Now I am ready for some tanking!

[quidinqui33]

Now that the trade deadline has come and gone, and we know what we are working with, I am all in on losing enough games to finish in the Bottom 4.  Prior to the deadline, there was that small glimmer of hope that Ainge would pull a Kevin Love rabbit out of the hat, but that was a long shot and honestly the only type of trade worth making unless we could have somehow shipped off Wallace.  Now that the deadline has passed, I'm all in on the tank.  With the caveat that I want Rondo to continue to get his game back and for young players to develop.

As it stands, we are currently 6th worst.  We have a couple of teams below us in the standings in the next few games (Sacramento and the Lakers) which I would consider must losses (I hate to say that about the Lakers game..screw it...let's win that one).  But then March looks very promising.  We could conceivably lose every game in that month.  Detroit is the worst team we play.  That could pretty much lock in a top pick for us.

http://www.nba.com/celtics/schedule

Getting that top 4-5 pick will literally dictate how the rest of the summer goes or gives Danny the leverage to make a splash for Kevin Love/or other star if his pick is off the board.  Then of course, depending on who the pick/trade ends up being, we can decide which direction we want to go with Rondo and Green.  Hump comes off the books.  Plus we have plenty of future lotto picks to go.  Options, options, options! Danny has done this right and if you can bear the losing for another month and half, there are GREENer pastures ahead.

[esel1000]

We need that top pick... a lot rides on it in my opinion, though DA has set us up nicely for a rebuild regardless. That pick helps a ton though

[OhioGreen]

The problem now is without dealing any of our non core vets, we still have a decent enough team so that when everyone and their uncle starts really dumping games late in the season, BS will still be trying,(and probably succeeding)to win every game---and win enough to drop us back to probably 9-10 in the lottery.  Then Danny will trade 3 first rounders to move up one spot and draft another bust like KO!

[esel1000]

The problem now is without dealing any of our non core vets, we still have a decent enough team so that when everyone and their uncle starts really dumping games late in the season, BS will still be trying,(and probably succeeding)to win every game---and win enough to drop us back to probably 9-10 in the lottery.  Then Danny will trade 3 first rounders to move up one spot and draft another bust like KO!

I don't see how you can call KO a bust, he's outperforming most of the rookies taken before him. Not to mention having our vets does not make us a better team... It's not like Hump and Bass are Durant and Westbrook. This roster is flawed and awful on purpose, we have as much chance to be as bad anyone else, save the Bucks and probably Sixers at this point

[Celtics18]

I'd love to see this team win enough games over the remaining 27 to regain some respectability.  I've been calling for 35 wins all season long.  At this point, that number seems like a pipe dream.  I'm lowering it to 32.  That would mean going 13 and 14 over the remaining games.  It's a tall order, but seeing this team play around .500 ball to finish out the season, and maybe seeing our young bigs, Sully and Olynyk, along with Bradley and Green, start to click with Rondo would be fun.  I also think it would bode fairly well for our future. 

I'll take a 10 to 14 pick (and a slim shot at hitting the jack pot) and a 15 to 19 pick this summer. 

[quidinqui33]

The one thing could happen (which would not help tanking) is that now that everyone can safely say they will be here through the end of the season, the team could suddenly galvanize even more than they already have and start playing in that next gear because they are no longer unsure of if they will be here or not in a week or two.  I think that security will naturally make the team a little better.

Hey, there are worse things.  At the very least, we still have March!  Rigging for Wiggins!  Sorry for Jabari! Dubious for Julias! Rest Em for Exem!  (not sure what the Embiid one is).

[Mr October]

The 4th worst record is about as low as the celtics can possibly go. I think we will land in the 5-7 range.

The Bucks have locked up number one.
The sixers and Lakers are so bad that they virtual locks for the 2nd and 3rd spot. Outside of 3 or 4 players, They look like d league teams.

Then there is the glut of Sacramento, Orlando, Utah and Boston. It's anyone's guess as to how those teams will fall. My guess is that orlando will continue to flounder with a sub .300 record, and that Utah will win quite a bit more, maybe reaching 32 wins.

[colincb]

The 4th worst record is about as low as the celtics can possibly go. I think we will land in the 5-7 range.

The Bucks have locked up number one.
The sixers and Lakers are so bad that they virtual locks for the 2nd and 3rd spot. Outside of 3 or 4 players, They look like d league teams.

Then there is the glut of Sacramento, Orlando, Utah and Boston. It's anyone's guess as to how those teams will fall. My guess is that orlando will continue to flounder with a sub .300 record, and that Utah will win quite a bit more, maybe reaching 32 wins.

ORL has been in tank mode for some time both on the floor and in the back office.  I think we're fighting for 4th worst with MIL, PHI, and ORL locking down the bottom 3 slots.  LAL may be too proud to tank on the floor and who knowes where SAC and UTA are coming from.  They may have a desire to show improvement knowing that they are pretty much locked into the bottom 7 slots and will get a good pick.  Not sure we're not in the same place.

[cb8883]

The one thing could happen (which would not help tanking) is that now that everyone can safely say they will be here through the end of the season, the team could suddenly galvanize even more than they already have and start playing in that next gear because they are no longer unsure of if they will be here or not in a week or two.  I think that security will naturally make the team a little better.

Hey, there are worse things.  At the very least, we still have March!  Rigging for Wiggins!  Sorry for Jabari! Dubious for Julias! Rest Em for Exem!  (not sure what the Embiid one is).

We aren't tanking. Ainge is trying to make the playoffs. He's an absolute fool for wanting to do so. Frankly I think doing a half rebuild is a terrible idea to run a team. It makes them a treadmill team that will pick anywhere from 8-18 every year. Yay Medocrity!

[aporel#18]

The one thing could happen (which would not help tanking) is that now that everyone can safely say they will be here through the end of the season, the team could suddenly galvanize even more than they already have and start playing in that next gear because they are no longer unsure of if they will be here or not in a week or two.  I think that security will naturally make the team a little better.

Hey, there are worse things.  At the very least, we still have March!  Rigging for Wiggins!  Sorry for Jabari! Dubious for Julias! Rest Em for Exem!  (not sure what the Embiid one is).

We aren't tanking. Ainge is trying to make the playoffs. He's an absolute fool for wanting to do so. Frankly I think doing a half rebuild is a terrible idea to run a team. It makes them a treadmill team that will pick anywhere from 8-18 every year. Yay Medocrity!

Nah... this season was about tanking/showcasing veterans/developing our young players.

Ainge took care of the tanking part when he traded The Captain and KG.

Showcasing phase just ended yesterday. Now we're in full develop mode. I expect the young guys to get some more playing time and the vets to suffer some timely back spasms.

Go Celtics!

We're now in develop

[McHales Pits]

As long as the Celts end up with a Top 6 pick (meaning they are assured of drafting one of Parker, Embiid, Wiggins, Exum, Vonleh, or Smart) I will be happy :-)

[cb8883]

The one thing could happen (which would not help tanking) is that now that everyone can safely say they will be here through the end of the season, the team could suddenly galvanize even more than they already have and start playing in that next gear because they are no longer unsure of if they will be here or not in a week or two.  I think that security will naturally make the team a little better.

Hey, there are worse things.  At the very least, we still have March!  Rigging for Wiggins!  Sorry for Jabari! Dubious for Julias! Rest Em for Exem!  (not sure what the Embiid one is).

We aren't tanking. Ainge is trying to make the playoffs. He's an absolute fool for wanting to do so. Frankly I think doing a half rebuild is a terrible idea to run a team. It makes them a treadmill team that will pick anywhere from 8-18 every year. Yay Medocrity!

Nah... this season was about tanking/showcasing veterans/developing our young players.

Ainge took care of the tanking part when he traded The Captain and KG.

Showcasing phase just ended yesterday. Now we're in full develop mode. I expect the young guys to get some more playing time and the vets to suffer some timely back spasms.

Go Celtics!

We're now in develop

If you believe that Bass isn't going to keep getting 30 minutes a night at the expense of Sully then I have a bridge to sell you too. This team failed beyond comprehension today. I would have taken 2nd rounders for Green and Bass just to get the contracts off the books! Plus 2nds can yield some awesome players too. Ainge was asleep at the wheel and let Philly become a force in a few years.

[rocknrollforyoursoul]

I'm not sure we can really "tank" anymore than we have thus far. We didn't lose any players, and Rondo should only continue to improve.

Not saying we're gonna go on a tear and make the playoffs, but I doubt we'll drop into the bottom four.

[PhoSita]

I've given up pretty much all hope of getting Parker, Wiggins or Embiid.  We'd need a good deal of luck for that.  Orlando, Philly, and Milwaukee are just so bad this year that we haven't been able to keep up.

I'm hopeful that we can pick up a talent like Exum, Smart, Gordon, or Vonleh, however.

[celtic -_- pride]

The one thing could happen (which would not help tanking) is that now that everyone can safely say they will be here through the end of the season, the team could suddenly galvanize even more than they already have and start playing in that next gear because they are no longer unsure of if they will be here or not in a week or two.  I think that security will naturally make the team a little better.

Hey, there are worse things.  At the very least, we still have March!  Rigging for Wiggins!  Sorry for Jabari! Dubious for Julias! Rest Em for Exem!  (not sure what the Embiid one is).

We aren't tanking. Ainge is trying to make the playoffs. He's an absolute fool for wanting to do so. Frankly I think doing a half rebuild is a terrible idea to run a team. It makes them a treadmill team that will pick anywhere from 8-18 every year. Yay Medocrity!

Nah... this season was about tanking/showcasing veterans/developing our young players.

Ainge took care of the tanking part when he traded The Captain and KG.

Showcasing phase just ended yesterday. Now we're in full develop mode. I expect the young guys to get some more playing time and the vets to suffer some timely back spasms.

Go Celtics!

We're now in develop

If you believe that Bass isn't going to keep getting 30 minutes a night at the expense of Sully then I have a bridge to sell you too. This team failed beyond comprehension today. I would have taken 2nd rounders for Green and Bass just to get the contracts off the books! Plus 2nds can yield some awesome players too. Ainge was asleep at the wheel and let Philly become a force in a few years.

as much as i agree that ainge should of moved bass today, i don't agree with dumping green. green is the player you try to move but not just as a salary dump. he is too good for that. now im not saying green is an all star but he is a good player. I just don't see how ainge could look at the roster we have and the standings and say yeah i think im going to stay put. this team is bad but too good to get a good draft pick. so essentially we have to watch awful basketball games for the rest of the year just to see us get a late lottery pick... kind of disappointing. everyone is expecting a big move to land an all star but how exactly is that going to happen without something to give them? our draft position will not net us a star and our current roster wont neither. no one wants to tank but strategically i feel its a decision we had to make. no star wants to play in boston we have to trade for them, and i dont see that happening now. this team is going to get better and win more games.