Which Teams Will Be Worse Than The Celtics Next Season?

[lightspeed5]

clippers

[kgainez]

i just feel like the idea is not to tank

plus we'd get 2 more picks, right?
i think the idea is to be avg team to trade assets next year. i have to assume DA wants to make a run at lebron...like why now, right? but the 2014 FA will be very nice.

[bfrombleacher]

Lakers?

If they lose Dwight it'd be hilarious. Pau Gasol is so completely disrespected he might not even stay.

[LooseCannon]

2. If you added Millsap, Jefferson, or Smith to that group, yeah, they'd make the playoffs in the East.  But we could have just run it back this season and made the playoffs as a bottom 4 seed.  Why commit money to one of those guys and commit 90% of our cap space to Rondo, Green, Smith, and Jordan?  That core isn't going anywhere.

It's good enough that trading one of those players plus other assets would constitute a core that has contender potential.

This trade doesn't make the team better for next season, but it makes the team better able to make a big trade in the summer of 2014.  I think the Celtics have a better of shot of being able to make the biggest deal of next summer than they do of drafting a future star in 2014.

[SHAQATTACK]

this new Celtics team will surely be Rondo's for real next season

nobody else would want them

[Stizz44]

I see both Cleveland and Washington being better and taking the 7 and 8 seed in the playoffs.

East may look like this next year.

1. Maimi
2. Chicago
3. Indiana
4. New York
5. Brooklyn
6. Cleveland
7. Washington
8. Atlanta/Toranto

I got the Celtics holding Rondo out til Jan/Feb and tanking for a 28-54 record.

Good enough for a 7/8 lottery pick in 2014 draft at worse!

[blink]

i just feel like the idea is not to tank

plus we'd get 2 more picks, right?
i think the idea is to be avg team to trade assets next year. i have to assume DA wants to make a run at lebron...like why now, right? but the 2014 FA will be very nice.

Does anyone think we would ever have a shot at Lebron?  I know that there were a lot of battles with the C's when he was in Cleveland and Miami, but I feel he respects the Celtics.  He has said so many times.  Are Rondo and Lebron compatible on the same team? 


RR
athletic 2 that can play d and hit the 3
JG
LBJ
DJ

This is a serious question.

[PhoSita]

2. If you added Millsap, Jefferson, or Smith to that group, yeah, they'd make the playoffs in the East.  But we could have just run it back this season and made the playoffs as a bottom 4 seed.  Why commit money to one of those guys and commit 90% of our cap space to Rondo, Green, Smith, and Jordan?  That core isn't going anywhere.

It's good enough that trading one of those players plus other assets would constitute a core that has contender potential.

This trade doesn't make the team better for next season, but it makes the team better able to make a big trade in the summer of 2014.  I think the Celtics have a better of shot of being able to make the biggest deal of next summer than they do of drafting a future star in 2014.

Well, in recent years the trades we've seen for franchise players involves a lot of young assets on rookie / low scale contracts plus picks.

Trading a combination of Rondo / Smith / Jordan / Green / assets would require the other team send back quite a lot of salary. 

In other words, it's hard to build a core of established players like that and use them as trade assets for future moves, except when they are expiring.

[PhoSita]

  Trade PP and KG for Jordan and Smith, add a healthy Rondo and Sully and you'll make the playoffs. The team will be fairly solid on defense and the offense won't be as bad as you think.

You can't put 3 guys who are poor to very bad shooters and very poor free throws shooters on the floor together for extended minutes and expect to score very many points.

That team would defend fairly well, at least in theory, but they'd probably score in the 80s every night.  Whatever ground they'd make up by being much better on the offensive boards they'd give up by not having any scorers on the same level as Pierce or Garnett.  So that team might actually be worse offensively than our team was these past couple of years.

[LooseCannon]

2. If you added Millsap, Jefferson, or Smith to that group, yeah, they'd make the playoffs in the East.  But we could have just run it back this season and made the playoffs as a bottom 4 seed.  Why commit money to one of those guys and commit 90% of our cap space to Rondo, Green, Smith, and Jordan?  That core isn't going anywhere.

It's good enough that trading one of those players plus other assets would constitute a core that has contender potential.

This trade doesn't make the team better for next season, but it makes the team better able to make a big trade in the summer of 2014.  I think the Celtics have a better of shot of being able to make the biggest deal of next summer than they do of drafting a future star in 2014.

Well, in recent years the trades we've seen for franchise players involves a lot of young assets on rookie / low scale contracts plus picks.

Trading a combination of Rondo / Smith / Jordan / Green / assets would require the other team send back quite a lot of salary. 

In other words, it's hard to build a core of established players like that and use them as trade assets for future moves, except when they are expiring.

I'm looking at Jordan as trade ballast who is just young enough to allow another team to be an optimist that he is worth having as an expiring contract in the hope that it can make him useful and then re-sign him for less.  Harden was traded with guys thrown in for salary/roster spot purposes for Kevin Martin, a guy who had just been drafted, two first round picks, and a second round pick.

The Celtics should have the cupboard in 2014 to be able to trade Jordan and 3-4 assets that are either young players or picks to make a competitive offer for a Harden-level player who fits the roster.

Before that, they'll have enough assets at the 2014 trade deadline to make a competitive offer for someone on an expiring deal like Josh Smith was this past deadline, if Ainge is okay with trading for a guy who isn't guaranteed to stay a Celtic.  I'm not really a fan of Demarcus Cousins, but some people are.  If the Kings are afraid they will have to overpay to match salary when he is a restricted free agent, they may be willing to deal him at the deadline.  Or even at the end of this summer if they can't reach an agreement on a contract extension.

[lightspeed5]

i just feel like the idea is not to tank

plus we'd get 2 more picks, right?
i think the idea is to be avg team to trade assets next year. i have to assume DA wants to make a run at lebron...like why now, right? but the 2014 FA will be very nice.

Does anyone think we would ever have a shot at Lebron?  I know that there were a lot of battles with the C's when he was in Cleveland and Miami, but I feel he respects the Celtics.  He has said so many times.  Are Rondo and Lebron compatible on the same team? 


RR
athletic 2 that can play d and hit the 3
JG
LBJ
DJ

This is a serious question.

most athletic team ever lol

[action781]

blah blah blah blah lets have a thread about how awful the celtics will be next year.  Yay!

[LatterDayCelticsfan]

Sure it works...once a decade!

[BballTim]

  Trade PP and KG for Jordan and Smith, add a healthy Rondo and Sully and you'll make the playoffs. The team will be fairly solid on defense and the offense won't be as bad as you think.

You can't put 3 guys who are poor to very bad shooters and very poor free throws shooters on the floor together for extended minutes and expect to score very many points.

That team would defend fairly well, at least in theory, but they'd probably score in the 80s every night.  Whatever ground they'd make up by being much better on the offensive boards they'd give up by not having any scorers on the same level as Pierce or Garnett.  So that team might actually be worse offensively than our team was these past couple of years.

  We'll get significantly more shots at the rim with that group than we have in the recent past and more transition points as well. Also more offensive rebounds. Not to mention Rondo was awfully solid on his outside shooting last year.

[PhoSita]

  Trade PP and KG for Jordan and Smith, add a healthy Rondo and Sully and you'll make the playoffs. The team will be fairly solid on defense and the offense won't be as bad as you think.

You can't put 3 guys who are poor to very bad shooters and very poor free throws shooters on the floor together for extended minutes and expect to score very many points.

That team would defend fairly well, at least in theory, but they'd probably score in the 80s every night.  Whatever ground they'd make up by being much better on the offensive boards they'd give up by not having any scorers on the same level as Pierce or Garnett.  So that team might actually be worse offensively than our team was these past couple of years.

  We'll get significantly more shots at the rim with that group than we have in the recent past and more transition points as well. Also more offensive rebounds. Not to mention Rondo was awfully solid on his outside shooting last year.

Getting significantly more shots at the rim doesn't help you much when

a.  the opponent can just foul with impunity b/c your team can't hit free throws

b. there will be 3-4 defenders at the rim every time because they can pack the paint