Where to from here?

[NYCelticsfan136]

id like to know which NBA player came back stronger than they were before they blew their Achilles.

Kevin Durant did you forget him? He hasn’t been able to stay healthy though witj nagging injuries and Dominique Wilkins.

I didn't forget about him. I'm just wondering how he was better after the injury than he was before?

Wilkins was older and he put up two great years after. KD has looked better but he can’t stay healthy.

[The Corey's]

Kevin Durant did you forget him? He hasn’t been able to stay healthy though witj nagging injuries and Dominique Wilkins.

I didn't forget about him. I'm just wondering how he was better after the injury than he was before?

Wilkins was older and he put up two great years after. KD has looked better but he can’t stay healthy.

Tatum almost certainly is just gonna be a jump shooter the rest of his career. He had essentially settled into that role as it was.

The timeline doesn't work anymore. Tatum will be coming back to a completely new team and coach.

It's on Brad to find those missing pieces now.

[R-DAWG]

I think Derrick White is the biggest question here. If next year is a gap year/bridge year you have to start asking questions about what he’s going to look like in 2-4 years. He’s 30 years old coming off a career year, but he’s also a smaller guard with a lot of playoff miles on him.

Is there a Mikal Bridges level package out there for him? Or something close to it? I think it’s a very interesting conversation.

Porzingis is also an interesting conversation because his combination of size and skill is extremely hard to replace. What does his next contract look like as a result of his durability issues and it worth keeping him around hoping that you get some playoff runs out of him.

But selling high on White is probably the most difficult conversation.

[ThePigeon]

Well, now it is Brad's time to show what he is made off again
Our tradeable assets that will not require us to pay to unload are JB, White, PP and to some degree Jrue and Hauser

White and Jrue can be the missing pieces for a contender as they were here and JB can be the 2nd wheel on a contender to be (SA, HOU etc.)

I am for retooling the way DA did once the KG/PP era ended.
If we can get enough draft capital to unload KP - I'll also do it. Bring in fresh, hungry and athletic guys and run them for a year or two until JT comes back full force

[bfchs123]

I’ll say it now - if there ever comes a time where we are a legit contender and the olympics rolls around, no way in hell would I let our guys participate. Ended up being way too much basketball with no break for three critical guys in our starting lineup. Especially for a guy like Jrue, he stumbled across the finish line badly and it cost us dearly. Never know what caused the achilles injury but all I know is Tatum logged a crazy amount of minutes over the past 12 months and I’m sure the extra games didn’t help (not to mention he does stuff like play in the ASG too, literally no downtime)

[165bows]

Mentioned it in the other thread but I see JB taking a big chunk of time to get his knee right.

Celtics can then reset the roster and the finances and add a solid piece to keep (or more likely trade).

[Curmudgeon]

Well, this team was built to win now, and it did-- but only once. And they won't win next year without Tatum. So blowing it up is completely rational. You try to do the deal that Ainge did with the Nets, moving Pierce and KG for picks. I'd even consider moving Tatum for the right return.

[NYCelticsfan136]

I didn't forget about him. I'm just wondering how he was better after the injury than he was before?

Wilkins was older and he put up two great years after. KD has looked better but he can’t stay healthy.

Tatum almost certainly is just gonna be a jump shooter the rest of his career. He had essentially settled into that role as it was.

The timeline doesn't work anymore. Tatum will be coming back to a completely new team and coach.

It's on Brad to find those missing pieces now.

Tatum is going nowhere dude. He’s gonna finish his career here.

[The Corey's]

Wilkins was older and he put up two great years after. KD has looked better but he can’t stay healthy.

Tatum almost certainly is just gonna be a jump shooter the rest of his career. He had essentially settled into that role as it was.

The timeline doesn't work anymore. Tatum will be coming back to a completely new team and coach.

It's on Brad to find those missing pieces now.

Tatum is going nowhere dude. He’s gonna finish his career here.

This is incorrect. He will absolutely not finish his career his.

He's not going anywhere before 2028. That is true.

[NYCelticsfan136]

Well, this team was built to win now, and it did-- but only once. And they won't win next year without Tatum. So blowing it up is completely rational. You try to do the deal that Ainge did with the Nets, moving Pierce and KG for picks. I'd even consider moving Tatum for the right return.

Nobody is taking Tatum coming back wih an Achilles because there’s an unknown on how he will play.

[The Corey's]

Well, this team was built to win now, and it did-- but only once. And they won't win next year without Tatum. So blowing it up is completely rational. You try to do the deal that Ainge did with the Nets, moving Pierce and KG for picks. I'd even consider moving Tatum for the right return.

Ainge would probably be willing to take Brown.

[NYCelticsfan136]

Tatum almost certainly is just gonna be a jump shooter the rest of his career. He had essentially settled into that role as it was.

The timeline doesn't work anymore. Tatum will be coming back to a completely new team and coach.

It's on Brad to find those missing pieces now.

Tatum is going nowhere dude. He’s gonna finish his career here.

This is incorrect. He will absolutely not finish his career his.

He's not going anywhere before 2028. That is true.

Maybe when he gets older like paul pierce but i think Tatum will bounce back like Durant .

[The Corey's]

Tatum is going nowhere dude. He’s gonna finish his career here.

This is incorrect. He will absolutely not finish his career his.

He's not going anywhere before 2028. That is true.

Maybe when he gets older like paul pierce but i think Tatum will bounce back like Durant .

Bounce back to what? He's a beta.

He's capable of going off for 40. He's also capable of not even getting off a game winning shot.

Tatum will be fine.

Fine isn't good enough.

[greenbeans]

The weird talk about alpha/beta tells us a lot more about the poster than it does the conversation. It's basketball not the prison yard. Are we supposed to want Butler over Leonard?

[Roger Federer]

I think the Tatum/Brown experiment is over. These two will never win another championship together. They are Harden and Westbrook if Harden and Westbrook somehow found a way to win a championship that one year they blew a 3-1 lead in the WCF on OKC. I think also like Harden and Westbrook, they won’t ever elevate a team on their own to a title. The best we can hope for is to somehow acquire an even greater generational talent than Tatum, likely needs to be a big, that actually has the clutch gene to carry whichever of Tatum/Brown is still left here by the time we find him.

It's clear that you'll fail to appreciate whatever talent we do manage to get.

Lol that is such a bridgey mindset and it leads to wanting to build around Isaiah Thomas and Marcus Smart, the latter of which we held onto WAYY too long.

I trust Brad is smart enough not to fall into that ridiculous mindset and will continue to make moves to improve the team even if it means trading a great player who will likely spend the rest of his career as a #2 option at best.

[Roger Federer]

The weird talk about alpha/beta tells us a lot more about the poster than it does the conversation. It's basketball not the prison yard. Are we supposed to want Butler over Leonard?

The fact that you think in your example that the career loser is the alpha and the 2 time NBA champion is the beta says a lot more about you than it says about the conversation.

[greenbeans]

The weird talk about alpha/beta tells us a lot more about the poster than it does the conversation. It's basketball not the prison yard. Are we supposed to want Butler over Leonard?

The fact that you think in your example that the career loser is the alpha and the 2 time NBA champion is the beta says a lot more about you than it says about the conversation.

Butler quite clearly fits the alpha mold more than Kawhi does, but again, who cares, it ain't relevant to team building in the manner it was being discussed

[Roger Federer]

I wouldn't pencil in brown being here. Tatum is the only real untouchable.

Tatum WAS untouchable but after this injury, if he doesn’t look the same by end of 2027 he has to be on the table because the worst thing would be holding onto a guy who may never be at a top 10 level ever again. That’s how you end up like the Bulls post Derrick Rose’s injury or the Blazers post Brandon Roy.

If this is true then he's even more untouchable.

There's a season where we are going to owe him $71m far far away from now. Who's signing up for a year of rehab in addition to all that long-term uncertainty?

JT is here to stay, that's our guy. Sure he has some faults but he's one of the faces of the league, you don't trade that.

Obviously we’re not trading him in the next 2-3 years. But if by the end of 2027 he doesn’t look right, he has to be on the table, for the right deal of course. People forget that the overwhelming majority of players never return to pre-injury form, not even close. For every one example like KD, there are a dozen more like Paul George, Derrick Rose, Brandon Roy, Sean Livingston, Andrew Bogut, Gordon Hayward just to name few.

[cloverleaf]

Tatum, Brown, White, and Pritchard should be considered untouchable—unless someone comes in with a ridiculous offer for Brown. I'd explore what you could get in return for Kristaps Porzingis and Jrue Holiday. Try to trade them for younger players who better fit the team's timeline. The hope is that the new additions mesh well with the core, and Tatum is able to return before the playoffs next year so you can make a strong run with that group.

I don't see promising young players getting traded for KP, JH or their contracts (unless maybe for KP at the trade deadline next season).

[WeLikeOurGuys]

Tatum, Brown, White, and Pritchard should be considered untouchable—unless someone comes in with a ridiculous offer for Brown. I'd explore what you could get in return for Kristaps Porzingis and Jrue Holiday. Try to trade them for younger players who better fit the team's timeline. The hope is that the new additions mesh well with the core, and Tatum is able to return before the playoffs next year so you can make a strong run with that group.

I don't see promising young players getting traded for KP, JH or their contracts (unless maybe for KP at the trade deadline next season).

Maybe a team like the Lakers where you could get Reaves back or the rockets where Jabari Smith has fallen out of the rotation.