lockout aside, are we contenders, or in a disguised rebuild?

[StartOrien]

I hope to be wrong, but I have a feeling if this team holds onto Rajon Rondo as the PG next season we will not be contenders.

That's not to say I don't think Rondo is a very, very good PG, just that I think we'll need more scoring out of the PG position in order to be a true contender.

I hope I'm wrong.

[Marcus13]

This upcoming season?  That's going to take some great managerial moves to make happen.

Our bench is just so [dang] weak other than Delonte.  We're basicaly covered at the 1-4 for starters and the 1 on the bench. 

Just not enough talent there

[ManUp]

Disguised rebuild.

Our team is thin and the talent level at the top isn't good enough to make up for it. The best move is to stand patiently and wait for KG and Ray's contracts to expire. After that Danny will have more cap room & flexibility then he's ever had in Boston. It doesn't hurt for owners and management to try and sell this team as a contender when there are still high priced tickets to be sold and money to be made.

[Q_FBE]

Depends if we can get Luke Harangody and Semih Erden big to give us big man depth. No seriously, we should try to get these two players. Of course we may well be into a disguised rebuild. That was a clear signal I got from the Perkins trade which I will go on the record as saying that was an EPIC fail by Danny.

I would not be surprised if Rondo get's traded, too. Danny sure likes to tinker and reading Wiki's rhetoric on the lockout is another alarming signal that the Celtics wish to rebuild.

Doc stayed on as coach for some reason, but might get a chance to spend lots of time seeing the family anyway (and presumably still get paid to consult).

[Vermont Green]

We need to get Green, Davis, and West signed plus fill in a few other pieces just to be as good as we were last year, which wasn't good enough.

I hate to say it but it looks like the way things are lining up with our roster and the lock-out that next season is going to be more like the purgatory between becasue we won't be contending or rebuilding. (depending on how you define contending of course).

[LooseCannon]

I don't think the Celtics can do anything to realistically be considered one of the favorites, but the team still has the proverbial puncher's chance.  I still expect the Celtics to win their division.

Let's say the Big Three don't fall off a cliff, Jeff Green plays well enough to be the NBA Sixth Man of the Year, a rookie makes NBA All-Rookie Second Team without gaining playing time through injury to one of the starters, and a combination of Jermaine O'Neal being healthy and/or getting surprising effectiveness from a free agent pick-up creates adequate production from the center spot.

Individually, all those have a decent chance of happening, but it's much less likely for all of that to happen.  But a string of breaks like that could occur and, if they did, a title is very possible.

[PosImpos]

I don't think the Celtics can do anything to realistically be considered one of the favorites, but the team still has the proverbial puncher's chance.  I still expect the Celtics to win their division.

Let's say the Big Three don't fall off a cliff, Jeff Green plays well enough to be the NBA Sixth Man of the Year, a rookie makes NBA All-Rookie Second Team without gaining playing time through injury to one of the starters, and a combination of Jermaine O'Neal being healthy and/or getting surprising effectiveness from a free agent pick-up creates adequate production from the center spot.

Individually, all those have a decent chance of happening, but it's much less likely for all of that to happen.  But a string of breaks like that could occur and, if they did, a title is very possible.

Rondo would still need to play like an MVP for the playoffs in order to get us a title in that scenario.