Who plays PG if Kemba is traded? (split)

[Jvalin]

I don't see this hole at PG if Kemba leaves. Pritchard is ready to start now. Right now. He will be a top 20 if not top 15 PG in the league as soon as next season.

We already have our replacement at PG.

I love Pritchard's game. His steadiness, his decision making, his shooting chops. Useful enough on defense. Just a solid all-round PG with excellent outside shooting.

Me neither, but mostly because I'm very high on Smart. I believe Pritchard is a solid role player (at least for now). He's a terrific shooter + ball handler. He's an OK passer. He ain't explosive/tall enough to consistently create his own shot. He scores most of his points as an off-ball shooter. Nice back-up option, that's for sure. He may become a decent starter down the road. Nothing special though.

Similar descriptions could be made of players like Derek Fisher.

Being a strong team offensive weapon is a major asset for a role player when placed next to star players. That is what Pritchard brings to the table. They are very few role player PGs who can handle the ball, make strong decisions, setup the team and hit outside shots at the levels that Pritchard can.

Pritchard doesn't need to be a star to be a long term fixture at starting PG.

Don't get me wrong, he's certainly a useful player to have. I just think we can easily replace what he brings to the table. Most PGs are reliable ball handlers and decent shooters. Pritchard is pretty good at both these things, but we can easily find someone else who provides a similar package (with better defense as well).

Can we find another Marcus Smart? Nope, I don't think so. Smart is a unique player. Pritchard is just a useful one. At least this is how I see it.

I have to disagree with this.  if this was so easy to replace, we'd have someone better than Teague backing up Kemba.  Smart doesn't provide what Pritchard provides in terms of shooting, ball handling and passing.   Add Edwards and Waters in the mix on this for not being able to provide what Pritchard provides. 

Pritchard's no all-star but he's bringing abilities to this team that the other PGs are not.

Just because we don't have a similar player right now on the roster, it doesn't mean that it would be difficult to find one. You want an example? Tomas Satoransky. He can do everything Pritchard does, plus he's 6 inches taller, hence he's a way more versatile defender.

If you ask me, I believe Smart is a way better passer than Pritchard. I would argue he's the best passer on our team.

I completely agree with this.  Smart has terrific court awareness and is deceptively good at misdirection to create space for passes.  He doesn't have Pritchard's handle, but he would absolutely be a superior starting option to Pritchard.  Peyton has been a very pleasant surprise, and is fine value on a rookie scale deal for the role he provides, but he's replaceable.

prior to this year, I would have agreed but this year Smart's passing has been haphazard and off the mark more often than not.  trying to hard to make the flashy pass rather than the basic fundamental pass that will get the job done with a lot less risk of being off target or turned over.

While there's no way to truly analyze this, I would say that this is unlikely to actually be true.  What I can do is point to this wonderful data from the nba stats page:
https://www.nba.com/stats/players/passing/?Season=2020-21&SeasonType=Regular%20Season&TeamID=1610612738&sort=PASSES_MADE&dir=1&PerMode=Totals

Smart has made an identical number of passes this season as Pritchard -- 946, in roughly 70 fewer minutes.  Smart's passes have led to assists 11.5% of the time, compared to 7.9% for Pritchard, or roughly 50% more frequently.  Further, only two Celtics have a higher percentage, Jaylen and Tremont Waters.  Jaylen passes 20 fewer times per game than Smart, so he's not throwing passes at the same frequency, and Waters' numbers are obviously not comparable given what type of minutes they're getting.  So this year, it's probable that Smart is the best passer.  Further, last year he earned assists on 11.3% of his passes, so slightly below this season (but he also led the team), and turned the ball over the same 2.6 times per 100 possessions, so there's nothing that says he's obviously making worse passes.

Smart has been very consistent in this passing for the last 5 seasons, posting marks between 10.7-11.5 percent, and has led the team amongst regulars three of those 5 seasons (behind Jaylen this year and Kyrie two years ago).  He's been the Celtics most reliable passer over the last 5 years.  (As a side note, Jaylen's 13.3% rate was bested only by Rondo for the C's since the advent of this stat, and nearly double last year's 7.4%.  I've felt that his step forward in being a facilitator this year has been often undercounted on this board, but upon seeing this rate I feel even I have been guilty of that.)

That's pretty eye opening about Jaylen, wow! Had no idea he'd been getting that many assists of so few passes actually thrown.

I wonder if that means he needs to pass it more, or if he doesn't have the ball enough...

I've been very vocal about Jaylen's qualitative improvements this season and yeah his passing has become quite good - he flubs some deliveries but the way he plays is just so conducive to creating good looks for teammates: quick and decisive attacks combined with excellent physical tools makes a player so good at taking advantage of defences by forcing defenders to ping pong all over the court to make life difficult for a Jaylen-led offensive possession. As I said it's baffling how Stevens isn't utilising Brown as a 1B option to Tatum's 1A at the very least.

He's battling with tendonitis. He ain't 100% healthy to be constantly attacking the basket. It's only logical that he's relying on his teammates more often than he used to. Hopefully, he'll still show an increasing willingness to pass the ball once his tendonitis goes away. He may become a better/more willing passer because of this.

[Celtics4ever]

The better question would be who trade for him?   I've hear a few team but the market is slim.   Also, Ainge has a bad a reputation with players and among GMs already would this make it worse?

I hate small guards.   Some can play but they get exposed in the playoffs when teams play bully ball against them which they do and they break down.

[Somebody]

I don't see this hole at PG if Kemba leaves. Pritchard is ready to start now. Right now. He will be a top 20 if not top 15 PG in the league as soon as next season.

We already have our replacement at PG.

I love Pritchard's game. His steadiness, his decision making, his shooting chops. Useful enough on defense. Just a solid all-round PG with excellent outside shooting.

Me neither, but mostly because I'm very high on Smart. I believe Pritchard is a solid role player (at least for now). He's a terrific shooter + ball handler. He's an OK passer. He ain't explosive/tall enough to consistently create his own shot. He scores most of his points as an off-ball shooter. Nice back-up option, that's for sure. He may become a decent starter down the road. Nothing special though.

Similar descriptions could be made of players like Derek Fisher.

Being a strong team offensive weapon is a major asset for a role player when placed next to star players. That is what Pritchard brings to the table. They are very few role player PGs who can handle the ball, make strong decisions, setup the team and hit outside shots at the levels that Pritchard can.

Pritchard doesn't need to be a star to be a long term fixture at starting PG.

Don't get me wrong, he's certainly a useful player to have. I just think we can easily replace what he brings to the table. Most PGs are reliable ball handlers and decent shooters. Pritchard is pretty good at both these things, but we can easily find someone else who provides a similar package (with better defense as well).

Can we find another Marcus Smart? Nope, I don't think so. Smart is a unique player. Pritchard is just a useful one. At least this is how I see it.

I have to disagree with this.  if this was so easy to replace, we'd have someone better than Teague backing up Kemba.  Smart doesn't provide what Pritchard provides in terms of shooting, ball handling and passing.   Add Edwards and Waters in the mix on this for not being able to provide what Pritchard provides. 

Pritchard's no all-star but he's bringing abilities to this team that the other PGs are not.

Just because we don't have a similar player right now on the roster, it doesn't mean that it would be difficult to find one. You want an example? Tomas Satoransky. He can do everything Pritchard does, plus he's 6 inches taller, hence he's a way more versatile defender.

If you ask me, I believe Smart is a way better passer than Pritchard. I would argue he's the best passer on our team.

I completely agree with this.  Smart has terrific court awareness and is deceptively good at misdirection to create space for passes.  He doesn't have Pritchard's handle, but he would absolutely be a superior starting option to Pritchard.  Peyton has been a very pleasant surprise, and is fine value on a rookie scale deal for the role he provides, but he's replaceable.

prior to this year, I would have agreed but this year Smart's passing has been haphazard and off the mark more often than not.  trying to hard to make the flashy pass rather than the basic fundamental pass that will get the job done with a lot less risk of being off target or turned over.

While there's no way to truly analyze this, I would say that this is unlikely to actually be true.  What I can do is point to this wonderful data from the nba stats page:
https://www.nba.com/stats/players/passing/?Season=2020-21&SeasonType=Regular%20Season&TeamID=1610612738&sort=PASSES_MADE&dir=1&PerMode=Totals

Smart has made an identical number of passes this season as Pritchard -- 946, in roughly 70 fewer minutes.  Smart's passes have led to assists 11.5% of the time, compared to 7.9% for Pritchard, or roughly 50% more frequently.  Further, only two Celtics have a higher percentage, Jaylen and Tremont Waters.  Jaylen passes 20 fewer times per game than Smart, so he's not throwing passes at the same frequency, and Waters' numbers are obviously not comparable given what type of minutes they're getting.  So this year, it's probable that Smart is the best passer.  Further, last year he earned assists on 11.3% of his passes, so slightly below this season (but he also led the team), and turned the ball over the same 2.6 times per 100 possessions, so there's nothing that says he's obviously making worse passes.

Smart has been very consistent in this passing for the last 5 seasons, posting marks between 10.7-11.5 percent, and has led the team amongst regulars three of those 5 seasons (behind Jaylen this year and Kyrie two years ago).  He's been the Celtics most reliable passer over the last 5 years.  (As a side note, Jaylen's 13.3% rate was bested only by Rondo for the C's since the advent of this stat, and nearly double last year's 7.4%.  I've felt that his step forward in being a facilitator this year has been often undercounted on this board, but upon seeing this rate I feel even I have been guilty of that.)

That's pretty eye opening about Jaylen, wow! Had no idea he'd been getting that many assists of so few passes actually thrown.

I wonder if that means he needs to pass it more, or if he doesn't have the ball enough...

I've been very vocal about Jaylen's qualitative improvements this season and yeah his passing has become quite good - he flubs some deliveries but the way he plays is just so conducive to creating good looks for teammates: quick and decisive attacks combined with excellent physical tools makes a player so good at taking advantage of defences by forcing defenders to ping pong all over the court to make life difficult for a Jaylen-led offensive possession. As I said it's baffling how Stevens isn't utilising Brown as a 1B option to Tatum's 1A at the very least.

He's battling with tendonitis. He ain't 100% healthy to be constantly attacking the basket. It's only logical that he's relying on his teammates more often than he used to. Hopefully, he'll still show an increasing willingness to pass the ball once his tendonitis goes away. He may become a better/more willing passer because of this.

Uhhh he isn't getting enough of the ball to even think about constantly attack the basket lol. We only really have a handful of games where we gave him the keys to our offence, there's no logic in saying that Jaylen can't handle a heavier offensive load when he has almost never been given the opportunity to carry that kind of load.

He was a very willing passer before tendonitis btw, I'm really not sure what you're talking about.

[Jvalin]

I don't see this hole at PG if Kemba leaves. Pritchard is ready to start now. Right now. He will be a top 20 if not top 15 PG in the league as soon as next season.

We already have our replacement at PG.

I love Pritchard's game. His steadiness, his decision making, his shooting chops. Useful enough on defense. Just a solid all-round PG with excellent outside shooting.

Me neither, but mostly because I'm very high on Smart. I believe Pritchard is a solid role player (at least for now). He's a terrific shooter + ball handler. He's an OK passer. He ain't explosive/tall enough to consistently create his own shot. He scores most of his points as an off-ball shooter. Nice back-up option, that's for sure. He may become a decent starter down the road. Nothing special though.

Similar descriptions could be made of players like Derek Fisher.

Being a strong team offensive weapon is a major asset for a role player when placed next to star players. That is what Pritchard brings to the table. They are very few role player PGs who can handle the ball, make strong decisions, setup the team and hit outside shots at the levels that Pritchard can.

Pritchard doesn't need to be a star to be a long term fixture at starting PG.

Don't get me wrong, he's certainly a useful player to have. I just think we can easily replace what he brings to the table. Most PGs are reliable ball handlers and decent shooters. Pritchard is pretty good at both these things, but we can easily find someone else who provides a similar package (with better defense as well).

Can we find another Marcus Smart? Nope, I don't think so. Smart is a unique player. Pritchard is just a useful one. At least this is how I see it.

I have to disagree with this.  if this was so easy to replace, we'd have someone better than Teague backing up Kemba.  Smart doesn't provide what Pritchard provides in terms of shooting, ball handling and passing.   Add Edwards and Waters in the mix on this for not being able to provide what Pritchard provides. 

Pritchard's no all-star but he's bringing abilities to this team that the other PGs are not.

Just because we don't have a similar player right now on the roster, it doesn't mean that it would be difficult to find one. You want an example? Tomas Satoransky. He can do everything Pritchard does, plus he's 6 inches taller, hence he's a way more versatile defender.

If you ask me, I believe Smart is a way better passer than Pritchard. I would argue he's the best passer on our team.

I completely agree with this.  Smart has terrific court awareness and is deceptively good at misdirection to create space for passes.  He doesn't have Pritchard's handle, but he would absolutely be a superior starting option to Pritchard.  Peyton has been a very pleasant surprise, and is fine value on a rookie scale deal for the role he provides, but he's replaceable.

prior to this year, I would have agreed but this year Smart's passing has been haphazard and off the mark more often than not.  trying to hard to make the flashy pass rather than the basic fundamental pass that will get the job done with a lot less risk of being off target or turned over.

While there's no way to truly analyze this, I would say that this is unlikely to actually be true.  What I can do is point to this wonderful data from the nba stats page:
https://www.nba.com/stats/players/passing/?Season=2020-21&SeasonType=Regular%20Season&TeamID=1610612738&sort=PASSES_MADE&dir=1&PerMode=Totals

Smart has made an identical number of passes this season as Pritchard -- 946, in roughly 70 fewer minutes.  Smart's passes have led to assists 11.5% of the time, compared to 7.9% for Pritchard, or roughly 50% more frequently.  Further, only two Celtics have a higher percentage, Jaylen and Tremont Waters.  Jaylen passes 20 fewer times per game than Smart, so he's not throwing passes at the same frequency, and Waters' numbers are obviously not comparable given what type of minutes they're getting.  So this year, it's probable that Smart is the best passer.  Further, last year he earned assists on 11.3% of his passes, so slightly below this season (but he also led the team), and turned the ball over the same 2.6 times per 100 possessions, so there's nothing that says he's obviously making worse passes.

Smart has been very consistent in this passing for the last 5 seasons, posting marks between 10.7-11.5 percent, and has led the team amongst regulars three of those 5 seasons (behind Jaylen this year and Kyrie two years ago).  He's been the Celtics most reliable passer over the last 5 years.  (As a side note, Jaylen's 13.3% rate was bested only by Rondo for the C's since the advent of this stat, and nearly double last year's 7.4%.  I've felt that his step forward in being a facilitator this year has been often undercounted on this board, but upon seeing this rate I feel even I have been guilty of that.)

That's pretty eye opening about Jaylen, wow! Had no idea he'd been getting that many assists of so few passes actually thrown.

I wonder if that means he needs to pass it more, or if he doesn't have the ball enough...

I've been very vocal about Jaylen's qualitative improvements this season and yeah his passing has become quite good - he flubs some deliveries but the way he plays is just so conducive to creating good looks for teammates: quick and decisive attacks combined with excellent physical tools makes a player so good at taking advantage of defences by forcing defenders to ping pong all over the court to make life difficult for a Jaylen-led offensive possession. As I said it's baffling how Stevens isn't utilising Brown as a 1B option to Tatum's 1A at the very least.

He's battling with tendonitis. He ain't 100% healthy to be constantly attacking the basket. It's only logical that he's relying on his teammates more often than he used to. Hopefully, he'll still show an increasing willingness to pass the ball once his tendonitis goes away. He may become a better/more willing passer because of this.

Uhhh he isn't getting enough of the ball to even think about constantly attack the basket lol. We only really have a handful of games where we gave him the keys to our offence, there's no logic in saying that Jaylen can't handle a heavier offensive load when he has almost never been given the opportunity to carry that kind of load.

He was a very willing passer before tendonitis btw, I'm really not sure what you're talking about.

Check out his splits month by month this season.

(click on image to enlarge)



He was clearly scoring more points during the first couple of months (prior to the tendonitis diagnosis). He's clearly averaging more assists the last couple of months (after the diagnosis).

Never said he wasn't a willing passer prior to the diagnosis. Just that he has shown an increasing willingness to pass the ball, possibly because he ain't 100% healthy to attack the basket. Personally speaking, I love the fact that he's passing the ball more. Please stop overreacting each time someone criticizes Brown. He's a terrific player, but he ain't beyond criticism. Nobody is.

[Celtics2021]

I don't see this hole at PG if Kemba leaves. Pritchard is ready to start now. Right now. He will be a top 20 if not top 15 PG in the league as soon as next season.

We already have our replacement at PG.

I love Pritchard's game. His steadiness, his decision making, his shooting chops. Useful enough on defense. Just a solid all-round PG with excellent outside shooting.

Me neither, but mostly because I'm very high on Smart. I believe Pritchard is a solid role player (at least for now). He's a terrific shooter + ball handler. He's an OK passer. He ain't explosive/tall enough to consistently create his own shot. He scores most of his points as an off-ball shooter. Nice back-up option, that's for sure. He may become a decent starter down the road. Nothing special though.

Similar descriptions could be made of players like Derek Fisher.

Being a strong team offensive weapon is a major asset for a role player when placed next to star players. That is what Pritchard brings to the table. They are very few role player PGs who can handle the ball, make strong decisions, setup the team and hit outside shots at the levels that Pritchard can.

Pritchard doesn't need to be a star to be a long term fixture at starting PG.

Don't get me wrong, he's certainly a useful player to have. I just think we can easily replace what he brings to the table. Most PGs are reliable ball handlers and decent shooters. Pritchard is pretty good at both these things, but we can easily find someone else who provides a similar package (with better defense as well).

Can we find another Marcus Smart? Nope, I don't think so. Smart is a unique player. Pritchard is just a useful one. At least this is how I see it.

I have to disagree with this.  if this was so easy to replace, we'd have someone better than Teague backing up Kemba.  Smart doesn't provide what Pritchard provides in terms of shooting, ball handling and passing.   Add Edwards and Waters in the mix on this for not being able to provide what Pritchard provides. 

Pritchard's no all-star but he's bringing abilities to this team that the other PGs are not.

Just because we don't have a similar player right now on the roster, it doesn't mean that it would be difficult to find one. You want an example? Tomas Satoransky. He can do everything Pritchard does, plus he's 6 inches taller, hence he's a way more versatile defender.

If you ask me, I believe Smart is a way better passer than Pritchard. I would argue he's the best passer on our team.

I completely agree with this.  Smart has terrific court awareness and is deceptively good at misdirection to create space for passes.  He doesn't have Pritchard's handle, but he would absolutely be a superior starting option to Pritchard.  Peyton has been a very pleasant surprise, and is fine value on a rookie scale deal for the role he provides, but he's replaceable.

prior to this year, I would have agreed but this year Smart's passing has been haphazard and off the mark more often than not.  trying to hard to make the flashy pass rather than the basic fundamental pass that will get the job done with a lot less risk of being off target or turned over.

While there's no way to truly analyze this, I would say that this is unlikely to actually be true.  What I can do is point to this wonderful data from the nba stats page:
https://www.nba.com/stats/players/passing/?Season=2020-21&SeasonType=Regular%20Season&TeamID=1610612738&sort=PASSES_MADE&dir=1&PerMode=Totals

Smart has made an identical number of passes this season as Pritchard -- 946, in roughly 70 fewer minutes.  Smart's passes have led to assists 11.5% of the time, compared to 7.9% for Pritchard, or roughly 50% more frequently.  Further, only two Celtics have a higher percentage, Jaylen and Tremont Waters.  Jaylen passes 20 fewer times per game than Smart, so he's not throwing passes at the same frequency, and Waters' numbers are obviously not comparable given what type of minutes they're getting.  So this year, it's probable that Smart is the best passer.  Further, last year he earned assists on 11.3% of his passes, so slightly below this season (but he also led the team), and turned the ball over the same 2.6 times per 100 possessions, so there's nothing that says he's obviously making worse passes.

Smart has been very consistent in this passing for the last 5 seasons, posting marks between 10.7-11.5 percent, and has led the team amongst regulars three of those 5 seasons (behind Jaylen this year and Kyrie two years ago).  He's been the Celtics most reliable passer over the last 5 years.  (As a side note, Jaylen's 13.3% rate was bested only by Rondo for the C's since the advent of this stat, and nearly double last year's 7.4%.  I've felt that his step forward in being a facilitator this year has been often undercounted on this board, but upon seeing this rate I feel even I have been guilty of that.)

That's pretty eye opening about Jaylen, wow! Had no idea he'd been getting that many assists of so few passes actually thrown.

I wonder if that means he needs to pass it more, or if he doesn't have the ball enough...

I've been very vocal about Jaylen's qualitative improvements this season and yeah his passing has become quite good - he flubs some deliveries but the way he plays is just so conducive to creating good looks for teammates: quick and decisive attacks combined with excellent physical tools makes a player so good at taking advantage of defences by forcing defenders to ping pong all over the court to make life difficult for a Jaylen-led offensive possession. As I said it's baffling how Stevens isn't utilising Brown as a 1B option to Tatum's 1A at the very least.

He's battling with tendonitis. He ain't 100% healthy to be constantly attacking the basket. It's only logical that he's relying on his teammates more often than he used to. Hopefully, he'll still show an increasing willingness to pass the ball once his tendonitis goes away. He may become a better/more willing passer because of this.

Uhhh he isn't getting enough of the ball to even think about constantly attack the basket lol. We only really have a handful of games where we gave him the keys to our offence, there's no logic in saying that Jaylen can't handle a heavier offensive load when he has almost never been given the opportunity to carry that kind of load.

He was a very willing passer before tendonitis btw, I'm really not sure what you're talking about.

Check out his splits month by month this season.

(click on image to enlarge)



He was clearly scoring more points during the first couple of months (prior to the tendonitis diagnosis). He's clearly averaging more assists the last couple of months (after the diagnosis).

Never said he wasn't a willing passer prior to the diagnosis. Just that he has shown an increasing willingness to pass the ball, possibly because he ain't 100% healthy to attack the basket. Personally speaking, I love the fact that he's passing the ball more. Please stop overreacting each time someone criticizes Brown. He's a terrific player, but he ain't beyond criticism. Nobody is.

It's a bit tough to say if the assist increase is due to Brown being hurt and showing more willingness to pass, or his role getting some alteration when Smart went down, because those two things occurred at the same time (Smart got injured in the last game of January, and Brown missed two games the first week of February).  Whatever the reason, Jaylen has shown tremendous growth passing the ball this year, which really should silence the "Jaylen has peaked/plateaued" crowd if they're paying any attention.

[Vermont Green]

The better question would be who trade for him?   I've hear a few team but the market is slim.   Also, Ainge has a bad a reputation with players and among GMs already would this make it worse?

I hate small guards.   Some can play but they get exposed in the playoffs when teams play bully ball against them which they do and they break down.

How about Markkanen and Porter for Kemba.  I say this assuming Markkanen would be a RFA which I think is true giving us the chance to overpay him if we want.  Porter might help this season some but really the asset is Markkanen.

[todd_days_41]

The better question would be who trade for him?   I've hear a few team but the market is slim.   Also, Ainge has a bad a reputation with players and among GMs already would this make it worse?

Just do this deal:

https://tradenba.com/trades/4d1JcghoG (Magic pick is Top 10 protected)

It's really one of the only logical deals out there for Kemba. And in my opinion, it stops making sense for one or both teams if you swap Gordon or Vucivic in. This is the deal.

(I love the part where it doesn't change projected wins by even 1 for either team -- fair deal!)

[Jvalin]

I don't see this hole at PG if Kemba leaves. Pritchard is ready to start now. Right now. He will be a top 20 if not top 15 PG in the league as soon as next season.

We already have our replacement at PG.

I love Pritchard's game. His steadiness, his decision making, his shooting chops. Useful enough on defense. Just a solid all-round PG with excellent outside shooting.

Me neither, but mostly because I'm very high on Smart. I believe Pritchard is a solid role player (at least for now). He's a terrific shooter + ball handler. He's an OK passer. He ain't explosive/tall enough to consistently create his own shot. He scores most of his points as an off-ball shooter. Nice back-up option, that's for sure. He may become a decent starter down the road. Nothing special though.

Similar descriptions could be made of players like Derek Fisher.

Being a strong team offensive weapon is a major asset for a role player when placed next to star players. That is what Pritchard brings to the table. They are very few role player PGs who can handle the ball, make strong decisions, setup the team and hit outside shots at the levels that Pritchard can.

Pritchard doesn't need to be a star to be a long term fixture at starting PG.

Don't get me wrong, he's certainly a useful player to have. I just think we can easily replace what he brings to the table. Most PGs are reliable ball handlers and decent shooters. Pritchard is pretty good at both these things, but we can easily find someone else who provides a similar package (with better defense as well).

Can we find another Marcus Smart? Nope, I don't think so. Smart is a unique player. Pritchard is just a useful one. At least this is how I see it.

I have to disagree with this.  if this was so easy to replace, we'd have someone better than Teague backing up Kemba.  Smart doesn't provide what Pritchard provides in terms of shooting, ball handling and passing.   Add Edwards and Waters in the mix on this for not being able to provide what Pritchard provides. 

Pritchard's no all-star but he's bringing abilities to this team that the other PGs are not.

Just because we don't have a similar player right now on the roster, it doesn't mean that it would be difficult to find one. You want an example? Tomas Satoransky. He can do everything Pritchard does, plus he's 6 inches taller, hence he's a way more versatile defender.

If you ask me, I believe Smart is a way better passer than Pritchard. I would argue he's the best passer on our team.

I completely agree with this.  Smart has terrific court awareness and is deceptively good at misdirection to create space for passes.  He doesn't have Pritchard's handle, but he would absolutely be a superior starting option to Pritchard.  Peyton has been a very pleasant surprise, and is fine value on a rookie scale deal for the role he provides, but he's replaceable.

prior to this year, I would have agreed but this year Smart's passing has been haphazard and off the mark more often than not.  trying to hard to make the flashy pass rather than the basic fundamental pass that will get the job done with a lot less risk of being off target or turned over.

While there's no way to truly analyze this, I would say that this is unlikely to actually be true.  What I can do is point to this wonderful data from the nba stats page:
https://www.nba.com/stats/players/passing/?Season=2020-21&SeasonType=Regular%20Season&TeamID=1610612738&sort=PASSES_MADE&dir=1&PerMode=Totals

Smart has made an identical number of passes this season as Pritchard -- 946, in roughly 70 fewer minutes.  Smart's passes have led to assists 11.5% of the time, compared to 7.9% for Pritchard, or roughly 50% more frequently.  Further, only two Celtics have a higher percentage, Jaylen and Tremont Waters.  Jaylen passes 20 fewer times per game than Smart, so he's not throwing passes at the same frequency, and Waters' numbers are obviously not comparable given what type of minutes they're getting.  So this year, it's probable that Smart is the best passer.  Further, last year he earned assists on 11.3% of his passes, so slightly below this season (but he also led the team), and turned the ball over the same 2.6 times per 100 possessions, so there's nothing that says he's obviously making worse passes.

Smart has been very consistent in this passing for the last 5 seasons, posting marks between 10.7-11.5 percent, and has led the team amongst regulars three of those 5 seasons (behind Jaylen this year and Kyrie two years ago).  He's been the Celtics most reliable passer over the last 5 years.  (As a side note, Jaylen's 13.3% rate was bested only by Rondo for the C's since the advent of this stat, and nearly double last year's 7.4%.  I've felt that his step forward in being a facilitator this year has been often undercounted on this board, but upon seeing this rate I feel even I have been guilty of that.)

That's pretty eye opening about Jaylen, wow! Had no idea he'd been getting that many assists of so few passes actually thrown.

I wonder if that means he needs to pass it more, or if he doesn't have the ball enough...

I've been very vocal about Jaylen's qualitative improvements this season and yeah his passing has become quite good - he flubs some deliveries but the way he plays is just so conducive to creating good looks for teammates: quick and decisive attacks combined with excellent physical tools makes a player so good at taking advantage of defences by forcing defenders to ping pong all over the court to make life difficult for a Jaylen-led offensive possession. As I said it's baffling how Stevens isn't utilising Brown as a 1B option to Tatum's 1A at the very least.

He's battling with tendonitis. He ain't 100% healthy to be constantly attacking the basket. It's only logical that he's relying on his teammates more often than he used to. Hopefully, he'll still show an increasing willingness to pass the ball once his tendonitis goes away. He may become a better/more willing passer because of this.

Uhhh he isn't getting enough of the ball to even think about constantly attack the basket lol. We only really have a handful of games where we gave him the keys to our offence, there's no logic in saying that Jaylen can't handle a heavier offensive load when he has almost never been given the opportunity to carry that kind of load.

He was a very willing passer before tendonitis btw, I'm really not sure what you're talking about.

Check out his splits month by month this season.

(click on image to enlarge)



He was clearly scoring more points during the first couple of months (prior to the tendonitis diagnosis). He's clearly averaging more assists the last couple of months (after the diagnosis).

Never said he wasn't a willing passer prior to the diagnosis. Just that he has shown an increasing willingness to pass the ball, possibly because he ain't 100% healthy to attack the basket. Personally speaking, I love the fact that he's passing the ball more. Please stop overreacting each time someone criticizes Brown. He's a terrific player, but he ain't beyond criticism. Nobody is.

It's a bit tough to say if the assist increase is due to Brown being hurt and showing more willingness to pass, or his role getting some alteration when Smart went down, because those two things occurred at the same time (Smart got injured in the last game of January, and Brown missed two games the first week of February).  Whatever the reason, Jaylen has shown tremendous growth passing the ball this year, which really should silence the "Jaylen has peaked/plateaued" crowd if they're paying any attention.

I'm in the ''Jaylen has peaked'' crowd. I believe the first 2 months of this season were probably his peak as a scorer. He was simply amazing. He's now trying to adjust his game, possibly because he has lost part of his athleticism. Strictly speaking, he still has room to grow as a passer and ball handler, but he'll always be a score-first player. With this in mind, I believe he has peaked (more or less). At the very least, I believe we have probably seen the best scoring version of him. Obviously, this is just speculation on my part.

[Celtics2021]

The better question would be who trade for him?   I've hear a few team but the market is slim.   Also, Ainge has a bad a reputation with players and among GMs already would this make it worse?

I hate small guards.   Some can play but they get exposed in the playoffs when teams play bully ball against them which they do and they break down.

How about Markkanen and Porter for Kemba.  I say this assuming Markkanen would be a RFA which I think is true giving us the chance to overpay him if we want.  Porter might help this season some but really the asset is Markkanen.

I was thinking something like this myself, although preferred Porter and a pick.  If we got Markkanen, it would be better if the Celtics also provided them Thompson in the same trade -- this would let us get a $34.4 million TPE for Kemba, by using our current TPE for Porter and using Thompson to take back Markkanen, and that Kemba TPE would be large enough for Beal.

Getting back on topic, a starting lineup of Smart, Jaylen, Tatum, Markkanen, and Theis/TimeLord, with Porter as a backup 3/4 could give the Celtics a rotation that works better with the 3-5 slots this season.  I guess I could get behind Teague/Pritchard as backup PG options if we got an upgrade at the backup wing so we moved away from using our 3rd (or 4th even) PG in that role.

[Jvalin]

The better question would be who trade for him?   I've hear a few team but the market is slim.   Also, Ainge has a bad a reputation with players and among GMs already would this make it worse?

I hate small guards.   Some can play but they get exposed in the playoffs when teams play bully ball against them which they do and they break down.

How about Markkanen and Porter for Kemba.  I say this assuming Markkanen would be a RFA which I think is true giving us the chance to overpay him if we want.  Porter might help this season some but really the asset is Markkanen.

I was about to post a similar idea! TP! Here's what I had in mind.



Basically, it's Kemba + Thompson for Barnes + cap relief. As things stand right now, I don't think we can realistically expect to use the full TPE. The luxury tax would explode through the roof. Thing is, imo we aren't getting back enough value.

Alternatively:



PG: Smart - Pritchard - Teague
SG: Brown - Romeo - Green
SF: Barnes - Porter - Nesmith
PF: Tatum - Semi - Grant
C: Holmes - Theis - Timelord

We could even dump Theis for a protected first and move forward with Holmes and Timelord. I mean, CBS said he plans to limit the center rotation to just two players.

[Wretch]

This is the Kemba scenario I see.  He plays this season, recovering and hopefully plays well in the playoffs.  Then he can get traded in the off season, say for Beal.  The the TPE can be used to bring in a high level vet role player (border line all star level player) with draft asset/young players (probably draft assets would be more highly valued by other teams).

Smart becomes the starting PG, PP is the back up and a solid vet (not Teague) is signed as a 3rd PG.

Depth chart becomes something like this:
Smart/PP/FA (or draft pick)
Beal/Nesmith
JB/Romeo
JT/TPE Target/Semi
TL/TT/GW

Fill in the last few spots as needed

[Vermont Green]

The better question would be who trade for him?   I've hear a few team but the market is slim.   Also, Ainge has a bad a reputation with players and among GMs already would this make it worse?

I hate small guards.   Some can play but they get exposed in the playoffs when teams play bully ball against them which they do and they break down.

How about Markkanen and Porter for Kemba.  I say this assuming Markkanen would be a RFA which I think is true giving us the chance to overpay him if we want.  Porter might help this season some but really the asset is Markkanen.

I was about to post a similar idea! TP! Here's what I had in mind.



Basically, it's Kemba + Thompson for Barnes + cap relief. As things stand right now, I don't think we can realistically expect to use the full TPE. The luxury tax would explode through the roof. Don't think we get back enough value though.

Alternatively:



PG: Smart - Pritchard - Teague
SG: Brown - Romeo - Green
SF: Barnes - Porter - Nesmith
PF: Tatum - Semi - Grant
C: Holmes - Theis - Timelord

We could even dump Theis for a protected first and move forward with Holmes and Timelord. I mean, CBS said he plans to limit the center rotation to just two players.

All interesting possibilities but I prefer Markkanen to Barnes. I am with Danny in that our need is a true big who can shoot.  Durability is a concern but otherwise, Markkanen is the right age, right size, the right role, the right skill.  Pair him with RWilliams who provide the more Center role of rim protection and all that and we have a pretty good core team for the future.

Ideally, I prefer to trade Kemba in the off season if you are going to trade him but in this case, it would have to be at the deadline or before.  Trading Kemba this season pretty much puts the kibosh on it but I would be OK to do it for Markkanen and Porter.  Both can help us this season and at least Markkanen could be a key building block for the future.

[Moranis]

The better question would be who trade for him?   I've hear a few team but the market is slim.   Also, Ainge has a bad a reputation with players and among GMs already would this make it worse?

I hate small guards.   Some can play but they get exposed in the playoffs when teams play bully ball against them which they do and they break down.

How about Markkanen and Porter for Kemba.  I say this assuming Markkanen would be a RFA which I think is true giving us the chance to overpay him if we want.  Porter might help this season some but really the asset is Markkanen.

I was about to post a similar idea! TP! Here's what I had in mind.



Basically, it's Kemba + Thompson for Barnes + cap relief. As things stand right now, I don't think we can realistically expect to use the full TPE. The luxury tax would explode through the roof. Don't think we get back enough value though.

Alternatively:



PG: Smart - Pritchard - Teague
SG: Brown - Romeo - Green
SF: Barnes - Porter - Nesmith
PF: Tatum - Semi - Grant
C: Holmes - Theis - Timelord

We could even dump Theis for a protected first and move forward with Holmes and Timelord. I mean, CBS said he plans to limit the center rotation to just two players.

All interesting possibilities but I prefer Markkanen to Barnes. I am with Danny in that our need is a true big who can shoot.  Durability is a concern but otherwise, Markkanen is the right age, right size, the right role, the right skill.  Pair him with RWilliams who provide the more Center role of rim protection and all that and we have a pretty good core team for the future.

Ideally, I prefer to trade Kemba in the off season if you are going to trade him but in this case, it would have to be at the deadline or before.  Trading Kemba this season pretty much puts the kibosh on it but I would be OK to do it for Markkanen and Porter.  Both can help us this season and at least Markkanen could be a key building block for the future.

Plus I can't imagine that Kemba is good enough for Chicago to trade Porter and Markkanen for.  How many draft picks are being included in that trade.

[Jvalin]

The better question would be who trade for him?   I've hear a few team but the market is slim.   Also, Ainge has a bad a reputation with players and among GMs already would this make it worse?

I hate small guards.   Some can play but they get exposed in the playoffs when teams play bully ball against them which they do and they break down.

How about Markkanen and Porter for Kemba.  I say this assuming Markkanen would be a RFA which I think is true giving us the chance to overpay him if we want.  Porter might help this season some but really the asset is Markkanen.

I was about to post a similar idea! TP! Here's what I had in mind.



Basically, it's Kemba + Thompson for Barnes + cap relief. As things stand right now, I don't think we can realistically expect to use the full TPE. The luxury tax would explode through the roof. Don't think we get back enough value though.

Alternatively:



PG: Smart - Pritchard - Teague
SG: Brown - Romeo - Green
SF: Barnes - Porter - Nesmith
PF: Tatum - Semi - Grant
C: Holmes - Theis - Timelord

We could even dump Theis for a protected first and move forward with Holmes and Timelord. I mean, CBS said he plans to limit the center rotation to just two players.

All interesting possibilities but I prefer Markkanen to Barnes. I am with Danny in that our need is a true big who can shoot.  Durability is a concern but otherwise, Markkanen is the right age, right size, the right role, the right skill.  Pair him with RWilliams who provide the more Center role of rim protection and all that and we have a pretty good core team for the future.

Ideally, I prefer to trade Kemba in the off season if you are going to trade him but in this case, it would have to be at the deadline or before.  Trading Kemba this season pretty much puts the kibosh on it but I would be OK to do it for Markkanen and Porter.  Both can help us this season and at least Markkanen could be a key building block for the future.

Danny actually said we need ''shooting with size'', not ''a true big who can shoot''. Barnes fits the bill, as does Markkanen.

I'm not a big fan of Markkanen's game. Is he a PF or a C? He ain't mobile enough to defend swings on the perimeter. He ain't long/strong enough to defend Centers either. The Celtics are built around 2 switchable (s)wings in Tatum and Brown. I guess we'd use him at Center(?).

If Danny believes we can re-sign Markkanen on the cheap during the offseason, then sure why not? If not, I'd rather have Barnes.

[Celtics2021]

The better question would be who trade for him?   I've hear a few team but the market is slim.   Also, Ainge has a bad a reputation with players and among GMs already would this make it worse?

I hate small guards.   Some can play but they get exposed in the playoffs when teams play bully ball against them which they do and they break down.

How about Markkanen and Porter for Kemba.  I say this assuming Markkanen would be a RFA which I think is true giving us the chance to overpay him if we want.  Porter might help this season some but really the asset is Markkanen.

I was about to post a similar idea! TP! Here's what I had in mind.



Basically, it's Kemba + Thompson for Barnes + cap relief. As things stand right now, I don't think we can realistically expect to use the full TPE. The luxury tax would explode through the roof. Don't think we get back enough value though.

Alternatively:



PG: Smart - Pritchard - Teague
SG: Brown - Romeo - Green
SF: Barnes - Porter - Nesmith
PF: Tatum - Semi - Grant
C: Holmes - Theis - Timelord

We could even dump Theis for a protected first and move forward with Holmes and Timelord. I mean, CBS said he plans to limit the center rotation to just two players.

All interesting possibilities but I prefer Markkanen to Barnes. I am with Danny in that our need is a true big who can shoot.  Durability is a concern but otherwise, Markkanen is the right age, right size, the right role, the right skill.  Pair him with RWilliams who provide the more Center role of rim protection and all that and we have a pretty good core team for the future.

Ideally, I prefer to trade Kemba in the off season if you are going to trade him but in this case, it would have to be at the deadline or before.  Trading Kemba this season pretty much puts the kibosh on it but I would be OK to do it for Markkanen and Porter.  Both can help us this season and at least Markkanen could be a key building block for the future.

Plus I can't imagine that Kemba is good enough for Chicago to trade Porter and Markkanen for.  How many draft picks are being included in that trade.

Porter is widely expected to be a post-deadline buyout, so obviously the only thing of value here is Markkanen, who's an RFA that Chicago hasn't given signals that they are guaranteed to match.  Just because Kemba seems to be the wrong player for Boston doesn't mean he isn't the right player for Chicago, much in the reverse of Markkanen's potential value to the two teams.