I think at some point, probably next year, the Celtics may need to have a "step back" year where they play some of the younger guys for better or for worse.
I doubt that that will happen. This train is rolling.
The Celtics are in the rare situation of having a lot of above-average players, while also having extraordinary resources for adding great players, while also having enormous sums of cash to dispense going forward.
Actually, what I would say is that they are NOW playing their young players.
I love your optimism, and I'm being honest, (no sarcasm), but I'm wondering what makes you think our "extraordinary resources" and "enormous sums of cash" will net us a star after seeing what happened this last summer in free agency and the draft?
You've misread me pretty thoroughly. I made no such claim. What I was addressing was the previous poster's suggestion that the Celtics would need to take a step back. My argument was why that is not going to happen - not whether I wanted it to happen, or whether it should happen.
So... Your argument is that: because the Celtics could not get a star last year, they can now not get one this year? That is neither reasonable nor logical.
You don't seem to think much of Boston's assets; but the professionals around the league disagree with you.
That their unusually complete and extensive collection of assets will bring
a star is a no-brainer. The conventional wisdom is that it takes three, though, to win a championship (as Red said, "You've got to have the horses."). And the Holy Grail is beyond that: sustainable excellence, contending year after year. Your Boston Celtics have a chance to do that; the fundamentals are really good.
Because I'm only seeing the "above average players" at this point, which is far less exciting, and kind of concerning given that we have been setting ourselves up for a trade for years, but no one will trade with Danny and there really aren't a lot of disgruntled players to trade for.
Your claim that "no one will trade with Danny" is peculiar, given his track record over a number of years now. And, by the way, I do love (no sarcasm here, lol!) the cynicism of the Boston Sports Fan!
Stars, incidentally, move for lots of reasons, not just because they are disgruntled, and not just because of trades. The team is set up to be a player not just in the trade market, but also in the free-agent market.
People keep saying we will get a star somehow, but if Brooklyn doesn't deliver us gold this year I just don't see it happening.
Boston has become a desirable destination not just because it has a
very young team that is already winning, but also because there will be a ton of cash in the next three years - and because there is a rare number of valuable picks and valuable players to package, making more star players possible. Guys want to win, and on top of the big stash of assets, the president of basketball operations has a track record. In fact, the team has a track record.
Your focus on Brooklyn's 2016 pick is myopic, frankly: there is not just one but three picks from Brooklyn coming in three straight years, AND they are already a poor team and likely to be a declining team going forward - not incidentally.
Would be sad if we all bought into some ten year wish-washy dream of a title, only to see above average players get drafted with our "treasure trove of picks and assetts." Or perhaps Danny can do 3 for 1 trades until we have a team that has all B players instead of c's. Then, in 30 years, if there is still a wold to live in, we will have our title contending juggernaut that everyone seems to think we are heading towards.
Wow. Lock up the kitchen knives!
I was surprised when I joined this site recently to discover what a low opinion Boston fans have of their own team.
Mostly, you cannot skip a step, though sometimes you get lucky; it's a process. What I think you have not noticed is that this is already a team of grade B players. The other thing that is so striking is that they are also still quite young.
This is a team with a future, and yet one more thing that you're leaving out of your calculation here is development; you don't just trade up to get good players, you also add value by training them to be better players. The coaching staff is actually doing a bang-up job of developing the roster. Jae Crowder is on track to have the most cap-friendly contract in the league in the next couple of years, surpassing his teammate, Isaiah Thomas.
Jokes aside, it's refreshing to hear young fans hoping for things to pan out. I'm rooting for you, and I really do mean that. I'm just not sure you will see another title under Danny.
Yes, you have completely misread me. I'm a fan of the game, not particularly of Boston (I live in Texas). I started posting here because of what's happening with the team - how can such a young team play such good team defense? And is it actually possible, in today's NBA, for a team without stars to advance in the playoffs?. I'm also not particularly young…
I'm going to call you a "naïve pessimist". Ainge has pulled off one coup after another, deftly and rapidly ridding the team of nonperforming contracts, finding diamonds in the rough on the fringes of NBA rotations and outside the lottery. There are no guarantees, as he knows as well as anyone, but at this point he's made all the right moves and then some. You might at least be proud of that.
In fact, why don't you put your money where your mouth is? Are you predicting that there will be no more championships under Danny Ainge?
