NBA stars comment on C's rebuilding and as a free agency spot

[indeedproceed]

Here is an interesting (well to me) little revelation (well to me, maybe you guys have always known this to be the truth):

Maybe, our lack of FA success was derived from the putrid post-bird era. I remember playing pickup with my buddies in the summer, and I'd argue Paul Pierce was a top-10 player, or that he was a top 2 or 3 small forward, and people would laugh at me. Because when I was growing up, if you were collecting basketball cards, you were getting Eric Montross, Dino Radja, Dee Brown, Dana Barros, Vitaly Potapenko, then 'Toine, Kenny ANderson, Gary Payton, Tony Battie...the list goes on. Off all of them, only 'Toine was a All-star with the Celtics.

And that stink lingers. Toine and Pierce did something, but it was unlikely, and screamed fluke, or at least, 'lucky'. But now, with this new crop of stars, for a lot of them the Celtics were either dominant when they were in their late-teens/early 20's or coming off dominance.

For a lot of the guys we're gonna be chasing/drafting/acquiring in the next few years, they don't have strong memories of the Celtics sucking, anymore than they have strong memories of the Jazz being title contenders. For a lot of these guys, the Celtics are KG talking crap, Pierce hitting shots, Rondo being a assist monster.

And I think that changes how you think about a team when you see yourself wearing Green. Maybe these guys don't see the Celtics as a team that needs a full 180 to turn around, maybe they see them as a dangerous team that's just taking a quick pit stop in suckitude. 

[Celtics4ever]

Wow, not one guy mentioned the weather as a benefit, who would have thought that???

[LarBrd33]

Here is an interesting (well to me) little revelation (well to me, maybe you guys have always known this to be the truth):

Maybe, our lack of FA success was derived from the putrid post-bird era. I remember playing pickup with my buddies in the summer, and I'd argue Paul Pierce was a top-10 player, or that he was a top 2 or 3 small forward, and people would laugh at me. Because when I was growing up, if you were collecting basketball cards, you were getting Eric Montross, Dino Radja, Dee Brown, Dana Barros, Vitaly Potapenko, then 'Toine, Kenny ANderson, Gary Payton, Tony Battie...the list goes on. Off all of them, only 'Toine was a All-star with the Celtics.

And that stink lingers. Toine and Pierce did something, but it was unlikely, and screamed fluke, or at least, 'lucky'. But now, with this new crop of stars, for a lot of them the Celtics were either dominant when they were in their late-teens/early 20's or coming off dominance.

For a lot of the guys we're gonna be chasing/drafting/acquiring in the next few years, they don't have strong memories of the Celtics sucking, anymore than they have strong memories of the Jazz being title contenders. For a lot of these guys, the Celtics are KG talking crap, Pierce hitting shots, Rondo being a assist monster.

And I think that changes how you think about a team when you see yourself wearing Green. Maybe these guys don't see the Celtics as a team that needs a full 180 to turn around, maybe they see them as a dangerous team that's just taking a quick pit stop in suckitude.

Post-bird teams were horribly mismanaged.  Ainge's goal was to return this team to relevance so that it could get back on the NBA landscape like the Lakers/Knicks.  He succeeded. 

I remember during the down years believing that once we got this team back on the NBA map, it would be a lot easier to keep us there.  NOBODY gave a crap about the Celtics during those years... but teams like the Sox and Patriots proved that Boston was still a major sports town and a major destination for athletes.  All we needed to do was get he Celtics back up to that level and it would be much easier keeping them there.  Players wouldn't look at the celtics like they do the Bucks or Wizards.  We needed to rebuild our brand.  We did that. 

The fact that our team is hot garbage right now and still written about frequently on a national scale probably is a good sign.

Should be interesting to see what Ainge does.  I do actually think that Boston could be a player in free agency.  If the Patriots and Sox can be players in free agency... so can the Celtics.   That's one of the reasons I support trades that dump all our big money contracts and load us with prospects.  I think we can actually be a destination.  You're talking about a premiere well-managed franchise in probably one of the two biggest sport cities in the country.  Successful Boston athletes have proved to be very popular and profitable.   

[TheTruthFot18]

I figured the Love quote would get some here to get weak at the knees. Have to admit a place way in the back of my head thought that was something he wanted to do  I wish

[RJ87]

TP as usual sed, these little tidbits you pull together are well-appreciated.

The only thing about these quotes I find unsatisfying is that the sample is of guys who obviously "get it." They're mature vets who care about winning and in many cases have sacrificed toward that goal. (The exception is Howard but I don't believe a word that comes out of his mouth).

I want to hear from Kyrie Irving, Demarcus Cousins, etc...the young guys the Celts will presumably be trying to acquire. Do they get it too?

Love is quoted. He's still young and the most attainable target for us.

[chambers]

Howard's worried we're gonna % $*& on his team for the next 7 years. Haha

[LarBrd33]

TP as usual sed, these little tidbits you pull together are well-appreciated.

The only thing about these quotes I find unsatisfying is that the sample is of guys who obviously "get it." They're mature vets who care about winning and in many cases have sacrificed toward that goal. (The exception is Howard but I don't believe a word that comes out of his mouth).

I want to hear from Kyrie Irving, Demarcus Cousins, etc...the young guys the Celts will presumably be trying to acquire. Do they get it too?

Love is quoted. He's still young and the most attainable target for us.

They are already printing his Laker jerseys. 

[GreenFaith1819]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xyW_FPdOjPU

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6GRFYDWsI9U

C'mon Love, Durant....whomever chooses BOS:

Get you some of this love.

[sed522002]

TP as usual sed, these little tidbits you pull together are well-appreciated.

The only thing about these quotes I find unsatisfying is that the sample is of guys who obviously "get it." They're mature vets who care about winning and in many cases have sacrificed toward that goal. (The exception is Howard but I don't believe a word that comes out of his mouth).

I want to hear from Kyrie Irving, Demarcus Cousins, etc...the young guys the Celts will presumably be trying to acquire. Do they get it too?

I think it depends, a lot of these younger guys are just looking for their next big pay day and will go where they can get the most money. Do I see Boston getting a big marquee name in FA? I really don't know.

[Boris Badenov]

TP as usual sed, these little tidbits you pull together are well-appreciated.

The only thing about these quotes I find unsatisfying is that the sample is of guys who obviously "get it." They're mature vets who care about winning and in many cases have sacrificed toward that goal. (The exception is Howard but I don't believe a word that comes out of his mouth).

I want to hear from Kyrie Irving, Demarcus Cousins, etc...the young guys the Celts will presumably be trying to acquire. Do they get it too?

Love is quoted. He's still young and the most attainable target for us.

They are already printing his Laker jerseys.

Yeah, Love's seemed the most wishy-washy of all the quotes, to me.

[Nerf DPOY]

TP as usual sed, these little tidbits you pull together are well-appreciated.

The only thing about these quotes I find unsatisfying is that the sample is of guys who obviously "get it." They're mature vets who care about winning and in many cases have sacrificed toward that goal. (The exception is Howard but I don't believe a word that comes out of his mouth).

I want to hear from Kyrie Irving, Demarcus Cousins, etc...the young guys the Celts will presumably be trying to acquire. Do they get it too?

Love is quoted. He's still young and the most attainable target for us.

They are already printing his Laker jerseys.

We've all read the quotes from the anonymous front office people, but I doubt this is a certainty. Would he really choose an inferior destination in FA in '15 because of warm weather and that he had a Nick Van Exel jersey growing up? What if there are several other choices that could offer a much better shot of contention over a span of several years than LA?

Depending on what happens with their pick, I can't say for sure the Lakers won't be the best option next summer, but I just don't see Love signing with them as a formality.

[Boris Badenov]

TP as usual sed, these little tidbits you pull together are well-appreciated.

The only thing about these quotes I find unsatisfying is that the sample is of guys who obviously "get it." They're mature vets who care about winning and in many cases have sacrificed toward that goal. (The exception is Howard but I don't believe a word that comes out of his mouth).

I want to hear from Kyrie Irving, Demarcus Cousins, etc...the young guys the Celts will presumably be trying to acquire. Do they get it too?

I think it depends, a lot of these younger guys are just looking for their next big pay day and will go where they can get the most money. Do I see Boston getting a big marquee name in FA? I really don't know.

I think the sequence of events that gets us a top FA in a "keep Rondo" world is like this:

1. Trade for established star (e.g., Carmelo).
2. Use the Rondo/star pairing to entice the FA to agree to a sign/trade.

I could see us getting someone like Drummond in such a scenario, assuming the Pistons continue to flounder.

It's sort of like how we got RA, then KG agreed to his trade (and extension).

It's tricky, but with all of our assets I don't think it's insane.

[LarBrd33]

TP as usual sed, these little tidbits you pull together are well-appreciated.

The only thing about these quotes I find unsatisfying is that the sample is of guys who obviously "get it." They're mature vets who care about winning and in many cases have sacrificed toward that goal. (The exception is Howard but I don't believe a word that comes out of his mouth).

I want to hear from Kyrie Irving, Demarcus Cousins, etc...the young guys the Celts will presumably be trying to acquire. Do they get it too?

I think it depends, a lot of these younger guys are just looking for their next big pay day and will go where they can get the most money. Do I see Boston getting a big marquee name in FA? I really don't know.

I think the sequence of events that gets us a top FA in a "keep Rondo" world is like this:

1. Trade for established star (e.g., Carmelo).
2. Use the Rondo/star pairing to entice the FA to agree to a sign/trade.

I could see us getting someone like Drummond in such a scenario, assuming the Pistons continue to flounder.

It's sort of like how we got RA, then KG agreed to his trade (and extension).

It's tricky, but with all of our assets I don't think it's insane.

Yeah I think 2 stars would be attractive to a 3rd star.  Prob not Drummond since he's on his rookie deal for a while and there are major incentives for rookies to extend with their original teams... but theoretically if you had Rondo and Melo here, it suddenly becomes a pretty appealing destination for Kevin Love in summer 2015... presuming we have cap space and he's not already on the Lakers.

Do the Timberwolves have any bad contracts?  Luc Richard Mbah at 3 years 4.5 mil is kinda gross.  HOnestly wouldn't be shocked to see Pau's 19 mil expiring + the Lakers lotto pick traded for Love's 14 mil + Luc Richard Mbah's 4.5 mil.   Lakers would have to include more.   Probably makes more sense in the summer when the Lakers have the cap space to absorb Love's contract.  They could just send the pick (which by then will probably be top 6) + a trade exception for Love.   He's going to be a Laker at some point. 

[crimson_stallion]

I'm not sure I'd want a Love / Rondo / Melo trio in Boston. 

I think that's just  bad combination.  Love and Carmello are both relatively inefficient scorers and both are poor defensive players.  That would be a lot like the Melo + Amare experiment IMO and the Knicks were significantly worse statistically when both of those guys were on the court together.

When your two biggest stars are offense-only players (and fairly inefficient ones at that) it's probably not a good start.   Love is too much of a jump shooter for my taste.  Really not a fan of bigs who take as many threes as he does.  Would much rather a Monroe + Melo combination.  Monroe still isn't known for his D, but he'd give us a low post presence which I think would better compliment Carmello's game.

[LooseCannon]

TP as usual sed, these little tidbits you pull together are well-appreciated.

The only thing about these quotes I find unsatisfying is that the sample is of guys who obviously "get it." They're mature vets who care about winning and in many cases have sacrificed toward that goal. (The exception is Howard but I don't believe a word that comes out of his mouth).

I want to hear from Kyrie Irving, Demarcus Cousins, etc...the young guys the Celts will presumably be trying to acquire. Do they get it too?

Maybe the Celtics should be focused on mature veterans rather than those young guys if the team is chasing after someone in free agency.

The goal should be finding guys who can be Celtics for life, not Celtics for the next ten years.