Appreciation Thread, Lamar Stevens!

[Hal14]

Good luck, Lamar! I had high hopes for him coming into the season. But he just didn't quite earn minutes here..it's tough to do so on such a deep, talented team..and on a team that shoots more 3's than any team in league history..and his biggest weakness was shooting.

As others have said, hope he has a chance for more playing time in Memphis and to continue on with his career.

[zoyathedestroya]

[Fierce1]

Just didn't work out, but Lamar is definitely an NBA player.

[jfs1000d]

Celtics could have released him, instead, decided to Guarantee the deal.


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[Celtic Esquire]

Hope he gets a ton of minutes in Memphis. Really liked his game. He always hustled and played hard.

[31to6]

Hope he gets a ton of minutes in Memphis. Really liked his game. He always hustled and played hard.

he's getting praised as a really good locker room/team culture guy too. I won't miss his fadeaway middies, but did love when he surprisingly finished like he was a big in the paint.

He was a last-minute, low-cost addition -- why not kick the tires on this guy if he's still available in September or whatever -- and I'm pretty sure that if the Cs had never signed Oshae, Lamar would have had that role, and played it well enough.

[Smart2Nesmith43]

Celtics could have released him, instead, decided to Guarantee the deal.


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All non guaranteed deals automatically get guaranteed on January 10. The Celtics didn't cut him then because they didn't know what was going to happen at the deadline. It's really not that hard.

[RickyDizzle]

ld have preferred to keep Lamar over Svi. Thought both had a shot at cracking the rotation, but if Svi can't beat out Pritchard or Hauser, I can't see us ever using him. Stevens as a big wing and gritty defender seems like a better "in emergency break glass" guy to have.

[djFan71]

ld have preferred to keep Lamar over Svi. Thought both had a shot at cracking the rotation, but if Svi can't beat out Pritchard or Hauser, I can't see us ever using him. Stevens as a big wing and gritty defender seems like a better "in emergency break glass" guy to have.

I think the idea is that Tillman is that without need to wait for an emergency. And Springer is there if you DO wait for the emergency, lol. Svi is meh, but he brings something different at least.

[Curmudgeon]

I don't think Memphis wanted Svi.

[RickyDizzle]

ld have preferred to keep Lamar over Svi. Thought both had a shot at cracking the rotation, but if Svi can't beat out Pritchard or Hauser, I can't see us ever using him. Stevens as a big wing and gritty defender seems like a better "in emergency break glass" guy to have.

I think the idea is that Tillman is that without need to wait for an emergency. And Springer is there if you DO wait for the emergency, lol. Svi is meh, but he brings something different at least.

Eh Svi is best as a creator with the ball in his hands. Never going to happen here. A glue guy like Lamar serves a better purpose.

[RickyDizzle]

I don't think Memphis wanted Svi.

I dont think they wanted Lamar either, they wanted a pick and needed to match salary for the Cs to agree to give them one.

[djFan71]

ld have preferred to keep Lamar over Svi. Thought both had a shot at cracking the rotation, but if Svi can't beat out Pritchard or Hauser, I can't see us ever using him. Stevens as a big wing and gritty defender seems like a better "in emergency break glass" guy to have.

I think the idea is that Tillman is that without need to wait for an emergency. And Springer is there if you DO wait for the emergency, lol. Svi is meh, but he brings something different at least.

Eh Svi is best as a creator with the ball in his hands. Never going to happen here. A glue guy like Lamar serves a better purpose.

Somebody’s gotta shoot in garbage time, lol. I hear ya, though.

[zoyathedestroya]

Like others here, I was wondering why Svi survived the trade deadline and Lamar did not. End of the day, both guys are 14th on the roster, won't be long-term prospects, and it doesn't really matter who got cut. Maybe they're seeing something behind the curtain that we haven't? Maybe the coin landed on tails and Svi was heads. Maybe Lamar stole Joe's sandwich from the pantry, only they would know.

[Hal14]

I don't think Memphis wanted Svi.

I dont think they wanted Lamar either, they wanted a pick and needed to match salary for the Cs to agree to give them one.

Stevens and Svi made about the same salary so I don't think that really mattered.

I think the bottom line with this trade is:
a) Memphis was not actively looking to trade away Tillman for picks. Tillman is a good player, he's entering his prime at age 25. He's on a dirt cheap contract. And moving Tillman leaves Memphis with basically nobody who can play center for the rest of the season

b) Boston wanted a big. Boston has had their eye on Tillman for awhile. Bostom saw Tillman as a key piece that can help us get over the hump and win the title..and also possibly a long term piece as a solid role player

c) since Boston wanted tillman and memphis was not looking to move tillman, that meant memphis had leverage. Memphis could pretty much name their price (within reason) and Boston would pay that price. So Memphis got 2 2nd rounders out of it and 1 minimum contract player. We all know the minimum, contract player was gonna be Banton, Svi or Lamar. Banton being younger and being a 6'8" ball handler with at least some ability on both ends of the floor meant he had the most upside.I assume Brad wanted to keep him (and possibly already had agreed to ship him off to Portland).

So it was either Svi or Lamar. Both about the same age and both are roughly equal in terms of ability. But again, since Memphis had the leverage, I'm assuming they got to pick which one they wanted, between Lamar and Svi.

And I'm assuming that Memphis went with Lamar because:
-Lamar has a reputation as a really good teammate, really good locker room presence, a guy who coaches/teammates love and has leadership qualities. Svi doesn't.
-Memphis kept Dillon Brooks around for a long time and then gave up a lot to get Marcus Smart. They seem to like guys who are guards/wings who are good defenders but really questionable shooters. Maybe they think Lamar can come off the bench for them and be a Dillon Brooks-lite type of guy..they already have one wing shooter with questionable defense on their bench (Kennard) so perhaps they were less interested in Svi.

BTW, good for Lamar..pretty sure 10 points is more than he ever had in a game for Boston..and 7 assists, woah..good for him !

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[Homerclease]

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Mr. Stevens balling out in Memphis. Glad he’s getting a chance to earn another deal somewhere in the league

[playa-hater]

Stevens has an opportunity there unlike here. Good for him.