Official Boston Celtics Thread

[tonybologna]

Re: Official Boston Celtics Thread

Kyrie speaks to reporters: http://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/2...ics-make-sense

[tonybologna]

Re: Official Boston Celtics Thread

Boston in serious consideration for Kawhi Leonard: http://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/2...-celtics-offer

What do you Celtic guys think about this? I wouldn't mind having Kawhi on this team but look what we're going to have to give up in order to get him in Boston. It's going to take 3-5 players and/or draft picks. We do have 4 draft picks including 2 possible lottery picks in the 2019 draft. However, the talks about Tatum, Brown, Rozier, & Smart or Tatum, Brown, Rozier, & Hayward seems outrageous to me.

I mean Hayward hasn't even been given a chance for us yet. Kawhi plays the same position as Hayward & at this stage in their careers Kawhi is a little younger & definitely a better skillset but Hayward's skillset fits our scheme perfectly. Kawhi can get his own shot off with ease while Hayward not quite as easily but with our offense & ball movement we don't need another player that can get his shot off without picks or flat out shooting over his defender.

Kyrie, Brown, Tatum, Rozier, & Morris all can get their own shots without needing help. Adding Kawhi & trading away 3-5 younger players would probably make a difference on defense with Kawhi's defensive skills but other than that we don't need anymore offense in my opinion.

We need to keep this young core together. We get a healthy Kyrie & Gordon on the court for next season then no doubt we will be Eastern Conference favorites & in my opinion could compete with the Warriors for a Championship. Why break up this team now?

[jeremym480]

Re: Official Boston Celtics Thread

Tatum is untouchable to me and Brown is pretty close to it as well.

Trading Brown, Rozier, Morris and filler would be difficult salary-wise but I think it's possible if they include a couple of young guys. It would be much easier to trade one of the bigger contracts but I don't see Ainge doing that to Hayward and I'd think Horford is really a possibility so it comes to to Irving... Kyrie and Kawhi both have the same contract situation. If the Spurs were interested in Kyrie and we could keep Brown, then an all wing with Horford lineup does excite me. Hayward, Brown, Kawhi, Tatum, Horford and bring back Smart as the 6th-man.
With that said, unless Ainge really thinks Kyrie is going to walk then I'd probably just prefer to bring keep the band together.


My biggest fear is Kawhi (or Paul George) ending up with the 76ers. I'd rather LeBron go there than one of them two because I think LeBron would take away from Simmons' effectiveness. Also, if somehow the Cavs keep Lebron and get one of them makes me nervous, as well. I'd much rather both of them go West and the C's becoming really heavy favorites in the East. Overall, I'm not too worried about it though, as long as Ainge is in charge and all of the super-teams are in the West, then we should be good.

[tonybologna]

Re: Official Boston Celtics Thread

Tatum is untouchable to me and Brown is pretty close to it as well.

Trading Brown, Rozier, Morris and filler would be difficult salary-wise but I think it's possible if they include a couple of young guys. It would be much easier to trade one of the bigger contracts but I don't see Ainge doing that to Hayward and I'd think Horford is really a possibility so it comes to to Irving... Kyrie and Kawhi both have the same contract situation. If the Spurs were interested in Kyrie and we could keep Brown, then an all wing with Horford lineup does excite me. Hayward, Brown, Kawhi, Tatum, Horford and bring back Smart as the 6th-man.
With that said, unless Ainge really thinks Kyrie is going to walk then I'd probably just prefer to bring keep the band together.


My biggest fear is Kawhi (or Paul George) ending up with the 76ers. I'd rather LeBron go there than one of them two because I think LeBron would take away from Simmons' effectiveness. Also, if somehow the Cavs keep Lebron and get one of them makes me nervous, as well. I'd much rather both of them go West and the C's becoming really heavy favorites in the East. Overall, I'm not too worried about it though, as long as Ainge is in charge and all of the super-teams are in the West, then we should be good.

The 76ers is who I predict LeBron will sign with IF he decides to leave Cleveland again. I would rather LeBron sign with the Lakers & get the heck out of the Eastern Conference though.

[tonybologna]

Re: Official Boston Celtics Thread

What did all of you other Celtic guys think of our one & only pick in this years draft? I liked the pick myself. Williams is a big man that was really a top 15 prospect coming into the draft. The small off-the-court problems allowed him to drop down to us in the draft.

Ainge stated that Williams was the guy they wanted all along because they figured there was a possibility he could drop due to those issues. He gives us a solid backup big man right off the bat & his defense is way ahead of his offensive skills at this point.

He will bring us a big man off the bench that can protect the rim & guard his man. Plus he is a good rebounder. I look for him to get most of his points in his rookie campaign off rebounds & maybe a few pick & pops. I give the drafting of Williams for us a B+.

I do not think we are now going to pursue Kawhi & take a chance on giving up some of our core young guys to get him. We really don't need him in my opinion. We now have a team(if completely healthy) to make a run for a Championship.

[BleacherBum2310]

Re: Official Boston Celtics Thread

What did all of you other Celtic guys think of our one & only pick in this years draft? I liked the pick myself. Williams is a big man that was really a top 15 prospect coming into the draft. The small off-the-court problems allowed him to drop down to us in the draft.

Ainge stated that Williams was the guy they wanted all along because they figured there was a possibility he could drop due to those issues. He gives us a solid backup big man right off the bat & his defense is way ahead of his offensive skills at this point.

He will bring us a big man off the bench that can protect the rim & guard his man. Plus he is a good rebounder. I look for him to get most of his points in his rookie campaign off rebounds & maybe a few pick & pops. I give the drafting of Williams for us a B+.

I do not think we are now going to pursue Kawhi & take a chance on giving up some of our core young guys to get him. We really don't need him in my opinion. We now have a team(if completely healthy) to make a run for a Championship.

I love the Pick. Dude was a lottery pick last year and the off the court problems bring him in a culture like BOS i think they can get the best out of him. He's the type of player BOS really doesn't have on this roster. He's so athletic. I still think Baynes is back btw.

I know he's a top 5 player but I love Jaylen so much so i really hope they bring back the same group.

[tonybologna]

Re: Official Boston Celtics Thread

I love the Pick. Dude was a lottery pick last year and the off the court problems bring him in a culture like BOS i think they can get the best out of him. He's the type of player BOS really doesn't have on this roster. He's so athletic. I still think Baynes is back btw.

I know he's a top 5 player but I love Jaylen so much so i really hope they bring back the same group.

Nice post. I also think Baynes will be back too. Williams can give rest to either Horford or Baynes because he can play either C or PF. Theis will hopefully be back healthy next season as well & he can also be a role player in the frontcourt just like he was doing before his injury.

[BleacherBum2310]

Re: Official Boston Celtics Thread

Nice post. I also think Baynes will be back too. Williams can give rest to either Horford or Baynes because he can play either C or PF. Theis will hopefully be back healthy next season as well & he can also be a role player in the frontcourt just like he was doing before his injury.

Yeah people underestimate how good Theis was last year. barring they bring the people we expect back this team is going to be insanely deep. It's going to allow to keep Irving/Heyward/Horfords mins in check and still be a really good team when they are off the floor.

[tonybologna]

Re: Official Boston Celtics Thread

Celtics to sign EuroLeague Guard: http://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/2...brad-wanamaker

I personally don't understand this signing unless we're not expecting Smart back next season. I mean we already have Irving, Brown, Larkin, & Rozier at guards plus Ojeleye & Nader can both play SG. We also still have Jabari Bird on the roster as a guard too.

However, Larkin, Smart, & Bird are all FA's. This tells me either Smart isn't coming back or Larkin one. Bird probably most definitely isn't going to be back.

I guess this signing is for just in case Smart isn't coming back or Ainge has already talked to Smart & told him they're moving on without him or Smart told Ainge he's going elsewhere to play.

Just checked & as of right now we have 11 players under contract for 2018-19. So, that means we have 4 spots open. The signing of Wannamaker means that we're going to be down to 3 spots. So, I say we should bring back Baynes & Smart most definitely to leave only 1 spot open for whatever need that should be filled. Probably another frontcourt player but I could see us also signing another SF as well to help Tatum.

Morris is listed as a PF but really is a SF so he plays both positions. Monroe is an UFA & I don't think we will bring him back but to me he wouldn't be a bad option because he provided some nice things off the bench for us late in regular season in 2018 & also spot games in the playoffs.

[jeremym480]

Re: Official Boston Celtics Thread

I love that Robert Williams fell. He could be a steal at 27. I can't wait to see him in Summer League action.



As far as Wanamaker, I like the signing. I don't think it really as much bearing on Smart or Rozier. It's a "just in case" type of signing but if both are back Wanamaker will have a deep bench role. It likely means the end for Shane Larkin though, which I'm okay with. I like Larkin and all but I'm glad finally put an end to the under 6 foot PG's.

[tonybologna]

Re: Official Boston Celtics Thread

I love that Robert Williams fell. He could be a steal at 27. I can't wait to see him in Summer League action.



As far as Wanamaker, I like the signing. I don't think it really as much bearing on Smart or Rozier. It's a "just in case" type of signing but if both are back Wanamaker will have a deep bench role. It likely means the end for Shane Larkin though, which I'm okay with. I like Larkin and all but I'm glad finally put an end to the under 6 foot PG's.

100% agree with you about Larkin. He's not a bad backup PG but he's small & can't defend plus he misses too many wide open shots inclluding pretty easy layups at times.

[BleacherBum2310]

Re: Official Boston Celtics Thread

I love that Robert Williams fell. He could be a steal at 27. I can't wait to see him in Summer League action.



As far as Wanamaker, I like the signing. I don't think it really as much bearing on Smart or Rozier. It's a "just in case" type of signing but if both are back Wanamaker will have a deep bench role. It likely means the end for Shane Larkin though, which I'm okay with. I like Larkin and all but I'm glad finally put an end to the under 6 foot PG's.

Yeah and looking into Wanamaker he seems to have alot more upside than just a 3rd PG on the roster. I like it.

[tonybologna]

Re: Official Boston Celtics Thread

Byron Scott speaks about the Celtics not needing Kawhi: http://www.espn.com/video/clip?id=23947975

[tonybologna]

Re: Official Boston Celtics Thread

Draft Pick Robert Williams not off to a good start in Boston: http://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/2...eague-practice

This is the very reason why he slipped in the draft. His off-the-court problems. This isn't good at all. This better get fixed fast or he will be playing in Europe instead of the NBA.

Also, we are bringing back Baynes: "The Boston Celtics will retain starting center Aron Baynes with a two-year, $11 million deal, according to ESPN's Chris Forsberg."

[areobee401]

Re: Official Boston Celtics Thread

Source says Marcus Smart has not heard from Celtics since start of free agency, and he's "hurt and disgusted."

http://www.bostonherald.com/sports/celtics/2018/07/marcus_smart_hurt_that_celtics_have_not_spoken_to_him_about_new_contract#.Wz7GNMax8FY.twitter