No matter what, this is a nice young team. I'm excited about the future

[Humble G]

I woke up this morning excited about the celtics future...before this year i was very weary and afraid celtics were gonna suck for a long time....tank seemed to be only direction but after another year under coach brad stevens im a new fan. There is hope....i kinda us see us beeing the next spurs....yes many comparisons have been made but i truly believe it now. In afew years i believe we will be the spurs of the east. Brad knows team basketball. Plain and simple...look what he did at butler. Look what he has done this year... we r in the playoffs and competing...not winning but competing.....with limited talent......eventually brad will get talent and we will win some championships but till then we are always going to do the fundamentals and play teamball....and be competitvee...as long as we have Coach Brad Stevens....and that is a nice thing to think about and makes me excited to be a celtics fan!

[Celtics4ever]

I think our success this year was great but I take it with a grain of salt, Pacers will have Paul George back, NYC will have Melo and a top pick.   One has to wonder if we will even make the playoffs next year if we stand pat.

We need to get more size and athletic.   Small ball worked great when teams had their playoffs spots locked up and were not trying.   It has not looked so great in the playoffs.

[LooseCannon]

for some reason no one has noticed that the bulls (correct me if i'm wrong) don't have enough cap space to sign jimmy butler to a big contract without paying massive amounts of tax. would that $12.9 million (i think) trade exception lead to the bulls calling danny and saying "we need cap space to sign butler, joakim noah fits into the trade exception - you wanna help us out?"

I've noticed.  I think the realistic target there is Taj Gibson.  I'd be happy with trading the Clippers pick for Gibson and moving Sullinger in a package for an upgrade at center or small forward.

[Who]

I have faith in Ainge.  If he strikes out this summer we have a problem.

It'll probably be a few summers before he puts anything together. That is how things usually go for teams in Boston's position. It's a slow hard road forward.

[The One]

I also like and am encouraged about the future...especially considering this is the second youngest team in the NBA...

I didn't know that until they mentioned it on the broadcast.

[slamtheking]

I have faith in Ainge.  If he strikes out this summer we have a problem.

A problem? Eh, I'd be pretty shocked and probably a bit worried if we didn't do anything at all. Like say we just resign Crowder/Jerebko and don't move in the draft in any way and don't sign a FA of any significance yeah, I'll probably be a bit worried. But I trust Ainge to make the best moves he think he can make and he's proven to be right a lot more often then he is wrong.

What if no one higher than #12 will make a deal that isn't a complete heist? What if all the RFA's get matched when we bid more than a guys worth? Should we trade one of the Sullinger/KO/Zeller trio for nothing just cause? Is it smart to give a guy like Draymond Green or Greg Monroe a max deal? If all the top-tier FA's sign extensions with their current teams, do you overpay a middling guy? What if no-one good enough makes their way onto the trade market?

I just don't want Ainge to make a stupid move, for the sake of making a move. I trust him enough to give him more than a year. Even if he doesn't do anything, this team finished 40-41 and something like 21-9 over it's last 30 before the playoffs. If we stand pat well still improve to an over .500 team that gets a low playoff seed. And the assets are still there for next summer.

intelligent post - TP

[dreamgreen]

After the trade deadline CBS found guys that would play hard and that is a credit to him and the players. As far as a nice young team I don't see it other than Smart perhaps AB. Sully is fat, KO got no time in game 3, IT played hero ball and looked like a smurf that can't dribble, Young has shown nothing so far, Tuner was probably our best player and I forgot Crowder he's a nice player. So what am I missing?

[slamtheking]

Speaking of that Trade Exception, which teams are gonna be desperate to create cap space this summer, and how can we take advantage?

Lakers?  Maybe we can take Jordan Hill and Jordan Clarkson off their hands for nothing.

We could acquire Danilo for a pick and not give up anything else using the TPE, instead.

How about Faried as a target?  Can't shoot, but I'd love to see what Stevens could do with him.

why to any of those middling options? 

Hill and Clarkson are role players like we already have.
Danilo is not what he was in NY and he's not exactly Mr. Defense
Faried is another Crowder -- better on the board but less offense.

Team needs starting-quality players -- guys with more complete games, not more role players.

[slamtheking]

I think our success this year was great but I take it with a grain of salt, Pacers will have Paul George back, NYC will have Melo and a top pick.   One has to wonder if we will even make the playoffs next year if we stand pat.

We need to get more size and athletic.   Small ball worked great when teams had their playoffs spots locked up and were not trying.   It has not looked so great in the playoffs.

Let's not forget the Bucks getting Parker back, Miami getting Bosh back and adding a lottery pick, Charlotte possibly having their backcourt healthy and adding a lottery pick. 

Playoffs for the C's are by no means a guarantee for next year.

[TheTruthFot18]

I realized this was one of the most exciting seasons/teams we've seen probably since the 07-08 team if we take into account expectations vs outcomes. Every year after 08 had high hopes and ended without a title but this year everyone, including the players, counted us out and yet we got this far.

[cman88]

it was kind of funny watching the announcers during the C's/cavs game. all seemed to heap praise on ainge/B-stevens and saying how this team is young and has a bright future considering their ages/number of draft picks and how C's fans should be excited.

then you come here and its doom and gloom....

[chambers]

for some reason no one has noticed that the bulls (correct me if i'm wrong) don't have enough cap space to sign jimmy butler to a big contract without paying massive amounts of tax. would that $12.9 million (i think) trade exception lead to the bulls calling danny and saying "we need cap space to sign butler, joakim noah fits into the trade exception - you wanna help us out?"

I've noticed.  I think the realistic target there is Taj Gibson.  I'd be happy with trading the Clippers pick for Gibson and moving Sullinger in a package for an upgrade at center or small forward.

Sullinger in his third year is arguably already a better player than Gibson, especially on offense and Gibson is no world beating defender- He's an okay weakside power forward that excels against smaller, poorer bench players and power forwards.  Sully projects to be a better player long term. Gibson is a bench player in the NBA. Only places he starts are mediocre or younger teams like ours without any depth at PF.
With KO and Sully here, a 29 year old Gibson is not what this team needs.

[Celts Fan 508]

Speaking of that Trade Exception, which teams are gonna be desperate to create cap space this summer, and how can we take advantage?

Lakers?  Maybe we can take Jordan Hill and Jordan Clarkson off their hands for nothing.

We could acquire Danilo for a pick and not give up anything else using the TPE, instead.

How about Faried as a target?  Can't shoot, but I'd love to see what Stevens could do with him.

for some reason no one has noticed that the bulls (correct me if i'm wrong) don't have enough cap space to sign jimmy butler to a big contract without paying massive amounts of tax. would that $12.9 million (i think) trade exception lead to the bulls calling danny and saying "we need cap space to sign butler, joakim noah fits into the trade exception - you wanna help us out?"

Why would Chicago do that?  Wouldn't they prefer to get rid of Gibson over Noah?

[Evantime34]

I think our success this year was great but I take it with a grain of salt, Pacers will have Paul George back, NYC will have Melo and a top pick.   One has to wonder if we will even make the playoffs next year if we stand pat.

We need to get more size and athletic.   Small ball worked great when teams had their playoffs spots locked up and were not trying.   It has not looked so great in the playoffs.

Let's not forget the Bucks getting Parker back, Miami getting Bosh back and adding a lottery pick, Charlotte possibly having their backcourt healthy and adding a lottery pick. 

Playoffs for the C's are by no means a guarantee for next year.

Miami is counting on Wade who has been on his last legs for a number of years, and Bosh who is recovering from a life threatening illness.

I don't see who is going to be better than us in the Atlantic. The Knicks are adding Melo and a pick but they only currently have 1 or 2 guys worthy of an nba rotation. They might have some star power, but counting on a player coming back from injury and a rookie to lead a team with no depth is a tenuous proposition at best.

Toronto has not impressed me at all in the second half and in the playoffs.

With our cap space, future draft picks and rotation players we could use in a trade I would be surprised if we don't improve upon this years team. There is no way we are going to stand pat.

[LooseCannon]

for some reason no one has noticed that the bulls (correct me if i'm wrong) don't have enough cap space to sign jimmy butler to a big contract without paying massive amounts of tax. would that $12.9 million (i think) trade exception lead to the bulls calling danny and saying "we need cap space to sign butler, joakim noah fits into the trade exception - you wanna help us out?"

I've noticed.  I think the realistic target there is Taj Gibson.  I'd be happy with trading the Clippers pick for Gibson and moving Sullinger in a package for an upgrade at center or small forward.

Sullinger in his third year is arguably already a better player than Gibson, especially on offense and Gibson is no world beating defender- He's an okay weakside power forward that excels against smaller, poorer bench players and power forwards.  Sully projects to be a better player long term. Gibson is a bench player in the NBA. Only places he starts are mediocre or younger teams like ours without any depth at PF.
With KO and Sully here, a 29 year old Gibson is not what this team needs.

Gibson is a starting-caliber player who has been coming off the bench.  He is a capable rim protector and an elite defender.  He's a third or fourth option at best, but he is competent in pick and pop and post-up situations.  He's a solid rebounder and a hard worker.