How do we fill in our remaining holes?

[lon3lytoaster]

Alright, Rasheed was a big step in filling in our major holes. We took Orlando to seven with only Mikki Moore and Perkins playing at or above 6'9. That's pretty good, and having Sheed certainly makes our bench better.

We still have problems, though. Pierce still doesn't have a legit backup. Watching the summer league Walker and Giddens aren't ready to contribute. New York is offering a lot more money than we can for Grant Hill, and apparently well over a hundred million for his career isn't enough. Danny doesn't have any interest in Matt Barnes and then after that I don't see anyone left in free agency that is good enough to help us.

Marbury might leave, and even if he stays he didn't do a whole lot of good for us last year. Pruitt is just horrible, who knows about Hudson? Eddie House isn't a point guard and if I ever see Tony play PG for this team (Make that play for this team in general) I'll gouge my eyes out.

So what can we realistically do? Our only tradable assets are Tony, Scals, Walker, Pruitt, Giddens, and Eddie. Everyone else is just too valuable to lose unless we're getting something special back. All of these players have really small, or expiring contracts. Now which teams really need the financial relief?

Is it possible that we trade our expirings for a real combo guard like Barbosa, or maybe a small forward like Travis Outlaw? Would either team be interested in any package we can realistically offer?

[illestmcsgt]

Good question I would really like to see a good wing/SF player be signed to get that out of the way. Someone like Barnes would be great, but yeah Danny don't want him. Maybe Carney, Daniels, Mason, Udoka, and Hill would be nice. For PG I think someone better then Lue would be great like Luther Head or even Anthony Carter would be a step up from him or Marbury. Then add BBD or Powe and our bench is enough to make a good title run.

[PosImpos]

Here's where we stand at the moment:

Rondo, House, Pruitt (?)
Ray, Giddens, TA
Paul, Walker
KG, Sheed, Scal
Perk

1. We need to get a wing backup.  Our best option at the moment is Grant Hill, but if he doesn't sign with us, our options are narrowed considerably.  We're left with Keith Bogans, Von Wafer, Marquis Daniels, Matt Barnes, or somebody similar.  Either that, or we make a trade with a team that has an excess of wings and money problems (like NO).

2. We need to fill the 4th big spot with a guy who can play 10-15 mpg.  Ideally we resign BBD, but otherwise we could sign a decent F / C like Chris Wilcox, Drew Gooden, or Rasho Nesterovic.

3. We need to get a backup PG - somebody who can play around 10 minutes a night without turning over the ball a lot or getting burned on defense.  Ideally it would be somebody who is at least 6'3'' who can defend SGs so House can play at SG.  Bobby Jackson is the first guy that comes to mind, but apparently the Celtics are looking at Tyron Lue (eh).  Pruitt might be a possibility, but things aren't looking too promising on that front.

That's 3-4 signings we need to make before we're a complete team.  The only one I'm concerned about at this point is #1.  The other two should be pretty easy to solve.  Whether we resign the guys we've already had (BBD, Pruitt), or sign a guy for the minimum (i.e. Wilcox and Jackson), we should be fine.  As long as our core bench is House, Rasheed, and a solid wing backup, it doesn't really matter who the other two guys are.

[waltzero]

New Orleans wants Glen Davis but would have to get him via sign and trade. If Baby wants to be in New Orleans and if they wanted to pay him full midlevel money, the straight up trade options would be Antonio Daniels(expiring), Pose(2 more), or Morris Peterson (1 more, has a trade kicker). I used realgm for all of that.

I doubt they give us Daniels as he's got an expiring deal. Mo has a trade kicker, just 1 year left, and doesn't really have what we need, especially if we're giving up Davis for him.

Get me a young Ricardo Montalban. Eh screw it get me Ricardo Montalban. It looks like Posey will be back if Baby wants to go home to NO. Although I guess that means Glenn might end up going to Detroit or somewhere if we aren't willing to take back Pose or if NO doesn't want to pay him full midlevel money.

[nickagneta]

New Orleans wants Glen Davis but would have to get him via sign and trade. If Baby wants to be in New Orleans and if they wanted to pay him full midlevel money, the straight up trade options would be Antonio Daniels(expiring), Pose(2 more), or Morris Peterson (1 more, has a trade kicker). I used realgm for all of that.

I doubt they give us Daniels as he's got an expiring deal. Mo has a trade kicker, just 1 year left, and doesn't really have what we need, especially if we're giving up Davis for him.

Get me a young Ricardo Montalban. Eh screw it get me Ricardo Montalban. It looks like Posey will be back if Baby wants to go home to NO. Although I guess that means Glenn might end up going to Detroit or somewhere if we aren't willing to take back Pose or if NO doesn't want to pay him full midlevel money.

Big Baby in a sign and trade can not be done one up for most of the Hornets roster unless minimum salary veterans are included to balance the deal. Baby's trade in a sign and trade is restricted by a Base Year Compensation clause that makes signing and trading him very difficult because his salary counts as only half of what his first year is as an outgoing salary for the Celtics but counts in full as an incoming salary for the traded to team.

[jasail]

I see this shaking out one of two ways:

1) We sign Grant Hill as the wing.  Then we make a push for BBD to round out the summer.  With Hill we do not need a true point, so Eddie can play @ the point w/o having to play point and we can use one of the Walker/TA/Giddens combo as the 4th wing.  This is what I think Plan A is.

2) If Hill chooses NYK then on to Plan B.  I think Plan B would be using a sign and trade w/BBD and probably Scal and TA to make the money work.  This trade would bring us a wing (SAC, NO).  Remember BBD only has a choice if the C's decide not to match.  Then I think we wait out to sign a couple late summer FA's to fill out the roster.  This includes making another offer to Marbury and making a push for a 4th big. Or we somehow turn some scrubs plus Eddie into a real combo (Barbosa?), but that is unlikely. 

3) If DA can't get Hill, S&T BBD or move TA and Scal for a wing then this summer is a failure.  Our biggest need is a wing that can back up Paul and Ray for good minuets, keeping their old legs as fresh as possible.  If this can't be done then there is no way #18 is coming.  Not to be a pessimist but Ray and Paul killed themselves last year and were absolutely gassed and they will be a year older and doing it again.  That isn't promising.

[nickagneta]

I see this shaking out one of two ways:

1) We sign Grant Hill as the wing.  Then we make a push for BBD to round out the summer.  With Hill we do not need a true point, so Eddie can play @ the point w/o having to play point and we can use one of the Walker/TA/Giddens combo as the 4th wing.  This is what I think Plan A is.

2) If Hill chooses NYK then on to Plan B.  I think Plan B would be using a sign and trade w/BBD and probably Scal and TA to make the money work.  This trade would bring us a wing (SAC, NO).  Remember BBD only has a choice if the C's decide not to match.  Then I think we wait out to sign a couple late summer FA's to fill out the roster.  This includes making another offer to Marbury and making a push for a 4th big. Or we somehow turn some scrubs plus Eddie into a real combo (Barbosa?), but that is unlikely. 

3) If DA can't get Hill, S&T BBD or move TA and Scal for a wing then this summer is a failure.  Our biggest need is a wing that can back up Paul and Ray for good minuets, keeping their old legs as fresh as possible.  If this can't be done then there is no way #18 is coming.  Not to be a pessimist but Ray and Paul killed themselves last year and were absolutely gassed and they will be a year older and doing it again.  That isn't promising.

I agree with 1 and somewhat on 2 but not on 3. Danny seems to be putting a lot of faith in his ability to close the deal on Hill. If Hill isn't the guy then a trade is also a very good possibility but for some reason I don't think a sign and trade is in the works for Big Baby.

If Baby doesn't get offers close to the MLE, I think he could take the qualifying offer and play for a year hoping to bolster his chances of an unrestricted free agency year in 2010. Also, if he signs well below the MLE I think Danny matches and keeps him.

But trading Scal and Tony and/or possibly even Eddie House for a good wing player could very well happen. The reduced cap and luxtax level is actually good news in that it makes Sval and Tony and Eddie's expiring contracts even more valuable. I say watch for a trade with either GS or Sacramento.

As for the failure if neither happens, I think that's jumping to early conclusions that aren't there yet. Signing Walter Hermann, Quinton Ross or Matt Barnes or someone like that until Danny can move expiring contracts for a really good wing player is a possibility and a player like that could very well surprise too.

[CoachBo]

I believe Ross is off the table, which pains me. I would have vastly preferred him over throwing $2.5 million down the Tony Allen rathole last year.

And I agree with the OP about 3. We cannot win a title without a competent backup for Pierce. There hopefully will be trade opportunities out there for the expirings if Hill is all about money.

[Eeyore III]

What happened to Anthony Parker?  I think signing him, re-signing Baby, and giving Starbury time to adjust to the reality of his situation and then coaxing him back, would give us what we need.

[nickagneta]

What happened to Anthony Parker?  I think signing him, re-signing Baby, and giving Starbury time to adjust to the reality of his situation and then coaxing him back, would give us what we need.

Parker signed with Cleveland yesterday

[jasail]

I see this shaking out one of two ways:

1) We sign Grant Hill as the wing.  Then we make a push for BBD to round out the summer.  With Hill we do not need a true point, so Eddie can play @ the point w/o having to play point and we can use one of the Walker/TA/Giddens combo as the 4th wing.  This is what I think Plan A is.

2) If Hill chooses NYK then on to Plan B.  I think Plan B would be using a sign and trade w/BBD and probably Scal and TA to make the money work.  This trade would bring us a wing (SAC, NO).  Remember BBD only has a choice if the C's decide not to match.  Then I think we wait out to sign a couple late summer FA's to fill out the roster.  This includes making another offer to Marbury and making a push for a 4th big. Or we somehow turn some scrubs plus Eddie into a real combo (Barbosa?), but that is unlikely. 

3) If DA can't get Hill, S&T BBD or move TA and Scal for a wing then this summer is a failure.  Our biggest need is a wing that can back up Paul and Ray for good minuets, keeping their old legs as fresh as possible.  If this can't be done then there is no way #18 is coming.  Not to be a pessimist but Ray and Paul killed themselves last year and were absolutely gassed and they will be a year older and doing it again.  That isn't promising.

I agree with 1 and somewhat on 2 but not on 3. Danny seems to be putting a lot of faith in his ability to close the deal on Hill. If Hill isn't the guy then a trade is also a very good possibility but for some reason I don't think a sign and trade is in the works for Big Baby.

If Baby doesn't get offers close to the MLE, I think he could take the qualifying offer and play for a year hoping to bolster his chances of an unrestricted free agency year in 2010. Also, if he signs well below the MLE I think Danny matches and keeps him.

But trading Scal and Tony and/or possibly even Eddie House for a good wing player could very well happen. The reduced cap and luxtax level is actually good news in that it makes Sval and Tony and Eddie's expiring contracts even more valuable. I say watch for a trade with either GS or Sacramento.

As for the failure if neither happens, I think that's jumping to early conclusions that aren't there yet. Signing Walter Hermann, Quinton Ross or Matt Barnes or someone like that until Danny can move expiring contracts for a really good wing player is a possibility and a player like that could very well surprise too.

I made a type with regards to point 2.  I meant to say that some type of trade w/Scal, Eddie, TA (plus scrubs) or a S&T with BBD or a combination of the two will be explored to get us a wing player/combo guard if Hill falls through.

With regards to point three, I was under the impression that Q Ross signed in Dallas and that Matt Barnes was uninterested in coming to Boston (or any cold weather city) w/o a big payday.  I like Herman, but IMO he is a 4th wing not a 3rd wing.  IMO settling for him or a Udoka to fill what I see as our biggest hole would be failure.   

[nickagneta]

I see this shaking out one of two ways:

1) We sign Grant Hill as the wing.  Then we make a push for BBD to round out the summer.  With Hill we do not need a true point, so Eddie can play @ the point w/o having to play point and we can use one of the Walker/TA/Giddens combo as the 4th wing.  This is what I think Plan A is.

2) If Hill chooses NYK then on to Plan B.  I think Plan B would be using a sign and trade w/BBD and probably Scal and TA to make the money work.  This trade would bring us a wing (SAC, NO).  Remember BBD only has a choice if the C's decide not to match.  Then I think we wait out to sign a couple late summer FA's to fill out the roster.  This includes making another offer to Marbury and making a push for a 4th big. Or we somehow turn some scrubs plus Eddie into a real combo (Barbosa?), but that is unlikely. 

3) If DA can't get Hill, S&T BBD or move TA and Scal for a wing then this summer is a failure.  Our biggest need is a wing that can back up Paul and Ray for good minuets, keeping their old legs as fresh as possible.  If this can't be done then there is no way #18 is coming.  Not to be a pessimist but Ray and Paul killed themselves last year and were absolutely gassed and they will be a year older and doing it again.  That isn't promising.

I agree with 1 and somewhat on 2 but not on 3. Danny seems to be putting a lot of faith in his ability to close the deal on Hill. If Hill isn't the guy then a trade is also a very good possibility but for some reason I don't think a sign and trade is in the works for Big Baby.

If Baby doesn't get offers close to the MLE, I think he could take the qualifying offer and play for a year hoping to bolster his chances of an unrestricted free agency year in 2010. Also, if he signs well below the MLE I think Danny matches and keeps him.

But trading Scal and Tony and/or possibly even Eddie House for a good wing player could very well happen. The reduced cap and luxtax level is actually good news in that it makes Sval and Tony and Eddie's expiring contracts even more valuable. I say watch for a trade with either GS or Sacramento.

As for the failure if neither happens, I think that's jumping to early conclusions that aren't there yet. Signing Walter Hermann, Quinton Ross or Matt Barnes or someone like that until Danny can move expiring contracts for a really good wing player is a possibility and a player like that could very well surprise too.

I made a type with regards to point 2.  I meant to say that some type of trade w/Scal, Eddie, TA (plus scrubs) or a S&T with BBD or a combination of the two will be explored to get us a wing player/combo guard if Hill falls through.

With regards to point three, I was under the impression that Q Ross signed in Dallas and that Matt Barnes was uninterested in coming to Boston (or any cold weather city) w/o a big payday.  I like Herman, but IMO he is a 4th wing not a 3rd wing.  IMO settling for him or a Udoka to fill what I see as our biggest hole would be failure.   

I am aware of Ross and Barnes. I was just saying that someone of that caliber, because I think they are all in the same caliber talent-wise and what they bring to the table, could give the team what it needs at the wing to rest Pierce and Ray enough to keep them healthy and strong. we need an 18-20 minutes per game guy that can do the job better than Tony Allen and Bill Walker while understanding they probably won't be in Hill's or Posey's caliber. There's a bunch of guys out there that can do that.

[Galiza Ceive]

We still need three players: a PG, a SF and a PF/C. And we still have, the veteran minimum, the LLE and expiring contracts (Tony Allen, Scal, Pruitt).
For PF/C, option one should be resign BBD. If that is not possible I would go for Powe plus a back up option until he is fully recovered (ala Swift or Fazekas).
For the PF we have two options, signing a free agent (ideally, Grant Hill) for the veteran minimum/LLE, or trade our expiring contracts for a player like Nocioni.
For the PG, it would depend on the PF, if we use the expiring, we should have to look for a veteran minimum player, if we sign Hill or other free agent we could try to look a bit up for a player making 3-4 million (no names here, though)

[LooseCannon]

I like Herman, but IMO he is a 4th wing not a 3rd wing.  IMO settling for him or a Udoka to fill what I see as our biggest hole would be failure.   

Once Wallace was signed, if Grant Hill doesn't work out, I think someone on the level of Udoka becomes the best-case scenario and I expect that the Celtics will actually sign someone a bit worse.

The Celtics don't need a good player as a back-up wing, they just need someone who Doc Rivers will play (although there is some correlation between the two).

[GKC]

I like Matt Barnes game, and he has become less of a thug in Phoenix. He at least provides the scoring if not the best defense (his defense relies on athleticism, not brains).

We may also need options at the 4 spot in case we do lose BBD (unless we want to keep Scal at the 4)