Grading Danny's deadline-day moves

[nickagneta]

So did Timelord get promoted to the starting team or does Thompson become the starter?

[Celtics2021]

So did Timelord get promoted to the starting team or does Thompson become the starter?

I would hope the Celtics care enough about winning to not play Thompson at all.

[BoulderMike]

I voted C+.  Fournier is a fine move, but we had to use part of the TPE (Traded Player Exception) and then drop Theis (who is better than TT).  I would have preferred sending TT (and others) to Orlando for Fournier (gotta think they would have said yes since they need someone in addition to Mo Bamba) and save Their and the TPE.

We just seem to make a series of never-ending, lateral moves.  I have been Ainge's biggest backer, but my patience has run out. 

Now that I say this, watch him pull out a surprise in the buyout market.

[liam]

I voted C+.  Fournier is a fine move, but we had to use part of the TPE (Traded Player Exception) and then drop Theis (who is better than TT).  I would have preferred sending TT (and others) to Orlando for Fournier (gotta think they would have said yes since they need someone in addition to Mo Bamba) and save Their and the TPE.

We just seem to make a series of never-ending, lateral moves.  I have been Ainge's biggest backer, but my patience has run out. 

Now that I say this, watch him pull out a surprise in the buyout market.

Trading basically nothing for Fournier is not a lateral move.

[liam]

So did Timelord get promoted to the starting team or does Thompson become the starter?

One would think but Brad probably starts Kornet.

[mqtcelticsfan]

I’m somewhere between a B and a C.

The good:

Evan Fournier is an actual, honest-to-goodness NBA player and we got him for a song. It’s hard to argue with the basketball move of getting him on a team with bench wings that struggle to give NBA-caliber minutes.

Not super clear on this, but doesn’t getting below the tax help us with the MLE this summer? If so, the Theis deal helps us next year if we weren’t going to re-sign him.

The bad:

Losing Theis for nothing makes the team objectively worse. Wagner could maybe fit in with our system, but he’s certainly worse than Theis and isn’t likely to be a net positive.

I truly don’t understand the idea of taking half of the Hayward TPE and snagging an expiring contract like Fournier. The greatest value in a TPE of that size seemed to be in maintaining flexibility to get another big contract(s) on the books to help with salary matching. It feels like we’ve consistently been the only contender that couldn’t afford to go after a big name on the trade market because our only matchable contracts were true core players. Maybe the ability to re-sign Fournier can offset that, but it feels like a mismanagement of our financial situation during our window.

[pearljammer10]

I thought we were on a path to an A when I first saw the Fournier news.

Then Theis came out and that dropped way down to a C/C- for me.

[NKY fan]

I voted C+.  Fournier is a fine move, but we had to use part of the TPE (Traded Player Exception) and then drop Theis (who is better than TT).  I would have preferred sending TT (and others) to Orlando for Fournier (gotta think they would have said yes since they need someone in addition to Mo Bamba) and save Their and the TPE.

We just seem to make a series of never-ending, lateral moves.  I have been Ainge's biggest backer, but my patience has run out. 

Now that I say this, watch him pull out a surprise in the buyout market.

Trading basically nothing for Fournier is not a lateral move.

EF is probably our 3rd best player now. I think he starts and pushes Tatum to be the full time stretch 4... and we will be playing more modern basketball the rest of the way. I hope Tristan and Smart see their minutes limited to 20 and 25 respectively as a result

[BoulderMike]

I voted C+.  Fournier is a fine move, but we had to use part of the TPE (Traded Player Exception) and then drop Theis (who is better than TT).  I would have preferred sending TT (and others) to Orlando for Fournier (gotta think they would have said yes since they need someone in addition to Mo Bamba) and save Their and the TPE.

We just seem to make a series of never-ending, lateral moves.  I have been Ainge's biggest backer, but my patience has run out. 

Now that I say this, watch him pull out a surprise in the buyout market.

Trading basically nothing for Fournier is not a lateral move.

****

He used up half of the TPE (which is less valuable than a full TPE) and we hade to trade Theis (Theis is more valuable than Mo Wagner).  That's "basically nothing"?  I respectfully disagree.  However, I do like Fournier, but I like a full TPE and I like Theis, too.  So, feels like a lateral move to me.

[Who]

I voted C+.  Fournier is a fine move, but we had to use part of the TPE (Traded Player Exception) and then drop Theis (who is better than TT).  I would have preferred sending TT (and others) to Orlando for Fournier (gotta think they would have said yes since they need someone in addition to Mo Bamba) and save Their and the TPE.

We just seem to make a series of never-ending, lateral moves.  I have been Ainge's biggest backer, but my patience has run out. 

Now that I say this, watch him pull out a surprise in the buyout market.

Trading basically nothing for Fournier is not a lateral move.

It could end up being a lateral move despite the upgrade of Fournier given with the downgrade of Theis to Wagner.

I am not sure it is a lateral move but I am wondering about it. Or a minor improvement - most likely. Or a bigger improvement? Least likely for me right now but possible.

[td450]

Interesting that so many graded Danny on what he did, instead of what he didn't do.

My pet peeve is the 4 spot. We've seen the Tatum/Brown future for a while now. We've had big money covering the other 3 starting spots, AND a boatload of draft assets, and it feels like all that has melted away.

A diminished Kemba is still here, and we have Rob Williams and a decent vet in TT at center, but power forward is being manned by a couple of end of roster guys. Nothing close to a starting quality player. We've had opportunities, but we just won't pay the price get a starting caliber guy to play there, or even get someone with some potential.

Now, we are out of bullets, and unless a young player becomes a quality asset or we hit a home run with a later pick, it ain't happening any time soon.

[mqtcelticsfan]

Interesting that so many graded Danny on what he did, instead of what he didn't do.

My pet peeve is the 4 spot. We've seen the Tatum/Brown future for a while now. We've had big money covering the other 3 starting spots, AND a boatload of draft assets, and it feels like all that has melted away.

A diminished Kemba is still here, and we have Rob Williams and a decent vet in TT at center, but power forward is being manned by a couple of end of roster guys. Nothing close to a starting quality player. We've had opportunities, but we just won't pay the price get a starting caliber guy to play there, or even get someone with some potential.

Now, we are out of bullets, and unless a young player becomes a quality asset or we hit a home run with a later pick, it ain't happening any time soon.

The question to me is what was available, which appears to be essentially nothing but Aaron Gordon. If the Magic were hung up on Marcus Smart, I feel like doing nothing was probably better. Nobody else really moved at the deadline that would have mattered.

[Who]

I would've liked to have seen the TPE used on someone with more upside. Someone with room for growth. That is what I liked about Aaron Gordon. Pretty good player as he is but good room for improvement beyond that and if he can fulfill some of that potential then he is a really valuable player.

I do not see that with Fournier. He is what he is - a stat padder on bad teams, a middling but useful player on good teams.

[Roy H.]

Interesting that so many graded Danny on what he did, instead of what he didn't do.

My pet peeve is the 4 spot. We've seen the Tatum/Brown future for a while now. We've had big money covering the other 3 starting spots, AND a boatload of draft assets, and it feels like all that has melted away.

A diminished Kemba is still here, and we have Rob Williams and a decent vet in TT at center, but power forward is being manned by a couple of end of roster guys. Nothing close to a starting quality player. We've had opportunities, but we just won't pay the price get a starting caliber guy to play there, or even get someone with some potential.

Now, we are out of bullets, and unless a young player becomes a quality asset or we hit a home run with a later pick, it ain't happening any time soon.

Would Orlando have taken Theis, Thompson, Nesmith, Edwards and a 2020 #1?  If so, I would have done that deal.

[Goldstar88]

I would've liked to have seen the TPE used on someone with more upside. Someone with room for growth. That is what I liked about Aaron Gordon. Pretty good player as he is but good room for improvement beyond that and if he can fulfill some of that potential then he is a really valuable player.

I do not see that with Fournier. He is what he is - a stat padder on bad teams, a middling but useful player on good teams.

Gordon has been in the league for 7 years. What exactly do you see him growing into? I’d rather have a guy who can shoot in Fournier, who didn’t cost a starter, young prospect and a first round pick.