Celtics Playing In East Was Key Part Of Pitch To Gordon Hayward

Post #1 » by **RealGM Wiretap** » Tue Jul 11, 2017 3:42 pm

A big part of the Boston Celtics pitch to Gordon Hayward was the fact that the Eastern Conference represents an easier path to The Finals, according to sources. The Miami Heat also pitched this issue but to a lesser extent.

While the Utah Jazz would surely be a contender for the Eastern Conference Finals, they're stuck playing in the West where they would surely remain behind the Golden State Warriors, and possibly the San Antonio Spurs and Houston Rockets as well.

Hayward is also more likely to make All-Star teams in the Eastern Conference and possibly even start.

Salt Lake City, New Orleans, Memphis and Oklahoma City rank as the NBA's only metro areas shy of 1.5 million people, according to the U.S. Office of Management and Budget. Yet those four NBA areas are all in the Western Conference.

Via Kevin Arnovitz/ESPN

hyberx · Post #2 » by **hyberx** » Tue Jul 11, 2017 4:22 pm

No surprise, it's the bona fide minor league out East. Hayward going from not making All Star to almost a lock to start as the 2nd best player in the East.

Bobalob · Post #3 » by **Bobalob** » Tue Jul 11, 2017 4:37 pm

Lmao According to sources

They make this stuff up. Any time a story comes out that seems like common sense im convinced they just made it up bc its believable and probably happened without their knowledge.

I'd bet my mortgage on it.

HotelVitale · Post #4 » by **HotelVitale** » Tue Jul 11, 2017 4:38 pm

hyberx wrote:No surprise, it's the bona fide minor league out East. Hayward going from not making All Star to almost a lock to start as the 2nd best player in the East.

Slow down there, cuz. Giannis and Wall are clearly better players than Hayward, and guys like Lowry and Love had better raw and advanced numbers than Hayward last year too (guys like Kemba and IT2 have good arguments as well). Gordon will very probably make the AS team but I don't think his biggest fans think he's close to being the 2nd best overall player in the EC.

BarneyGumble · Post #5 » by **BarneyGumble** » Tue Jul 11, 2017 5:42 pm

hyberx wrote:No surprise, it's the bona fide minor league out East. Hayward going from not making All Star to almost a lock to start as the 2nd best player in the East.

Huh? Wow, you will be sorely disappointed if you are expecting him to be the 2nd best player in the East.

Boneman2 · Post #6 » by **Boneman2** » Tue Jul 11, 2017 5:43 pm

Brad Stevens was the primary reason.

Fido · Post #7 » by **Fido** » Tue Jul 11, 2017 5:44 pm

I will be interested to see if he can duplicate his production he had with the Jazz as their #1 option in Boston. Is he Boston's #1 option on offense? And no way he is the 2nd best overall player in the eastern conference.

luss54321 · Post #8 » by **luss54321** » Tue Jul 11, 2017 5:52 pm

As it should be.... when players KNOW the West is stacked and they still choose to sign with Western Conference teams, I can only conclude that competing for a championship is not their priority.

Cut the BS about wanting to "compete against the best"... no player is basing his decision on that. Maybe they like the money, maybe they like the location, maybe they like the weather, who knows, but if a player wants a clear path to the finals, the Eastern Conference presents that opportunity.

I just don't understand when Western Conference players complain about missing all star games and missing the playoffs... like BRO... you KNEW the Western Conference was stacked and you still chose to play there. It's called making a dumb decision.

Fido · Post #9 » by **Fido** » Tue Jul 11, 2017 6:06 pm

luss54321 wrote:As it should be.... when players KNOW the West is stacked and they still choose to sign with Western Conference teams, I can only conclude that competing for a championship is not their priority.

Cut the BS about wanting to "compete against the best"... no player is basing his decision on that. Maybe they like the money, maybe they like the location, maybe they like the weather, who knows, but if a player wants a clear path to the finals, the Eastern Conference presents that opportunity.

I just don't understand when Western Conference players complain about missing all star games and missing the playoffs... like BRO... you KNEW the Western Conference was stacked and you still chose to play there. It's called making a dumb decision.

If this "clear path to the finals" is a priority, why are there not more star level players going from the west to the east? But there are more players going the other way?

It is lame for Boston fans to assume that they have a "clear path to the finals" when they got their *** handed to them by Cleveland in the conference championship game last season. Maybe the team is net "better" with the additions/subtractions--maybe not. Nothing is a sure thing--especially with the wildcards like injuries that can't be predicted.

Sam195 · Post #10 » by **Sam195** » Tue Jul 11, 2017 6:19 pm

Those 4 cities should relocate their teams to Seattle and Canada. Pretty sure Vancouver, Calgary and Edmonton can support nba teams in today's day and age much better than the smallest markets in the U.S. Milwaukee would also be on the list but they got an arena deal done using public and private dollars that locks the Bucks in for the next 20 years. Atlanta is another failing market but has their team locked into a similar long lease like Milwaukee where the opt out clause penalty is a huge disincentive for trying to relocate the team early - the reason the Seattle investors have not even pursued the Hawks as an option.

An NBA expansion into Canada is a lot more profitable than the NHL's idiotic expansion of hockey into southern us markets some which are too hot to even support outdoor hockey rinks for recreational use.

luss54321 · Post #11 » by **luss54321** » Tue Jul 11, 2017 6:54 pm

Fido wrote:
luss54321 wrote:As it should be.... when players KNOW the West is stacked and they still choose to sign with Western Conference teams, I can only conclude that competing for a championship is not their priority.

Cut the BS about wanting to "compete against the best"... no player is basing his decision on that. Maybe they like the money, maybe they like the location, maybe they like the weather, who knows, but if a player wants a clear path to the finals, the Eastern Conference presents that opportunity.

I just don't understand when Western Conference players complain about missing all star games and missing the playoffs... like BRO... you KNEW the Western Conference was stacked and you still chose to play there. It's called making a dumb decision.

If this "clear path to the finals" is a priority, why are there not more star level players going from the west to the east? But there are more players going the other way?

It is lame for Boston fans to assume that they have a "clear path to the finals" when they got their *** handed to them by Cleveland in the conference championship game last season. Maybe the team is net "better" with the additions/subtractions--maybe not. Nothing is a sure thing--especially with the wildcards like injuries that can't be predicted.

That's exactly my point, for all the players moving from East to West, competing for a championship is clearly NOT a priority. They are moving to the West for other reasons.

I'm not a Boston fan, but I am a Chicago fan. Last year I watched an absolute garbage Bulls team (one of the worst I've ever seen despite the .500 record), who struggled to win 2 games in a row all year, almost knock off the # 1 seed (Boston)... that's how bad the East is... the #1 seed struggled against a team that had no business even making the playoffs. For the past few years, Cleveland has been the only legitimate contender in the East. Boston can now join that discussion. They only have one team to worry about. One injury to Cleveland and Boston could be in the finals.

hyberx · Post #12 » by **hyberx** » Tue Jul 11, 2017 7:54 pm

HotelVitale wrote:
hyberx wrote:No surprise, it's the bona fide minor league out East. Hayward going from not making All Star to almost a lock to start as the 2nd best player in the East.

Slow down there, cuz. Giannis and Wall are clearly better players than Hayward, and guys like Lowry and Love had better raw and advanced numbers than Hayward last year too (guys like Kemba and IT2 have good arguments as well). Gordon will very probably make the AS team but I don't think his biggest fans think he's close to being the 2nd best overall player in the EC.

Yeah you can dream up about how these other players are better than Hayward, the fact remains that the Utah team Hayward led has a much better record comparing West vs. East head-to-head games. Wall's Wiz and Giannis' bucks would be a 7th and 8th seed in the West. Utah's 66% win rate against the East put them right at number 1 in the East, better than BOS and CLE. That's how pathetic the minor league is and nobody can help when you hate the facts.

A leader's success is as good as his team, single stats alone is meaningless. It's even funnier when you bring up other East player stats like a 3rd wheel in Love. Guess what, the actual D-league stars have amazing advance stats too until they play the big boys.

Thatmetricsdude · Post #13 » by **Thatmetricsdude** » Tue Jul 11, 2017 8:08 pm

luss54321 wrote:I'm not a Boston fan, but I am a Chicago fan. Last year I watched an absolute garbage Bulls team (one of the worst I've ever seen despite the .500 record), who struggled to win 2 games in a row all year, almost knock off the # 1 seed (Boston)... that's how bad the East is... the #1 seed struggled against a team that had no business even making the playoffs. For the past few years, Cleveland has been the only legitimate contender in the East. Boston can now join that discussion. They only have one team to worry about. One injury to Cleveland and Boston could be in the finals.

The Celtics scraped into the ECF last year and, as of right now, lost most of their depth, defense and experience. The Cavs are the best team in the Eastern Conference and the Celtics, Wizards, Hornets, Raptors and Bucks are all battling for 2nd place if everyone is healthy.

Winsome Gerbil · Post #14 » by **Winsome Gerbil** » Tue Jul 11, 2017 9:10 pm

If it's true it absolutely makes sense. This has been going on for years. The concept of an "Eastern Conference All Star" with little chance of similar honors in the West, almost no All NBA teams etc. is very familiar. Fake All Stars really at a certain point. the interesting question is how the HOF is going to deal with these guys who have All Star resumes like all timers, but no other marks they were that good.

ChokeFasncists · Post #15 » by **ChokeFasncists** » Tue Jul 11, 2017 10:45 pm

Would be interesting whether Jaylen Brown can offset the loss of ABrad.

haste10176 · Post #16 » by **haste10176** » Tue Jul 11, 2017 11:01 pm

Winsome Gerbil wrote:If it's true it absolutely makes sense. This has been going on for years. The concept of an "Eastern Conference All Star" with little chance of similar honors in the West, almost no All NBA teams etc. is very familiar. Fake All Stars really at a certain point. the interesting question is how the HOF is going to deal with these guys who have All Star resumes like all timers, but no other marks they were that good.

1) He made the All Star Team in the west this year
2) All NBA team is picked out of all the players so East/West make zero difference he will not make it in the east or west
3) He would have to face the warriors in the finals to win anyway and they are unlikely to get past cleveland... Noone is beating the warriors unless they have injuries to Curry and Durant...
4) Utah were building a very a good team that had they had everyone available would have won more games in the west than Boston in the east... Not sure why he left a team that looked to be building towards a very bright future...

Tiny ball · Post #17 » by **Tiny ball** » Tue Jul 11, 2017 11:27 pm

Thatmetricsdude wrote:
luss54321 wrote:I'm not a Boston fan, but I am a Chicago fan. Last year I watched an absolute garbage Bulls team (one of the worst I've ever seen despite the .500 record), who struggled to win 2 games in a row all year, almost knock off the # 1 seed (Boston)... that's how bad the East is... the #1 seed struggled against a team that had no business even making the playoffs. For the past few years, Cleveland has been the only legitimate contender in the East. Boston can now join that discussion. They only have one team to worry about. One injury to Cleveland and Boston could be in the finals.

The Celtics scraped into the ECF last year and, as of right now, lost most of their depth, defense and experience. The Cavs are the best team in the Eastern Conference and the Celtics, Wizards, Hornets, Raptors and Bucks are all battling for 2nd place if everyone is healthy.

Barring injuries Celtics will win the east by large margin. Celtics depth will be just fine.

Tiny ball · Post #18 » by **Tiny ball** » Tue Jul 11, 2017 11:33 pm

haste10176 wrote:
Winsome Gerbil wrote:If it's true it absolutely makes sense. This has been going on for years. The concept of an "Eastern Conference All Star" with little chance of similar honors in the West, almost no All NBA teams etc. is very familiar. Fake All Stars really at a certain point. the interesting question is how the HOF is going to deal with these guys who have All Star resumes like all timers, but no other marks they were that good.

1) He made the All Star Team in the west this year
2) All NBA team is picked out of all the players so East/West make zero difference he will not make it in the east or west
3) He would have to face the warriors in the finals to win anyway and they are unlikely to get past cleveland... Noone is beating the warriors unless they have injuries to Curry and Durant...
4) Utah were building a very a good team that had they had everyone available would have won more games in the west than Boston in the east... Not sure why he left a team that looked to be building towards a very bright future...

Celtics went into Utah on road trip and beat them like they were G league team. No one in NBA has the upside of the Boston Celtics.