How will Brad approach free agency and fill out the bench?

[Roy H.]

We've got 15 roster spots, and 3 two-way slots.  We've got the following players:

Porzingis, Brown, Brogdon, White, Timelord, Horford, Pritchard, Hauser, Kornet, Champagnie, Walsh, Davidson (RFA), Kabengele (RFA), Williams (RFA)

One approach would be to say "that's our team", and run with those 14 players.  It's unlikely that happens, though.  I assume we'll make the following decisions:

Tatum - keep
Porzingis - keep and extend
Brown - keep and extend
Brogdon - keep
White - keep
Timelord - keep
Horford - keep
Pritchard - keep
Hauser - keep
Kornet - waive or trade
Champagnie - waive or trade
Walsh - sign using 2nd round exception
Davidson - elevate to main roster
Kabengele - waive 
Williams - TBD

If things work out that way, we'd have between two and four roster slots to fill.

Here's the question:  will Brad bring in veterans at the minimum, or will he "dumpster dive" like he has in past seasons?

A recap: 

2022 trade deadline: Signed Kornet, Stauskas, Fitts, Morgan, Thomas

2023 off-season:  Signed Kornet, Vonleh, Jackson

2023 trade deadline:  Passed on Danny Green, signed Champagnie

Unless I'm forgetting anybody, the only outside veteran free agent Brad has signed since the summer of 2022 was Blake Griffin.  In 2022, however, he had leaned on additional veterans:  Freedom, Schroeder, and Parker.

So, what's it going to be this year?  Casts off and never-will-bes, or vets that can still play?

[celticinorlando]

Agree with your roster break down. Kornet is a waste as is Champaige, kabengale.

Davidson elevated to the big club only if PP is moved.

Think Brad needs one or two hard nosed vets (Josh Richardson) to fill out the roster. Need guys that can be trusted and can play. Do not dumpster dive for g league talent.

Not sure what they want with Hauser. Going to give him regular role and rotation?

My locked spots would be:

1. Tatum
2 JB
3 KP
4 white
5 Al
6 brogdan
7 Rob
8 Hauser
9 Davidson
10 Walsh
12 PP

From there you need legit nba players to fill out the roster esp if you lose grant as well as wing depth

[green_bballers13]

I guess I don't really get the point. If championship teams are using 7-9 man rotations in the deep playoffs, why does the 11th and 12th man matter?

[celticinorlando]

I guess I don't really get the point. If championship teams are using 7-9 man rotations in the deep playoffs, why does the 11th and 12th man matter?

Right now the Celtics actually need guys that can be the 7th and 8th option slotting other guys in their correct spots.

Hauser got zero run in the playoffs. Still need to have a wing back up that can defend and is trusted. Three bigs that can get injured easily and Kornet is not the the solution to fill minutes. Probably no Grant to fall back on this season either.

Ideally you would like to have 9 guys you can play in the playoffs and not worry about it.

[BitterJim]

Everyone (yes, including Brad) would prefer to add "vets that can still play". The problem is finding guys who still have gas in the tank and are willing to take the minimum just to ride the bench (or compete with younger guys like Hauser and Pritchard for minutes). You can sometimes find those guys if they're ring chasing, but I don't see many of those guys out there that we're likely to sign (I'd be happy with 1 and ecstatic with 2).

If you're looking for a 15 deep roster, you're gonna be disappointed by every team every year. We're gonna end up with some cast offs, I just want to see some of those cast offs be guys with potential to eventually make an impact. More Hausers/Struses, less Champagnies and Broderick Thomases.

As for the current roster:
Locked in (9):
Tatum, Brown, Porzingis, White, Rob, Al, Brogdon, Hauser, Pritchard

Re-sign if cheap enough (or sign-and-trade him for a defensive wing if possible):
Grant

If he looks like he might be able to play some minutes, sign him to a minimum (otherwise sign him to a 2-way deal):
Davison, Walsh

Consider not picking up guarantee, then signing to a 1 year vet contract for the lower salary cap hit (if no better option is available for the minimum):
Kornet

Just let him go:
Champagnie, Blake

Try to sign to 2-ways:
Kabangele, Walsh/Davison/some rookies

That leaves us 2-6 open roster spots depending on what we do with Grant, Kornet, Walsh, and Davison. If we can get a vet or 2 that can contribute, do it. But if not, try to get players that might amount to real rotation players, not guys with a ceiling of being a 12th man (maybe someone from overseas like when we got Theis or Shane Larkin?). Keep a roster spot open to promote one of the 2-ways at the end of the season.

[G-Bones]

Trade a draft pick for Tyus Jones?  I don’t know much about his game.  Would he be a good fit?  Could he be a rotational player in the playoffs?

[Roy H.]

I guess I don't really get the point. If championship teams are using 7-9 man rotations in the deep playoffs, why does the 11th and 12th man matter?

Injuries, slumps, situational play.

Look at the Heat.  They were using their normal 11th and 12th men in the playoffs with some regularity due to injuries to Herro and Oladipo.

[BitterJim]

Trade a draft pick for Tyus Jones?  I don’t know much about his game.  Would he be a good fit?  Could he be a rotational player in the playoffs?

And what outgoing salary? He's making $14 million next year

[hardlyyardley]

Kabengele not eligible for two way

[green_bballers13]

I guess I don't really get the point. If championship teams are using 7-9 man rotations in the deep playoffs, why does the 11th and 12th man matter?

Right now the Celtics actually need guys that can be the 7th and 8th option slotting other guys in their correct spots.

Hauser got zero run in the playoffs. Still need to have a wing back up that can defend and is trusted. Three bigs that can get injured easily and Kornet is not the the solution to fill minutes. Probably no Grant to fall back on this season either.

Ideally you would like to have 9 guys you can play in the playoffs and not worry about it.

Guards: White, Brogdon, Pritchard
Wings: Brown, Tatum, Walsh
Bigs: Horford, R. Williams, Zinger

9 guys right there. Maybe Walsh and Pritchard only play 10 minutes or so, so they would need two more guys to play a small amount of minutes.

The Nuggets had 7 guys play more than 5 minutes in their Game 5 win against the Heat. Deandre Jordan and Jeff Green look good on paper, but they played 5 and 3 minutes respectively.

I think the Celtics could use another backup big and guard, in case of injuries. Without injuries, I wouldn't expect these players to hit the court.

[Smartacus]

I believe that BS will make a run at Will Barton for a bargain signing. He hasn't played a significant roll on a contending team in a while, but he has good size for the guard/wing and can create his own shot.

Other than that, I could definitely see another big to shore up the injury risk that we're currently carrying in the front court. The rumored interest in Isaiah Stewart would probably make a lot of sense.

Not the sexiest names but I think that both would be worthy pickups. Pair these along with a couple of other tweaks and the player acquired in a Grant Williams sign and trade and call it a day.

[footey]

Thanks, Roy.  Great summary and layout. I agree with most if not all of the assumptions, including elevating JD Davison to the full time roster.
(Would like to see Davison utilized in spurts (possibly with Pritchard and new kid Walsh) to push the pace for easier transition opportunities.   Does Joe have self-confidence to do this?)

As far as how to fill out remaining roster spots, I think this will hinge largely on what happens with Grant.  Do we get anything back in a sign and trade, or another 2nd round draft pick?

RJ Hampton, anyone?

Edit:  Are we too fast to dump Champagnie?  He kind of reminds me of the type of player that the Heat develop into solid role players. He showed a lot of energy in his limited minutes, and his contract is super cheap. Would not be surprised if we kept him on the roster, especially if he does well in summer league.

[BitterJim]

Kabengele not eligible for two way

Oh crap, you're right. I forgot about his previous NBA stint.

No big loss, though, just let him go and sign some other young guy to a two-way in his place

[celticinorlando]

I guess I don't really get the point. If championship teams are using 7-9 man rotations in the deep playoffs, why does the 11th and 12th man matter?

Right now the Celtics actually need guys that can be the 7th and 8th option slotting other guys in their correct spots.

Hauser got zero run in the playoffs. Still need to have a wing back up that can defend and is trusted. Three bigs that can get injured easily and Kornet is not the the solution to fill minutes. Probably no Grant to fall back on this season either.

Ideally you would like to have 9 guys you can play in the playoffs and not worry about it.

Guards: White, Brogdon, Pritchard
Wings: Brown, Tatum, Walsh
Bigs: Horford, R. Williams, Zinger

9 guys right there. Maybe Walsh and Pritchard only play 10 minutes or so, so they would need two more guys to play a small amount of minutes.

The Nuggets had 7 guys play more than 5 minutes in their Game 5 win against the Heat. Deandre Jordan and Jeff Green look good on paper, but they played 5 and 3 minutes respectively.

I think the Celtics could use another backup big and guard, in case of injuries. Without injuries, I wouldn't expect these players to hit the court.

I am not sure you can count on Walsh at this point. If he works out then great. That is a bonus. I have zero faith in Sam Hauser. Celtics needed shooting vs Miami and he never played.

Cs really need a legit wing off the bench.

[Vermont Green]

I think the starters and core rotation is pretty much set with the following players:

White
Brown
Tatum
Porzingis
Horford

Brogdon
Pritchard
Hauser
........
RWill

For the ....., I feel/hope that ends up being Grant.  That would be a very solid 1-10, probably the best in the entire league.  Spots 11-15, plus the 2-ways have far less importance, that isn't to say no importance, just a lot less importance.

I feel Kornet is a fine 3rd string/4th string big.  I see him staying on the regular roster.  I am also fine with Griffin coming back if he wants to.  I see Davison, Champagnie, and Walsh as all about the same, kind of AAAA guys, maybe on 2-ways, maybe on the regular roster, but in any case, these are prospects who are not going to matter much this season.  I did not see anything in Kabegele.

So I am fine with assuming Davison gets "promoted", Walsh probably ends up on the main roster too, joining Kornet and Griffin.  I think we need to use the vet min on a wing, someone like Richardson if we could get him, but it will probably be something less than Richardson but hopefully something more than Champagnie.