What is the longer term plan for this Celtics team?

[chambers]

With all of these young guys doing so well lately, it's made me think about the longer term roadmap for the Celtics through 2020 and beyond.
I think ultimately we'll be trying to get as deep as we can while we have Kyrie/Hayward/Horford under contract and the 3 youngins of Brown/Rozier/Tatum all ballin on a budget with rookie deals. The harder part of this question comes when those younger three and Kyrie, are due for new contracts.
So let's discuss what Ainge is possibly thinking.

Aside from the dilemma of whether or not to pay Smart this offseason or Rozier next offsesaon, the really hard stuff starts in 2020/21 and 2021/22 offseasons when Al Horford and Hayward's deals expire.
Would love your thoughts and input on what I think Danny is most likely leaning towards:

2019/20 offseason:
*Al opts in to his player option
*Kyrie opts out. Sign Kyrie to a max deal ($35 mill) if all goes well and Kyrie is 100% healthy and ballin'
*Terry Rozier potentially receives some max offers from other teams? Or a solid 17/18 mill x 4 years? He's gone.
Does Danny truly consider letting Kyrie walk and signing Rozier long term?
I doubt it.

2020/21 offseason:
*Let Al Horford walk ?
*Hayward opts in for $34 million at age 30. Yikes.
*sign Jaylen to a max deal as he reaches an all NBA defensive level and All Star or serious candidate for All Star ($25 mill)

2021/22 offseason:
*let Hayward Walk ?(he'll be 31)
*sign Tatum to a max (25 mill).
So he'll have Brown, Tatum, Irving all signed up for around $85 million, with a cap of roughly 120 million by the time Tatum is due for an extension.
That leaves $35 million for another max player (or $50-60 million if we use one of Brown/Tatum's deals to acquire someone like Anthony Davis.)
We can then use minimum player deals and also use our Sacramento pick with other cheap bench guys

The ultimate plan (in my opinion, and if Kyrie is still healthy) is to run out:
Kyrie
Tatum
Brown
Davis
as a big four.
considering the luxury tax cap in 2021 will be $140 million.
Now, I could also see the 'scouts honor' wet dream coming to fruition (but probably only if Kyrie really regresses with some unexpected knee long term stuff) where Terry Rozier is kept and given a 25 million max, replacing Kyrie in the above foursome with Terry.
Scouts Honor is a celtics diehard on youtube who is convinced that Rozier is the PG of the future and that Kyrie is just too selfish to lead the team to a championship.I personally don't agree with him regarding Kyrie/Rozier as I think Kyrie is just going to get better as he enters his prime, but please don't just hate, give him a chance, as he just has a strong opinion about Kyrie but is a logical fan who asks tough questions. He was spot on saying there is no way Ainge will take Fultz at #1 when not many others agreed. Search him on youtube if you care.

Anyway, I think that's a team that could beat anyone if Tatum and Brown continue their improvement to at least All Star caliber wings with Stevens at the helm.
Thoughts? Please correct any cap/salary/contract year issues if you notice any.

[trickybilly]

Why would we let Horford walk?

We have his bird rights, and I'm sure he would take a discount for his next deal...

[chambers]

Why would we let Horford walk?

We have his bird rights, and I'm sure he would take a discount for his next deal...

Because he'll be 34 years old when the last year of his deal expires and will most likely be on the decline. I mean if he's willing to take a David West kind of discount then I'm all for it. But with Kyrie, Jaylen and Tatum taking up 85 million of roughly 110-120 million (depending on cap), we'll be trying to get Davis here and probably paying some serious tax if we succeed in getting him here.

[gouki88]

What team is offering TRoz a max??

[Celtics4ever]

Ainge's plan involves a mix of old and young.  This way we compete now and the future.   We still may yet add another top ten pick, the odds are better next year to add to our already competitive roster.  This allows us to capitalize when LeBron falters and opens up a larger window.

[trickybilly]

Why would we let Horford walk?

We have his bird rights, and I'm sure he would take a discount for his next deal...

Because he'll be 34 years old when the last year of his deal expires and will most likely be on the decline. I mean if he's willing to take a David West kind of discount then I'm all for it. But with Kyrie, Jaylen and Tatum taking up 85 million of roughly 110-120 million (depending on cap), we'll be trying to get Davis here and probably paying some serious tax if we succeed in getting him here.

If we are still getting to the ECF finals or NBA finals, there is no chance he DOESN'T take a discount..

[bopna]

If we win 2 or 3 rings in the next 5 yr then I really wouldn't mind loosing TRozier or mook.. Though I hope we don't lose em obviously.

[chambers]

What team is offering TRoz a max??

How many teams are offering him more than we can afford?
How much can we afford?
He's an RFA so we have to match offers to keep him.
So what price you willing to match?

[libermaniac]

To me, what to do with Rozier is really the key issue.  I think Horford will re-sign for a very reasonable deal to finish his career with Boston.  He will have already been way overpaid for his last 2-3 years of his current deal, so I could totally see him signing for a very team friendly deal when it expires.

Kyrie you give the max.

I think Smart will be affordable this offseason with his injury history and poor market.

But, what do you do with Rozier?  Perhaps he keeps stepping up and he makes a Rozier and Brown or Tatum for Anthony Davis deal a possibility (maybe need to throw in Grizz or Kings pick)?  Man, I hate to even write that because I love those guys, but AD!!!  The other option is you trade Rozier for draft picks or younger cost-controlled players ... but you'd hate to have a James Harden situation on your hands.  I just don't see them having the cap space for Rozier and I think he'll want a starting job.

Tough decision indeed.

[Casperian]

Fool fans with a false sense of hope and raise ticket prices, obviously.

[mctyson]

Fool fans with a false sense of hope and raise ticket prices, obviously.

The accomplished this task quite nicely.

[More Banners]

First, I think we're watching the beginning of the 2019 championship run. These young guys are just too good to be the 4-6th guys.  And Morris.  Holy smokes. We might should keep Smart for one year just to see what happens. I mean, if we keep Monroe and Smart, I would feel confident about having 9 players who could drop 20 on any given night. Being generous to Smart there. Maybe 8 guys. Still.

So I don't think Danny is making many calls right now. Probably checks caller ID and only answers one number...because AD is the only player I give up any of this for.

Meanwhile, when a vet's contract comes up and he's already been paid in his career, he takes a discount. Period. Horford will take a huge cut. They'll try to trim Kyrie and GH, too. Their replacements are already on the roster, so there's some negotiating to happen for those guys down the line.

While we still have Smart and Rozier, Kyrie is the main piece of an AD trade.

Long term, though, it's hard to keep refilling the top 6 or so, so hopefully we can lock up the key guys, and the rest is for Danny to flush out.

[JBcat]

TP for a detailed plan.

One problem I see with your plan is Ainge rarely lets good assets walk even aging ones (KG, Pierce trade), unless it’s to get max cap space which I don’t really see happening in the near future.

Also it’s great to dream on Davis, but all we can do is try to keep flexible with options open.

Lastly it’s quite possible that at least one of the Kings or Grizzlies pick we’ll draft another highly talented player, that will also be part of our core going forward.

[jambr380]

Ainge has SO many options. I don't know what the plan is with Rozier, but it's insane that we are even able to have a conversation about whether or not he makes Brown or Irving expendable in a trade for AD.

Ainge let Sully and KO walk after their rookie deals - he may even let Smart go, too - but if Rozier continues his development, he can't just let him go for nothing. His surge into relevance has given the Cs even more assets at their disposal moving forward.

Barring some well-timed returned from injured players, this season doesn't look like it will end in a championship, but the future is BRIGHT!

[jambr380]

Ainge has SO many options. I don't know what the plan is with Rozier, but it's insane that we are even able to have a conversation about whether or not he makes Brown or Irving expendable in a trade for AD.

Ainge let Sully and KO walk after their rookie deals - he may even let Smart go, too - but if Rozier continues his development, he can't just let him go for nothing. His surge into relevance has given the Cs even more assets at their disposal moving forward.

Barring some well-timed returns from injured players, this season doesn't look like it will end in a championship, but the future is BRIGHT!