The Celtics losing Al Horford was a disaster for them

[itrsteve]

I just checked projected wins and the Celtics are down from 49 in 2019 to 45 in 2020. Pacers, Nets, Raptors, Sixers, etc. ahead of them. No wonder GM Danny Ainge was beotchin, beotchin, beotchin about tampering, but Silver didn't do squat.

Honestly, I don’t even know why anybody bothers to play the game now. Just make signings and trades then let the deadly accurate computer models play the season out. It would certainly save us a ton of time.

[matt6715]

If i were the celtics, I would have tried to get into the Hassan Whiteside salary dump. They have a huge hole up front

[cthunshammer]

I question anyone who pretends there's a chance Kanter will wake up and start playing serviceable defense that keeps him on the floor late in the game.

[sfernald]

Well, Stevens will need to work his magic somehow. Celtics had a top 5 defense back in 2016 with IT and Amir Johnson's corpse. Going to need to do that again with Kanter at the 5.

FWIW, Ainge tried to make some moves in order to bring Al back while having capspace to get Kemba, but he just couldn't afford to match Philly's deal. Best of luck to Al though. He's a class act and I enjoyed his time in Boston.

Al Horford was the best thing about those Celtic teams. Philly has no fear whatsoever of Boston now. Embiid gonna score 50 on Kanter every night. I honestly doubt Boston manages to win a game against the 6ers this year unless Tatum blows up as a top 15 player.

How quickly things change in a year. Last year Celtic fans on this board were so full of themselves. Wasn’t even the injury bug that killed em.

[itrsteve]

If i were the celtics, I would have tried to get into the Hassan Whiteside salary dump. They have a huge hole up front

With what salary to match? Hayward + Filler, that was the only option.

Danny Ainge won’t give RGM the satisfaction “oooo he’s so cold trading Hayward”

Don’t get me wrong, I actually like Whiteside’s game but there wasn’t a realistic vehicle to make it work (or at least that I’m aware of).

[yassillio]

True. He is a big loss we couldnt pay Horfie over 25 mils a year. Danny wast going to do it. I do agree that we might trade for Sabonis or Turner.

What do you think Indy will want in exchange? I believe their franchise players are Oladipo and Turner.
They just added Brogdon and TJ Warren to that mix, so I am not sure they would want Brown ( Assuming that's what the Celtics would offer ?)

[Indomitable]

I don't think losing Horford was a disaster. It definitely lessened the Championship hopes, but they can still be very good. If Brad Stevens starts Marcus Smart, gets Hayward out of the starting lineup and eliminates the ill will from Jaylen Brown in his contract year, they can get back close to the 16/17 team.

The 2016/17 Celtics won 53 games with Iaiah Thomas playing at an MVP level and Horford turning in one of this better seasons as a Celtic.

Exactly who is going to pick up the slack here?

Celtics will win close to 50 games...Stevens always thrives with teams with lower expectations. I think Hayward will be back close to what he was in Utah and if that happens he can provide some of the playmaking on offense that horford did. Hayward is an underrated playmaker with the ball in his hands. Scoring point guards thrive with Stevens’s (IT and kyrie ) kemba will be great with him IMO.

Tatum having a more prominent role on offense I think will help him and with kyrie gone I think we will see more of the engaged rookie year Tatum than the ball stopping Tatum of last year. Brown in a contract year and a starting role should have him being engaged and at least content with his opportunities on the offense end.

Kanter can score but is a a sieve on defense and that’s where we will miss horford the most and where the Celtics will get pounded in the paint.

Title chances are out the window but they’ll still be a 3-5 seed in the east and for many Celtics fans who suffered through last years almost unwatchable team- they’ll be a lot more fun to root and watch

That happen because people ignored you. A team like Atlanta will do that now. Payback is coming for Boston and Golden State. You are a 4th or 5th seed team Boston.

[FlatearthZorro]

True. He is a big loss we couldnt pay Horfie over 25 mils a year. Danny wast going to do it. I do agree that we might trade for Sabonis or Turner.

What do you think Indy will want in exchange? I believe their franchise players are Oladipo and Turner.
They just added Brogdon and TJ Warren to that mix, so I am not sure they would want Brown ( Assuming that's what the Celtics would offer ?)

Turner still has time but to me hasn't looked much like a "franchise" player. I think Brown for Sabonis should be fair, I do like Brown's upside more than Sabonis tho(as a 2 way player). Like Sabonis, too, he's got a unique skill set, is kinda lackluster on D.

Oh and Brown is much bigger than both Warren and Brogdon. I'm not sure if Warren is a starting material if you're looking to compete for real, not just make the postseason.

[MagicBagley18]

The 2016/17 Celtics won 53 games with Iaiah Thomas playing at an MVP level and Horford turning in one of this better seasons as a Celtic.

Exactly who is going to pick up the slack here?

Celtics will win close to 50 games...Stevens always thrives with teams with lower expectations. I think Hayward will be back close to what he was in Utah and if that happens he can provide some of the playmaking on offense that horford did. Hayward is an underrated playmaker with the ball in his hands. Scoring point guards thrive with Stevens’s (IT and kyrie ) kemba will be great with him IMO.

Tatum having a more prominent role on offense I think will help him and with kyrie gone I think we will see more of the engaged rookie year Tatum than the ball stopping Tatum of last year. Brown in a contract year and a starting role should have him being engaged and at least content with his opportunities on the offense end.

Kanter can score but is a a sieve on defense and that’s where we will miss horford the most and where the Celtics will get pounded in the paint.

Title chances are out the window but they’ll still be a 3-5 seed in the east and for many Celtics fans who suffered through last years almost unwatchable team- they’ll be a lot more fun to root and watch

That happen because people ignored you. A team like Atlanta will do that now. Payback is coming for Boston and Golden State. You are a 4th or 5th seed team Boston.

Well considering I said 3-5 seed.....4th or 5th would fit that huh? But either way I think this team will be a lot better than wha5 people think and again close to 50 wins and I had to bet I’d say the 4 seed.

[Johnny Bball]

There were lots of solutions here prior to the trade deadline that should have been considered. But after the season, I have to wonder why they would not have ensured Horford was returning and if I had to clear space it would have been Hayward. If Horford took them that much by surprise, it's another problem.

[Asif16]

Replacing him with kanter, who can't play a lick of defense...was insult to injury

[Darth Celtic]

Yeah, letting a 33 year old Small ball center go isn't the worst thing in the world. you will be surprised by the Celtics big men this year. Trust me.

[Indomitable]

Yeah, letting a 33 year old Small ball center go isn't the worst thing in the world. you will be surprised by the Celtics big men this year. Trust me.

Yeah okay

[KrAzY3]

Tatum and Brown take another step forward.

That's really what this is all about. Those guys needed to be able to fill bigger roles, their roles were stunted last year and now they need to step up. Will they? That's the question, but they'll have more of an opportunity and that's important.

[BBgun]

kanter is a bigger, younger, and better version of horford.

Minus the ability to do almost of all the things Horford does well, this is an accurate assessment.

[King4Day]

I think Kemba is still an upgrade (even if the talent is the same) in that players will like him and he's supposedly a great locker room guy.

Losing Horford will hurt though. Unless Brown and Tatum take big jumps in their development this season and Hayward bounces back, they will be 2nd round contenders and probably nothing more.

As long as they go into the season with lower expectations than winning a title, they shouldn't be disappointed.

[Scalabrine]

If i were the celtics, I would have tried to get into the Hassan Whiteside salary dump. They have a huge hole up front

They didn't have the salary to trade out though. Blazers traded two expiring contracts out in Leonard and Harkless, Celtics dont have any cap space or expirings.

Kanter, Theis, R. Williams, Fall gives them 4 different types of options that should work for different matchups.

[Darth Celtic]

If i were the celtics, I would have tried to get into the Hassan Whiteside salary dump. They have a huge hole up front

They didn't have the salary to trade out though. Blazers traded two expiring contracts out in Leonard and Harkless, Celtics dont have any cap space or expirings.

Kanter, Theis, R. Williams, Fall gives them 4 different types of options that should work for different matchups.

Fall won't play this year unless it's Tacko Time. (up 20 with 2 mins left).

People are forgetting the other WIlliams. He might play big mins at 4, and some 5 in extreme small lineups.

[Scalabrine]

If i were the celtics, I would have tried to get into the Hassan Whiteside salary dump. They have a huge hole up front

They didn't have the salary to trade out though. Blazers traded two expiring contracts out in Leonard and Harkless, Celtics dont have any cap space or expirings.

Kanter, Theis, R. Williams, Fall gives them 4 different types of options that should work for different matchups.

Fall won't play this year unless it's Tacko Time. (up 20 with 2 mins left).

People are forgetting the other WIlliams. He might play big mins at 4, and some 5 in extreme small lineups.

I didn't forget about him. The guy seems about as NBA ready as any other draft pick this year. I think most are projecting he has a low floor but he should be able to be a rotation player right out the gate with how thin their front court is. He's just a few months younger than Jayson Tatum.

[Darth Celtic]

They didn't have the salary to trade out though. Blazers traded two expiring contracts out in Leonard and Harkless, Celtics dont have any cap space or expirings.

Kanter, Theis, R. Williams, Fall gives them 4 different types of options that should work for different matchups.

Fall won't play this year unless it's Tacko Time. (up 20 with 2 mins left).

People are forgetting the other WIlliams. He might play big mins at 4, and some 5 in extreme small lineups.

I didn't forget about him. The guy seems about as NBA ready as any other draft pick this year. I think most are projecting he has a low floor but he should be able to be a rotation player right out the gate with how thin their front court is. He's just a few months younger than Jayson Tatum.

Correct. Most rookies on a team in the top 4 of a conference don't see a lot of meaningful mins. He probably will being older and already having an NBA body. He'll never have the shot blocking of Draymond Green, but he plays solid 1 on 1 defense with great rotational help defense. Also shoots the 3 well.