Rome wasn't built in a day, but Stevens has had a good start and his game plan is certainly becoming clear. Like his Butler teams Stevens likes tough defensive minded teams who can score enough. He stated early on that every move he would make would be made to specifically build around Tatum and Brown and he has stayed true to his word. Here is how I perceive, from 10,000 feet, his game plan to date:
1. Immediately make the team bigger, stronger, tougher across the board at every position. He believes in length, size and toughness.
He moves out Kemba and brings back Horford, projects Smart at the point. He also brings back Kanter and now has brought back Theis. So, instead of Tristan Thompson and Grant Williams at center and the very small Kemba at the point, who got constantly head hunted during the playoffs, and Tatum at the four who should really be playing the three spot, we are now rolling out Time Lord, Horford, Theis and Grant Williams up front with one of the the single most physically point guard defenders in the league at point in Marcus Smart. Tatuma nd brown are appropriately playing the 2 and 3 spots, where they are at a minimum league average height for those spots and probably are above average in size, length and strength.
2. He likes two players with the following traits: Very gritty and tough both mentally and physically and with generally high basketball IQ's.
* Time Lord, Horford, Theis, Grant Williams
* Tatum, Brown, White and Smart
* Nesmith and Pritchard (These guys have limitations so far and hopefully they develop well from here. But both play very hard, tough and gritty on both ends)
Now, he cannot fix all team's problems in less than 10 months. The glaring team weaknesses before the trade line were as follows:
Big man depth:
Kanter was only good on the offensive end and did not fit into the two way player type Stevens likes or the defensive minded DNA Stevens and Udoka are clearly building as a calling card.
Kanter out and Theis in - this is a homerun. Theis plays very similar to Horford so we can get Horford more rest before the playoffs. I would like to still see us bring in one more vet big off the buyout market just to have another body.
Playmaking ability: This has been a huge problem all year. We really have no high level playmakers on the team. Smart is OK, Schroder was more of a scoring guard and Pritchard is till developing.
We trade for Derrick White: Homerun trade. He is 6'4' and a tenacious defender which fits right in with what we're building on that end. Like Smart he's not going to get abused on defensive switches. He's a solid shooter, better than Smart. He's a very good playmaker and creation guy. He's going to get Tatum and brown a lot of good looks. He will fit in very, very well. He will help our offense a ton, especially when we need to create a good look down the stretch.
We still could use one more good veteran wing for the playoff run - just a solid defender and shooter. Hopefully we can get one through the buyout market, along with that one more big body in the front court.
So that's for this year - tremendous job by Stevens. We're under the luxury tax and better positioned for the playoffs after the trade deadline than we were before it, which is far more than I can say for Ainge's typical trade deadline inaction every year...
What about moving forward? Well, the team still needs that one additional piece next to Tatum and Brown on the offensive end. What assets dow e have to get that one piece now?
Answer: Some combination of Horford's contract, White, Smart, Nesmith, Grant Williams, Pritchard and draft picks.
For example, could Horford with White, bring back Harrison Barnes? (Time Lord, Barnes, Tatum, Brown and Smart)
Could Horford, Smart, Nesmith and a draft pick bring back John Collins? (Time Lord, Collins, Tatum, Brown, White)
I'm not saying these are the guys I want necessarily, they are just examples of our flexibility this off season to make the "next move" to take the team to the next level.
We also have our mid level to add another shooter this off season and we still have the Tristan Thompon and Kemba Trade exceptions. I'm not sure if we used the Fournier trade exception in the Derrick White trade or not.
What about Stevens use of our draft picks? Tatum and brown are ready to compete for championships today. We need to surround them with guys who are ready to play "now". We don't need the picks. We don't have the time to wait for a Grant Williams 22nd pick to develop for three years to where he is now so he can seriously contribute. It took Time Lord four years. Pritchard and Nesmith might be ready next year in their 3rd seasons...
I'm not saying we give all our picks away - but the surest way to lose Tatum, and or Brown, is by not building a team that gives them a clear cut shot at a title.
Stevens isn't done but he has moved this team way closer to being there than it was 10 months ago - it is night and day. This is borne out in our defensive DNA that is currently mauling teams.
We need more scoring from the third piece and a young replacement for Al Horford and that's about it. And when I say third piece I'm not saying we need another top ten player, though that would be nice. At a minimum, another Fournier, Collins, Barnes level third option running with/behind Tatum and Brown would probably be enough.
Patience - we probably don't get out of the east this year - but we're well positioned for the off season moves we need to make and should be load coming into next season.
On Udoka: I like the grit and tenacity of the defense we're playing under him, Theis and White will fit right in with that. Stevens job is to now get us one more solid piece with Tatum and Brown (doesn't have to be an all star, even someone like Harrison Barnes would probably do...) and probably one more solid shooter on the wing. I'd love to think that would be Nesmith - I like him and hop he straightens things out with his shot and settles down a little out there.
Topic: Brad Stevens era coming into focus - and I like it a lot. (Read 9077 times)