I hope Ainge doesn't screw up our strength

[Ilikesports17]

Marcus Smart and jaylen brown were the 6th and 3rd pick respectively and are important cogs off our bench. So is Crowder and Bradley and they are signed to reasonable contracts. So is Isaiah and Horford.  There are only so many positions.  We may add another max guy but we have draft picks as well.  Just because some guy is starting on another team doesn't mean they are more important to us than the guys we have.

Havlicek was a bench player once too. jaylen brown could be that. 

I am way ahead of people or something. I think I'm just looking at our talent and how it all makes sense.  I hope Ainge doesn't screw that up and builds with these guys.

So basically your argument is twofold: dont sell low on guys like Smart Brown and Rozier and dont sacrifice cap space and future flexibility to acquire just any star because that could result in a roster that doesnt make sense or cut our talent ceiling off somewhere below the threshold required to win a title.

Am I reading that wrong

Nope that's about right although it obviously depends if something comes along.

Alright. Perhaps I did not understand your argument or worry because it seems quite obvious. I trust Danny Ainge too much to even understand your concern lol

[walker834]

Marcus Smart and jaylen brown were the 6th and 3rd pick respectively and are important cogs off our bench. So is Crowder and Bradley and they are signed to reasonable contracts. So is Isaiah and Horford.  There are only so many positions.  We may add another max guy but we have draft picks as well.  Just because some guy is starting on another team doesn't mean they are more important to us than the guys we have.

Havlicek was a bench player once too. jaylen brown could be that. 

I am way ahead of people or something. I think I'm just looking at our talent and how it all makes sense.  I hope Ainge doesn't screw that up and builds with these guys.

So basically your argument is twofold: dont sell low on guys like Smart Brown and Rozier and dont sacrifice cap space and future flexibility to acquire just any star because that could result in a roster that doesnt make sense or cut our talent ceiling off somewhere below the threshold required to win a title.

Am I reading that wrong

Nope that's about right although it obviously depends if something comes along.

Alright. Perhaps I did not understand your argument or worry because it seems quite obvious. I trust Danny Ainge too much to even understand your concern lol

It's alright.  I trust him too and I think this is what they are doing.  I hope so. That's just how I watch the games sometimes and try to put it all together.  I'm weird like that. lol.  I'm smart. Sort of.

[Bobshot]

Hopefully we don't end up regretting letting turner and sully walk.  Both made key contributions last season.

Our bench lost us a preseason game against Philly's d-league lineup.  Not a big deal, but not the most encouraging of signs. 

Hopefully Gerald Green and Olynyk help.

Sullinger could have a big year in Toronto. He's a better rebounder than Olynyk or Zeller. Turner  was part of their chemistry. Brown will have to show something to make up for his loss.

[crimson_stallion]

Lebron has always been heralded as that but  Curry, Klay and Draymond were not that until they became that. I really liked those guys but a lot of people didnt even know who Draymond was.

Even Kobe wasn't a top draft pick. Garnett was top 5. 

jaylen brown was picked at 3.  Paul George wasn't a top draft pick either.  Neither was Dirk. Michael jordan wasn't the consensus #1 pick.  Neither was Bill Russell.  Or Bird for that matter.

Kawii Leonard wasn't a top pick either. Neither was Pierce.

Dwade nope. Sure there are the Shaqs and Chamberlains and Magic johnsons.

Why can't jaylen be that though?  Isaiah Thomas.  HOrford.  These are big time players.

I think there is one phenomenon that so many people overlook, and that is the good ol' "championship boost" phenomenon.

When the Spurs beat Lebron's start studded Heat in the finals a few years back, if you looked at that team prior to that finals series there wasn't a single guy on that roster who you would single out as an elite player.

* Tony Parker, even at his absolute peak, was never an elite star.  He was very good, but not elite. 

* Duncan was once elite, but by that time was very much a shadow of his former self. 

* Ginobili was your regular Jamal Crawford / Jason Terry type - a volume scorer who could fill it up off the bench, but little more then that.  He was also very much in decline at that stage. 

* Kawhi Leonard was still more or less a nobody, and was far from a household name at the time.  He was seen as a scrappy defender who could also get buckets - a bit of an Ariza / Iguodala type. 

It wasn't until Kawhi won Finals MVP that people started talking about him as an elite player, and if the Spurs lost that series it's entirely possible that he still might not have earned that status.

My point here is that legendary players win championships, but championships also create legends.  Right now we look at this Celtics team as one without any elite players. 

If we were to (hypothetically speaking) win a title this year, then you it would completely change how people view our players. 

* Isaiah Thomas would immediately get elevated to superstar status (and talked about as the second coming of Allen Iverson)

*  Al Horford would be elevated to superstar level and would be talked about as the spiritual successor to Tim Duncan.

* Crowder would probably be seen as a Draymond Green type of player - an invaluable "do it all" overachiever critical to team success

If this team won a title, suddenly we would go from having no elite players to having 2 of 3 elite players.