The Celts Should Draft Dunn and Build for 2020

[Irish Stew]

We have three very good starters (Thomas, Bradley, and Crowder) who make only $21 million total. Shouldn't we take advantage of that plus $60 million in cap space if we need it plus three highly desirable draft picks over the next three years to strike now? The draft is a much more uncertain course than established NBA players. IMO the future is now.

[CoachBo]

We have three very good starters (Thomas, Bradley, and Crowder) who make only $21 million total. Shouldn't we take advantage of that plus $60 million in cap space if we need it plus three highly desirable draft picks over the next three years to strike now? The draft is a much more uncertain course than established NBA players. IMO the future is now.

Cosign entirely. We've been through the myth that Ainge is a good drafter ad infinitum. He isn't. The time is now to add quality veteran pieces to the core of this team, and take the next step into contention in the Eastern Conference.

That doesn't necessarily mean Kris Dunn isn't a part of that. He is clearly the BPA at 3. But I'd prefer the pick be dealt for immediate help.

[action781]

Isaiah sadly is not Kyrie.  And further, Durant is not Lebron.

[GratefulCs]

Isaiah sadly is not Kyrie.  And further, Durant is not Lebron.

right!

We could actually play team ball

[CoachBo]

By the way, I'm NOT advocating tanking. 

I'm suggesting the Celts should take Dunn if he's the BPA, even if that means trading Isaiah, and they should focus on building up the roster around players who will be in their prime 4-5 years from now.

Trying to win anything of significance in the next few years is foolhardy without an MVP caliber player.

Question - I posed this idea in another thread, but as I know that you're a fan of this guy, as am I, I think it's appropriate in this thread, as well: why not trade IT and KO to the Pelicans for 6 and use it to take Poeltl?  For New Orleans, KO, at least in theory, lol, gives them insurance in the likely event that Ryan Anderson walks, and with Eric Gordon both always being hurt and a free agent, coupled with Jrue Holiday's inability to stay on the court, IT gives them a cheap and dependable offensive weapon to pair with Davis.  Combine this with taking Dunn at 3, and you've now got the bookends of your starting lineup, and we can get the rest of our new starters at 16 and so on this year and the finishing touches next year, imo (well, hopefully, anyway).  What do you think?  It's hard to pass on a big guy with Poeltl's size, speed, defense, and skill set, imo.  Just an idea .

In a word, no.

Poeltl has slow feet, and I saw him in person be absolutely dominated by Wichita State's bigs, then follow that with some definite struggles late in the year.

If Ainge were foolish enough to deal our best player for him, he should be summarily fired.

[CFAN38]

I agree with you that the Cs must build with an eye towards the post Lebron future. I do not agree that Dunn is the answer and that this is a reason to shop KO and AB.

As mush as I get annoyed by lebron and as a non conspiracy theorist think the league shafted the Warriors this series in an attempt to stretch this think to seven games, he is with out a doubt the most dominate physical force I've lived to see in Basketball. Jordan was better but physically Lebron is on a different level.

With that said Lebron is 31 and on the other side of the curve towards his peak. This season he was still in his prime and like last night showed able to absolutely dominate when needed. I expect the same to be true next year at 32 and the following season at 33. However the fact that he is carrying teams to these deep play run and so much of his ability hinges on his explosiveness means the decline will come quickly.

As for the Cs I think DA will be able to tow the line of winning now and winning for tomorrow. The Cs currently have a 48 win team and if they can come out of this off-season with a front court at least on pare with Amir and Sully this should be a sustainable level of success. With the #3 pick, 17 Nets pick, and two potentially good picks in 18 the Cs can build a talented young core while still winning. A player like Dunn is ready for the NBA now but the reality is that the Cs rotation isn't ready for another PG. Barring a major trade the Cs are probably best suited adding longer term projects in hopes of them peaking in a season or two. Where Rozier and Mickey saw limited minutes this year a player like Dunn will want a role ASAP. Drafting Bender, Brown or Chriss would give BS time to develop without the pressure of adding a 20+ MPG to the rotation. 

[Banner18now!]

LeBron James is the king of the NBA and we are all witnesses.

What's more, he's shown no signs of slowing down.  In the regular season, yes, but not in the playoffs.  LeBron may only be top 5 in the league during the regular season, but he's the most dangerous player in the playoffs when jumpers stop falling and size combined with speed and strength still trumps all else. 

Not to mention his running mate, Kyrie, who has only begun to build a great resume as a clutch performer and is still very young.

Why go for "fireworks" this summer when all that's likely to get you is a date with LeBron in the 2nd or 3rd round for the next few years?

Unless you've got Durant, Curry, or Kawhi, why bother?


The Celts should take advantage of all of their draft capital this year and go young.

Take Kris Dunn at #3.  Shop Isaiah, Bradley, and Olynyk along with the other picks to try and get a second top 10 pick.

With the rest of the picks, target young players with great physical tools and high upside.  In particular, target guys who project to have substantial physical advantages over the average player at their position.  No more targeting undersized, underathletic players who are "a great value."

Names like Skal Labissiere, Deyonta Davis, Malachi Richardson, Wade Baldwin, Isaiah Cordinier, Chieck Diallo, Chinanu Onuaku, and so on.


Knock this draft out of the park and let's keep this thing rolling toward 2020.  Smart and Crowder can be the "veteran leaders."  If competing for a title is really the goal, aiming to compete when LeBron is in his twilight years is the only smart way to go.

Do you think you might be able to take your love affair with Lebron over to the Cleveland board?? As a die hard Celtics fan and on a Celtics board I would appreciate it.

[Vermont Green]

Age old debate.  If we really want to shoot for 2020, it seems you would take Bender over the older Dunn.  I believe that we have Crowder, Thomas, and Bradley as our current core all on good contracts.  I don't want to trade these guys for draft picks.  Whether you believe Danny is a good or bad drafter, drafting is risky and we already have a number of good draft picks.

I would be fine for trading almost anyone for an established or emerging young player who has proven it already in the NBA.  I would also be for trading for a star but I see that as less likely.  Short of that, I see no reason to look to trade any of these 3.  They aren't really taking up much cap space and I don't buy the theory that they might be blocking the development of younger players.  If we get to that point where we have someone better and younger, then you can look at trades but that is not the case right now.

[dreamgreen]

If Danny thinks Dunn is the best player than I'm fine with taking him (can't believe I just said that lol). We have more good picks coming from the Nets so I agree with building through the draft to an extent. He could draft Dunn and still go after Horford and Ryan Anderson, that way we still compete and set ourselves up for a trade. But not trading our good picks unless in obvious situations that make the team better for a long stretch.

If you draft Dunn you don't have to trade anyone right away. Let it play out, make people compete in practice and trade the lesser players.

[PhoSita]

We have three very good starters (Thomas, Bradley, and Crowder) who make only $21 million total. Shouldn't we take advantage of that plus $60 million in cap space if we need it plus three highly desirable draft picks over the next three years to strike now? The draft is a much more uncertain course than established NBA players. IMO the future is now.

Cosign entirely. We've been through the myth that Ainge is a good drafter ad infinitum. He isn't. The time is now to add quality veteran pieces to the core of this team, and take the next step into contention in the Eastern Conference.

That doesn't necessarily mean Kris Dunn isn't a part of that. He is clearly the BPA at 3. But I'd prefer the pick be dealt for immediate help.

To what end, though?

Are you satisfied if the ceiling for such  a team is what the Raptors did this year?

[Bobshot]

I don't know if Ainge has a best player in this draft. I think his preference is to trade the pick, but if he doesn't he'll pick a kid with some D potential. Brown or Bender or Dunn. If he picks Dunn, it will be the 2nd year in a row he has picked a PG. I think that's unlikely.

[BitterJim]

I don't know if Ainge has a best player in this draft. I think his preference is to trade the pick, but if he doesn't he'll pick a kid with some D potential. Brown or Bender or Dunn. If he picks Dunn, it will be the 2nd year in a row he has picked a PG. I think that's unlikely.

It would be the third year in a row, actually (Smart in 2014 and Rozier in 2015).  Ainge doesn't care about position.  It may be a tie breaker, but if he thinks Dunn is the BPA he'll take him regardless of position

[PhoSita]

LeBron James is the king of the NBA and we are all witnesses.

What's more, he's shown no signs of slowing down.  In the regular season, yes, but not in the playoffs.  LeBron may only be top 5 in the league during the regular season, but he's the most dangerous player in the playoffs when jumpers stop falling and size combined with speed and strength still trumps all else. 

Not to mention his running mate, Kyrie, who has only begun to build a great resume as a clutch performer and is still very young.

Why go for "fireworks" this summer when all that's likely to get you is a date with LeBron in the 2nd or 3rd round for the next few years?

Unless you've got Durant, Curry, or Kawhi, why bother?


The Celts should take advantage of all of their draft capital this year and go young.

Take Kris Dunn at #3.  Shop Isaiah, Bradley, and Olynyk along with the other picks to try and get a second top 10 pick.

With the rest of the picks, target young players with great physical tools and high upside.  In particular, target guys who project to have substantial physical advantages over the average player at their position.  No more targeting undersized, underathletic players who are "a great value."

Names like Skal Labissiere, Deyonta Davis, Malachi Richardson, Wade Baldwin, Isaiah Cordinier, Chieck Diallo, Chinanu Onuaku, and so on.


Knock this draft out of the park and let's keep this thing rolling toward 2020.  Smart and Crowder can be the "veteran leaders."  If competing for a title is really the goal, aiming to compete when LeBron is in his twilight years is the only smart way to go.

Do you think you might be able to take your love affair with Lebron over to the Cleveland board?? As a die hard Celtics fan and on a Celtics board I would appreciate it.

Credit where it's due.

We just witnessed one of the most outstanding Finals performances in NBA history.

I really wanted the Warriors to win, but Bron earned a title and all of the praise that's coming to him.

[footey]

The league is about copying proto-types.  And copy those with the most recent success.

The 3 most dominant players in the finals were Lebron, Kyrie and Green.

Lebron type in draft:  Jaylen Brown, albeit a much poorer version, and that is no knock on JB, but he does not have the handle, or the passing ability of James. He is not quite as big either.

Edit: I forgot to mention Simmons, because he will not be available to us.

Kyrie Irving:  Don't think there is one in this draft.  I suppose Dunn would come the closest, since he is a scoring point guard.  Frankly, I think we already have our Kyrie prototype in Isaiah.  He is about as close as any other player in the NBA who can pretty much match what Irving does inside.

Green:  Aspects of Bender (multi-positional defense, 3 point shooting prowess) and Brown (body type, strength).  Who are some other players who fit this prototype?

[The One]

LeBron James is the king of the NBA and we are all witnesses.

What's more, he's shown no signs of slowing down.  In the regular season, yes, but not in the playoffs.  LeBron may only be top 5 in the league during the regular season, but he's the most dangerous player in the playoffs when jumpers stop falling and size combined with speed and strength still trumps all else. 

Not to mention his running mate, Kyrie, who has only begun to build a great resume as a clutch performer and is still very young.

Why go for "fireworks" this summer when all that's likely to get you is a date with LeBron in the 2nd or 3rd round for the next few years?

Unless you've got Durant, Curry, or Kawhi, why bother?


The Celts should take advantage of all of their draft capital this year and go young.

Take Kris Dunn at #3.  Shop Isaiah, Bradley, and Olynyk along with the other picks to try and get a second top 10 pick.

With the rest of the picks, target young players with great physical tools and high upside.  In particular, target guys who project to have substantial physical advantages over the average player at their position.  No more targeting undersized, underathletic players who are "a great value."

Names like Skal Labissiere, Deyonta Davis, Malachi Richardson, Wade Baldwin, Isaiah Cordinier, Chieck Diallo, Chinanu Onuaku, and so on.


Knock this draft out of the park and let's keep this thing rolling toward 2020.  Smart and Crowder can be the "veteran leaders."  If competing for a title is really the goal, aiming to compete when LeBron is in his twilight years is the only smart way to go.

The Spurs looked almost unbeatable this year, and they crumbled almost embarrassingly to the Thunder.

The Warriors looked like the best team in history based on their record, and they almost got knocked out by the Thunder.

Then the Cavs went on to beat the Warriors, after allowing themselves to fall into a 1-3 hole...then taking advantage of the Warriors as they crumbled *yet again*.   

All of this shows one thing clearly - no team in this league is unbeatable. Not one of them.  It's all the more reason why Boston should not give up. 

Everybody thought the Thunder had no hope against the Spurs and Warriors.  They slaughtered the Spurs and almost embarrassed the Warriors.  The Clippers were going strong until Blake and CP3 went down - something you never could have predicted.

At the end of the day, winning a championship is partly talent, partly luck.  Sometimes you win, sometimes the other team loses.  The OKC series proved that Golden State was vulnerable, Cleveland just learned from that series and took advantage of the vulnerability.  Next year somebody will do the same thing to the Cavs, and it may not be one of the teams anybody expects. 

Boston cannot beat Clevleand as currently assembled, in a 7 game series.  But we have a lot of assets this off-season, and it wouldn't take much int he way of additions for us to give them a really hard time.  Adding Butler and Dwight Howard (for argument's sake) would make us a matchup nightmare for Cleveland.  There are many options for us - I can guarantee you Danny and BS are not laying down and waving the white flag. Lebron doesn't have that much left in him at this rate.  He won't be able to play at this level for much longer.

This makes a lot of sense.  You just don't know how things can shake out sometimes.