The Celtics Brand, and Players Perception

[Afam]

History matters, you just can't throw it away like. If didn't matter, it wouldn't have counted. Do we have to give back all the 17 championships that the Celtics won or the Celtics hall of Famers. Off course not. Yes the present matters more now, but let's not be so quick to throw away the past.

[DorfonCeltics]

Our local media absolutely hates it when they are almost forced to give the Celtics air time on the radio and TV. That's really the main issue. Maybe the Celtics could do a better job getting radio specific shows up during prime time at least once a week, but I dunno if they'd have the leverage to push the Sports Hub here. I fully think part of the reason the Celtics aren't seen as a free agent destination in comparison to LA and NY has to do with poor local media push. The perceived trade value of our guys is also much lower than the perceived trade value of many overrated Chicago players over the last 10 years. Still think it's all related to the local media.

Good point. The only guys on the Sports Hub who really know hoop are Rich from T&R and Beetle form the mid-day show. Those guys love talking basketball but they usually get drowned out but the curmudgeon Fred Toucher or the loud moth quarterback, Zo. What we need is for Rich and Beetle to do a pure basketball show once a week. That would do wonders for elevating the brand, at least locally.

[mwhis21]

obviously winning help the team/franchise brand the most, but i think the OP was getting at the catch-22 of how do you develop a winner when you don't have good branding. i think doing things like have a good coach and a stable front office helps quite a bit. also having players that "play the right way" even if they are not as talented as they need to be. so i think the C's are going down the right path. but the reality is because the individual brand trumps the team brand, superstars these days just team up and create a brand for that franchise. we can't complain about that because that's exactly what we did.

It's on the path to what I'm working out in my mind. It's seems crazy to correlate off court branding and on court talent in regards to perception, but I feel there's something to it.

Teams like Portland, Phoenix, Chicago, OKC---when they were going through their rebuild you could see and sense the value of their players increasing. I'm leaning toward agreeing w/ DarkAzcura. Our media coverage locally is terrible. It's part of what has me thinking that the C's are not doing a good enough job evolving the brand, only relying on accomplishments that happened a half century ago.

I can't help but think that if Marcus Smart were on a rebuilding Chicago, or Phoenix team his value would be higher due to the effectiveness of their brand marketing.

In the end, I know it comes down to talent, and winning, but that's not realistic at the start of a rebuild. How can the C's as a brand help accelerate off-court value vs. on-court.

[nic4747]

History matters, you just can't throw it away like. If didn't matter, it wouldn't have counted. Do we have to give back all the 17 championships that the Celtics won or the Celtics hall of Famers. Off course not. Yes the present matters more now, but let's not be so quick to throw away the past.

I would challenge you to articulate exactly how it matters. As a fan, I think it's great that the Celtics won a bunch of championships 50 years ago, but I don't really care that much. I wasn't alive during those eras, and I would be a Celtics fan even if they haven't won any. Other than looking up at TD Garden and seeing a bunch of banners, it does nothing for me.

Now put yourselves in the shoes of a prospective free agent, how is the Celtics history going to be a factor in their decision? I'll save you some time, it isn't, not even in the slightest.

It's on the path to what I'm working out in my mind. It's seems crazy to correlate off court branding and on court talent in regards to perception, but I feel there's something to it.

Teams like Portland, Phoenix, Chicago, OKC---when they were going through their rebuild you could see and sense the value of their players increasing. I'm leaning toward agreeing w/ DarkAzcura. Our media coverage locally is terrible. It's part of what has me thinking that the C's are not doing a good enough job evolving the brand, only relying on accomplishments that happened a half century ago.

I can't help but think that if Marcus Smart were on a rebuilding Chicago, or Phoenix team his value would be higher due to the effectiveness of their brand marketing.

In the end, I know it comes down to talent, and winning, but that's not realistic at the start of a rebuild. How can the C's as a brand help accelerate off-court value vs. on-court.

I disagree. The Celtics have done a great job of increasing the value of their players. Smart's value is recognized in the league, as evidenced by him making the NBA All Rookie Second Team (and receiving the most votes / points on the second team). I thought that the votes he got was reflective of his value. Evan Turner is a free agent who chose to sign with the Celtics, and his value has certainly increased over the past year. I also think the Celtics have generally done a good job of developing Avery Bradley (NBA all defense team last year), Jae Crower (he will get good offers this year), Tyler Zeller (acquired for nothing, but has developed into a good piece for the offense).

It's not like we have a bunch of underutilized talent wasting away on the bench, I think all of the players I just mentioned have more trade value now than they did at the beginning of the season (except Bradley), and I'm not sure that all of these players would have had the same value if they were on other teams, so while I agree with you the Celtics haven't done a great job of branding their franchise, I don't really see a correlation with talent development.

[humblebum]

What is the Spurs brand, and player perception?

The Celtics are a basketball organization, so I think in the halls of basketball institutions the Celtics are highly, highly respected and players, coaches, scouts, etc. recognize that the Celtics are a world class organization from top to bottom, right now. This isn't some historical dialogue, this is stuff that is evolving right now with the Celtics players playing elsewhere and guys the Celtics have on the roster, as well as guys Ainge/Stevens have scouted.

Their tendrils reach deep into the basketball world and for the rare NBA guy who's historically plugged in, like a Kevin Love, sure there may be additional interest. But ultimately the Celtics are building themselves as an organization that players know they can play and succeed on the court for. And at the end of the day, there will be plenty of professional basketball players who will view the culture and environment here as one in which they feel they can succeed and maximize their potential and earning potential.

[Cyclical]

Winning (re)creates the brand. Nothing else will do. From 92 to 07 the brand was at its weakest for a reason. The post Magic pre Kobe lakers were a laughing stock for a bit as well. No wins = weak brand.
This last playoff run is nice for us but doesn't do much for the brand. Reach the ECF and now you've done something. Now "number 18" becomes a rallying cry. Until then it just is what it is. Lucky for us, we're playing in the east. The road to a stronger brand may be short.


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[Afam]

I wasn't alive in that era too, but I still care about the Celtics History/17 championships. That's all I'm going to say.Agree to Disagree.

[Luciferswings]

The Spurs have the best brand right now, in terms of winning, professionalism, etc, and have never really been able to attract any notable free agents. Build your brand by all means, but it's for the fans. It isn't going to bring you players.