If DH reaches free agency, why not Boston?

[Marcus13]

They didn't replace PJ Brown and went into the '09 season with two players taller than 6'6"

How tall were Patrick O'Bryant, Scalabrine, Big Baby and Leon Powe?

Leon Powe played two games
Patrick O'Bryant didn't make the playoff roster

That leaves you Perkins, Mikki Moore, and Big Baby...and sure, Brian freakin Scalabrine.  The point remains the same.  That's some cheap ***, especially when you're competing for a championship

[OttawaCeltic]

Dwight Howard / Mid level / Stiemsma
KG / Bass / JJJ
Pierce / Jeff Green / Marquis
Ray / Pietrus / Sasha 
Rondo / Bradley / Moore    

I'd take Kaman/Jamison/Hickson than Garnett and then get Turiaf as the mid level. take our sasha+quis for our draftees

[KY Celts fan]

Leon Powe played two games
Patrick O'Bryant didn't make the playoff roster

That leaves you Perkins, Mikki Moore, and Big Baby...and sure, Brian freakin Scalabrine.  The point remains the same.  That's some cheap ***, especially when you're competing for a championship

The team didn't know about the bone pieces in KG's knee until that Utah game in February. In hindsight, it was a mistake to not do the surgery earlier, but it's kinda difficult to 2nd guess the doc's decision at the time.

Leon Powe played the whole season, not two games. And you can't predict an injury like he had. Scal filled in very admirable when KG went down. Yeah, Mikki was a bust, but Ainge did go after size.

Keep in mind that we had the best record in the league for a majority of the year, and PJ Brown was a late season addition the year before. This whole idea that we didn't compete for a championship that year is absurd. We lost to Orlando in seven games after two of our bigs go down with knee injuries. If either one of those doesn't happen, we definitely go back to the Finals. It was about injuries, not money. And you're the only one that thinks differently.

[Marcus13]

Leon Powe played two games
Patrick O'Bryant didn't make the playoff roster

That leaves you Perkins, Mikki Moore, and Big Baby...and sure, Brian freakin Scalabrine.  The point remains the same.  That's some cheap ***, especially when you're competing for a championship

The team didn't know about the bone pieces in KG's knee until that Utah game in February. In hindsight, it was a mistake to not do the surgery earlier, but it's kinda difficult to 2nd guess the doc's decision at the time.


Keep in mind that we had the best record in the league for a majority of the year, and PJ Brown was a late season addition the year before. This whole idea that we didn't compete for a championship that year is absurd. We lost to Orlando in seven games after two of our bigs go down with knee injuries. If either one of those doesn't happen, we definitely go back to the Finals. It was about injuries, not money. And you're the only one that thinks differently.

They didn't sign Mikki Moore until March 1st, and he was toast by then anyway. More importantly, because they hadn't signed anyone the previous summer, Garnett was toast by then too. Perkins was the center. They went into their title defense season with a PF that needed knee surgery to prevent a serious problem from developing, a foul prone center, and two 6'6"/6'7" forwards backing them up.

Had they signed an NBA rotation player of sufficient size, they might have risked having Garnett's bone chip being removed immediately and letting him get ready for the postseason. Instead they let him blow out his knee.

[LarBrd33]

Let's face it:

Dwight Howard / Mid level / Stiemsma
KG / Bass / JJJ
Pierce / Jeff Green / Marquis
Ray / Pietrus / Sasha 
Rondo / Bradley / Moore

Then you have two first round picks in a loaded draft this year and additional cap space.       

MYTH DEBUNKED:  THIS TEAM IS NOT AT ALL POSSIBLE

The Celtics will have the following under contract:

Pierce = 16.7 Mil
Rondo = 11 mil
Bradley = 1.6 mil
JaJuan Johnson = 1.1 mil

+ two first rounders that we'll say will equal a total of 3 mil

That means we have 33.4 mil committed in salary with a cap that is around 58 mil.  That leaves a total cap room of roughly 25 million dollars IF Brandon Bass doesn't take his player option... otherwise it will be 21 Million Dollars


Dwight has been in the league for 8 years so if we flat out signed him, his max contract would start at 16.3 mil (side note:  Anyone who says we have room for two max contracts is lying... 25 mil/2 isn't 16.3) ... HOWEVER... Dwight isn't in a LeBron/Wade/Melo situation.  There is no reason to believe he's going to take less than the maximum amount he can receive.  And 16.3 isn't the maximum amount he can receive.  If he decided to come to Boston, he'd work out a sign-and-trade with Orlando where they'd extend his current contract and his first year salary would be 20 million dollars.  Orlando does this (in this scenario), because they'd get a 20 mil trade exception that they can use later.

That Leaves Boston with roughly 1-5 million dollars TOTAL to split amongst the following players:

KG
Ray
Bass
Jeff Green
Pietrus
etc...

Unless your plan revolves around them all taking the vet minimum, it's not at all possible for that roster to exist.  Also, I'll need help verifying this, but I believe the mid-level exception can only be used on teams that are over the cap at the start of the offseason (since we'll have 21-25 mil in cap space, we will not be able to utilize it)... I may be wrong on that with the new CBA, though.

So you're likely to have Dwight, Rondo, Pierce, Avery Bradly, our two first rounders + Eddie House-level scrubs we sign to the vet minimum.  Still not bad.  But ask yourself... why would Dwight want to sign with a team built around Rondo and a 35 year old Pierce + nothing else.

TL;DR: Dwight isn't to take a pay cut to join Rondo + a 35 year old Pierce + scrubs signed to the vet minimum

[green7]

i would go after dwight & love tbh

[Celtics18]

Yeah, I also doubt it will happen. But I just think the notion of Boston not being a decent spot for a max guy to land with Rondo, a core of good young players, picks and some cap space within another year of two once Pierce comes off, Doc and Boston basketball doesn't make sense to me.

I would think it would be very attractive to someone who wants to win.

I think a lot of the "nobody wants to come to Boston" stuff is fabricated by a Boston sports media and fan base who have made an art form out of playing the role of eternal pessimists and doom sayers.

[greenpride32]

Wyc said on the broadcast last night (against ORL) that the C's have space for 2 max contracts next year (no need to get rid of Pierce's contract).

Also, the opinions of Rondo on these boards is much higher than they are in the rest of the world.  I have heard stars stating they wanted to team up with CP3 and D-Will, and even an old Nash.  I haven't heard any players come out and say I want to team up with Rondo.

[Celtics18]

Wyc said on the broadcast last night (against ORL) that the C's have space for 2 max contracts next year (no need to get rid of Pierce's contract).

Also, the opinions of Rondo on these boards is much higher than they are in the rest of the world.  I have heard stars stating they wanted to team up with CP3 and D-Will, and even an old Nash.  I haven't heard any players come out and say I want to team up with Rondo.

It's funny how many things people seem to have heard stars say that are never actually directly quoted.

[SHAQATTACK]

Basically the way I view Orlando Magic ..... , is DH and the rest of the team is a bunch of role players.
  You take DH out and they can't beat anybody .
  They lack the core of two or three top 15 players at 1-4 postions to go along with him.

LA and Mavs already have that setup for him.  

It is hard not to believe the huge fan base, the Owners, Doc , DA, and ex Celtic celebrities and current players can't still draw top 15 caliber players to the Celtics. DH or no DH
 

[greenpride32]

Wyc said on the broadcast last night (against ORL) that the C's have space for 2 max contracts next year (no need to get rid of Pierce's contract).

Also, the opinions of Rondo on these boards is much higher than they are in the rest of the world.  I have heard stars stating they wanted to team up with CP3 and D-Will, and even an old Nash.  I haven't heard any players come out and say I want to team up with Rondo.

It's funny how many things people seem to have heard stars say that are never actually directly quoted.

Okay just see how things play out.  Carmelo had one team on his list, and he is there.  CP3 had 3 or 4 teams on his and he's on one of them.  DH12 and D-will have their own lists which amazingly overlap. 

[greenpride32]

It is hard not to believe the huge fan base, the Owners, Doc , DA, and ex Celtic celebrities and current players can't still draw top 15 caliber players to the Celtics. DH or no DH
 

I think one big problem is BOS is too close to NYC.  NYC offers so much more than BOS and the winters are less harsh.  If you're from another part of the country and you have to live in the northeast, I think most people are going to choose NYC over BOS whether they are basketball players or not. 

You have to realize these guys have to move their families to these cities and live there for a good 8 months of the year.  The decision is a lot more than just about basketball and tradition. 

[ScoobyDoo]

Doesn't it work that you can resign your own players, even if it means going over the cap or you are over the cap? Does the luxury tax still exist.

I am not up on the terms of the new CBA at all but can't we:

1. Sign a player like Howard if available
2. Then  resign guys like Bass, Green and Pietrus to contracts even if it takes us over the cap a bit?

Won't there still be a few teams who are a good portion over the cap or is it a hard cap?

Wyc says he can do two max contracts. Unless he's getting bad advise from Celtic management, Ainge and their attorneys, who I assume he chats with occasionally, I'll take him at face value.

And I doubt he would plan on signing just one or two max guys, if the fit was right, and then not plan on also bringing back couple these guys (Bass, Green, Pietrus) even if it meant going over the cap a bit.

Dooling, Marquis, Sasha, Stiemsma are all small money signings, vet min stuff.   

[xmuscularghandix]

Wyc feels that the team can sign two Max contracts. If they can lure somebody else alongside him... he'd come here. Only problem is that the only other top quality players available are PG's and the team doesn't want to give up Rondo.

[Celtics4ever]

I thought NYC was a dive when I was there in 1993.   I would never want to live there.