Can we afford not to trade for Damian Lillard

[lbgreen33]

Not saying a want to. Just saying, if Damian Lillard joins the Heat, we will be in a tough spot.
Depending who they would give up, that team would be a problem!!!
If the Sixers make the trade, same thing that team will be a problem.
If we don’t make the move and someone else in the East does, that creates a challenge.
Almost, forces the Celtics to think about it.

If we traded JB, would we win the title for the next 2-3 years??

Man, I would hate to do it, but do we have to strongly consider it??

[celticinorlando]

Boston i still the best team in the east no matter where Dame goes.

Miami will be top heavy with very little on the bench. they will have 2 guys that get hurt and miss a lot of games in Dame and Butler.

[Roy H.]

Hopefully he stays in the West.

It's hard to make the salaries work.  We'd have to send out over $41 million.  And, I've got no desire to attach Jaylen.

Brogdon + White + Kornet + 4 #1s?  2024 (better) + 2025 + 2027 + 2029?  Add pick swaps or #2s?

Timelord / Horford
KP / Grant / Brissett
Tatum / Hauser / Walsh
Brown /
Lillard / Pritchard / Banton

Does Malik Beasley or Kelly Oubre want to sign for the vet minimum?  If so, I'm all in.

-------------------------------------------------

BOS trades:  Brogdon, White, Kornet, 4 #1s, swaps
BOS receives:  Lillard

LAC trades:  Morris, Coffey, #1
LAC receives:  Brogdon

POR trades:  Lillard
POR receives:  White, Kornet, Coffey, Morris, 4 BOS #1s, swaps, LAC #1

[lbgreen33]

Hopefully he stays in the West.

It's hard to make the salaries work.  We'd have to send out over $41 million.  And, I've got no desire to attach Jaylen.

Brogdon + White + Kornet + 4 #1s?  2024 (better) + 2025 + 2027 + 2029?  Add pick swaps or #2s?

Timelord / Horford
KP / Grant / Brissett
Tatum / Hauser / Walsh
Brown /
Lillard / Pritchard / Banton

Does Malik Beasley or Kelly Oubre want to sign for the vet minimum?  If so, I'm all in.

-------------------------------------------------

BOS trades:  Brogdon, White, Kornet, 4 #1s, swaps
BOS receives:  Lillard

LAC trades:  Morris, Coffey, #1
LAC receives:  Brogdon

POR trades:  Lillard
POR receives:  White, Kornet, Coffey, Morris, 4 BOS #1s, swaps, LAC #1

I totally agree!  I just wonder, if we trade JB, could we win 2 -3 titles over the next 3 years??
Something to consider.
I don’t want to give up JB either, but you certainly old convince me if a title is all that matters.

[wiley]

Hopefully he stays in the West.

It's hard to make the salaries work.  We'd have to send out over $41 million.  And, I've got no desire to attach Jaylen.

Brogdon + White + Kornet + 4 #1s?  2024 (better) + 2025 + 2027 + 2029?  Add pick swaps or #2s?

Timelord / Horford
KP / Grant / Brissett
Tatum / Hauser / Walsh
Brown /
Lillard / Pritchard / Banton

Does Malik Beasley or Kelly Oubre want to sign for the vet minimum?  If so, I'm all in.

-------------------------------------------------

BOS trades:  Brogdon, White, Kornet, 4 #1s, swaps
BOS receives:  Lillard

LAC trades:  Morris, Coffey, #1
LAC receives:  Brogdon

POR trades:  Lillard
POR receives:  White, Kornet, Coffey, Morris, 4 BOS #1s, swaps, LAC #1

If Brad did this one he'd also have to go back in time and hire Doc as head coach to manage egos.   

[Roy H.]

Hopefully he stays in the West.

It's hard to make the salaries work.  We'd have to send out over $41 million.  And, I've got no desire to attach Jaylen.

Brogdon + White + Kornet + 4 #1s?  2024 (better) + 2025 + 2027 + 2029?  Add pick swaps or #2s?

Timelord / Horford
KP / Grant / Brissett
Tatum / Hauser / Walsh
Brown /
Lillard / Pritchard / Banton

Does Malik Beasley or Kelly Oubre want to sign for the vet minimum?  If so, I'm all in.

-------------------------------------------------

BOS trades:  Brogdon, White, Kornet, 4 #1s, swaps
BOS receives:  Lillard

LAC trades:  Morris, Coffey, #1
LAC receives:  Brogdon

POR trades:  Lillard
POR receives:  White, Kornet, Coffey, Morris, 4 BOS #1s, swaps, LAC #1

If Brad did this one he'd also have to go back in time and hire Doc as head coach to manage egos.   

No need to go back in time.  Fire Joe, hire Doc.  Haha.

Maybe that's why Brad is bringing in hard-working fringe roster players.  Less mouths to feed.  What's Malik Fitts doing?  He was fun on the bench.

[Valid]

The 76ers would absolutely not be a "problem" with Lillard. He would just be replacing Harden. They would still be depending on an injury-prone big in Embiid, not to mention the fact that the Sixers can't beat the Celtics regardless of who is on that roster.

[Csfan1984]

Absolutely C's can pass. Brown is a solid player about to hit his prime. Lillard has been seeing more injuries pile up. Brown is much more likely to have a better next three years performance wise than Lillard. Lillard also requires losing depth for any contender. It's going to be a hard move to trade for Lillard.

[ozgod]

Hopefully he stays in the West.

It's hard to make the salaries work.  We'd have to send out over $41 million.  And, I've got no desire to attach Jaylen.

Brogdon + White + Kornet + 4 #1s?  2024 (better) + 2025 + 2027 + 2029?  Add pick swaps or #2s?

Timelord / Horford
KP / Grant / Brissett
Tatum / Hauser / Walsh
Brown /
Lillard / Pritchard / Banton

Does Malik Beasley or Kelly Oubre want to sign for the vet minimum?  If so, I'm all in.

-------------------------------------------------

BOS trades:  Brogdon, White, Kornet, 4 #1s, swaps
BOS receives:  Lillard

LAC trades:  Morris, Coffey, #1
LAC receives:  Brogdon

POR trades:  Lillard
POR receives:  White, Kornet, Coffey, Morris, 4 BOS #1s, swaps, LAC #1

I think it only works if we attach Jaylen. I don't think Portland would be interested in anything less. And even though Jaylen played bad in Game 7 vs Miami, I don't hold that recency bias against him. I think he's got plenty of upside. Dame is 33. Plus by all accounts he doesn't want to play for us anyway.

[keevsnick]

I mean yes, we absolutely can afford not to trade for him.

Even if Lillard goes to MIA i don't think that team is unbeatable next year. I'd put it a coin flip between Boston/Miami/Bucks.

People always forget, its REALLY HARD to win a title the first year after a seismic trade. It can happen but it would leave MIA really thin, relying on a 33 and 34 year old. Usually it takes a year to sort out a rotation after a trade like that.

[Muzzy66]

Hopefully he stays in the West.

It's hard to make the salaries work.  We'd have to send out over $41 million.  And, I've got no desire to attach Jaylen.

Brogdon + White + Kornet + 4 #1s?  2024 (better) + 2025 + 2027 + 2029?  Add pick swaps or #2s?

Timelord / Horford
KP / Grant / Brissett
Tatum / Hauser / Walsh
Brown /
Lillard / Pritchard / Banton

Does Malik Beasley or Kelly Oubre want to sign for the vet minimum?  If so, I'm all in.

-------------------------------------------------

BOS trades:  Brogdon, White, Kornet, 4 #1s, swaps
BOS receives:  Lillard

LAC trades:  Morris, Coffey, #1
LAC receives:  Brogdon

POR trades:  Lillard
POR receives:  White, Kornet, Coffey, Morris, 4 BOS #1s, swaps, LAC #1

I think it only works if we attach Jaylen. I don't think Portland would be interested in anything less. And even though Jaylen played bad in Game 7 vs Miami, I don't hold that recency bias against him. I think he's got plenty of upside. Dame is 33. Plus by all accounts he doesn't want to play for us anyway.

It would basically come down to trading a decent chance of a championship over a 6 year window (with a core of Tatum, Brown, Porzingis) for a really good chance of a championship over a 3 year window (with a core of Lillard, Tatum, Porzingis).

I am honestly pretty ok with both scenarios.

As we stand right now I think Celtics are considered to be unquestionably a top 2-3 title favourites for the next 3-5 years, but there is still some uncertainty around Porzingis' ability to stay healthy and the Jay's ability to lead the team in big moments...it's a bit of a high risk/ high reward scenario.  We could win 3 titles in the next 5 years, or could just as easily win nothing.
 
If we could pull off something like JB + Grant Williams S&T for Lillard, then I think that instantly makes Boston the clear and pretty much unanimous title favourites over the next 2-3 years, with the downside being that Lillard's age will catch up and that window will close up a little earlier. 

from a GM standpoint it actually might give Boston a bit more flexibility.  Lillard's 3 or so years of prime (or near prime) play does line up nicely with Porzingis' contract extension, and if for any reason did not work out you are really only committed to this group for 3 years.  After that Porzingis is a free agent, Lillard becomes a large expiring contract, and Tatum will still be in his prime at ~28 years old.  So  you pretty much give this trio a 3 year window, and if it doesn't work out then you retool around a prime Tatum after year 3.  If it does work out and you do win a title or two, then you potentially have options depending on how much life Lillard and Porzingis have left in them - you could extend Porzingis and Lillard and give it another 1-2 year run, or you can retool around Tatum and move forward. 

The upside is that Lillard is under contract for the long term, so you don't need to worry about him leaving and signing elsewhere in a year or two.  Worst he can do is try to force a trade, and it's hard to imagine him doing that if he's playing on a genuine contender making serious title runs every year. 

By comparison keeping Brown would basically leave the team committed to the Jays for the next 4-5 years with no real idea of what will happen with Porzingis.

[Moranis]

If Lillard is truly fine with coming to Boston, then you trade Jaylen for him without much hesitation.

[Muzzy66]

Absolutely C's can pass. Brown is a solid player about to hit his prime. Lillard has been seeing more injuries pile up. Brown is much more likely to have a better next three years performance wise than Lillard. Lillard also requires losing depth for any contender. It's going to be a hard move to trade for Lillard.

Not necessarily.  If we could use Grant Williams in a S&T on around $17M-$18M / Yr (a big *if* because he would of course need to agree) then that would be a perfect salary match for Lillard. 

That gives us a starting five of Rob Williams, Porzingis, Tatum, White and Lillard...then off the bench we would still have Brogdon, Horford, Pritchard, Brissett, Hauser, Kornet and any other Free Agents that Brad can potentially add in the meantime.

That is a REALLY strong and well balanced roster.  You have good balance between inside/outside scoring, good balance between interior/perimeter defence, good overall balance between offence/defence in general, good balance between size/athleticism, and good balance between starters/bench depth. 

Defensively it would be very tough to score inside against a rotation of Porzingis/Timelord/Horford, while Tatum and White on the perimeter would take a ton of defensive pressure off Lillard - just have Tatum/White guard the opposing teams best perimeter players and Lillard's defensive limitations would barely be a concern. 

Offensively Tatum and Lillard would probably be the most ungardable duo in the league and would draw so much attention that Porzingis/White/Brogdon/Horford would be getting open looks all night long.  Having Lillard also eliminates the need for Tatum to spend so much time as the primary ballhandler/playmaker, which means far less of those messy turnovers and forced plays.

And the fact that you have two starting calibre guys coming off the bench (Horford and Brogdon) also gives you outstanding redundancy to help compensate for the health risk of Porzingis and Lillard.

The more I think about this the more I'm actually starting to like it.  I think this roster would have legitimate three-peat potential of all goes well, and could have the potential to go down in history as one of the greatest Celtics rosters ever.  If they could manage to take home 2 or 3 rings with that team then it would all but guarantee Lillard and Tatum spots in the hall of fame as all-time greats. 

[lbgreen33]

If Lillard is truly fine with coming to Boston, then you trade Jaylen for him without much hesitation.

I think Lillard would be fine with it if he gets paid and is on a True contender.

Man, I hate this so much!!! My heart says stay with JB, we drafted him, he is our guy. My head says, holy Crap, I think we could win 2 titles if we trade JB for Lillard!

I am sorry, it is hard to argue, the J's proved the last 2 years that they can't get it done alone. Is Porzingas enough??

I think DL gives us the better chance at a title, I just do.

[obnoxiousmime]

I don't know if everyone has actually looked at Lillard's contract in full. He makes 46m and 48m this year and next, but it also jumps to 58m and 63m in year 3 and 4. In that respect we can certainly "afford" not to trade for him.