Ok what rumor breaks at 12:00 EST. About the Celtics and FA?

[Celtics4ever]

I bet nothing happens but I did read we have a sign and trade ready for Smith.

[BudweiserCeltic]

I bet nothing happens but I did read we have a sign and trade ready for Smith.

I wouldn't be surprised if it becomes part of the Nets deal to make it a 3-way that facilitates the moves or something.

[PhoSita]

I wouldn't get your hopes up.  We already have too many guys on the roster as it is.  Right now Ainge is probably looking to clear guys out and set us up to tank. 

The free agent class this year is not going to get us to the promised land.  Plus, we don't even have cap space at the moment.

[Ogaju]

there will be moves because DA is not done.

Lakers going to put the full-court press on DH.

I don't think Howard likes LA, he did not even include Clippers on his list.

[bfrombleacher]

I'm honestly just confused at this point.  I guess we could still bring in an Evans or Smith and still be in the lottery but all of our moves this off season have pointed towards totally blowing it up and wait for the next draft.

I don't really agree.  All of our moves aren't pointing to blowing it up for next years draft, but a rebuild/retool of some point.  Maybe Danny takes players and picks and retools.

Well going off our supposed interest of Josh Smith and Tyreke Evans, I'm kinda scared if that's our retooling plan.  I rather just keeping building for the next off season, get a nice draft pick, and hopefully there's a guy worth the max.

These two have problems above the shoulders.

If you're worried about the team being stuck in the treadmill of mediocrity, I wouldn't.

ATL had their team built for the playoffs, for one. They have always been good enough to make it but not enough at all to come close to contending. They were missing one big piece

A Tyreke Evans and/or Josh Smith and Jeff Green led team with decent but still young potential players and a bunch of scrubs with Rondo for half the season, no chemistry and a new coach potentially implementing a completely new system is not going anywhere but the lottery.

And, if it so happens one or more of the assets become good enough to lead the team somewhere, then, jackpot!

If we "miss" the lottery, we'd have one or more of our assets with pumped up value (either to this team or to another team). And we'd have a bunch of picks coming our way. Flipping them for a game changer would be an alternative to having a tank machine.

I don't know if there's a worst case scenario since there's nothing to lose. I suppose that would be it, missing the lottery. Even then something good can come out of it.

Of course, being in the weak East and considering how many teams would be tanking and more apt at doing so, perhaps we'd be looking at late lottery.

Grabbing Evans and Smith when their demand would probably be valleying  (with contenders contending and not willing to risk, several teams clearing books for Dwight sweepstakes, bottomfeeders bottoming out and valuing draft picks more) may very well be worth it.

We're potentially looking at the difference between late lottery and mid-late first, a few picks, in a very deep draft, with a bunch of very movable assets. A race to the bottom is a hard one to run right now.

There's many other considerations but team culture also seems like an important one. Bad teams that have tanked so hard can't get rid of the stench. Look at the Jazz. That loser mentality takes years to shake.

[rondoallaturca]

I'm honestly just confused at this point.  I guess we could still bring in an Evans or Smith and still be in the lottery but all of our moves this off season have pointed towards totally blowing it up and wait for the next draft.

I don't really agree.  All of our moves aren't pointing to blowing it up for next years draft, but a rebuild/retool of some point.  Maybe Danny takes players and picks and retools.

Well going off our supposed interest of Josh Smith and Tyreke Evans, I'm kinda scared if that's our retooling plan.  I rather just keeping building for the next off season, get a nice draft pick, and hopefully there's a guy worth the max.

Words of wisdom. I'm all for a retooling plan, but if Tyreke Evans and Josh Smith are our end game, I'd rather rebuild...

[crownontherocks]

Not gonna be tyreke tomorrow


Pelicans will have a face to face with Tyreke Evans tonight after free agency commences at 12:01 AM ET, ESPN has learned

[The Playmaker]

I'm honestly just confused at this point.  I guess we could still bring in an Evans or Smith and still be in the lottery but all of our moves this off season have pointed towards totally blowing it up and wait for the next draft.

I don't really agree.  All of our moves aren't pointing to blowing it up for next years draft, but a rebuild/retool of some point.  Maybe Danny takes players and picks and retools.

Well going off our supposed interest of Josh Smith and Tyreke Evans, I'm kinda scared if that's our retooling plan.  I rather just keeping building for the next off season, get a nice draft pick, and hopefully there's a guy worth the max.

These two have problems above the shoulders.

If you're worried about the team being stuck in the treadmill of mediocrity, I wouldn't.

ATL had their team built for the playoffs, for one. They have always been good enough to make it but not enough at all to come close to contending. They were missing one big piece

A Tyreke Evans and/or Josh Smith and Jeff Green led team with decent but still young potential players and a bunch of scrubs with Rondo for half the season, no chemistry and a new coach potentially implementing a completely new system is not going anywhere but the lottery.

And, if it so happens one or more of the assets become good enough to lead the team somewhere, then, jackpot!

If we "miss" the lottery, we'd have one or more of our assets with pumped up value (either to this team or to another team). And we'd have a bunch of picks coming our way. Flipping them for a game changer would be an alternative to having a tank machine.

I don't know if there's a worst case scenario since there's nothing to lose. I suppose that would be it, missing the lottery. Even then something good can come out of it.

Of course, being in the weak East and considering how many teams would be tanking and more apt at doing so, perhaps we'd be looking at late lottery.

Grabbing Evans and Smith when their demand would probably be valleying  (with contenders contending and not willing to risk, several teams clearing books for Dwight sweepstakes, bottomfeeders bottoming out and valuing draft picks more) may very well be worth it.

We're potentially looking at the difference between late lottery and mid-late first, a few picks, in a very deep draft, with a bunch of very movable assets. A race to the bottom is a hard one to run right now.

There's many other considerations but team culture also seems like an important one. Bad teams that have tanked so hard can't get rid of the stench. Look at the Jazz. That loser mentality takes years to shake.

There is no point in adding Evans or Smith this off season.  Unless we're just trying to add pieces now and wait for our star rookie to be drafted (which because of the signings we wouldn't have a shot at).  Let's be brutally honest about expectations next year, if we stumble into the playoffs then it's a disaster.  I know it's not a popular thing to say but trading away 2 HoF's for a bunch of picks does not scream out to me that we're trying to make the playoffs.  We're rebuilding.

What it looks like to me is Ainge is gutting this roster and keeping key pieces for when we do make our playoff run in a year or two (Bradley, Sully, Green).  I'm not worried about being stuck in mediocrity I just don't want to deviate from the plan for a guy who is more known for his athleticism and highlight plays while also costing more than their worth.

If this team wants to trade Rondo for a S+T Evans and a 2014 1st then shoot go for it.  If Ainge really believes Evans can be a great player in a new system/team/city/etc then by all means do it.  However, don't just throw money at free agents because they're interested in us when they're clearly not part of the future.  Rondo/Evans/Green/Smith line up would be so hypocritical at this point.

[gpap]

I'm honestly just confused at this point.  I guess we could still bring in an Evans or Smith and still be in the lottery but all of our moves this off season have pointed towards totally blowing it up and wait for the next draft.

I don't really agree.  All of our moves aren't pointing to blowing it up for next years draft, but a rebuild/retool of some point.  Maybe Danny takes players and picks and retools.

Well going off our supposed interest of Josh Smith and Tyreke Evans, I'm kinda scared if that's our retooling plan.  I rather just keeping building for the next off season, get a nice draft pick, and hopefully there's a guy worth the max.

These two have problems above the shoulders.

If you're worried about the team being stuck in the treadmill of mediocrity, I wouldn't.

ATL had their team built for the playoffs, for one. They have always been good enough to make it but not enough at all to come close to contending. They were missing one big piece

A Tyreke Evans and/or Josh Smith and Jeff Green led team with decent but still young potential players and a bunch of scrubs with Rondo for half the season, no chemistry and a new coach potentially implementing a completely new system is not going anywhere but the lottery.

And, if it so happens one or more of the assets become good enough to lead the team somewhere, then, jackpot!

If we "miss" the lottery, we'd have one or more of our assets with pumped up value (either to this team or to another team). And we'd have a bunch of picks coming our way. Flipping them for a game changer would be an alternative to having a tank machine.

I don't know if there's a worst case scenario since there's nothing to lose. I suppose that would be it, missing the lottery. Even then something good can come out of it.

Of course, being in the weak East and considering how many teams would be tanking and more apt at doing so, perhaps we'd be looking at late lottery.

Grabbing Evans and Smith when their demand would probably be valleying  (with contenders contending and not willing to risk, several teams clearing books for Dwight sweepstakes, bottomfeeders bottoming out and valuing draft picks more) may very well be worth it.

We're potentially looking at the difference between late lottery and mid-late first, a few picks, in a very deep draft, with a bunch of very movable assets. A race to the bottom is a hard one to run right now.

There's many other considerations but team culture also seems like an important one. Bad teams that have tanked so hard can't get rid of the stench. Look at the Jazz. That loser mentality takes years to shake.

There is no point in adding Evans or Smith this off season.  Unless we're just trying to add pieces now and wait for our star rookie to be drafted (which because of the signings we wouldn't have a shot at).  Let's be brutally honest about expectations next year, if we stumble into the playoffs then it's a disaster.  I know it's not a popular thing to say but trading away 2 HoF's for a bunch of picks does not scream out to me that we're trying to make the playoffs.  We're rebuilding.

What it looks like to me is Ainge is gutting this roster and keeping key pieces for when we do make our playoff run in a year or two (Bradley, Sully, Green).  I'm not worried about being stuck in mediocrity I just don't want to deviate from the plan for a guy who is more known for his athleticism and highlight plays while also costing more than their worth.

If this team wants to trade Rondo for a S+T Evans and a 2014 1st then shoot go for it.  If Ainge really believes Evans can be a great player in a new system/team/city/etc then by all means do it.  However, don't just throw money at free agents because they're interested in us when they're clearly not part of the future.  Rondo/Evans/Green/Smith line up would be so hypocritical at this point.

But the part you and ALOT of people are missing is it's not very hard to get into the playoffs.

Take out Miami, Indy, Chicago and the two New York teams, and the rest of the East is anybody's ball game.

So if there has to be a 6th, 7th or 8th seed playoff team, why not it be the Celtics? (not to mention who knows if someone like the Knicks or Nets totally implodes.)

Also, I think you're underestimating a potential lineup of Rondo/Evans/Smith/Green.

If that lineup clicks the way it's suppose to with the likes of Wallace, Humph, Olynyk, Brooks, Sully and Bradley coming off the bench (give or take 1-2 players in a Smoove S/T), that's a pretty good team.

Only thing we'd then have to do is pick up a center (Dalembert, Hickson, Birdman) and we'd be looking pretty good.

I would also submit that lineup just mentioned could be even better than the team we had with the old guys, last year.

[rondoallaturca]

But the part you and ALOT of people are missing is it's not very hard to get into the playoffs.

Take out Miami, Indy, Chicago and the two New York teams, and the rest of the East is anybody's ball game.

So if there has to be a 6th, 7th or 8th seed playoff team, why not it be the Celtics? (not to mention who knows if someone like the Knicks or Nets totally implodes.)

Also, I think you're underestimating a potential lineup of Rondo/Evans/Smith/Green.

If that lineup clicks the way it's suppose to with the likes of Wallace, Humph, Olynyk, Brooks, Sully and Bradley coming off the bench (give or take 1-2 players in a Smoove S/T), that's a pretty good team.

Only thing we'd then have to do is pick up a center (Dalembert, Hickson, Birdman) and we'd be looking pretty good.

I would also submit that lineup just mentioned could be even better than the team we had with the old guys, last year.

Because the 6/7/8 seeds are the worst. You're not good enough to win, but you're not good enough to be in the lottery. That's NBA purgatory, and it's the worst place to be in. Look at how the Atlanta Hawks.

Also, I hate to break it to you, but Rondo/Evans/Green/Smith sucks. That team would not be good at all. We'd get that 6/7/8 seed, but we'd be stuck there for as long as we have those guys as a core.

[LarBrd33]

With Chris Paul signing 105 mil with the Clippers, hopefully now every team goes for "Plan B:  Trade for the very available Rajon Rondo".

[D.o.s.]

Knicks and Toronto--most underwhelming trade ever?


Raptors are sending Bargs, and "The Knicks will send their 2016 first-round pick to the Raptors, and a package that includes Marcus Camby and Steve Novak, league sources said."

[bfrombleacher]

I'm honestly just confused at this point.  I guess we could still bring in an Evans or Smith and still be in the lottery but all of our moves this off season have pointed towards totally blowing it up and wait for the next draft.

I don't really agree.  All of our moves aren't pointing to blowing it up for next years draft, but a rebuild/retool of some point.  Maybe Danny takes players and picks and retools.

Well going off our supposed interest of Josh Smith and Tyreke Evans, I'm kinda scared if that's our retooling plan.  I rather just keeping building for the next off season, get a nice draft pick, and hopefully there's a guy worth the max.

These two have problems above the shoulders.

If you're worried about the team being stuck in the treadmill of mediocrity, I wouldn't.

ATL had their team built for the playoffs, for one. They have always been good enough to make it but not enough at all to come close to contending. They were missing one big piece

A Tyreke Evans and/or Josh Smith and Jeff Green led team with decent but still young potential players and a bunch of scrubs with Rondo for half the season, no chemistry and a new coach potentially implementing a completely new system is not going anywhere but the lottery.

And, if it so happens one or more of the assets become good enough to lead the team somewhere, then, jackpot!

If we "miss" the lottery, we'd have one or more of our assets with pumped up value (either to this team or to another team). And we'd have a bunch of picks coming our way. Flipping them for a game changer would be an alternative to having a tank machine.

I don't know if there's a worst case scenario since there's nothing to lose. I suppose that would be it, missing the lottery. Even then something good can come out of it.

Of course, being in the weak East and considering how many teams would be tanking and more apt at doing so, perhaps we'd be looking at late lottery.

Grabbing Evans and Smith when their demand would probably be valleying  (with contenders contending and not willing to risk, several teams clearing books for Dwight sweepstakes, bottomfeeders bottoming out and valuing draft picks more) may very well be worth it.

We're potentially looking at the difference between late lottery and mid-late first, a few picks, in a very deep draft, with a bunch of very movable assets. A race to the bottom is a hard one to run right now.

There's many other considerations but team culture also seems like an important one. Bad teams that have tanked so hard can't get rid of the stench. Look at the Jazz. That loser mentality takes years to shake.

There is no point in adding Evans or Smith this off season.  Unless we're just trying to add pieces now and wait for our star rookie to be drafted (which because of the signings we wouldn't have a shot at).  Let's be brutally honest about expectations next year, if we stumble into the playoffs then it's a disaster.  I know it's not a popular thing to say but trading away 2 HoF's for a bunch of picks does not scream out to me that we're trying to make the playoffs.  We're rebuilding.

What it looks like to me is Ainge is gutting this roster and keeping key pieces for when we do make our playoff run in a year or two (Bradley, Sully, Green).  I'm not worried about being stuck in mediocrity I just don't want to deviate from the plan for a guy who is more known for his athleticism and highlight plays while also costing more than their worth.

If this team wants to trade Rondo for a S+T Evans and a 2014 1st then shoot go for it.  If Ainge really believes Evans can be a great player in a new system/team/city/etc then by all means do it.  However, don't just throw money at free agents because they're interested in us when they're clearly not part of the future.  Rondo/Evans/Green/Smith line up would be so hypocritical at this point.

But the part you and ALOT of people are missing is it's not very hard to get into the playoffs.

Take out Miami, Indy, Chicago and the two New York teams, and the rest of the East is anybody's ball game.

So if there has to be a 6th, 7th or 8th seed playoff team, why not it be the Celtics? (not to mention who knows if someone like the Knicks or Nets totally implodes.)

Also, I think you're underestimating a potential lineup of Rondo/Evans/Smith/Green.

If that lineup clicks the way it's suppose to with the likes of Wallace, Humph, Olynyk, Brooks, Sully and Bradley coming off the bench (give or take 1-2 players in a Smoove S/T), that's a pretty good team.

Only thing we'd then have to do is pick up a center (Dalembert, Hickson, Birdman) and we'd be looking pretty good.

I would also submit that lineup just mentioned could be even better than the team we had with the old guys, last year.

Exactly.

The point of adding the two is exactly as The Playmaker said. To add pieces. To accumulate assets.

They're by no means coveted big names. Being underachievers, we're looking for upside. A 23 year old, Evans is the same age as some of the older draftees. The other player is a 27 year old fringe all star with connections to Rondo.

We wouldn't be throwing money away. We would be gambling, as bad as it sounds.

My point was we're not going to be stuck in mediocrity with all those picks coming our way. Cap hold doesn't matter because big name free agents aren't going to come our way in the foreseeable future. With every bad team banking on 2014, the race to the bottom is on full gear.

And, hell, with the weak East getting weaker, our tanking efforts may be moot.

You're looking at Tyreke Evans, Josh Smith and Green, none of which have led a team or been proven at all. Add to that the turmoil right now coming every which way, we'd be "bad enough".

Thus, adding those two to the equation might not change much after all. The difference might just be a couple picks.

Point is, now is a good a time as ever to take a risk with underachievers like Evans and Smith. Of course, don't outrageously overpay for them. But the worst that could happen is they do good and become valuable.

But the part you and ALOT of people are missing is it's not very hard to get into the playoffs.

Take out Miami, Indy, Chicago and the two New York teams, and the rest of the East is anybody's ball game.

So if there has to be a 6th, 7th or 8th seed playoff team, why not it be the Celtics? (not to mention who knows if someone like the Knicks or Nets totally implodes.)

Also, I think you're underestimating a potential lineup of Rondo/Evans/Smith/Green.

If that lineup clicks the way it's suppose to with the likes of Wallace, Humph, Olynyk, Brooks, Sully and Bradley coming off the bench (give or take 1-2 players in a Smoove S/T), that's a pretty good team.

Only thing we'd then have to do is pick up a center (Dalembert, Hickson, Birdman) and we'd be looking pretty good.

I would also submit that lineup just mentioned could be even better than the team we had with the old guys, last year.

Because the 6/7/8 seeds are the worst. You're not good enough to win, but you're not good enough to be in the lottery. That's NBA purgatory, and it's the worst place to be in. Look at how the Atlanta Hawks.

Also, I hate to break it to you, but Rondo/Evans/Green/Smith sucks. That team would not be good at all. We'd get that 6/7/8 seed, but we'd be stuck there for as long as we have those guys as a core.

That's why Smith and Evans are referred to as underachievers. At their current state, they aren't going anywhere.

So you shoot for their upside.

We get pinned down for 2 4 year contracts...by then our Nets picks would be coming in.

Who knows? Evans and Smith might make something of themselves. The talent is right there.

[LooseCannon]

Sorry, but something is missing me here...Cs do not have a coach today...How they can sign FA? Is the coach who has to orientate the process of signing players...Ok?

No, that's the job of the general manager or a similar job title.

[D.o.s.]

Sign and Trades emerging for JJ Reddick, no talk of returning to Milwaukee, per Woj's twitter.