165bows wrote:From the above link:Goals and Aspirations
Before we map out some fantasy offseasons, let’s set goals:
First, this team needs shooting. They really badly need shooting. Ideally from someone who looks like a traditional small forward.
Second, we need more athleticism. Terry Rozier stood out so much because there’s no one else on the roster like him. A dunker on the front line would be a welcome addition, especially if they’re able to block some shots on the other end.
Third, unless the team goes through a major overhaul with new top-end talent, we need to clear opportunity. There’s no point in drafting a pack of youngsters if the only minutes available to them are in Maine. Even if it costs a few wins in the short-term, we need to see what we have in the youth movement so informed decisions can be made about them in the future.
Fourth, it would be nice to have a star player over 6′ who the rest of the league fears at least a little bit on offense.
Lastly, we don’t want to do anything stupid. The goal is not to be a 52 win team for the next five seasons. We want to reach 52 as part of a sustainable progression, or jump all the way up to 60 and challenge for a banner.
I would argue that not doing anything stupid should be a very high priority lol.
Edit - for those interested, a very good chronology of when things will happen in terms of various decisions (ie, draft, moratorium waiting period, FA period etc).
Must read article. Hopefully Ainge thinks more like this guy and less like some of the fans on this forum.
http://www.celticshub.com/2016/05/02/navigating-the-offseason/
A Brief Aside About Evan Turner
Evan Turner’s situation is complicated. A player establishes different levels of Bird Rights based on how many years it has been since they voluntarily changed teams. Full Bird Rights, the kind that allow a team to re-sign a player for all the way up to their maximum salary even if it bring them over the cap, are established after three seasons. The Logo signed in Boston two years ago, so he carries a lesser type of right known as Early Bird Rights.
Early Bird Rights allow a team to sign their free agent for up to 175% of their previous salary even if that brings them over the salary cap. To sign the player for more than that, they must use cap space. In the coming hyper-aggressive seller’s market, Evan is going to get paid quite a lot. His Early Bird Rights only cover a $6M first season salary, which will not be enough to re-sign him, so whatever you think Turner’s whole 2016-17 salary will be is taken out of cap space.
In effect, if you want to bring back Evan Turner at his market price, you do not think the Celtics can/will have a transformative offseason with multiple major acquisitions. That may very well be the case regardless of what happens with Turner. The question then becomes: Is Evan worth the price not so much in dollars (we’re in an aggressive market, after all) but in minutes. Is it a good idea to close off avenues to a massive offseason while also blocking the development of younger, cheaper alternatives like Terry Rozier and RJ Hunter? In my opinion, no; it’s not a good idea to re-sign Turner regardless of if he’s leaving because the team needs the cap space to acquire two major players, or the team is taking a longer path where internal development is a better choice.
It seems like the clearest path for Evan to return is some sort of middle way. If the team were to acquire one star player, possibly via a trade that moves some of the other options for his role, but then were not able to close on a second one they could then go back to Turner as a veteran fallback. Picture a scenario where the Nets pick and Smart are traded for DeMarcus Cousins, but then Kevin Durant goes back to OKC leaving the Celtics with vacant cap space and a need for another playmaker, for example.
