actions speak loudly. I'm looking for Danny to be very aggressive.  Danny hasn't done anything for along time during the season. He hasn't helped the team going into the playoffs. Time to make a big move. 

[nickagneta]

Think maybe we should wait until at least the day after the trade deadline before declaring this team contenders or not?

The Celtics have played a whole 8 games at home. They have played a ton of games versus playoff caliber teams. This team hasn't had it's full compliment of players healthy all year. No supporting roles have been established because Stevens has not had everyone available and the chemistry is still lacking because of the need for constant tinkering with lineups due to players coming off and on the injured list.

People need patience with this team. Let it get healthy. Let it mature. Let it develop. And let Ainge have the opportunity to add better options. Give it time. Come the day after the deadline in late March, we should know a lot more about just how far this team has the possibility to go.

[greg683x]

I think sometimes people forget that Danny’s had the rug pulled out from under him twice now when it comes to making a leap forward.  The first time it was Anthony Davis forcing his way to LA and the second time was the whole Kyrie Irving mess. Having to go back and rethink your whole plan is going to delay things

[mobilija]

Think maybe we should wait until at least the day after the trade deadline before declaring this team contenders or not?

The Celtics have played a whole 8 games at home. They have played a ton of games versus playoff caliber teams. This team hasn't had it's full compliment of players healthy all year. No supporting roles have been established because Stevens has not had everyone available and the chemistry is still lacking because of the need for constant tinkering with lineups due to players coming off and on the injured list.

People need patience with this team. Let it get healthy. Let it mature. Let it develop. And let Ainge have the opportunity to add better options. Give it time. Come the day after the deadline in late March, we should know a lot more about just how far this team has the possibility to go.

The front office doesnt have the luxury if waiting till after the deadline...so we, as arm chair gms, also get to evalutate and talk about what we would do with the team throughout the season. Sorry, people are gonna debate these things wether u think its too soon or not.

As currently constructed, this team has a punchers chance to make it to the Finals. Weve seen em go toe to toe w most of the top teams. But in a 7 game series, i wouldnt put our chances as very high. IMO the team should be evaluating and constructing a roster that has more than just a punchers chance for the next 5yrs. So that means, continue to develop our young bench/role players in the hopes that in the off season they become tradeable commodities or useful to us. It also means not using the TPE on a "this year rental", for example Oladipo. But instead have the TPE for a cornerstone player for the next several years. Furthermore, we gotta stay under the tax this year to push that window open further in the future. This team has potential but rushing the process for a quick fix this year (when our chances look less optimal) would be a bad plan. Lets use this year to increase our chances for the next half a decade.

[JBcat]

I think sometimes people forget that Danny’s had the rug pulled out from under him twice now when it comes to making a leap forward.  The first time it was Anthony Davis forcing his way to LA and the second time was the whole Kyrie Irving mess. Having to go back and rethink your whole plan is going to delay things

Also Horford leaving (probably a blessing in disguise considering his salary), and then Hayward leaving.  Hayward would be really helpful to this team right now. 

As Nick said though be patient.  We haven’t had our full team together that much at all (now Smart out), and we have the big TPE to use, even if we don’t use it by the deadline we can use it in the off-season.

It sure would be nice though if Kemba started playing better.

[wdleehi]

It doesn't matter if they are labeled a contender or noncontender by the media and the fans.


It only matters is if the team sees a way to improve itself this year and/or in the future.   But the team only has so much control over that because it also needs another team that see the opposite move as there way to improve.