Would you rather...

[slightly biased bias fan]

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;

I am interested to see how people would like Ainge and the Boston Celtics to go this summer.

We have come to a crossroads and we can only choose one path. I myself, love the nature of drafting a young star and watching them grow into a superstar and hopefully stay in one uniform for the duration of their career. But I know how impatient some can be here and I'm sure many are hoping to cash in on a Jimmy Butler or DeMarcus Cousins but I think we were spoilt with the 07 trade as no team has ever/since meshed so quickly and easily and I attribute that to their ages of Allen, Pierce and KG, but this time we will be trading players still in or not yet in their primes and there is no guarantee they will all co-operate.

So assuming we miraculously win the lottery, which would you rather; Go with Simmons or Ingram or trade for a star and go straight into win now mode?

[Big333223]

The more I think about it, I'd rather draft Simmons or Ingram (either one, really) and try to grow a star. Obviously the Celtics have more picks than they can use so a trade is going to have to happen somewhere but I think if we have a little patience as fans and the team can hold on to its future assetts, they can establish a base that will have the team in contention for decades.

But, that means some patience and not blowing our load early.

[Roy H.]

What's the difference between "transcendent star" and "established superstar"?

Like, are we talking the next Lebron vs. Jimmy Butler?

Or is it more like the next Blake Griffin vs. DeMarcus Cousins?

[Moranis]

I'd rather win more titles.  I don't care which patch yields that result.  If you tell me they each lead to 1, I'd probably go the established star route so I don't have to live through the growing pains and then can start over sooner.

[slightly biased bias fan]

What's the difference between "transcendent star" and "established superstar"?

Like, are we talking the next Lebron vs. Jimmy Butler?

Or is it more like the next Blake Griffin vs. DeMarcus Cousins?

I'd say Blake Griffin vs DeMarcus Cousins but the idea is more in the sense of would you rather have a young future KD in Ingram (hypothetically) or KD now but don't mind that he has spent the majority of his career at OKC and essentially like KG will always be associated with another franchise more so than ours.

[slamtheking]

What's the difference between "transcendent star" and "established superstar"?

Like, are we talking the next Lebron vs. Jimmy Butler?

Or is it more like the next Blake Griffin vs. DeMarcus Cousins?

I'd say Blake Griffin vs DeMarcus Cousins but the idea is more in the sense of would you rather have a young future KD in Ingram (hypothetically) or KD now but don't mind that he has spent the majority of his career at OKC and essentially like KG will always be associated with another franchise more so than ours.

where a player spends the bulk of their career is irrelevant if they come to Boston and win a title.  Who cares if KG is best known as a T-Wolf?

As for the options, I think if you can use the assets in a trade for a superstar that fits the team, you make that move.  The draft is a crapshoot.  At this point I don't see any Lebron-level sure things in this draft.  I think Simmons and Ingram could become all-stars but not transcendent talents. 
Depending on which established stud player is available and the cost, I'd consider moving that Nets pick. 
Future Nets picks are something I would hold back for now until I see what the Nets do over the summer.

[TheSundanceKid]

I'd rather win more titles.  I don't care which patch yields that result.  If you tell me they each lead to 1, I'd probably go the established star route so I don't have to live through the growing pains and then can start over sooner.

TP, I'm with you on that!

[slightly biased bias fan]

I'd rather win more titles.  I don't care which patch yields that result.  If you tell me they each lead to 1, I'd probably go the established star route so I don't have to live through the growing pains and then can start over sooner.

TP, I'm with you on that!

I'm sure many are hoping to cash in on a Jimmy Butler or DeMarcus Cousins but I think we were spoilt with the 07 trade as no team has ever/since meshed so quickly and easily and I attribute that to their ages of Allen, Pierce and KG, but this time we will be trading players still in or not yet in their primes and there is no guarantee they will all co-operate.

Like I said earlier there is no guarantee that players will mesh even though they are established, in fact the norm is the contrary, Pippen to Portland, Shaq in LA, Howard to LA, Harden to Houston ect. established players have egos where as rookies don't, if Westbrook was traded to OKC midway through his career there is no way him and KD would get along but because they both came in as rookies there was mutual respect as they got older.

[PhoSita]

Give me ten to twenty years of watching a homegrown Celts superstar. I want to see Brad become another Carlisle or popovich. He needs his own homegrown star.

[slamtheking]

I'd rather win more titles.  I don't care which patch yields that result.  If you tell me they each lead to 1, I'd probably go the established star route so I don't have to live through the growing pains and then can start over sooner.

TP, I'm with you on that!

I'm sure many are hoping to cash in on a Jimmy Butler or DeMarcus Cousins but I think we were spoilt with the 07 trade as no team has ever/since meshed so quickly and easily and I attribute that to their ages of Allen, Pierce and KG, but this time we will be trading players still in or not yet in their primes and there is no guarantee they will all co-operate.

Like I said earlier there is no guarantee that players will mesh even though they are established, in fact the norm is the contrary, Pippen to Portland, Shaq in LA, Howard to LA, Harden to Houston ect. established players have egos where as rookies don't, if Westbrook was traded to OKC midway through his career there is no way him and KD would get along but because they both came in as rookies there was mutual respect as they got older.

just an FYI, Shaq in LA worked out just fine for them --> 3 titles with a team that dominated the league (sadly)

[slightly biased bias fan]

I'd rather win more titles.  I don't care which patch yields that result.  If you tell me they each lead to 1, I'd probably go the established star route so I don't have to live through the growing pains and then can start over sooner.

TP, I'm with you on that!

I'm sure many are hoping to cash in on a Jimmy Butler or DeMarcus Cousins but I think we were spoilt with the 07 trade as no team has ever/since meshed so quickly and easily and I attribute that to their ages of Allen, Pierce and KG, but this time we will be trading players still in or not yet in their primes and there is no guarantee they will all co-operate.

Like I said earlier there is no guarantee that players will mesh even though they are established, in fact the norm is the contrary, Pippen to Portland, Shaq in LA, Howard to LA, Harden to Houston ect. established players have egos where as rookies don't, if Westbrook was traded to OKC midway through his career there is no way him and KD would get along but because they both came in as rookies there was mutual respect as they got older.

just an FYI, Shaq in LA worked out just fine for them --> 3 titles with a team that dominated the league (sadly)

haha I know but I'm saying Shaq didn't stick around long and recently Shaq stated that he regrets leaving Orlando now and wishes he stayed because Shaq understands legacy matters, Jordan - Bulls, Bird - Celtics, Magic - Lakers...these guys are the most marketable NBA players because they left their legacy on one team and moulded the franchise to their personality.

[saltlover]

I'd rather win more titles.  I don't care which patch yields that result.  If you tell me they each lead to 1, I'd probably go the established star route so I don't have to live through the growing pains and then can start over sooner.

TP, I'm with you on that!

I'm sure many are hoping to cash in on a Jimmy Butler or DeMarcus Cousins but I think we were spoilt with the 07 trade as no team has ever/since meshed so quickly and easily and I attribute that to their ages of Allen, Pierce and KG, but this time we will be trading players still in or not yet in their primes and there is no guarantee they will all co-operate.

Like I said earlier there is no guarantee that players will mesh even though they are established, in fact the norm is the contrary, Pippen to Portland, Shaq in LA, Howard to LA, Harden to Houston ect. established players have egos where as rookies don't, if Westbrook was traded to OKC midway through his career there is no way him and KD would get along but because they both came in as rookies there was mutual respect as they got older.

just an FYI, Shaq in LA worked out just fine for them --> 3 titles with a team that dominated the league (sadly)

Yeah, the egos might have cost them a title or two because Shaq left, but they were able to play very well despite them.

And Pippen was 34 by the time he made it to Portland.  I think the lack of meshing was due more to age than anything else.  His first year in Portland the team won 59 games and took the aforementioned Lakers to 7 games in the conference finals.  That team came together just fine in its first season.  Then it just got old, with Pippen, Sabonis, and Schrempf being 35, 36, and 38, respectively, and played more than 2000 fewer minutes combined the following season.

[jambr380]

It's really important to note that neither Simmons nor Ingram are guaranteed to be superstars (or even starters!). Also, if we do land in the top 2, I think it would be much easier to trade for Cousins or Butler (for instance) than if we get a later pick.

So, given our current roster construction and the fact that there are no guarantees in the draft, I go with cashing it in and giving ourselves a 6-7 year window. With the amount of other picks we have in the coming drafts, (with some luck) we could possibly draft a transcendent star with one of those and be competitive beyond that window.

[bdm860]

I'd rather win more titles.  I don't care which patch yields that result.  If you tell me they each lead to 1, I'd probably go the established star route so I don't have to live through the growing pains and then can start over sooner.

TP, I'm with you on that!

I'm sure many are hoping to cash in on a Jimmy Butler or DeMarcus Cousins but I think we were spoilt with the 07 trade as no team has ever/since meshed so quickly and easily and I attribute that to their ages of Allen, Pierce and KG, but this time we will be trading players still in or not yet in their primes and there is no guarantee they will all co-operate.

Like I said earlier there is no guarantee that players will mesh even though they are established, in fact the norm is the contrary, Pippen to Portland, Shaq in LA, Howard to LA, Harden to Houston ect. established players have egos where as rookies don't, if Westbrook was traded to OKC midway through his career there is no way him and KD would get along but because they both came in as rookies there was mutual respect as they got older.

just an FYI, Shaq in LA worked out just fine for them --> 3 titles with a team that dominated the league (sadly)

haha I know but I'm saying Shaq didn't stick around long and recently Shaq stated that he regrets leaving Orlando now and wishes he stayed because Shaq understands legacy matters, Jordan - Bulls, Bird - Celtics, Magic - Lakers...these guys are the most marketable NBA players because they left their legacy on one team and moulded the franchise to their personality.

But why did Shaq leave Orlando in the first place?  Because his and Penny's egos both clashed.

Butler and Cousins both are homegrown for their respective teams, but seem to clash with other players/management.

Remember the Triple J Ranch in Dallas (Kidd, Jackson, Mashburn)?  All guys that would be on rookie contracts today that didn't get along.  The thing is it's hard to imagine Kidd not getting along with anybody on the basketball court.

Iverson couldn't mesh with Jerry Stackhouse or Larry Hughes, even though they all came in as rookies.

Kwame Brown as the #1 pick used to get into a lot of arguments with Michael Jordan.

Wally Szczerbiak didn't get along with KG.

Kobe was a rookie when he started playing with Shaq, so why didn't Kobe mesh with Shaq?

Then you can think of all the guys who did mesh after switching teams as an established star.  Jason Kidd everywhere he went after his first run in Dallas, LaMarcus Aldridge in San Antonio, Kevin Garnett in Boston,  LeBron and Bosh in Miami, Pau Gasol in LA, Zach Randolph in Memphis, Steve Nash's 2nd run in Phoenix, etc.

A few examples especially when I feel like there are just as many examples pointing the other way, doesn't make the point.

[Moranis]

I'd rather win more titles.  I don't care which patch yields that result.  If you tell me they each lead to 1, I'd probably go the established star route so I don't have to live through the growing pains and then can start over sooner.

TP, I'm with you on that!

I'm sure many are hoping to cash in on a Jimmy Butler or DeMarcus Cousins but I think we were spoilt with the 07 trade as no team has ever/since meshed so quickly and easily and I attribute that to their ages of Allen, Pierce and KG, but this time we will be trading players still in or not yet in their primes and there is no guarantee they will all co-operate.

Like I said earlier there is no guarantee that players will mesh even though they are established, in fact the norm is the contrary, Pippen to Portland, Shaq in LA, Howard to LA, Harden to Houston ect. established players have egos where as rookies don't, if Westbrook was traded to OKC midway through his career there is no way him and KD would get along but because they both came in as rookies there was mutual respect as they got older.

just an FYI, Shaq in LA worked out just fine for them --> 3 titles with a team that dominated the league (sadly)

haha I know but I'm saying Shaq didn't stick around long and recently Shaq stated that he regrets leaving Orlando now and wishes he stayed because Shaq understands legacy matters, Jordan - Bulls, Bird - Celtics, Magic - Lakers...these guys are the most marketable NBA players because they left their legacy on one team and moulded the franchise to their personality.

Shaq was in LA for 8 years and basically his entire prime.  Shaq had two "good" years left after he left LA.  The problem they had at the end was Shaq's ego couldn't deal with Kobe becoming better than him and the new face of the franchise.