Future of the Franchise?

[tyrone biggums]

blah...josh smith is a black hole on offense that can't shoot and play the required defense we need

I actually am a fan of Josh Smith being partnered with Rondo, I think certain people can be great in the right system. J-Smoothe is one of those players. Say for instance Atlanta decided to trade him, I would give up both the 21 and 22 for him provided of course he signs an extension and if we can't move up in the draft. I think he could be a pretty good team defender

Think about this team for a second

PG - Rondo/Dooling/2nd rounder
SG - Bradley/Allen/Moore
SF - Pierce/Green/Pietrus
PF - Smith/Bass/Wilcox/JJJ
C  - KG/Steamer

obviously room to sign more players but that right there if we can get KG/Ray Ray to play ball and come back for less money. Then again the other option is to forget about Smith...save the money and use both picks to trade up (but I don't know if a lot of people are high enough on this draft to be happy with picking 21st and 22nd).   

[tonyto3690]

I don't think I am as convinced as you are about J Smooth, but I could certainly see us improving as a team if we brought him in.  If KG stays around, and we want to compete (top 4 seed in east) What I think we really need is:

1) younger players with the athletic ability to play with the heat and thunder type teams
2) Add at least 1 serious impact player, be it rebounding, def, or scoring - we need to add at least a fringe all-star to our team
3) we need to add players that can finish at the rim and help us not depend on our jump shots so much

I think Smith would at least qualify for need 2 & 3, and maybe 1.  For some reason, I think I like getting JSmith if we still have KG.  If we don't have KG anymore, then we need to look for a bigger fish that J Smith.

A lineup of:

Rondo / Dooling or Moore
Bradley / draft pick (shooter / scorer wing)
PP / Green / draft pick
J Smith / Bass / JJJ
KG / Wilcox / Steamer or draft pick

Would make me pretty happy.  Great Def team, and it would also be a great transition off team.  All of the other four starters will work with Rondo to get the transition buckets.

I mean that lineup would be amazing, but there is no way it happens for next season. Smith is still locked up for the Hawks through next season so we'd have to trade to get him.  I think KG has still got some in the tank, but two years from now?  Not so sure.  If he plays 28 minutes per game like Duncan did this season, I could see it work with Bradley/Rondo/Smith carrying the bulk of the offensive and defensive work, but I absolutely think having KG here with Smith would be big for Smith, not to mention give us a lock down defense with those two bigs plus Rondo and Bradley.

I also much prefer the idea of Bass on the bench and not a starter.  He just doesn't offer enough on defense or on the boards.


A trio of Rondo-Bradley-Smith is the best realistic possibility for the Celtics.  Have that as your star power, and fill it with aging Pierce, aging KG, Bass, and any other role players you can scrounge up that play defense and buy into the team (Pietrus/Daniels/Greg)


2012:  25 mill in cap space
-resign Ray 1 year, 4 mill
-resign KG 1 year, 7 mill
-resign Bass 2 years, 6 mill
-resign Wilcox 1 year, 3 mill
-resign Green 1 year, 6 mill
-resign Pietrus 2 year, 3 mill
-tender Greg
-resign Dooling/Marquis/Hollins for vet minimum

Rondo / Dooling / Moore
Bradley / Ray
Pierce / Pietrus / Green / Marquis
Bass / Green / JuJuan
KG / Wilcox / Greg / Hollins

2013: ~20 mill in cap space
-sign Smith 5 years, 70 million
-sign KG 1 year, 4 million
-let Ray/Dooling/Green go
-resign Steamer/Hollins to minimum

Rondo / Moore
Bradley / Pietrus
Pierce /
Smith / Bass / JuJuan
KG / Stiemsma / Hollins

Obviously need another swing man and hopefully a better center, but that top 7 are quality players with five starters that mesh well with each other, and 2 quality bench players in Bass and Pietrus with Stiemsma hopefully becoming one as well at that point.  Moore and Johnson we have no idea.

[vjcsmoke]

And here is the main reason why Josh Smith is a KEY get for the Celtics - they can use him to neutralize Lebron James.  Meanwhile a fully healthy Avery Bradley is more than capable of harrassing and hounding Dwayne Wade.  Next KG matches up fine against Bosh.  But I'd like for us to get a real thick, defensive center to pair up with KG and allow him to play non-5 minutes which is his preference.

Rondo, can't get much better at PG.  Although I do believe that Austin Rivers to the Celtics is a REAL possibility!  SG, that's Avery Bradley's job as long as he can stay healthy.  Ray Allen I believe will be let go and is only coming back if he takes a much reduced salary.

At 3 we have Paul Pierce locked up for a few more years, can we get him a better backup than Marquis Daniels?  Maybe, maybe not.  At the 4 we would be stocked with Josh Smith and KG.  This means we can afford to let Brandon Bass go, or maybe he will go as a chip as part of the trade for Josh Smith.

At the 5 we have Stiesma, Hollingsworth, and is Wilcox any good?  That situation could use improvement.  We need HEALTHY bodies at the 5! Preferably defensive minded, rebounding bodies.  This might be addressed in the draft or a trade.

RELOAD and conquor!  As demoralizing as a 7th game loss to the Heat was, if we had a couple more healthy bodies, namely bradley and wilcox i think we would have the depth to pull out the series win.  Improving our 5 position to a nonstiff and getting Josh Smith would make us a lock for the finals IMO because we match up very well with the Heat if we make that happen and are healthy for the playoffs.

[j804]

How do we get Josh Smith?

[Geo123]

And here is the main reason why Josh Smith is a KEY get for the Celtics - they can use him to neutralize Lebron James.  Meanwhile a fully healthy Avery Bradley is more than capable of harrassing and hounding Dwayne Wade.  Next KG matches up fine against Bosh.  But I'd like for us to get a real thick, defensive center to pair up with KG and allow him to play non-5 minutes which is his preference.

Rondo, can't get much better at PG.  Although I do believe that Austin Rivers to the Celtics is a REAL possibility!  SG, that's Avery Bradley's job as long as he can stay healthy.  Ray Allen I believe will be let go and is only coming back if he takes a much reduced salary.

At 3 we have Paul Pierce locked up for a few more years, can we get him a better backup than Marquis Daniels?  Maybe, maybe not.  At the 4 we would be stocked with Josh Smith and KG.  This means we can afford to let Brandon Bass go, or maybe he will go as a chip as part of the trade for Josh Smith.

At the 5 we have Stiesma, Hollingsworth, and is Wilcox any good?  That situation could use improvement.  We need HEALTHY bodies at the 5! Preferably defensive minded, rebounding bodies.  This might be addressed in the draft or a trade.

RELOAD and conquor!  As demoralizing as a 7th game loss to the Heat was, if we had a couple more healthy bodies, namely bradley and wilcox i think we would have the depth to pull out the series win.  Improving our 5 position to a nonstiff and getting Josh Smith would make us a lock for the finals IMO because we match up very well with the Heat if we make that happen and are healthy for the playoffs.

Well here's the real key, he's not a FA plus if the Hawks would ever trade him they want and All Star player plus for him. That would mean Rondo plus for him...

[mctyson]

There is not much I can say about Josh Smith that has not before been said about Antoine Walker.

Except that Josh Smith, when on his game, is 1000000% better on defense