This Rreminds Me of '07

[GreenWarrior]

Things didn't quite work out the way we had envisioned in the '07 draft. We were pretty certain Durant or Oden were going to be future Celtics. We got neither & things looked about as bad as they could get.

Then next thing we know we've traded for Ray Allen & rumors that we are looking to acquire KG from Minn. & we also grabbed a sleeper PG in the draft.

We were hoping for long term future in the hopes of landing Durant or Oden. Instead we went all in for winning now and it paid off big time with a championship that yr.

Well things right now are not going according to plan like in '07. Anyone else think we might do the unthinkable and maybe use some of our valued draft picks for 2014 and 2015 to try to win now?

[Jailan34]

Well, I see the connection of the teams overall state, but not the assets owned by the team. In 07 we had the 5th overall pick which was the main asset used to get ray. We then traded a package centered around Big Al to get kg. Currently we don't have a player as valuable to other GM's as big al was then. While we are all in love with sullinger teams don't value him as much as we do.

So while this team is kind of in limbo as the 07 team was, we don't have the high value assets to make big trades like those.

At least not yet.

[action781]

I do think so, but this is a little different.  When we acquired KG, we acquired a player who was probably a top 5 NBA player. 

I don't see that player available via trade right now.  Dwight was that guy in my opinion (which many will disagree with), but no longer is available.  I think we could use assets to get an all-star caliber player (like Ray Allen was), but I don't see any truly elite players that will be available this year.  The available guys (like Kevin Love) are more like a Ray Allen than a KG.

[Bosstown]

I don't see the comparison, minus Jamaal Crawford playing Tony Allen and Rondo playing PP. But in 07 we had one of the worst records in the league, this year we have a ok record and are heading towards the playoffs.

Sullinger isn't as valuable as Al Jeff was, because he hasn't shown enough yet. Combine that with the lack of a top 5 pick, we are not even close to where we are in '07. Not to mention there are no top 5 NBA players available. LaMarcus was one guy I thought could be obtainable, but with the way Portland is playing I think that ship has sailed. Kevin Love is good, but not great and honestly Sullinger is younger and in my opinion is a better defender then Love at this point. Melo could still happen, but he's still more likely to sign in LA. So I don't know where these superstars on bad teams exist.

We should build through the draft, there are not any real proven commodities available.

[obnoxiousmime]

The other difference is we already had a young Rondo and Pierce on the team. So adding Ray Allen and Garnett gave us four solid or star players, along with a developing Perkins. After that simply adding some veterans to round out the bench was almost too easy.

The key to everything was Garnett - those type of players just don't become available often. Ray Allen and Pierce on a team just leads to a second round playoff exit most years. To win a championship you still need a great big man or a once in a lifetime wing like LeBron or Michael (though LeBron now plays a lot of PF). Otherwise you might be able to win one fluky championship like Dallas, Detroit, or... =(

[LooseCannon]

If you're looking for the next Garnett-level acquisition, I think you have to look for a player in a similar situation: someone at least 30 on a team which seems to be going nowhere and wants to rebuild.

[chambers]

We have some nice pieces.
Instead of actual players, we have picks.
Sully is looking like our Al Jeff. He's been playing out of position and killing it- just wait till he's back at the PF.

But I don't think there's a close comparison. We have Rondo being our Pierce, we have Sully + Green being similar to 2007 Rondo, but at this stage we won't be in the sweepstakes to bring in a third star.

Closest thing (who's not very close at all) to the KG 2007 situation that I can see is Carmelo in a bad situation in NY. If he could bring Chandler with him, and pair him up with Rondo, Green and a solid 2014 draft pick at SG with Sully coming in off the Bench- then we'd have a shot.
I think that a team of
Rondo
SG
Green
Melo
Chandler

would be a true contender. Carmelo would take so much coverage away from Green. Rondo running pick and roll with Chandler.
Green and a nice SG sitting in the corners hitting 3 after 3.
Solid big man off bench in Sully. As far as the SG goes? Maybe a Quincy Pondexter type guy who defends and drains threes- but has the size to guard 2's and 3's.
I think Melo would have no problem changing his game because he'd finally have some help on offense, and the great defenders around him would cover up his flaws, but force him to improve his own effort.
He's just in an impossible situation in NY, and he's no KG, but he is the leagues leading scorer, and other than Lebron, he's probably the best mismatch PF in the NBA.
Again, Jeff Green is what makes Melo so much better on our team- he's the perfect complementary 3rd or 4th option.

[BballTim]

I don't see the comparison, minus Jamaal Crawford playing Tony Allen and Rondo playing PP. But in 07 we had one of the worst records in the league, this year we have a ok record and are heading towards the playoffs.

Sullinger isn't as valuable as Al Jeff was, because he hasn't shown enough yet. Combine that with the lack of a top 5 pick, we are not even close to where we are in '07. Not to mention there are no top 5 NBA players available. LaMarcus was one guy I thought could be obtainable, but with the way Portland is playing I think that ship has sailed. Kevin Love is good, but not great and honestly Sullinger is younger and in my opinion is a better defender then Love at this point. Melo could still happen, but he's still more likely to sign in LA. So I don't know where these superstars on bad teams exist.

We should build through the draft, there are not any real proven commodities available.

  It's true that nobody can name any star players that will be available in the near future, it's also true that one probably will. I don't think anyone here was talking about Ray being available (especially for the deal they got) until the trade was announced. If the posts are still around from the end of the 2007 season (or right after the lottery) you could find tons of posts about what a bad position the team was in, with no hope of getting a superstar and no valuable trade assets (trust me, it's true). People are no more plugged into the future of the league now than they were then.

[chambers]

I don't see the comparison, minus Jamaal Crawford playing Tony Allen and Rondo playing PP. But in 07 we had one of the worst records in the league, this year we have a ok record and are heading towards the playoffs.

Sullinger isn't as valuable as Al Jeff was, because he hasn't shown enough yet. Combine that with the lack of a top 5 pick, we are not even close to where we are in '07. Not to mention there are no top 5 NBA players available. LaMarcus was one guy I thought could be obtainable, but with the way Portland is playing I think that ship has sailed. Kevin Love is good, but not great and honestly Sullinger is younger and in my opinion is a better defender then Love at this point. Melo could still happen, but he's still more likely to sign in LA. So I don't know where these superstars on bad teams exist.

We should build through the draft, there are not any real proven commodities available.

  It's true that nobody can name any star players that will be available in the near future, it's also true that one probably will. I don't think anyone here was talking about Ray being available (especially for the deal they got) until the trade was announced. If the posts are still around from the end of the 2007 season (or right after the lottery) you could find tons of posts about what a bad position the team was in, with no hope of getting a superstar and no valuable trade assets (trust me, it's true). People are no more plugged into the future of the league now than they were then.

And subsequently, there will be 4 to 5 times more competition for such players being traded.
The Celtics are waiting for the right time to strike.
So are the....
Sun, Pelicans, Bulls, Bucks, Pistons, nuggets, Jazz, Cavaliers and Hawks.
All with plenty of trade assets, all with plenty of money coming off their books.

It's going to be tough.

[BballTim]

I don't see the comparison, minus Jamaal Crawford playing Tony Allen and Rondo playing PP. But in 07 we had one of the worst records in the league, this year we have a ok record and are heading towards the playoffs.

Sullinger isn't as valuable as Al Jeff was, because he hasn't shown enough yet. Combine that with the lack of a top 5 pick, we are not even close to where we are in '07. Not to mention there are no top 5 NBA players available. LaMarcus was one guy I thought could be obtainable, but with the way Portland is playing I think that ship has sailed. Kevin Love is good, but not great and honestly Sullinger is younger and in my opinion is a better defender then Love at this point. Melo could still happen, but he's still more likely to sign in LA. So I don't know where these superstars on bad teams exist.

We should build through the draft, there are not any real proven commodities available.

  It's true that nobody can name any star players that will be available in the near future, it's also true that one probably will. I don't think anyone here was talking about Ray being available (especially for the deal they got) until the trade was announced. If the posts are still around from the end of the 2007 season (or right after the lottery) you could find tons of posts about what a bad position the team was in, with no hope of getting a superstar and no valuable trade assets (trust me, it's true). People are no more plugged into the future of the league now than they were then.

And subsequently, there will be 4 to 5 times more competition for such players being traded.
The Celtics are waiting for the right time to strike.
So are the....
Sun, Pelicans, Bulls, Bucks, Pistons, nuggets, Jazz, Cavaliers and Hawks.
All with plenty of trade assets, all with plenty of money coming off their books.

It's going to be tough.

  You're claiming that most of the teams in the league weren't trying to trade for KG?

[chambers]

I don't see the comparison, minus Jamaal Crawford playing Tony Allen and Rondo playing PP. But in 07 we had one of the worst records in the league, this year we have a ok record and are heading towards the playoffs.

Sullinger isn't as valuable as Al Jeff was, because he hasn't shown enough yet. Combine that with the lack of a top 5 pick, we are not even close to where we are in '07. Not to mention there are no top 5 NBA players available. LaMarcus was one guy I thought could be obtainable, but with the way Portland is playing I think that ship has sailed. Kevin Love is good, but not great and honestly Sullinger is younger and in my opinion is a better defender then Love at this point. Melo could still happen, but he's still more likely to sign in LA. So I don't know where these superstars on bad teams exist.

We should build through the draft, there are not any real proven commodities available.

  It's true that nobody can name any star players that will be available in the near future, it's also true that one probably will. I don't think anyone here was talking about Ray being available (especially for the deal they got) until the trade was announced. If the posts are still around from the end of the 2007 season (or right after the lottery) you could find tons of posts about what a bad position the team was in, with no hope of getting a superstar and no valuable trade assets (trust me, it's true). People are no more plugged into the future of the league now than they were then.

And subsequently, there will be 4 to 5 times more competition for such players being traded.
The Celtics are waiting for the right time to strike.
So are the....
Sun, Pelicans, Bulls, Bucks, Pistons, nuggets, Jazz, Cavaliers and Hawks.
All with plenty of trade assets, all with plenty of money coming off their books.

It's going to be tough.

  You're claiming that most of the teams in the league weren't trying to trade for KG?

It doesn't matter who wanted or was trying to trade for KG, what matters is the assets they had to get it done.
Far more competition now. Teams look to the future because of the improvement in management on a league-wide scale.

Danny's got more competition in the trade market now because his rival GM's are smarter on the whole and have done a good job collecting assets to compete with ours.

We also don't have the McHale connection this time.

[BballTim]

I don't see the comparison, minus Jamaal Crawford playing Tony Allen and Rondo playing PP. But in 07 we had one of the worst records in the league, this year we have a ok record and are heading towards the playoffs.

Sullinger isn't as valuable as Al Jeff was, because he hasn't shown enough yet. Combine that with the lack of a top 5 pick, we are not even close to where we are in '07. Not to mention there are no top 5 NBA players available. LaMarcus was one guy I thought could be obtainable, but with the way Portland is playing I think that ship has sailed. Kevin Love is good, but not great and honestly Sullinger is younger and in my opinion is a better defender then Love at this point. Melo could still happen, but he's still more likely to sign in LA. So I don't know where these superstars on bad teams exist.

We should build through the draft, there are not any real proven commodities available.

  It's true that nobody can name any star players that will be available in the near future, it's also true that one probably will. I don't think anyone here was talking about Ray being available (especially for the deal they got) until the trade was announced. If the posts are still around from the end of the 2007 season (or right after the lottery) you could find tons of posts about what a bad position the team was in, with no hope of getting a superstar and no valuable trade assets (trust me, it's true). People are no more plugged into the future of the league now than they were then.

And subsequently, there will be 4 to 5 times more competition for such players being traded.
The Celtics are waiting for the right time to strike.
So are the....
Sun, Pelicans, Bulls, Bucks, Pistons, nuggets, Jazz, Cavaliers and Hawks.
All with plenty of trade assets, all with plenty of money coming off their books.

It's going to be tough.

  You're claiming that most of the teams in the league weren't trying to trade for KG?

It doesn't matter who wanted or was trying to trade for KG, what matters is the assets they had to get it done.
Far more competition now. Teams look to the future because of the improvement in management on a league-wide scale.

Danny's got more competition in the trade market now because his rival GM's are smarter on the whole and have done a good job collecting assets to compete with ours.

We also don't have the McHale connection this time.

  The "McHale connection" is just nonsense. And look around the league, if you think that there's good or better management league-wide then I don't know what to tell you. Again, I kept hearing in 2007 that the team had no hope of getting better because we didn't have any assets that other teams valued. It doesn't sound any more compelling now.

[GreenWarrior]

I definitely don't think the GM's are any better now.
 

[chambers]

I don't see the comparison, minus Jamaal Crawford playing Tony Allen and Rondo playing PP. But in 07 we had one of the worst records in the league, this year we have a ok record and are heading towards the playoffs.

Sullinger isn't as valuable as Al Jeff was, because he hasn't shown enough yet. Combine that with the lack of a top 5 pick, we are not even close to where we are in '07. Not to mention there are no top 5 NBA players available. LaMarcus was one guy I thought could be obtainable, but with the way Portland is playing I think that ship has sailed. Kevin Love is good, but not great and honestly Sullinger is younger and in my opinion is a better defender then Love at this point. Melo could still happen, but he's still more likely to sign in LA. So I don't know where these superstars on bad teams exist.

We should build through the draft, there are not any real proven commodities available.

  It's true that nobody can name any star players that will be available in the near future, it's also true that one probably will. I don't think anyone here was talking about Ray being available (especially for the deal they got) until the trade was announced. If the posts are still around from the end of the 2007 season (or right after the lottery) you could find tons of posts about what a bad position the team was in, with no hope of getting a superstar and no valuable trade assets (trust me, it's true). People are no more plugged into the future of the league now than they were then.

And subsequently, there will be 4 to 5 times more competition for such players being traded.
The Celtics are waiting for the right time to strike.
So are the....
Sun, Pelicans, Bulls, Bucks, Pistons, nuggets, Jazz, Cavaliers and Hawks.
All with plenty of trade assets, all with plenty of money coming off their books.

It's going to be tough.

  You're claiming that most of the teams in the league weren't trying to trade for KG?

It doesn't matter who wanted or was trying to trade for KG, what matters is the assets they had to get it done.
Far more competition now. Teams look to the future because of the improvement in management on a league-wide scale.

Danny's got more competition in the trade market now because his rival GM's are smarter on the whole and have done a good job collecting assets to compete with ours.

We also don't have the McHale connection this time.

  The "McHale connection" is just nonsense. And look around the league, if you think that there's good or better management league-wide then I don't know what to tell you. Again, I kept hearing in 2007 that the team had no hope of getting better because we didn't have any assets that other teams valued. It doesn't sound any more compelling now.

If you don't think management is better now, I don't know what to say.
The NBA is more competitive now- GM's are way better on the whole. It's not just Kutchpak, Ainge, Presti, Buford, Paxson (just retired), Riley.
Ujiri, Morrey, McDonough, Hennigan.
Here's a good article.

http://hangtime.blogs.nba.com/2013/07/31/new-breed-of-gm-ushers-in-new-coaches/

You will not concede, or even consider an opposing viewpoint to your own- in any discussion regarding the Celtics. I'm assuming it's the same with everything else basketball related- perhaps  your daily life- even the blatantly obvious revolution of new breed general managers in the NBA- so it's pointless arguing with you.
You simply can't ever be wrong.
Enjoy the article.

[pokeKingCurtis]