What a great season so far - seriously.

[D.o.s.]

In the interest of premature excitement, let me add that the nets are 1-2 and would be 0-3 if not for their victory v. Heat who are starting sloppy.  Let's not forget the boon to the c's if the the Nets turn out to be less than the sum of their parts.

It's a boon to Atlanta this year.

[Interceptor]

It's a boon to Atlanta this year.

No problem there, just means that I need to make TWO voodoo dolls.

[Quetzalcoatl]

I really disagree with this. This team isn't turning around in one year because we draft some 19 year old in the coming draft. None of the players in this draft have Lebron or MJ potential. They will be good but even Lebron and MJ took a couple years to turn their teams around upon landing there. If they aren't Lebron or MJ good chances are 3-4 years is a more likely turning point to being good again.

Think of it this way.  Not only are we getting a top 5 pick in a ridiculously loaded draft, but we're also getting the Nets' pick.  The Nets are probably going to draft somewhere in the 20-25 range. 

Just look at some of these guys:

James McAdoo
http://www.nbadraft.net/players/james-mcadoo
Projected to be the 21st pick
He is a 6'9" SF/PF with a 7'1" wingspan and impressive outside shooting ability and is also Bob McAdoo's nephew

Rodney Hood
Projected 25th overall
6'8.5" SF
He plays on Duke with Parker, but when you see articles about the team, Hood is the minutes leader and the articles written about the game are starting to focus on his perspective instead of Parker's
http://www.newsobserver.com/2013/11/02/3334854/fourth-ranked-duke-beats-drury.html

Isaiah Austin
Projected 35th overall
In 2009, people were talking about him as a top 5 caliber pick
7'0" Center that is still growing

Etc.  That is for our #2 pick after we draft someone like Parker, Wiggins or Randle.  Considering that any of them would most likely make Jeff Green redundant and he is our best trade piece, we will most likely get value at another position for him.  We can trot out:

Rondo
X
Wiggins
McAdoo
Vitor

With our SG being filled by what we get for a Jeff Green + Expiring + Picks trade, which will probably someone good.  Then on top of that, we are going to get awesome Nets draft picks for the next decade.  We are so stacked with assets it's crazy.

On top of that, most of our players left over are great role players, they just can't win games on their own.  If we keep Bradley, Kardashian, Lee, Bass and Sullinger we're going to be a solid team with a lot of assets and cap space left over to continue to deal.  The Nets picks will keep infusing our team with cheap, talented labor and Gerald Wallace will expire in 2 years. 

[Vermont Green]

I am actually disappointed that some of the trade assets aren't playing better (primarily Humphries and Wallace).

Other than that though, I don't think we can expect much more out of this season than jockeying for draft position and seeing promise in our young players, especially the big ones (Fav, Olynyk, Sullinger).

As far as Brooklyn goes, 2015 is when things start to get interesting with them.  We have or can trade for their picks in 2015, 2016 and 2017.  I suspect they will be in the lottery some of those years.

[TwinTower14]

life long Heels fan, trust me.  Just say no to McAdoo...

[Onslaught]

life long Heels fan, trust me.  Just say no to McAdoo...

Life long Heels hatter, I agree.

As for this season, I'm going to hold off and see how things go before I start smiling too much. This could work out or it could make many of us jump off a building in depression.

[nickagneta]

One thing I don't think gets enough play on these forums is that we can potentially right the ship by tanking for only one season.  We were never really in contention from 1992 - 2007, I mean think about that.  If we can get a top 3 player out of this draft which is looking more and more likely, we can be in contention for the next decade while only suffering for 1/15th of the time.

I really disagree with this. This team isn't turning around in one year because we draft some 19 year old in the coming draft. None of the players in this draft have Lebron or MJ potential. They will be good but even Lebron and MJ took a couple years to turn their teams around upon landing there. If they aren't Lebron or MJ good chances are 3-4 years is a more likely turning point to being good again.

How do you know what they can or can't do coming out of the draft ?

Nobody ever knows until they hit the floor.

Draft well, Develop your youth, Manage your cap situation. 

Ainge knows what he's doing.  Luck plays a part in the process as well, especially if the 'draft' is involved.  You can avoid that luck part if you trade your pick(s) for a nice proven player like Ainge did with Ray Allen.

1. Our current team is awful,
2. Adding Rondo to our team will just make us really bad.
3. I don't care how lucky they get in the draft(and they could get unlucky, let's not forget that, it has happened before)some 19 year old is not going to be able to be a difference maker enough to turn this team around. Don't believe me, site me one example of a 19 year old being drafted and their team suddenly go from terrible to really good in one year.
4. The Celtics will have little cap flexibility to sign a major free agent to add to the player next year


Yes, Danny Ainge could become Trader Jack again and remake the roster in one year with some trades of great players coming here to add to this 19 year old savior we will be drafting but it doesn't appear those type of players will be on the trade market next summer and it also doesn't appear Ainge has the assets to land such players.

Anything is possible. I am just saying that I do not believe the scenario of a one year turnaround is very likely. Not one bit. In order for the summer of 2007 to happen, a ton of things had to go perfectly right. They did and the Celtics had the greatest turnaround IN THE HISTORY OF THE NBA. Expecting lightning in a bottle twice, is fool's gold.

[TwinTower14]

Didn't Derrick Rose get his team to the playoffs as a rookie and took the C's to 7 games? Then the next year the number 1 seed in the Eastern Conference?

[TheTruthFot18]

TP for putting many of my thoughts (and others I haven't thought of yet) together with a hopeful message. This is why I stick to math.

[Quetzalcoatl]

One thing I don't think gets enough play on these forums is that we can potentially right the ship by tanking for only one season.  We were never really in contention from 1992 - 2007, I mean think about that.  If we can get a top 3 player out of this draft which is looking more and more likely, we can be in contention for the next decade while only suffering for 1/15th of the time.

I really disagree with this. This team isn't turning around in one year because we draft some 19 year old in the coming draft. None of the players in this draft have Lebron or MJ potential. They will be good but even Lebron and MJ took a couple years to turn their teams around upon landing there. If they aren't Lebron or MJ good chances are 3-4 years is a more likely turning point to being good again.

How do you know what they can or can't do coming out of the draft ?

Nobody ever knows until they hit the floor.

Draft well, Develop your youth, Manage your cap situation. 

Ainge knows what he's doing.  Luck plays a part in the process as well, especially if the 'draft' is involved.  You can avoid that luck part if you trade your pick(s) for a nice proven player like Ainge did with Ray Allen.

1. Our current team is awful,
2. Adding Rondo to our team will just make us really bad.
3. I don't care how lucky they get in the draft(and they could get unlucky, let's not forget that, it has happened before)some 19 year old is not going to be able to be a difference maker enough to turn this team around. Don't believe me, site me one example of a 19 year old being drafted and their team suddenly go from terrible to really good in one year.
4. The Celtics will have little cap flexibility to sign a major free agent to add to the player next year


Yes, Danny Ainge could become Trader Jack again and remake the roster in one year with some trades of great players coming here to add to this 19 year old savior we will be drafting but it doesn't appear those type of players will be on the trade market next summer and it also doesn't appear Ainge has the assets to land such players.

Anything is possible. I am just saying that I do not believe the scenario of a one year turnaround is very likely. Not one bit. In order for the summer of 2007 to happen, a ton of things had to go perfectly right. They did and the Celtics had the greatest turnaround IN THE HISTORY OF THE NBA. Expecting lightning in a bottle twice, is fool's gold.

Kevin Durant turned his team around at 19 in one year not too long ago and he isn't LBJ or MJ.

Everything went wrong in 2007 (we got the 5th pick) and we still came out with a championship team.

Stop panicking

[LooseCannon]

3. I don't care how lucky they get in the draft(and they could get unlucky, let's not forget that, it has happened before)some 19 year old is not going to be able to be a difference maker enough to turn this team around. Don't believe me, site me one example of a 19 year old being drafted and their team suddenly go from terrible to really good in one year.

They didn't become really good, but Minnesota went from 26-56 to a playoff team with rookie teenager Stephon Marbury.  (OK, Garnett become a full-time starter had something to do with it.)

[nickagneta]

One thing I don't think gets enough play on these forums is that we can potentially right the ship by tanking for only one season.  We were never really in contention from 1992 - 2007, I mean think about that.  If we can get a top 3 player out of this draft which is looking more and more likely, we can be in contention for the next decade while only suffering for 1/15th of the time.

I really disagree with this. This team isn't turning around in one year because we draft some 19 year old in the coming draft. None of the players in this draft have Lebron or MJ potential. They will be good but even Lebron and MJ took a couple years to turn their teams around upon landing there. If they aren't Lebron or MJ good chances are 3-4 years is a more likely turning point to being good again.

How do you know what they can or can't do coming out of the draft ?

Nobody ever knows until they hit the floor.

Draft well, Develop your youth, Manage your cap situation. 

Ainge knows what he's doing.  Luck plays a part in the process as well, especially if the 'draft' is involved.  You can avoid that luck part if you trade your pick(s) for a nice proven player like Ainge did with Ray Allen.

1. Our current team is awful,
2. Adding Rondo to our team will just make us really bad.
3. I don't care how lucky they get in the draft(and they could get unlucky, let's not forget that, it has happened before)some 19 year old is not going to be able to be a difference maker enough to turn this team around. Don't believe me, site me one example of a 19 year old being drafted and their team suddenly go from terrible to really good in one year.
4. The Celtics will have little cap flexibility to sign a major free agent to add to the player next year


Yes, Danny Ainge could become Trader Jack again and remake the roster in one year with some trades of great players coming here to add to this 19 year old savior we will be drafting but it doesn't appear those type of players will be on the trade market next summer and it also doesn't appear Ainge has the assets to land such players.

Anything is possible. I am just saying that I do not believe the scenario of a one year turnaround is very likely. Not one bit. In order for the summer of 2007 to happen, a ton of things had to go perfectly right. They did and the Celtics had the greatest turnaround IN THE HISTORY OF THE NBA. Expecting lightning in a bottle twice, is fool's gold.

Kevin Durant turned his team around at 19 in one year not too long ago and he isn't LBJ or MJ.

Everything went wrong in 2007 (we got the 5th pick) and we still came out with a championship team.

Stop panicking

Nope. Took Durant two years. He was a rookie for a fairly bad Seattle team.

[nickagneta]

Didn't Derrick Rose get his team to the playoffs as a rookie and took the C's to 7 games? Then the next year the number 1 seed in the Eastern Conference?

The addition of Derrick Rose to a mediocre 33 win Chicago team(remember they got that pick not because they were bad but because they owned the Knicks pick) netted exactly 8 more wins the following year. The year following they ended up with the exact same .500 record again so Rose also does not work.

[Snakehead]

One thing I don't think gets enough play on these forums is that we can potentially right the ship by tanking for only one season.  We were never really in contention from 1992 - 2007, I mean think about that.  If we can get a top 3 player out of this draft which is looking more and more likely, we can be in contention for the next decade while only suffering for 1/15th of the time.

I really disagree with this. This team isn't turning around in one year because we draft some 19 year old in the coming draft. None of the players in this draft have Lebron or MJ potential. They will be good but even Lebron and MJ took a couple years to turn their teams around upon landing there. If they aren't Lebron or MJ good chances are 3-4 years is a more likely turning point to being good again.

How do you know what they can or can't do coming out of the draft ?

Nobody ever knows until they hit the floor.

Draft well, Develop your youth, Manage your cap situation. 

Ainge knows what he's doing.  Luck plays a part in the process as well, especially if the 'draft' is involved.  You can avoid that luck part if you trade your pick(s) for a nice proven player like Ainge did with Ray Allen.

1. Our current team is awful,
2. Adding Rondo to our team will just make us really bad.
3. I don't care how lucky they get in the draft(and they could get unlucky, let's not forget that, it has happened before)some 19 year old is not going to be able to be a difference maker enough to turn this team around. Don't believe me, site me one example of a 19 year old being drafted and their team suddenly go from terrible to really good in one year.
4. The Celtics will have little cap flexibility to sign a major free agent to add to the player next year


Yes, Danny Ainge could become Trader Jack again and remake the roster in one year with some trades of great players coming here to add to this 19 year old savior we will be drafting but it doesn't appear those type of players will be on the trade market next summer and it also doesn't appear Ainge has the assets to land such players.

Anything is possible. I am just saying that I do not believe the scenario of a one year turnaround is very likely. Not one bit. In order for the summer of 2007 to happen, a ton of things had to go perfectly right. They did and the Celtics had the greatest turnaround IN THE HISTORY OF THE NBA. Expecting lightning in a bottle twice, is fool's gold.

Kevin Durant turned his team around at 19 in one year not too long ago and he isn't LBJ or MJ.

Everything went wrong in 2007 (we got the 5th pick) and we still came out with a championship team.

Stop panicking

Nope. Took Durant two years. He was a rookie for a fairly bad Seattle team.

Our current roster with Rondo is definitely better than that Seattle team though.

http://www.basketball-reference.com/teams/SEA/2008.html

Plus we have a lot of assets to make trades, in both players and picks.

I love our position.

[nickagneta]

I'm not trying to be Debbie Downer here nor am I panicking but let's be realistic. One year turnarounds in the NBA by adding a superstar in the draft just do not happen without extremely special circumstances(See Tim Duncan, San Antonio).

Worst to first scenarios in the NBA almost never happen and the times it did happen, major special circumstances were involved. There are no major special circumstances happening here. So with some good cap management, some lucky ping pong balls, some smart and excellent trades and some good coaching, yeah, a 2-3 year turnaround is very possible. A one year turnaround....I just do not see it happening.