I feel like we're quickly headed to two years of mediocrity

[rondohondo]

Cap flexibility is all well and good, but you need to be able to convert that cap space into actual players.  Danny didn't see any free agents out there that would help this team as much as KG, Ray, Green, etc.

Do we have any flexibility to get any FA next year,if we commit 17 mill to KG and RA?

If we sign KG, Ray, and Green, we won't have any cap space next year.

Thats why I would rather let Ray walk and sign oj mayo for around 8 mil a year. If nothing else he is another young trade chip you could maybe package with Green and picks to land Josh Smith at the trade deadline. I think Mayo could really get back to his rookie year numbers on this team and can create his own offense .

[lightspeed5]

If Ray resigns that means we'll have Pierce and Ray for two more years and KG for 2, possibly 3.  We can't expect any of them to do anything but get worse from here on out. 

This year we got by because of KG playing his best ball since 2007 and carrying this team with Rondo.  I really don't see KG being able to duplicate that next year, let alone 2 or 3 years down the road. 

What happened to keeping cap flexibility Ainge?  What happened to not hanging on too long?  Why he is giving Ray a two year deal and KG a 3 year deal (I thought 2 years was pushing it, let alone 3) is just mindboggling.  Pierce is overpaid and got too many years as well.  I'm not saying we need to blow it up, but we shouldn't be preparing ourselves to get stuck in no mans land as a stinker 8 seed.

ray hasnt signed with us yet. and ray is better than having oj mayo, even in 2 years

[Celtics18]

What's the alternative?  Omer Asik, Nic Batum, or OJ Mayo to huge, long term contracts?  That kind of impatience is what sinks a franchise. 

[Kane3387]

Have a better option for the next two years without tanking? We were one win away from beating the Champs and had two opportunities to do it. Now we come back deeper and try again.

[colincb]

If Ray resigns that means we'll have Pierce and Ray for two more years and KG for 2, possibly 3.  We can't expect any of them to do anything but get worse from here on out. 

This year we got by because of KG playing his best ball since 2007 and carrying this team with Rondo.  I really don't see KG being able to duplicate that next year, let alone 2 or 3 years down the road. 

What happened to keeping cap flexibility Ainge?  What happened to not hanging on too long?  Why he is giving Ray a two year deal and KG a 3 year deal (I thought 2 years was pushing it, let alone 3) is just mindboggling.  Pierce is overpaid and got too many years as well.  I'm not saying we need to blow it up, but we shouldn't be preparing ourselves to get stuck in no mans land as a stinker 8 seed.

What would you do instead?

[chambers]

I think Danny has decided to try and strike one more time while the iron is hot.
The East is getting softer with Rose out, Atlanta pulling the rip cord and the Heat pretty much maxing out their roster- it will be hard for them to replicate that three point shooting.
Danny figures if we put the same squad out there with a serious upgrade on the bench- particularly for Pierce, KG/Center spot and the power forward spot- we should be able to cruise through to the 3rd or 4th seed without too much trouble. Meanwhile, KG, Ray and Pierce can play way less minutes with Green and some young bigs developing with playing time like Johnson and Melo.

Danny's aim:
*Reduce minutes for big 3 and Rondo and thus stay HEALTHY

*Develop young guys for bigger roles and/or as trade bait for when Pierce comes off the books.
*Produce a hit squad that is defensively the worst possible nightmare for Miami to deal with come playoff time, and ultimately OKC too. Multiple guys to stick to Lebron and Wade like glue, with perimeter defenders to stop Battier+Chalmers shooting 60% from 3 point land.

[Roy H.]

Thats why I would rather let Ray walk and sign oj mayo for around 8 mil a year. If nothing else he is another young trade chip you could maybe package with Green and picks to land Josh Smith at the trade deadline.

What has O.J. Mayo's trade value been?  He was almost dealt for Josh McRoberts, and that's when he was making around $4 million per year or so.  Do you think doubling his salary would make him more attractive.

Regardless, if we sign Mayo for $8 million, that means we're most likely losing both Ray Allen and Jeff Green, and won't be able to use the full MLE.  That doesn't seem like a smart expenditure of resources to me.

[tyrone biggums]

Cap flexibility is all well and good, but you need to be able to convert that cap space into actual players.  Danny didn't see any free agents out there that would help this team as much as KG, Ray, Green, etc.

Do we have any flexibility to get any FA next year,if we commit 17 mill to KG and RA?

If we sign KG, Ray, and Green, we won't have any cap space next year.

Thats why I would rather let Ray walk and sign oj mayo for around 8 mil a year. If nothing else he is another young trade chip you could maybe package with Green and picks to land Josh Smith at the trade deadline. I think Mayo could really get back to his rookie year numbers on this team and can create his own offense .

What has Mayo done since his rookie year to warrant 8 million a year? He wants to also run the point too, do you trust him to backup Rondo? I'm not necessarily dumping on your opinion here because it does make some sense, however it all depends if you feel comfortable paying him 8 million to play the 2 (which he doesn't want to play)

[theswitch]

Honestly, the scariest part of these deals is that Rondo will be 28 or 29 when these contracts run out. I don't want to waste Rondo's late prime on rebuilding after these contracts run out. I think Danny realizes that too, which is why he's taking a chance on it now. You can't waste the kid's prime in a rebuilding phase. He's not liking what he sees now and is just delaying it a couple years.

[AB_Celtic]

If the reports are true and Ray is coming back (at DA's insistance), here's our proposed lineup

Rondo...Bradley...Moore
Bradley...Ray...Pietrus*
Pierce...Green*...Pietrus*
KG...Sullinger...JJJ
Kaman/Camby...Stiemsma...Melo

*Have expressed serious interest in returning to Boston

Not to mention we have the Bass S&T option

That's not mediocre. That's better than 2011-2012

[manl_lui]

I think we should follow the Spurs, keep their core intact while getting new and fresh legs to learn under the vets. Fab Melo and Sullinger will benefit greatly from KG and I believe Sullinger can benefit right away.

Johnson in my opinion can already contribute in terms of scoring and maybe some rebounds. The only problem with him is his size, if he bulks up, I'm pretty sure he'll play very well on defense especially on post (even though I heard he's strong for a guy his build).

If we cannot get a backup pg, I can see Moore get more minutes. I believe Pietrus will come back for like 2-3 mil.

so

Rondo/Moore
Bradley/Ray Allen/Pietrus
Pierce/Green
Bass?/Green/Sullinger/JJJ
KG/Stiemsma/Fab Melo

If we can get a quality point guard and a quality center that will be great.

[Change]

ahhh the annual blow it up thread. Took a little longer this year. TP

[RJ87]

Maybe Danny has something up his sleeve that will allow us to get younger and more athletic so that we can keep up in the East (let's be real guys, outside of Miami, Atlanta and Philly gave us a run for our money and we didn't even have to deal with Chicago. The East is getting more athletic by the year. We're getting left in the dust.)

We were one game away from the finals, and that's without Bradley and Green, and with a hobbled Paul Pierce and Ray Allen.  Are we really that much worse than the teams we finished ahead of?

I think so, yes. We're counting on major production from guys that are 34 or older. Aside from natural decline, there's increased risk of injury with advancing age.

Also, can KG put up another season like he did in final half last year? I have my doubts. His resurgence coincided with him moving to the 5 - where he admits he hates playing. So I'm skeptical.

I'm not saying we completely blow it up, but if we go into the next season with pretty much the same team, we can expect similar results. I know, I know "but but but we didn't have Jeff Green! Or Avery!" Assuming those two can can adequately make up for the decline in Paul, Ray, and KG, you still have to wonder "would we still have gotten to Game 7 of the ECF if Miami had Bosh the whole series? Would we have even gotten to the Conference Finals if we had to deal with Chicago?" As much as we got hit by the I injury bug last year, a lot of things also worked in our favor allowing us to get as far as we did.

[LEHGOCELTICS]

Agree with the OP.

This roster needs a shake up in the worst way. Maybe Danny has something up his sleeve that will allow us to get younger and more athletic so that we can keep up in the East (let's be real guys, outside of Miami, Atlanta and Philly gave us a run for our money and we didn't even have to deal with Chicago. The East is getting more athletic by the year. We're getting left in the dust.)

Yup, I keep saying the same thing but I get blasted for saying that this core just isn't going to work. The core peaked years ago and they're only going to get older from this point on. They need younger players to complement the vets, but bringing back Ray will mean we're going to get smoked by more athletic teams also recharging for another postseason run. People believe Miami is our only obstacle, but say we get past them. We'll get devastated by OKC; blown out of the water...smfh

[colincb]

I think Paul needs to restructure his contract especially after last years eastern conference finals. He played horrible. His ass needs to be in the gym right now. Working hard and getting back to what made him great. Getting to the free throw line.

He can't do that even if he and the Cs wanted to.