Boston and LA: Offseason Moves

[RebusRankin]

Keep TT, Posey and Eddie.
TA depends on the cost and what we can do in the draft.
Hopefully find a vet who wants to win and who gives us the good pirce ala PJ and Sam.

[wdleehi]

1) Keep Posey.  Use as much of the MLE needed.  

2) Give TA the one year contract offer that keeps him restricted.  

3) Try to get House to resign.  Just don't expect it to happen.  

4) I wouldn't mind seeing one of either Powe or Davis traded in a package to get a true number 2 PG or C.

5) Find the vet that wants his title.  See if they will sign for the LLE.  (I like Grant Hill if he opts out.  Especially if they keep House.  Gives the Celtics a SF to be the PG on offense to allow House to just be a shooter)

[D Dub]

Eddie House and James Posey MUST be re-signed. 

[Barnabas]

I posted these questions because they're going through my head right now.  

Lakers:  I agree with most of you.  Odom will be traded.  He's a tradeable player that they can use to acquire that defensive minded SF.  But they also need that defensive SF to be a consistent outside shooter.  So whoever they get won't come cheap.  Who knows, they might be interested in Posey since he fills those needs perfectly.

Is there a way to design a team defense, sort of like the kind that the Celtics play, so that it can compensate for Gasol's weakness?  Gasol is very, very talented offensively, and I don't think they're ready to give up on him just yet.  And yeah, Walton and Radmanovic are bad long-term contracts to have.  The Lakers do have tradeable assets, like Odom and Farmar, which gives them a little more flexibility than we have.  I believe they'll keep Vujacic, as he has a lot of potential.

Celtics:  I believe we do not need Powe and Big Baby on the same team.  But since they make minimal and are contracted for one more year, maybe we can use one as a tradeable asset.  Big Baby doesn't have much trade value, but Powe does.  Powe will develop into a physical inside player, but his lack of height can hurt us later on if we continue to use him as the backup PF.

We definitely need another big man to replace PJ Brown.  What do you all think of Kelvin Cato?  We can probably keep Pollard as the third-string Center if he's willing to sign for the minimum and if he's healthy.

Keep Posey, if he's willing to play for a reasonable salary.  He is the 4th best player on the team.  I would hesitate to use the full MLE on him though.  

My views on the backup PG situation has changed somewhat.  House is weak in the ballhandling department.  However, if he is willing to sign for the minimum, we should consider it.  With Rondo's lack of shooting proficiency, we will need someone off the bench who can spread the opposing defense to make it easy for the Big Three.  Pierce has shown that he can be the ballhandler when House is in the game.  But do we really want Piere to have to do that, and have to play with the second unit?


Draft:  I maintain the position that this is a team in contending mode, not rebuilding mode.  We already have enough projects on our bench.  Do we really want to bring in another one?  Maybe we should trade away the first round draft pick in a package deal?

[Gainesville Celtic]

1) Keep Posey.  Use as much of the MLE needed. 

2) Give TA the one year contract offer that keeps him restricted. 

3) Try to get House to resign.  Just don't expect it to happen. 

I disagree --- and disagree with ManUp who says House can be considered replaceable.

House was along with Posey the heart of this team/bench.

He didn't allow guys to take plays off and was always ready. And i believe if we offer him 2 years -- which we should -- he'll be back.

Every team that's let House go has regretted it and said so. Keep #50.

5. I'd like to see a draft day trade in which the player selected at #30 is moved for a future pick.  Failing that, they should draft a Euro project who can be stashed.

NO. we need to keep adding talent to this team via the draft --- which Ainge has shown he's great at doing --- to stay on top. That's the key mistake teams like SA, LA, CHI, even BOS in the 80s have made througout the years.

Ainge will add 1, maybe 2, players from the draft this year.

(1) I don't care too much about Tom T. It'd be nice if he stayed because he's a good assistant but it is no way, shape or form important to the team. Houston's defense held up fine after TT, so would Boston's.

whoa... are you crazy?  Tom Ts commitment to D, allows Doc do what he does.  Win championships. 

[wdleehi]

1) Keep Posey.  Use as much of the MLE needed. 

2) Give TA the one year contract offer that keeps him restricted. 

3) Try to get House to resign.  Just don't expect it to happen. 

I disagree --- and disagree with ManUp who says House can be considered replaceable.

House was along with Posey the heart of this team/bench.

He didn't allow guys to take plays off and was always ready. And i believe if we offer him 2 years -- which we should -- he'll be back.

Every team that's let House go has regretted it and said so. Keep #50.

5. I'd like to see a draft day trade in which the player selected at #30 is moved for a future pick.  Failing that, they should draft a Euro project who can be stashed.

NO. we need to keep adding talent to this team via the draft --- which Ainge has shown he's great at doing --- to stay on top. That's the key mistake teams like SA, LA, CHI, even BOS in the 80s have made througout the years.

Ainge will add 1, maybe 2, players from the draft this year.

(1) I don't care too much about Tom T. It'd be nice if he stayed because he's a good assistant but it is no way, shape or form important to the team. Houston's defense held up fine after TT, so would Boston's.

whoa... are you crazy?  Tom Ts commitment to D, allows Doc do what he does.  Win championships. 

Keeping House depends a lot on what players want.


If Posey opts out (which he will) the Celtics have to resign him.  That probably means the whole MLE.



This post season showed that House playing vs House not playing had little effect on the outcome of the games (much like many bench players)  If he sign for little, then he will be back.  If some team offers him 3 million, he is leaving just because the Celtics will not be able to match.



It might just come down to who do the Celtics want to keep, House or Posey.

[Chris]

Here are what they should be focusing on in order of importance:

1. Convince Posey to stay on the non bird rights exception

2. Pay Thibodeau so he stays

3. Find another ball handler for the backcourt (whether it is a legit backup PG, or a SG who can handle the ball and play with House...either works)

4. Find a replacement for PJ (who I am assuming will retire).

[drza44]

The Celts next year should retain the same starting unit, with the idea of putting a bit more responsibility on Rondo and a bit less on Ray in the offense.  They could do with re-configuring their bench, adjusting the roles a bit and getting some potential youth for the future.  If done right, these two things could extend their championship window for several years.

1) Keep Posey - No explanation needed.

2) Need a bigger/taller third big for the big man rotation.  Preferably a young guy.  Moving up a bit to get a guy like Roy Hibbert would be a great fit.

3) Need a reliable, known commodity at back-up PG.  I expect a big improvement in Rondo next year, but still, I don't want another schizophrenic situation at PG where from game-to-game the PG could either be a good strength or a huge liability.  Because Rondo will still have ups/downs, need a veteran type that can come in and right the ship. 

4) Upgrade Tony Allen.  Need a young, athletic swingman that can play strong defense while also having enough offensive upside to possibly be a successor to Ray Allen down the road.  Hey may not be a popular choice here because he has something of a bad reputation, but from watching Minnesota a lot I would absolutely love to see Rashad McCants in Tony Allen's role.  Couldn't really be done outside of trade, but rumor has it that Minny is looking to deal him and I think he'd be a great fit.

[BrickJames]

Here are what they should be focusing on in order of importance:

1. Convince Posey to stay on the non bird rights exception

2. Pay Thibodeau so he stays

3. Find another ball handler for the backcourt (whether it is a legit backup PG, or a SG who can handle the ball and play with House...either works)

4. Find a replacement for PJ (who I am assuming will retire).

Nice Post.  some amendments, additions, FWIW...

3. Lindsey Hunter anyone?
4. Ideally, this replacement would be competent on the offensive block while being the defensive stalwart that PJ was.  I know it's a lot to ask.  Mourning?  Sheed?  Brand? Bogut even?

5. A Tony Allen replacement.  Mo Evans anyone?

[Donoghus]

Here are what they should be focusing on in order of importance:

1. Convince Posey to stay on the non bird rights exception

2. Pay Thibodeau so he stays

3. Find another ball handler for the backcourt (whether it is a legit backup PG, or a SG who can handle the ball and play with House...either works)

4. Find a replacement for PJ (who I am assuming will retire).

Sums up my thoughts.

[wildo05]

Awesome season first off. I tend to think that Posey is going to go elsewhere. He would be my first priority, but his agent was talking before Game 6 saying BGJ was going to test the market.

It appears like Phoenix is looking to obtain another first round pick for either Boris Diaw or Leandro Barbosa (http://realgm.com/src_wiretap_archives/53043/20080617/suns_dangling_diaw_and_barbo_for_pick/). With Sam probably leaving I would love to see the Celts obtain Barbosa. Diaw is also a lock down defender too.

Let's enjoy it, but always look towards next year too!

Green 17! Woooooooooooooo!

[Who]

Keeping House depends a lot on what players want.


This post season showed that House playing vs House not playing had little effect on the outcome of the games (much like many bench players)  If he sign for little, then he will be back.  If some team offers him 3 million, he is leaving just because the Celtics will not be able to match.



It might just come down to who do the Celtics want to keep, House or Posey.

What team is going to pay Eddie House 3mil?

I'm putting the chances of that at about 1 in 1000.

Financially Eddie is easy to keep because he's perceived to be an overly flawed player that isn't worth serious money. If teams do big it will be offers of a similar role for similar pay. Stay in Boston with a title winning team he clearly enjoys playing with versus leaving for similar money/role (not like someone is going to start the lad is it?).

If Eddie manages to wiggle his way to 2mil I'd be impressed. He will likely be happy with anything above a minimum contract just like he was last year and years past. The C's can offer the 1.5 with a slight raise and retain him fine.

Nobody is going to offer Eddie years on his contract either. Easy player to financially retain.

[Gainesville Celtic]

Here are what they should be focusing on in order of importance:

1. Convince Posey to stay on the non bird rights exception

This is the key:

4 yr MLE (which any team can offer Posey) = $25.2M
4 yr non-bird contract (which C's can offer & save MLE) = $21.9M ($3.2M less over 4 years, 800K/yr)

Could Posey be convinced to give the C's a bit of a discount so we could use the MLE to add some bigs?

if not 5 yr non-bird contract (5th year at team option or vesting if posey plays X games in yr 4) = $28.7M


resigning house with non-bird rights is a 2 year/$3.7M deal..... i think he'd take that in a heartbeat.... maybe even give him player option in yr2 if he wants.

[Barnabas]

We're assuming that there are lots of veterans out there who would sacrifice $ for a chance to win a championship.  Going along with this assumption, the target market for us might be those older players who are about to wind down their careers.  The trick is to find the right fit, as well as finding one who has enough left in the tank for one more run at a championship.

See, a lot of players that look unobtainable right now might actually be.  That's one of my main reasons for wanting to clear some space from our bench.  If we give into the temptation that Who warned us about, and resigned all of the players that we like, we wouldn't have much room to get a very valuable veteran later on.  On the same line of thinking, it might be better to trade away the first round draft pick to keep some room on the bench.  And we do not want to be tied to a three year contract for a project.


Another thing to consider is that our main rival, being the very competitive franchise that they are, will be making some big moves.  Teams like the Celtics, Lakers, SA, and NO are all within striking distance of a championship.  Such teams are not looking for a complete overhaul.  All they're trying to do is fine tuning their roster.  One of those teams might be willing to trade away a player who is generally more valuable for a player who is generally less valuable, but possess certain qualities that they desperately lack.  For example (and I'm not suggesting we do this, or anything, just an example), the Lakers need toughness inside.  They already have inside offense in Gasol and Bynum.  They already have a skilled back up PG in Vujacic.  They may consider trading Farmar for Powe!  

All I'm saying is, we need to resist the temptation to resign players just because we like them.  We need to keep the bench open for these possible opportunities.  

[ManUp]

The most i'd give Posey is 3 years at full MLE.

no way he should be here longer than any of the new big 3.

Like the Big Three he is an older player.