Playoffs and Lotto Aside, We Got Really Lucky

[JohnBoy65]

We may have skipped a year on the rebuild this year. Lets look back a year. We still had Rondo and Green and it looked like a shot at Love. That would have been the quickest rebuild, just sign love and any vets you can and try to win. It didn't happen. It was worth taking the chance because it would have been a really quick rebuild but it didn't work and who knows what happened behind the scenes but Danny felt he had to trade Rondo and Green.

What a mess right? After Love went to Cle and it was apparent that we sucked, the common thought was it will be a few years before we can think about being good. But somehow the team ot scraps we have now has come together and played better than the team we gutted just a few months ago.

I realize that its really a glorified bench team that is over achieving. Let's not throw them a parade. But, it really is something special. I think we just possibly skipped a year of being in the gutter.

Is it probable that we get a Gasol or Love to sign here in the summer? No. It is not. But, its not as big of a long shot as it really should be months after trading our 2 best players. At this point on our rebuild stars should laugh at the idea of signing here. But I bet they seriously consider it and in the end find a better option.

The point is we are back on track. We've hit the bottom and are rising. You don't look at our roster an say to yourself, "what a bunch of losers." And when you think about it, that is really something.

This is perfect, TP! You're right people seemed absolutely positive we were headed to a 5 year rebuild. Now here we are at the end of year two and we have some sort of relevance! I trust Danny Ainge!

relevance?  10 games under .500 is relevant

Do you hear teams like Philly or Minnesota as teams looking to cash in on Monroe/Love/Butler/Leonard/Jordan? No, I think FA's would give some thought here based on what Danny Ainge has done with this team. Jimmy Butler doesn't think at all about going to play in Philadelphia.

[JHTruth]

I think Danny has played the hand he was dealt the best he has been able. The hardest thing to do in sports is to rebuild after a contending team's window closes and the aging stars are finally gone. The fans become spoiled after years on top, they want every young player to be KG or Kobe right away.

The fact is once the Big Three were gone we were in for a long rebuild. I'd say the best comparison to the C's right now is the Lakers. Both were at the top of their respective conferences, had great players, and then the windows closed. The Lakers are an abomination with almost no future to speak of. The Celtics have some solid youngsters, oodles of picks, and cap space.

That said, the team presently stinks to high heaven. We're good enough to beat some bad teams in the East, but we get blown out by the true elite teams (Cleveland). The fact that a team 10 games under .500 is in the playoff hunt is a testament to just how bad the EC is. In the WC, this is probably a 20-win team. Ainge knows this, and that's why he's he's going to be super aggressive the next two offseasons. Don't get too attached to any of these guys because everyone is on the table. We need to get lucky to find the disgruntled star and get upgrades in the frontcourt.

[SHAQATTACK]

Given the time since a KG and Pierce left ,  it's not bad outlook overall.....avoided signing Rondo to a contract he wasn't worth.   Said no to big goofy Aisk.    Balked at buying Kanter .

A lot of what has turned out as good moves ....is doing nothing big and stupid.......not signing average or used up talent for huge contracts .

Nets ...Knicks ...others have that .......go for broke , he have to get better or rebuild in one year mentality .   This is how Teams sign away their future on guys like Wallace and then are stuck with the result for years if it is a poor plan.

I'd say DA has showed amazing patience so far.    I thought selling Rondo cheap was bad , but now I see he is no longer even a fringe star ...he did well to fleece the Mavs

[celticsclay]

I think Danny has played the hand he was dealt the best he has been able. The hardest thing to do in sports is to rebuild after a contending team's window closes and the aging stars are finally gone. The fans become spoiled after years on top, they want every young player to be KG or Kobe right away.

The fact is once the Big Three were gone we were in for a long rebuild. I'd say the best comparison to the C's right now is the Lakers. Both were at the top of their respective conferences, had great players, and then the windows closed. The Lakers are an abomination with almost no future to speak of. The Celtics have some solid youngsters, oodles of picks, and cap space.

That said, the team presently stinks to high heaven. We're good enough to beat some bad teams in the East, but we get blown out by the true elite teams (Cleveland). The fact that a team 10 games under .500 is in the playoff hunt is a testament to just how bad the EC is. In the WC, this is probably a 20-win team. Ainge knows this, and that's why he's he's going to be super aggressive the next two offseasons. Don't get too attached to any of these guys because everyone is on the table. We need to get lucky to find the disgruntled star and get upgrades in the frontcourt.

It's interesting you highlight our one recent blow out and ignore our close games or wins against Atlanta and Golden State. The recent Cleveland is the exception rather than the rule. You can ignore that we were up 10 points in the 4th against Golden State, Beat Atlanta, lost by 3 to golden state on the road etc. The truth is we really don't get blown out. Further fact is that we have played over .500 ball for over 2 months now. You can frame your narrative anyway you want, but those are the facts.

[JHTruth]

I think Danny has played the hand he was dealt the best he has been able. The hardest thing to do in sports is to rebuild after a contending team's window closes and the aging stars are finally gone. The fans become spoiled after years on top, they want every young player to be KG or Kobe right away.

The fact is once the Big Three were gone we were in for a long rebuild. I'd say the best comparison to the C's right now is the Lakers. Both were at the top of their respective conferences, had great players, and then the windows closed. The Lakers are an abomination with almost no future to speak of. The Celtics have some solid youngsters, oodles of picks, and cap space.

That said, the team presently stinks to high heaven. We're good enough to beat some bad teams in the East, but we get blown out by the true elite teams (Cleveland). The fact that a team 10 games under .500 is in the playoff hunt is a testament to just how bad the EC is. In the WC, this is probably a 20-win team. Ainge knows this, and that's why he's he's going to be super aggressive the next two offseasons. Don't get too attached to any of these guys because everyone is on the table. We need to get lucky to find the disgruntled star and get upgrades in the frontcourt.

It's interesting you highlight our one recent blow out and ignore our close games or wins against Atlanta and Golden State. The recent Cleveland is the exception rather than the rule. You can ignore that we were up 10 points in the 4th against Golden State, Beat Atlanta, lost by 3 to golden state on the road etc. The truth is we really don't get blown out. Further fact is that we have played over .500 ball for over 2 months now. You can frame your narrative anyway you want, but those are the facts.

Fair enough, I guess I don't see your point. Are you saying we're a good team or something? I'm not saying everyone is going to be gone, just that no one is untouchable on our team. We mgiht be average at best but one is seriously going to argue that we're an elite team in the East..

[JohnBoy65]

I think Danny has played the hand he was dealt the best he has been able. The hardest thing to do in sports is to rebuild after a contending team's window closes and the aging stars are finally gone. The fans become spoiled after years on top, they want every young player to be KG or Kobe right away.

The fact is once the Big Three were gone we were in for a long rebuild. I'd say the best comparison to the C's right now is the Lakers. Both were at the top of their respective conferences, had great players, and then the windows closed. The Lakers are an abomination with almost no future to speak of. The Celtics have some solid youngsters, oodles of picks, and cap space.

That said, the team presently stinks to high heaven. We're good enough to beat some bad teams in the East, but we get blown out by the true elite teams (Cleveland). The fact that a team 10 games under .500 is in the playoff hunt is a testament to just how bad the EC is. In the WC, this is probably a 20-win team. Ainge knows this, and that's why he's he's going to be super aggressive the next two offseasons. Don't get too attached to any of these guys because everyone is on the table. We need to get lucky to find the disgruntled star and get upgrades in the frontcourt.

It's interesting you highlight our one recent blow out and ignore our close games or wins against Atlanta and Golden State. The recent Cleveland is the exception rather than the rule. You can ignore that we were up 10 points in the 4th against Golden State, Beat Atlanta, lost by 3 to golden state on the road etc. The truth is we really don't get blown out. Further fact is that we have played over .500 ball for over 2 months now. You can frame your narrative anyway you want, but those are the facts.

Fair enough, I guess I don't see your point. Are you saying we're a good team or something? I'm not saying everyone is going to be gone, just that no one is untouchable on our team. We mgiht be average at best but one is seriously going to argue that we're an elite team in the East..

I think what he's saying is we aren't a BAD team. You seem to point out the Cavs loss to prove we are an absolute horrid team, but in fact there are more games that prove we are a better team than most give us credit for.

[erisred]

Fair enough, I guess I don't see your point. Are you saying we're a good team or something? I'm not saying everyone is going to be gone, just that no one is untouchable on our team. We mgiht be average at best but one is seriously going to argue that we're an elite team in the East..

I think what he's saying is we aren't a BAD team. You seem to point out the Cavs loss to prove we are an absolute horrid team, but in fact there are more games that prove we are a better team than most give us credit for.

I'd say we're well on our way to being a solid middle of the pack team. Not bad enough to get superior talent through the draft, but not good enough to truly contend. That's NOT WHERE YOU WANT TO END UP.

I'm trusting that Danny knows that and will continue to "do work", because there's still a lot of work to do.

[obnoxiousmime]

I am optimistic about our coach and loved the Thomas trade. That being said, we're not necessarily closer than before the IT trade at getting a star player to build around. Now the draft option of doing so with our 2015 pick looks a lot less likely. I don't advocate the team lose on purpose obviously, but a better draft pick would definitely have been a valuable piece. Alas, they're too good.

If we had gotten someone like a Harden, that's a definite "rebuild acceleration" type move. He's somebody other FA stars would want to play with. I don't think good players are lining up to play with any of our guys right now.

Maybe Ainge can do the sell job of a lifetime and Thomas being here nudges a FA ever so slightly in the Celtics' direction. I still think it's extremely unlikely to happen though. Despite the recent upturn this team still isn't very good and is missing critical pieces. Remember, even if someone becomes available in a trade the player often holds all the cards. If he refuses to re-sign with the Celts then it doesn't matter how many assets we have.

Somehow Ainge has got to acquire a star. After that it is a lot easier to convince players to come here. Does Ray Allen or KG play with us if we didn't already have Pierce? Of course not.

What seems more likely to happen is that the Celtics go full Rockets mode as just get as much depth as they can. They could add guys like David Lee or Taj Gibson pretty easily this offseason if/when they strike out in FA. With a full season of IT, be a decent enough team in the East to go .500 (a little optimistic perhaps) and then you're in a better position to make a sales pitch to the 2016 FA class. Of course, the crappy thing is that every team is going to have cap space in 2016. What is going to make the Celtics stand out compared to the other 30 teams who can also fit a max guy?

Maybe Ainge gambles big-time and deals for a star some team is scared of losing in the 2016 bonanza. That would be EXTREMELY risky though and might stop the rebuild dead in its tracks.

[celticsclay]

Fair enough, I guess I don't see your point. Are you saying we're a good team or something? I'm not saying everyone is going to be gone, just that no one is untouchable on our team. We mgiht be average at best but one is seriously going to argue that we're an elite team in the East..

I think what he's saying is we aren't a BAD team. You seem to point out the Cavs loss to prove we are an absolute horrid team, but in fact there are more games that prove we are a better team than most give us credit for.

I'd say we're well on our way to being a solid middle of the pack team. Not bad enough to get superior talent through the draft, but not good enough to truly contend. That's NOT WHERE YOU WANT TO END UP.

I'm trusting that Danny knows that and will continue to "do work", because there's still a lot of work to do.

Yea this is what I was saying. Pointing out the one recent game we got blown out when we have been competitive in just about every game all year was a bit disingenuous. I don't think we are a good team. I think we are about a .500 or average team in the East (which is what we have played at for over two months now). However, it is not like we have been playing like the nuggets who were routinely losing games by 20-35 points...

[JHTruth]

I am optimistic about our coach and loved the Thomas trade. That being said, we're not necessarily closer than before the IT trade at getting a star player to build around. Now the draft option of doing so with our 2015 pick looks a lot less likely. I don't advocate the team lose on purpose obviously, but a better draft pick would definitely have been a valuable piece. Alas, they're too good.

If we had gotten someone like a Harden, that's a definite "rebuild acceleration" type move. He's somebody other FA stars would want to play with. I don't think good players are lining up to play with any of our guys right now.

Maybe Ainge can do the sell job of a lifetime and Thomas being here nudges a FA ever so slightly in the Celtics' direction. I still think it's extremely unlikely to happen though. Despite the recent upturn this team still isn't very good and is missing critical pieces. Remember, even if someone becomes available in a trade the player often holds all the cards. If he refuses to re-sign with the Celts then it doesn't matter how many assets we have.

Somehow Ainge has got to acquire a star. After that it is a lot easier to convince players to come here. Does Ray Allen or KG play with us if we didn't already have Pierce? Of course not.

What seems more likely to happen is that the Celtics go full Rockets mode as just get as much depth as they can. They could add guys like David Lee or Taj Gibson pretty easily this offseason if/when they strike out in FA. With a full season of IT, be a decent enough team in the East to go .500 (a little optimistic perhaps) and then you're in a better position to make a sales pitch to the 2016 FA class. Of course, the crappy thing is that every team is going to have cap space in 2016. What is going to make the Celtics stand out compared to the other 30 teams who can also fit a max guy?

Maybe Ainge gambles big-time and deals for a star some team is scared of losing in the 2016 bonanza. That would be EXTREMELY risky though and might stop the rebuild dead in its tracks.

Ainge has to go all-in to get Love or Monroe here in my estimation. Make a trade with the other team, do something. Draft a long, athletic big to play next to them and you have a winning record next year. That's something you can take into 2016. Taking a team of bench guys into 2016 will be a disaster. He needs a star as you say, and he needs one badly..

[LarBrd33]

We may have skipped a year on the rebuild this year. Lets look back a year. We still had Rondo and Green and it looked like a shot at Love. That would have been the quickest rebuild, just sign love and any vets you can and try to win. It didn't happen. It was worth taking the chance because it would have been a really quick rebuild but it didn't work and who knows what happened behind the scenes but Danny felt he had to trade Rondo and Green.

What a mess right? After Love went to Cle and it was apparent that we sucked, the common thought was it will be a few years before we can think about being good. But somehow the team ot scraps we have now has come together and played better than the team we gutted just a few months ago.

I realize that its really a glorified bench team that is over achieving. Let's not throw them a parade. But, it really is something special. I think we just possibly skipped a year of being in the gutter.

Is it probable that we get a Gasol or Love to sign here in the summer? No. It is not. But, its not as big of a long shot as it really should be months after trading our 2 best players. At this point on our rebuild stars should laugh at the idea of signing here. But I bet they seriously consider it and in the end find a better option.

The point is we are back on track. We've hit the bottom and are rising. You don't look at our roster an say to yourself, "what a bunch of losers." And when you think about it, that is really something.

It can be argued that we're in the worst position possible.  A sub .500 record making the playoffs and getting thrashed in round 1 is a recipe for perpetual mediocrity.   We do have theoretical cap space (if we dump some of the contributors like Bass, Crowder).  We have some mid-to-late 1sts.   We have some mediocre youth (Sully, Oly, Smart).   There doesn't seem to be a major building block here.  It can be argued that teams like the Lakers and Knicks are inherently closer to competing, because of their constant attraction to free agents.  It can be argued a team like Philly is significantly closer to competing, because they may already have a couple future franchise players locked on their roster. 

I don't see much reason to celebrate, honestly.  This team stinks and it's not clear if winning right now serves any purpose for us.

[celticsclay]

We may have skipped a year on the rebuild this year. Lets look back a year. We still had Rondo and Green and it looked like a shot at Love. That would have been the quickest rebuild, just sign love and any vets you can and try to win. It didn't happen. It was worth taking the chance because it would have been a really quick rebuild but it didn't work and who knows what happened behind the scenes but Danny felt he had to trade Rondo and Green.

What a mess right? After Love went to Cle and it was apparent that we sucked, the common thought was it will be a few years before we can think about being good. But somehow the team ot scraps we have now has come together and played better than the team we gutted just a few months ago.

I realize that its really a glorified bench team that is over achieving. Let's not throw them a parade. But, it really is something special. I think we just possibly skipped a year of being in the gutter.

Is it probable that we get a Gasol or Love to sign here in the summer? No. It is not. But, its not as big of a long shot as it really should be months after trading our 2 best players. At this point on our rebuild stars should laugh at the idea of signing here. But I bet they seriously consider it and in the end find a better option.

The point is we are back on track. We've hit the bottom and are rising. You don't look at our roster an say to yourself, "what a bunch of losers." And when you think about it, that is really something.

It can be argued that we're in the worst position possible.  A sub .500 record making the playoffs and getting thrashed in round 1 is a recipe for perpetual mediocrity.   We do have theoretical cap space (if we dump some of the contributors like Bass, Crowder).  We have some mid-to-late 1sts.   We have some mediocre youth (Sully, Oly, Smart).   There doesn't seem to be a major building block here.  It can be argued that teams like the Lakers and Knicks are inherently closer to competing, because of their constant attraction to free agents.  It can be argued a team like Philly is significantly closer to competing, because they may already have a couple future franchise players locked on their roster. 

I don't see much reason to celebrate, honestly.  This team stinks and it's not clear if winning right now serves any purpose for us.

Larbrd why lump in smart with the other guys? He is definitely having a solid rookie campaign and already showing elite defense. How his offense comes along definitely remains to be seen, but calling him mediocre this early in his career is overly pessimistic.

We also do have some pretty valuable assets in the nets pick. Wallace becomes an expiring next year and we do have cap space this summer. Why all doom and gloom?

[positivitize]

I don't see much reason to celebrate, honestly. This team stinks and it's not clear if winning right now serves any purpose for us.

The team does not stink. The team is competitive. Playing hard and winning games is a more sure fire way to greatness than trying to get lucky with draft picks. Go root for the 76ers if you don't want to watch us slog our way to an 8th seed. Working and winning is way more fun than counting ping pong balls.

Also, I take exception to you labeling Smart a "mediocre" youth prospect. If he were doing what he's doing as a guy who's been in the league for years already, he'd be "mediocre."  He is a rookie who's already got a lot of stuff down at a high level. He's got nowhere to go but up.

[makaveli]

I don't see much reason to celebrate, honestly. This team stinks and it's not clear if winning right now serves any purpose for us.

The team does not stink. The team is competitive. Playing hard and winning games is a more sure fire way to greatness than trying to get lucky with draft picks. Go root for the 76ers if you don't want to watch us slog our way to an 8th seed. Working and winning is way more fun than counting ping pong balls.

Also, I take exception to you labeling Smart a "mediocre" youth prospect. If he were doing what he's doing as a guy who's been in the league for years already, he'd be "mediocre."  He is a rookie who's already got a lot of stuff down at a high level. He's got nowhere to go but up.

tp
i love this post rondo-green team(minus ET playing PG while Smart and IT are playing)
and i can't believe that anyone is still crying over Rondo, talk about a dogged bullet as someone mentioned in this thread.
I like our coach, and i'm very excited about our current situation with picks, extra salary space, and the fact we have our two best players in IT and Smart, for the next 3-4 years playing for what 10-12 mil. $

[Celtics4ever]

i love this post rondo-green team(minus ET playing PG while Smart and IT are playing)
and i can't believe that anyone is still crying over Rondo, talk about a dogged bullet as someone mentioned in this thread

I love the post Sully team!   Runs, defends and is 6-5 over .500 without him.  Very fun to watch, I might add too.