10 Things Celtics Should Do in 2013-2014

[LarBrd33]

Presuming KG and Pierce retire, it's pretty simple...

#1 - Dump the bad contracts of Bass, Terry and Lee (easier said than done)

#2 - Trade Rondo for expiring contracts and high lotto picks

#3 - Try to move Jeff Green's contract for expiring contracts and draft picks

#4 - Tank
#5 - Tank
#6 - Tank
#7 - Tank
#8 - Tank
#9 - Tank
#10 - Tank

[wdleehi]

Presuming KG and Pierce retire, it's pretty simple...

#1 - Dump the bad contracts of Bass, Terry and Lee (easier said than done)

#2 - Trade Rondo for expiring contracts and high lotto picks

#3 - Try to move Jeff Green's contract for expiring contracts and draft picks

#4 - Tank
#5 - Tank
#6 - Tank
#7 - Tank
#8 - Tank
#9 - Tank
#10 - Tank

And meet the poor mans Bobcats.   



As fans, start praying that the Celtics get lucky in the lotto more then once.

[AB_Celtic]

An interesting set of events I had in mind...

1. Trade KG to Minnesota so he can play out his final year there. I think T-wolves fans would really appreciate that. Possible return for the rental: JJ Barea, Greg Stiemsma, 2nd round pick.
2. Ask Pierce to retire or request that he take on the bench "clutch scorer" role, with most of his minutes coming in the second half (so he can rest beforehand and score when it counts).
3. With Pierce taking on that role, trade Terry or ask him to retire.
4. Get Rondo and Sullinger back healthy.
5. Sign a top-10 center (easier said than done, of course).

Afterwards...
PG: Rondo, Barea
SG: Bradley, Lee
SF: Green, Pierce
PF: Sullinger, Bass
C: T10C, Stiemsma

I could live with that. Certainly more fun to watch than a tank.

[Kane3387]

Why amnesty Pierce? Trade him for assets.

[MVPPierceNoJoke]

My ideal scenario
- Trade Jeff Green, Bradley, Sullinger and first round pick for Cousins and Salmons. Cousins and Rondo will be a great tandem for a long time.
- Talk Pierce and KG into making one more run. The money from there expiring contract is very valuable to the 2014 offeseason.
- Sign a backup point guard. One that can actually handle the ball. Devin Harris/ Chauncey Billups/ Jamal Tinsley
- Get a Reggie Evans/ Chuck Hayes type player for energy off the bench that will get offensive rebounds

Rondo, Vet PG
Lee, Terry
Pierce/ Salmons
KG/ Bass
Cousins/ Shav

[badshar]

How hard is it to understand that Danny Ainge believes in superstars, not draft picks?

He knows that in order to win in this league, you have to have stars on your team.

He doesn't like rebuilding through the draft and will avoid it as soon as possible, rightfully so. You have to be extremely lucky to rebuild through the draft.

OKC was very lucky that they got a star on every pick (Durant, Westbrook, Harden).

Expect a very similar strategy from Ainge like the one he used in 07-08. He will get enough good players and develop them and then he will trade them for a super star.

That is the method that works and is far more reliable than anything else.

[celtics2]

Why are you even a Celtics fan if you want to get rid of every celtic player out there?

Celtic fans love self flagellation. The mourning period will start after this Series. The Wake will last 5 years till Management stumbles onto something.

[Atzar]

- I expect Kevin Garnett to retire.  I've thought all along that he's done after this year regardless of how the playoffs go.  Try to trade his contract beforehand if possible, like we attempted with Rasheed Wallace (can we even still do that?).  Not likely, but worth a shot.

- I think Paul Pierce will play another year or two.  In that case, trade him for the best package possible.  The rumor of Harrison Barnes would have been a steal, but I do think a similar package of intriguing prospect + filler contract is likely.   

- Keep Rajon Rondo and Jeff Green for the time being.  Rondo's worth will be down because of the injury; I expect Jeff Green to inflate his value playing in an environment that forces him to be the go-to scorer.  The decision of whether to trade these guys can be made later.

- Keep Avery Bradley and Jared Sullinger unless somebody offers a deal that you can't turn down.  They are young, cheap assets that could be valuable trading chips in a big deal. 

- Keep Terrence Williams.  He's an intriguing prospect and I'd like to see how he looks next year after an offseason and a training camp.  Also, keep Fab Melo.  He has no value right now, and I'd sooner keep him as a scratch ticket than trade him for nothing.  We knew from the start that he'd likely be a multi-year project.

- Keep Jason Terry.  He has little value at this point anyway, and there's a chance that he gets off to a hot start next year and has value at the deadline to a team who needs a gun off the bench. 

- Shop everybody else.  Brandon Bass and Courtney Lee could be useful to the right team.  Jordan Crawford has played fairly well for us and may have reestablished some value.  I don't expect anybody to have much interest in Chris Wilcox, DJ White or Shavlik Randolph.  The targets are rotation-caliber big men, young prospects and draft picks.  It's no big deal if we don't find an attractive deal - somebody has to eat minutes for us next year, after all - but every positive asset helps.

- Either attempt to sell our first-round pick for a 2014 pick, or draft for potential. 

- Look for a starting-caliber center in free agency.

- Next year is a rebuilding year.  I'd like the starting lineup to consist of Rondo/Bradley/Green/Sullinger/FA Center.  We need to see if Rondo remains at an elite level without Pierce and Garnett, if Green can round into a consistent high-level player, and if Bradley and Sullinger take steps forward.  The ultimate goal is to do what we did in 2007:  amass and develop assets to trade for stars.

[Evantime34]

I would like to see us go after Pekovic, if Kg, Pierce and potentially Terry retire.

A young five man core of Rondo, Bradley, Green, Sully and Pek would be fun to watch. Sulinger and Pek would help solve the rebounding problems we have had for the past few years. The only problem would be the lack of shot blocking, but Pek and Sully would take up a lot of paint space and convince people not to drive the hole.

[CelticConcourse]

We won't be rebuilding through a draft. Period.

[RJ87]

Here's what we need to do:

1. Bring back Rondo slowly (not D.Rose slowly, though) but make sure to tell him once he's back to his regular mins next year, he needs to be taking at least 15 shots per game.
2. Tell Jeff he needs to work on going to his left and his pull up jumper.
3. Give Avery a basketball and tell him to dribble it where ever he goes. Drill him like crazy on layups.
4. Try to trade Jason Terry.
5. As Sully recuperates, work on his jumper.  He's shown promise with it.  If he can add a pick & pop game to his post game and rebounding prowess, he can be a really versatile player for us.
6. Pursue a capable player taller than 6'10"
7. Tell Doc to play that guy.
8. Draft the best player available with #16

[Who]

Trade Idea -- Jason Terry for Michael Beasley

... if the Suns desperately want to move Beasley, they may consider taking Terry's almost as bad contract off Boston's hands in order to get of Beasley. Not sure that is the case. But maybe.

Interesting reclamation project. Talented undersized scoring PF.

[Jon]

I think there's a lot to be said for not blowing the whole thing up.  Sometimes it does work and you get a LeBron or Durant.  But for the most part, it ends up being mired in perpetual atrocious basketball.  Look how being terrible for the bulk of the '90s never netted us Tim Duncan or another cornerstone of the franchise.  If anything, our best pick came at #10, barely in the lottery, with Paul Pierce.

The real lesson might be what we learned with Antoine Walker.  How a guy with a ton of talent came into a terrible situation with no solid veterans and learned terrible habits that he never really shook his whole career. 

Now imagine if Antoine came into a situation where he played his first couple of years with vets like KG and PP.  It's quite possible he could've ended up a very different player. 

So at this point, we can talk about some moves.  But there's really no value in getting rid of KG or PP.  We still won't be able to sign a max player.  And I think there's a real value in terms of what they can teach the youngsters and how they can perpetuate this Celtic style of team and defensive oriented basketball that has really been a breath of fresh air in a league where those two things sometimes don't happen. 

[PhoSita]

I think there's a lot to be said for not blowing the whole thing up.  Sometimes it does work and you get a LeBron or Durant.  But for the most part, it ends up being mired in perpetual atrocious basketball.  Look how being terrible for the bulk of the '90s never netted us Tim Duncan or another cornerstone of the franchise.  If anything, our best pick came at #10, barely in the lottery, with Paul Pierce.

The real lesson might be what we learned with Antoine Walker.  How a guy with a ton of talent came into a terrible situation with no solid veterans and learned terrible habits that he never really shook his whole career. 

Now imagine if Antoine came into a situation where he played his first couple of years with vets like KG and PP.  It's quite possible he could've ended up a very different player. 

So at this point, we can talk about some moves.  But there's really no value in getting rid of KG or PP.  We still won't be able to sign a max player.  And I think there's a real value in terms of what they can teach the youngsters and how they can perpetuate this Celtic style of team and defensive oriented basketball that has really been a breath of fresh air in a league where those two things sometimes don't happen.

At some point, you have to get talent to rebuild.

As long as we hold onto Pierce and Garnett and linger in this era, the Celtics are not going to pick high enough to get real talent in the draft, but they're not going anywhere in the playoffs, either.

Keeping Garnett and Pierce for another season just makes next season a waste of time.

I agree with you that young players need to come into the right situation to succeed, but you need to get that young talent in the first place.

[PhoSita]

Trade Idea -- Jason Terry for Michael Beasley

... if the Suns desperately want to move Beasley, they may consider taking Terry's almost as bad contract off Boston's hands in order to get of Beasley. Not sure that is the case. But maybe.

Interesting reclamation project. Talented undersized scoring PF.

Beasley has been a net negative for every team he's been on.  Maybe a year or two ago he would have been worth reclaiming.  I certainly think the Wolves made a good move acquiring him for basically a second round pick.  But at this point he's got the bad habits and I wouldn't waste time or resources trying to change him.