If we keep the Big three+Rondo for next year..which starting Centers can we get?

[chambers]

I'm still thinking that we make a serious pitch with this core next year.
Our problems obviously being at the center spot. JO is great but we need a dominant big man to hold down the paint and glass without risk of injury.

Assuming Danny wants to keep KG+Ray and doesn't shop them..hence deciding that we go for one last shot at the glory....
Which centers that are available next year could we lure here?

I'm thinking Marc Gasol mainly.
He's my number one choice because of his age and genetics.
Other than that I'm thinking someone like Gortat from Phoenix who prides himself on Defense who might come on the cheaper side.

Suggestions please...who can we get with everything as it is? Any options considered as long as they are actually possible.

[lJesterl]

I guess whoever is available and wants to play for the defending champions...

[PosImpos]

With Shaq and JO still on the books for next season, and only the MLE available, my guess is none.


Nobody is going to trade us a productive center for BBD, or anybody else on our bench, really.  All of the decent (read: better than JO) centers in free agency will go for more than the MLE.  Miami will be their primary destination.

[chambers]

could we ship Baby+ picks early to Memphis to land him before he walks? I'm sure memphis would like Baby to come in for Zeebo.
I guess then their problem is no big man in Gasol but i can't imagine they can afford him again after Gay+Randolph are resigned for those monstrous contracts.
what other possible ways could we get him?

[PosImpos]

could we ship Baby+ picks early to Memphis to land him before he walks? I'm sure memphis would like Baby to come in for Zeebo.
I guess then their problem is no big man in Gasol but i can't imagine they can afford him again after Gay+Randolph are resigned for those monstrous contracts.
what other possible ways could we get him?

Like I said, Memphis has no reason to acquire Glen Davis because they already have a backup power forward who can offer everything Glen can and more -- Darrell Arthur.

Memphis will hang onto Marc Gasol, count on it.  After this playoff run, Marc will feel like sticking around, and it sounds like Z-Bo signed his extension with a promise from management that the Grizz would do what it takes to resign Marc.

More likely Memphis will trade Mayo or, perhaps, Gay in order to make resigning Gasol financially feasible.

[Eja117]

deandre Jordan?

[Eja117]

kwame brown, camby, turriaf?

[Cman]

With Shaq and JO still on the books for next season, and only the MLE available, my guess is none.

ditto.
or i would rephrase:
"with shaq and jo still on the books, and Danny's desire to not have big contracts on the books in the 2012 season, and hence probably won't use the full MLE on anyone, let alone use BBD in a sign and trade, my guess is none."

[Eddie20]

I'm hoping Dalembert. Only 30 and can rebound, and block shots.

[the_Bird]

With Shaq and JO still on the books for next season, and only the MLE available, my guess is none.


Nobody is going to trade us a productive center for BBD, or anybody else on our bench, really.  All of the decent (read: better than JO) centers in free agency will go for more than the MLE.  Miami will be their primary destination.

Agree completely.  I think people tend to forget how much starting-caliber centers command for salary, even mediocre bigs like Brendan Haywood get offers for $10M/year+.  Marc Gasol will get at least that much.  The only way I see Dalembert signing for the MLE is if it's in Miami.  

If you've only got the MLE to spend, you get a big man with some warts - in JO's case, serious injury concerns.

Also, I think Baby Davis has played poorly enough where I'm not sure we should be concerning ourselves with sign+trades for him.  He's playing like a guy who doesn't deserve a starting spot.  He's still undersized (at least with regards to height and wingspan), so I don't think teams look to him to play C any more than we did - as a last resort, so that limits his value.  His weight concerns seem to be even greater now.  

What's Baby Davis really going to command on the open market?  3/$10?  4/$12?  I don't think it's any more than the MLE, which means that it likely won't be necessary for other teams to sign him using the S+T mechanism...  and they aren't going to be willing to give up any decent assets to acquire him.

Baby's walking without any comp to the C's....   but just him walking may well be a good thing.

EDIT: Baby *jogging* or *running on the treadmill* would be a good thing, too...   

[EJPLAYA]

Your starting center ought to be Jermaine O'Neal. He had a great playoff stretch and was definitely not the reason we are going to be out in the semi's. I'm not so sure that Shaq can't do some major re-hab and come back strong if he is able to shed a lot of weight. Let's not forget how dominant we were at the beginning of the season with him in the starting lineup. I don't think our problem is at the center spot. I think we just ran into a younger version of ourselves that gelled at the right time. That coupled with injuries to Shaq and Rondo and it was enough.

[Who]

I'm not sure what they can realistically do this summer in terms of free agency.

I don't think this FA class is all that good to begin with. Then you add in the Celtics 2012 cap space and their probable disinterest in hurting that cap space for anything less than a home run signing. It doesn't look good.

I think they are going to have a hard time improving this supporting cast. Especially if Jeff Green gets a big offer this summer and Danny decides to let him leave. That would make things very tricky.

[Who]

A Kenyon Martin or a Shane Battier / Tayshaun Prince type would probably be my favourite targets. Kenyon being the first choice. I greatly like the idea of Kenyon + Garnett playing alongside one another. 

But those guys are going to require multi-year deals that harm Boston's 2012 cap flexibility.

[Shamrocker]

I'm not sure what they can realistically do this summer in terms of free agency.

I don't think this FA class is all that good to begin with. Then you add in the Celtics 2012 cap space and their probable disinterest in hurting that cap space for anything less than a home run signing. It doesn't look good.

I think they are going to have a hard time improving this supporting cast. Especially if Jeff Green gets a big offer this summer and Danny decides to let him leave. That would make things very tricky.

No MLE, no multiyear deals for second-tier players. It’s just not worth it. Absent a trade for franchise player, endure next season with the current roster, and then retool in 2012. 

[the_Bird]

A Kenyon Martin or a Shane Battier / Tayshaun Prince type would probably be my favourite targets. Kenyon being the first choice. I greatly like the idea of Kenyon + Garnett playing alongside one another.  

But those guys are going to require multi-year deals that harm Boston's 2012 cap flexibility.

That's the killer.  Does adding Martin or Battier or Prince really push the squad back to Championship level?  I have a hard time thinking so, not with KG and Ray and Pierce all being a year older.  It's just prolonging the inevitable.  Anybody like that who would actually HELP is going to be demanding (and getting) a contract offer of at least three years.

I mean, if you really want to keep your options open for 2012, you have to let Green walk if he signs any offer sheet, and you can't use the MLE.  

Danny has made it no secret that he would have busted up the Bird/McHale/Parish combination long before they did.  I have to believe we may well see him do that - this summer - to Pierce/Ray/KG.

I'd hate to see them TANK, and as long as Pierce and Rondo are playing I can't see them being bad enough to get a top-5 draft pick anyway.  

Trade Ray if you can get some good young prospects for him (Who, aren't you a big fan of one of Chicago's young bigs?).

Trade KG if you can make a huge splash with Orlando.

Buy a first round pick or two this year (there will be sellers).  The draft looks mediocre, but we need an infusion of youth.  We need to begin the process of acquiring trade assets.  We've got Avery Bradley (meh), our picks, and the Clippers pick if we wanted to put together a trade package using the KG/Ray deals.

The team just isn't good enough.  It's not just this series, it's been evident for months.