Its easy to dream a dream bu 0% chance Durant comes to Boston and I tell you why

[Future Celtics Owner]

Danny would be smart to go the unpopular long road draft a player route. He would be giving away to much to be trading the picks away. #3 this year, the 017 swap, 018 unprotected and the Memphis 019 should give him plenty of opportunities to get a great player. There's some intriguing talent coming up the next few years. Josh Jackson, Jayson Tatum, Harry Giles, Michael Porter and Marvin Bagley to name a few. Need to give Lebron a few years to age anyway. No reason to rush a championship now when that would only give us a 3-4 year window. I wanna see a decade of greatness.

I'm not sold on those guys. yes they are at the top of the draft for 2017 and 2018 but IMO its a Skal type situation and these mock "experts" have not done their due diligence. Though I hope I am wrong because these players are on my list that we could grab:
2017
Dennis Smith Jr
Bam Bam
Thomas Bryant
Jonahone Jeanne (stash or have him come over)
2018
Deandre Ayton(very good player)

[SHAQATTACK]

Kevin Durant is not the type of player who wants to be recruited. Yes he may come to Boston for a visit and see all the history and trophies n hanging banners. What Kevin Durant wants is what he already has in OKC. Think about this, he's got a home that he's been comfortable in, he's got Westbrook to play next to and a great coach in Billy Donovan, he's got the love of his fans that would be heartbroken if he left, and he's got a great rich contract coming his way. There's no reason to think he will just up and leave all that. He already expressed his need for stability and even though the Celtics just showed a sign of it by signing Brad Stevens and Danny Ainge long term, that's not the stability he's talking about. Durant wants stability at home, he's not gonna go and uproot his house and life he's not going to move to the northeast.

I've been reading a lot of info on him and his lifestyle and found that he loves it in Oklahoma/Texas. He doesn't want to leave that area and already stated it would take a national disaster to move him from his situation in OKC. He specifically said that he isn't concerned with the bright lights the larger markets provide. He's gonna make 40 million more in OKC then anywhere else. I don't see him moving to Boston Massachusetts. If he does leave OKC he is most likely going home to Washington D.C. that would be the only place he goes if he leaves.

Boston doesn't have the playmakers at the level of Russell Westbrook. Boston has a lot of assets but there is no one here who could provide the star power of a Westbrook therefore there's 0% chance he comes to Boston. I will note that Nike wants him to leave OKC for a bigger market and they have 300 million reasons why they'd love to see him go to a place like Los Angeles but he's not concerned with them big markets.

And you know this HOW ....oh....you must chat with him on the phone I guess .....did not realize you all are buds .....

[Csfan1984]

Team needs to make trades to get KD to consider it. I still like trying to make a deal with Jazz. 25% is the chance I'd give team if they pull off the Jazz trade that keeps core intact and lands Hayward and Favors. They would easily be the best team in the East with KD.

IT/Smart
Hayward/AB
KD/Crowder
KO/Mickey
Favors/AJ
Those starters and that bench would be special.

[Future Celtics Owner]

That's why getting Okafor is such a great deal. Especially if we do a package for Okafor and Covington/Grant for the #3 pick and gar****e.

If This happened and I was Ainge I would try to offer MIL a trade for based around IT for Jabari. IMO Jabari is undervalued bc of his 3point attemtps/makes. But like Okafor he has a great stroke and IMO will get that 3-point shot(he shot very well from 3 at Duke even from NBA range).

It's all opinion and personally scouting but I believe with Okafor and Jabari on our team they will give CBS the elite talent and give us a decade of a solid foundation for winning.

Edit: Does anyone know if it is possible to trade with BKN to get their pick for 2017 outright? So we would have our pick and BKN's pick for 2017. We don't even have to use both picks to draft but they could be very valuable to the right team because the draft is very deep till the top 10 and past.
If we do trade for Okafor and Jabari for the #3 and IT I really would have to take back everything I said about Ainge and give him props because not only did we have winnign seasons and show off CBS but even if we tanked for the last 2 seasons we still prob would not have ended up with  Jabari and Okafor

Interesting. Isaiah for Parker.

It actually makes a lot of sense for Milwaukee. They have Giannis at the 3. They have a ton of length in the backcourt (Middleton and MCW) and Isaiah really helps them with spacing. Hes a far better shooter than MCW and Parker.

As for us, it makes sense in that Jabari is an elite scoring talent who still projects as a terrific scorer. Now adding Jahlil and Jabari gives us arguably the two most talented scorers to come out of the draft since Kyrie Irving (Towns Wiggins Embiid Davis etc were all superior prospects and overall talents, but in terms of scoring talent I think they are the two best).

Plus they are really young players allowing Brad to grow with them and gives the Celts an opportunity for a long window of contention. Furthermore they have 2 and 3 years left on rookie deals allowing us to add more big pieces before their contracts explode.

Plus with elite high character defenders under team control (Bradley, Smart, Crowder) their defensive issues could be hidden and its not inconceivable that their leadership along with Brads defensive focus could really help these guys become solid defenders.

So why wouldnt we do it? Well the first reason is pretty debatable, but here it is. Trading Isaiah is a bad look. Danny has been hyping him up as the "face of the franchise" they have him out there recruiting guys for us etc etc. It could hurt team chemistry and would almost certainly damage Danny's reputation around the league. However, you do need elite talent to win at this level and Danny should always be willing to sacrifice a bit of team chemistry and his rep in order to put that elite talent in place.

As you say, theres reason to believe Parker and Okafor could develop into decent shooters, but right now they are both poor shooters. Presumably you would see a lot of Marcus Smart Avery Bradley Jabari Parker Jae Crowder Jahlil Okafor lineups and that puts 3 really poor shooters on the floor with Crowder and Bradley neither of whom are exactly elite shooters. I think these moves would really hurt the on court product next year. The spacing would be terrible and as good as Jahlil and Jabari are as scorers I dont think either is ready to really carry the load.

My conclusion. Adding elite talent like that is hard to pass up especially when you can get guys on rookie contracts. The only concern I would have is that even if Jahlil and Jabari improve, you are going to have spacing issues. You would need to make a hard drive at acquiring as many shooters as you can to surround your core  5 of Smart Bradley Parker Crowder Okafor. Maybe thats in the form of an overpay for a guy like Ryan Anderson? maybe you pray for some Kelly consistency? maybe we see more Jonas? Who knows? maybe trade Brooklyn '17 to try to get Hield or Murray?

Middleton is also a sg/sf and is 6'8.5'' tall. That's one of the reasons it makes sense to me.

Also, I do not in any way buy that IT is untouchable for any reason. IT just so happens to be the only one on the team that can create his own offense and I get that he is recruiting people to come here, but you don't think Jabari and Okafor could be faces of the franchise and could convince Duke/Chicago guys to come here. IT has 2 years on his deal and who knows what he willcommand in FA and if it is even worth it to resign him bc of his hieght/age combo(idk). Okafor would cost the #3 pick and if we trade for Jabari after that I am almost certain everyone will not only understand and be excited, but Jabari and Okafor would be the new faces of the franchise.

Anyways, saying we can't get 2 legit possible MVP type talents because of IT is really only looking at the next 2 years, which I got from your post because it seemed like you were very concerned with the product of next years team. And its your opinion that they are poor shooters but IMO they have great strokes and were rookies with many variables also to consider.

If the 2 rookies Jabari and Okafor come out in their 2nd year as improved shooters(Jabari from 3 and Okafor from 15 and in) which IMO is very likely then you have to say we would be a very dam good team. Especially with the right people around them(i'll get into later)

As far as trading for:
Jahlil and maybe covington/Grant
4
#3

Jabari
4
IT

2 years ago I could not have planned it better myself. Back then I made a thread something like "make a dynasty in 3 years" basically is was outlining how I saw Towns and Ingram and Dennis Smith Jr, Bam Bam, and deandre Ayton as sure things and most were not even in the top 8 in mocks.
But then Stevens would not have showed us what he can do. And it is partly because of Stevens that IMO the Jabari and Okafor team would not only work, but thrive for a decade. Both are essentially rookies and both IMO are going to get much better. Okafor and Jabari are quite similiar if you boil it down to their shooting. They both already have a great shooting stroke but bc of many variiables have not taken the fga/fgm from 3(Jabari) and from 15ft(Okafor).

PLEASE WATCH THE YOUTUBE VIDS I SELECTED
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5tyUk9B5_mg     jabari
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UiQt5bWcg7E    jabari
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZihwmQ3PaC8   Jahlil

OBV in order to put the best team on the floor we will need to to obvios things but they are possible, and give us the opportunity to grow with a young core and add pieces.They will need a 2-way back-court that can hit the 3(Jabari WILL be hitting 3's and soon) and play great d. Also a 4 that can at least hit out to 19ft and is a defensive minded player. Puting the team around these 2 will be the hard part but we have the pieces to do it.

After trading for Jabari and Okafor we would still have these assets:
Crowder
Avery
Smart
KO
BKN 17' more favorable
BKN 18'

Personally if I was Danny I would be looking for solid pieces I can put around them(Oak and Jabari) for longterm or to trade after a productive season for long-term. Crowder, Avery, and KO would be getting traded and IMO they really would fetch us a lot. I would keep Crowder but honestly he is not IMO a strict 4 and we would lose on his efficiency. I would keep Smart, although his shooting from 3 is up and down and down overall from last year....he has everything else you want in a player and on a rookie contract. I would let him finally be the primary point and let him defend the point because Avery would be replaced with a longer and taller 2.

Avery Bradley: Replace with RFA Allen Crabbe. We would try to sign him but if that does not work we could try a sign and trade. Crabbe is a legit 3-point threat and a beast defensively. He has a 6'11.25'' wingspan, 8'7.5'' standing reach and stands 6'5.25'' w/o shoes, almost 6'7'' with shoes. IMO after his breakout year, playing next to CJ and Lillard, he reminds me of the path Jimmy Butler took and Middleton, although he has not shown the passing ability or rebounding but is his own player.

The rest I could not say. I know that I would trade AB though and replace him with someone like Crabbe, a better 3-point shooting gaurd with much more hieght and length and still can hold a candle to Avery defensively.

If Danny traded KO, Crowder and Avery for something of high value idk but lets just say we take them out entirely for next year. And lets say we draft:Tim Luwawu, Thon, Caris Levert, and etc.

Smart
Allen Crabbe
Jabari Parker
Robert Covington
Jahlil Okafor

That's not better than this years team but CBS just may mold it into a playoff team. Especially with improved shooting from Okafor and Jabari.

Also maybe there is a chance we could do a trade with BKN to so we can have our pick and BKN's pick next year idk.

I think in my response, I harped a bit much on the negatives because I felt the positives were so obvious. As I wrote, I believe Jabari and Jahlil are the 2 best offensive talents to come out of the last 5 drafts.

I also love Marcus Crowder and AB as role-players.

However the deal does have negatives. Its important to note that. While no one is untouchable, i really think IT is close. Danny seems to have given every indication that IT is his guy. The recruiting stuff is less me talking about Isaiahs legitimacy as a star and more me talking about Danny being committed to Isaiah and Isaiah being fully committed to Boston. Trading a guy like that is inevitably going to hurt chemistry and GM rep among players. Two pretty important things. However, you need elite talent to win.

The shooting would be the big issue, but I like the idea of Crabbe.

Lets say we dont get Covington thrown in (because I just dont see that happening).

Now a bonus of these trades is that we maintain all our cap. Lets say we cut Amir, turner, and Sully loose and bring back Jerebko. Now weve got 45 mil. I love the Crabbe idea, but Id bring him in to complement Bradley rather than replace him. Now you have AB, Crabbe, Crowder, Jerebko, Olynyk... all pretty good shooters.

Smart Rozier
Bradley Crabbe
Parker Crowder
Jerebko Mickey
Okafor Olynyk

not bad at all especially when you consider you still are gonna have upwards of 30 mil in cap space and only Olynyk and Jerebko would be on expiring deals. Shooting would still be the issue, but if Parker can get to an OK shooting level then I think you are fine and I think thats entirely possible/likely. Now I would like to put together a playoff team for next year and Im not sure this squad is one. I know thats not a concern of yours, but a way we could get the best of both worlds would be by signing Luol Deng to an Amir Johnson contract. say 2 years 40 mil with year 2 nonguaranteed.

That way you get a perfect stretch 4 who is a solid shooter(for a big), can defend at a good level, and gives you some veteran toughness.

I think a roster of

Smart Rozier
Bradley Crabbe
Parker Crowder
Deng Jerebko Mickey
Okafor Olynyk

is a playoff roster.

Another interesting path would be trading Bradley for Ibaka, still signing Crabbe, then using Brooklyn '17 and some later picks to get back in the top 10 for Murray or Hield to more than replace Bradley's shooting.

Smart
Crabbe 40% 3 pt shooter
Parker
Ibaka 1 year removed from shooting 39% from deep
Okafor

with Hield, Jerebko, Olynyk all as reserves. That roster has enough shooting.

I just wrote a great post for you and my comp shut-down. I think my anti-virus protection is messed up, its from Kaspersky or something.

Honestly you would have loved it and I can't do it justice.

I have to go compose myself, I'll write back in a bit.

[ImShakHeIsShaq]

LBJ owned the Cavs organization (hell, the state) but it didn't stop him from leaving. You could talk about LBJ leaving for a better team and KD wouldn't be but I would argue coming East (doesn't need to be us) would already put him in a theoretically easier situation and that's before doing anything other than signing him. OKC has been stacked season after season but so has the West, it's so hard to get to the end there. I'd rather stack a team to fight LBJ and 1 western team than have to fight through 4 rounds of some of the best teams in the league/history. Look at Spurs, 2nd best record in the league (1 of all time best records) and had to play OKC BEFORE the WCF.


S/N: I'm of the mindset that he isn't leaving OKC. I'm just saying that leaving may not be as bad as people say just because OKC is a stacked team.

[PaulP34]

Kevin Durant is not the type of player who wants to be recruited. Yes he may come to Boston for a visit and see all the history and trophies n hanging banners. What Kevin Durant wants is what he already has in OKC. Think about this, he's got a home that he's been comfortable in, he's got Westbrook to play next to and a great coach in Billy Donovan, he's got the love of his fans that would be heartbroken if he left, and he's got a great rich contract coming his way. There's no reason to think he will just up and leave all that. He already expressed his need for stability and even though the Celtics just showed a sign of it by signing Brad Stevens and Danny Ainge long term, that's not the stability he's talking about. Durant wants stability at home, he's not gonna go and uproot his house and life he's not going to move to the northeast.

I've been reading a lot of info on him and his lifestyle and found that he loves it in Oklahoma/Texas. He doesn't want to leave that area and already stated it would take a national disaster to move him from his situation in OKC. He specifically said that he isn't concerned with the bright lights the larger markets provide. He's gonna make 40 million more in OKC then anywhere else. I don't see him moving to Boston Massachusetts. If he does leave OKC he is most likely going home to Washington D.C. that would be the only place he goes if he leaves.

Boston doesn't have the playmakers at the level of Russell Westbrook. Boston has a lot of assets but there is no one here who could provide the star power of a Westbrook therefore there's 0% chance he comes to Boston. I will note that Nike wants him to leave OKC for a bigger market and they have 300 million reasons why they'd love to see him go to a place like Los Angeles but he's not concerned with them big markets.

And you know this HOW ....oh....you must chat with him on the phone I guess .....did not realize you all are buds .....

You obviously missed the memo. There's been a ton of discussion on how I've came up with this in the later pages.

[LooseCannon]

I doubt Durant leaves OKC this summer, but I think the Celtics have at least as good and probably a better chance of signing him than the Wizards do.  Does anyone disagree with that take?

When I say 0% chance I'm talking about this summer. Now I do believe there's a much higher chance he could sign on to Boston next summer if indeed he does go the 2 year route with the 2nd year player opt out. What Durant coming to Boston for a visit could be is a plan to map out who Danny picks up this year in FA. He could lay down the framework that he wants Danny to do. Kind of like what Lebron did with Cleveland. It may be a two year in the planning. I just don't see him coming this Summer.

So am I.  Do you agree that if the Celtics have 0% chance of signing Durant this summer, then his hometown Wizards have no higher than the same 0% chance of signing him this summer?

[PaulP34]

LBJ owned the Cavs organization (hell, the state) but it didn't stop him from leaving. You could talk about LBJ leaving for a better team and KD wouldn't be but I would argue coming East (doesn't need to be us) would already put him in a theoretically easier situation and that's before doing anything other than signing him. OKC has been stacked season after season but so has the West, it's so hard to get to the end there. I'd rather stack a team to fight LBJ and 1 western team than have to fight through 4 rounds of some of the best teams in the league/history. Look at Spurs, 2nd best record in the league (1 of all time best records) and had to play OKC BEFORE the WCF.


S/N: I'm of the mindset that he isn't leaving OKC. I'm just saying that leaving may not be as bad as people say just because OKC is a stacked team.

Oh I totally agree. I personally think it would be in his own best interest to leave OKC for the eastern conference. I'm just in doubt he's leaving this summer. I don't doubt he leaves OKC in due time but I don't see him leaving that team without at least giving it one more go next year. After that its anyone's guess where he goes. But its 0% chance this summer

[PaulP34]

I doubt Durant leaves OKC this summer, but I think the Celtics have at least as good and probably a better chance of signing him than the Wizards do.  Does anyone disagree with that take?

When I say 0% chance I'm talking about this summer. Now I do believe there's a much higher chance he could sign on to Boston next summer if indeed he does go the 2 year route with the 2nd year player opt out. What Durant coming to Boston for a visit could be is a plan to map out who Danny picks up this year in FA. He could lay down the framework that he wants Danny to do. Kind of like what Lebron did with Cleveland. It may be a two year in the planning. I just don't see him coming this Summer.

So am I.  Do you agree that if the Celtics have 0% chance of signing Durant this summer, then his hometown Wizards have no higher than the same 0% chance of signing him this summer?

I don't think he leaves this summer. I would give everyone outside of OKC a 0% this summer.

[PaulP34]

Hey, what's so hard to figure out here ?

Durant let's everyone know he wants an easier path to the finals through the eastern conference. He makes up a list of players he wants teams to go sign right before the draft and FA period giving teams a chance to make draft day trades and sign free agents during the summer of 016. He signs his 2 year deal (worth a boatload of guaranteed money) with the one year option giving teams the competitive chance to go acquire the team he wants while he gives it one more shot with Westbrook to get back to the dance in 017. Then he chooses his destination to whatever team comes closest to getting that team together. He's giving his new team an early heads up and giving that team two drafts and two FA periods to acquire the team he wants. Its genius. That's my theory and why its a 0% chance the Celtics get Durant this summer.

[JSD]

The Thunder blew Game 6 in such an epic way that it will be franchise changing for OKC. 0% chance Durant doesn't come to Boston.

Durant will be a Celtic. Watch.

[PaulP34]

The Thunder blew Game 6 in such an epic way that it will be franchise changing for OKC. 0% chance Durant doesn't come to Boston.

Durant will be a Celtic. Watch.

Not this summer he wont

[JSD]

The Thunder blew Game 6 in such an epic way that it will be franchise changing for OKC. 0% chance Durant doesn't come to Boston.

Durant will be a Celtic. Watch.

Not this summer he wont

This summer. book it.

[Phantom255x]

Hey, what's so hard to figure out here ?

Durant let's everyone know he wants an easier path to the finals through the eastern conference. He makes up a list of players he wants teams to go sign right before the draft and FA period giving teams a chance to make draft day trades and sign free agents during the summer of 016. He signs his 2 year deal (worth a boatload of guaranteed money) with the one year option giving teams the competitive chance to go acquire the team he wants while he gives it one more shot with Westbrook to get back to the dance in 017. Then he chooses his destination to whatever team comes closest to getting that team together. He's giving his new team an early heads up and giving that team two drafts and two FA periods to acquire the team he wants. Its genius. That's my theory and why its a 0% chance the Celtics get Durant this summer.

If that's the case why doesn't Durant just tell OKC what players he wants and who he wants to draft or trade for?
I mean in 2017 and 2018 a lot of stars (especially from the West) will leave their teams and could go to different teams so the landscape could change. Also the Spurs and Warriors could potentially regress a bit in the future.

I'm not entirely disagreeing with you as I also think Durant will take a 1+1 deal with OKC... BUT it's kind of absurd to say Durant has a 0% chance of coming to Boston this summer.

If he really feels like he wants to change teams then the Celtics are probably one of his top destinations, probably along with Washington, San Antonio, Miami (b/c if they don't re-sign Whiteside they do have cap space), and Golden State.

If it's the east Boston is his best bet.

[PaulP34]

The Thunder blew Game 6 in such an epic way that it will be franchise changing for OKC. 0% chance Durant doesn't come to Boston.

Durant will be a Celtic. Watch.

Not this summer he wont

This summer. book it.

I put money on it. Feel like loosing your paycheck ?