Free Agents Celts Should Target

[LatterDayCelticsfan]

What's the word on Timofey Mosgov? Fairly young, functional 5. Possibly a trade chip down the line.

[Who]

What's the word on Timofey Mosgov? Fairly young, functional 5. Possibly a trade chip down the line.

Denver traded Koufos so they need Mozgov now. They will  likely match any MLE offers.

[kozlodoev]

What's the word on Timofey Mosgov? Fairly young, functional 5. Possibly a trade chip down the line.

The word is he's still as horrible as he was the last time we had this conversation. And on a team that has Fab Melo and Colton Iverson, he's pretty much unnecessary -- the spot for "borderline NBA-capable stiff" (a.k.a. "young, functional big") has already been occupied and backed up.

[ssspence]

Will Bynum

This. I would have said Darren Collison, but too late for that.

[gpap]

If the Celts decide to remain competitive while "rebuilding" (which I am hoping they do), here are some free agents I think they should target, through sign and trade.

1.)Monta Ellis - I've always been an Ellis fan. He can score! If the Celts could package something enticing enough for Milwaukee to bite in a sign and trade, I think Rondo and Ellis would be a PHENOMENAL back court.

I would give up some combination of Bradley, Bass and a pick for Ellis and maybe we can take Drew Gooden of Milwaukee's hands.

2.)Byron Mullens - Admittedly, I am not an expert on Mullens BUT I've been impressed with him from watching him play vs the Celtics in the past.  A big aggressive player who can shoot, rebound and is tough. Any chance we can get him with either the MLE or a Vet Minimum contract? Perhaps if we promise him a starting center job? ( which I think he's capable of.)

3.) JJ Hickson - Last year Hickson averaged 12 pts and 10 rbs per game. With our team now becoming more up-tempo, Hickson would be PERFECT to have on this team. Again, not sure if we can nab him with the MLE, sign/trade, whatever but I am thinking Hickson, Olynyk, Humphries and Sullinger would be a pretty sweet front court.

4.) Antwan Jamison - Yes, I know Jamison is up there in age. However, I've always liked this guy. He's a career average 18 pts and 8 rbs per game. He can score and also provide leadership to the younger players. If we can find a way to unload Bass, I'd love to have Jamison. He's basically a big upgrade over Bass.

Why?  They are still over the luxury cap and have 18 players on their roster.  They have a glut of SG's and Ellis is nothing but a gunner.  Jamison does not fit into a young team and neither does Hickson since once again we have a glut of PF's/  As for Mullins all he would do is take away minutes from Melo, Olynyk

1.) We may have alot of guards, but none of them can shoot except maybe Marshon Brooks. Rondo has no jump shot, Bradley's offense is VERY inconsistent, ditto for Courtney Lee, jury is out on Keith Bogans and Jordan Crawford? Need I say more.

2.)Concerned about minutes being taken away from Fab Melo? I think by now Melo has shown that he just doesn't have a feel for the game.

[gpap]

With Rondo as the point guard, I believe the Celtics need their wings to be better three-point shooters than Ellis.  Avery Bradley is better from downtown and a better fit next to Rondo than Monta Ellis.

I like big men who are capable of scoring from the perimeter.  Byron Mullens took 208 three-point attempts last season.  However, he made only 31.7% of them and also shot a pretty poor 31.5% of long twos.  The Lakers are interested in him and he seems like a decent fit for D'Antoni ball.  I might be interested in Mullens for the minimum.  He's also a defensive liability.

JJ Hickson is a me-first player who has now had three teams give up on him because he doesn't care about defense.

Antawn Jameson is an abysmally bad defender.  He would not be an upgrade over Brandon Bass.

It seems like you prefer all-offense, no-defense players.  You must be sad that Mike D'Antoni is coaching the Lakers and not the Celtics.

No, not necessarily. I am however a bit tired of offense being overlooked here in Boston. ALOT of emphasis has been placed on defense these last few years while our offense has been for the birds.

In the Knicks games this year in the playoffs, it was like giving birth just to score 75-80 points.

I'd like to see players who can put the ball in the basket.
Especially when you are playing teams like Miami and the Knicks, who score in bunches.

[LooseCannon]

What's the word on Timofey Mosgov? Fairly young, functional 5. Possibly a trade chip down the line.

George Karl basically got fired for playing Kosta Koufos over Javale McGee and Timofey Mosgov.  Denver is currently negotiating with Mozgov for a three-year deal with a fourth-year option.

[LooseCannon]

In the Knicks games this year in the playoffs, it was like giving birth just to score 75-80 points.

I think the answer there is that Rondo plus a back-up point guard so that Avery Bradley is a full-time shooting guard.

[Fan from VT]

With Rondo as the point guard, I believe the Celtics need their wings to be better three-point shooters than Ellis.  Avery Bradley is better from downtown and a better fit next to Rondo than Monta Ellis.

I like big men who are capable of scoring from the perimeter.  Byron Mullens took 208 three-point attempts last season.  However, he made only 31.7% of them and also shot a pretty poor 31.5% of long twos.  The Lakers are interested in him and he seems like a decent fit for D'Antoni ball.  I might be interested in Mullens for the minimum.  He's also a defensive liability.

JJ Hickson is a me-first player who has now had three teams give up on him because he doesn't care about defense.

Antawn Jameson is an abysmally bad defender.  He would not be an upgrade over Brandon Bass.

It seems like you prefer all-offense, no-defense players.  You must be sad that Mike D'Antoni is coaching the Lakers and not the Celtics.

No, not necessarily. I am however a bit tired of offense being overlooked here in Boston. ALOT of emphasis has been placed on defense these last few years while our offense has been for the birds.

In the Knicks games this year in the playoffs, it was like giving birth just to score 75-80 points.

I'd like to see players who can put the ball in the basket.
Especially when you are playing teams like Miami and the Knicks, who score in bunches.

Yeah, what's weird is that we've been an elite defensive tgeam for several years, and a middling to worse offensive one. Now what is weird is that our defensive capabilities fall apart when one guy -KG- is not on the floor. So we've done a terrible terrible job of getting players or coaching a good offense, which should be easy to focus on since our defense was totally fixed by KG.

[guava_wrench]

1.) We may have alot of guards, but none of them can shoot except maybe Marshon Brooks. Rondo has no jump shot, Bradley's offense is VERY inconsistent, ditto for Courtney Lee, jury is out on Keith Bogans and Jordan Crawford? Need I say more.

Marshon is one of the worst of our guards at shooting 3s

[rondoallaturca]

Ellis is not going to work alongside Rondo...

[Fred Roberts]

What's the deal with Cole Aldrich? Total bust, or did he just not get the opportunities to show his stuff?

I might take a flier on Aldrich, Brandon Wright, Greg Oden and Andrew Bynum in terms of big men not named JJ Hickson. The idea being to see what you've got in one of these guys and hopefully strike gold and retain their rights next summer if they can become a key building block.

Aldrich purely on a 1 yr vet min deal to see what he's got. Slightly more for Oden, and more $ but only 1 year for Andrew Bynum. Brandon Wright could be a good player in terms of the direction the Celtics are heading. He also could be had at a reasonable rate.

In terms of unexciting but potentially necessary players, I think Sebastian Telfair may be a decent backup for Rondo. Provided he is cheap (vet min), I'd bring him in. There's not too many attractive options and Telfair is seasoned now. Not exciting, but a true backup PG is needed.

[hpantazo]

Beno Udrih. Good backup pg, shooter, and locker room guy, and I believe could be had for a reasonable contract.

[nickagneta]

First, I doubt once the trade is done that the C's are going to want to add to the roster. I actually think quite the opposite. I think Joseph, White and Randolph will be cut. Then I think Ainge concentrates on attempting to move long term salary for expiring contracts. Once that is over, I think Ainge will take stock of the team and see where he needs to add a body or two and what is left on the market and whether adding someone will put the Celtics over the luxury tax line because that is absolutely not going to happen this year.

So given all that if he is going to spend any money it will be short germ and small money. So vet minimum guys and young guys with a potential for some upside growth is where he would go. Guys like Brandan Wright, Leandro Barbosa, Dorrell Wright, Sam Dalembert, Roddy Beaubois, those are the types of guys Ainge  will sign. Short money, short years, incentive laden, unguaranteed extra year contracts are what he will sign, if he signs anyone at all.

[eugen]

Nikola Pekovic
Andrew Bynum
Andrei Kirilenko
Monta Ellis
Brandon Jennings

what's remaining till now