WHY YOU NEED A TOP PICK TO COMPETE (hey, but only 33 out of 34x!!)

[Moranis]

Below is the list of the 25 greatest players of all time compiled by Bill Simmons. You may like him or hate him, but this list will likely very largely reflect most lists of the top players of all time. (i'm noticing its from 2010 as well, but I don't think much would change except for Lebron being much higher and perhaps Dirk N being on the list now as well.)


1   Michael Jordan      #3 overall and came out early
2   Bill Russell            #2 overall, only because St. Louis with #1 pick would not pay the upfront bonus he was asking for
3   Kareem Abdul-Jabbar    #1 overall
4   Magic Johnson        #1 overall
5   Larry Bird        #6 overall, but only because he was drafted a year early... would have been #1 or #2 overall with certainly the following year
6   Wilt Chamberlain   was a "territorial pick" so wasn't drafted, but came into the league and was the highest paid player as a rookie, so yeah, he would have been taken #1
7   Tim Duncan    #1 pick
8   Kobe Bryant    #13 overall, the first HS player to come out in 20yrs.. with Kobe and KG the following year, its clear teams were not valuing HS players correctly... this quickly changed though
9   Jerry West        #2 overall because the next guy was #1 overall
10   Oscar Robertson  #1 overall
11   Hakeem Olajuwon   #1 overall
12   Shaquille O'Neal      #1 overall
13   Moses Malone direct from HS free agent
14   John Havlicek  #7 overall in 1962
15   Elgin Baylor   #1 overall
16   Julius Erving  went to ABA as a free agent...
17   Bob Pettit   #2 overall
18   Karl Malone lucky #13 again!!
19   Charles Barkley       #5 overall
20   LeBron James   #1 overall
21   Bob Cousy   #3 overall
22   Kevin Garnett   #5 overall
23   Isiah Thomas   #2 overall
24   Scottie Pippen   #5 overall
25   John Stockton   #16

28 of the last 30 titles were led by players on this list.

Are still going to argue that you don't need a top 25 player of all time to win a title? I mean, can you now honestly think that we can round up 7-8 Jared Sullingers and Kelly Olynyks and compete for a title? You HAVE to have one of these guys to have a serious chance to win a title.

Most of the titles were won by #1 overall picks. Most of the others were won by players who WOULD have been #1/2 overall picks under different circumstances - Bird drafted after his junior year, Kobe and KG drafted as first HS players, Jordan came out early and was stuck behind Hakeem, Dr J as a free agent.

Are there seriously people arguing that the draft is a complete crap shoot? Its certainly no guarantee, and as I've said having A #1 pick does not a title contender make (exhibit A - Anthony Bennett!). BUT have a top pick when a GREAT player is there can make you a contender for 15 years. This appears to be one of those years.

The questions isn't whether you need an elite player (which would generally be a high draft pick) to win a championship.  The question is whether you need to DRAFT that player.

Of this list, the following players won championships for teams other than the team that drafted them:

Kareem
Wilt
Bryant
Robertson
Shaq
Moses Malone
Lebron
KG

So yeah, you generally need an elite player to win.  But, you don't necessarily need to get that player by playing the lottery.

Kobe was basically drafted by the Lakers (Charlotte's GM Bass has said numerous times they had a pre-draft deal worked out that if Kobe was on the board at 13 they would draft him and trade him for Divac).  And Kareem won a title with the team that drafted him. 

[PhoSita]

Below is the list of the 25 greatest players of all time compiled by Bill Simmons. You may like him or hate him, but this list will likely very largely reflect most lists of the top players of all time. (i'm noticing its from 2010 as well, but I don't think much would change except for Lebron being much higher and perhaps Dirk N being on the list now as well.)


1   Michael Jordan      #3 overall and came out early
2   Bill Russell            #2 overall, only because St. Louis with #1 pick would not pay the upfront bonus he was asking for
3   Kareem Abdul-Jabbar    #1 overall
4   Magic Johnson        #1 overall
5   Larry Bird        #6 overall, but only because he was drafted a year early... would have been #1 or #2 overall with certainly the following year
6   Wilt Chamberlain   was a "territorial pick" so wasn't drafted, but came into the league and was the highest paid player as a rookie, so yeah, he would have been taken #1
7   Tim Duncan    #1 pick
8   Kobe Bryant    #13 overall, the first HS player to come out in 20yrs.. with Kobe and KG the following year, its clear teams were not valuing HS players correctly... this quickly changed though
9   Jerry West        #2 overall because the next guy was #1 overall
10   Oscar Robertson  #1 overall
11   Hakeem Olajuwon   #1 overall
12   Shaquille O'Neal      #1 overall
13   Moses Malone direct from HS free agent
14   John Havlicek  #7 overall in 1962
15   Elgin Baylor   #1 overall
16   Julius Erving  went to ABA as a free agent...
17   Bob Pettit   #2 overall
18   Karl Malone lucky #13 again!!
19   Charles Barkley       #5 overall
20   LeBron James   #1 overall
21   Bob Cousy   #3 overall
22   Kevin Garnett   #5 overall
23   Isiah Thomas   #2 overall
24   Scottie Pippen   #5 overall
25   John Stockton   #16

28 of the last 30 titles were led by players on this list.

Are still going to argue that you don't need a top 25 player of all time to win a title? I mean, can you now honestly think that we can round up 7-8 Jared Sullingers and Kelly Olynyks and compete for a title? You HAVE to have one of these guys to have a serious chance to win a title.

Most of the titles were won by #1 overall picks. Most of the others were won by players who WOULD have been #1/2 overall picks under different circumstances - Bird drafted after his junior year, Kobe and KG drafted as first HS players, Jordan came out early and was stuck behind Hakeem, Dr J as a free agent.

Are there seriously people arguing that the draft is a complete crap shoot? Its certainly no guarantee, and as I've said having A #1 pick does not a title contender make (exhibit A - Anthony Bennett!). BUT have a top pick when a GREAT player is there can make you a contender for 15 years. This appears to be one of those years.

The questions isn't whether you need an elite player (which would generally be a high draft pick) to win a championship.  The question is whether you need to DRAFT that player.

Of this list, the following players won championships for teams other than the team that drafted them:

Kareem
Wilt
Bryant
Robertson
Shaq
Moses Malone
Lebron
KG

So yeah, you generally need an elite player to win.  But, you don't necessarily need to get that player by playing the lottery.

LeBron, Shaq, Wilt, and Kareem all went to their eventual title team via free agency.  The Lakers and the Heat.  We can have a discussion about whether or not it's reasonable to expect that any big time free agent is going to come to the Celtics in the same manner.  I for one don't think it's ever going to happen.

KG and Moses Malone were both acquired via trade which included top 5 draft choices.

That leaves Kobe and Oscar.  Oscar was traded because his team couldn't stand him anymore.  Kobe could be considered a special case because of the high school thing.  Would a player like Kobe fall out of the top 10 if he played in college?  You can decide for yourself.

So from that list I think the only scenario that seems plausible for the Celtics is the Oscar Robertson one -- a superstar with a nasty personality so sours his team that they are willing to give him up for far less than he's worth.  Even then, I suppose we'd better hope we have the new-age Lew Alcindor to help carry the team to a championship.

Which top 5 draft pick was included in the KG trade?

You might be thinking of the Ray trade.

You're correct.

I tend to think of that #5 as being part of the trade for KG.

For all intents and purposes, that #5 was crucial to getting KG, because we used the #5 to get Ray Allen.  If we hadn't gotten Ray Allen, KG would never have agreed to come here.

The basic point is that a top 5 pick was required to put together the Big 3.

[BudweiserCeltic]

Below is the list of the 25 greatest players of all time compiled by Bill Simmons. You may like him or hate him, but this list will likely very largely reflect most lists of the top players of all time. (i'm noticing its from 2010 as well, but I don't think much would change except for Lebron being much higher and perhaps Dirk N being on the list now as well.)


1   Michael Jordan      #3 overall and came out early
2   Bill Russell            #2 overall, only because St. Louis with #1 pick would not pay the upfront bonus he was asking for
3   Kareem Abdul-Jabbar    #1 overall
4   Magic Johnson        #1 overall
5   Larry Bird        #6 overall, but only because he was drafted a year early... would have been #1 or #2 overall with certainly the following year
6   Wilt Chamberlain   was a "territorial pick" so wasn't drafted, but came into the league and was the highest paid player as a rookie, so yeah, he would have been taken #1
7   Tim Duncan    #1 pick
8   Kobe Bryant    #13 overall, the first HS player to come out in 20yrs.. with Kobe and KG the following year, its clear teams were not valuing HS players correctly... this quickly changed though
9   Jerry West        #2 overall because the next guy was #1 overall
10   Oscar Robertson  #1 overall
11   Hakeem Olajuwon   #1 overall
12   Shaquille O'Neal      #1 overall
13   Moses Malone direct from HS free agent
14   John Havlicek  #7 overall in 1962
15   Elgin Baylor   #1 overall
16   Julius Erving  went to ABA as a free agent...
17   Bob Pettit   #2 overall
18   Karl Malone lucky #13 again!!
19   Charles Barkley       #5 overall
20   LeBron James   #1 overall
21   Bob Cousy   #3 overall
22   Kevin Garnett   #5 overall
23   Isiah Thomas   #2 overall
24   Scottie Pippen   #5 overall
25   John Stockton   #16

28 of the last 30 titles were led by players on this list.

Are still going to argue that you don't need a top 25 player of all time to win a title? I mean, can you now honestly think that we can round up 7-8 Jared Sullingers and Kelly Olynyks and compete for a title? You HAVE to have one of these guys to have a serious chance to win a title.

Most of the titles were won by #1 overall picks. Most of the others were won by players who WOULD have been #1/2 overall picks under different circumstances - Bird drafted after his junior year, Kobe and KG drafted as first HS players, Jordan came out early and was stuck behind Hakeem, Dr J as a free agent.

Are there seriously people arguing that the draft is a complete crap shoot? Its certainly no guarantee, and as I've said having A #1 pick does not a title contender make (exhibit A - Anthony Bennett!). BUT have a top pick when a GREAT player is there can make you a contender for 15 years. This appears to be one of those years.

The questions isn't whether you need an elite player (which would generally be a high draft pick) to win a championship.  The question is whether you need to DRAFT that player.

Of this list, the following players won championships for teams other than the team that drafted them:

Kareem
Wilt
Bryant
Robertson
Shaq
Moses Malone
Lebron
KG

So yeah, you generally need an elite player to win.  But, you don't necessarily need to get that player by playing the lottery.

LeBron, Shaq, Wilt, and Kareem all went to their eventual title team via free agency.  The Lakers and the Heat.  We can have a discussion about whether or not it's reasonable to expect that any big time free agent is going to come to the Celtics in the same manner.  I for one don't think it's ever going to happen.

KG and Moses Malone were both acquired via trade which included top 5 draft choices.

That leaves Kobe and Oscar.  Oscar was traded because his team couldn't stand him anymore.  Kobe could be considered a special case because of the high school thing.  Would a player like Kobe fall out of the top 10 if he played in college?  You can decide for yourself.

So from that list I think the only scenario that seems plausible for the Celtics is the Oscar Robertson one -- a superstar with a nasty personality so sours his team that they are willing to give him up for far less than he's worth.  Even then, I suppose we'd better hope we have the new-age Lew Alcindor to help carry the team to a championship.

Which top 5 draft pick was included in the KG trade?

You might be thinking of the Ray trade.

You're correct.

I tend to think of that #5 as being part of the trade for KG.

For all intents and purposes, that #5 was crucial to getting KG, because we used the #5 to get Ray Allen.  If we hadn't gotten Ray Allen, KG would never have agreed to come here.

The basic point is that a top 5 pick was required to put together the Big 3.

Only because KG had a no-trade clause, not because Minnesota was unwilling to trade KG to the Celtics.

I think he had a no-trade clause, no? Else there was also the requirement of signing an extension with the Celtics... else they'd risk what happened just now to the Lakers.

[bleedGREENdon]

yes in this day and age and the lack of free agents picking boston over, LA,Miami,NewYork,Texas teams. We need to draft our players. Yes we can stack talent and trade for an elite player, but, Drafting would be our best bet. We all forget, it was basically the draft that got us #17.

[LooseCannon]

28 of the last 30 titles were led by players on this list.

Are still going to argue that you don't need a top 25 player of all time to win a title?

If you absolutely needed a top 25 player of all time to win a title, 30 of the last 30 titles would have been led by players on that list.

God, its getting a bit ridiculous though isn't it? How about this? Dirk is now in the top 25 and the guys on that list goes back to 1980, I think.

So in 33 of 34 years, you need a top 25 player of all-time, does that suit you? Have we split enough hairs for you?

You are using inductive reasoning, inferring a conclusion based upon a series of observations.  Your "logic" is the same as what would be used if you claimed that 44 out of 44 presidents have been male, therefore you absolutely need a man at the top of your ticket for your party to win a presidential election.  There is pretty much nothing you can do to make me agree that you have a sound argument.

[EDWARDO]

Below is the list of the 25 greatest players of all time compiled by Bill Simmons. You may like him or hate him, but this list will likely very largely reflect most lists of the top players of all time. (i'm noticing its from 2010 as well, but I don't think much would change except for Lebron being much higher and perhaps Dirk N being on the list now as well.)


1   Michael Jordan      #3 overall and came out early
2   Bill Russell            #2 overall, only because St. Louis with #1 pick would not pay the upfront bonus he was asking for
3   Kareem Abdul-Jabbar    #1 overall
4   Magic Johnson        #1 overall
5   Larry Bird        #6 overall, but only because he was drafted a year early... would have been #1 or #2 overall with certainly the following year
6   Wilt Chamberlain   was a "territorial pick" so wasn't drafted, but came into the league and was the highest paid player as a rookie, so yeah, he would have been taken #1
7   Tim Duncan    #1 pick
8   Kobe Bryant    #13 overall, the first HS player to come out in 20yrs.. with Kobe and KG the following year, its clear teams were not valuing HS players correctly... this quickly changed though
9   Jerry West        #2 overall because the next guy was #1 overall
10   Oscar Robertson  #1 overall
11   Hakeem Olajuwon   #1 overall
12   Shaquille O'Neal      #1 overall
13   Moses Malone direct from HS free agent
14   John Havlicek  #7 overall in 1962
15   Elgin Baylor   #1 overall
16   Julius Erving  went to ABA as a free agent...
17   Bob Pettit   #2 overall
18   Karl Malone lucky #13 again!!
19   Charles Barkley       #5 overall
20   LeBron James   #1 overall
21   Bob Cousy   #3 overall
22   Kevin Garnett   #5 overall
23   Isiah Thomas   #2 overall
24   Scottie Pippen   #5 overall
25   John Stockton   #16

28 of the last 30 titles were led by players on this list.

Are still going to argue that you don't need a top 25 player of all time to win a title? I mean, can you now honestly think that we can round up 7-8 Jared Sullingers and Kelly Olynyks and compete for a title? You HAVE to have one of these guys to have a serious chance to win a title.

Most of the titles were won by #1 overall picks. Most of the others were won by players who WOULD have been #1/2 overall picks under different circumstances - Bird drafted after his junior year, Kobe and KG drafted as first HS players, Jordan came out early and was stuck behind Hakeem, Dr J as a free agent.

Are there seriously people arguing that the draft is a complete crap shoot? Its certainly no guarantee, and as I've said having A #1 pick does not a title contender make (exhibit A - Anthony Bennett!). BUT have a top pick when a GREAT player is there can make you a contender for 15 years. This appears to be one of those years.

The questions isn't whether you need an elite player (which would generally be a high draft pick) to win a championship.  The question is whether you need to DRAFT that player.

Of this list, the following players won championships for teams other than the team that drafted them:

Kareem
Wilt
Bryant
Robertson
Shaq
Moses Malone
Lebron
KG

So yeah, you generally need an elite player to win.  But, you don't necessarily need to get that player by playing the lottery.

LeBron, Shaq, Wilt, and Kareem all went to their eventual title team via free agency.  The Lakers and the Heat.  We can have a discussion about whether or not it's reasonable to expect that any big time free agent is going to come to the Celtics in the same manner.  I for one don't think it's ever going to happen.

KG and Moses Malone were both acquired via trade which included top 5 draft choices.

That leaves Kobe and Oscar.  Oscar was traded because his team couldn't stand him anymore.  Kobe could be considered a special case because of the high school thing.  Would a player like Kobe fall out of the top 10 if he played in college?  You can decide for yourself.

So from that list I think the only scenario that seems plausible for the Celtics is the Oscar Robertson one -- a superstar with a nasty personality so sours his team that they are willing to give him up for far less than he's worth.  Even then, I suppose we'd better hope we have the new-age Lew Alcindor to help carry the team to a championship.

Which top 5 draft pick was included in the KG trade?

You might be thinking of the Ray trade.

We had Minnesota's pick from an earlier trade, I believe as part of the Wally Sz. trade. We gave it back to them in the KG trade.

[ram]

May I add Dave Cowens to the list of superstars who were drafted in the top 5 and were the cornerstone of  NBA championship teams (2 rings and almost 2 others).

Cowens was the best player in the draft but only Red recognized that. Drafted ahead of him were Bob Lanier, Rudy Tomjanovich and Pistol Pete. All great players but not of caliber of Cowens in his prime.

Cowens doesn't make the list of 25 but that is mostly due to a relatively short career. For about a 4 year period, he was as good as anyone in the league (MVP in 1973 and finished 4th, 2nd and 3rd in 3 other years).

[Spilling Green Dye]

Your list proves that you need a top tier player to win a championship, and that these players almost always drafted in the top 5.

The only way to get a top tier player is by trade, draft, or free agency.

Historically speaking, free agency is not a valid option for the Celtics, so therefore we have to resort to drafting & trades.

A trade for a top tier player would have to include a very high draft pick.  Similarly, as your list proves, a draft pick should be top 5 to stand a reasonable chance to become a top tier player.

THEREFORE, the only way the Celtics can acquire a top tier player and contend for a championship is to have a top 5 draft pick (to be used or traded).  I don't get how so many people in this thread think that having a draft pick in the 12 to 24 range will somehow eventually lead to a Championship caliber team.

[Casperian]

Oh boy, here we go again.

Even more historical analysis that has nothing to do with the Celtics´ current situation, even more convenient strawman arguments from people who disagree with the implied conclusion of said analysis.

Can we not just ignore how other teams have won their titles, and focus on what the Celtics can do to win #18?

[tarheelsxxiii]

Your list proves that you need a top tier player to win a championship, and that these players almost always drafted in the top 5.

The only way to get a top tier player is by trade, draft, or free agency.

Historically speaking, free agency is not a valid option for the Celtics, so therefore we have to resort to drafting & trades.

A trade for a top tier player would have to include a very high draft pick.  Similarly, as your list proves, a draft pick should be top 5 to stand a reasonable chance to become a top tier player.

THEREFORE, the only way the Celtics can acquire a top tier player and contend for a championship is to have a top 5 draft pick (to be used or traded).  I don't get how so many people in this thread think that having a draft pick in the 12 to 24 range will somehow eventually lead to a Championship caliber team.

Because there are 12-24 franchise players in the 2014 draft 

[LooseCannon]

A trade for a top tier player would have to include a very high draft pick.  Similarly, as your list proves, a draft pick should be top 5 to stand a reasonable chance to become a top tier player.

What percentage of trades for top tier players have included a very high draft pick?  If the answer is not "100%", then it would be wrong to say that a trade for a top tier player would have to include a very high draft pick.

[Boris Badenov]

Below is the list of the 25 greatest players of all time compiled by Bill Simmons. You may like him or hate him, but this list will likely very largely reflect most lists of the top players of all time. (i'm noticing its from 2010 as well, but I don't think much would change except for Lebron being much higher and perhaps Dirk N being on the list now as well.)


1   Michael Jordan      #3 overall and came out early
2   Bill Russell            #2 overall, only because St. Louis with #1 pick would not pay the upfront bonus he was asking for
3   Kareem Abdul-Jabbar    #1 overall
4   Magic Johnson        #1 overall
5   Larry Bird        #6 overall, but only because he was drafted a year early... would have been #1 or #2 overall with certainly the following year
6   Wilt Chamberlain   was a "territorial pick" so wasn't drafted, but came into the league and was the highest paid player as a rookie, so yeah, he would have been taken #1
7   Tim Duncan    #1 pick
8   Kobe Bryant    #13 overall, the first HS player to come out in 20yrs.. with Kobe and KG the following year, its clear teams were not valuing HS players correctly... this quickly changed though
9   Jerry West        #2 overall because the next guy was #1 overall
10   Oscar Robertson  #1 overall
11   Hakeem Olajuwon   #1 overall
12   Shaquille O'Neal      #1 overall
13   Moses Malone direct from HS free agent
14   John Havlicek  #7 overall in 1962
15   Elgin Baylor   #1 overall
16   Julius Erving  went to ABA as a free agent...
17   Bob Pettit   #2 overall
18   Karl Malone lucky #13 again!!
19   Charles Barkley       #5 overall
20   LeBron James   #1 overall
21   Bob Cousy   #3 overall
22   Kevin Garnett   #5 overall
23   Isiah Thomas   #2 overall
24   Scottie Pippen   #5 overall
25   John Stockton   #16

28 of the last 30 titles were led by players on this list.

Are still going to argue that you don't need a top 25 player of all time to win a title? I mean, can you now honestly think that we can round up 7-8 Jared Sullingers and Kelly Olynyks and compete for a title? You HAVE to have one of these guys to have a serious chance to win a title.

Most of the titles were won by #1 overall picks. Most of the others were won by players who WOULD have been #1/2 overall picks under different circumstances - Bird drafted after his junior year, Kobe and KG drafted as first HS players, Jordan came out early and was stuck behind Hakeem, Dr J as a free agent.

Are there seriously people arguing that the draft is a complete crap shoot? Its certainly no guarantee, and as I've said having A #1 pick does not a title contender make (exhibit A - Anthony Bennett!). BUT have a top pick when a GREAT player is there can make you a contender for 15 years. This appears to be one of those years.

The questions isn't whether you need an elite player (which would generally be a high draft pick) to win a championship.  The question is whether you need to DRAFT that player.

Of this list, the following players won championships for teams other than the team that drafted them:

Kareem
Wilt
Bryant
Robertson
Shaq
Moses Malone
Lebron
KG

So yeah, you generally need an elite player to win.  But, you don't necessarily need to get that player by playing the lottery.

LeBron, Shaq, Wilt, and Kareem all went to their eventual title team via free agency.  The Lakers and the Heat.  We can have a discussion about whether or not it's reasonable to expect that any big time free agent is going to come to the Celtics in the same manner.  I for one don't think it's ever going to happen.

KG and Moses Malone were both acquired via trade which included top 5 draft choices.

That leaves Kobe and Oscar.  Oscar was traded because his team couldn't stand him anymore.  Kobe could be considered a special case because of the high school thing.  Would a player like Kobe fall out of the top 10 if he played in college?  You can decide for yourself.

So from that list I think the only scenario that seems plausible for the Celtics is the Oscar Robertson one -- a superstar with a nasty personality so sours his team that they are willing to give him up for far less than he's worth.  Even then, I suppose we'd better hope we have the new-age Lew Alcindor to help carry the team to a championship.

Which top 5 draft pick was included in the KG trade?

You might be thinking of the Ray trade.

We had Minnesota's pick from an earlier trade, I believe as part of the Wally Sz. trade. We gave it back to them in the KG trade.

That pick was not in the top 5.

(It was 6th. Haha.)

[tyrone biggums]

Your list proves that you need a top tier player to win a championship, and that these players almost always drafted in the top 5.

The only way to get a top tier player is by trade, draft, or free agency.

Historically speaking, free agency is not a valid option for the Celtics, so therefore we have to resort to drafting & trades.

A trade for a top tier player would have to include a very high draft pick.  Similarly, as your list proves, a draft pick should be top 5 to stand a reasonable chance to become a top tier player.

THEREFORE, the only way the Celtics can acquire a top tier player and contend for a championship is to have a top 5 draft pick (to be used or traded).  I don't get how so many people in this thread think that having a draft pick in the 12 to 24 range will somehow eventually lead to a Championship caliber team.

Malone and Stockton if a few bounces went the Jazz' way would have been the exception. My point is that it's shortsighted to say "free agents won't come to Boston" when in reality who have they tried to sign? I'm pretty sure that having 90 degree weather is less important than having good management and a winning roster. Again name one big name free agent they've pursued with cap space that they lost out on? How you get those top 5 players are up to chance. You can't just punt cap space for example because you ASSUME no one wants to play in Boston.

Like him or not Josh Smith was ranked the #3 free agent and signed with the Pistons. Tell me one thing Detroit has over Boston?

[Moranis]

Your list proves that you need a top tier player to win a championship, and that these players almost always drafted in the top 5.

The only way to get a top tier player is by trade, draft, or free agency.

Historically speaking, free agency is not a valid option for the Celtics, so therefore we have to resort to drafting & trades.

A trade for a top tier player would have to include a very high draft pick.  Similarly, as your list proves, a draft pick should be top 5 to stand a reasonable chance to become a top tier player.

THEREFORE, the only way the Celtics can acquire a top tier player and contend for a championship is to have a top 5 draft pick (to be used or traded).  I don't get how so many people in this thread think that having a draft pick in the 12 to 24 range will somehow eventually lead to a Championship caliber team.

Malone and Stockton if a few bounces went the Jazz' way would have been the exception. My point is that it's shortsighted to say "free agents won't come to Boston" when in reality who have they tried to sign? I'm pretty sure that having 90 degree weather is less important than having good management and a winning roster. Again name one big name free agent they've pursued with cap space that they lost out on? How you get those top 5 players are up to chance. You can't just punt cap space for example because you ASSUME no one wants to play in Boston.

Like him or not Josh Smith was ranked the #3 free agent and signed with the Pistons. Tell me one thing Detroit has over Boston?

And, while Detroit paid him a lot, he wasn't even close to getting a full max contract. 

[Spilling Green Dye]

Ok, so for those of you who don't think aiming for a top 5 pick in the upcoming draft is the way to go, then what would you do?  What free agents would you target and expect to get?  What would your plan be if they don't come here?  HOW would you build value on this team?