Free Agent/Trade/Waiver Thread, 2025-26, part 2

[Green89]

1) Simons would have to magically turn into a great player for that to happen

or

2) The team would be on pace to win 69 if he wasn't a part of the team.

Nothing magical would need to happen for a consistent 18-20 PPG scorer to average 18-20 PPG.

And as for your 2nd point, that's perhaps the most ridiculous thing I'ver ever read on here. A team with a rotation of Brown, pritchard, white, queta, hauser, boucher, Garza and Walsh is not coming anywhere clsoe to 69 wins. Give me a break.

I am saying that a team WITH simons on pace to win 50 is on pace to win much more without him.

Don't think it matters either way. He won't be on the team come training camp.

[jmr07019]

Tatum coming back and getting live game reps this season is a good thing. Why would you want recovery to take longer? Thats a bad sign. You want to bounce quickly.

Nothing will help Tatum get back to form more than live game reps. You can only do so much in practice. You dont need to go back to Tatum as number 1 option, with a tough defensive assignment, playing 36+ mpg. Throw him out there for 15-20 mpg for 15-20 games down the stretch. If he’s handling it well you give him a little more responsibilities and/or minutes.

People say tanking has no influence on their Tatum timeline take, I don’t believe them. If tanking is the Celtics plan and Tatum is on board then fine I get the logic but I don’t agree that the Celtics are tanking. If the Celtics were tanking they don’t sign Minnott or Garza, Amari would be getting minutes as back up C and Simons would already be gone.

As Shak said nobody is saying Tatum should go against doctors orders. If he’s not cleared until June then by all means hold him out all season. But IF he is cleared during the season the Celtics should prioritize Tatum’s journey back to being 1st team all NBA over additional ping pong balls and that means live game reps.

[jmr07019]

Basketball players play basketball. Tatum is not going to sit on his hands and wrap himself in bubble wrap because some fans are dreaming of tanking. Vets don’t care about rookies and draft picks.

Then why did Jamal Murray sit the entire season out after his torn ACL?

Why did the Spurs shut down Fox and Wemby last season?

Why did the Hornets shut down Lamelo?

Why did the Blazers shut down Dame?

Why did the Mavs tank late in the season in both 2023 and 2025 so they could draft Lively and Flagg?

Why didn't the Thunder bring Chet back late in the season his rookie year when he was healthy enough to play in March?

Why is there basically zero precedence for a guy coming back after the all-star break from a torn ACL or torn achilles?

As I said in my last post I get the tanking logic. If that is the Celtics plan and Tatum is on board then so be it.

[Fierce1]

A player, Haliburton, with really no plans of playing next season is talking about bonding with Caitlin Clark.

Tatum has been working out, intensely, for a while now.

That's not really consistent with someone who's planning to not play for 17 months.

And Tatum tells Brad Stevens if he will play or not, not the other way around.

Thinking that Brad is the employer and Tatum is the employee is being naive.

[Larry_Russell]

A player, Haliburton, with really no plans of playing next season is talking about bonding with Caitlin Clark.

Tatum has been working out, intensely, for a while now.

That's not really consistent with someone who's planning to not play for 17 months.

And Tatum tells Brad Stevens if he will play or not, not the other way around.

Thinking that Brad is the employer and Tatum is the employee is being naive.

what a dumb post

[Fierce1]

A player, Haliburton, with really no plans of playing next season is talking about bonding with Caitlin Clark.

Tatum has been working out, intensely, for a while now.

That's not really consistent with someone who's planning to not play for 17 months.

And Tatum tells Brad Stevens if he will play or not, not the other way around.

Thinking that Brad is the employer and Tatum is the employee is being naive.

what a dumb post

Time will tell.

I just hope you're man enough to admit you were wrong if Tatum ends up playing in March.

And it's really funny you find it a dumb post when you posted a thousand Jaylen Brown trade proposals and you end up making lame excuses after JB is still a Celtic.

[Fierce1]

They'll move him if anyone wants him for something half decent and cheaper imo. Idk if it has anything to do with future wins and losses.

If the Cs are winning and on pace to win 45-50 games and Simons is averaging 18-20 ppg, you really believe losing Simons and his production will not affect the team's winning %?

1) Simons would have to magically turn into a great player for that to happen

or

2) The team would be on pace to win 69 if he wasn't a part of the team.

Pot calling kettle black?

I'm sure that's a 100% dumb post for obvious reasons.

[Bad-Thoma]

Tatum coming back and getting live game reps this season is a good thing. Why would you want recovery to take longer? Thats a bad sign. You want to bounce quickly.

Nothing will help Tatum get back to form more than live game reps. You can only do so much in practice. You dont need to go back to Tatum as number 1 option, with a tough defensive assignment, playing 36+ mpg. Throw him out there for 15-20 mpg for 15-20 games down the stretch. If he’s handling it well you give him a little more responsibilities and/or minutes.

People say tanking has no influence on their Tatum timeline take, I don’t believe them. If tanking is the Celtics plan and Tatum is on board then fine I get the logic but I don’t agree that the Celtics are tanking. If the Celtics were tanking they don’t sign Minnott or Garza, Amari would be getting minutes as back up C and Simons would already be gone.

As Shak said nobody is saying Tatum should go against doctors orders. If he’s not cleared until June then by all means hold him out all season. But IF he is cleared during the season the Celtics should prioritize Tatum’s journey back to being 1st team all NBA over additional ping pong balls and that means live game reps.

It's definitely about tanking for those people. The only way that happens is Tatum is cleared to play late in the season and the team is already doing so bad they have a shot at a high draft pick. In that case MAYBE they baby that achilles tendon a little longer or do some heavy load management. I still don't think we can be that bad in the east so I think if Tatum is cleared we'll be looking at exactly what you said.

[Fierce1]

Guess common sense is not that common anymore.

Tatum is working out 6 days a week with multiple sessions and an intense routine, according to reports.

Is that kind of preparation for something that will be 14 months away?

Compare what Tatum is doing to what Hali and Dame are doing right now.

[Celts17Pride]

Guess common sense is not that common anymore.

Tatum is working out 6 days a week with multiple sessions and an intense routine, according to reports.

Is that kind of preparation for something that will be 14 months away?

Compare what Tatum is doing to what Hali and Dame are doing right now.

You have no clue what Hali and Dame are doing. None.

[cl2117]

Guess common sense is not that common anymore.

Tatum is working out 6 days a week with multiple sessions and an intense routine, according to reports.

Is that kind of preparation for something that will be 14 months away?

Compare what Tatum is doing to what Hali and Dame are doing right now.

This is what he'd be doing no matter what. He won't be pushing himself more thinking he will get back at the end of next season, they'll be doing the best rehab options for him long-term irrespective of what that means for his near-term return to action.

Bottom line is that it's crazy to assume he's back next year. Him being out for the whole season isn't guaranteed either, but it's fore more likely that they keep him on ice for a year given that we've still got such massive holes on the roster post Jrue/KP trades.

It'd be a slightly different story if we kept the whole band together but even then the rehab workout he's doing right now wouldn't be impacted.

[Fierce1]

Guess common sense is not that common anymore.

Tatum is working out 6 days a week with multiple sessions and an intense routine, according to reports.

Is that kind of preparation for something that will be 14 months away?

Compare what Tatum is doing to what Hali and Dame are doing right now.

You have no clue what Hali and Dame are doing. None.

That's where you're wrong.

Hali is already in the news because he's bonding with Caitlin Clark.

Dame is not in the news because he's going to be the GM of his alma mater, Weber State.

This is not the 80s where the internet did not exist.

Fans will know what NBA players are up to because of social media.

The argument of we have no clue what NBA players are doing will not fly in this day age.

[Fierce1]

Guess common sense is not that common anymore.

Tatum is working out 6 days a week with multiple sessions and an intense routine, according to reports.

Is that kind of preparation for something that will be 14 months away?

Compare what Tatum is doing to what Hali and Dame are doing right now.

This is what he'd be doing no matter what. He won't be pushing himself more thinking he will get back at the end of next season, they'll be doing the best rehab options for him long-term irrespective of what that means for his near-term return to action.

Bottom line is that it's crazy to assume he's back next year. Him being out for the whole season isn't guaranteed either, but it's fore more likely that they keep him on ice for a year given that we've still got such massive holes on the roster post Jrue/KP trades.

It'd be a slightly different story if we kept the whole band together but even then the rehab workout he's doing right now wouldn't be impacted.

There you go.

If it's not guaranteed then I can't rule it out.

I have no objections if Tatum does not play the entire season because that's the safe option.

But because of Tatum's tendencies, he has this attitude of not wanting to miss games.

6 days a week with an intense routine and multiple sessions a day is not something for 14 months after.

Like I said, Hali and Dame have said they are out for one season, so Hali is doing other things, like bonding with Caitlin Clark, and Dame is going to be the GM of Weber State.

[Celts17Pride]

Guess common sense is not that common anymore.

Tatum is working out 6 days a week with multiple sessions and an intense routine, according to reports.

Is that kind of preparation for something that will be 14 months away?

Compare what Tatum is doing to what Hali and Dame are doing right now.

You have no clue what Hali and Dame are doing. None.

That's where you're wrong.

Hali is already in the news because he's bonding with Caitlin Clark.

Dame is not in the news because he's going to be the GM of his alma mater, Weber State.

This is not the 80s where the internet did not exist.

Fans will know what NBA players are up to because of social media.

The argument of we have no clue what NBA players are doing will not fly in this day age.

You need to take a break. Your posts are getting dumber and dumber. You said Tatum was doing rehab 6 days a week. You have no clue what Hali and Dame are doing for rehab. Tatum was just at Bradley Beal's wedding. What does where the players go have anything to do with anything?

[jmr07019]

If the Cs are winning and on pace to win 45-50 games and Simons is averaging 18-20 ppg, you really believe losing Simons and his production will not affect the team's winning %?

1) Simons would have to magically turn into a great player for that to happen

or

2) The team would be on pace to win 69 if he wasn't a part of the team.

Pot calling kettle black?

I'm sure that's a 100% dumb post for obvious reasons.

We’ll see if Portland improves by 25 games now that Simons is gone

[Larry_Russell]

A player, Haliburton, with really no plans of playing next season is talking about bonding with Caitlin Clark.

Tatum has been working out, intensely, for a while now.

That's not really consistent with someone who's planning to not play for 17 months.

And Tatum tells Brad Stevens if he will play or not, not the other way around.

Thinking that Brad is the employer and Tatum is the employee is being naive.

what a dumb post

Time will tell.

I just hope you're man enough to admit you were wrong if Tatum ends up playing in March.

And it's really funny you find it a dumb post when you posted a thousand Jaylen Brown trade proposals and you end up making lame excuses after JB is still a Celtic.

If Tatum is playing in march I will still be very firmly in the camp that it would be **** absolutely idiotic for him to do so from a personal standpoint and also from a team standpoint.

Trade proposals are not the same as the stuff you are posting.

There is much debate around the league about if the Celtics should have traded brown. There is none comparing Haliburton bonding with Clark as a barometer of if the team, doctors, tatum plan on him playing this upcoming season.

Just stop

[Larry_Russell]

1) Simons would have to magically turn into a great player for that to happen

or

2) The team would be on pace to win 69 if he wasn't a part of the team.

Pot calling kettle black?

I'm sure that's a 100% dumb post for obvious reasons.

We’ll see if Portland improves by 25 games now that Simons is gone

Portland is absolutely improved with Simons gone.

[Larry_Russell]

Guess common sense is not that common anymore.

Tatum is working out 6 days a week with multiple sessions and an intense routine, according to reports.

Is that kind of preparation for something that will be 14 months away?

Compare what Tatum is doing to what Hali and Dame are doing right now.

This is what he'd be doing no matter what. He won't be pushing himself more thinking he will get back at the end of next season, they'll be doing the best rehab options for him long-term irrespective of what that means for his near-term return to action.

Bottom line is that it's crazy to assume he's back next year. Him being out for the whole season isn't guaranteed either, but it's fore more likely that they keep him on ice for a year given that we've still got such massive holes on the roster post Jrue/KP trades.

It'd be a slightly different story if we kept the whole band together but even then the rehab workout he's doing right now wouldn't be impacted.

Its not worth your time.

Haliburton says he is bonding with Clark = not planning on returning
Tatum posts a workout video = obviously returning
a professional athlete working out and rehabbing = returning 6 months early.

[Fierce1]

You have no clue what Hali and Dame are doing. None.

That's where you're wrong.

Hali is already in the news because he's bonding with Caitlin Clark.

Dame is not in the news because he's going to be the GM of his alma mater, Weber State.

This is not the 80s where the internet did not exist.

Fans will know what NBA players are up to because of social media.

The argument of we have no clue what NBA players are doing will not fly in this day age.

No need to take a break. Your posts are getting dumber and dumber. You said Tatum was doing rehab 6 days a week. You have no clue what Hali and Dame are doing for rehab. Tatum was just at Bradley Beal's wedding. What does where the players go have anything to do with anything?

Like I said, common sense.

Other players that are not playing the entire 2026 season are not doing what Tatum is doing.

And you just proved my point, Tatum is at Beal's wedding, so that eliminates your theory that fans don't know what NBA players are doing.

My posts are getting dumber?

You told us there was no way Fox was getting a max extension from the Spurs and the Spurs will end up trading Fox.

When another poster brought that subject up, you said the Spurs are dumb.

Instead of just admitting you were wrong about Fox and the Spurs, you made it "the Spurs are dumb".

Didn't you also say Simons won't be a Celtic after July 6?

[Fierce1]

what a dumb post

Time will tell.

I just hope you're man enough to admit you were wrong if Tatum ends up playing in March.

And it's really funny you find it a dumb post when you posted a thousand Jaylen Brown trade proposals and you end up making lame excuses after JB is still a Celtic.

If Tatum is playing in march I will still be very firmly in the camp that it would be **** absolutely idiotic for him to do so from a personal standpoint and also from a team standpoint.

Trade proposals are not the same as the stuff you are posting.

There is much debate around the league about if the Celtics should have traded brown. There is none comparing Haliburton bonding with Clark as a barometer of if the team, doctors, tatum plan on him playing this upcoming season.

Just stop

Why should I stop when you went a thousand posts about trading JB?

What I noticed is its all about you.

You said you kept making JB trade proposals because it's what you think is best for the Celtics.

Now you're saying if Tatum plays then it's idiotic.

Guess what, you're not Grousbeck, Chisholm, or Brad Stevens.

What you think is best or what you believe should be done is just your opinion.

JB didn't get traded.

Instead of just saying you were wrong about expecting JB to get traded because it's what you think it's best, you make lame excuses.

You've gone off the rails ever since draft night ended and JB is still a Celtic.

Just because your posts are getting nastier, that doesn't mean it makes you right!