Full disclosure: I'm a "Green Teamer" or optimistic Celtics fan. So hopefully this post isn't taken as yet another disgruntled troll blowing off some steam. But it's become readily apparent the Celtics' trajectory is not headed toward a championship without a notable course shift.

The front office (or ownership) needs to have the courage to make a few dramatic changes this offseason. Look at what Philadelphia did last season -- they got a new coach, retooled their supporting cast, and bounced right back to a team with a puncher's chance.

Meanwhile we have a superstar who doesn't carry himself like someone who cares. He's definitely not a leader and seems only focused on "getting his" in the stat sheet. We have a head coach who is great but clearly has his shortcomings. The Celtics are soft this year and can't close out games. This year when the Celtics have been down at half they've gone 4-19.

The list of legitimately worrying features feels endless, but I'll stop for now.

All this is to say: I'm not sure I can stomach another season where the Celtics "stay the course" with Tatum, Brown, Kemba, and Smart -- assuming we somehow will make a gigantic leap without ever actually accepting and correcting this roster's failings.

I just worry that the Celtics' undeniable tendency to overvalue their own players is going to prevent the necessary changes from happening.

Oh, and the other thing -- Smart is a free agent after next year.  Are they going to be in a position to pay him?  Should they?  Smart on a team friendly deal long term makes a ton of sense, especially if you've got a roster that's already in making-a-deep-playoff-run mode. 

Smart on a young, middle-of-the-road team doesn't make nearly as much sense.

Quote from: PhoSita on April 07, 2021, 04:07:44 PM

Oh, and the other thing -- Smart is a free agent after next year.  Are they going to be in a position to pay him?  Should they?  Smart on a team friendly deal long term makes a ton of sense, especially if you've got a roster that's already in making-a-deep-playoff-run mode. 

Smart on a young, middle-of-the-road team doesn't make nearly as much sense.

To answer your question about "How?" I think the Celtics need to trade Smart. His defense has declined and when considering his offensive decision-making he's a net negative over the course of a season.

Smart and Thompson are both ~10 million each on expiring contracts. That should be enticing for some teams looking for vets and expecting to compete.

Trade Kemba for a bag of balls and a good bench player.

The cap situation is navigable, this is why Danny makes the big bucks. But he also makes the big bucks because he's tasked with making tough decisions. Time for him to make some of them.

I’d sell high on Tatum. Maybe he becomes a leader somewhere else but I doubt it. I’m sure Ainge will get calls over the summer.

I’d like to get rid of Kemba’s awful contract but would hate to give up Pritchard, Langford, or Nesmith.

Quote from: GreenCoffeeBean on April 07, 2021, 04:55:22 PM

I’d sell high on Tatum. Maybe he becomes a leader somewhere else but I doubt it. I’m sure Ainge will get calls over the summer.

I’d like to get rid of Kemba’s awful contract but would hate to give up Pritchard, Langford, or Nesmith.

The issue with Tatum is he's a potentially generational talent. The likelihood that Tatum develops an inner "dog" and actually gets to being a Top 5 player is a lot better than us trading Tatum and getting proportional value and going through a quick rebuild.

Quote from: Jiri Welsch on April 07, 2021, 04:11:11 PM

Quote from: PhoSita on April 07, 2021, 04:07:44 PM

Oh, and the other thing -- Smart is a free agent after next year.  Are they going to be in a position to pay him?  Should they?  Smart on a team friendly deal long term makes a ton of sense, especially if you've got a roster that's already in making-a-deep-playoff-run mode. 

Smart on a young, middle-of-the-road team doesn't make nearly as much sense.

To answer your question about "How?" I think the Celtics need to trade Smart. His defense has declined and when considering his offensive decision-making he's a net negative over the course of a season.

Smart and Thompson are both ~10 million each on expiring contracts. That should be enticing for some teams looking for vets and expecting to compete.

Trade Kemba for a bag of balls and a good bench player.

The cap situation is navigable, this is why Danny makes the big bucks. But he also makes the big bucks because he's tasked with making tough decisions. Time for him to make some of them.

So let's game this out.


According to Spotrac the Celts have -$19.845 million in practical cap space this summer.

The Knicks have ~$72.866 million in practical cap space.

Well, Kemba has always been great at MSG, right? 

Move 1: On draft night, trade BOS 2021 pick (probably mid to late teens) along with Tristan Thompson to the Orlando Magic (who have cap space) for Michael Carter Williams ($3.3 million expiring)

That nets you $6.4 million in cap space.

Move 2: Trade Kemba + lottery protected 2022 1st round pick to the Knicks for Kevin Knox ($5.8 million expiring)

That nets you $30 million in money off the cap. 


Those two moves would put you around $16.5 million under the cap ... I think.  I'm not a cap guru.  Just using Spotrac here.  But you could then re-sign Fournier for, let's say, $20 million per year over 3 years, with a team option on the third year.


You could use cap space to sign somebody else first, or you could not do that and use the MLE again (since re-signing Fournier doesn't require cap space). 

Either way you're going to be limited in what you spend because after re-signing Fournier you won't be that far away from the luxury tax, and you don't want to put yourself in the same bind you were just in.

You probably need to use (some) of that money to sign a center, because after trading Thompson you've only got Rob Williams and Tacko (hah).  Maybe you give Luke Kornet a modest raise to something like $3 million per year over 2 years, second year non-guaranteed.

 
You will need a point guard, unless you want Smart to be the full time starter.  That doesnt' seem like the best idea to me.  The problem is, the point guard market is kinda barren.  Do you want to pay Kyle Lowry big bucks for a couple years?  Does that put you over the top?  What about Goran Dragic?

Personally, if we're trading Kemba, I really don't want them to replace him with another >30 guard who has trouble staying on the floor.  But they also can't really afford to spend $20+ million a year on a guy who isn't a star.

Maybe you try to get a deal on a guy like Patty Mills or TJ McConnell, but neither of those guys is really a starter.  Maybe you're just looking to get a guy on an OK contract that you expect to be able to trade in a later move. 


Well, if you go down the line, you still have the same problem now.  A bench of guys you mostly don't trust.

So on top of all of the stuff I just mentioned, are you gonna try to trade away Langford, Nesmith, etc in order to get some decent bench help? 


My point here is that you're gonna have to do a lot of work just to dig yourself out of where you're at with Kemba and Thompson.