Trade/Free Agency Thread 2023-24, part 10 and Counting . . .

[Triple7]

Kornet already did cut it last season. He was our 3rd big last season and we had 2nd best record in the league, #1 in net rating. Kornet was 8th on the team in BPM, ahead of Smart and Grant.

Now with the addition of Porzingis, we only need him to be the 4th big.

Kornet is not a perfect player by any means. But at this point, he knows our systems inside and out. He's 7'2", is a good passer, plays very unselfish basketball on offense, plays hard, works hard, doesn't complain about sporadic playing time, is a great locker room/team chemistry guy, keeps everyone loose with his goofy sense of humor. Plays high IQ, fundamentally sound basketball, sets screens, is a pretty good shot blocker (had a blocks % of 4.9, which was tied for 11th in the NBA last season, a hair below Rob who was 5.0), can catch lobs, etc.

Nah he’s too **** soft. As a 4th big with very limited mins, then i guess he’s fine, but we all know Al and Rob will miss tons of games, and we don’t know yet with porzingis. So no, kornet won’t cut it.

But he already did cut it lol. Nothing you said has proven otherwise.

Again, we had the #1 net rating in the league last season, with Kornet as the 3rd big (and he was 8th on the team in BPM, ahead of Smart and ahead of Grant). Now he's the 4th big.

Rob will likely play more games than last season. Rob had surgery right before the season started last season. It does not look like that will happen again this season - this is the healthiest offseason he's had in his career. And Al pretty much never gets hurt - he only misses games if he is sitting out back to backs, and there's only about 13 of those per season.

Celtics record last season in games Kornet played 12+ mins: 22-7 (.758 winning percentage)
Celtics record in other games: 35-18 (.660 winning percentage)

Keep in mind, many of the games Kornet played 12+ mins were when we were on the 2nd night of a back to back to Horford was sitting out (teams typically have a lower chance of winning on 2nd night of a back to back, not to mention 1 of our starters Horford being out hurts our chances). Also, a lot of the games Kornet played 12+ mins were games Rob was out - which makes it harder for us to win if one of our best players (Rob) is out. So it actually speaks volumes that the team still had a better winning % in those games where Kornet played 12+ mins.

Lol. The guy is soft as you can get. Just a little bump underneath and he’s gone. He can’t defend anyone on the block. I have no problem with Kornet offensively.

[sam_I_am]

Its pretty obvious that Brown will not accept a step back in role. HE thinks he is easily on par with Tatum and should be afforded al the same things.

He thinks KP is below him in the pecking order. Which is mond boggling to me.

Umm.. He absolutely is.

It’s July. Let’s let them play some games together, see how it goes

Exactly. JB has been on all sides of this debate with GH, KW etc. if KP is better the whole team will know it after a week or two of training camp scrimmages. I think JB no longer has the pressure of proving himself worthy of his contract. He earned it and now making sacrifices to his game or his stats for the team is a lot easier.

Game 7 showed that it’s less than ideal for JB to put team on his back and play hero ball. Even if JT sprains an ankle again, having another 20 ppg caliber offensive player on the team should mean he never has to,

[Fierce1]

There's no pressure on JB now.

He can do a James Harden, get fat and just shoot 3s all game long.

[Hal14]

Another former Celtic player who will be playing overseas this season:

Read on Twitter

Former Celtics who will play overseas this season:

Kelan Martin
Carsen Edwards
Yabusele
Vincent Poirier
Juancho Hernangomez
Kemba Walker
Tremont Waters
Semi Ojeleye
Aron Baynes (possibly)

Might be forgetting some..

[Triple7]

Read on Twitter

Will never understand the media's unwavering belief in Milwaukee.

Yeah i agree. We had the bucks number all of last season. If we faced them instead of the heat, we would have advanced easily. We were built to defeat them last year.

[Fierce1]

Celts are now built to beat every team.

There's no excuse to not win a chip with this roster.

[ddb]

Remaining free agents:

PJ Washington
Kelly Oubre
Christian Wood
Danny Green
Javonte Green
Austin Rivers
Derrick Jones Jr
Hamidou Diallo
Lamar Stevens
Blake Griffin
John Wall
Edmond Sumner
JaMychal Green
Bismack Biyombo
Justice Winslow
Kendrick Nunn
Trendon Watford
Will Barton
Terrence Ross
TJ Warren
Rudy Gay
Wenyen Gabriel
Kyle Guy
Terence Davis
Jaylen Nowell
Frank Ntilikina
Romeo Langford
Glenn Robinson III
Harry Giles
Alize Johnson
Ish Smith
Juan Toscano-Anderson
Darren Collison
Marko Simonovic
Stanley Johnson
KZ Okpala
RaiQuan Gray
Joe Wieskamp
Isaiah Thomas
PJ Dozier
Noah Vonleh

Many of those players were talked about as being so much better than our guys and all of them are still looking for a team this late. Couple aren't in our price range but still, maybe we never have it as bad as people say.

Other than Washington, Oubre and Wood they are all vet min. players. Welcome to the new NBA CBA. It's just taking the players longer to realize the situation.

Yep! Every Roster will eventually have 4-5 players who get paid. The rest minimum, short-term deals. It'll backfire and lead to another lockout and/or Saudi Arabia starting a league and offering everyone ridiculous money. Not good.

[ddb]

There's no pressure on JB now.

He can do a James Harden, get fat and just shoot 3s all game long.

I couldn't think of two players further apart on the spectrum between fat/lazy & humble/hardworking

[Hal14]

Celts are now built to beat every team.

There's no excuse to not win a chip with this roster.

The Suns arguably have a better roster. They have 2 of the top 10 players in the league.

Their #1 option (KD) is arguably better than ours. Their #2 option (Booker) is arguably better than ours. Their #3 option (Beal) is arguably better than ours. Their 4th best player (Ayton) is arguably better than ours. A bunch of solid vets for a supporting cast and a more experienced coach.

Warriors have the same core and same head coach that has won 4 titles together.

It wouldn't be shocking if either of those teams won it all.

As of now, we should certainly come out of the east. But injuries could derail that. Or perhaps year 1 with a new core results in guys not quite finding their groove together and falling short of postseason expectations (like what happened in 2011 with Miami or what happened in 97, 98 and 99 with Shaq and Kobe..)

We're definitely one of the title favorites. And this is possibly our best roster since Pierce/KG/Ray. BUT let's not get it twisted here and make it seem like we're the 95-96 Bulls..we're a good team but we're not *that* good. Nobody on our team has ever won a championship before. Tatum will be 26 during this season's playoffs, but out of the last 17 teams to win the title, 16 out of those 17 teams were led by a player who was 27 or older. Out of the last 13 teams to win the title, all 13 of them had a dude who had an assist % of 30 or higher. The guy on our team who had the highest assist% last season was only 21.5. Lastly, none of the last 22 teams to win the NBA title have had 2 high usage (30% or higher), low assist under 25%) guys on the same team - Tatum and Brown fell into that bucket last season.

[snowman]

Remaining free agents:

PJ Washington
Kelly Oubre
Christian Wood
Danny Green
Javonte Green
Austin Rivers
Derrick Jones Jr
Hamidou Diallo
Lamar Stevens
Blake Griffin
John Wall
Edmond Sumner
JaMychal Green
Bismack Biyombo
Justice Winslow
Kendrick Nunn
Trendon Watford
Will Barton
Terrence Ross
TJ Warren
Rudy Gay
Wenyen Gabriel
Kyle Guy
Terence Davis
Jaylen Nowell
Frank Ntilikina
Romeo Langford
Glenn Robinson III
Harry Giles
Alize Johnson
Ish Smith
Juan Toscano-Anderson
Darren Collison
Marko Simonovic
Stanley Johnson
KZ Okpala
RaiQuan Gray
Joe Wieskamp
Isaiah Thomas
PJ Dozier
Noah Vonleh

Many of those players were talked about as being so much better than our guys and all of them are still looking for a team this late. Couple aren't in our price range but still, maybe we never have it as bad as people say.

Give me TJ Warren (wing) and Moses Brown (big) as 14th and 15th roster players.
Warren can still score, is 6'8 and would be a decent backup wing to spell Tatum and not be useless. He's now 2 years removed from his injury, and I just have a feeling that he may have a chip on his shoulder with something to prove and Brad seems to like reclamation project that should come cheap. Any more than the minimum though and I would pass.

I have mentioned Azubuike lately, but he is just not the type of player that fits Brads system. At least Brown has a high motor. I wanted us to keep Brown when he came from OKC with Horford but moving him for Richardson turned out to be the right move. However, we know first-hand what he can do. He was a one man show against us in OKC. Horford knows him, and I expect he respects Horford and would be open to guidance from big Al. At 7'2, and only 23 years old, he could still turn out to be a diamond in the rough with a little time with Horford. He would at least give Kornet some comp for the 4th big spot. He would come cheap and if he didn't work out, trade him at the deadline.

Then sign a 3rd 2-way once we see who gets dropped after training camp. There are many teams that will need to cut some decent young players that we may be able to snatch up.

edit: I keep going back and forth on the 14th and 15th roster spots, as I see who is available. People say what does it matter, they will never play anyway, but if you can get a better player for the same money as you can a lesser player, why not do it, even if they will never play. I'm tired of seeing Boston's top 8 build a 20–30-point lead in the 4th quarter, sit our main guys and bring out the bench only to see the lead down to 6 in 3 minutes of game time. Make the end of the bench better, and hopefully that happen less.

[165bows]

Remaining free agents:

PJ Washington
Kelly Oubre
Christian Wood
Danny Green
Javonte Green
Austin Rivers
Derrick Jones Jr
Hamidou Diallo
Lamar Stevens
Blake Griffin
John Wall
Edmond Sumner
JaMychal Green
Bismack Biyombo
Justice Winslow
Kendrick Nunn
Trendon Watford
Will Barton
Terrence Ross
TJ Warren
Rudy Gay
Wenyen Gabriel
Kyle Guy
Terence Davis
Jaylen Nowell
Frank Ntilikina
Romeo Langford
Glenn Robinson III
Harry Giles
Alize Johnson
Ish Smith
Juan Toscano-Anderson
Darren Collison
Marko Simonovic
Stanley Johnson
KZ Okpala
RaiQuan Gray
Joe Wieskamp
Isaiah Thomas
PJ Dozier
Noah Vonleh

Many of those players were talked about as being so much better than our guys and all of them are still looking for a team this late. Couple aren't in our price range but still, maybe we never have it as bad as people say.

Give me TJ Warren (wing) and Moses Brown (big) as 14th and 15th roster players.
Warren can still score, is 6'8 and would be a decent backup wing to spell Tatum and not be useless. He's now 2 years removed from his injury, and I just have a feeling that he may have a chip on his shoulder with something to prove and Brad seems to like reclamation project that should come cheap. Any more than the minimum though and I would pass.

I have mentioned Azubuike lately, but he is just not the type of player that fits Brads system. At least Brown has a high motor. I wanted us to keep Brown when he came from OKC with Horford but moving him for Richardson turned out to be the right move. However, we know first-hand what he can do. He was a one man show against us in OKC. Horford knows him, and I expect he respects Horford and would be open to guidance from big Al. At 7'2, and only 23 years old, he could still turn out to be a diamond in the rough with a little time with Horford. He would at least give Kornet some comp for the 4th big spot. He would come cheap and if he didn't work out, trade him at the deadline.

Then sign a 3rd 2-way once we see who gets dropped after training camp. There are many teams that will need to cut some decent young players that we may be able to snatch up.

edit: I keep going back and forth on the 14th and 15th roster spots, as I see who is available. People say what does it matter, they will never play anyway, but if you can get a better player for the same money as you can a lesser player, why not do it, even if they will never play. I'm tired of seeing Boston's top 8 build a 20–30-point lead in the 4th quarter, sit our main guys and bring out the bench only to see the lead down to 6 in 3 minutes of game time. Make the end of the bench better, and hopefully that happen less.

Question for me is do they sign vet guys for this season only (Blake, Austin Rivers types), or do they get a 23-25 year guy on a multi year contract (Wiggins, maybe some random overseas guy) that is more a now and later guy.

[165bows]

Celts are now built to beat every team.

There's no excuse to not win a chip with this roster.

The Suns arguably have a better roster. They have 2 of the top 10 players in the league.

Their #1 option (KD) is arguably better than ours. Their #2 option (Booker) is arguably better than ours. Their #3 option (Beal) is arguably better than ours. Their 4th best player (Ayton) is arguably better than ours. A bunch of solid vets for a supporting cast and a more experienced coach.

Warriors have the same core and same head coach that has won 4 titles together.

It wouldn't be shocking if either of those teams won it all.

As of now, we should certainly come out of the east. But injuries could derail that. Or perhaps year 1 with a new core results in guys not quite finding their groove together and falling short of postseason expectations (like what happened in 2011 with Miami or what happened in 97, 98 and 99 with Shaq and Kobe..)

We're definitely one of the title favorites. And this is possibly our best roster since Pierce/KG/Ray. BUT let's not get it twisted here and make it seem like we're the 95-96 Bulls..we're a good team but we're not *that* good. Nobody on our team has ever won a championship before. Tatum will be 26 during this season's playoffs, but out of the last 17 teams to win the title, 16 out of those 17 teams were led by a player who was 27 or older. Out of the last 13 teams to win the title, all 13 of them had a dude who had an assist % of 30 or higher. The guy on our team who had the highest assist% last season was only 21.5. Lastly, none of the last 22 teams to win the NBA title have had 2 high usage (30% or higher), low assist under 25%) guys on the same team - Tatum and Brown fell into that bucket last season.

Tatum>>KD, Zinger>>Beal imo. Outside of Booker Boston is better than Phoenix by a solid clip.

[JaMarco]

Celts are now built to beat every team.

There's no excuse to not win a chip with this roster.

The Suns arguably have a better roster. They have 2 of the top 10 players in the league.

Their #1 option (KD) is arguably better than ours. Their #2 option (Booker) is arguably better than ours. Their #3 option (Beal) is arguably better than ours. Their 4th best player (Ayton) is arguably better than ours. A bunch of solid vets for a supporting cast and a more experienced coach.

Warriors have the same core and same head coach that has won 4 titles together.

It wouldn't be shocking if either of those teams won it all.

As of now, we should certainly come out of the east. But injuries could derail that. Or perhaps year 1 with a new core results in guys not quite finding their groove together and falling short of postseason expectations (like what happened in 2011 with Miami or what happened in 97, 98 and 99 with Shaq and Kobe..)

We're definitely one of the title favorites. And this is possibly our best roster since Pierce/KG/Ray. BUT let's not get it twisted here and make it seem like we're the 95-96 Bulls..we're a good team but we're not *that* good. Nobody on our team has ever won a championship before. Tatum will be 26 during this season's playoffs, but out of the last 17 teams to win the title, 16 out of those 17 teams were led by a player who was 27 or older. Out of the last 13 teams to win the title, all 13 of them had a dude who had an assist % of 30 or higher. The guy on our team who had the highest assist% last season was only 21.5. Lastly, none of the last 22 teams to win the NBA title have had 2 high usage (30% or higher), low assist under 25%) guys on the same team - Tatum and Brown fell into that bucket last season.

Tatum>>KD, Zinger>>Beal imo. Outside of Booker Boston is better than Phoenix by a solid clip.

The Suns are better on paper. Tatum definitely was not better than KD last year when he was healthy.

[snowman]

Many of those players were talked about as being so much better than our guys and all of them are still looking for a team this late. Couple aren't in our price range but still, maybe we never have it as bad as people say.

Give me TJ Warren (wing) and Moses Brown (big) as 14th and 15th roster players.
Warren can still score, is 6'8 and would be a decent backup wing to spell Tatum and not be useless. He's now 2 years removed from his injury, and I just have a feeling that he may have a chip on his shoulder with something to prove and Brad seems to like reclamation project that should come cheap. Any more than the minimum though and I would pass.

I have mentioned Azubuike lately, but he is just not the type of player that fits Brads system. At least Brown has a high motor. I wanted us to keep Brown when he came from OKC with Horford but moving him for Richardson turned out to be the right move. However, we know first-hand what he can do. He was a one man show against us in OKC. Horford knows him, and I expect he respects Horford and would be open to guidance from big Al. At 7'2, and only 23 years old, he could still turn out to be a diamond in the rough with a little time with Horford. He would at least give Kornet some comp for the 4th big spot. He would come cheap and if he didn't work out, trade him at the deadline.

Then sign a 3rd 2-way once we see who gets dropped after training camp. There are many teams that will need to cut some decent young players that we may be able to snatch up.

edit: I keep going back and forth on the 14th and 15th roster spots, as I see who is available. People say what does it matter, they will never play anyway, but if you can get a better player for the same money as you can a lesser player, why not do it, even if they will never play. I'm tired of seeing Boston's top 8 build a 20–30-point lead in the 4th quarter, sit our main guys and bring out the bench only to see the lead down to 6 in 3 minutes of game time. Make the end of the bench better, and hopefully that happen less.

Question for me is do they sign vet guys for this season only (Blake, Austin Rivers types), or do they get a 23-25 year guy on a multi year contract (Wiggins, maybe some random overseas guy) that is more a now and later guy.

Both. Warren is a vet guy for now on a minimum one-year prove it deal. I would sign Moses Brown, or whatever young big for 4 years with a team option for 2nd, 3rd, and 4th years with like a 50,000-dollar guarantee if option not picked up.

[Triple7]

The Suns arguably have a better roster. They have 2 of the top 10 players in the league.

Their #1 option (KD) is arguably better than ours. Their #2 option (Booker) is arguably better than ours. Their #3 option (Beal) is arguably better than ours. Their 4th best player (Ayton) is arguably better than ours. A bunch of solid vets for a supporting cast and a more experienced coach.

Warriors have the same core and same head coach that has won 4 titles together.

It wouldn't be shocking if either of those teams won it all.

As of now, we should certainly come out of the east. But injuries could derail that. Or perhaps year 1 with a new core results in guys not quite finding their groove together and falling short of postseason expectations (like what happened in 2011 with Miami or what happened in 97, 98 and 99 with Shaq and Kobe..)

We're definitely one of the title favorites. And this is possibly our best roster since Pierce/KG/Ray. BUT let's not get it twisted here and make it seem like we're the 95-96 Bulls..we're a good team but we're not *that* good. Nobody on our team has ever won a championship before. Tatum will be 26 during this season's playoffs, but out of the last 17 teams to win the title, 16 out of those 17 teams were led by a player who was 27 or older. Out of the last 13 teams to win the title, all 13 of them had a dude who had an assist % of 30 or higher. The guy on our team who had the highest assist% last season was only 21.5. Lastly, none of the last 22 teams to win the NBA title have had 2 high usage (30% or higher), low assist under 25%) guys on the same team - Tatum and Brown fell into that bucket last season.

Tatum>>KD, Zinger>>Beal imo. Outside of Booker Boston is better than Phoenix by a solid clip.

The Suns are better on paper. Tatum definitely was not better than KD last year when he was healthy.

Tatum was better in the regular season, he just doesn’t show up regularly in the post season. If he can show up consistently in the playoffs, then our roster, when healthy, would be tough to beat. It all depends mostly on Tatum.

[snowman]

Snowman I like all of your post, just feel like you’re planning on double-big more than Coach Mazzulla may be.
KP/Al/Rob can all be centers.
JT and OB can be PF.
I am all for keeping Azubuike, but I don’t think Kornet is 2nd strong center.

If 9 guys play in the RS, it’s
White/JB/Brogdon
Tatum/Hauser/Brissette?
KP/Rob/Al

If any of those guys aren’t available I think they’re more likely to play small than double bigs. I do think Kornet will play, just not routinely.

I think we only played a one big rotation for most of last year due to RW3 missing the first 1/2 of the season, and Kornet not being able to get it done except in garbage time. I agree with you that Kornet is better suited for 3rd team than 2nd, but right now, like it or not, he is our 4th big. Thats why I want for either the 14th or 15 roster spot to go to a big man, AND the last 2-way to go to a developmental big man. The only reason I put Azubuike in a roster spot is that he can't be on another 2-way because he has 3 years of service already. The more I think about it, Azubuike is not a Brad type of big, and would rather have someone like Moses Brown in that spot. I would sign Moses Brown to a four year minimum deal, with a team option for the 2nd, 3rd and 4th years with a 50,000 guarantee if option not picked up. I also like TJ Warren instead of Javonte Green, Danny Green or Austin Rivers on a one year minimum "prove it" deal.

[Triple7]

Snowman I like all of your post, just feel like you’re planning on double-big more than Coach Mazzulla may be.
KP/Al/Rob can all be centers.
JT and OB can be PF.
I am all for keeping Azubuike, but I don’t think Kornet is 2nd strong center.

If 9 guys play in the RS, it’s
White/JB/Brogdon
Tatum/Hauser/Brissette?
KP/Rob/Al

If any of those guys aren’t available I think they’re more likely to play small than double bigs. I do think Kornet will play, just not routinely.

I think we only played a one big rotation for most of last year due to RW3 missing the first 1/2 of the season, and Kornet not being able to get it done except in garbage time. I agree with you that Kornet is better suited for 3rd team than 2nd, but right now, like it or not, he is our 4th big. Thats why I want for either the 14th or 15 roster spot to go to a big man, AND the last 2-way to go to a developmental big man. The only reason I put Azubuike in a roster spot is that he can't be on another 2-way because he has 3 years of service already. The more I think about it, Azubuike is not a Brad type of big, and would rather have someone like Moses Brown in that spot. I would sign Moses Brown to a four year minimum deal, with a team option for the 2nd, 3rd and 4th years with a 50,000 guarantee if option not picked up. I also like TJ Warren instead of Javonte Green, Danny Green or Austin Rivers on a one year minimum "prove it" deal.

Moses Brown can block shots, and good at lobs.

[snowman]

Snowman I like all of your post, just feel like you’re planning on double-big more than Coach Mazzulla may be.
KP/Al/Rob can all be centers.
JT and OB can be PF.
I am all for keeping Azubuike, but I don’t think Kornet is 2nd strong center.

If 9 guys play in the RS, it’s
White/JB/Brogdon
Tatum/Hauser/Brissette?
KP/Rob/Al

If any of those guys aren’t available I think they’re more likely to play small than double bigs. I do think Kornet will play, just not routinely.

I think we only played a one big rotation for most of last year due to RW3 missing the first 1/2 of the season, and Kornet not being able to get it done except in garbage time. I agree with you that Kornet is better suited for 3rd team than 2nd, but right now, like it or not, he is our 4th big. Thats why I want for either the 14th or 15 roster spot to go to a big man, AND the last 2-way to go to a developmental big man. The only reason I put Azubuike in a roster spot is that he can't be on another 2-way because he has 3 years of service already. The more I think about it, Azubuike is not a Brad type of big, and would rather have someone like Moses Brown in that spot. I would sign Moses Brown to a four year minimum deal, with a team option for the 2nd, 3rd and 4th years with a 50,000 guarantee if option not picked up. I also like TJ Warren instead of Javonte Green, Danny Green or Austin Rivers on a one year minimum "prove it" deal.

Moses Brown can block shots, and good at lobs.

Just found this in the RealGM FAQ for salary cap. Don't know if this still applies this season or not.

"When a player has been in the NBA for three or more seasons, and is playing under a one-year, 10-day or Rest-of-Season contract at the minimum salary, the league reimburses the team for part of his salary -- any amount above the minimum salary for a two-year veteran. For example, the minimum salary for a two-year veteran in 2017-18 is $1,471,382, so for a ten-year veteran, with a minimum salary of $2,328,652, the league would reimburse the team $857,270. Only the two-year minimum salary is included in the team salary, not the player's full salary. They do this so teams won't shy away from signing older veterans simply because they are more expensive than younger veterans."

So, if this applies to this season then TJ Warren, even though a nine-year vet, could get paid on a one-year deal $2,905,861, but our cap number for him would only be $2,019,706. Although, even if this does apply, we would not be able to sign Moses Brown and TJ Warren, even on minimum contracts and still stay under the 2nd apron.

[GoGreen]

Javonte could be a nice get in FA but otherwise not much out there worth it imo.

[Hal14]

Celts are now built to beat every team.

There's no excuse to not win a chip with this roster.

The Suns arguably have a better roster. They have 2 of the top 10 players in the league.

Their #1 option (KD) is arguably better than ours. Their #2 option (Booker) is arguably better than ours. Their #3 option (Beal) is arguably better than ours. Their 4th best player (Ayton) is arguably better than ours. A bunch of solid vets for a supporting cast and a more experienced coach.

Warriors have the same core and same head coach that has won 4 titles together.

It wouldn't be shocking if either of those teams won it all.

As of now, we should certainly come out of the east. But injuries could derail that. Or perhaps year 1 with a new core results in guys not quite finding their groove together and falling short of postseason expectations (like what happened in 2011 with Miami or what happened in 97, 98 and 99 with Shaq and Kobe..)

We're definitely one of the title favorites. And this is possibly our best roster since Pierce/KG/Ray. BUT let's not get it twisted here and make it seem like we're the 95-96 Bulls..we're a good team but we're not *that* good. Nobody on our team has ever won a championship before. Tatum will be 26 during this season's playoffs, but out of the last 17 teams to win the title, 16 out of those 17 teams were led by a player who was 27 or older. Out of the last 13 teams to win the title, all 13 of them had a dude who had an assist % of 30 or higher. The guy on our team who had the highest assist% last season was only 21.5. Lastly, none of the last 22 teams to win the NBA title have had 2 high usage (30% or higher), low assist under 25%) guys on the same team - Tatum and Brown fell into that bucket last season.

Tatum>>KD, Zinger>>Beal imo. Outside of Booker Boston is better than Phoenix by a solid clip.

That's debatable.