Who will be the Celtics' best player next year?

[dannyboy35]

IT then Kelly if and only if he's given the opportunity and not coming in with a minute left in the 1st qtr again.

[bowlingwarnie]

IT will again amaze with his incredible shot making
I really hope - Marcus can stay healthy and show the league what he is about
get that quick first step and get into the lane and create HAVOC!!!!!

[SHAQATTACK]

Next year will be Jaylen Brown from this present cast


Tho.....someone like Butler could be traded for and become the star of the team.

[Timdawgg]

Horford hands down. Thomas will put up some better numbers but Horford is a true 2 way player so he will be the best/most important factor for our team next year.

[RJ87]

Horford will be, but people won't realize it.

Yup. IT will probably score the most points, so people will naturally think he's the best player.

[PaulAllen]

Hey, why isn't Blake Griffin in this poll? 

because all those dumb rumors had no legitimacy what so ever..

[mmmmm]

This is one of those questions that begs:  Well, how are you measuring, "best player"?

Any answer is good, if the player you name represents what you think is best.  Yeah, that's a lame answer, I know.

For the sake of something to talk about, turning to dry, cold statistical measures like Win Shares, I expect it to be close between Isaiah and Horford.

Horford stayed healthy for 82 games and logged a fantastic 9.4 WS last season at a .172/48 rate.  That's his 3rd highest WS total of his career and a rate that is solidly above his career average, so I'm not expecting him to decline much, if any from those numbers.   At this point in his career, and given his natural fit into what the Celtics try to do, I would not be surprised if he did those same numbers again or even slightly above them.   I also note that Amir, in lesser playing time, also turned in great WS numbers and so I think that bodes really well for Al.   I'm going to predict he turns in 10.0 WS even at about a .182 rate, which would be close to but just under career highs.  Those numbers are not calculated, just educated guesses and of course assume he stays healthy and plays the whole season.

Isaiah also played 82 games and just squeaked out a higher 9.7 WS, at a .177/48 rate.  So you can see how close they both were in value to their teams last year.    Now, Isaiah is much younger than Al and it's not unreasonable to think he still have a fair bit more upside.  Especially if the lineup around him improves our spacing.  I'm going to guess that, again, assuming a full healthy season, he could post a 10.5 WS season at something like a .185 rate.  If anything that may be a bit conservative based on his trends, but I'm also expecting his USG to not be quite as high.

So I'm going to give the nod to Isaiah, but just barely.

And of course, all this means is that somebody we haven't thought of will have a break out year!

[tankcity!]

Jaylen Brown 

[Spilling Green Dye]

I picked Horford, but if you put Smart on this poll then you need to pick Bradley.  Avery Bradley is a FIRST team all defensive player (there's only 5 in the league!!) and he is a much better spot up shooter than Smart.  He's also less likely to get thrown out of a game, flop, or generally lose his temper.

[max215]

Okafor baby.
I'm hoping he comes back with a better jumper, better left hand, and more physically mature. Plus a year of experience under his belt and I am willing to bet he does very well defensively against other 5's, should be much better, even pretty good, at rotations in the paint/lane.

He would be lucky to be on such a good team so early in his career and we would not overplay him like Philly for long stretches.

Also our team has 1-4 3pt shooters that could be up there for best in the league in that regard. Okafor teamed up with our 3pt shooting and defense would help us pick teams apart...especially with his iq and passing ability. But we could stretch the floor while also keeping the defense honest, resulting in cuts and easy layups and assists.

IT
AB
Crowder
Hortford
Okafor

w/ Jaylen Brown KO Rozier and etc coming off the bench

Marcus Smart would probably be in the trade to get Okafor. It would be amazing if it only cost Marcus Smart.

There is not even one single team in the NBA on which Okafor would be the best player. Not one.

[PaulAllen]

How is no one saying Bradley?

Shooting % has gone way up four years straight..
3point % has gone up from last year and has taken more attempts..
Steals all time high, not to mention overall defense..

well if he doesn't get traded...

[loco_91]

I picked Horford, but if you put Smart on this poll then you need to pick Bradley.  Avery Bradley is a FIRST team all defensive player (there's only 5 in the league!!) and he is a much better spot up shooter than Smart.  He's also less likely to get thrown out of a game, flop, or generally lose his temper.

Bradley might have been better than Smart last year (possibly), but he has no chance of being our best player next year. At 25, he's past the age that players make huge improvements in their game, and last year he was not nearly as good as IT. He frankly didn't deserve to be 1st team all-defense, and offensively he's below-average at everything besides shooting. Still a nice player, but no star potential.

[loco_91]

This is one of those questions that begs:  Well, how are you measuring, "best player"?

Any answer is good, if the player you name represents what you think is best.  Yeah, that's a lame answer, I know.

For the sake of something to talk about, turning to dry, cold statistical measures like Win Shares, I expect it to be close between Isaiah and Horford.

Horford stayed healthy for 82 games and logged a fantastic 9.4 WS last season at a .172/48 rate.  That's his 3rd highest WS total of his career and a rate that is solidly above his career average, so I'm not expecting him to decline much, if any from those numbers.   At this point in his career, and given his natural fit into what the Celtics try to do, I would not be surprised if he did those same numbers again or even slightly above them.   I also note that Amir, in lesser playing time, also turned in great WS numbers and so I think that bodes really well for Al.   I'm going to predict he turns in 10.0 WS even at about a .182 rate, which would be close to but just under career highs.  Those numbers are not calculated, just educated guesses and of course assume he stays healthy and plays the whole season.

Isaiah also played 82 games and just squeaked out a higher 9.7 WS, at a .177/48 rate.  So you can see how close they both were in value to their teams last year.    Now, Isaiah is much younger than Al and it's not unreasonable to think he still have a fair bit more upside.  Especially if the lineup around him improves our spacing.  I'm going to guess that, again, assuming a full healthy season, he could post a 10.5 WS season at something like a .185 rate.  If anything that may be a bit conservative based on his trends, but I'm also expecting his USG to not be quite as high.

So I'm going to give the nod to Isaiah, but just barely.

And of course, all this means is that somebody we haven't thought of will have a break out year!

Agree "best player" is a slippery term. Winshares seems like a reasonable approximation. I do expect Horford to regress a bit to his career averages, but it's hard to predict what the impact will be of playing in Brad's system.

[spikelovetheCelts]

I picked Horford, but if you put Smart on this poll then you need to pick Bradley.  Avery Bradley is a FIRST team all defensive player (there's only 5 in the league!!) and he is a much better spot up shooter than Smart.  He's also less likely to get thrown out of a game, flop, or generally lose his temper.

Bradley might have been better than Smart last year (possibly), but he has no chance of being our best player next year. At 25, he's past the age that players make huge improvements in their game, and last year he was not nearly as good as IT. He frankly didn't deserve to be 1st team all-defense, and offensively he's below-average at everything besides shooting. Still a nice player, but no star potential.

Plenty of players became better after 25. Lenoard and Teague are two perfect examples. I think AB will be our best 2 way player.

[CFAN38]

I voted for Horford but I expect alot of parity on this roster. 

Horford will be the best 2 way big man

AB, Crowder and now Smart (I expect improvement) will all be at a similar level as players

IT will be the best offensive player

To me these 5 will all have a similar on court value.