The Official Off-Season Thread, part I of many

[Crossy2008]

The final stretch leading into the playoffs, and then the series with Atlanta showed us a couple things about this team.

First thing was that Sullinger's conditioning failed him, and he is not worth resigning this offseason. He was quite literally a momentum builder for the Hawks. He was lazy offensively and would shoot a twenty footer just to make it easier on himself to get back on defense. He was not even remotely effective in the paint, and his effort dragged down the Celtics every time he was on the floor. Sully was Brad's biggest mistake in this series. He should have sat as a DNP for every game, and Zeller should have gotten his minutes based on effort if nothing else.

We have one shooter on this team in AB who can consistently hit an open shot. Running sets to get AB an open look is an important part of this team's offense and without him it takes pressure off the defense. We need more depth on the perimeter offensively.

I think we should resign Turner. He is so good at getting an open look in the paint with his dribble. He was taken out of his role for this series, and I think that hurt us. He is a bench player that deserves twenty plus minutes a game, and his defense looked good this year. He is streaky and it can lead to long stretches where he is ineffective, but he will be a solid player for the entirety of his next contract. I value him in the 7-9mil per year group and if that is not enough then we move on.

I would be willing to sign Amir to a four year thirty-four million dollar contract. He is a solid guy to have on this team, and if he is willing to take less for a long term deal then I would do it. There are question about his health, but I can be sure that he will play hard when he is healthy, and giving him a reduced role should improve his long term sustainability.

Olynyk can make this team very tough to play against when he is hitting the threes and driving after his fourteen pump fakes, and he is worth having as a bench player who can get more minutes if he gets going. I still trade him in the offseason if given a decent return, or having included him a package deal. He is inconsistent with his effort, he not a good rebounder, and he has a little Jeff Green in him. He had a decent season defensively, and he did improve his strength last offseason. He has one season left on his rookie contract and would be cheap to keep around hoping he takes that step forward next year. If he figures out that he is seven feet tall, and jumps up to get rebounds, while getting a little stronger, then he could be more effective. If we don't trade him, then he needs to take a big step forward next season. If he comes in next year with improved rebounding, then he may actually be starter quality.

Ainge may be set on getting the BPA this offseason, but at some point he needs to construct a team that fits together. Right now we have too much inconsistency on offense, and our group does not fit together well. I am not sure he has had that luxury in the past few offseasons, but he should have that chance now.

[Smitty731]

Maybe a weird question, but at the Lottery does Boston have a rep and no rep for Brooklyn? Since the Celtics own the Nets pick with no protections, I figure Boston would be there. Making the Nets sit there with no chance at actually keeping the pick would just seem cruel.

The reason I ask though is everything still lists "Brooklyn (to Boston)" as having the 3rd best odds in the lottery.

[klemen4]

Big man depth and 3pt shooting needs big improvement:

We were bottom 3 in 3pt%...can not win games like this:

Olynyk 40%
AB, IT 36%

This 3 are ok.

Then Crowder has to improve even more, 33% is not good enough.
And with Smart at only 25%...we just can not keep Turner with his 24% imo.

IT/Smart
bradley/Smart
Crowder/
_______/Mickey
_______/Olynyk

I think all focus should be on trading for star PF/C M.Gasol, Cousins, Griffin, Love...than whoever we also add should be very good 3pt shooter.

[Red2]

maybe we get lucky in the draft but the odds are against it. I've thought all along that unless we get 1 or 2 Danny will trade the brooklyn pick in a package to get an established player. He will then use some of his picks to stash some Euro players for a few years. I don't this this draft is going to help us much other than to facilitate a trade. We probably can pick up a young big and a wing player in this draft but again what this team really needs is another bona fide scorer. One player who intrigues me a bit is the kid Elleson from Marquette. He's a ways away but I think he could turn into something. On free agents I think DeMar Rozen would be a good fit as would Jimmy Butler.

[Wes-J]

Zeller, Sully, Amir, and KO can take a hike.

Lee was traded and leaves Jerebko as last man standing, amazing.

[DK-All Day]

Wouldn't even offer Sully the QO. AWFUL.

[SmartWentCrazy]

Maybe a weird question, but at the Lottery does Boston have a rep and no rep for Brooklyn? Since the Celtics own the Nets pick with no protections, I figure Boston would be there. Making the Nets sit there with no chance at actually keeping the pick would just seem cruel.

The reason I ask though is everything still lists "Brooklyn (to Boston)" as having the 3rd best odds in the lottery.

Boston has a rep, and, per Wyc, it will be IT.

[Smitty731]

Maybe a weird question, but at the Lottery does Boston have a rep and no rep for Brooklyn? Since the Celtics own the Nets pick with no protections, I figure Boston would be there. Making the Nets sit there with no chance at actually keeping the pick would just seem cruel.

The reason I ask though is everything still lists "Brooklyn (to Boston)" as having the 3rd best odds in the lottery.

Boston has a rep, and, per Wyc, it will be IT.

interesting. I guess he is the face of the franchise as far as players go, so that makes some sense. Good to know. Thanks!

[sprash9802]

I dont believe that bigs dont have a place in today's NBA. Danny should focus on building from the inside out. Noah, for starters. Add another big via FA and get a scoring wing. Durant, for all intrinsic purposes, is a pipe dream. We can't count on it. But Ainge and Wyc HAVE to go ALL in... No more incremental upgrades to this crap roster. Two seasons has shown this is NOT a team built for the playoffs. Let go of Sully, KO, Zeller,Turner. Package some players and picks for a star. And draft well to add depth to the roster. We CANNOT have another offseason like the last... This fan base is too smart for that.

[Afam]

No to the Celtics signing Noah or players of that ilk . That would be a bad move, and poor roster construction . You get Noah when your team is already a championship team. Like the final piece to the puzzle and not before . The Number one priority for the Celtics should be getting a star player this offseason . Don't you think that getting a star player on the Celtics (Like Durant, Jimmy Butler)would entice other star players and role players to join the Celtics . It would .

The Boston Celtics asstes accumulation stage should be over . Time to start using it to sign a star player, and start forming a championship team . Doesn't matter if it's Kevin Durant, Jimmy Butler, Blake Griffin. Just get a star player in Boston. The team full of underdogs was fun for a while, but it doesn't get you anywhere in the long run.

[sprash9802]

No to the Celtics signing Noah or players of that ilk . That would be a bad move, and poor roster construction . You get Noah when your team is already a championship team. Like the final piece to the puzzle and not before . The Number one priority for the Celtics should be getting a star player this offseason . Don't you think that getting a star player on the Celtics (Like Durant, Jimmy Butler)would entice other star players and role players to join the Celtics . It would .

The Boston Celtics asstes accumulation stage should be over . Time to start using it to sign a star player, and start forming a championship team . Doesn't matter if it's Kevin Durant, Jimmy Butler, Blake Griffin. Just get a star player in Boston. The team full of underdogs was fun for a while, but it doesn't get you anywhere in the long run.

Noah would be a terrific fit here. Just for his rebounding and defense alone. It won't cost you quite as much as Horford either, freeing up money for other upgrades. Yes, you get a star player ALSO! That goes without saying. But Noah would be HUGE upgrade over fatty and the two softies that we had this past season.

[Afam]

Ainge will be aggressive in free agency, team sources told The Vertical, and yes, that means a run at Kevin Durant. The Celtics believe Durant will meet with them this summer, but they know that meeting won’t accomplish much unless there are significant moves leading into it. Durant will be 28 in September, and the former MVP isn’t interested in hearing what a team could someday become. He wants to win now, which is why Golden State and San Antonio expect to be appealing, why Oklahoma City is still very much in play. Boston needs a deal for Jimmy Butler, a commitment from Al Horford, a carrot to dangle in front of Durant to persuade him that relocating east is the smart play.

http://sports.yahoo.com/news/celtics--offseason-plan-to-include-a-run-at-kevin-durant-143324787.html

[165bows]

Two league sources said the Clippers have already speculated about what they must do to improve, and are open to making whatever changes are necessary.

http://espn.go.com/nba/playoffs/2016/story/_/id/15422649/los-angeles-clippers-fate-hardly-reason-cursing

[FakeScreenName123]

Question for the CBA folks round here...


What is the date(s) for picking up a team option compared to the dates of making a contract guaranteed?


follow up:


What is the advantage of a non-guaranteed contract vs. a team option?

[Berkcelt]

Question for the CBA folks round here...


What is the date(s) for picking up a team option compared to the dates of making a contract guaranteed?


follow up:


What is the advantage of a non-guaranteed contract vs. a team option?

i may be reading this wrong but I think this applies to most non-rookie contracts team options. From Q #59 of Coon's FAQ:

The window for all other options can close no later than June 29 of the year the option takes effect (an earlier date may be specified as a matter of individual negotiation).

I guess the big difference is that for a non-guaranteed year you can negotiate the de-facto "expiration date" whenever, where an option basically has to be decided before Free Agency begins. The non-guaranteed year is going to give the team more flexibility for making trades.

In Amir and Jerebko's cases, here are the dates (from Basketball Insiders):

7/3/16 — Amir Johnson’s $12.0 million guarantees for 16/17.
7/3/16 — Jonas Jerebko’s $5.0 million guarantees for 16/17.
7/7/16 — Free agent signing period begins.

Seems like just enough flexibility to pull off a trade to lure in a free agent.

[Captain_Caveman]

I'm guess it will be Butler and Horford, and we will give up way too much for both of them in terms of assets and salary.

End up with something like this:

IT/Wade Baldwin
Bradley/Rozier/Hunter
Butler/Mickey/Young
Olynyk/Jerebko/Brice Johnson
Horford/Amir

Improved starting 5, with plenty of bench spots available to start actually playing some of these recent and future picks.

[Powe-Fessional]

https://soundcloud.com/evan-valenti/john-karalis-celtics-4-28-16

I interviewed John Karalis of RedsArmy.com (@RedsArmy_John) on the show today. We both admit this could have been a ton more fun.

[BRUNiNHO91]

Big man depth and 3pt shooting needs big improvement:

We were bottom 3 in 3pt%...can not win games like this:

Olynyk 40%
AB, IT 36%

This 3 are ok.

Then Crowder has to improve even more, 33% is not good enough.
And with Smart at only 25%...we just can not keep Turner with his 24% imo.

IT/Smart
bradley/Smart
Crowder/
_______/Mickey
_______/Olynyk

I think all focus should be on trading for star PF/C M.Gasol, Cousins, Griffin, Love...than whoever we also add should be very good 3pt shooter.

This is why I think Ryan Anderson could be a target for us. You trade Smart, Hunter and Olynyk + BKN pick to the Bulls for Butler. Sign Anderson and draft a guy like Valentine with the Dallas pick and you just significantly improved this roster.

Isaiah/Turner/Rozier
Butler/Bradley/Young
Crowder/Valentine
Anderson/Jerebko
Johnson/Mickey

It's not a championship contender yet, but that's a better team than what we threw out this year. Most people wouldn't be happy with that but I think it makes us a top 2 team in the conference easily and you're right back in the position to add another star with the other 2 BKN picks. You add a big time C to that team and that's a championship caliber squad. You still have the chance Valentine, Mickey or Rozier turn into stars themselves..or close to it. Obviously we all want Durant and Griffin and this scenario isn't plan A, but it's a more realistic approach, one that still leaves us with a solid flexibility in terms of cap space(Amir and Jerebko off the books next summer for 17 million), still leaves us with a young squad, a lot of potential for growth from within and obviously still having the BKN picks and Memphis pick to play with. It's a step forward from what we had this year. I feel like it's important for people to know that things might not go our way and a championship team might not be built over night..so taking steps forward is the way to go. Building a more balanced team with a strong defensive system and a potent offense is still something we can achieve even without getting Simmons or Griffin or Durant.

[rickrolled]

The only way Horford leaves is if/when his team gets mauled by the Cavs in 5 games. But here's the thing though, he's not that good!

And he's a pretty boy model guy, doesn't fit the mold for a Celtics player.

[rickrolled]

Now that is funny