celticsclay: "He did play a meaningful role for the world champions 7 months ago. Has he completely regressed in those 7 months to unplayable for any team? It is possible, but it is not like he is 36 and/or relied incredibly on athleticism."
I plead ignorance. A guy like that might be able to give you 10 minutes, but I think he has the same issue Ray did, not able to see the writing on the wall. Paul Pierce also took too long to adjust to age, but when he did, he got himself a couple extra years of NBA glory. The last Big Three years were very painful. It was unfortunate. We needed Avery to take over at SG with the wise veteran Ray on board with the decision. Nope. No Celtics Pride there. How crazy was that playing Rondo, Bradley, and Allen together? To appease Ray's ego?
Tyler Zeller is causing no "bad teammate" problems with his limited minutes. He probably learned from Bass, Humphries, and even through the Bogans fable how to deal with such an awkward situation.
I agree with a comment above that the Wallace-Lee trade seems to have been one of those Danny moves Brad would have rather not happened.
I think we saw the same thing with the Jameer, Brandan Wright, and Prince era.
Brad must have been oh well, Jameer's my point guard even if it makes no sense.
And oh well, I have five power forwards with Wright who may provide the best rim protection... but who knows and I understand Danny needed to move Rondo.
We are finally getting to the point where it's all 100% fun. I truly believe the rebuild is over. I am talking about it in general terms. We don't know who will stay or go for sure, but at least we don't have a million players left who will not work out well.
Danny is not perfect. It did look like a great trade on paper.
Is Lee cooked? I think so. I think 32 is the typical age when NBA players need to hit the bench and adapt.
Even if Lee could get it together for a PJ Brown type role, that won't work either. Like most say, he's never been good at defense. Now he is old and can't lift for the things he used to do at an all-star level. Danny needs to stop overwhelming Brad with redundancy at power forward.
Danny may have overthought that trade and it looks like it might have cost us I will estimate five wins.
Hopefully Danny prunes the roster and doesn't make any more moves that will distract Brad Stevens. I recall perhaps Danny and Doc didn't exactly see eye to eye at times. These issues should work out in the long run. It should be right now much easier jobs for both Brad and Danny and with the two becoming more and more on the same page.
-------------------------------------
I'd like to see Turner traded and Lee bought out. You could get Phil Pressey maybe as 3rd PG. Then you'd really see the team's personality glow.
I want this team to tighten its identity. I think Zeller can help. I think letting Marcus sink or swim at pg is the move to make. I also think Pressey for all his limitations understands Brad's basketball philosophy.
We have a solid core with Brooklyn picks coming in.
Avery
Isaiah
Smart
Crowder
Olynyk
They represent where we are headed. Watching them allows the fan to see the future. The style. Even Jerebko fits into the picture, for now, like Zeller.
Then I picture overweight Sully and ball hogging Turner and feel that they are on their way out.
I don't know for sure if Brad is cynical about Ty Zeller's skills and ceiling. That is the feeling I get. Brad seems to think he is the equivalent of himself in college ball. Great guys. Nice teammates. Just not enough talent to play the way Brad and Danny see this team headed.
