I Think I Am Aboard The Tank Train Now

[slamtheking]

I think what hopping aboard the tank train really means is that you are rooting for losses. I?m not ready to do that yet although I don?t deny the benefit of getting a good draft pick.   I really don?t like the idea of players experiencing a season of losing 60% of their games. It?s depressing and frustrating for them and I don?t see it as necessary to the ultimate goal. Philly had a miserable year last year and got Edgecomb. I see the benefit, but i recall what seemed like a  decade of Philly tanking without a championship or a Finals to show for it.  There?s no guarantee you hit big in a draft.  I?m not rooting to lose yet. Maybe at 40 games in I will hop aboard.

I don't think it's necessarily rooting for losses but accepting they're going to lose a lot and that there's a 'reward' for doing so by getting a lottery pick after the season.  The other 'benefit' is playing players that wouldn't normally get playing time to see if any develop during the season into rotation-quality players or at least show solid signs of getting to that point.  In that regard, early indications are that Hugo and Minott could be good bench guys next year and Queta has really improved such that he's a really good back-up center at this point. 

I expect the team to play hard and try to win.  I just don't think they have the talent to win many games this year.

[gift]

I can't imagine rooting for losses. The tank train is just being ok with the outcome of games without being obsessed with immediate success (like I usually am).

[celticinorlando]

This roster is slowly going to get worse and worse over the year. It just is not good at all. Tanking is the right thing to do.

[slamtheking]

This roster is slowly going to get worse and worse over the year. It just is not good at all. Tanking is the right thing to do.

how is the roster going to "get worse and worse over the year"?  The roster is set unless Brad makes deal at the deadline. 

do you mean you expect them to play worse as the year goes?  If so, I actually expect the opposite happen as younger players develop, the team gets used to playing together as the season goes and eventually Brad making a trade (or more than 1) to bring in players that balance out the roster better (particularly with an eye towards next year).  I also figure that most of the players are underperforming expectations and can only improve over what they're currently producing -- White, PP and Simons in particular.

[celticinorlando]

This roster is slowly going to get worse and worse over the year. It just is not good at all. Tanking is the right thing to do.

how is the roster going to "get worse and worse over the year"?  The roster is set unless Brad makes deal at the deadline. 

do you mean you expect them to play worse as the year goes?  If so, I actually expect the opposite happen as younger players develop, the team gets used to playing together as the season goes and eventually Brad making a trade (or more than 1) to bring in players that balance out the roster better (particularly with an eye towards next year).  I also figure that most of the players are underperforming expectations and can only improve over what they're currently producing -- White, PP and Simons in particular.

Who do you think they will develop other than Hugo? I don't see anyone on this roster that is going to make leaps and bounds for the season. Minott will have one decent game and disappear for long stretches. Garza is what he is. I don't see anything about his game that screams he is taking some sort of next step. Don't think either guy is on this roster next season.

Simons will be traded at some point. He isn't long for Boston. At some point Brown will slump because right now he is carrying them. That is not sustainable.

Still feels like a 35 win team when it is all said and done.

[Kernewek]

I can't imagine rooting for losses. The tank train is just being ok with the outcome of games without being obsessed with immediate success (like I usually am).

Not sure I'd agree with that characterisation, but I think it's a healthy attitude to have.

[dannyboy35]

I can't imagine rooting for losses. The tank train is just being ok with the outcome of games without being obsessed with immediate success (like I usually am).

  I?m actively rooting for losses.

[slightly biased bias fan]

This roster is slowly going to get worse and worse over the year. It just is not good at all. Tanking is the right thing to do.

If the Celtics are extremely lucky and get the first pick in next years draft, Darryn Peterson would be perfect. He is good enough to slot right into a contending starting five.

Bill Self is on record saying Peterson is the most talented player he has ever coached (that includes Embiid).

White
Peterson
Brown
Tatum

[slamtheking]

This roster is slowly going to get worse and worse over the year. It just is not good at all. Tanking is the right thing to do.

how is the roster going to "get worse and worse over the year"?  The roster is set unless Brad makes deal at the deadline. 

do you mean you expect them to play worse as the year goes?  If so, I actually expect the opposite happen as younger players develop, the team gets used to playing together as the season goes and eventually Brad making a trade (or more than 1) to bring in players that balance out the roster better (particularly with an eye towards next year).  I also figure that most of the players are underperforming expectations and can only improve over what they're currently producing -- White, PP and Simons in particular.

Who do you think they will develop other than Hugo? I don't see anyone on this roster that is going to make leaps and bounds for the season. Minott will have one decent game and disappear for long stretches. Garza is what he is. I don't see anything about his game that screams he is taking some sort of next step. Don't think either guy is on this roster next season.

Simons will be traded at some point. He isn't long for Boston. At some point Brown will slump because right now he is carrying them. That is not sustainable.

Still feels like a 35 win team when it is all said and done.

so.....that would mean the team is staying the same basically, not getting worse.

Simons is 95% likely to be moved at the deadline.  only reason to keep him is if Brad doesn't get a deal he likes and he ends up resigning him in the offseason to possibly move as salary filler in a future deal.  Garza and Minott will be here next year because of their contracts first of all and second Garza plays a position we're extremely thin at and Minott has played well enough to keep as a bench player for next year.  The ones likely to be gone besides Simons are Walsh and Tillman.

FWIW, I predicted this team would get about 34-37 wins so you seem to be seeing what I saw at the beginning of the season. 

[Who]

This roster is slowly going to get worse and worse over the year. It just is not good at all. Tanking is the right thing to do.

I expect the team to get worse as the year goes on too. Mainly because I expect Jaylen to get injured at some point and miss 15-20 games. That will be a rough stretch for the team.

[Birdman]

Tatum and Brown need to rework their contracts and take a paycut if they want to win..do they really need all that money to live on for rest of their lives???

[Neurotic Guy]

Tatum and Brown need to rework their contracts and take a paycut if they want to win..do they really need all that money to live on for rest of their lives???

Is that even something they are allowed to do?

[Kernewek]

Tatum and Brown need to rework their contracts and take a paycut if they want to win..do they really need all that money to live on for rest of their lives???

Is that even something they are allowed to do?

The short answer is no.

The longer answer is also no, because players and teams cannot renegotiate a player's salary downward as per the CBA.

Players and teams can renegotiate contracts upward if it is a four-year, non-rookie deal and the team is under the cap (and the increase can only bring the team up to the cap) - which is why you don't hear about it very often. I suppose Lauri Markkanen is the most recent example?

[Neurotic Guy]

This roster is slowly going to get worse and worse over the year. It just is not good at all. Tanking is the right thing to do.

how is the roster going to "get worse and worse over the year"?  The roster is set unless Brad makes deal at the deadline. 

do you mean you expect them to play worse as the year goes?  If so, I actually expect the opposite happen as younger players develop, the team gets used to playing together as the season goes and eventually Brad making a trade (or more than 1) to bring in players that balance out the roster better (particularly with an eye towards next year).  I also figure that most of the players are underperforming expectations and can only improve over what they're currently producing -- White, PP and Simons in particular.

Who do you think they will develop other than Hugo? I don't see anyone on this roster that is going to make leaps and bounds for the season. Minott will have one decent game and disappear for long stretches. Garza is what he is. I don't see anything about his game that screams he is taking some sort of next step. Don't think either guy is on this roster next season.

Simons will be traded at some point. He isn't long for Boston. At some point Brown will slump because right now he is carrying them. That is not sustainable.

Still feels like a 35 win team when it is all said and done.

There are three:  Hugo, Minott, and Queta.  I believe all three can improve over the course of the year, getting to a good place for next year.  Queta looks to be a quality backup in the making.  Qs growth is equivalent to Kornet?s. Luke is a rotation big now (though injured) where he was a seldom used 3rd stringer prior to last year. And Luke didn?t get there till age 29.   Q projects to be better. 

Still, Cs need a quality starting center to join JTs return next year.  But developing Q this year is part of the picture.

And what might the presumed trade with Simons bring? I like Simons more than I thought I would. 

[slamtheking]

This roster is slowly going to get worse and worse over the year. It just is not good at all. Tanking is the right thing to do.

how is the roster going to "get worse and worse over the year"?  The roster is set unless Brad makes deal at the deadline. 

do you mean you expect them to play worse as the year goes?  If so, I actually expect the opposite happen as younger players develop, the team gets used to playing together as the season goes and eventually Brad making a trade (or more than 1) to bring in players that balance out the roster better (particularly with an eye towards next year).  I also figure that most of the players are underperforming expectations and can only improve over what they're currently producing -- White, PP and Simons in particular.

Who do you think they will develop other than Hugo? I don't see anyone on this roster that is going to make leaps and bounds for the season. Minott will have one decent game and disappear for long stretches. Garza is what he is. I don't see anything about his game that screams he is taking some sort of next step. Don't think either guy is on this roster next season.

Simons will be traded at some point. He isn't long for Boston. At some point Brown will slump because right now he is carrying them. That is not sustainable.

Still feels like a 35 win team when it is all said and done.

There are three:  Hugo, Minott, and Queta.  I believe all three can improve over the course of the year, getting to a good place for next year.  Queta looks to be a quality backup in the making.  Qs growth is equivalent to Kornet?s. Luke is a rotation big now (though injured) where he was a seldom used 3rd stringer prior to last year. And Luke didn?t get there till age 29.   Q projects to be better. 

Still, Cs need a quality starting center to join JTs return next year.  But developing Q this year is part of the picture.

And what might the presumed trade with Simons bring? I like Simons more than I thought I would.

I agree on Queta.  He's showing he can be a very solid backup center.  The reason I wouldn't put him as the starting center is he's limited offensively and his D still needs work.   If he improves both of those aspects of his game then he just might be our starter and finding a quality backup for him becomes easier than trying to land a starting-caliber player