Kawhi update thread 2.0

[K For Three]

They lost 4-1 to us without Kyrie and Hayward. They know how much ground they need to make up and they aren’t getting Lebron. Yeah I think they are that desperate. They have the cap room and the assets to make a deal, time is now for them

Hmm, I was wondering if you were gonna come with Lebron + Kawhi possibly playing in Philly. I mean, to your point we beat them without Kyrie and Hayward, we get them back plus a more seasoned Tatum and Brown. Kawhi/Simmons/Embiid is a solid trio, but is that beating a healthy Celtics in a 7 game series either? And then if they lose, Kawhi just leaves for LA after all?

I mean honestly, I'd be all for it if that's how it plays out, but I don't see how it ends well for the Sixers.

Sixers didn’t execute down the stretch in 3 of those losses. It’s not like Boston was superior in talent to sixers 4-1. Like a normal 4-1 series where the superior team with better talent wins. Say Houston 4-1 over Minnesota. Or Golden state 4-1 over New Orleans. Sixers simply blew those playoff games. Vs New Orleans and Minnesota were not even competive in their 4-1 series.

Anyways. Sixers don’t have a gm. And wont over pay for Leonard either especially with Colangelo being gone. Especially with Leonard being a one year rental without a commitment and not showing he’s fully healthy.

I don’t think ainge with overpay for Leonard. He’s gonna to offer as little as he can.

Than it becomes a situation like kyrie getting traded with Cleveland. Cleveland couldn’t trade kyrie to other teams and with disgruntled kyrie. They felt they had to do something and took Boston offer. Which I thought was a bad offer knowing full well IT was injuried and nets pick being unknown for 2018.

Same situation with Sacramento pick. Boston fans think it’s worth a lot. Maybe. Maybe not. It likely ends up being 5-10 Range for 2019. Unless that pick is guarantee to be top 3. It frankly isn’t worth a lot. Similar to how Boston fans are laughing that the nets 2018 pick ended up being 8th. And 2019 draft is considered weak. So a Sacramento pick say even at 5 slot isn’t great with a weak 2019 class. Big drop off in talent after top 2-3 players as usual.

Picks are always a risk. Many here thought the Lakers pick would pan out well and the Lakers would be a top 5 bad team, I had hope too. Didn't happen. The Lakers are actually a decent team in a tough western conference sadly.

[Homerclease]

Hmm, I was wondering if you were gonna come with Lebron + Kawhi possibly playing in Philly. I mean, to your point we beat them without Kyrie and Hayward, we get them back plus a more seasoned Tatum and Brown. Kawhi/Simmons/Embiid is a solid trio, but is that beating a healthy Celtics in a 7 game series either? And then if they lose, Kawhi just leaves for LA after all?

I mean honestly, I'd be all for it if that's how it plays out, but I don't see how it ends well for the Sixers.

Sixers didn’t execute down the stretch in 3 of those losses. It’s not like Boston was superior in talent to sixers 4-1. Like a normal 4-1 series where the superior team with better talent wins. Say Houston 4-1 over Minnesota. Or Golden state 4-1 over New Orleans. Sixers simply blew those playoff games. Vs New Orleans and Minnesota were not even competive in their 4-1 series.

Anyways. Sixers don’t have a gm. And wont over pay for Leonard either especially with Colangelo being gone. Especially with Leonard being a one year rental without a commitment and not showing he’s fully healthy.

I don’t think ainge with overpay for Leonard. He’s gonna to offer as little as he can.

Than it becomes a situation like kyrie getting traded with Cleveland. Cleveland couldn’t trade kyrie to other teams and with disgruntled kyrie. They felt they had to do something and took Boston offer. Which I thought was a bad offer knowing full well IT was injuried and nets pick being unknown for 2018.

Same situation with Sacramento pick. Boston fans think it’s worth a lot. Maybe. Maybe not. It likely ends up being 5-10 Range for 2019. Unless that pick is guarantee to be top 3. It frankly isn’t worth a lot. Similar to how Boston fans are laughing that the nets 2018 pick ended up being 8th. And 2019 draft is considered weak. So a Sacramento pick say even at 5 slot isn’t great with a weak 2019 class. Big drop off in talent after top 2-3 players as usual.

"Like a normal 4-1 series where the superior team wins." Lmfao.

Dawg, if you lose in five games, you're the clearly inferior team; I don't care how you lost the games. The 76ers are not even remotely close to the Celtics right now. They could add Kawhi Leonard and they would still likely be a bit worse.

We were actually better than Cleveland 2 years ago when we lost 4-1. We just didn’t execute.

[Feed Your Head]

The Celtics clearly were the more talented team. More athletic, better shooting, better defense, faster, and that was without their two best players.

The Celtics core players average age was also younger than the Sixers, so them being more composed down the stretch is also part of being more talented.

[Valid]

The Celtics clearly were the more talented team. More athletic, better shooting, better defense, faster, and that was without their two best players.

The Celtics core players average age was also younger than the Sixers, so them being more composed down the stretch is also part of being more talented.

Seriously. I am so tired of the "inexperience" card being played when it comes to Philadelphia. Do these people not realize that long-time veterans like J.J. Redick, Marco Belinelli and Ersan Ilyasova were getting big minutes?

[Homerclease]

They lost 4-1 to us without Kyrie and Hayward. They know how much ground they need to make up and they aren’t getting Lebron. Yeah I think they are that desperate. They have the cap room and the assets to make a deal, time is now for them

Hmm, I was wondering if you were gonna come with Lebron + Kawhi possibly playing in Philly. I mean, to your point we beat them without Kyrie and Hayward, we get them back plus a more seasoned Tatum and Brown. Kawhi/Simmons/Embiid is a solid trio, but is that beating a healthy Celtics in a 7 game series either? And then if they lose, Kawhi just leaves for LA after all?

I mean honestly, I'd be all for it if that's how it plays out, but I don't see how it ends well for the Sixers.

Philly needs someone to close games for them. They arguably lost 2 or 3 games in the series vs. Boston since they didn't know how "to close". Their clutch factor was a joke. Philly is the team who really needs to make a power move.

I also have strong doubts on Simmons, can this dude ever learn to shoot? If he can't he is basically not even as good as Lonzo Ball IMO who had some games this year where his shots even rolled in. I actually think Lonzo has some dark horse potential and I hate to admit that out loud, he wasn't that bad after he returned at times from the shoulder injury. The father is what kills that kid.

Speaking of Lonzo, I am kinda hoping the rumors of him ending up in Cleveland happens. Gilbert and the Cavs 100% deserve Daddy Ball.

I sometimes can't believe people really believe that Kyrie only left Cleveland "to be da man!". He left too since Cleveland is an obvious clown car. The sad thing is, we lost to that clown car.......

The only reason Lebron has to be there and is stuck with them so many times in his career is that it's somehow his birthright to be semi owned by the state of Ohio.

Essentially the point I’ve been making all along. They need Kawhi more than we do. I expect their offer to reflect that

[K For Three]

Sixers were a huge fail vs. the Celtics. They are the ones who need the power move the most. The Bucks are actually a pretty big dark horse to make noise in the east if they can get it together.

Also, sometimes I am hesitant on the idea of losing Smart too. I was always convinced if Smart didn't return for the first round we may have not even made it out of the first round. He gave some big spark to this team at the right time, some of the guys were looking kinda fatigued.

[Smitty731]

To follow up from previous thread:

1. To be frank, you’ve missed my point entirely.

2. To be frank, because I post something you disagree with doesn’t make my posts something that belongs on the GB

3. To be frank, maybe you spend too much time on the GB yourself.

4. To be frank, if you want to have an actual discussion fine, otherwise go F yourself

You may be right about my time on the GB.

That said, as far as an actual discussion, I think what I said on what we'd have to give up is fair, and you simply chose not to respond to it, so I'll lay it out this way:

1) Who is sincerely beating a deal revolved around Brown/Rozier/Morris/filler/combination of picks? Again, MAYBE Saric/Covington/#10 can compete, or at least the Celtics force the Sixers to include Fultz (who again, do Spurs really want him)?

2) To reply to what you mentioned in another post, why would the Spurs make negotiations more painful for the Celtics than say, the Lakers? By trading to the Celtics, the Spurs get Kawhi out of conference, and if I'm to believe what I read on the GB's topic on Kawhi, supposedly the Spurs just don't love the Lakers in general. Woj said on SVG's SportsCenter hour that Lonzo to the Spurs probably isn't a great fit, so perhaps the Spurs make the Lakers give up someone else they wouldn't want to? If the Spurs were in the East maybe you'd possibly have a point, but if the Celtics can give the best deal and it wouldn't have to include Tatum, why would the Spurs say no if it means they don't have to deal with the Lakers?

1. I don’t think Ainge is going to include both Brown and the kings pick. JMO but he doesn’t overpay in trades and given the situation and Kawhi being a flight risk, this isn’t an all in situation. The sixers are more desperate than the Celtics are.

2. They are going to make negotiations difficult on everyone because they are a quality front office. If the Celtics include Tatum it’s a wrap. They won’t, and I don’t think they shove all the rest of the chips in the table either. Someone is going to outbid them and my money is on Philly

Checking back in hours later, but Ainge has been willing to overpay in trades. He was going to give 4 first round picks to move up to draft Justise Winslow. Didn't happen, but he was willing to do it.

At the time it looked like he got took in the Rondo to Dallas trade too. Just because things really worked out after the fact doesn't always mean he read the situation right and won every trade. Hell, people worried he gave up too much for KG too.

[Valid]

Sixers were a huge fail vs. the Celtics. They are the ones who need the power move the most. The Bucks are actually a pretty big dark horse to make noise in the east if they can get it together.

Also, sometimes I am hesitant on the idea of losing Smart too. I was always convinced if Smart didn't return for the first round we may have not even made it out of the first round. He gave some big spark to this team at the right time, some of the guys were looking kinda fatigued.

We wouldn't have to trade Smart in a deal for Kawhi.

You're also right in that we don't make it out of the first round without him.

[Valid]

To follow up from previous thread:



You may be right about my time on the GB.

That said, as far as an actual discussion, I think what I said on what we'd have to give up is fair, and you simply chose not to respond to it, so I'll lay it out this way:

1) Who is sincerely beating a deal revolved around Brown/Rozier/Morris/filler/combination of picks? Again, MAYBE Saric/Covington/#10 can compete, or at least the Celtics force the Sixers to include Fultz (who again, do Spurs really want him)?

2) To reply to what you mentioned in another post, why would the Spurs make negotiations more painful for the Celtics than say, the Lakers? By trading to the Celtics, the Spurs get Kawhi out of conference, and if I'm to believe what I read on the GB's topic on Kawhi, supposedly the Spurs just don't love the Lakers in general. Woj said on SVG's SportsCenter hour that Lonzo to the Spurs probably isn't a great fit, so perhaps the Spurs make the Lakers give up someone else they wouldn't want to? If the Spurs were in the East maybe you'd possibly have a point, but if the Celtics can give the best deal and it wouldn't have to include Tatum, why would the Spurs say no if it means they don't have to deal with the Lakers?

1. I don’t think Ainge is going to include both Brown and the kings pick. JMO but he doesn’t overpay in trades and given the situation and Kawhi being a flight risk, this isn’t an all in situation. The sixers are more desperate than the Celtics are.

2. They are going to make negotiations difficult on everyone because they are a quality front office. If the Celtics include Tatum it’s a wrap. They won’t, and I don’t think they shove all the rest of the chips in the table either. Someone is going to outbid them and my money is on Philly

Checking back in hours later, but Ainge has been willing to overpay in trades. He was going to give 4 first round picks to move up to draft Justise Winslow. Didn't happen, but he was willing to do it.

At the time it looked like he got took in the Rondo to Dallas trade too. Just because things really worked out after the fact doesn't always mean he read the situation right and won every trade. Hell, people worried he gave up too much for KG too.

I think Homer's point is that Ainge will be less willing to pay a lot given Leonard's upcoming FA status. However, I honestly don't even think Ainge will entertain trading for Kawhi unless he knows he will re-up for the long haul (the fact that we are interested tells me Ainge is fairly confident in that regard), so we'll see.

[Smitty731]

I think he used to but not so much since he’s been national.

Interesting, I’d just think he’d want a guy on more of a national level to feed info to.

I think quite the opposite. He’s much more quiet than that.

Ainge does give a lot to Woj. Woj has talked about their relationship on his pod before. I think the most reliable, unbiased, non team-swayed guy is Adam Himmelsbach. He gets a lot of stuff direct from the players and agents.

Remember, not everything comes from the team or the front office. That is where maybe 1/10 of the stuff comes from. The last domain they truly own is the Draft, which is why no one beats Woj at draft time.

[Homerclease]

To follow up from previous thread:



You may be right about my time on the GB.

That said, as far as an actual discussion, I think what I said on what we'd have to give up is fair, and you simply chose not to respond to it, so I'll lay it out this way:

1) Who is sincerely beating a deal revolved around Brown/Rozier/Morris/filler/combination of picks? Again, MAYBE Saric/Covington/#10 can compete, or at least the Celtics force the Sixers to include Fultz (who again, do Spurs really want him)?

2) To reply to what you mentioned in another post, why would the Spurs make negotiations more painful for the Celtics than say, the Lakers? By trading to the Celtics, the Spurs get Kawhi out of conference, and if I'm to believe what I read on the GB's topic on Kawhi, supposedly the Spurs just don't love the Lakers in general. Woj said on SVG's SportsCenter hour that Lonzo to the Spurs probably isn't a great fit, so perhaps the Spurs make the Lakers give up someone else they wouldn't want to? If the Spurs were in the East maybe you'd possibly have a point, but if the Celtics can give the best deal and it wouldn't have to include Tatum, why would the Spurs say no if it means they don't have to deal with the Lakers?

1. I don’t think Ainge is going to include both Brown and the kings pick. JMO but he doesn’t overpay in trades and given the situation and Kawhi being a flight risk, this isn’t an all in situation. The sixers are more desperate than the Celtics are.

2. They are going to make negotiations difficult on everyone because they are a quality front office. If the Celtics include Tatum it’s a wrap. They won’t, and I don’t think they shove all the rest of the chips in the table either. Someone is going to outbid them and my money is on Philly

Checking back in hours later, but Ainge has been willing to overpay in trades. He was going to give 4 first round picks to move up to draft Justise Winslow. Didn't happen, but he was willing to do it.

At the time it looked like he got took in the Rondo to Dallas trade too. Just because things really worked out after the fact doesn't always mean he read the situation right and won every trade. Hell, people worried he gave up too much for KG too.

That’s what makes him good, at the time it looks like he got took and it’s usually the opposite. KG and Kyrie too to that point. I’ll give you Winslow Keith but I’d consider that more the outlier than the norm during the Ainge era. Also vastly different situations as with Winslow we’d have team control for several years at cheap dollars where as Kawhi will command a massive paycheck and is a serious flight risk after a single season.

[Valid]

Interesting, I’d just think he’d want a guy on more of a national level to feed info to.

I think quite the opposite. He’s much more quiet than that.

Ainge does give a lot to Woj. Woj has talked about their relationship on his pod before. I think the most reliable, unbiased, non team-swayed guy is Adam Himmelsbach. He gets a lot of stuff direct from the players and agents.

Remember, not everything comes from the team or the front office. That is where maybe 1/10 of the stuff comes from. The last domain they truly own is the Draft, which is why no one beats Woj at draft time.

Which is really odd because Woj doesn't seem all that plugged in when it comes to the Celtics. I remember him really botching the Horford signing. If I recall correctly, he had him going to Washington (or maybe staying in Atlanta?) and then Horford signed in Boston shortly after.

[Homerclease]

1. I don’t think Ainge is going to include both Brown and the kings pick. JMO but he doesn’t overpay in trades and given the situation and Kawhi being a flight risk, this isn’t an all in situation. The sixers are more desperate than the Celtics are.

2. They are going to make negotiations difficult on everyone because they are a quality front office. If the Celtics include Tatum it’s a wrap. They won’t, and I don’t think they shove all the rest of the chips in the table either. Someone is going to outbid them and my money is on Philly

Checking back in hours later, but Ainge has been willing to overpay in trades. He was going to give 4 first round picks to move up to draft Justise Winslow. Didn't happen, but he was willing to do it.

At the time it looked like he got took in the Rondo to Dallas trade too. Just because things really worked out after the fact doesn't always mean he read the situation right and won every trade. Hell, people worried he gave up too much for KG too.

I think Homer's point is that Ainge will be less willing to pay a lot given Leonard's upcoming FA status. However, I honestly don't even think Ainge will entertain trading for Kawhi unless he knows he will re-up for the long haul (the fact that we are interested tells me Ainge is fairly confident in that regard), so we'll see.

Given our future cap situation, to move two quality cost controlled assets like Brown and the kings pick, hell even the Memphis pick is a huge risk. We need that young cheap talent to help support our max contract guys otherwise we become the LA Clippers east with lots of star talent and no depth

[Smitty731]

For those who are advocating a Kyrie for Kawhi swap I haven't seen these points addressed:

1. You downgrade far more at PG than you upgrade on the wing.

2. Why in the world does Boston need Kawhi, Hayward, Brown and Tatum on the wing? I understand Tatum will play the 4 plenty, but those 4 can't play together. There is no PG in that group and no big.

If the Celtics are getting Kawhi, they are sending Brown and stuff to get him. I'm almost positive of it. Nothing else makes sense enough for it to be reasonable for Boston as far as constructing a team.

[Valid]

For those who are advocating a Kyrie for Kawhi swap I haven't seen these points addressed:

1. You downgrade far more at PG than you upgrade on the wing.

2. Why in the world does Boston need Kawhi, Hayward, Brown and Tatum on the wing? I understand Tatum will play the 4 plenty, but those 4 can't play together. There is no PG in that group and no big.

If the Celtics are getting Kawhi, they are sending Brown and stuff to get him. I'm almost positive of it. Nothing else makes sense enough for it to be reasonable for Boston as far as constructing a team.

In what is now a position-less NBA, Gordon Hayward can absolutely run point (I actually wouldn't even be opposed to this even if we keep Kyrie). As far as there being no big? You can say that about a whole lot of teams in the league nowadays. "Bigs" are dying out. You have guys like P.J. Tucker playing the 4.

Regardless, Kyrie isn't getting traded for Kawhi, so this is a moot discussion.

[Smitty731]

I think quite the opposite. He’s much more quiet than that.

Ainge does give a lot to Woj. Woj has talked about their relationship on his pod before. I think the most reliable, unbiased, non team-swayed guy is Adam Himmelsbach. He gets a lot of stuff direct from the players and agents.

Remember, not everything comes from the team or the front office. That is where maybe 1/10 of the stuff comes from. The last domain they truly own is the Draft, which is why no one beats Woj at draft time.

Which is really odd because Woj doesn't seem all that plugged in when it comes to the Celtics. I remember him really botching the Horford signing. If I recall correctly, he had him going to Washington (or maybe staying in Atlanta?) and then Horford signed in Boston shortly after.

How it went down was:

1. Horford to Boston
2. Hawks offered 5 years, giving Horford pause
3. Hawks pulled 5th year, Wizards now leading
4. Horford to Boston

Woj later explained the whole thing on a pod of how quickly things change in free agency.

[kuclas]

Hmm, I was wondering if you were gonna come with Lebron + Kawhi possibly playing in Philly. I mean, to your point we beat them without Kyrie and Hayward, we get them back plus a more seasoned Tatum and Brown. Kawhi/Simmons/Embiid is a solid trio, but is that beating a healthy Celtics in a 7 game series either? And then if they lose, Kawhi just leaves for LA after all?

I mean honestly, I'd be all for it if that's how it plays out, but I don't see how it ends well for the Sixers.

Sixers didn’t execute down the stretch in 3 of those losses. It’s not like Boston was superior in talent to sixers 4-1. Like a normal 4-1 series where the superior team with better talent wins. Say Houston 4-1 over Minnesota. Or Golden state 4-1 over New Orleans. Sixers simply blew those playoff games. Vs New Orleans and Minnesota were not even competive in their 4-1 series.

Anyways. Sixers don’t have a gm. And wont over pay for Leonard either especially with Colangelo being gone. Especially with Leonard being a one year rental without a commitment and not showing he’s fully healthy.

I don’t think ainge with overpay for Leonard. He’s gonna to offer as little as he can.

Than it becomes a situation like kyrie getting traded with Cleveland. Cleveland couldn’t trade kyrie to other teams and with disgruntled kyrie. They felt they had to do something and took Boston offer. Which I thought was a bad offer knowing full well IT was injuried and nets pick being unknown for 2018.

Same situation with Sacramento pick. Boston fans think it’s worth a lot. Maybe. Maybe not. It likely ends up being 5-10 Range for 2019. Unless that pick is guarantee to be top 3. It frankly isn’t worth a lot. Similar to how Boston fans are laughing that the nets 2018 pick ended up being 8th. And 2019 draft is considered weak. So a Sacramento pick say even at 5 slot isn’t great with a weak 2019 class. Big drop off in talent after top 2-3 players as usual.

"Like a normal 4-1 series where the superior team wins." Lmfao.

Dawg, if you lose in five games, you're the clearly inferior team; I don't care how you lost the games. The 76ers are not even remotely close to the Celtics right now. They could add Kawhi Leonard and they would still likely be a bit worse.

I wouldn’t call 3 games being decided in the final 30 seconds in which Boston won all 3 being not remotely close in competition. Sixers simply didn’t execute. And Boston did. It wasn’t a normal 4-1 series.

Sixers adding Leonard would put them over the top. Cause their main problem was having JJ reddick/Bellini getting exposed on defense. Leonard is two Time all defense player of the year.

Celtics big problem long term is they don’t have true center. Embiid as he continues to improve becomes a bigger problem for the Celtics. True Celtics fans know they don’t have an answer for embiid. They just hope he gets tired or makes dumb mistakes. But that strategy doesn’t work long term as he has full conditioning and more game experience.

[thelarrybirdx]

To follow up from previous thread:



You may be right about my time on the GB.

That said, as far as an actual discussion, I think what I said on what we'd have to give up is fair, and you simply chose not to respond to it, so I'll lay it out this way:

1) Who is sincerely beating a deal revolved around Brown/Rozier/Morris/filler/combination of picks? Again, MAYBE Saric/Covington/#10 can compete, or at least the Celtics force the Sixers to include Fultz (who again, do Spurs really want him)?

2) To reply to what you mentioned in another post, why would the Spurs make negotiations more painful for the Celtics than say, the Lakers? By trading to the Celtics, the Spurs get Kawhi out of conference, and if I'm to believe what I read on the GB's topic on Kawhi, supposedly the Spurs just don't love the Lakers in general. Woj said on SVG's SportsCenter hour that Lonzo to the Spurs probably isn't a great fit, so perhaps the Spurs make the Lakers give up someone else they wouldn't want to? If the Spurs were in the East maybe you'd possibly have a point, but if the Celtics can give the best deal and it wouldn't have to include Tatum, why would the Spurs say no if it means they don't have to deal with the Lakers?

1. I don’t think Ainge is going to include both Brown and the kings pick. JMO but he doesn’t overpay in trades and given the situation and Kawhi being a flight risk, this isn’t an all in situation. The sixers are more desperate than the Celtics are.

2. They are going to make negotiations difficult on everyone because they are a quality front office. If the Celtics include Tatum it’s a wrap. They won’t, and I don’t think they shove all the rest of the chips in the table either. Someone is going to outbid them and my money is on Philly

Checking back in hours later, but Ainge has been willing to overpay in trades. He was going to give 4 first round picks to move up to draft Justise Winslow. Didn't happen, but he was willing to do it.

At the time it looked like he got took in the Rondo to Dallas trade too. Just because things really worked out after the fact doesn't always mean he read the situation right and won every trade. Hell, people worried he gave up too much for KG too.

Lol everybody was freaking out that we gave Cleveland way too much for Kyrie. What looks like an overpay now could turn out to be a steal.


Sent from my iPhone using RealGM mobile app

[Smitty731]

For those who are advocating a Kyrie for Kawhi swap I haven't seen these points addressed:

1. You downgrade far more at PG than you upgrade on the wing.

2. Why in the world does Boston need Kawhi, Hayward, Brown and Tatum on the wing? I understand Tatum will play the 4 plenty, but those 4 can't play together. There is no PG in that group and no big.

If the Celtics are getting Kawhi, they are sending Brown and stuff to get him. I'm almost positive of it. Nothing else makes sense enough for it to be reasonable for Boston as far as constructing a team.

In what is now a position-less NBA, Gordon Hayward can absolutely run point (I actually wouldn't even be opposed to this even if we keep Kyrie). As far as there being no big? You can say that about a whole lot of teams in the league nowadays. "Bigs" are dying out. You have guys like P.J. Tucker playing the 4.

Regardless, Kyrie isn't getting traded for Kawhi, so this is a moot discussion.

NBA position is about who you guard. I love those four guys, but none of them are chasing around PGs.

Beyond that, Tucker plays the 4. You can get away with 4 smalls. You can't get away with 5. No team plays 5 smalls for any reasonable stretch. The Celtics without Horford or Baynes in the game were destroyed at the rim. That team would get killed on defense, simply because they would have no big back there. It's also not a good rebounding group either.

There is no reason Boston would need all four of Tatum, Hayward, Brown and Kawhi. None at all. Someone would end up pissed off about minutes. Stevens is good, but he's not that good.

[Homerclease]

Sixers didn’t execute down the stretch in 3 of those losses. It’s not like Boston was superior in talent to sixers 4-1. Like a normal 4-1 series where the superior team with better talent wins. Say Houston 4-1 over Minnesota. Or Golden state 4-1 over New Orleans. Sixers simply blew those playoff games. Vs New Orleans and Minnesota were not even competive in their 4-1 series.

Anyways. Sixers don’t have a gm. And wont over pay for Leonard either especially with Colangelo being gone. Especially with Leonard being a one year rental without a commitment and not showing he’s fully healthy.

I don’t think ainge with overpay for Leonard. He’s gonna to offer as little as he can.

Than it becomes a situation like kyrie getting traded with Cleveland. Cleveland couldn’t trade kyrie to other teams and with disgruntled kyrie. They felt they had to do something and took Boston offer. Which I thought was a bad offer knowing full well IT was injuried and nets pick being unknown for 2018.

Same situation with Sacramento pick. Boston fans think it’s worth a lot. Maybe. Maybe not. It likely ends up being 5-10 Range for 2019. Unless that pick is guarantee to be top 3. It frankly isn’t worth a lot. Similar to how Boston fans are laughing that the nets 2018 pick ended up being 8th. And 2019 draft is considered weak. So a Sacramento pick say even at 5 slot isn’t great with a weak 2019 class. Big drop off in talent after top 2-3 players as usual.

"Like a normal 4-1 series where the superior team wins." Lmfao.

Dawg, if you lose in five games, you're the clearly inferior team; I don't care how you lost the games. The 76ers are not even remotely close to the Celtics right now. They could add Kawhi Leonard and they would still likely be a bit worse.

I wouldn’t call 3 games being decided in the final 30 seconds in which Boston won all 3 being not remotely close in competition. Sixers simply didn’t execute. And Boston did. It wasn’t a normal 4-1 series.

Sixers adding Leonard would put them over the top. Cause their main problem was having JJ reddick/Bellini getting exposed on defense. Leonard is two Time all defense player of the year.

Celtics big problem long term is they don’t have true center. Embiid as he continues to improve becomes a bigger problem for the Celtics. True Celtics fans know they don’t have an answer for embiid. They just hope he gets tired or makes dumb mistakes. But that strategy doesn’t work long term as he has full conditioning and more game experience.

And if Gordon Hayward and Kyrie Irving are playing you get swept, losing by 20+ in all 4 games.