50% through the season and the Celtics are currently a lottery team. What to do?

[chambers]

*This is NOT a tanking debate. Tanking is not an option in this poll. A youth movement surrounding Bradley, Crowder, Smart, our Brooklyn pick and a free agent or two that tries it's ass off to make the playoffs in 2017 is an option, but a full blow up style tank is not*

We are currently a lottery team after 37 games.
Similarly to a lot of Western Conference teams of recent seasons, the Eastern Conference is going to have a few teams with winning records, missing out on the playoffs- and we are currently one of those teams.

So what do we do?
-do we keep chugging a long while Danny tries to make moves? We have the Nets pick(s) and a lot of youth as a back up plan if this current 10 man/role playing warrior/genius coach/waiting for superstar free agent plan looks like it's getting dry.
Our Nets top 5 pick may be able to come in and play straight away if we are lucky.

-or do we start cleaning house and look to seriously develop our young core?
By this I mean:
-Trading Amir, IT, Sully, Zeller, Lee, Turner and giving Jordan Mickey, Rozier, Hunter, Young and our future rookies the playing time?

Essentially entering next season with two options for our roster:

1) Keep Amir, IT, Sully and maybe Turner and our current starting unit for a roster of something like:

IT
Bradley
Crowder
Sully/KO
Amir

Smart
Rozier
Brookyn pick
Mavs pick
Hunter
Mickey
Young
2nd rounders


OR

2)a semi 'blow up' youth movement, whilst keeping some core locker room leaders on good deals.
Trade IT, Amir, Sully, Turner and go ultra young, building around our Brooklyn pick and youth, with Crowder, Bradley and Smart as our veteran locker room leadership. Going after a young elite free agent like Harrison Barnes. Roster essentially looking like:

Smart
Bradley
Crowder
Harrison Barnes (if possible)
Mickey

Brooklyn pick
KO
Rozier
Hunter
Young
Mavs pick
Celtics pick
2nd rounders
Free agents


Personally I'd prefer to trade away IT, Turner, Amir, Sully (if he's too expensive), Lee, Zeller, and try to go young. Obviously we'd want a good return for IT and Amir, not just give them away for the sake of going young- but I'd take a top 12 pick for IT in this draft as an example.

Keeping Crowder, Bradley and Smart is important to me because they are the perfect guys to lead the locker room. Even keeping Amir around one more year would be fine as a great developmental move.
We'd have to fight harder for wins, but we'll need our Brooklyn pick to become a scorer anyway, and giving them that responsibility from the start is the correct move to me.
I'd also attempt to sign Harrison Barnes and some other young/high character guys with upside if possible.

What's your preference?

[Denis998]

there is no point in tanking now, at best it would give us like the 12th seed. Develop the team as is now, Cut david lee, and focus on Brooklyn loosing their own games.

[cltc5]

For the love of god tank!!!!!  Stop with these feel good courageous attempts at getting into the playoffs.  And you fans that don't like the t word, get over it!  We need stars fast!!!

[Denis998]

For the love of god tank!!!!!  Stop with these feel good courageous attempts at getting into the playoffs.  And you fans that don't like the t word, get over it!  We need stars fast!!!

what prospect in the #9-12 range is worth tanking for? Poeltl? Korkmaz?

[Hemingway]

How about this, I won't start knitting the 2016 championship banner when we get back up to the 6th seed and you stop suggesting we tank when we are half way through the season with a winning record.

[Donoghus]

Nothing yet.  Team doesn't need to overreact on Jan 11th & do something stupid.  Outside of CLE and the couple of bottom feeders, the East is pretty tight & a bit of a crapshoot at the moment in regards to playoff seeding & berths. 

I wouldn't be surprised if Danny does do something at the trade deadline, though.  To help clear up some of the roster redundancies. 

[chambers]

For the love of god tank!!!!!  Stop with these feel good courageous attempts at getting into the playoffs.  And you fans that don't like the t word, get over it!  We need stars fast!!!

what prospect in the #9-12 range is worth tanking for? Poeltl? Korkmaz?

Tanking isn't actually an option in this poll.
Tanking would be sending out every player of value that adds to wins.
In the above options, we'd be sending out some veterans that help us win, but the focus is primarily on developing our youngest players with real NBA minutes, in and around some real hard working winners like Crowder, Smart, Bradley, Mickey, Hunter etc...

So yeah, please don't derail this thread with a tanking debate.

[Who]

Stay the course.

[Denis998]

For the love of god tank!!!!!  Stop with these feel good courageous attempts at getting into the playoffs.  And you fans that don't like the t word, get over it!  We need stars fast!!!

what prospect in the #9-12 range is worth tanking for? Poeltl? Korkmaz?

Tanking isn't actually an option in this poll.
Tanking would be sending out every player of value that adds to wins.
In the above options, we'd be sending out some veterans that help us win, but the focus is primarily on developing our youngest players with real NBA minutes, in and around some real hard working winners like Crowder, Smart, Bradley, Mickey, Hunter etc...

So yeah, please don't derail this thread with a tanking debate.

trading Isaiah, a potential All Star, just to give the 16th pick playing time,is essentially the skeleton key to a proper tank. Im not against giving the young guys playing time, but not at the cost of our All Star

[Moranis]

For the love of god tank!!!!!  Stop with these feel good courageous attempts at getting into the playoffs.  And you fans that don't like the t word, get over it!  We need stars fast!!!

what prospect in the #9-12 range is worth tanking for? Poeltl? Korkmaz?

well Ainge tried to trade 4 first round picks to move up to #9 in the last draft.

[hwangjini_1]

CBS plays to win, first and foremost. or at least it seems that way to me. if CBS did not pack it in and cruise after the rondo/green trades last year, he never will.

he wants to win and has been using the dleague to simultaneously develop the younger players. that is okay.

this is a flawed team with a depth of nice-to-good talent. we all knew this going into the season. most of us expected a season with 40 to maybe 50 wins. so far, the celtics are about on target.

i would prefer the celtics give more minutes to the youngsters, but that may cost the team a few wins. those wins might be the difference between the playoffs and missing the playoffs. for me, i would take the chance. but for CBS i think he wants the playoffs for the team. i can live with that.

so, this is a long winded way of saying "stay the course." i think things will be a little better in the second half.

[Lucky17]

Another way to look at it: nearly halfway through the season, and the Celtics are only 4 games out of 1st place in the Atlantic, and home seeding for the first round of the playoffs.

As Who said, stay the course.

[wdleehi]

The team is better this season vs. last, but the East has improved.



As long as the team keeps getting better, stay with the current course.  Let's the Nets tank for the Celtics. 



Try to move Lee bu the deadline.  I am thinking renal for rental may be the way to go.  Find another player that may help the Celtics more this season, but can be easily gone next year. 

[littleteapot]

We might get nothing for Lee, which is unfortunate but otherwise if we get no good deals before the deadline we can wait till the offseason. Amir still allows us to move salary in the offseason.

I don't see why we would trade Thomas unless it was part of a deal for a true superstar. He will be signed for 2 seasons after this. It seems like his last season on his contract he is likely to be better than he is now and we will have our greatest chance of putting a contender together.

[Evantime34]

Trade Turner, Zeller, Lee and Jerebko for whatever you can get. Then spread those players minutes among Hunter, Young and Mickey.

Focus on developing the young players and add two rotation players in the draft next year.