Free Agent/Trade/Waiver Thread, 2025-26

[jordb2k7]

Giannis has 2 years and a 3rd year player option left on his contract. Giannis is going nowhere this year. If the Bucks consider trading Giannis it will be next off-season. Shams is just embarassing. When was the last time Shams got something right with his speculation? The NBA misses Woj.

Shames was saying for about a month that Jaylen Brown and Derrick White were on the move. Good one!

Did Shams guarantee JB and DWhite were on the move?

Shams is on a regular show, he makes things up so he has something to say on the show. Something Woj never did in my opinion.

Also remember ESPN is a casino now. Shams going on there saying stuff like this moves odds that people will bet on.

[GreenBlooded]

Celtics are going to have a higher draft pick than high teens. More like 10-14 unless they get lucky in the draft.

So you think Simons is good enough to increase this team's win total from missing the playoffs to being a 4-5 seed? That's pretty high praise for Simons.

I understand it hasn't sunk in for you yet but it will. Celtics will be the 9th - 11th seed

I'm trying to understand what you're claiming but maybe you're just moving goal posts?

You said:

You're missing the point, Stevens is afraid that Simons will perform and add unnecessary wins to the teams total. That's why he is looking to move him. Celtics are not resigning him and don't want Simons to add another 4-6 wins to the Celtics and push them into a low 20's draft pick.

So which is it? Are the Celtics into low 20s with Simons or a lottery team with Simons?

[celtxman]

Celtics are going to have a higher draft pick than high teens. More like 10-14 unless they get lucky in the draft.

So you think Simons is good enough to increase this team's win total from missing the playoffs to being a 4-5 seed? That's pretty high praise for Simons.

I understand it hasn't sunk in for you yet but it will. Celtics will be the 9th - 11th seed

I think you can argue a case for as high as 6th. The odds makers have them at 43.5 wins. So sure - if they just dump Simons and have injury problems they could sink. I think a middle of the road is 7-8.

[Curmudgeon]

Why does anyone think that Simons will help the Celtics win games?

[He_Got_Game]

Why does anyone think that Simons will help the Celtics win games?

Because he's an explosive athlete and can score in all 3 levels.

[Dogen]

Only way to raise Simons' trade value is to let him play.

Just like Poole got a big bag after that great 2022 season.

Right now trading Simons will result in the Cs getting low ball offers.

Just don't rush in trading Simons.

If he plays well all the way to the NBA Cup, Cs might get something significant from a Simons trade.

^ this. We have until the trade deadline to figure out what makes the most sense for tax calculations.

We've had some decent success up-leveling value from fringe star players or even unknown talent so I don't see the harm to seeing if he's able to up-level his value and assess then.

Our roster still has talent who aren't going to accept being a crap team just so we can have the ~10th pick instead of ~20th. Screw all of that. Not like we're that great at drafting anyway.

I mean, the last time we had a top 10 pick, we drafted Jayson Tatum.

The time before that where we had a top 10 pick, we drafted Jaylen Brown.

Before that, Marcus Smart..who was good value at pick 6, who we later flipped for KP, who helped us win banner 18.

Tatum, brown, smart. The 3 longest tenured Celtics since Pierce..

Yes, but we had the 3rd and 1st (traded to 3rd) in the 2016 and 2017 drafts. 10th picks were Zach Collins and Thon Maker. Of course we could say, "well Danny would have gotten us Mitchell and Sabonis", but those are big ifs. Tatum and Brown were seen as relatively safe picks at their spots in the draft.

Having said that, I wouldn't mind the Celtics sneaking in at the 10th spot for play-in game and see how things develop from there. Maybe the best of both worlds if the Celtics save face, stay hungry, and still have a chance to be a threat in the playoffs, yet get a decent pick in a loaded draft.

The other option of a one year tank, I don't care for. The odds of landing a top three pick will likely backfire, compounded by having a demoralized core and likely a pissed off Joe.

[Curmudgeon]

Why does anyone think that Simons will help the Celtics win games?

Because he's an explosive athlete and can score in all 3 levels.

He can't defend a traffic cone.

[Hal14]

^ this. We have until the trade deadline to figure out what makes the most sense for tax calculations.

We've had some decent success up-leveling value from fringe star players or even unknown talent so I don't see the harm to seeing if he's able to up-level his value and assess then.

Our roster still has talent who aren't going to accept being a crap team just so we can have the ~10th pick instead of ~20th. Screw all of that. Not like we're that great at drafting anyway.

I mean, the last time we had a top 10 pick, we drafted Jayson Tatum.

The time before that where we had a top 10 pick, we drafted Jaylen Brown.

Before that, Marcus Smart..who was good value at pick 6, who we later flipped for KP, who helped us win banner 18.

Tatum, brown, smart. The 3 longest tenured Celtics since Pierce..

Yes, but we had the 3rd and 1st (traded to 3rd) in the 2016 and 2017 drafts. 10th picks were Zach Collins and Thon Maker. Of course we could say, "well Danny would have gotten us Mitchell and Sabonis", but those are big ifs. Tatum and Brown were seen as relatively safe picks at their spots in the draft.

Having said that, I wouldn't mind the Celtics sneaking in at the 10th spot for play-in game and see how things develop from there. Maybe the best of both worlds if the Celtics save face, stay hungry, and still have a chance to be a threat in the playoffs, yet get a decent pick in a loaded draft.

The other option of a one year tank, I don't care for. The odds of landing a top three pick will likely backfire, compounded by having a demoralized core and likely a pissed off Joe.

The warriors core didn't seem demoralized when Steph and Klay got hurt, missed extended time, the Warriors tanked, got the no. 2 pick in 2020 and 2 lottery picks in 2021, so they were bad both of those seasons..yet their core was fine, they came back and won the 2022 title once their guys were back healthy.

This year's celtics have no shot at the title. So even if the odds of us getting lucky in the lottery aren't super high, they are still better than a 0% chance. You at least have a chance by getting into the lottery.

The odds of us landing a top 3 pick might be low, but the odds of it happening are still higher than the odds of us winning a title in 2026.

Also, even if we don't get a top 3 pick, it's still the best option to tank and get as high of a pick as we can. Still really good talent in this draft in the 4-8 range. Not to mention there's plenty of stars in the league right now (Booker, SGA, Mitchell, Haliburton, Giannis, etc.) who got picked in like the 11-15 range.

The higher the pick, the better. I'd rather play those odds, than the odds of us winning a ring in 2026 with a center of rotation of Queta/Garza/Tillman and Tatum out with a torn achilles.

Us ending up in the play in tournament or getting into the playoffs, only to be a 1st/2nd round exit does no good - all that does is mean we get a worse draft pick and it means we're putting more wear and tear on the bodies of JB, white, etc.

[itrsteve]

I mean, the last time we had a top 10 pick, we drafted Jayson Tatum.

The time before that where we had a top 10 pick, we drafted Jaylen Brown.

Before that, Marcus Smart..who was good value at pick 6, who we later flipped for KP, who helped us win banner 18.

Tatum, brown, smart. The 3 longest tenured Celtics since Pierce..

Shy of any statistical anomaly (Mavs), we would have to be an absolute pile of crap team to have a fighting chance to get top-3 picks again.

It's not worth it to me to have a loser team, we still have Brown, White, Pritch, etc... those guys are winners. Let's play the games and see where they land.

[redslastlaugh]

I don't really give the lottery picks we made in 2014, 2016, & 2017 very much predictive weight. The front office that made those picks was Danny Ainge as the decision maker and Austin Ainge as the player personnel guy. And both Ainges are gone. Other front office people have also left. Mike Zarren and Brad Stevens are still here but they just weren't the ones making the call on those picks.

How can we say our current front office is good (or bad) at drafting in 2026 based on the previous regime's picks? I don't think we can draw much from those picks. That's all I'm saying

Our roster still has talent who aren't going to accept being a crap team just so we can have the ~10th pick instead of ~20th. Screw all of that. Not like we're that great at drafting anyway.

I mean, the last time we had a top 10 pick, we drafted Jayson Tatum.

The time before that where we had a top 10 pick, we drafted Jaylen Brown.

Before that, Marcus Smart..who was good value at pick 6, who we later flipped for KP, who helped us win banner 18.

Tatum, brown, smart. The 3 longest tenured Celtics since Pierce..

[Hal14]

I don't really give the lottery picks we made in 2014, 2016, & 2017 very much predictive weight. The front office that made those picks was Danny Ainge as the decision maker and Austin Ainge as the player personnel guy. And both Ainges are gone. Other front office people have also left. Mike Zarren and Brad Stevens are still here but they just weren't the ones making the call on those picks.

How can we use them to say our front office is good (or bad) at drafting in 2026 based on the previous regime's picks? I don't think we can draw much from those picks. That's all I'm saying

Our roster still has talent who aren't going to accept being a crap team just so we can have the ~10th pick instead of ~20th. Screw all of that. Not like we're that great at drafting anyway.

I mean, the last time we had a top 10 pick, we drafted Jayson Tatum.

The time before that where we had a top 10 pick, we drafted Jaylen Brown.

Before that, Marcus Smart..who was good value at pick 6, who we later flipped for KP, who helped us win banner 18.

Tatum, brown, smart. The 3 longest tenured Celtics since Pierce..

1) Zarren was here for all of those picks

2) So was Brad. Even though he was the HC at the time, it's very likely he had input on guys we were drafting in the top 6.

This was in 2015, so very early in Smart's career..it's pretty clear watching this that Brad loved Marcus back then and likely played a role in us drafting him:

Watch on YouTube

3) David Lewin was also with the org back then..he was director of scouting for us when we drafted Tatum, Brown and Smart. And he's still with the team, now as assistant GM

Zarren Brad and Lewin were all with the team during those drafts. They all saw what went into evaluating those players and drafting them..and they all have seen Tatum, Brown and Smart up close and personal throughout the years to see what has made them successful NBA players so they're able to then know what to look for in players when drafting future players - especially when picking as high up in the draft as the top 6 where Tatum/Brown/Smart were taken.

[celtxman]

I don't really give the lottery picks we made in 2014, 2016, & 2017 very much predictive weight. The front office that made those picks was Danny Ainge as the decision maker and Austin Ainge as the player personnel guy. And both Ainges are gone. Other front office people have also left. Mike Zarren and Brad Stevens are still here but they just weren't the ones making the call on those picks.

How can we say our current front office is good (or bad) at drafting in 2026 based on the previous regime's picks? I don't think we can draw much from those picks. That's all I'm saying

Our roster still has talent who aren't going to accept being a crap team just so we can have the ~10th pick instead of ~20th. Screw all of that. Not like we're that great at drafting anyway.

I mean, the last time we had a top 10 pick, we drafted Jayson Tatum.

The time before that where we had a top 10 pick, we drafted Jaylen Brown.

Before that, Marcus Smart..who was good value at pick 6, who we later flipped for KP, who helped us win banner 18.

Tatum, brown, smart. The 3 longest tenured Celtics since Pierce..

Good point.

[Infinite Llamas]

[youtube][/youtube]

So the premise here is that Brad's primary reasoning to dump Simons is to get a frp is the high teens instead of low twenties?!?!?

Celtics are going to have a higher draft pick than high teens. More like 10-14 unless they get lucky in the draft.

So you think Simons is good enough to increase this team's win total from missing the playoffs to being a 4-5 seed? That's pretty high praise for Simons.

Yeah I don’t understand the premise of Simons adding wins. When has he ever done that in his career? If you want to lose, bench White or Brown…Simons would be an apt tank commander imo

[redslastlaugh]

Those guys were here for sure and yes they had input but they were just not the one making the call. Danny Ainge had a totally different way of doing business and that front office had a totally different MO.

For instance, Brad Stevens as POBO has talked about how he values established veterans over non lottery draft picks. But when Danny was here, the front office had a completely different prioritization of non-lottery draft picks. The 2005-06 team rostered Kendrick Perkins, Al Jefferson, Delonte, Tony Allen, Justin Reed, Ryan Gomes and Gerald Green on a 13 man roster. None of those guys were lottery picks. Ainge loved non lottery picks.

Obviously, there were not 2-ways in 2005-06, but look at the bubble season when Danny was in charge of the roster. The Celtics had Tatum, Semi Ojeleye, Robert Williams, Romeo Langford, Grant Williams, Carsen Edwards as roster players on rookie scale contracts. 6/15 roster spots were draftees on rookie scale deals. 2-ways existed in 2020; we had Tacko Fall, Tremont Waters, etc on 2-ways.

Danny Ainge ran a completely different front office than Brad Stevens did with completely different priorities. And obviously when Danny ran things, Joe Mazzulla had no input, either he wasn't with the Celtics or Joe was in a very junior position outside of player personnel decisions.

Going forward, I don't take anything from what the team did in 2013-20 when Danny (and less so Austin) were running basketball ops to inform what the team is going to do now in 2025, even though Zarren was here under Ainge and Brad Stevens was the coach.

When Danny was here he traded FRPs 3 times. Once for KG. Once for Isaiah Thomas. Once for Kyrie. Ainge ran basketball ops for 18 years and traded 3 firsts (and one MIN first returned). Brad has run ops for 5 years and has traded six firsts and one swap. Just totally different in every meaningful way imo

edit: for clarity, there were other transactions where Ainge traded a 1st for financial or trading back reasons but not primarily to exchange a draft pick for an existing NBA veteran.

I don't really give the lottery picks we made in 2014, 2016, & 2017 very much predictive weight. The front office that made those picks was Danny Ainge as the decision maker and Austin Ainge as the player personnel guy. And both Ainges are gone. Other front office people have also left. Mike Zarren and Brad Stevens are still here but they just weren't the ones making the call on those picks.

How can we use them to say our front office is good (or bad) at drafting in 2026 based on the previous regime's picks? I don't think we can draw much from those picks. That's all I'm saying

1) Zarren was here for all of those picks

2) So was Brad. Even though he was the HC at the time, it's very likely he had input on guys we were drafting in the top 6.

This was in 2015, so very early in Smart's career..it's pretty clear watching this that Brad loved Marcus back then and likely played a role in us drafting him:

Watch on YouTube

3) David Lewin was also with the org back then..he was director of scouting for us when we drafted Tatum, Brown and Smart. And he's still with the team, now as assistant GM

Zarren Brad and Lewin were all with the team during those drafts. They all saw what went into evaluating those players and drafting them..and they all have seen Tatum, Brown and Smart up close and personal throughout the years to see what has made them successful NBA players so they're able to then know what to look for in players when drafting future players - especially when picking as high up in the draft as the top 6 where Tatum/Brown/Smart were taken.

[Hal14]

Those guys were here for sure and yes they had input but they were just not the one making the call. Danny Ainge had a totally different way of doing business and that front office had a totally different MO.

For instance, Brad Stevens as POBO has talked about how he values established veterans over non lottery draft picks. But when Danny was here, the front office had a completely different prioritization of non-lottery draft picks. The 2005-06 team rostered Kendrick Perkins, Al Jefferson, Delonte, Tony Allen, Justin Reed, Ryan Gomes and Gerald Green on a 13 man roster. None of those guys were lottery picks. Ainge loved non lottery picks.

Obviously, there were not 2-ways in 2005-06, but look at the bubble season when Danny was in charge of the roster. The Celtics had Tatum, Semi Ojeleye, Robert Williams, Romeo Langford, Grant Williams, Carsen Edwards as roster players on rookie scale contracts. 6/15 roster spots were draftees on rookie scale deals. 2-ways existed in 2020; we had Tacko Fall, Tremont Waters, etc on 2-ways.

Danny Ainge ran a completely different front office than Brad Stevens did with completely different priorities. And obviously when Danny ran things, Joe Mazzulla had no input, either he wasn't with the Celtics or Joe was in a very junior position outside of player personnel decisions.

Going forward, I don't take anything from what the team did in 2013-20 when Danny (and less so Austin) were running basketball ops to inform what the team is going to do now in 2025, even though Zarren was here under Ainge and Brad Stevens was the coach.

When Danny was here he traded FRPs 3 times. Once for KG. Once for Isaiah Thomas. Once for Kyrie. Ainge ran basketball ops for 18 years and traded 3 firsts (and one MIN first returned). Brad has run ops for 5 years and has traded six firsts and one swap. Just totally different in every meaningful way imo

I don't really give the lottery picks we made in 2014, 2016, & 2017 very much predictive weight. The front office that made those picks was Danny Ainge as the decision maker and Austin Ainge as the player personnel guy. And both Ainges are gone. Other front office people have also left. Mike Zarren and Brad Stevens are still here but they just weren't the ones making the call on those picks.

How can we use them to say our front office is good (or bad) at drafting in 2026 based on the previous regime's picks? I don't think we can draw much from those picks. That's all I'm saying

1) Zarren was here for all of those picks

2) So was Brad. Even though he was the HC at the time, it's very likely he had input on guys we were drafting in the top 6.

This was in 2015, so very early in Smart's career..it's pretty clear watching this that Brad loved Marcus back then and likely played a role in us drafting him:

Watch on YouTube

3) David Lewin was also with the org back then..he was director of scouting for us when we drafted Tatum, Brown and Smart. And he's still with the team, now as assistant GM

Zarren Brad and Lewin were all with the team during those drafts. They all saw what went into evaluating those players and drafting them..and they all have seen Tatum, Brown and Smart up close and personal throughout the years to see what has made them successful NBA players so they're able to then know what to look for in players when drafting future players - especially when picking as high up in the draft as the top 6 where Tatum/Brown/Smart were taken.

You're getting off track and steering the conversation in a different direction.

I'm not talking about the way anyone does business.

I'm only talking about picks in the top 10. Bringing up guys like Carsen Edwards, Tacko Fall and Tremont Waters is not relevant to the conversation.

The last 3 picks we've had in the top 10 were Tatum (2017), Brown (2016) and Smart (2014).

Full stop.

And again, Zarren, Brad and Lewin were all with the team during those drafts. They all saw what went into evaluating those players and drafting them..and they all have seen Tatum, Brown and Smart up close and personal throughout the years to see what has made them successful NBA players so they're able to then know what to look for in players when drafting future players - especially when picking as high up in the draft as the top 6 where Tatum/Brown/Smart were taken.

I'm simply saying that, if we get lucky in the lottery and get a top 10 pick in 2026, I like our chances of picking the right guy.

You already said that Brad, Lewin and Zarren did have input on those picks. And we know that they saw the Jays and Smart up close and personal for many years now to know what makes them successful and can use that information to help inform future picks..especially when we pick again in the top 10.

Didn't think what I said was a hot take or anything controversial.

I see no need to continue going back and forth on this.

[redslastlaugh]

Those guys were here for sure and yes they had input but they were just not the one making the call. Danny Ainge had a totally different way of doing business and that front office had a totally different MO.

Danny Ainge ran a completely different front office than Brad Stevens did with completely different priorities. And obviously when Danny ran things, Joe Mazzulla had no input, either he wasn't with the Celtics or Joe was in a very junior position outside of player personnel decisions.

Going forward, I don't take anything from what the team did in 2013-20 when Danny (and less so Austin) were running basketball ops to inform what the team is going to do now in 2025, even though Zarren was here under Ainge and Brad Stevens was the coach.

1) Zarren was here for all of those picks

2) So was Brad. Even though he was the HC at the time, it's very likely he had input on guys we were drafting in the top 6.

3) David Lewin was also with the org back then..he was director of scouting for us when we drafted Tatum, Brown and Smart. And he's still with the team, now as assistant GM

Zarren Brad and Lewin were all with the team during those drafts. They all saw what went into evaluating those players and drafting them..and they all have seen Tatum, Brown and Smart up close and personal throughout the years to see what has made them successful NBA players so they're able to then know what to look for in players when drafting future players - especially when picking as high up in the draft as the top 6 where Tatum/Brown/Smart were taken.

You're getting off track and steering the conversation in a different direction.

I'm not talking about the way anyone does business.

I'm only talking about picks in the top 10. Bringing up guys like Carsen Edwards, Tacko Fall and Tremont Waters is not relevant to the conversation.

The last 3 picks we've had in the top 10 were Tatum (2017), Brown (2016) and Smart (2014).

Full stop.

And again, Zarren, Brad and Lewin were all with the team during those drafts. They all saw what went into evaluating those players and drafting them..and they all have seen Tatum, Brown and Smart up close and personal throughout the years to see what has made them successful NBA players so they're able to then know what to look for in players when drafting future players - especially when picking as high up in the draft as the top 6 where Tatum/Brown/Smart were taken.

I'm simply saying that, if we get lucky in the lottery and get a top 10 pick in 2026, I like our chances of picking the right guy.

Sure. I do think that indepedent of top 10 picks, when I look at the decisions that Danny made, often times I don't think Brad would have made those same decisions. Though it does seem like Brad really loved Marcus as a young player based on that video, lol ... also Ronald Nored too, lol

I remember Danny gave an interview about drafting Jaylen and he said a number of people in the front office were not for picking Jaylen third. Ainge was clear to say that no one was anti-JB but for a couple of people with votes, they liked JB as a prospect but that he was not their first choice with the 3rd pick, but that once the decision was made, everyone got on board. Danny didn't say who were the Jaylen skeptics, though, lol

Lastly, the Ainges taking Ace Bailey 5 overall in 2025. I don't know if Brad Stevens would have made that choice, if the Celtics had traded up for #5, I would lean no.

So anyway, not steering the conversation away from your point, but I really don't think it's fair to say we can be confident with a top ten pick in 2026 based on the earlier top ten picks 9 or 10 years ago. Also, not saying Brad would botch the pick either, just that Ainge's picks probably wouldn't be Brad's picks imo because of how often their priorities seem to disagree.

And, last thing, if Brad traded up to #5 I bet we would have taken Tre and I would have preferred that because I like Tre better than Ace, so I am not just knocking Brad when I say Stevens would do differently from Danny implying like Ainge is always right and Brad always wrong...

edit: In reference to JB, I googled what Danny was saying at the time, and he gave this quote to Mass Live:
"It was a tough choice," Ainge said. "There was a lot of good players. Lot of good players at 3. So that was never really done completely (until the draft). There's a lot of different views, internally, and we went back-and-forth many, many times. But everybody unanimously really liked Brown, as well. There was other guys as well."
https://www.masslive.com/celtics/2016/06/danny_ainge_after_nba_draft_bo.html

And I've heard him much more recently, maybe on a podcast?, elaborate on this as I said. As I recall, Ainge said that inside the Celtics draft room, everybody liked Jaylen, he was not 3rd on everybody's board, eventually Danny decided on Jaylen and the whole room got behind the choice.

[165bows]

[youtube][/youtube]

Celtics are going to have a higher draft pick than high teens. More like 10-14 unless they get lucky in the draft.

So you think Simons is good enough to increase this team's win total from missing the playoffs to being a 4-5 seed? That's pretty high praise for Simons.

Yeah I don’t understand the premise of Simons adding wins. When has he ever done that in his career? If you want to lose, bench White or Brown…Simons would be an apt tank commander imo

I do think the number of wins most guys can influence is over rated, Simons aside. Unless we are talking one of the elite guys.

See eg the Celtics record without one of their 1-2 rotation guys over the past year or two, the % don't really move.

[Dogen]

I mean, the last time we had a top 10 pick, we drafted Jayson Tatum.

The time before that where we had a top 10 pick, we drafted Jaylen Brown.

Before that, Marcus Smart..who was good value at pick 6, who we later flipped for KP, who helped us win banner 18.

Tatum, brown, smart. The 3 longest tenured Celtics since Pierce..

Yes, but we had the 3rd and 1st (traded to 3rd) in the 2016 and 2017 drafts. 10th picks were Zach Collins and Thon Maker. Of course we could say, "well Danny would have gotten us Mitchell and Sabonis", but those are big ifs. Tatum and Brown were seen as relatively safe picks at their spots in the draft.

Having said that, I wouldn't mind the Celtics sneaking in at the 10th spot for play-in game and see how things develop from there. Maybe the best of both worlds if the Celtics save face, stay hungry, and still have a chance to be a threat in the playoffs, yet get a decent pick in a loaded draft.

The other option of a one year tank, I don't care for. The odds of landing a top three pick will likely backfire, compounded by having a demoralized core and likely a pissed off Joe.

The warriors core didn't seem demoralized when Steph and Klay got hurt, missed extended time, the Warriors tanked, got the no. 2 pick in 2020 and 2 lottery picks in 2021, so they were bad both of those seasons..yet their core was fine, they came back and won the 2022 title once their guys were back healthy.

This year's celtics have no shot at the title. So even if the odds of us getting lucky in the lottery aren't super high, they are still better than a 0% chance. You at least have a chance by getting into the lottery.

The odds of us landing a top 3 pick might be low, but the odds of it happening are still higher than the odds of us winning a title in 2026.

Also, even if we don't get a top 3 pick, it's still the best option to tank and get as high of a pick as we can. Still really good talent in this draft in the 4-8 range. Not to mention there's plenty of stars in the league right now (Booker, SGA, Mitchell, Haliburton, Giannis, etc.) who got picked in like the 11-15 range.

The higher the pick, the better. I'd rather play those odds, than the odds of us winning a ring in 2026 with a center of rotation of Queta/Garza/Tillman and Tatum out with a torn achilles.

Us ending up in the play in tournament or getting into the playoffs, only to be a 1st/2nd round exit does no good - all that does is mean we get a worse draft pick and it means we're putting more wear and tear on the bodies of JB, white, etc.

Yes, the odds are the odds, no doubt better to get the highest pick. I just don't think taking a total tank into this season is worth it. maybe if JB was out too, like with Steph and Klay, but the Celtics are too good to fool anyone into thinking they'll get a top pick, unless we pull a Dallas.

Later lottery, yeah, I could see The Celtics being competitive enough, yet bad enough, to get a play-in + late lottery pick, maybe even luck out, but likely looking at the BPA to draft, or trade, in the 9-14 range.

And lest we forget that one of those warrior's picks was Wiseman at #2, so being smart is often better than being lucky.

[GreenBlooded]

I mean, the last time we had a top 10 pick, we drafted Jayson Tatum.

The time before that where we had a top 10 pick, we drafted Jaylen Brown.

Before that, Marcus Smart..who was good value at pick 6, who we later flipped for KP, who helped us win banner 18.

Tatum, brown, smart. The 3 longest tenured Celtics since Pierce..

Yes, but we had the 3rd and 1st (traded to 3rd) in the 2016 and 2017 drafts. 10th picks were Zach Collins and Thon Maker. Of course we could say, "well Danny would have gotten us Mitchell and Sabonis", but those are big ifs. Tatum and Brown were seen as relatively safe picks at their spots in the draft.

Having said that, I wouldn't mind the Celtics sneaking in at the 10th spot for play-in game and see how things develop from there. Maybe the best of both worlds if the Celtics save face, stay hungry, and still have a chance to be a threat in the playoffs, yet get a decent pick in a loaded draft.

The other option of a one year tank, I don't care for. The odds of landing a top three pick will likely backfire, compounded by having a demoralized core and likely a pissed off Joe.

The warriors core didn't seem demoralized when Steph and Klay got hurt, missed extended time, the Warriors tanked, got the no. 2 pick in 2020 and 2 lottery picks in 2021, so they were bad both of those seasons..yet their core was fine, they came back and won the 2022 title once their guys were back healthy.

This year's celtics have no shot at the title. So even if the odds of us getting lucky in the lottery aren't super high, they are still better than a 0% chance. You at least have a chance by getting into the lottery.

The odds of us landing a top 3 pick might be low, but the odds of it happening are still higher than the odds of us winning a title in 2026.

Also, even if we don't get a top 3 pick, it's still the best option to tank and get as high of a pick as we can. Still really good talent in this draft in the 4-8 range. Not to mention there's plenty of stars in the league right now (Booker, SGA, Mitchell, Haliburton, Giannis, etc.) who got picked in like the 11-15 range.

The higher the pick, the better. I'd rather play those odds, than the odds of us winning a ring in 2026 with a center of rotation of Queta/Garza/Tillman and Tatum out with a torn achilles.

Us ending up in the play in tournament or getting into the playoffs, only to be a 1st/2nd round exit does no good - all that does is mean we get a worse draft pick and it means we're putting more wear and tear on the bodies of JB, white, etc.

Using your example, Golden State landed a top-3 pick, but he didn’t contribute at all to their championship. The following year, their two lottery picks also made no impact and Kerr just said this season Kuminga still isn’t playing winning basketball.

So what did they do during those rebuilding years that helped them win another title? They developed overlooked talent. They traded for a young, underachieving castoff with flaws in Wiggins and helped him thrive. They also turned a couple late first-round picks in Poole and Looney into a real contributors.

The point is, while lottery picks are flashy and memorable, the supporting cast GS built to win the title was from polishing a turd and developing late draft picks, nothing to do with them tanking or lottery picks.

Side note: the Celtics have their own “turd to polish” and a group of unheralded young players. Let's hope it turns out as well for us as it did for GS.

[165bows]

Zarren is awesome but he’s the cap guy he’s not making draft picks. I’m sure they care about his opinion but if you listen to their scouts they spend crazy amounts of time scouting and it’s not to have the accountant pick the players.