Rivers: We're going to get Jeff, [Ray] will be back.

[Galeto]

The thing I wonder is where does this leave Bass? Ideally, Sullinger can walk in day 1 at 80-85% of Bass's production. But, that means Sullinger stays healthy. Risky proposition at best, but if we resign Bass, we're on the hook with him for 3-4 years.

Tough decision to reckon but in Danny we trust.

It might be risky with Sullinger's back but I like to see him replace Bass.  I think it's very possible as well that he'll not only match Bass's production but exceed it.  It's not like Bass set the highest bar.  Was Bass a good mid-range shooter? Undoubtedly but that's all he did on offense.  When he tried to do more like drive to the hoop, it was an utter disaster nearly every time.  It absolutely floored me that Bass never seemed to register that he turned it over or got blocked on about 95 percent of his drives.

Sullinger might not be the jump shooter out of pick and pops or spot ups that Bass was last season but he's a good shooter.  And as far as rebounding and passing goes, he's much better.

[indeedproceed]

Yeah, and if we were in rebuild, I'd be cool with rolling the dice on JG, Sully, and JJ. But Garnett is back, and we're looking at Camby and Jason Terry. Those are win now moves, and I don't know how much winning is in the cards relying on an unproven Sullinger and Green at the 4.

Oh well, I'm sure it will all go smoothly and we'll take. Number 18.

[esel1000]

The thing I wonder is where does this leave Bass? Ideally, Sullinger can walk in day 1 at 80-85% of Bass's production. But, that means Sullinger stays healthy. Risky proposition at best, but if we resign Bass, we're on the hook with him for 3-4 years.

Tough decision to reckon but in Danny we trust.

It might be risky with Sullinger's back but I like to see him replace Bass.  I think it's very possible as well that he'll not only match Bass's production but exceed it.  It's not like Bass set the highest bar.  Was Bass a good mid-range shooter? Undoubtedly but that's all he did on offense.  When he tried to do more like drive to the hoop, it was an utter disaster nearly every time.  It absolutely floored me that Bass never seemed to register that he turned it over or got blocked on about 95 percent of his drives.

Sullinger might not be the jump shooter out of pick and pops or spot ups that Bass was last season but he's a good shooter.  And as far as rebounding and passing goes, he's much better.

Lottery talent for a reason. If his back problems really arent that bad, hes gonna be the celts biggest steal at 21 since Rondo and a huge part of the future/contributer now

[AshyLarry]

The thing I wonder is where does this leave Bass? Ideally, Sullinger can walk in day 1 at 80-85% of Bass's production. But, that means Sullinger stays healthy. Risky proposition at best, but if we resign Bass, we're on the hook with him for 3-4 years.

Tough decision to reckon but in Danny we trust.

It might be risky with Sullinger's back but I like to see him replace Bass.  I think it's very possible as well that he'll not only match Bass's production but exceed it.  It's not like Bass set the highest bar.  Was Bass a good mid-range shooter? Undoubtedly but that's all he did on offense.  When he tried to do more like drive to the hoop, it was an utter disaster nearly every time.  It absolutely floored me that Bass never seemed to register that he turned it over or got blocked on about 95 percent of his drives.

Sullinger might not be the jump shooter out of pick and pops or spot ups that Bass was last season but he's a good shooter.  And as far as rebounding and passing goes, he's much better.

Lottery talent for a reason. If his back problems really arent that bad, hes gonna be the celts biggest steal at 21 since Rondo and a huge part of the future/contributer now

Some have said he's the best offensive, or most offensively polished player in this draft. That's gotta mean at the very least he's role player.

[Galeto]

Yeah, and if we were in rebuild, I'd be cool with rolling the dice on JG, Sully, and JJ. But Garnett is back, and we're looking at Camby and Jason Terry. Those are win now moves, and I don't know how much winning is in the cards relying on an unproven Sullinger and Green at the 4.

Oh well, I'm sure it will all go smoothly and we'll take. Number 18.

How much winning that'll go on is still largely dependent on Rondo, KG and Pierce.  Bass played a part in that but not a huge part.  His overall contributions of shooting, no passing, poor team defense and rebounding aren't replaceable.

If the Celtics or any team had to rely on Sullinger to be their best big next season, there probably wouldn't be many wins to celebrate but fortunately the Celtics only need him to be a role player next season.  As far as that goes, I'll take his overall talents over Bass.  The Celtics need his rebounding more than they need Bass' shooting.  It doesn't hurt that Sullinger can also score and pass.

[Galeto]

Another thing about whether KG coming back makes it more necessary for Bass to return, I actually think it was the combination of Sullinger and KG that changed my mindset about going for it all.  Before the Celtics lucked into Sullinger (at least if he stays healthy), I was resigned to not getting any immediate help from the draft and potentially blowing things up.  But Sullinger has the ability to help way beyond what the Celtics could have acquired in free agency.  He could be like signing a MLE level free agent for 1 million.  Sullinger is talented enough for his expected role that if the Celtics can add scoring in free agency, they have the championship contending potential.

[lightspeed5]

Another thing about whether KG coming back makes it more necessary for Bass to return, I actually think it was the combination of Sullinger and KG that changed my mindset about going for it all.  Before the Celtics lucked into Sullinger (at least if he stays healthy), I was resigned to not getting any immediate help from the draft and potentially blowing things up.  But Sullinger has the ability to help way beyond what the Celtics could have acquired in free agency.  He could be like signing a MLE level free agent for 1 million.  Sullinger is talented enough for his expected role that if the Celtics can add scoring in free agency, they have the championship contending potential.

we got one of the top 3 offensively talented players in the most loaded draft in history.  i still cant believe we got him.


gotta get the sullinger celtics jersey now

[indeedproceed]

How much winning that'll go on is still largely dependent on Rondo, KG and Pierce.  Bass played a part in that but not a huge part.  His overall contributions of shooting, no passing, poor team defense and rebounding aren't replaceable.

I assume you mean 'aren't irreplacable'

And I agree. I am just wary that we actually put someone in there who will replace, or at least make other contributions that are as useful, or more.

And I think Sully can do it. I don't think Green or JJ can.That's why his back worries me so.

[Bahku]

I think Ray is staying put, and if the kicker is starting, then I think that's an easy solution.

Ray is a vet, he's earned a starting spot, and you can play Avery (for now) just as many minutes off the bench.

The whole "starting" moniker is just a head thing anyway, and if it keeps Ray here, no biggie.

Minutes are minutes, whether you're on the floor for the tip-off or not ... give your vet the respect, and just adjust the minutes.

As far as Green is concerned, he's still an unproven quantity in Boston ... he was mediocre before the injury at best, and he's got a ways to go before he's got a solid spot, IMHO.

An amazing talent and incredible athlete, but his attitude and work-ethic have yet to reach a similar level ... he's got what it takes physically, but he has not yet made the most of his abilities.

We'll see.

[alley oop]

The thing I wonder is where does this leave Bass? Ideally, Sullinger can walk in day 1 at 80-85% of Bass's production. But, that means Sullinger stays healthy. Risky proposition at best, but if we resign Bass, we're on the hook with him for 3-4 years.

Tough decision to reckon but in Danny we trust.

It might be risky with Sullinger's back but I like to see him replace Bass.  I think it's very possible as well that he'll not only match Bass's production but exceed it.  It's not like Bass set the highest bar.  Was Bass a good mid-range shooter? Undoubtedly but that's all he did on offense.  When he tried to do more like drive to the hoop, it was an utter disaster nearly every time.  It absolutely floored me that Bass never seemed to register that he turned it over or got blocked on about 95 percent of his drives.

Sullinger might not be the jump shooter out of pick and pops or spot ups that Bass was last season but he's a good shooter.  And as far as rebounding and passing goes, he's much better.

Regarding Bass, it may have been like that early in the season; but his play close to the rim improved throughout the season, and during the playoffs he was very often fouled near the rim, and almost always made his foul shots. That's not to say he doesn't need additional post moves, he certainly does. Hopefully he works on them in the offseason. 

[mctyson]

I wish the Celtics weren't in on Green.  I'm just not a big fan.  He's not a talented enough scorer to be a lethal scoring threat off the bench and he's too poor of a rebounder to be an undersized 4.  He's very meh.  Not only is he not a master in any one area, he's below average in many like rebounding, passing, defense and shooting. He's Marvin Williams.  It bothers me that a significant piece of precious cap space might be used on Marvin Williams.

None of this makes any sense. 

First, go look at Jeff Green's stats since he's been in the league: http://www.basketball-reference.com/players/g/greenje02.html

At the age of 23, the year before he was traded, he started 82 games for OKC, shot 45% from the field, 33% from 3, averaged 15 points, grabbed 6 boards, had 2 assists, 1 steal, and 1 block a game while averaging 37 minutes a game.  OKC was a playoff team that year. 

So, Jeff Green was an 82-game starter averaging near 40 minutes a game for a playoff team at 23 years old.  The next year he put up very similar numbers before he was traded to us.  His per-game numbers then dropped off after the trade when he was relegated to the bench and played much fewer minutes.  He had to adjust from being an 82 game starter to being a reserve with reduced minutes.

But...if you look at his per-36 minute stats from the 26 games he played with us, they are almost identical to his stats with OKC over the previous 1 1/2 seasons, except that his FG% skyrocketed with us to almost 49%, which would be his career high. 

Now maybe that is a small sample blip, but as we all know our PG has the ability to make guys much better offensive players than they would be on other teams.  So it is very possible that Jeff Green could put up career-high shooting percentages for us next year, while giving us the same defensive production he gave OKC that warranted him all that playing time.

Second, Jeff Green is not a 4.  He is a 3.  He was brought in to give us a backup to Pierce who could defend Lebron and Carmelo but still not be a black-hole offensively.  He did an admirable job of that and I think he can only be better in a full season with us.

Third, Marvin Williams is one of the biggest busts of the past decade.  He was the #2 selection overall for Atlanta and is basically a backup for them.  Jeff Green, while he was selected #5, is actually someone we got in a trade for a overpaid center on the steep decline in his career (plus we got Fab Melo and Charlotte's 2nd rounder nex year.)  So to us, Green is more like a late first round pick than a Marvin Williams type.  If he pans out, great.  If not, it sucks but it doesn't cripple you.  Based on his history, he will be fine for us.

I am very glad we are signing him long term.

[Fafnir]

But...if you look at his per-36 minute stats from the 26 games he played with us, they are almost identical to his stats with OKC over the previous 1 1/2 seasons, except that his FG% skyrocketed with us to almost 49%, which would be his career high. 

Now maybe that is a small sample blip, but as we all know our PG has the ability to make guys much better offensive players than they would be on other teams.  So it is very possible that Jeff Green could put up career-high shooting percentages for us next year, while giving us the same defensive production he gave OKC that warranted him all that playing time.

His FG% jumped up because he took 2 less threes a a game. Which is a good thing because he's been a 30% from deep his last few years, but his overall efficiency didn't change much.

Overall a meh amount of production for a guy people are so high on.

[paulball2007]

One thing people have to remember is that with Ray, Kevin and PP getting another year older it will be very important to have as much depth as possible.  I do not believe that any of those 3 will play more then 30 minutes a night during the regular season if the depth is there.  I feel Bass is an important piece to bring back for that depth behind KG.  The C's can't rely strickly on Sully to provide that depth.  I know Green can play the 4 but he's way more efficient at the 3.  The C's need bass to backup KG.   

Melo will not see the court next year.  He has to get the perk treatment and get his body right his 1st year.  I feel he will be with the trainers constantly working out and getting himself in a position to contribute the year after that.  Remember how Perk came in and had all that baby fat and just had a poor body then transformed himself into the beast he is today.  Hopefully Melo can have half the work ethic that Perk did and do the same.  If he does I expect Melo to be a defensive beast of a C and contribute the same to the team that Perk did.  He will be our new enforcer and learning Defense from KG will go a long way for the C's future.  The C's still need to resign steamer as the backup 5 and still IMO need a starting 5.

I really liked Dooling but feel the C's desperately need a better backup at the PG position.  Avery and his operations really set the C's back.  Havint Avery work on ball handling and his jumper all offseason would have been tremendous for his development.  If the rumors are true and he's out until December I do not see Avery playing very significant minutes next year.  It's very hard coming back that late in the season and playing at a high level. 

I think getting Gree, Bass, Steimer, Ray, MP back in the fold would go a long way towards that elusive number 18.  Plus if the C's do not resign Bass and still only have the MLE and LLE to spend how will they fill the backup PF, C, PG/SG with only two significant ways to do it?  I think getting bass on a 2-3 year deal would be an excellent addition.  I may be one of the few who loved Bass for this team and off the bench behind KG love him even more. 

[TrueGreen]

If Doc says we will bet both Ray and Green we will. Before we knew anything about KG coming back, Doc was saying that KG would be back. So when Doc talks, people should listen.

[ssspence]

The thing I wonder is where does this leave Bass? Ideally, Sullinger can walk in day 1 at 80-85% of Bass's production. But, that means Sullinger stays healthy. Risky proposition at best, but if we resign Bass, we're on the hook with him for 3-4 years.

Tough decision to reckon but in Danny we trust.

I'd like to see the Cs SnT him for a guy who addresses a weakness (getting to the basket, rebounding) then sign him long term. He's basically a jump shooter -- nice player but not someone I'd pay for 3-4 years when we otherwise maintain great flexibility for the future.