Dwight Howard is the only hope

[greenhead85]

Us getting Dwight is a very long shot. We basically had PP and Ray at their peak when KG agreed to play for us. Similarly, DH will inquire who do we have to compete. Those 3 all-stars we got, at best at this stage to really compete deep in the playoffs, need to be facilitators to newcomers and not our main go-to guys anymore (if we still keep them as our main go-to guys then we are not being realistic). Getting DH will need key players to come in. What if Dwight asks PP and Ray if they can guard and cover Lebron and Dwayne? What will the two reply?

I am not really high on acquiring the guy. If at all, I just want him to land elsewhere than LAL and Miami. I think if Dallas won't win it all this year, they are one of the many suitors of Dwight. Oklahoma and NJ may also come into play. Dallas holds a little edge against the 2 primarily on their capability of playing better, deep bench and a rich and driven owner in Cuban. Oklahoma has KD, Harden, Ibaka and Westbrook who are all young and talented and may seem to be very attractive to him. NJ has Deron Williams and a Russian owner who can stretch their market as far as that largest country in the world which could make them more relevant internationally speaking.

[CeltsAcumen]

I dont think its remotely possible to get Dwight Howard. Didnt he state he was only going to consider warm weather teams?  So unless Boston moves 2000 miles south, not a chance.

I like the idea of rebuilding Greg Oden's career.  There is a far greater chance of Greg Oden staying healthy for a full season than Dwight Howard ever wearing Celtic Green.

[BASS_THUMPER]

I dont think its remotely possible to get Dwight Howard. Didnt he state he was only going to consider warm weather teams?  So unless Boston moves 2000 miles south, not a chance.

I like the idea of rebuilding Greg Oden's career.  There is a far greater chance of Greg Oden staying healthy for a full season than Dwight Howard ever wearing Celtic Green.

howard would love playin with shaq  paul kevin ray..

it would be like his dream come true

[manl_lui]

I dont think its remotely possible to get Dwight Howard. Didnt he state he was only going to consider warm weather teams?  So unless Boston moves 2000 miles south, not a chance.

I like the idea of rebuilding Greg Oden's career.  There is a far greater chance of Greg Oden staying healthy for a full season than Dwight Howard ever wearing Celtic Green.

howard would love playin with shaq  paul kevin ray..

it would be like his dream come true

yeh if all of them were 10 years younger, things change, after being in the league for 7 years, I think he hates KG and Shaq, and all the frustrations he went through with Boston

[Celtics18]

Two quick points:

1) Coming to an aging team isn't exactly appealing for Howard.  Maybe he wins one title, but after that, what's his future like with Rondo and him as the core?  It isn't bad; however, if the cap shrinks under the new CBA, they may not be able to add another star to the mix. 

2) I agree though that Howard might be the most realistic chance for us to win another title anytime in the next 5-10 years.  And I don't think that getting Howard is all that realistic.  But look at how you win in the NBA: you either get lucky in the lottery (look at the Bulls with Rose, Thunder with Durant, or Magic with Howard) or get lucky with free agents (yes, you have to clear the room, but you have to get fairly lucky that the player chooses you). 

With the Heat, Bulls, and Thunder all very young, even if Ainge adds some good pieces to Rondo and Green, it likely won't be enough.  They're either going to have to get lucky and land someone like Howard or they're going to have to get lucky and win a draft lottery at some point in a good draft.  And the chances of the latter are even smaller than signing Howard. 

. . .  or you pull off some good trades . . . or some combination of all three. 

There's many ways to skin a cat or build an NBA contender. 

[KindBass]

Dwight has Shaq Envy.  He got drafted 1st overall by the Magic, robbed his "Superman" nickname, and now he wants to play for the Lakers so he can develop his future "acting" career while playing in Hollywood.  I guess we can all look forward to the Celtics signing a 37-year old Dwight Howard with no knees left somewhere down the line.

[ScoobyDoo]

TP to Jon.

Reason - basically the only way teams win rings in the NBA is:

1. By either getting lucky through the draft - Bird, Magic, Jordan, Kobe, Wade, Duncan (should have been ours, [dang] it!!!) etc.

2. Via Free agency - LeBron to Miami, Shaq to LA, KG to Boston, etc...

The draft is luck of the drawq...

The key to the free agent game is "putting yourself in position" to be able to go after the big names. There are no guarantees you'll get the big fish but if you don't put yourself in position to try, you are out of the game before it starts.

See: Jerry West > Shaquille O'neal = 5 rings. West put himself in position and it worked out.

Ainge's job right now is to take Rondo, Green, DWest, Bradley, Krstic, our picks, the Clipper's pick and use trades if necessary to get more young talented pieces.

1. Build something attractive for Dwight ( or some other elite level free agent) to walk into

2. Maintain enough cap space to sign the big fish, provided they are willing to walk into your gym...

Ainge has to take a shot at Howard and anyone else coming up on the Radar.

Then move to plan B if it doesn't work. 

[BballTim]

What if Dwight asks PP and Ray if they can guard and cover Lebron and Dwayne? What will the two reply?

  If Howard will only play for teams that do a great job on Wade and James then he should plan on retiring as soon as possible.

[Celtics18]

TP to Jon.

Reason - basically the only way teams win rings in the NBA is:

1. By either getting lucky through the draft - Bird, Magic, Jordan, Kobe, Wade, Duncan (should have been ours, [dang] it!!!) etc.

2. Via Free agency - LeBron to Miami, Shaq to LA, KG to Boston, etc...

The draft is luck of the drawq...

The key to the free agent game is "putting yourself in position" to be able to go after the big names. There are no guarantees you'll get the big fish but if you don't put yourself in position to try, you are out of the game before it starts.

See: Jerry West > Shaquille O'neal = 5 rings. West put himself in position and it worked out.

Ainge's job right now is to take Rondo, Green, DWest, Bradley, Krstic, our picks, the Clipper's pick and use trades if necessary to get more young talented pieces.

1. Build something attractive for Dwight ( or some other elite level free agent) to walk into

2. Maintain enough cap space to sign the big fish, provided they are willing to walk into your gym...

Ainge has to take a shot at Howard and anyone else coming up on the Radar.

Then move to plan B if it doesn't work. 

KG wasn't acquired through free agency.  He was traded for.  Shaq to LA many, many years ago is really the only splashy, big name free agent acquisition that I can think of in the past twenty years that has led to a championship.

[Jon]

Two quick points:

1) Coming to an aging team isn't exactly appealing for Howard.  Maybe he wins one title, but after that, what's his future like with Rondo and him as the core?  It isn't bad; however, if the cap shrinks under the new CBA, they may not be able to add another star to the mix. 

2) I agree though that Howard might be the most realistic chance for us to win another title anytime in the next 5-10 years.  And I don't think that getting Howard is all that realistic.  But look at how you win in the NBA: you either get lucky in the lottery (look at the Bulls with Rose, Thunder with Durant, or Magic with Howard) or get lucky with free agents (yes, you have to clear the room, but you have to get fairly lucky that the player chooses you). 

With the Heat, Bulls, and Thunder all very young, even if Ainge adds some good pieces to Rondo and Green, it likely won't be enough.  They're either going to have to get lucky and land someone like Howard or they're going to have to get lucky and win a draft lottery at some point in a good draft.  And the chances of the latter are even smaller than signing Howard. 

. . .  or you pull off some good trades . . . or some combination of all three. 

There's many ways to skin a cat or build an NBA contender. 

There might be many ways, but they all require excessive amounts of luck.  You can put yourself in the right position (see the Knicks and Nets), but you need to get lucky too (like the Heat). 

The trade business is very rare.  Besides us in 2008, there are few teams who got where they were because of trades.  The vast majority of the time success occurs because you're lucky enough to get a top pick in a top draft (see Russell, Bird, Magic, Jordan, Duncan, and Hakeem and you have 32 NBA titles right there). 

[Celtics18]

Two quick points:

1) Coming to an aging team isn't exactly appealing for Howard.  Maybe he wins one title, but after that, what's his future like with Rondo and him as the core?  It isn't bad; however, if the cap shrinks under the new CBA, they may not be able to add another star to the mix. 

2) I agree though that Howard might be the most realistic chance for us to win another title anytime in the next 5-10 years.  And I don't think that getting Howard is all that realistic.  But look at how you win in the NBA: you either get lucky in the lottery (look at the Bulls with Rose, Thunder with Durant, or Magic with Howard) or get lucky with free agents (yes, you have to clear the room, but you have to get fairly lucky that the player chooses you). 

With the Heat, Bulls, and Thunder all very young, even if Ainge adds some good pieces to Rondo and Green, it likely won't be enough.  They're either going to have to get lucky and land someone like Howard or they're going to have to get lucky and win a draft lottery at some point in a good draft.  And the chances of the latter are even smaller than signing Howard. 

. . .  or you pull off some good trades . . . or some combination of all three. 

There's many ways to skin a cat or build an NBA contender. 

There might be many ways, but they all require excessive amounts of luck.  You can put yourself in the right position (see the Knicks and Nets), but you need to get lucky too (like the Heat). 

The trade business is very rare.  Besides us in 2008, there are few teams who got where they were because of trades.  The vast majority of the time success occurs because you're lucky enough to get a top pick in a top draft (see Russell, Bird, Magic, Jordan, Duncan, and Hakeem and you have 32 NBA titles right there). 

I agree that getting lucky in the draft has been a huge factor in building a champion.  I don't see how you prove your point that getting splashy free agents has been more successful than making good trades, though.

[snively]

If salary situations remain as they are around the league in 2012, Boston is probably the second most appealing destination for Dwight Howard if he makes it to free agency.  Dedicated ownership group, well-respected coach and management, all-star PG in his prime, fringe all-star wing in his final year, the possibility of Ray and KG re-upping for cheap... Very strong pitch, the best immediate shot at contention.

New Jersey will have a stronger case in my opinion.  They have the more highly-regarded PG in Williams, and though their supporting cast of Morrow, Outlaw, Petro and Farmar is underwhelming, it's not locked up long-term.

New Orleans could jump to the forefront if they can find takers for Jack (easy) and Okafor (harder, but not impossible).  With CP3, Ariza and a southern, warm-weather locale (provided they stay in NO), I think they'd be Howard's preferred choice.


Houston could also be a dark horse.  No all-stars, but Lowry, Martin and Scola are very nice players.  Warm-weather, respected management, winning tradition.

[LilRip]

i would love it if we sign Oden, he stays healthy, and THEN we sign an elite wing player.

but i would love it as well if we sign Dwight, and then get an all-star or fringe all-star wing player.

We have an elite level PG in Rondo who won't take away the spotlight from anyone (i'm assuming Dwight wants to be the man) and so i think we're an elite piece away. Dwight could/should be that guy!

i saw someone suggest Josh Smith. While that would be bananas, isn't he signed long-term by the Hawks?

[Yogi]

   Dwight can't pass or catch passes.  Despite surrounding him with shooters, Orlando did not have an inside-out game and Dwight gets no assists off the double teams he constantly commands.  He was the real MVP last year, but he's just not a good fit in Boston. 

[kn 99]

Dwights a long shot but deffinetly possible. he knows that if he comes to boston his surrounded with unselfish players that are willing to give him the ball. Rondos assist totals would be out of the roof and DH could get stats like 30ppg