Langford and Nesmith roles with the team

[Sophomore]

One or both will be traded this off-season.  Teams want young talent and I doubt Timelord is going anywhere.

I'm hopeful the Celtics don't trade anyone besides Walker and/or Thompson. I'd love to keep both of these guys for at least one more season. They're both showing flashes.

If the team is going to make a deep run in the playoffs they need veterans. Nesmith and Langford would have to develop pretty fast to help over the next couple years. For the right player it makes a lot of sense to include them in a trade. It will hurt to see them go, but you can’t get something for nothing. Remember Al Jefferson.

I think the same way about next year’s pick, only moreso. Potential is great, but the timing has to line up. Just have to see who’s gettable for the assets we have.

[Jiri Welsch]

One or both will be traded this off-season.  Teams want young talent and I doubt Timelord is going anywhere.

I'm hopeful the Celtics don't trade anyone besides Walker and/or Thompson. I'd love to keep both of these guys for at least one more season. They're both showing flashes.

If the team is going to make a deep run in the playoffs they need veterans. Nesmith and Langford would have to develop pretty fast to help over the next couple years. For the right player it makes a lot of sense to include them in a trade. It will hurt to see them go, but you can’t get something for nothing. Remember Al Jefferson.

I think the same way about next year’s pick, only moreso. Potential is great, but the timing has to line up. Just have to see who’s gettable for the assets we have.

That's fair. I was commenting with the assumption that not many "great" players will be available this summer. But you're right that we need to move on from at least one if a clear upgrade can be had.

[PhoSita]

One or both will be traded this off-season.  Teams want young talent and I doubt Timelord is going anywhere.

I'm hopeful the Celtics don't trade anyone besides Walker and/or Thompson. I'd love to keep both of these guys for at least one more season. They're both showing flashes.

If they trade either of those guys they're probably going to have to include one or more of the younger players in order to sweeten the deal.

[Jiri Welsch]

One or both will be traded this off-season.  Teams want young talent and I doubt Timelord is going anywhere.

I'm hopeful the Celtics don't trade anyone besides Walker and/or Thompson. I'd love to keep both of these guys for at least one more season. They're both showing flashes.

If they trade either of those guys they're probably going to have to include one or more of the younger players in order to sweeten the deal.

My "don't trade anyone besides Walker and/or Thompson" comment was assuming we're going to undergo large end-of-the-rotation turnover this offseason. Of Boston's top 10 of:

Tatum
Brown
Smart
Williams III
Walker
Thompson
Fournier (pending re-signing)
Langford
Nesmith
Pritchard

I wanted to see Walker and Thompson go the most. But Sophomore made a point and I definitely agree that if there's a clear upgrade, and it requires trading one of Nesmith and Langford, you've got to pull the trigger.

[td450]

Its impossible to make a rational judgement about trading one of these guys without the actual proposition in front of us. It is pretty clear that their current trade value of these two doesn't make them appealing pieces.

They both have only shown a few flashes of NBA usefulness, and they both have the potential to be quality starters. So, obviously if something very important comes along, we would have to look at it, but it sure seems better to let them play out another year at least to see what we have, because they won't add much to a deal. They are not that much different than draft picks at this point.

Given the dynamics, it seems to me that Marcus is the most likely guy to go. If some lucky circumstances popped up where we could do something with Kemba Walker become possible, sure, but its better to keep him rather than pay another team to take him.

[Sophomore]

td450, you may be right that these guys haven’t built up much value yet. But you never know when a GM is going to fall in love with a player whose potential he believes in. They’re both still on rookie deals, and the chance to try them for 2-3 years could be worth something. Romeo stayed healthy - which makes me happy for him as a player/person, and helps with a big question mark he’s had hanging over him.

[slamtheking]

One or both will be traded this off-season.  Teams want young talent and I doubt Timelord is going anywhere.

I'm hopeful the Celtics don't trade anyone besides Walker and/or Thompson. I'd love to keep both of these guys for at least one more season. They're both showing flashes.

If they trade either of those guys they're probably going to have to include one or more of the younger players in order to sweeten the deal.

not necessarily.  Walker and TT are still quality NBA players.  So's Smart who's the third option for a vet to be traded.   They're not players that have to be moved as salary dumps so if picks/youth are included in the deal it's likely because we're getting back a better player than who we're shipping out.

[td450]

td450, you may be right that these guys haven’t built up much value yet. But you never know when a GM is going to fall in love with a player whose potential he believes in. They’re both still on rookie deals, and the chance to try them for 2-3 years could be worth something. Romeo stayed healthy - which makes me happy for him as a player/person, and helps with a big question mark he’s had hanging over him.

Perhaps some team will make us a sweet offer, but I think all we should do over the offseason is trade Marcus for a pick to get Franz Wagner, or alternatively, Scotty Barnes. Hopefully we can still retain our pick this year. If we need to include a 1st, make it next year's pick. Either guy upgrades us at power forward, and improves the offensive flow, while breaking up the Walker Smart backcourt, which is a very, very bad pairing.

If we can also get a point guard in the same draft, then we are good. We resign Fournier and we are a much stronger team next year.

[PhoSita]

not necessarily.  Walker and TT are still quality NBA players.  So's Smart who's the third option for a vet to be traded.   They're not players that have to be moved as salary dumps so if picks/youth are included in the deal it's likely because we're getting back a better player than who we're shipping out.

Walker is a useful NBA player when he's able to play. This year he wasn't able to play back to backs, and he's already missed a game in a very short playoff run. 

Walker has also shown that his scoring efficiency is very inconsistent now, and he has problems defensively against opponents with big guards / smart enough to pick on him. 

He's also got an enormous contract with multiple years left. 

Kemba is not a positive asset and will almost certainly require additional assets attached to move him.


Thompson is a decent player, but his play and production this season has by and large not been up to the level of what he's making.  He's overpaid, but will also be an expiring contract next season. 

I don't think it would be necessary to attach additional assets to Thompson to move him.  However, I don't think the Celts would get any player or pick of real value in return unless they were willing to take back a worse contract (ie multiple years remaining), or include other assets in the deal.

[Sophomore]

td450, you may be right that these guys haven’t built up much value yet. But you never know when a GM is going to fall in love with a player whose potential he believes in. They’re both still on rookie deals, and the chance to try them for 2-3 years could be worth something. Romeo stayed healthy - which makes me happy for him as a player/person, and helps with a big question mark he’s had hanging over him.

Perhaps some team will make us a sweet offer, but I think all we should do over the offseason is trade Marcus for a pick to get Franz Wagner, or alternatively, Scotty Barnes. Hopefully we can still retain our pick this year. If we need to include a 1st, make it next year's pick. Either guy upgrades us at power forward, and improves the offensive flow, while breaking up the Walker Smart backcourt, which is a very, very bad pairing.

If we can also get a point guard in the same draft, then we are good. We resign Fournier and we are a much stronger team next year.

If we get a draft pick next year who can earn a rotation spot for the playoffs I’d be over the moon, but I think that’s pretty rare for a rookie. Even guys picked at the top of the draft usually need seasoning. I think it’s time to lean hard toward trading away picks and players who have potential to get guys who are ready to be playoff contributors now. Tatum’s window is about to open.

[slamtheking]

not necessarily.  Walker and TT are still quality NBA players.  So's Smart who's the third option for a vet to be traded.   They're not players that have to be moved as salary dumps so if picks/youth are included in the deal it's likely because we're getting back a better player than who we're shipping out.

Walker is a useful NBA player when he's able to play. This year he wasn't able to play back to backs, and he's already missed a game in a very short playoff run. 

Walker has also shown that his scoring efficiency is very inconsistent now, and he has problems defensively against opponents with big guards / smart enough to pick on him. 

He's also got an enormous contract with multiple years left. 

Kemba is not a positive asset and will almost certainly require additional assets attached to move him.


Thompson is a decent player, but his play and production this season has by and large not been up to the level of what he's making.  He's overpaid, but will also be an expiring contract next season. 

I don't think it would be necessary to attach additional assets to Thompson to move him.  However, I don't think the Celts would get any player or pick of real value in return unless they were willing to take back a worse contract (ie multiple years remaining), or include other assets in the deal.

Kemba's got 2 years.  hardly a negative asset.  he's a starting level PG and former all star.  the ability to play back to backs during a regular season rather than a compressed season like this one should be far less of a concern if it's a concern at all.  C's were cautious this year - probably overly so. 

[Somebody]

not necessarily.  Walker and TT are still quality NBA players.  So's Smart who's the third option for a vet to be traded.   They're not players that have to be moved as salary dumps so if picks/youth are included in the deal it's likely because we're getting back a better player than who we're shipping out.

Walker is a useful NBA player when he's able to play. This year he wasn't able to play back to backs, and he's already missed a game in a very short playoff run. 

Walker has also shown that his scoring efficiency is very inconsistent now, and he has problems defensively against opponents with big guards / smart enough to pick on him. 

He's also got an enormous contract with multiple years left. 

Kemba is not a positive asset and will almost certainly require additional assets attached to move him.


Thompson is a decent player, but his play and production this season has by and large not been up to the level of what he's making.  He's overpaid, but will also be an expiring contract next season. 

I don't think it would be necessary to attach additional assets to Thompson to move him.  However, I don't think the Celts would get any player or pick of real value in return unless they were willing to take back a worse contract (ie multiple years remaining), or include other assets in the deal.

I disagree with your assessment regarding Walker - he hustles enough that he's at least a neutral on that end even if he's getting picked on by opposing teams while his offence has been climbing up to 'All-Starry' levels after starting the season in woeful form (after his first 10 games where he was dismal returning from injury, he averaged 20.2/5.2/4.1 on 58.8% TS in his next 33 games). This is a guy who can clearly produce like a typical top 30 player when he's healthy, and teams pay big money for players like him even if they have health issues (see Hayward).

[slamtheking]

not necessarily.  Walker and TT are still quality NBA players.  So's Smart who's the third option for a vet to be traded.   They're not players that have to be moved as salary dumps so if picks/youth are included in the deal it's likely because we're getting back a better player than who we're shipping out.

Walker is a useful NBA player when he's able to play. This year he wasn't able to play back to backs, and he's already missed a game in a very short playoff run. 

Walker has also shown that his scoring efficiency is very inconsistent now, and he has problems defensively against opponents with big guards / smart enough to pick on him. 

He's also got an enormous contract with multiple years left. 

Kemba is not a positive asset and will almost certainly require additional assets attached to move him.


Thompson is a decent player, but his play and production this season has by and large not been up to the level of what he's making.  He's overpaid, but will also be an expiring contract next season. 

I don't think it would be necessary to attach additional assets to Thompson to move him.  However, I don't think the Celts would get any player or pick of real value in return unless they were willing to take back a worse contract (ie multiple years remaining), or include other assets in the deal.

I disagree with your assessment regarding Walker - he hustles enough that he's at least a neutral on that end even if he's getting picked on by opposing teams while his offence has been climbing up to 'All-Starry' levels after starting the season in woeful form (after his first 10 games where he was dismal returning from injury, he averaged 20.2/5.2/4.1 on 58.8% TS in his next 33 games). This is a guy who can clearly produce like a typical top 30 player when he's healthy, and teams pay big money for players like him even if they have health issues (see Hayward).

Hayward's a fair comp I think.  he got paid for a lot less time on the court with less positive impact than Kemba this year. 

[td450]

td450, you may be right that these guys haven’t built up much value yet. But you never know when a GM is going to fall in love with a player whose potential he believes in. They’re both still on rookie deals, and the chance to try them for 2-3 years could be worth something. Romeo stayed healthy - which makes me happy for him as a player/person, and helps with a big question mark he’s had hanging over him.

Perhaps some team will make us a sweet offer, but I think all we should do over the offseason is trade Marcus for a pick to get Franz Wagner, or alternatively, Scotty Barnes. Hopefully we can still retain our pick this year. If we need to include a 1st, make it next year's pick. Either guy upgrades us at power forward, and improves the offensive flow, while breaking up the Walker Smart backcourt, which is a very, very bad pairing.

If we can also get a point guard in the same draft, then we are good. We resign Fournier and we are a much stronger team next year.

If we get a draft pick next year who can earn a rotation spot for the playoffs I’d be over the moon, but I think that’s pretty rare for a rookie outside the top 1-3 picks, and even they may need seasoning. I think it’s time to lean hard toward trading away picks and players who have potential to get guys who are ready to be playoff contributors now. Tatum’s window is about to open.

When you trade for a vet, you typically exchange full value. It's very hard to improve that way.

It isn't rare at all for rookies to be in rotation spots for the playoffs. Look through last year's draftees. A substantial number of guys would help us right now. I'm not talking about someone averaging 20 ppg. We need rotation players that hold up. If we had just drafted Saddiq Bey or even Jae’Sean Tate who wasn't even drafted, we would have a significant upgrade at power forward.

The players are out there. You can't win a title unless you develop some of these guys that aren't sure bets.

[footey]

I'm fairly confident that both Langford and Nesmith will have meaningful roles on the team next season.  I think they make Smart, who I like a lot, more tradeable. Because he is pretty replaceable by either or both of those guys. Particularly by Langford.