I really like where that roster is going. Keeping KG seems to be a bit of a consensus in Celtic nation and I couldn't agree with it more. A couple of things I'm not sure about though.
I can't see Doc bringing Pierce off the bench ever. Ray maybe but Pierce is the team captain and a Celtic icon. He's reaching the rarefied air that Bird is in and you don't bring Bird off the bench. You start him.
Is Bradley ready to start at SG? He has been doing great in Ray's stead but I'm not sure he's our SG of the future. I like him way better as a backup PG for Rondo as one of our other guys (Pierce) starts to handle the ball.
I'd be willing to pay the full 5M for Asik for sure. My preference is to have KG start at center and let Asik eat minutes. KG does the 5-5-5 plan and then they feel out the 4th quarter. That leaves the majority of the minutes for our backup center anyway.
Not sure this is informed really, but I'll come out and say it. I don't know about Austin Rivers, I saw some of his college ball and I wasn't floored. I don't think he's the next d-wade or Brandon Roy and I'm not really willing to trade 2-for-1 1st rounders to chance him. Just a cursory look at his numbers tells you he can't shoot the 3-ball consistently, though he certainly tries at 5 a game. His FG% was low even for a guard, especially low for a penetrating guard. And on top of that scoring in college just isn't like scoring in the NBA. Those numbers will be worse his rookie year as he faces the best players in the world. While I think he'll be a good player in the NBA I'm not sure he's the superstar that we should trade our assets for. Then again I'm not an authority on the matter
A lot of people saying Bass won't come back. I think he'll pick up his option if our team stays more-or-less in tact but if he doesn't here are some unrestricted names we could look at to replace him in our rotation: Humpries, Jamison, Ilyasova and Anderson would all be upgrades at the PF spot. All but Jamison would be more expensive but upgrades usually cost money. Oh I almost forgot Reggie Evans. Should have pushed for him this season imo.
I think we should let Moore walk this season. His game isn't standout and even when Dooling was hurt and Rondo was out he didn't get a lot of time. Doc doesn't trust him so neither do I. Also there are some FA point guards that would come cheap and the 2nd round will be a good place to scour just like we did for Moore last year.
Last thing for this post. KG won't command 15M. That is just flat out crazy talk. He
might get it from crap teams like the Nets, I'd still be surprised, but does KG want to play for NJ? My guess is he'd sooner take 8 here than 15 in NJ. No contender will pay him what we will and he already would "run through a brick wall for Doc." I see him coming back at a reasonable number. 10M or less is my guess.
