The last time we had a Top 5 pick in a 2 Player draft

[manl_lui]

The last time we had a Top 5 pick in a 2 player draft...

There ended up being more than 2 players in the draft.

In addition to the top two players (Greg Oden and Kevin Durant) the draft also included Mike Conley, Al Horford, Joakim Noah and Marc Gasol.
   

And just to be perfectly clear, pick 3 was Horford and pick 4 was Conley, plus our pick still had tons of trading power.

I agree.  It's possible one of the guys taken after the top 2 will be special. So perhaps the best move is to not trade it at all and take the risk.

But we're in a pretty unique situation, because the cap is making leaps over the next two seasons.  So if the plan is to capitalize on an unique situation, and you buy the idea that you need stars to attract stars, it might make sense to grab one.   We'd all prefer someone like Paul George or DeMarcus Cousins, but if those guys are going nowhere, you might have to settle for a star vet.

at first I was convinced that I wanted to trade the #3...but since then, I am warming up to the idea of Bender, Hield and Murray. Kinda exciting to be a fan right now considering we're a playoff team but has a top 3 lotto pick

[D Dub]

The problem isn't that there isn't a Garnett out there, because there is, Cousins.  Really Gasol could be the KG anyway.  Our problem is we don't have a Paul Pierce already on the roster while AB could be our Al Jefferson in guard form.

Thomas is an all-star, would be a great teammate for a Cousins or MG. 

[Celtics18]

There's no KG out there to come to Boston as a follow up move.

There's a KD.

[ImShakHeIsShaq]

Danny said he is not trading the pick for anyone in their 30s. Maybe you don't believe him and things can/do change but I hope he is being honest this time.


I don't want any "star" just because they are one. Melo and Gasols windows are almost closed, Gasols especially because we don't even know what he is after his injury (add father time on top) and I wanted Melo a couple years ago but he hasn't done much for any of his teams outside of his own stats and now he's old. I'll pass on both for the 3rd but anything else (from this season's assets) is fair game.

I think we could have beaten Cavs last season with one of them but the Cavs have figured out how to utilize their talent as a unit and we need more than Melo or Gasol. Beyond that, who has Melo drawn in to play with him? Yeah, no thanks.

I'd take a chance on the draft if it was that or Melo/Gasol.

[Snakehead]

Moving #3 for Melo would undoubtedly anger a lot of us, but if it paved the way for a significant free agent signing, pushed the team into the 55+ win bracket and set the stage for a big 2017 free agency, it might be worth it.

I think that's crazy.  I would be very happy.

The problem isn't that there isn't a Garnett out there, because there is, Cousins.  Really Gasol could be the KG anyway.  Our problem is we don't have a Paul Pierce already on the roster while AB could be our Al Jefferson in guard form.

Thomas is an all-star, would be a great teammate for a Cousins or MG.

Cousins is actually good friends with Thomas.  IT has respect around the league for sure now I would say as well.  That showed over the course of the year.

None of the players discussed in any of this is Pierce or KG level so take that for what it's worth.

[Vermont Green]

Danny said he is not trading the pick for anyone in their 30s. Maybe you don't believe him and things can/do change but I hope he is being honest this time.

This is my point.  In 2007, we had Pierce.  Putting 30+ aged players around Pierce made sense.  Putting 30+ aged players around anyone on this team makes no sense to me.  We need to shoot for a longer horizon for a few reasons.

[Celtics18]

Of the two players mentioned, I'd prefer Marc Gasol.  Sure, big Spain comes with a ton of risk.  He's over thirty and coming off a significant injury.  I do trust him to age more gracefully as a basketball player than Carmelo Anthony, though.

I have a hard time seeing Melo sacrificing his touches and fitting in smoothly as a role player.  I can't help seeing him looking more like Kobe on his farewell tour than 2010 Paul Pierce as he enters his twilight.

Marc, on the other hand, has always seemed content to fit in and do what it takes to win.  Let's not forget that it wasn't long ago that we were legitimately talking about him as a candidate for best center in the game.

Marc Gasol would be a cool Celtic.  I'd be scared as heck to trade the number three pick for him though. 

[SHAQATTACK]

We are always one player outside the sure fire top rated picks.

Outside looking in .

If there were 10 great equal 1st round picks available .......Celtics would get number 11 pick every time.

The amount of potiental GREAT picks is portortional to the amount of teams that decide to TANK

[mctyson]

Carmelo is coming off a season in which he averaged basically 22/8/4 with a TS% of 53.  Not sure why people don't think that would be a useful player for this team.

I personally do not like Carmelo the player at all.  I don't think he plays hard.  I don't think he cares about winning.  I don't think he will play defense.

Having said that...I am not opposed to bringing him to Boston so long as we give up nothing of great value.  I believe Brad Stevens can create a system where Carmelo gets what he wants - shots - and the rest of the team can cover his but on D.  The guy can still rebound and when he wants to pass (rare, I know) is actually not a bad distributor. 

I would not give up #3 for him but how about the 2016 #14, 2018 Brooklyn, James Young, Amir Johnson, and Jerebko? 

[LarBrd33]

Danny said he is not trading the pick for anyone in their 30s. Maybe you don't believe him and things can/do change but I hope he is being honest this time.

This is my point.  In 2007, we had Pierce.  Putting 30+ aged players around Pierce made sense.  Putting 30+ aged players around anyone on this team makes no sense to me.  We need to shoot for a longer horizon for a few reasons.

Well as others have said, Thomas is a 27 year old all-star... which is the same age Pierce was at when we traded for 32 year old Ray Allen. 

If you could add Melo to this 48 win team, and have max cap space to sign a Horford/Howard/DeRozan ...  how many wins could that team get?  And keep in mind we'd still have a major bounty of assets available if a guy like DeMarcus Cousins finally becomes available or demands a trade.   

As I said in another post, it's a unique situation, because the cap jumps another 20 million in 2017.  So we're looking at a free agent class that would include guys like Curry, Westbrook, Blake, Chris Paul, Hayward, Lowry, and possibly even Durant if he stays one more year as expected.  And even by trading for Melo and signing a max player, we'd still have room to go after one of those guys next Summer.  Having a 55+ win team probably puts us in good position to lure one, right? 

I wrote a piece two weeks ago where I basically rejected the idea that the team even needs to land a star to lure free agents:  http://clnsradio.com/boston-celtics-news/item/13678-boston-celtics-why-not-build-a-big-5

To counter that, I now wanted to explore the alternative.  If we really DO need a star to attract stars... and guys like Butler/George/Cousins aren't realistic -  what would a realistic outcome actually look like?  Well, I suspect it would look a lot like 2007 when we traded a top 5 pick for a 32 year old with injury problems.  Thus... Melo or Marc Gasol are the two guys that come to mind when thinking of a 2016 doppelganger for the 2007 offseason.

[ImShakHeIsShaq]

Danny said he is not trading the pick for anyone in their 30s. Maybe you don't believe him and things can/do change but I hope he is being honest this time.

This is my point.  In 2007, we had Pierce.  Putting 30+ aged players around Pierce made sense.  Putting 30+ aged players around anyone on this team makes no sense to me.  We need to shoot for a longer horizon for a few reasons.

Well as others have said, Thomas is a 27 year old all-star... which is the same age Pierce was at when we traded for 32 year old Ray Allen. 

If you could add Melo to this 48 win team, and have max cap space to sign a Horford/Howard/DeRozan ...  how many wins could that team get?  And keep in mind we'd still have a major bounty of assets available if a guy like DeMarcus Cousins finally becomes available or demands a trade.   

As I said in another post, it's a unique situation, because the cap jumps another 20 million in 2017.  So we're looking at a free agent class that would include guys like Curry, Westbrook, Blake, Chris Paul, Hayward, Lowry, and possibly even Durant if he stays one more year as expected.  And even by trading for Melo and signing a max player, we'd still have room to go after one of those guys next Summer.  Having a 55+ win team probably puts us in good position to lure one, right? 

I wrote a piece two weeks ago where I basically rejected the idea that the team even needs to land a star to lure free agents:  http://clnsradio.com/boston-celtics-news/item/13678-boston-celtics-why-not-build-a-big-5

To counter that, I now wanted to explore the alternative.  If we really DO need a star to attract stars... and guys like Butler/George/Cousins aren't realistic -  what would a realistic outcome actually look like?  Well, I suspect it would look a lot like 2007 when we traded a top 5 pick for a 32 year old with injury problems.  Thus... Melo or Marc Gasol are the two guys that come to mind when thinking of a 2016 doppelganger for the 2007 offseason.

Again, who has Melo attracted before now? His team has had opportunities to bring in a top teammate yet I haven't heard a whiff of anyone notable being rumored to be interested in joining him. I think the players know something we don't. If you can't draw in top talent in NY, star player, MONEY, Phil Jackson and a top pick last season, then there is something wrong. As good as Melo is, his teams should never suck like they have because he should be a draw to the better NBA talent but look at his time there. He can't even use the Cousins excuses of crappy organization and team location/market!


Of course I would like to watch Melo (auto correct hates the name) play for Celtics and see what Ainge (haha edit) and CBS could do but not at any and all cost. 4 years ago I'd be in but that's just too much for him now. Just thought that you'd say his production is nearly the same as 4yrs ago so why then? His age/health, window to build around (not all or nothing), and I would still believe he was a top draw in a good situation. All of that is out the window at this point IMO.

[JBcat]

Danny said he is not trading the pick for anyone in their 30s. Maybe you don't believe him and things can/do change but I hope he is being honest this time.

This is my point.  In 2007, we had Pierce.  Putting 30+ aged players around Pierce made sense.  Putting 30+ aged players around anyone on this team makes no sense to me.  We need to shoot for a longer horizon for a few reasons.

Well as others have said, Thomas is a 27 year old all-star... which is the same age Pierce was at when we traded for 32 year old Ray Allen. 

If you could add Melo to this 48 win team, and have max cap space to sign a Horford/Howard/DeRozan ...  how many wins could that team get?  And keep in mind we'd still have a major bounty of assets available if a guy like DeMarcus Cousins finally becomes available or demands a trade.   

As I said in another post, it's a unique situation, because the cap jumps another 20 million in 2017.  So we're looking at a free agent class that would include guys like Curry, Westbrook, Blake, Chris Paul, Hayward, Lowry, and possibly even Durant if he stays one more year as expected.  And even by trading for Melo and signing a max player, we'd still have room to go after one of those guys next Summer.  Having a 55+ win team probably puts us in good position to lure one, right? 

I wrote a piece two weeks ago where I basically rejected the idea that the team even needs to land a star to lure free agents:  http://clnsradio.com/boston-celtics-news/item/13678-boston-celtics-why-not-build-a-big-5

To counter that, I now wanted to explore the alternative.  If we really DO need a star to attract stars... and guys like Butler/George/Cousins aren't realistic -  what would a realistic outcome actually look like?  Well, I suspect it would look a lot like 2007 when we traded a top 5 pick for a 32 year old with injury problems.  Thus... Melo or Marc Gasol are the two guys that come to mind when thinking of a 2016 doppelganger for the 2007 offseason.

Minor quibble here.  Pierce was actually 30 when we traded for Ray.  KG is 1 year younger than Ray.

In terms of pressure to win or else trade trade the player I think there was definitely more pressure with Pierce.  Thomas being a younger star buys us more time if we weren't able to acquire another star this offseason.

[Vermont Green]

Danny said he is not trading the pick for anyone in their 30s. Maybe you don't believe him and things can/do change but I hope he is being honest this time.

This is my point.  In 2007, we had Pierce.  Putting 30+ aged players around Pierce made sense.  Putting 30+ aged players around anyone on this team makes no sense to me.  We need to shoot for a longer horizon for a few reasons.

Well as others have said, Thomas is a 27 year old all-star... which is the same age Pierce was at when we traded for 32 year old Ray Allen. 

Yeah, you could have once said that Rajon Rondo was a 27 year old All-Star but that doesn't mean he had the same "build a team around" kind of stature as Paul Pierce.  IT is simply not nearly the type of player that Pierce was either.  In theory, you certainly could build around this current core with 30+ vets but I just don't feel these "trade for Butler and get Durant" or "sign Horford and get Durant" ideas are even remotely realistic.

It would be nice if this was not the case but the next true contending team in Boston will likely come further down the road than the next season or two.  2007-2008 was lightning in a bottle.  Sure, in theory, it could happen again but I suspect Danny meant what he said in this case.

[danglertx]

Paul Pierce might be a HOFer.  IT is nowhere near the player Pierce was.

[Smokeeye123]

I think Ainge makes a trade that makes our team genuinely better next season and a strong contender in the East. We just have to lower our expectations. Cousins and George are absolutely not happening.

I've heard some smaller trades that sound reasonable. Mainly moving back from #3 o #7 and getting Gallinari and the 7th pick. I like that one a lot especially if Ainge views 3-10 as about equal. Okafor makes sense but it would probably involve more than just the third. Marc Gasol and Butler are also possibilities but much less likely and would require us to exhaust all our assets.

I'd say give me the 20 yr old Okafor and have Brad coach up his Defense.