Do people really expect us to tank again for a top 5 pick this season???

[Cman]

Yes. But not intentionally. There are just many teams that are better than us. Whereas we are in middle of a rebuild.

[Mr October]

I expect another tank job, but perhaps not as drastic as last year. If Rondo is traded for prospects all bets are off though.

The biggest yet quietest tank move last year was trading away Courtney Lee for the cost of a 2nd rounder. In that move the Celtics lost their best 3 point shooter, and their offense took a hit. Combine that move with the nice Crawford trade and the annual Bradley injury, and suddenly we found ourselves starting Gerald Wallace at shooting guard.

Gerald Wallace should never be starting at shooting guard.

I Also think that if Sullinger isn't significantly improved from 3 point land, Stevens will ease up on that chucker plan. He is so much more effective doing damage around the hoop.

The number one reason for the tank, is once again at the roster level. This team is just not talented enough to win half of their games or more.

[Mencius]

Speaking of next year's draft, I have never seen so many centers projected to go in the first round before, which is nice, since, we've needed a center forever:

http://www.draftexpress.com/nba-mock-draft/2015/

[knuckleballer]

Speaking of next year's draft, I have never seen so many centers projected to go in the first round before, which is nice, since, we've needed a center forever:

http://www.draftexpress.com/nba-mock-draft/2015/

Yeah, there are two potentially elite centers in Okafor and Towns plus several other promising guys in Turner, Stein, and Diop.  I hate to say it, but a I think the smartest course of action is to trade Rondo for someone like McLemore or Stauskas.  The Kings as a trading partner make a lot of sense.  We don't necessarily need to tank, but build up the young guys which would likely mean we end up with a terrible record and get one of those centers.  As long as Danny is smart with the future picks and cap space, we could be a force in a few years.  The patient approach could pay off in the long term.

[wiley]

No.  We're not going to tank.  However, we also won't make the playoffs...
Because of:

Cleveland, Chicago, Washington, Charlotte, Miami, Indiana, Toronto, and either Brooklyn
or Atlanta...
(I doubt New York will make the playoffs)

So, we'll develop the guys miss the playoffs and get a pick around #11 or so.  At that point we'll either sign a new center like Gasol and draft a dynamic Small Forward like Stanley Johnson, or we'll trade the pick and a vet or two for Okafor or Towns, since a bunch of bottom dwellers have centers already and will be ready to to turn their teams around instead of continuing to develop youngsters.  Either way sounds good...My point being I don't think we're going to draft a middling center like Cauley Stein or Dakari Johnson.  I'd say we're gonna sign a stud center or trade for a young one.

As for this year, I'm hoping we trade Green (how about for Tyreke Evans-he's 6'6' and could start at SF with Young off the bench.. plus the Pelicans could really use Green between their excellent guards and bigs...add a second rounder if needed).  And I'm hoping we start Smart at SG (I don't care about lack of outside shot from Rondo Smart and Evans those are 3 bad-arse ball players).

Rondo, Smart, Evans, Pressey
Smart, Bradley, Evans, Young
Evans, Young, Johnson, Wallace
Oly, Sully, Bass
Zeller, Sully, Vitor

plenty of offense off the bench:  would be nice to package Sully, Wallace, Pressey and a pick or two
for a stud starting PF, so Kelly could come off the bench at PF and Center.  I think Sully's being underrated here lately but we need one more athlete on this team and after showing his stuff early this year maybe such a trade could be feasible.  Kelly could be the one traded if Sully outshines him, which is very possible.  To get what we'd want we'd have to throw in picks...

The reason for starting Smart at SG is his advantage over Bradley in facilitating/passing and size.  Bradley will make a great spark plug off the bench for offense and defense and will work great next to backup PG Smart.

that's my take and my wishes on the upcoming months...

[SHAQATTACK]

There is no expect about it.

Learn to live with it at least one to two years

We suck and don't have the elite talent to win games during the last quarter...no matter how this team dominates the first three .

It's the final score is the only thing that counts

Wins for contenders

Losses for Lottery teams ....that's the Celtics

[DesertDweller]

We will tank for the next couple years. We're not contenders. next season we will be in the running with orlando and philly to be the worst team in the east, especially if the bucks win more games because of jabari. btw we're not even better than last year. crawford and hump won us so many games last year and we dont have either now since we got a return for those assets.

we are so far from contending its not even funny.  no reliable scorers or number 1 option. no shooters. no stars minus a gimped rondo. a bunch of question marks at all positions. we dont know if we're keeping rondo past the trade deadline, or what contract he will demand. we dont know who are starting shooting guard is, and we have zero confidence in our starting small forward, and our front court is a mess of either undersized, overweight, or inexperienced problems.

danny ainge was only calling minnesota for Love to see if he can lowball them an offer and to get fans to buy season tickets with false hope.  as soon as golden state got into the convo, it was over for us. cavs only made sure we were done. Danny called the cavs on draft night and offered #6 + Sully for #1. thats what he does.

get used to scouting high schoolers at every level, because we'll be doing that in hopes of seeing who will come out on top every years next draft as we tank every year.

Yeah, I want to sit and watch a game with you!!!! I wonder how long it would take to get my foot out of.........

[freshinthehouse]

Speaking of next year's draft, I have never seen so many centers projected to go in the first round before, which is nice, since, we've needed a center forever:

http://www.draftexpress.com/nba-mock-draft/2015/

Yeah, there are two potentially elite centers in Okafor and Towns plus several other promising guys in Turner, Stein, and Diop.  I hate to say it, but a I think the smartest course of action is to trade Rondo for someone like McLemore or Stauskas.  The Kings as a trading partner make a lot of sense.  We don't necessarily need to tank, but build up the young guys which would likely mean we end up with a terrible record and get one of those centers.  As long as Danny is smart with the future picks and cap space, we could be a force in a few years.  The patient approach could pay off in the long term.

Cliff Alexander, though undersized, has potential as well.

[Neurotic Guy]

I don't expect a quick turnaround for the C's. So 1-2 more years of lottery is acceptable to me. During which we develop players, manage cap and build assets.  The Lakers will have 1 more bad year and will be contenders within 3 years -- that's a virtual lock prediction.   The C's need to be ready within 4 years to try to keep championship pace with LA.  It feels inevitable that we'll lose the championship record.  That will be devastating (from a sports perspective). 

[celticmania]

Speaking of next year's draft, I have never seen so many centers projected to go in the first round before, which is nice, since, we've needed a center forever:

http://www.draftexpress.com/nba-mock-draft/2015/

Yeah, there are two potentially elite centers in Okafor and Towns plus several other promising guys in Turner, Stein, and Diop.  I hate to say it, but a I think the smartest course of action is to trade Rondo for someone like McLemore or Stauskas.  The Kings as a trading partner make a lot of sense.  We don't necessarily need to tank, but build up the young guys which would likely mean we end up with a terrible record and get one of those centers.  As long as Danny is smart with the future picks and cap space, we could be a force in a few years.  The patient approach could pay off in the long term.

Id do Stauskus, filler and a couple of picks for Rondo. That way we could end up with two of those big guys you named.... Okafor at center, Towns at pf, Kelly  Olynyk as a Boris Diaw type backup big going forward and I love sully but I have feeling he is going to be in awful shape physically in a few years. But anyway Smart, Stauskus,Young,Towns, Okafor looks great going forward plus another pick in 2015 (Tyus Jones) and 3  picks in 2016 (Ben Simmons)... I think our future is bright whichever route Danny plans to take.

[Mencius]

Id do Stauskus, filler and a couple of picks for Rondo. That way we could end up with two of those big guys you named.... Okafor at center, Towns at pf, Kelly  Olynyk as a Boris Diaw type backup big going forward and I love sully but I have feeling he is going to be in awful shape physically in a few years. But anyway Smart, Stauskus,Young,Towns, Okafor looks great going forward plus another pick in 2015 (Tyus Jones) and 3  picks in 2016 (Ben Simmons)... I think our future is bright whichever route Danny plans to take.

That does look like a strong nucleus going forward.  I do wonder what Rondo's value is right now, as he didn't really return to pre-injury form by the end of last season.  I think Stauskas and two firsts might be overly ambitious right now.  I'm pretty sure Danny could get Stauskas and one first though.

The thing is, in terms of trading Rondo, if he plays really well at the beginning of the year, he raises his value, but we probably win more games as a result, and if you're hoping to catch a big fish like Okafor, it presents a dilemma, trade him before the season for a lesser return but likely greater pick next summer, or wait longer for more in trade return.  I'd guess the greater chance at Okafor would be the bigger prize, as it's bonafide stars that are the hardest to get.

[Randy]

Seems like a lot of people expect 2007 all over again and anything less is considered tanking. Or they'd rather have us go out and spend money just for the sake of it and be a 6-8 seed for the next 3-4 years while taking invaluable playing time away from our young guys in the process. This is how it works... The Paul Pierce era is over, we need to start over and it's not going to be a quick turnaround. Take a look around the league, you need a very good team to have a realistic shot at winning a championship and Danny knows this, so he has to be very calculated in the way he rebuilds this team.

TL;DR rather be the worst team in the east while improving our young talent/trade assets apposed to losing in the first round of the playoffs every year.

[footey]

No.  We're not going to tank.  However, we also won't make the playoffs...
Because of:

Cleveland, Chicago, Washington, Charlotte, Miami, Indiana, Toronto, and either Brooklyn
or Atlanta...
(I doubt New York will make the playoffs)

So, we'll develop the guys miss the playoffs and get a pick around #11 or so.  At that point we'll either sign a new center like Gasol and draft a dynamic Small Forward like Stanley Johnson, or we'll trade the pick and a vet or two for Okafor or Towns, since a bunch of bottom dwellers have centers already and will be ready to to turn their teams around instead of continuing to develop youngsters.  Either way sounds good...My point being I don't think we're going to draft a middling center like Cauley Stein or Dakari Johnson.  I'd say we're gonna sign a stud center or trade for a young one.

As for this year, I'm hoping we trade Green (how about for Tyreke Evans-he's 6'6' and could start at SF with Young off the bench.. plus the Pelicans could really use Green between their excellent guards and bigs...add a second rounder if needed).  And I'm hoping we start Smart at SG (I don't care about lack of outside shot from Rondo Smart and Evans those are 3 bad-arse ball players).

Rondo, Smart, Evans, Pressey
Smart, Bradley, Evans, Young
Evans, Young, Johnson, Wallace
Oly, Sully, Bass
Zeller, Sully, Vitor

plenty of offense off the bench:  would be nice to package Sully, Wallace, Pressey and a pick or two
for a stud starting PF, so Kelly could come off the bench at PF and Center.  I think Sully's being underrated here lately but we need one more athlete on this team and after showing his stuff early this year maybe such a trade could be feasible.  Kelly could be the one traded if Sully outshines him, which is very possible.  To get what we'd want we'd have to throw in picks...

The reason for starting Smart at SG is his advantage over Bradley in facilitating/passing and size.  Bradley will make a great spark plug off the bench for offense and defense and will work great next to backup PG Smart.

that's my take and my wishes on the upcoming months...

People don't trade down when a stud center is available, even if they have one. Look at Philly this year with Embiid. That is the fallacy of this type of thinking.  Better hope we get a top 5 pick, which should get us a decent big guy.  Also hope that the NBA does not change the lottery rules before then.

[Celtics4ever]

That will be devastating (from a sports perspective).

LA will still have less than Boston.   A lot of theirs belong to MIN Lakers.

[wiley]

No.  We're not going to tank.  However, we also won't make the playoffs...
Because of:

Cleveland, Chicago, Washington, Charlotte, Miami, Indiana, Toronto, and either Brooklyn
or Atlanta...
(I doubt New York will make the playoffs)

So, we'll develop the guys miss the playoffs and get a pick around #11 or so.  At that point we'll either sign a new center like Gasol and draft a dynamic Small Forward like Stanley Johnson, or we'll trade the pick and a vet or two for Okafor or Towns, since a bunch of bottom dwellers have centers already and will be ready to to turn their teams around instead of continuing to develop youngsters.  Either way sounds good...My point being I don't think we're going to draft a middling center like Cauley Stein or Dakari Johnson.  I'd say we're gonna sign a stud center or trade for a young one.

As for this year, I'm hoping we trade Green (how about for Tyreke Evans-he's 6'6' and could start at SF with Young off the bench.. plus the Pelicans could really use Green between their excellent guards and bigs...add a second rounder if needed).  And I'm hoping we start Smart at SG (I don't care about lack of outside shot from Rondo Smart and Evans those are 3 bad-arse ball players).

Rondo, Smart, Evans, Pressey
Smart, Bradley, Evans, Young
Evans, Young, Johnson, Wallace
Oly, Sully, Bass
Zeller, Sully, Vitor

plenty of offense off the bench:  would be nice to package Sully, Wallace, Pressey and a pick or two
for a stud starting PF, so Kelly could come off the bench at PF and Center.  I think Sully's being underrated here lately but we need one more athlete on this team and after showing his stuff early this year maybe such a trade could be feasible.  Kelly could be the one traded if Sully outshines him, which is very possible.  To get what we'd want we'd have to throw in picks...

The reason for starting Smart at SG is his advantage over Bradley in facilitating/passing and size.  Bradley will make a great spark plug off the bench for offense and defense and will work great next to backup PG Smart.

that's my take and my wishes on the upcoming months...

People don't trade down when a stud center is available, even if they have one. Look at Philly this year with Embiid. That is the fallacy of this type of thinking.  Better hope we get a top 5 pick, which should get us a decent big guy.  Also hope that the NBA does not change the lottery rules before then.

Yeah that would be rare and all sorts of things would have to come together.. including Noel being great and Embiid being healthy and great with Philly being one of the teams in a position for Okafor, Towns, etc...someone on our team having an all-star type year who is still "expendable" and our pick being reasonably high...very unlikely but stranger things do happen when GMs start Jonesing for someone...

More likely we hit free agency for a big if Rondo is kept..