Poll: Who should start at the 4 if no Durant or trades?

[jpotter33]

I was just thinking about this in the shower. If we assume that A) we don't get Durant, B) we keep Amir and JJ, C) we don't make any other trades for a starting-caliber 4, and D) IT, Bradley, Crowder, and Horford are set at the positions of PG, SG, SF, and C, respectively, then who starts for us at the 4 spot?

Cases for each:

Amir - By having Amir and Horford down low added to our perimeter defense, we are most likely a top-3 defense in this league. Further, Amir is an excellent rebounder, and he'd greatly help with our rebounding alongside Horford.

KO - While not having the defensive prowess of Amir, KO's shooting would give us an almost unprecedented amount of spacing on the floor. Think about it - every single one of our starters would be reliable three point shooters, and the amount of spacing that would give to IT would be absolutely insane. You could legitimately just stick the bigs in the corners and the wings on the wings and let IT go to work penetrating and kicking. You'd also have an absurd amount of passing and playmaking from your big positions between KO and Horford.

JJ - Jerebko offers the middle-ground option here. While not quite the defensive presence of Amir or the offensive presence of KO, JJ offers something neither of them really bring - versatility. Not only can he switch off and defend most other positions, he's also an excellent corner three point shooter that brings size and athleticism to the unit. He also has great length and is a good rebounder. He'd also allow us to have the deadly pairing of KO/Amir coming off the bench in the second unit.

So we definitely have very good options even just with this roster, guys.

Call me crazy, but I think I want JJ at the 4 for us. He seems to be the perfect "all around" type for that position that is versatile defensively but also provides the necessary spacing for IT to go to work penetrating.

[Who]

Amir

[jpotter33]

If you add Durant without another trade, this question gets even more interesting by adding Crowder in the mix. Do we essentially go small with Crowder and Durant at the 3 and 4 or 4 and 3, respectively, or do we stay a bit bigger there by having Amir at the 4 (defense), KO at the 4 (offense), or JJ at the 4 (versatility)?

[tyrone biggums]

Horford and get a rim protector

[jpotter33]

Amir

I worry about Amir's mobility out on the perimeter with switches, though. At times he looks like a grandpa out there moving around all gingerly.

I think you definitely go defense if we do get Durant, though whether that means Amir, JJ, or Crowder is a whole other question.

[wdleehi]

KO because he is the most likely long term big man out of the three.   Find out if the two work together or if another long-term solution is needed.

[alldaboston]

Horford at 4
Amir at 5

[viulo]

If you add Durant without another trade, this question gets even more interesting by adding Crowder in the mix. Do we essentially go small with Crowder and Durant at the 3 and 4 or 4 and 3, respectively, or do we stay a bit bigger there by having Amir at the 4 (defense), KO at the 4 (offense), or JJ at the 4 (versatility)?

For us to add Durant, we'll have to let go of Amir and JJ before their contracts are guaranteed to create the cap space.
Unless we manage to offload Young and Hunter, for instance. That way, it might be possible to keep JJ - I haven't done the math, I'm not sure how much Durant's max will be.

[Future Celtics Owner]

If durant signs with us he would probably play the 4 if it is good for the team. He said he will play the 4 when he gets older, but he's not too old. Or we make some trades.

Ideally I'd like to see Hortford at the 4 and we pick up Okafor. Philly has 2 picks in 2017 that could be pretty good:LAL(top3 protected) and MIA unprotected. I just don't think Smart for Okafor is gonna cut it......but that would be unbelievable.

Or we could send Amir to MIL and get John Henson. Like Biz but longer and better, Henson just needs to be utilized correctly. He could put up Hassan Whiteside type blocks and similiar stats, but on a 4 year 11m per deal.

[SCeltic34]

Amir for defensive purposes.

I like the scoring punch and offensive versatility that KO can provide off the bench.  JJ is a bench player.

[jpotter33]

If you add Durant without another trade, this question gets even more interesting by adding Crowder in the mix. Do we essentially go small with Crowder and Durant at the 3 and 4 or 4 and 3, respectively, or do we stay a bit bigger there by having Amir at the 4 (defense), KO at the 4 (offense), or JJ at the 4 (versatility)?

For us to add Durant, we'll have to let go of Amir and JJ before their contracts are guaranteed to create the cap space.
Unless we manage to offload Young and Hunter, for instance. That way, it might be possible to keep JJ - I haven't done the math, I'm not sure how much Durant's max will be.

Yeah, that's a brain fart on my part. We'd definitely lose Amir, though there definitely could be a way to keep JJ, which I think we'd look into trying to do.

[jpotter33]

Amir for defensive purposes.

I like the scoring punch and offensive versatility that KO can provide off the bench.  JJ is a bench player.

But JJ seems to be the perfect "Andre Roberson," "Thabo Sefalosha," "JR Smith," or "Tristan Thompson" type that really isn't starter material, but due to the needs of the team and the specific skills that they do well, such as defense, shooting, or rebounding, they start.

[JSD]

 Start Crowder at the four and play the kid

[Big333223]

Amir. He was very reliable last year when healthy and I think would be the perfect cleanup guy for that starting lineup. Plus, like the OP says, that starting unit can use some rebounding help.

If the C's land Durant, Crowder is the 4. I don't care about rebounding because that team is going to create 30 turnovers per game.

[GreenShooter]

Horford at 4
Amir at 5

Yup, that's where I'm at. I'd like to keep Al at the 4 as much as possible. Don't need for him to battle  with the Drummonds', Howards' of the world on a consistent basis.