What fans are actually saying when they express disappointment this offseason

[Dino Pitino]

Your 2014 Boston Celtics!



Fans can whine about the particulars of a given deal, but the fact is that Ainge and management have knocked it out of the park during this insta-rebuild.  The Celtics are in the most enviable position of any team in the league, IMO, and that includes GSW.

We get to watch Hayward, Tatum, Horford and Brown for at least the next 3 years -- Tatum for the better part of a decade and he looks like a shoe-in All-star.  We have 7 first round picks over the next 3 years.  We have a roster full of selfless, high-character guys.  We have a top-3 coach who is committed long-term.  We have zero bad contracts and a couple of the best contracts in the entire league.  A+++ job by Ainge.  Fans that are disappointed are just filling the empty idea space.

Tommy Point!

[kmart12]

Your 2014 Boston Celtics!



Fans can whine about the particulars of a given deal, but the fact is that Ainge and management have knocked it out of the park during this insta-rebuild.  The Celtics are in the most enviable position of any team in the league, IMO, and that includes GSW.

We get to watch Hayward, Tatum, Horford and Brown for at least the next 3 years -- Tatum for the better part of a decade and he looks like a shoe-in All-star.  We have 7 first round picks over the next 3 years.  We have a roster full of selfless, high-character guys.  We have a top-3 coach who is committed long-term.  We have zero bad contracts and a couple of the best contracts in the entire league.  A+++ job by Ainge.  Fans that are disappointed are just filling the empty idea space.

Admittedly, that's a horrible roster and there's not much future in there. I guess when taking that into perspective, the acquisition of Tatum and Brown is nice in terms of adding some decent prospects to our core, but I don't think that Hayward and Horford are anything to be excited about if your intention for this team is to truly rebuild. With that much talent we'll be late first rounders for the duration of that run and Danny doesn't draft well enough to hit homers that deep in the draft. Also, I imagine your excitement is based on the assumption that Brown and Tatum are all-stars with superstar upside, which I would be careful about.

[nickagneta]

Fans can see thing in every way possible. There is a set of fans on this site that want nothing more than to rebuild from the ground up and can't see that Ainge has already done trades that give us the opportunity to draft high in the draft.

There is another set of fans that will be critical of Ainge's moves no matter the move. Of course, the opposite is also true as some feel that In Danny We Trust and won't criticize anything.

And of course there are those that will criticize and compliment and take things as they come.

I just don't think anyone can read anything into what other people feel over what Danny has done this offseason. To each their own and for different reasons.

[Moranis]

I've been saying for a while that Boston needs to picks a direction and go with it.  That direction is either trying to build a contender and winning now or trying to build a contender for the future.  I just don't see this current path as sustainable and believe it will ultimately end up sabotaging whatever direction Boston ultimately chooses.  Boston is hoarding assets that could be used to build a real contender (George, Butler, Cousins, etc.).  At the same time, if the goal is to win a title around Brown and now Tatum and the future picks, then you hurt that goal by not allowing those players to get as many minutes as they can handle and by not acquiring future assets for the veterans.  We are already starting to see this come to fruition in trade of Bradley.  Had Bradley been moved earlier, he likely would have gotten more than Morris back in return (the trade also cost Boston a 2nd round pick).  Those problems will only multiply as more players contracts expire and more young players are added to the team.  The current salary structure just isn't sustainable for a team that isn't a realistic contender. 

[PickNRoll]

Admittedly, that's a horrible roster and there's not much future in there. I guess when taking that into perspective, the acquisition of Tatum and Brown is nice in terms of adding some decent prospects to our core, but I don't think that Hayward and Horford are anything to be excited about if your intention for this team is to truly rebuild. With that much talent we'll be late first rounders for the duration of that run and Danny doesn't draft well enough to hit homers that deep in the draft. Also, I imagine your excitement is based on the assumption that Brown and Tatum are all-stars with superstar upside, which I would be careful about.

We won the Eastern Conference and added Hayward.  The rebuild is over.  Al Horford just needs to be Al Horford for 3 more years.

I do think Tatum is a lock to be a star in the league.  I think Brown is a nice rotation player.  I also think Danny has done a fine job drafting, but that's been debated ad nauseam.  Nobody consistently hits home runs deep in the draft.  Rondo wasn't too bad at 23.  We're also not limited to late first rounders because we have BKN, Lakers/Sixers,Clippers, Grizzlies picks.  Ainge can parlay those to future years as needed.

[PickNRoll]

I've been saying for a while that Boston needs to picks a direction and go with it.  That direction is either trying to build a contender and winning now or trying to build a contender for the future.  I just don't see this current path as sustainable and believe it will ultimately end up sabotaging whatever direction Boston ultimately chooses.  Boston is hoarding assets that could be used to build a real contender (George, Butler, Cousins, etc.).  At the same time, if the goal is to win a title around Brown and now Tatum and the future picks, then you hurt that goal by not allowing those players to get as many minutes as they can handle and by not acquiring future assets for the veterans.  We are already starting to see this come to fruition in trade of Bradley.  Had Bradley been moved earlier, he likely would have gotten more than Morris back in return (the trade also cost Boston a 2nd round pick).  Those problems will only multiply as more players contracts expire and more young players are added to the team.  The current salary structure just isn't sustainable for a team that isn't a realistic contender.

We're a contender right now if IT is healthy.

[kmart12]

Admittedly, that's a horrible roster and there's not much future in there. I guess when taking that into perspective, the acquisition of Tatum and Brown is nice in terms of adding some decent prospects to our core, but I don't think that Hayward and Horford are anything to be excited about if your intention for this team is to truly rebuild. With that much talent we'll be late first rounders for the duration of that run and Danny doesn't draft well enough to hit homers that deep in the draft. Also, I imagine your excitement is based on the assumption that Brown and Tatum are all-stars with superstar upside, which I would be careful about.

We won the Eastern Conference and added Hayward.  The rebuild is over.  Al Horford just needs to be Al Horford for 3 more years.

I do think Tatum is a lock to be a star in the league.  I think Brown is a nice rotation player.  I also think Danny has done a fine job drafting, but that's been debated ad nauseam.  Nobody consistently hits home runs deep in the draft.  Rondo wasn't too bad at 23.  We're also not limited to late first rounders because we have BKN, Lakers/Sixers,Clippers, Grizzlies picks.  Ainge can parlay those to future years as needed.

Okay, so if your idea of success is making the ECF each year then I am with you 100%. I guess my idea of success is to potentially win a championship and there is nothing on our roster currently that suggests that we're realistically building toward that in the immediate or distance future considering we have a team of "second bananas" (as it was put nicely earlier in this thread) and glaring weaknesses.

Horford for the next three years does what for us? Last year he solidified himself as an above average starter.

And yes, if we continue to win as many games as we do we will lock ourselves into drafting from the deep first round because our "asset" picks from other teams will eventually run out. I was speaking specifically about our own picks.

[Moranis]

I've been saying for a while that Boston needs to picks a direction and go with it.  That direction is either trying to build a contender and winning now or trying to build a contender for the future.  I just don't see this current path as sustainable and believe it will ultimately end up sabotaging whatever direction Boston ultimately chooses.  Boston is hoarding assets that could be used to build a real contender (George, Butler, Cousins, etc.).  At the same time, if the goal is to win a title around Brown and now Tatum and the future picks, then you hurt that goal by not allowing those players to get as many minutes as they can handle and by not acquiring future assets for the veterans.  We are already starting to see this come to fruition in trade of Bradley.  Had Bradley been moved earlier, he likely would have gotten more than Morris back in return (the trade also cost Boston a 2nd round pick).  Those problems will only multiply as more players contracts expire and more young players are added to the team.  The current salary structure just isn't sustainable for a team that isn't a realistic contender.

We're a contender right now if IT is healthy.

No we are not.  Boston would likely finish 5th in the West and no matter what the regular season records are, will be a fairly heavy underdog to a healthy Cavs team in the East. 

[PickNRoll]

I've been saying for a while that Boston needs to picks a direction and go with it.  That direction is either trying to build a contender and winning now or trying to build a contender for the future.  I just don't see this current path as sustainable and believe it will ultimately end up sabotaging whatever direction Boston ultimately chooses.  Boston is hoarding assets that could be used to build a real contender (George, Butler, Cousins, etc.).  At the same time, if the goal is to win a title around Brown and now Tatum and the future picks, then you hurt that goal by not allowing those players to get as many minutes as they can handle and by not acquiring future assets for the veterans.  We are already starting to see this come to fruition in trade of Bradley.  Had Bradley been moved earlier, he likely would have gotten more than Morris back in return (the trade also cost Boston a 2nd round pick).  Those problems will only multiply as more players contracts expire and more young players are added to the team.  The current salary structure just isn't sustainable for a team that isn't a realistic contender.

We're a contender right now if IT is healthy.

No we are not.  Boston would likely finish 5th in the West and no matter what the regular season records are, will be a fairly heavy underdog to a healthy Cavs team in the East.

We don't have to beat 5 teams in the West.  We have to beat 1.

[PickNRoll]

Admittedly, that's a horrible roster and there's not much future in there. I guess when taking that into perspective, the acquisition of Tatum and Brown is nice in terms of adding some decent prospects to our core, but I don't think that Hayward and Horford are anything to be excited about if your intention for this team is to truly rebuild. With that much talent we'll be late first rounders for the duration of that run and Danny doesn't draft well enough to hit homers that deep in the draft. Also, I imagine your excitement is based on the assumption that Brown and Tatum are all-stars with superstar upside, which I would be careful about.

We won the Eastern Conference and added Hayward.  The rebuild is over.  Al Horford just needs to be Al Horford for 3 more years.

I do think Tatum is a lock to be a star in the league.  I think Brown is a nice rotation player.  I also think Danny has done a fine job drafting, but that's been debated ad nauseam.  Nobody consistently hits home runs deep in the draft.  Rondo wasn't too bad at 23.  We're also not limited to late first rounders because we have BKN, Lakers/Sixers,Clippers, Grizzlies picks.  Ainge can parlay those to future years as needed.

Okay, so if your idea of success is making the ECF each year then I am with you 100%. I guess my idea of success is to potentially win a championship and there is nothing on our roster currently that suggests that we're realistically building toward that in the immediate or distance future considering we have a team of "second bananas" (as it was put nicely earlier in this thread) and glaring weaknesses.

Horford for the next three years does what for us? Last year he solidified himself as an above average starter.

And yes, if we continue to win as many games as we do we will lock ourselves into drafting from the deep first round because our "asset" picks from other teams will eventually run out. I was speaking specifically about our own picks.

I don't know what to tell you.  We have an All-NBA PG.  An All-star 22ppg SF.  Our center was arguably the best at his position on any team during the playoffs last year.  We just drafted the best player in college basketball.  We won 53 games and the Eastern conference last year.  Nothing suggests to you that we're trying to win a title??  I don't think I'll convince you.

[Moranis]

I've been saying for a while that Boston needs to picks a direction and go with it.  That direction is either trying to build a contender and winning now or trying to build a contender for the future.  I just don't see this current path as sustainable and believe it will ultimately end up sabotaging whatever direction Boston ultimately chooses.  Boston is hoarding assets that could be used to build a real contender (George, Butler, Cousins, etc.).  At the same time, if the goal is to win a title around Brown and now Tatum and the future picks, then you hurt that goal by not allowing those players to get as many minutes as they can handle and by not acquiring future assets for the veterans.  We are already starting to see this come to fruition in trade of Bradley.  Had Bradley been moved earlier, he likely would have gotten more than Morris back in return (the trade also cost Boston a 2nd round pick).  Those problems will only multiply as more players contracts expire and more young players are added to the team.  The current salary structure just isn't sustainable for a team that isn't a realistic contender.

We're a contender right now if IT is healthy.

No we are not.  Boston would likely finish 5th in the West and no matter what the regular season records are, will be a fairly heavy underdog to a healthy Cavs team in the East.

We don't have to beat 5 teams in the West.  We have to beat 1.

Boston won't beat a healthy Cavs and if by chance James is hurt and Boston makes it through, Boston will not beat whatever team is in the West.

A team that would be a very significant underdog in two separate playoff series is not a contender.  It is cute that everyone on here believes Boston is a contender, but we aren't.  Even the ownership group recognized this, when they said Boston was two players away (before Hayward).  Last time I checked, Hayward was not 2 players. 

[mctyson]

When people say Hayward isn't worth a max deal, or that we should have gotten both him and George, or that we should have drafted Fultz, or wonder why we didn't keep Bradley, what they're really saying is that they don't see our present core as being good enough to win a title.

But here is where the problem lies, in your first statement.  How many fan bases know for a fact that there team is good enough to win a title before they play together?  O

Yes it is true the Celtics do not have a player in the Lebron/Duncan/Kobe/Shaq/Jordan class that makes you an automatic Finals contender.  They do not have an top-20 player of all time.  There is one team in the league that does, maybe 2.  Those are the teams that you know are good enough to win a title...largely because they already have done so.

I mean, either we are watching the NBA every year because we like basketball and hope to see a breakthrough with a particular team, or we should just move to 2v2 or 3v3 games, halfcourt, with the 20 best players split between teams.

[mctyson]

I've been saying for a while that Boston needs to picks a direction and go with it.  That direction is either trying to build a contender and winning now or trying to build a contender for the future.  I just don't see this current path as sustainable and believe it will ultimately end up sabotaging whatever direction Boston ultimately chooses.  Boston is hoarding assets that could be used to build a real contender (George, Butler, Cousins, etc.).  At the same time, if the goal is to win a title around Brown and now Tatum and the future picks, then you hurt that goal by not allowing those players to get as many minutes as they can handle and by not acquiring future assets for the veterans.  We are already starting to see this come to fruition in trade of Bradley.  Had Bradley been moved earlier, he likely would have gotten more than Morris back in return (the trade also cost Boston a 2nd round pick).  Those problems will only multiply as more players contracts expire and more young players are added to the team.  The current salary structure just isn't sustainable for a team that isn't a realistic contender.

We're a contender right now if IT is healthy.

No we are not.  Boston would likely finish 5th in the West and no matter what the regular season records are, will be a fairly heavy underdog to a healthy Cavs team in the East.

Why does Vegas rate them 3/4th overall to win it all?

[PickNRoll]

I've been saying for a while that Boston needs to picks a direction and go with it.  That direction is either trying to build a contender and winning now or trying to build a contender for the future.  I just don't see this current path as sustainable and believe it will ultimately end up sabotaging whatever direction Boston ultimately chooses.  Boston is hoarding assets that could be used to build a real contender (George, Butler, Cousins, etc.).  At the same time, if the goal is to win a title around Brown and now Tatum and the future picks, then you hurt that goal by not allowing those players to get as many minutes as they can handle and by not acquiring future assets for the veterans.  We are already starting to see this come to fruition in trade of Bradley.  Had Bradley been moved earlier, he likely would have gotten more than Morris back in return (the trade also cost Boston a 2nd round pick).  Those problems will only multiply as more players contracts expire and more young players are added to the team.  The current salary structure just isn't sustainable for a team that isn't a realistic contender.

We're a contender right now if IT is healthy.

No we are not.  Boston would likely finish 5th in the West and no matter what the regular season records are, will be a fairly heavy underdog to a healthy Cavs team in the East.

We don't have to beat 5 teams in the West.  We have to beat 1.

Boston won't beat a healthy Cavs and if by chance James is hurt and Boston makes it through, Boston will not beat whatever team is in the West.

A team that would be a very significant underdog in two separate playoff series is not a contender.  It is cute that everyone on here believes Boston is a contender, but we aren't.  Even the ownership group recognized this, when they said Boston was two players away (before Hayward).  Last time I checked, Hayward was not 2 players.

It's all conjecture.  I think this roster can beat Cleveland next year.  You don't.  Fair enough.

[Roy H.]

The Celtics are in the most enviable position of any team in the league, IMO, and that includes GSW.