You gotta have a road map to continued development to the point of winning a Championship.
That is the question we have to ask with A.Gordon. Are we a title contender with him? If not, how far away are we? How do we bridge that gap? How do we acquire the talent do we need? Do we have enough cap flexibility left after we add his salary? Do we have enough picks left after the trade? Do we have enough good youth left that can improve and become valued rotation to star players to fill those needs?
The answers to those questions are integral to deciding whether or not we should acquire Aaron Gordon.
I think it could be a big step in the right direction.
I feel to compete for a title you need a few ingredients:
1 - You need special players who can carry you with game winning plays in big moments
2 - You need enough depth/versatility to ensure you can have a competitive group on the court for 48 minutes
3 - You need a strong identity / play style that gives you your edge over other teams
4 - You need teammates who trust each other and their coaches
#1: I think the Celtics have got this pretty much covered. I have every reason to think that Tatum and Brown will be >24 PPG scorers for the next 8-10 years, and Kemba (even with the injuries) is a pretty darn good #3 guy at around 18 PPG. That give Boston three guys who are all capable of scoring 30 on any given night, and three guys who are capable of creating offense when needed. If we get to a point where Kemba is no longer capable of being the 3rd option, then that can be addressed at that time.
#2: Right now this is a huge issue. Our top 3 scorers have very little dependable scoring help, so they are forced to resort to ISO ball. Replacing Smart (career 12 PP36 @ 38% FG) with Gordon (career 16 PP36 @ 45% FG) and Fournier (career 18 PP36 @ 45% FG) is a huge change offensively. You're effectively +22 Points Per 36 improvement at +7% greater efficiency. With this change we go from having 3 dependable scorers to 5 dependable scorers. This means at any given time Brad can have two or three scorers on the court, and even if one or two guys are out for whatever reason the team can still hold the fort. I think this alone is a total game changer for this team. Fournier also could give Boston the type of quality 6th man that the team has needed for years.
#3: This is also an issue now, the team has no identity. It's a mishmash of random players who seem to have next to nothing in common. Adding Gordon I think helps with this a bit. He's another long, athletic two-way player who can play multiple positions on both ends. That trio of Brown/Tatum/Gordon with their length and quickness would be 100% switchable and could smother opposing teams on the defensive end. On offense they would be deadly in transition, and they can all score either from three, from midrange or by going to the basket which makes them tough to guard. Especially true when you throw in Kemba (who is blindingly quick when healthy). Put TT / Timelord in at center to protect the paint and collect rebounds, and you have a strong identity as a team who can destroy opponents by playing suffocating defence, collecting the boards, and then pushing the ball in transition. I can't think of many NBA rosters who could keep up with a quartet of Kemba/Brown/Tatum/Gordon in the open floor - could be an especially huge problem for bigger/older teams like Philly and the Lakers.
#4: Adding two dependable scorers means Tatum and Brown will always have 2 or 3 teammates on the court that they can trust offensively - this means they will no longer need too force ISO ball all the time. Now the other guys on the bench (like Theis, Ojeleye, Pritchard, TT, Timelord) can play a simplified role by playing within themselves and just focussing on the things they do well. I think this will ultimately improve team chemistry in a big way. Gordon is also 25, so he could potentially stick around and build chemistry with Brown/Tatum/Pritchad/R-Williams for the next several years.
Does this make Boston a contender immediately? I'm 50/50 on that. It might. On one hand, I wouldn't normally consider Gordon and Fournier to be game changing players, as they aren't exactly big stars. On the other hand I don't think big stars is what the team desperately needs. They were a pretty serious contender last season and really haven't lost much since then - which goes to show just how big an impact the
right 2 or 3 players additions/subtractions can have on a team. Look at Philly, all they did is change their coach and a role player or two. In this league one or two small changes (if they are the right ones) can make a huge impact.
If it doesn't make Boston a contender immediately there is one thing I really am confident in - that it would be a pretty big step in the right direction.
Topic: (Update) Celtics NOT favorites to land Aaron Gordon (Read 43623 times)