Bullpett :C'S not offering max for Harris, Saving cap for bigger moves.......

[TheFlex]

I don't trust Bulpett. I think Ainge uses a lot of the local writers to throw teams off. If that's the case though, I'm not understanding his motivation for feeding Bulpett this (mis)information.

[jayk009]

Even though there's no clear all-star player available for trade right now it doesn't mean that an opportunity will not arise in the future. Things can change very very fast and only the ones that are able to pounce are the ones that can take advantage of it.

Do you think Houston would have been able to get James Harden by signing the Tobias Harris's of the world. They were pretty in the exact position as us..acquiring tradeable assets and cap room and were waiting for a situation. I'm not saying that a James Harden will magically pop up but why would we eliminate this chance altogether just to sign a Tobias Harris.

Who knows what will happen with Demarcus Cousins as the season progresses? Maybe he demands a trade or maybe he sulks his way through the season and doesn't play as well. They have horrible management and I guarantee that if he does become available in a trade then we will be a front runner to land him.

There is no way to predict the future but right now we need to be patient and wait for the right situations to pop up.

[Shamrocker]

Celtics front office being made up of evil dark lords trying to fool us all with talk of trying to compete for a title is my new favorite theory of this special forum we call home.

I think they have an incredibly skilled PR department, yes. I also think the team uses misleading phrases like "fireworks" and "flexibility for bigger moves" to entice fans to renew season tickets.

[Snakehead]

Celtics front office being made up of evil dark lords trying to fool us all with talk of trying to compete for a title is my new favorite theory of this special forum we call home.

I think they have an incredibly skilled PR department, yes. I also think the team uses misleading phrases like "fireworks" and "flexibility for bigger moves" to entice fans to renew season tickets.

Or you know that's exactly what they're doing and exactly what they did to get KG and Ray Allen.

[Neurotic Guy]

Steve Bulpett ?@SteveBHoop 19m19 minutes ago

Important: Reason C's not pursuing some FA isn't because they don't like them, but b/c can't afford them and stay in line for bigger move.

HAHAHBAHAHAHAHAHAHAH What big moves , such nonsense

.... the big moves are in the future?  Is that really confusing?

"Big Moves" = The New Fireworks

It's just another attempt at fan appeasement.

Draft was a failure.  SO far, this offseason has been a massive failure.   I'm losing faith.  With the additions of Jerebko and Johnson, we don't even have enough money to even offer a max contract.  Depending on what Jae Crowder gets, matching him might wrap up this entire offseason.  So you're basically swapping Bass for Johnson and punting on the season.

Funny how people can see the same picture and conclude something completely different.  The Johnson and Jerebko signings are a great relief to me.   I was really worried Danny was going to sign a couple of 2nd tier FAs to long-term max(ish) deals.  Instead, he signs two decent players who'll provide important dimensions to the current team on short-term deals with a non-guarantee in year 2.  I think it's brilliant.

Yes -- ABSOLUTELY punting on the upcoming season.  This is another growth year, not a year for contention (we're only 2 years into the re-build).

In 2015-16 a good half-dozen Celtics will increase their trade value while we look at being a 5-9 seed (depending on how the wind blows) in the East.  Meanwhile Brooklyn falters and Danny uses an improved set of assets with great salary flexibility and a ton of cap space to make serious moves at trade deadline or in summer of '16.

This is Danny being brilliant and patient.

So you're idea of being a genius is staying in the middle. Do you want to get swept again and then lose out on a player like Winslow? People are really letting Ainge off the hook here.

I'm confused -- I don't think I said that being a genius is staying in the middle.  I actually wanted Danny to give Brad a terrible roster last year and get a top 5 pick. But that's not what happened... so, you do have to deal with reality.  The team is a mid-level team who has "stayed in the middle" for one season so far.  Yes, I think they have a team that will be in the middle for another year.  BUT, they also have a team with an unusually high number of tradeable deals and an unusual number of players that could be poised to make value gains over the next season.   I think it's a better plan than signing one or two 2nd tier players to long-term max contracts.  If it turns out that all our 25 and under players have hit their talent ceilings and do not grow in value, then my assessment of the situation will be wrong. 

[barefacedmonk]

Celtics front office being made up of evil dark lords trying to fool us all with talk of trying to compete for a title is my new favorite theory of this special forum we call home.

Nobody expected Ainge to build a contender this season. But I also didn't expect him to sign someone like Jonas and Amir to that kind money. We have enough players that we can groom if we can't land a FA of importance. I'd rather watch the young guys develop their game than have a $12 mil player come in and swat a shot or two and not do much else. I could care less if the likes of Aldridge, Love etc sign somewhere else. They were long shots anyway. But if you can't sign someone like them, continue to trust your young players that you've drafted. Build up their value.

[tankcity!]

Even though there's no clear all-star player available for trade right now it doesn't mean that an opportunity will not arise in the future. Things can change very very fast and only the ones that are able to pounce are the ones that can take advantage of it.

Do you think Houston would have been able to get James Harden by signing the Tobias Harris's of the world. They were pretty in the exact position as us..acquiring tradeable assets and cap room and were waiting for a situation. I'm not saying that a James Harden will magically pop up but why would we eliminate this chance altogether just to sign a Tobias Harris.

Who knows what will happen with Demarcus Cousins as the season progresses? Maybe he demands a trade or maybe he sulks his way through the season and doesn't play as well. They have horrible management and I guarantee that if he does become available in a trade then we will be a front runner to land him.

There is no way to predict the future but right now we need to be patient and wait for the right situations to pop up.

Dude, what are you talking about? You don't even have the assets to trade for Cousins, hahah. Lakers would have first dibs. Be realistic here.

[Scintan]

Celtics front office being made up of evil dark lords trying to fool us all with talk of trying to compete for a title is my new favorite theory of this special forum we call home.

I think they have an incredibly skilled PR department, yes. I also think the team uses misleading phrases like "fireworks" and "flexibility for bigger moves" to entice fans to renew season tickets.

Or you know that's exactly what they're doing and exactly what they did to get KG and Ray Allen.

Since the Garnett/Allen situation almost never happens in the NBA, trying to do it "exactly" again is a fool's errand.  Sadly, since the team can't seem to do anything else, it might also be their only hope.

[Forza Juventus]

KG and Allen was unique and likely won't happen again. There are less bad GMs now. McHalen, a bad GM and friend of Ainge traded us KG and we had a top young player in Al Jefferson. The soon to be moving to OKC, Seattle traded us Allen when they were tanking. And with the cap going up there will likely be no Harden situations either.

[Snakehead]

Celtics front office being made up of evil dark lords trying to fool us all with talk of trying to compete for a title is my new favorite theory of this special forum we call home.

Nobody expected Ainge to build a contender this season. But I also didn't expect him to sign someone like Jonas and Amir to that kind money. We have enough players that we can groom if we can't land a FA of importance. I'd rather watch the young guys develop their game than have a $12 mil player come in and swat a shot or two and not do much else. I could care less if the likes of Aldridge, Love etc sign somewhere else. They were long shots anyway. But if you can't sign someone like them, continue to trust your young players that you've drafted. Build up their value.

Amir Johnson is way better than you suggest here.  He can score off the roll and garbage, board, and defend and play center.

Both deals can be cut after year one, maintaining total flexibility or becoming valuable in a trade for a team that could acquire either player then cut them.

Jerebko played last year.  Amir will take Bass' minutes.  So I don't get any of these complaints.  The young players will still play and if they aren't ready, Stevens won't play them.  Minutes are still there for them.

[35Lewis]

I agree with the moves so far.  No sense it signing long term middle of the road guys like Detroit did a few years ago and wasted all that money on Villanueva and Gordan.  Don't make a move just to make a move

[dreamgreen]

Why sign Johnson at all? I'm not excited about another bridge year, but if that's what we're in for, and we can't get a difference maker to move the needle much this year, why not just ride it out with basically what we already had, and keep developing the younger guys? If the goal is simply filling out the roster, there are cheaper ways of doing it.

We have cap room and we can cut him after a year.

Ainge and Stevens want to be competitive actually.

If Johnson just takes Bass' minutes that's good for us.

I'd rather have Bass, Bass is better IMO and would have cost less.

[tankcity!]

Steve Bulpett ?@SteveBHoop 19m19 minutes ago

Important: Reason C's not pursuing some FA isn't because they don't like them, but b/c can't afford them and stay in line for bigger move.

HAHAHBAHAHAHAHAHAHAH What big moves , such nonsense

.... the big moves are in the future?  Is that really confusing?

"Big Moves" = The New Fireworks

It's just another attempt at fan appeasement.

Draft was a failure.  SO far, this offseason has been a massive failure.   I'm losing faith.  With the additions of Jerebko and Johnson, we don't even have enough money to even offer a max contract.  Depending on what Jae Crowder gets, matching him might wrap up this entire offseason.  So you're basically swapping Bass for Johnson and punting on the season.

Funny how people can see the same picture and conclude something completely different.  The Johnson and Jerebko signings are a great relief to me.   I was really worried Danny was going to sign a couple of 2nd tier FAs to long-term max(ish) deals.  Instead, he signs two decent players who'll provide important dimensions to the current team on short-term deals with a non-guarantee in year 2.  I think it's brilliant.

Yes -- ABSOLUTELY punting on the upcoming season.  This is another growth year, not a year for contention (we're only 2 years into the re-build).

In 2015-16 a good half-dozen Celtics will increase their trade value while we look at being a 5-9 seed (depending on how the wind blows) in the East.  Meanwhile Brooklyn falters and Danny uses an improved set of assets with great salary flexibility and a ton of cap space to make serious moves at trade deadline or in summer of '16.

This is Danny being brilliant and patient.

So you're idea of being a genius is staying in the middle. Do you want to get swept again and then lose out on a player like Winslow? People are really letting Ainge off the hook here.

I'm confused -- I don't think I said that being a genius is staying in the middle.  I actually wanted Danny to give Brad a terrible roster last year and get a top 5 pick. But that's not what happened... so, you do have to deal with reality.  The team is a mid-level team who has "stayed in the middle" for one season so far.  Yes, I think they have a team that will be in the middle for another year.  BUT, they also have a team with an unusually high number of tradeable deals and an unusual number of players that could be poised to make value gains over the next season.   I think it's a better plan than signing one or two 2nd tier players to long-term max contracts.  If it turns out that all our 25 and under players have hit their talent ceilings and do not grow in value, then my assessment of the situation will be wrong.

Bro, those same assets got him nothing this year. You need to either tank, or be smart and sign a player like Harden during RFA. Harden wasn't a superstar when he signed, but the Rockets projected he was. Ainge needs to be playing Olynyk and not Johnson for god sakes. Is it too much to ask for him to play the young guys so they can develop? I don't know what the Celtics are doing here.

[Forza Juventus]

Our roster is a joke. And there are no "bigger moves" coming. I'm done buying the Celtics hype that they sell us every year. Our young players are over rated. Our future picks are over rated. And Ainge is over rated. Stevens is a great coach, but he cares more about his system than getting more talented players. He seems like a nice guy and all but he has an ego. Our ownership group is from Bain Capital. They don't care about me, they don't care about you, they don't care about us, they don't even care about the players, they care about numbers. That's what all this is, numbers. This "asset collection" thing is a very business like thing to do, there are no feelings with this strategy. Same with the "system" that Stevens runs. No feelings, just puzzle pieces. Stevens, Ainge, our ownership group, they are all cut from the same cloth, they all have the same philosophy. As a fan base we have to stop blindly supporting Ainge, Wyc, etc. They are doing bad at their job right now.

Best victim post yet.  You guys really think they aren't trying to do deals or sign real big time free agents?  Unreal.

I guess Ainge is Emperor Palpatine, pulling the wool over your eyes because he wants all your money.  Hopefully I wise up and realize it before my soul is truly lost and I feel the hate flow through me.

Don't put words in my mouth.

[Snakehead]

KG and Allen was unique and likely won't happen again. There are less bad GMs now. McHalen, a bad GM and friend of Ainge traded us KG and we had a top young player in Al Jefferson. The soon to be moving to OKC, Seattle traded us Allen when they were tanking. And with the cap going up there will likely be no Harden situations either.

Why will there be no Harden situations?  Why have GMs all gotten better?  Didn't we just do the Net trade in the last couple years?  Didn't Jordan turn down 4 firsts and two seconds to draft almost certainly a role player?  Yeah I don't buy any of this.

Our roster is a joke. And there are no "bigger moves" coming. I'm done buying the Celtics hype that they sell us every year. Our young players are over rated. Our future picks are over rated. And Ainge is over rated. Stevens is a great coach, but he cares more about his system than getting more talented players. He seems like a nice guy and all but he has an ego. Our ownership group is from Bain Capital. They don't care about me, they don't care about you, they don't care about us, they don't even care about the players, they care about numbers. That's what all this is, numbers. This "asset collection" thing is a very business like thing to do, there are no feelings with this strategy. Same with the "system" that Stevens runs. No feelings, just puzzle pieces. Stevens, Ainge, our ownership group, they are all cut from the same cloth, they all have the same philosophy. As a fan base we have to stop blindly supporting Ainge, Wyc, etc. They are doing bad at their job right now.

Best victim post yet.  You guys really think they aren't trying to do deals or sign real big time free agents?  Unreal.

I guess Ainge is Emperor Palpatine, pulling the wool over your eyes because he wants all your money.  Hopefully I wise up and realize it before my soul is truly lost and I feel the hate flow through me.

Don't put words in my mouth.

Just built off your conspiracy theory.  Thinking Ainge and the Celtics don't care about winning is laughable.