Need to blow it up

[Who]

My Blow it up trade

C's get

Jusuf Nurkic
Center
$18,125,000
+ 1 yr, $19,375,000

Grant Williams
Power Forward
$13,025,250
+ 2 yr, $27,911,250

Josh Green
Shooting Guard
$12,654,321
+ 2 yr, $28,345,679

Brandon Miller
Small Forward
$11,424,600
+ 2 yr, $27,073,426

Mark Williams
Center
$4,094,280
+ 1 yr, $6,276,531
2025 1st
2025, Round 1: CHA pick - #4
2026 1st
2026, Round 1: CHA pick (BOS right to swap)
2027 1st
2027, Round 1: CHA pick - #1 ? #30
2027 1st
2027, Round 1: DAL pick (BOS right to swap)
2028 1st
2028, Round 1: CHA pick (BOS right to swap)
2029 1st
2029, Round 1: CHA pick - #1 ? #30

Hornets Get

Jaylen Brown
Small Forward
$49,205,800
+ 4 yr, $236,187,840

Derrick White
Point Guard
$20,071,429
+ 4 yr, $118,048,000

Are Charlotte getting robbed?

I don't know. That is ... a big bounty. Lot of 1st round picks. Two young starters with potential. Two good bench players.

So the new look Hornets would be:

G: LaMelo Ball
G: Derrick White
F: Jaylen Brown
F: Miles Bridges
C: (free agent)

How good would that team be?

It is better than I first thought. My first thought was just Jaylen & LaMelo and I was thinking that is only a .500 team. But D White is a big add. Miles Bridges gives them another good player. Nothing else of note on their roster. I imagine all their cap flexability will be used up on those 4 players. So limited avenues for improvement via free agency. Limited trade assets given all the picks headed to Boston.

If I were Charlotte, I'd rather stick with what I have.

* Top 5 pick this year's draft.
* Brandon Miller. Former top 5 pick. Starter with potential.
* Mark Williams. Starter with potential.
* 2 future firsts and 3 swaps
* Josh Green. Good bench player. G Will. Good bench piece.

I might make that trade if I were Charlotte if I were keeping the top 5 pick in this year's draft. That might be enough to give me a chance of fielding a contender. Likely end up trading that pick elsewhere for a center or big forward. Maybe with Miles Bridges leaving.

Back to the new look Hornets. Without a strong bench, I don't think that team is any better than a 44-49 win squad. Tough to build a strong bench with so little assets. So that would be likely. With a good bench, a 50-55 win team.

[rocknrollforyoursoul]

Why are a lot of people saying that Al?s gonna be gone? Is there no chance he?ll take the minimum and stay in boston? I think either he retires or stays at the minimum. Or maybe he does a PJ Brown when JT returns.

Maybe he stays, but his minutes will need to be even more limited next season than they were this season. I don't think he has a ton left in the tank.

[snively]

I don't understand why on earth you would trade Brown, White, PP if you thought that JT would at least be close to 90% for the 26/27 season.   If the team gutted all the good players for when JT comes back from the injury he would just want to be traded anyways.   We need to keep a core group that we can build around after JT recovers.

You have to deal with the likelihood that Tatum will be slightly diminished, that Horford will be gone and Jrue probably in decline (a la Conley) and that there are few options to shore up those losses in the short term through free agency or the draft or internal development.

 You can gamble that Porzingis will be healthy and make up for those losses and that the core is good enough to keep contending even in diminished form - like the Nuggets and Warriors. Solid bets, at least the second one.

But I think Stevens likes a stacked deck. A powerhouse with a surplus of elite roleplayer talent to surround a star core. And to get that you have to be willing to sell high on existing secondary stars or roleplaying talent.

Plus you want to insure against the downside that Tatum comes back more significantly diminished. If he's not capable of carrying the team, then the limitations of Brown become less workable. And you might need to find a better supporting star to help carry that weight.

[keevsnick]

Define "blow it up." I think they will trade at least one of KP or Jrue for tax purposes, but besides that i expect they'll largely run it back next year.

It doesn't make any sense to trade for another star in a year when your best player is out, and tanking is much harder when you are a 61-win team rather than a 45-win team who loses a star. The Celtics aren't going to get bad enough to chase a real lottery pick without gutting their team, and if you gut the team there's no guarantee you will build it back up before the end of tatum's prime.

I expect them to cut some salary, play next year out, probably win like 48 games, then re-evaluate in 2026 when they will hopefully have a better idea hoe Tatum is looking going forward.

The jrue-KP idea has been floated around for awhile now, so I am not talking about that.  I mean a complete reset.

As I see it, the team won't really be a contender without not just a star JT, but stars around him.  There is not guarantee that we'll see superstar JT after this injury.  So everyone excluding JT (because of his injury) is available.  Most of the supporting cast is great on this team but those guys tend to get exposed without the star to hold it all together.

I think a complete blow up is extremely unlikely. People always underestimate how long it takes to rebuild a roster once you strip it down. If you take enough away to tank next season then it likely takes another 2-3 to build it back up and by the time you are good again Tatum my be post prime.

To me a smaller reset involving Jrue and or KP makes more sense.

[slamtheking]

Define "blow it up." I think they will trade at least one of KP or Jrue for tax purposes, but besides that i expect they'll largely run it back next year.

It doesn't make any sense to trade for another star in a year when your best player is out, and tanking is much harder when you are a 61-win team rather than a 45-win team who loses a star. The Celtics aren't going to get bad enough to chase a real lottery pick without gutting their team, and if you gut the team there's no guarantee you will build it back up before the end of tatum's prime.

I expect them to cut some salary, play next year out, probably win like 48 games, then re-evaluate in 2026 when they will hopefully have a better idea hoe Tatum is looking going forward.

The jrue-KP idea has been floated around for awhile now, so I am not talking about that.  I mean a complete reset.

As I see it, the team won't really be a contender without not just a star JT, but stars around him.  There is not guarantee that we'll see superstar JT after this injury.  So everyone excluding JT (because of his injury) is available.  Most of the supporting cast is great on this team but those guys tend to get exposed without the star to hold it all together.

I think a complete blow up is extremely unlikely. People always underestimate how long it takes to rebuild a roster once you strip it down. If you take enough away to tank next season then it likely takes another 2-3 to build it back up and by the time you are good again Tatum my be post prime.

To me a smaller reset involving Jrue and or KP makes more sense.

the "blow it all up" crowd seems to be forgetting that the new owners didn't spend over 6 billion to get a lottery team.  Brad's going to be expected to make this team as competitive as possible while awaiting Tatum's return.

[rocknrollforyoursoul]

Define "blow it up." I think they will trade at least one of KP or Jrue for tax purposes, but besides that i expect they'll largely run it back next year.

It doesn't make any sense to trade for another star in a year when your best player is out, and tanking is much harder when you are a 61-win team rather than a 45-win team who loses a star. The Celtics aren't going to get bad enough to chase a real lottery pick without gutting their team, and if you gut the team there's no guarantee you will build it back up before the end of tatum's prime.

I expect them to cut some salary, play next year out, probably win like 48 games, then re-evaluate in 2026 when they will hopefully have a better idea hoe Tatum is looking going forward.

The jrue-KP idea has been floated around for awhile now, so I am not talking about that.  I mean a complete reset.

As I see it, the team won't really be a contender without not just a star JT, but stars around him.  There is not guarantee that we'll see superstar JT after this injury.  So everyone excluding JT (because of his injury) is available.  Most of the supporting cast is great on this team but those guys tend to get exposed without the star to hold it all together.

I think a complete blow up is extremely unlikely. People always underestimate how long it takes to rebuild a roster once you strip it down. If you take enough away to tank next season then it likely takes another 2-3 to build it back up and by the time you are good again Tatum my be post prime.

To me a smaller reset involving Jrue and or KP makes more sense.

the "blow it all up" crowd seems to be forgetting that the new owners didn't spend over 6 billion to get a lottery team.  Brad's going to be expected to make this team as competitive as possible while awaiting Tatum's return.

True. But I don't exactly relish following a "good not great" team, which is what I think they're likely to be in the short term. You know, 45-50 wins but no real shot at title contention. Tatum's injury has put a giant "pause" button on the team's entire outlook for the next couple of seasons.

[Who]

When is Tatum able to hit free agency?

You don't want to be in the middle of a rebuild when your star becomes a free agent. That is how you lose stars. You need to be contending by then.

Update: 4 years. Need to be back in contention by that season. So max 3 years rebuilding, contending in 4th year. If one was to do a major rebuild.

[Who]

This was a long post so I will break it up into 2 parts.

Part One - the trades
Part Two - the new look roster

This is part one.

Haven't posted in awhile. First, CELTICS IN 7,

Second, assuming that doesn't happen. I think the C's should make wholesale changes if Tatum is projected out all or most of next year.

A potential path to tank next year as a gap year with eyes to contend in 2026-27 and thereafter.

Trade 1 with Houston
Brown for Sheppard, Brooks, Smith, Eason, 2025 1st (10), 2027 PHX 1st, 2028 HOU 1st

That is quite the bounty for Jaylen Brown.

A former top 5 pick and good starting PF in Jabari Smith. A top 5 pick last year in Sheppard. Still too early to know what is or isn't there with him. Dillon Brooks a quality starting SF. Tari Eason a starting caliber forward. A late lotto pick and 2 future firsts.

I would Jaylen if that package was on the table.

I think it is asking too much though. I can't see them getting those 3 first rounders on top of Jabari, Sheppard, and two starting caliber forwards. I could see the picks instead of Jabari & Sheppard. Or maybe Sheppard stays in but Jabari goes out of the deal. Or Jabari stays in, Sheppard & #10 pick go out.

Trade 2 with Detroit
Porzingis for Stewart, Fontecchio, 2026 DET 1st (lotto protected)

Trade 3 with San Antonio
Holiday for Vassell

Trade 4 with Brooklyn
Hauser for 36 and future protected 2nd

That trade with Detroit looks fair. Same with the San Antonio trade.

I would rather keep Hauser as our backup SF than trade him for two 2nds. Hauser more valuable than that.

[Who]

This was a long post so I will break it up into 2 parts.

Part One - the trades
Part Two - the new look roster

This is part two

New roster
PG - [Derrick] White, Sheppard
SG - [Devin] Vassell, Pritchard, Fontecchio
SF - [Dillon] Brooks, Walsh, Scheireman
PF - [Jabari] Smith, Eason
C - [Isaiah] Stewart, Tillman
10 + 28 + Tatum on IR

Obviously some of the trade filler like Fontecchio can be moved, but I didn't work out all of that.

Also, these trades are all contingent on really liking Sheppard and the potential options at 10. You dont do this if the team doesn't like Sheppard a lot.

Team uses next year to feed Sheppard minutes and tank without Tatum and then has cap space the summer of 2026 to build around Tatum, Sheppard, 10, and Boston's 26 lotto pick with plenty of future 1st to trade to supplement core.

I think you trade Pritchard as well and clear the deck for Sheppard to get the backup guard minutes. Scheierman can backup SG. I keep Hauser to be the backup SF. Or play Fontecchio. I keep Kornet over Tillman.

If the team stays united during the season, they could win close to 40 games.

* You have average starters at PG, SG, SF, and PF. A below average starter at center. Stewart is a good backup big but a liability as a starter.
* Sheppard is a wild card. Tari Eason is a high level backup PF. If Hauser stays, an above average backup SF. Scheierman should be adequate. Kornet adequate. Bench should be okay.

It is not that much worse than our current team. It has better balance. Jabari Smith and Tari Eason help a lot. Two guys with size who can defend and rebound. Who can help our centers who are not high level defender / rebounders. You lose the go-to scorer in Jaylen. You will be more inconsistent offensively. I think the upgrade in defense & rebounding compensates and counteracts that.

So if the team is not much worse in the immediate sense, the two questions that come to mind are:

(1) Is it better, similar, or worse once Tatum returns than what our current group would be?

(2) Is it better, and if better, how much better positioned for the future than our current team?

Question 1: I think it is worse. I prefer our current roster with Tatum on it than this new look team. I think Tatum's return creates some redundancy with Jabari Smith Jr and Tari Eason. That we would be better off with Jaylen Brown as a 2nd scorer.

Question 2: Depends on Reed Sheppard.

I see Jabari more as an average to slightly above average starter [long term]. I am not sure he grows beyond that. Vassell is a better long term asset than Jrue. So I like that. I Stewart, T Eason - nothing to write home about.

Reed Sheppard is the only guy there that may have some star potential to replace Jaylen. I am not bullish enough on Sheppard after his struggles this season to make that bet. So I'd rather stay home with Jaylen.

I am not sure the #10 pick offers much value. I like the top 5-6 picks in this draft. Then I get iffy.

It seems more like a collection of average young players than high quality youth that can be part of your core moving forward. That can be top 3 players on a title winning side. Jabari could maybe be a 4th option. He is the safest option. Maybe Tari Eason can become that. Same with Devin Vassell. Reed Sheppard a wildcard with major question marks.

Jaylen Brown has already shown he can be the #2 on a title winning squad. It is like trading a dollar for four quarters.

[ozgod]

Define "blow it up." I think they will trade at least one of KP or Jrue for tax purposes, but besides that i expect they'll largely run it back next year.

It doesn't make any sense to trade for another star in a year when your best player is out, and tanking is much harder when you are a 61-win team rather than a 45-win team who loses a star. The Celtics aren't going to get bad enough to chase a real lottery pick without gutting their team, and if you gut the team there's no guarantee you will build it back up before the end of tatum's prime.

I expect them to cut some salary, play next year out, probably win like 48 games, then re-evaluate in 2026 when they will hopefully have a better idea hoe Tatum is looking going forward.

The jrue-KP idea has been floated around for awhile now, so I am not talking about that.  I mean a complete reset.

As I see it, the team won't really be a contender without not just a star JT, but stars around him.  There is not guarantee that we'll see superstar JT after this injury.  So everyone excluding JT (because of his injury) is available.  Most of the supporting cast is great on this team but those guys tend to get exposed without the star to hold it all together.

I think a complete blow up is extremely unlikely. People always underestimate how long it takes to rebuild a roster once you strip it down. If you take enough away to tank next season then it likely takes another 2-3 to build it back up and by the time you are good again Tatum my be post prime.

To me a smaller reset involving Jrue and or KP makes more sense.

There's obviously a lot of doomers because most fans are championship or bust, but I think we're in a better position than most to withstand the loss of our best player. S@#t happens in life, right. Just have to deal with it and adjust. Brad also has a lot of options - he can decide to double down with the existing team, he can choose to reconfigure the team and get it under the second apron - unlike the Suns our player assets have a higher market value around the league and we should have interest in the likes of Brown, White, Jrue, KP and Sam if the decision is made to move them. And other than KP they are all under control for at least a few years which a) helps with trading them away and b) helps with keeping them and retooling around them.

Personally I don't see a "blow it up" scenario as plausible. Overreact to an injury? Blow it up because your best player got injured and will miss a season? Ship everyone out and start over? Is that really what people want, to win 10-15 games a season for the next few years and hope we get lucky in the draft? Not to mention is that something some of the players we want to keep want, punt away a couple years of their careers?

Personally, I think it makes more sense that Brad retools the roster around Tatum, Brown, White and PP and looks to see if he can get under the tax with moving KP and Jrue but it's unlikely we get under the tax in one season. I updated the salary cap spreadsheet I put together last season with the data for 2025-26 from Spotrac. We are $73m over the cap, $39m over the tax and KP and Jrue add up to $63m so technically a trade where we ship out KP for someone making $18m and Jrue for someone making $21m would get us under it, everything else being equal. But because we're over the 2nd apron, we could only do that with another team where that trade would not put them above the first apron, because otherwise they could only take on 100% of the salary they are shipping out. And how many good players are with those types of teams?



We would also have $34m in cap holds next season, of which Horford would be $18m, while we have $8.6m in players who haven't played for us for a couple of years that haven't been renounced. That doesn't affect our luxury tax or apron calculations, but it affects how much space we might have to sign free agents.

In any case, changing course to forcibly get under the cap and "tank the season" just seems premature to me. It would require some drastic moves to clear that amount of payroll in one season and you think the other GMs will help us out knowing there's a desperation to get under the cap? It's something fans would say because we tend to look at seasons as championship or bust and none of us have skin in the game...but  the new owners might look at it differently. Tank their first season in charge? That has an impact on the equity of the brand name, on attendance, sponsorships, all those things. Especially since the team still has a strong base, it's not like it's become trash overnight. Otherwise we would be saying we're a one man team.

My guess is that the "reset year" might have been 2026-27 when KP's deal expires, Al would presumably have been off the books or at a reduced rate and they would have started the process of retooling the payroll this season without having to try and clear $73m all at once. They may still choose to do it that way, maybe use this season to get under the second apron at least, and then try to reset the tax in 2026-27 via attrition of contracts ending and trades.

I know it sucks because we felt we had a superteam, but without Tatum it's not like we've become trash and unwatchable overnight.

[Boston Garden Leprechaun]

giannis wants out of milwaukee

damm right you trade brown and KP and jrue and get him and whoever else.

have him and tatum and white and PP

giannis can finish at rim way better than anyone we have and obviously thats an issue with joe blow as a coach(praying he is fired soon).

GO GET HIM BRAD!

WE WANT GIANNIS!

WE WANT GIANNIS!

WE WANT GIANNIS!

a champion who has won a title. would bring great balance to JT.

[Neurotic Guy]

giannis wants out of milwaukee

damm right you trade brown and KP and jrue and get him and whoever else.

have him and tatum and white and PP

giannis can finish at rim way better than anyone we have and obviously thats an issue with joe blow as a coach(praying he is fired soon).

GO GET HIM BRAD!

WE WANT GIANNIS!

WE WANT GIANNIS!

WE WANT GIANNIS!

a champion who has won a title. would bring great balance to JT.

I do find it hard to fathom that if we ended up with Giannis, Tatum, DW, and PP, that anyone would upset with that.  In fact the timeline would immediately shift to next season as the countdown for a possible March return would start the day of the trade. 
But, I?m not sure getting him is even possible, and I?m pretty sure Milwaukee will have a better young package that the Cs could offer.  JB, Jrue, KP and Lilliard is not bringing home a banner, and will get worse by the year.

[mobilija]

giannis wants out of milwaukee

damm right you trade brown and KP and jrue and get him and whoever else.

have him and tatum and white and PP

giannis can finish at rim way better than anyone we have and obviously thats an issue with joe blow as a coach(praying he is fired soon).

GO GET HIM BRAD!

WE WANT GIANNIS!

WE WANT GIANNIS!

WE WANT GIANNIS!

a champion who has won a title. would bring great balance to JT.

I do find it hard to fathom that if we ended up with Giannis, Tatum, DW, and PP, that anyone would upset with that.  In fact the timeline would immediately shift to next season as the countdown for a possible March return would start the day of the trade. 
But, I?m not sure getting him is even possible, and I?m pretty sure Milwaukee will have a better young package that the Cs could offer.  JB, Jrue, KP and Lilliard is not bringing home a banner, and will get worse by the year.

I think the idea would be a bunch of separate deals to other teams to collect assets that Milwaukee would find appealing. Then grab Giannis w those assets and JB, or something like that.

[droopdog7]

giannis wants out of milwaukee

damm right you trade brown and KP and jrue and get him and whoever else.

have him and tatum and white and PP

giannis can finish at rim way better than anyone we have and obviously thats an issue with joe blow as a coach(praying he is fired soon).

GO GET HIM BRAD!

WE WANT GIANNIS!

WE WANT GIANNIS!

WE WANT GIANNIS!

a champion who has won a title. would bring great balance to JT.

Why in the world would Milwaukee want that package for Gianni?s?  A overpaid Jaylen brown who is not a #1.  An old jrue.  A injury probed KP.  Maybe if we add five unprotected first round picks they?d bite.  All that package would do would hurt Mil by maybe making them decent.  Maybe.

[scaryjerry]

giannis wants out of milwaukee

damm right you trade brown and KP and jrue and get him and whoever else.

have him and tatum and white and PP

giannis can finish at rim way better than anyone we have and obviously thats an issue with joe blow as a coach(praying he is fired soon).

GO GET HIM BRAD!

WE WANT GIANNIS!

WE WANT GIANNIS!

WE WANT GIANNIS!

a champion who has won a title. would bring great balance to JT.

Speak for yourself, I want nothing to do with Giannis and I?m sure he wants nothing to do with us