Noel

[PaulAllen]

just another article with Noel being pursued by DA..

http://www.chatsports.com/nba/a/latest-nba-rumors-nba-draft-trades-celtics-targeting-nerlens-noel-and-ben-mclemore-trade-29550

I would love to pick him up at a good price... 16th pick and Smart would work for me

[Ed Hollison]

Is anyone else bothered by the fact that Noel is a (restricted) free agent after this upcoming season?

[jambr380]

Is anyone else bothered by the fact that Noel is a (restricted) free agent after this upcoming season?

I am very bothered by it. It's not like we are talking Anthony Davis or Cousins here, Noel is a nice defensive player, but I will be very upset if we trade the #3 for him.

DA, just sign Biyombo - Noel will be making at least as much next year anyway!

[Fireworks_Boom!]

I am very concerned by his free agency status forthcoming. I am also very concerned that we make this move as it is currently being represented (pick 3 for either).

I would much rather have a rookie cost controlled who we can develop.

I wouldn't trade Smart for either of them straight up, let alone including the 16 pick. Plus Philly's motivation is only to get pick 3 to land them Kris Dunn.

Just doesn't seem like a fit. It screams Ainge trying to establish a market value of the 3 pick as part of a bigger target. I still see Jimmy Butler being this target.

The rumored Avery Bradley/Pick 3 deal for Gordon Hayward is also a smokescreen. No way we trade those pieces for a guy who is a free agent next year and who will likely be drawn to Stevens anyway (remember he is only in Utah still because they matched his offersheet by the Pelicans who Hayward signed with rather quickly when given the oppty).

Danny is aiming higher in my opinion.

[BornReady]

Is anyone else bothered by the fact that Noel is a (restricted) free agent after this upcoming season?

I am very bothered by it. It's not like we are talking Anthony Davis or Cousins here, Noel is a nice defensive player, but I will be very upset if we trade the #3 for him.

DA, just sign Biyombo - Noel will be making at least as much next year anyway!

I'm not bothered much by trading 3rd pick but we should get more assets in return like the lakers pick

[Surferdad]

I am very concerned by his free agency status forthcoming. I am also very concerned that we make this move as it is currently being represented (pick 3 for either).

I would much rather have a rookie cost controlled who we can develop.

I wouldn't trade Smart for either of them straight up, let alone including the 16 pick. Plus Philly's motivation is only to get pick 3 to land them Kris Dunn.

Just doesn't seem like a fit. It screams Ainge trying to establish a market value of the 3 pick as part of a bigger target. I still see Jimmy Butler being this target.

The rumored Avery Bradley/Pick 3 deal for Gordon Hayward is also a smokescreen. No way we trade those pieces for a guy who is a free agent next year and who will likely be drawn to Stevens anyway (remember he is only in Utah still because they matched his offersheet by the Pelicans who Hayward signed with rather quickly when given the oppty).

Danny is aiming higher in my opinion.

Yup I agree.  Hayward and Okafor are 'good' players, not 'special' players.  Even Butler may not be high enough.

I think I'm settling on picking Dunn at #3, and then make the necessary trades to rebalance the roster.

[Big333223]

This part of the year is so crazy. We have this report that the Celtics are "targeting" Noel and Marc Stein has a report out that the 76ers are shopping both Noel and Okafor but the Celtics aren't willing to pay the price.

Whatever happens, I like Noel but if they send out the #3 the C's need more than just him in return. Especially given the situation the 76ers are in, where they need to trade those guys to make room for Simmons and Saric.

[ssspence]

Is anyone else bothered by the fact that Noel is a (restricted) free agent after this upcoming season?

No. I'd be bothered if he were a UFA. The fear of paying players on this blog gets a little silly sometimes.

[TheSundanceKid]

Is anyone else bothered by the fact that Noel is a (restricted) free agent after this upcoming season?

No. I'd be bothered if he were a UFA. The fear of paying players on this blog gets a little silly sometimes.

Sometimes maybe but signing Noel to that max which he will get means less cap space to sign a top tier FA. Noel isn't turning into a prime Dwight Howard. To truly compete we need to get a Durant or a Paul George.

As it stands over the next few years it might be the better play to stall and wait for 2018 FA when a lot of teams will be capped out and the few left with cap space can feast. In the meantime get the guys signed past 2017/18. To me this is a tick in the box for either keeping the pick or trading for Butler/Marc Gasol

[ssspence]

Is anyone else bothered by the fact that Noel is a (restricted) free agent after this upcoming season?

No. I'd be bothered if he were a UFA. The fear of paying players on this blog gets a little silly sometimes.

Sometimes maybe but signing Noel to that max which he will get means less cap space to sign a top tier FA. Noel isn't turning into a prime Dwight Howard. To truly compete we need to get a Durant or a Paul George.

As it stands over the next few years it might be the better play to stall and wait for 2018 FA when a lot of teams will be capped out and the few left with cap space can feast. In the meantime get the guys signed past 2017/18. To me this is a tick in the box for either keeping the pick or trading for Butler/Marc Gasol

Cs cap is in fantastic shape moving forward. You seriously want to avoid getting good players on the prayer A superstar is going to sign here... when one never has? What if Noel blossoms on his next team, which I really believe he will? He won't be an attraction to said free agent superstar?

[TheSundanceKid]

Is anyone else bothered by the fact that Noel is a (restricted) free agent after this upcoming season?

No. I'd be bothered if he were a UFA. The fear of paying players on this blog gets a little silly sometimes.

Sometimes maybe but signing Noel to that max which he will get means less cap space to sign a top tier FA. Noel isn't turning into a prime Dwight Howard. To truly compete we need to get a Durant or a Paul George.

As it stands over the next few years it might be the better play to stall and wait for 2018 FA when a lot of teams will be capped out and the few left with cap space can feast. In the meantime get the guys signed past 2017/18. To me this is a tick in the box for either keeping the pick or trading for Butler/Marc Gasol

Cs cap is in fantastic shape moving forward. You seriously want to avoid getting good players on the prayer A superstar is going to sign here... when one never has? What if Noel blossoms on his next team, which I really believe he will? He won't be an attraction to said free agent superstar?

I can see the argument for Noel. He's a good player and Stevens would utilise him well I'm sure. When compared to some of the proposals here like signing Horford to a 4 year max it seems very attractive. However when compared to getting Okafor cost controlled for 2 extra years and with as much upside or just selecting Bender and betting on his upside it seems less prudent.

Lets say you take Noel and pay him the max next summer. Pehaps we also trade Crowder, Smart and future picks for Butler.

After the summer of 2017 you will have $44m committed to Noel and Butler with IT and Bradley about to become FAs and likely looking for $20m+ each. Adding in whatever KO costs and the rookie scale guys. You end up pretty close to the cap and completely unable to add an impact player unless through trade. Even if you take Butler out you have $7m for Crowder and impending RFA with Smart.

My general point is it is actually a good strategy to be stingy the next few years, irrelevant of who the player is. In 2 years time you will be thankful for it

[Big333223]

The other argument for Noel is that he looks like he'll be a modern center. He can't shoot but what you really need from a modern center is the ability to protect the rim and switch onto wings in the perimeter. Noel has the athleticism to do that and there aren't that many of those guys out there.

He's limited offensively, but he can finish around the rim and is, again, a terrific athlete, meaning he could easily be for any team what Tyson Chandler was for the Mavs in '11 as a rim runner that sucks defenses in toward the rim.

I don't know that he's worth the #3 alone but he's definitely the type of player I'd like to see come to Boston.

[guava_wrench]

Is anyone else bothered by the fact that Noel is a (restricted) free agent after this upcoming season?

No. I'd be bothered if he were a UFA. The fear of paying players on this blog gets a little silly sometimes.

Sometimes maybe but signing Noel to that max which he will get means less cap space to sign a top tier FA. Noel isn't turning into a prime Dwight Howard. To truly compete we need to get a Durant or a Paul George.

As it stands over the next few years it might be the better play to stall and wait for 2018 FA when a lot of teams will be capped out and the few left with cap space can feast. In the meantime get the guys signed past 2017/18. To me this is a tick in the box for either keeping the pick or trading for Butler/Marc Gasol

Cs cap is in fantastic shape moving forward. You seriously want to avoid getting good players on the prayer A superstar is going to sign here... when one never has? What if Noel blossoms on his next team, which I really believe he will? He won't be an attraction to said free agent superstar?

I can see the argument for Noel. He's a good player and Stevens would utilise him well I'm sure. When compared to some of the proposals here like signing Horford to a 4 year max it seems very attractive. However when compared to getting Okafor cost controlled for 2 extra years and with as much upside or just selecting Bender and betting on his upside it seems less prudent.

Lets say you take Noel and pay him the max next summer. Pehaps we also trade Crowder, Smart and future picks for Butler.

After the summer of 2017 you will have $44m committed to Noel and Butler with IT and Bradley about to become FAs and likely looking for $20m+ each. Adding in whatever KO costs and the rookie scale guys. You end up pretty close to the cap and completely unable to add an impact player unless through trade. Even if you take Butler out you have $7m for Crowder and impending RFA with Smart.

My general point is it is actually a good strategy to be stingy the next few years, irrelevant of who the player is. In 2 years time you will be thankful for it

So don't spend the money on guys with higher upside so that you can hold on to guys that led you to two non-competitive first round eliminations?

[TheSundanceKid]

Is anyone else bothered by the fact that Noel is a (restricted) free agent after this upcoming season?

No. I'd be bothered if he were a UFA. The fear of paying players on this blog gets a little silly sometimes.

Sometimes maybe but signing Noel to that max which he will get means less cap space to sign a top tier FA. Noel isn't turning into a prime Dwight Howard. To truly compete we need to get a Durant or a Paul George.

As it stands over the next few years it might be the better play to stall and wait for 2018 FA when a lot of teams will be capped out and the few left with cap space can feast. In the meantime get the guys signed past 2017/18. To me this is a tick in the box for either keeping the pick or trading for Butler/Marc Gasol

Cs cap is in fantastic shape moving forward. You seriously want to avoid getting good players on the prayer A superstar is going to sign here... when one never has? What if Noel blossoms on his next team, which I really believe he will? He won't be an attraction to said free agent superstar?

I can see the argument for Noel. He's a good player and Stevens would utilise him well I'm sure. When compared to some of the proposals here like signing Horford to a 4 year max it seems very attractive. However when compared to getting Okafor cost controlled for 2 extra years and with as much upside or just selecting Bender and betting on his upside it seems less prudent.

Lets say you take Noel and pay him the max next summer. Pehaps we also trade Crowder, Smart and future picks for Butler.

After the summer of 2017 you will have $44m committed to Noel and Butler with IT and Bradley about to become FAs and likely looking for $20m+ each. Adding in whatever KO costs and the rookie scale guys. You end up pretty close to the cap and completely unable to add an impact player unless through trade. Even if you take Butler out you have $7m for Crowder and impending RFA with Smart.

My general point is it is actually a good strategy to be stingy the next few years, irrelevant of who the player is. In 2 years time you will be thankful for it

So don't spend the money on guys with higher upside so that you can hold on to guys that led you to two non-competitive first round eliminations?

That's not at all what I'm saying.. I'm saying beware capping yourself out in the next two years. I would happily trade players for someone like Butler or Marc Gasol who is locked up past this cap madness at a reasonable value. Just think in a years time Kent Bazemore and Jared Sullinger could well earn more than Butler and Horford and DeRozan could be paid more than Gasol. Teams will be paying these guys max money. In 2018 when the cap decreases slightly many teams will not have any cap space let alone significant cap space. Max free agents that year will have fewer options and actually look like they will be a more packed class. So being flexible that summer will be very valuable

[heyvik]

I am very concerned by his free agency status forthcoming. I am also very concerned that we make this move as it is currently being represented (pick 3 for either).

I would much rather have a rookie cost controlled who we can develop.

I wouldn't trade Smart for either of them straight up, let alone including the 16 pick. Plus Philly's motivation is only to get pick 3 to land them Kris Dunn.

Just doesn't seem like a fit. It screams Ainge trying to establish a market value of the 3 pick as part of a bigger target. I still see Jimmy Butler being this target.

The rumored Avery Bradley/Pick 3 deal for Gordon Hayward is also a smokescreen. No way we trade those pieces for a guy who is a free agent next year and who will likely be drawn to Stevens anyway (remember he is only in Utah still because they matched his offersheet by the Pelicans who Hayward signed with rather quickly when given the oppty).

Danny is aiming higher in my opinion.

I think you are right on this front. I think DA is looking at Hayward, IT, Noel and in 2017 adding Durant....I think that's pretty formidable. Knowing that he may have a top 3 pick in 2017 may be enough to try and entice OKC to trade Durant.