Strategy and Future

[galbilo73]

Hi guys,

Yesterday, I saw BOSTON-DETROIT on the Spanish TV.
In my opinion it has not been a wonderful match, anyway I really liked the energy and the pride which our guys bring in the court!

After the match I was thinking about the "evolution" of this team in 3/4 years. I am one of those Celtics' fan which is happy with the current roster (even though one more PG and C would be welcome). Personally I think we can go ahead with this group until the end of this season (hopefully until June

[Mister Keys]

Its a good question to bring up Lorenzo, however there are many scenarios that could happen (Danny Ainge has the hand here)

The young guns on the team are getting some of the greatest lessons from KG-Ray-Paul and they might be able to become solid players from the expierience of playing with KG-Ray-Paul

With the contract situation, when the deals expire, i'm sure they will love to retire on the celtics and may sign for a home town offer? It would allow us to sign impact players and have some play in the free agency?

Or Ainge may trade a major piece on our team for younger prospects to develop over the year(s).

The jury is still out there

[UGA Hayes]

It is going to be a pretty big dilemma especially in regards to Ray Allen. Numbers wise he is having his worst career year by far. Is it b/c of the new environment or actual decline. One somewhat comprable player in Mitch Richmong fell off the map at 32 while another comprable player in Reggie Miller was good well past 32. To Me I'm hoping we either trade RAy's expiring or else that Ray would be willing to sign shorterm deals in return for a promise for high level management experience.

[ParticleMan]

Ainge once said he would have traded Bird when he was declining. So I suspect he's not going to ride his Big 3 till the bitter end. He's always going to be thinking of the future in addition to the present.

[darrendaye]

Ainge once said he would have traded Bird when he was declining. So I suspect he's not going to ride his Big 3 till the bitter end. He's always going to be thinking of the future in addition to the present.

Hope you're right. I know we tend to get attached to players and "loyalty" is an endearing catch-word, but, the reality is that pro sports are a business and athletes are assets. It does not make business sense to just write-off your assets. Especially in this business. There is some place for nostalgia, but simply allowing a star to ride off into the sunset, just makes the task of rebuilding that much longer and more difficult. While I supported the team not dealing Bird back in those days, I thought it foolish to hold onto McHale until the bitter end.

This may be met with backlash, but, relating this to today's situation, I'd hold onto KG and look to deal Pierce at the tail end of his career. I appreciate the point that PP has spent his entire career in Boston, but from a strength of personality perspective, I'd be willing to bet Boston will attach more to KG when all is said and done. I don't state this with a lack of admiration for what Pierce is all about and particularly what he has gone through over his time here.

[UGA Hayes]

^ If we win a champ I'm not sure we would be able to trade Pierce unless we got to the level Miami is right now. No matter how well Ray plays he is never going to be "truly" a celtic the way Pierce is

[Hemingway]

I think our plan should be to try to find a few diamond in the ruff prospects and develop them till midseason where they are replaced with former star vets in the rotation. We can also try to get guys in for the cheap with MLE deals. Maybe someone will play on the cheap if we tell them that KG if going to be training them as his successor?

[cisco]

^ If we win a champ I'm not sure we would be able to trade Pierce unless we got to the level Miami is right now. No matter how well Ray plays he is never going to be "truly" a celtic the way Pierce is

Pierce will retire a Celtic. I think if anyone is traded it would be Ray.

[darrendaye]

-= original quote snipped =-





Pierce will retire a Celtic. I think if anyone is traded it would be Ray.

Agree that of the 3, Ray would be the 1st on the chopping block.

Back to the original question.....
I don't know if you can have a blueprint established at this point. Looking at the draft, IMO, you'd ideally want to focus on one or two contributor type players over raw, potentially high upside guys, and deal a pick or two for future picks. If you can.

[Man_Up]

It is going to be a pretty big dilemma especially in regards to Ray Allen. Numbers wise he is having his worst career year by far. Is it b/c of the new environment or actual decline.

I think it's Decline. I remember when he played his first game as a Celtic I was excited, but I also thought to myself was he always this slow. I think that Ray has lost a step or two, and think he has lost some ability when it comes to creating his own shots. Still better than more than half of the 2 guards in the league.

[freakon0mics]

Yeah, I agree. Whatever happens in the next 3-4 years, we don't want to start with nothing after the 4th year. A good example were the Bulls after the Jordan era. They basically had nothing. It took them awhile before they could even draft a star player in Elton Brand, but only to trade him away for a less than stellar talent. Guys like Rondo and Big Baby are probably the two remaining C's that I would like to keep for the long haul. The others could be traded.

[John Locke]

Unlike Red, Ainge is also dealing with the salary cap. That makes things so much harder. It's almost impossible to plan more then 3 years ahead.

But Darrendaye mentioned that it's not a smart buisness move to let guys retire. Well first of you'd have a huge expiring deal, and also it's good for your buisness to treat players with respect. If other players thought that we treated our players well, they'd be more willing to sign here.

[galbilo73]

Looking at the number (source HoopsHype), this is the situation:

This year we are making 74,626M$ (being 56,110M$ the piece of cake for the Big Three)

[Hemingway]

I don't think we are looking at having money to sign and good vets any time soon. Even after Allen is off the books we still have PP and KG as well as everyone we sign or resign in the mean time.

[e in boulder]

You know how the Belichick has his "Patriot Way" due to his success. I think the Celtics will adopt a similar thing like the Spurs have now. We're going to keep the Big Three and pick up good character veterans who (similar to Belichick) just love to play basketball and love to win even more.

Thus we end up with the Poseys and the Houses, meanwhile drafting quality players who will contribute to the team immediately (Rondo, BBD, TAllen).

Remember people are going to want to play here. We will not have to trade to get talent, the talent will come to us. Remember, Danny Ainge has probably one of the 3 best Draft records in the 21st Century. Rondo was a late 1st round trade in, and he's looking like a certain future all-star and pillar to the teams success 3-4 years down the road a la Tony Parker.

This is going to be a hell of a run get ready guys.

[rambo_ortega]

I'd say keep the core and get good picks and serviceable vets like the san antonio spurs. Plus i definitely agree with DA's good draft track record.