Celtics/NBA 2023-2024 Regular Season

[JRull86]

Lillard just got traded to the Bucks for a package Boston could have easily matched and created a big 4

I don't think there was ever a realistic path for Lillard here once Smart was traded, G Williams sign and trade, and Brown signing the extension.

You're looking at dealing Williams, White, Horford/Brogdon and future 1sts, while also being tied to Tatum, Brown, Porzingas and Lillard for 4 seasons, with really no depth, hard capped, and no ability to acquire real depth.

 

[CDJ]

id love to figure out how to get holiday out of portland now...

I would as well. The org already tried to get him before he went to Milwaukee

I don't think there was ever a realistic path for Lillard here once Smart was traded, G Williams sign and trade, and Brown signing the extension.

You're looking at dealing Williams, White, Horford/Brogdon and future 1sts, while also being tied to Tatum, Brown, Porzingas and Lillard for 4 seasons, with really no depth, hard capped, and no ability to acquire real depth.

And on top of that there are multiple teams involved and a ton of pieces, who is to say what team values which players at what?

Lamar Stevens 6th man of the year in that scenario lol

 

[Johnnyduke]

A trade like this happening now is very European soccerish.

 

[JRull86]

Life comes at you fast

 

[JRull86]

Bucks win the offseason

Eh I dunno about that.

They get better offensively, but lost their only good perimeter defender, and are going to get killed by the 3 ball by any team who can shoot it efficiently, which was already a problem for them to begin with.

 

[Johnnyduke]

I'm not gonna pretend to know this but was there a path for Brad to be patient like the Bucks and take your shot at Lillard? It's a risky strategy with no guarantee you pull off the trade but the Bucks somehow pull this out of their ass right before training camp after doing nothing all summer.

 

[JRull86]

I'm not gonna pretend to know this but was there a path for Brad to be patient like the Bucks and take your shot at Lillard? It's a risky strategy with no guarantee you pull off the trade but the Bucks somehow pull this out of their ass right before training camp after doing nothing all summer.

There was a path for BOS early in the off-season before they dealt for Porzingis, Brown extension, etc. But that was during the whole Miami only phase of rumors.

If they tried to acquire him now, while in a vacuum they had the pieces, they'd completely cap themselves going forward to upgrade depth, etc.

Can't rely on those 4 players to carry the team over the course of the season, especially with the injury concerns around Porzingis and Lillard.

 

[KrejciMVP]

Nothing is guaranteed but I can't shake the feeling it's never gonna happen here in Boston for Tatum and Brown. Until proven otherwise I'll always think they are just good enough to get real close and come up short.

With this i can say I think the report about Lillard to Toronto was complete garbage. He was never going there.

Tatum and Brown Bostons best chance at a title but cant close.

Eh I dunno about that.

They get better offensively, but lost their only good perimeter defender, and are going to get killed by the 3 ball by any team who can shoot it efficiently, which was already a problem for them to begin with.

what do mean they just added an all star

 

[BernieMcAvoy]

absolutely baseless statement

I mean you're right because you don't know what other gms think of the players but the Celtics had the salaries, two rotation pieces, young players and way more picks than the Bucks to trade. Depth would have been blown up but they would still have a rotation of 6 good players and you can always find guys who can give you 5-10 minutes a night to play a specific role.


Sometimes it's about making a trade not just to better yourself but to stop the team your competing with from making it too. A 4th star would make the Celtics the overwhelming favorites to win the championship for the next 3 years. With the new luxury tax rules it's now or never to do it and Giannis and Lillard are now on the same team.

 

[KrejciMVP]

I mean you're right because you don't know what other gms think of the players but the Celtics had the salaries, two rotation pieces, young players and way more picks than the Bucks to trade. Depth would have been blown up but they would still have a rotation of 6 good players and you can always find guys who can give you 5-10 minutes a night to play a specific role.


Sometimes it's about making a trade not just to better yourself but to stop the team your competing with from making it too. A 4th star would make the Celtics the overwhelming favorites to win the championship for the next 3 years. With the new luxury tax rules it's now or never to do it and Giannis and Lillard are now on the same team.

Bucks get a player that moves the needle for them. Celitcs get worse on defense and add a player with durability issues.

 

[JRull86]

Tatum and Brown Bostons best chance at a title but cant close.

what do mean they just added an all star

Yes, if you read my actual response you'd understand why I feel that way.

They absolutely got better offensively, but they've had a major flaw with perimeter defense, and it's why teams that can shoot the 3 well have given them issues since the year they won.

They traded their best perimeter defender in Holiday.

They'll be fine in the regular season, but Lillard doesn't address that problem in the post season. Unless they are able to just dominate with those two every game in the playoffs, it's going to be more of the same.

Bucks get a player that moves the needle for them. Celitcs get worse on defense and add a player with durability issues.

Smart was low key bad defensively last season. White can step into that role, and as long as Porzingis can stay healthy (big if), he gives them an element they were lacking.

 

[JRull86]

I mean you're right because you don't know what other gms think of the players but the Celtics had the salaries, two rotation pieces, young players and way more picks than the Bucks to trade. Depth would have been blown up but they would still have a rotation of 6 good players and you can always find guys who can give you 5-10 minutes a night to play a specific role.


Sometimes it's about making a trade not just to better yourself but to stop the team your competing with from making it too. A 4th star would make the Celtics the overwhelming favorites to win the championship for the next 3 years. With the new luxury tax rules it's now or never to do it and Giannis and Lillard are now on the same team.

Sure and there's a lot of validity here to your thoughts process.

However, given their current make up if they dealt White, Brogdon, and Williams as salaries, they'd be relying on two guys with pretty big durability concerns, Al Horford, who clearly was gassed by playoff time, and the Jays, with Payton Pritchard as your first option off the bench, and a bunch of bottom roster feeder types.

Time will tell if they made the right call, but I just don't think that's sustainable in any way.

 

[CDJ]

I’m not convinced Lillard is that much better than Holiday at basketball. He’s better offensively but Holiday is one of the best defenders in basketball while being a big offensive threat. Plus Jrue has already proven to be a guy who can do it late in the playoffs.

 

[CDJ]

I mean you're right because you don't know what other gms think of the players but the Celtics had the salaries, two rotation pieces, young players and way more picks than the Bucks to trade. Depth would have been blown up but they would still have a rotation of 6 good players and you can always find guys who can give you 5-10 minutes a night to play a specific role.


Sometimes it's about making a trade not just to better yourself but to stop the team your competing with from making it too. A 4th star would make the Celtics the overwhelming favorites to win the championship for the next 3 years. With the new luxury tax rules it's now or never to do it and Giannis and Lillard are now on the same team.

Provided they valued our guys equally we would need so much to go right with the rest of the roster for a move like this to work out

Not saying it wouldn’t work out because the star power would be ridiculous, but Lillard is going to be 33 and has played 87 games in 2 years. It’s a major gamble given you’re basically building the rest of your roster with minimum contracts and 2nd round picks

 

[JRull86]

Provided they valued our guys equally we would need so much to go right with the rest of the roster for a move like this to work out

Not saying it wouldn’t work out because the star power would be ridiculous, but Lillard is going to be 33 and has played 87 games in 2 years. It’s a major gamble given you’re basically building the rest of your roster with minimum contracts and 2nd round picks

Lillard hasn't played 70+ games in 5 seasons.

Granted some of that is the load management issue than seemingly would be going away this season, but the reality is, he's a guy on the wrong side of 30, with durability concerns.

Pair him with Porzingis, who hasn't played more than 70 in SEVEN seasons, that's a recipe for a bad time.

 

[BostonBob]

What a dope.

 

[KrejciMVP]

Yes, if you read my actual response you'd understand why I feel that way.

They absolutely got better offensively, but they've had a major flaw with perimeter defense, and it's why teams that can shoot the 3 well have given them issues since the year they won.

They traded their best perimeter defender in Holiday.

They'll be fine in the regular season, but Lillard doesn't address that problem in the post season. Unless they are able to just dominate with those two every game in the playoffs, it's going to be more of the same.


Smart was low key bad defensively last season. White can step into that role, and as long as Porzingis can stay healthy (big if), he gives them an element they were lacking.

you ring the alarm bells about losing holiday on D then say Smart is replaceable who won DPOY and was a huge part of their defensive identity.

 

[JRull86]

you ring the alarm bells about losing holiday on D then say Smart is replaceable who won DPOY.

And that entire Celtics team the year Smart won was superior defensively than MIL has been. Taking away your best perimeter defender for offense is certainly a choice.

They are going to have to win games 130-120, which is certainly doable, but show me that in the postseason when max effort is a thing.

Also never said Smart was replaceable, I said he was sneaky bad defensively last season because he was. Moving him to upgrade your front court with Porzingis is certainly easier when you still have White on the team. Not a huge drop off there.

 

[KesselBuiltMyHotrod]

So is Dame going to refuse to report? He made it clear he'd only play for Miami.

 

[Johnnyduke]

There was a path for BOS early in the off-season before they dealt for Porzingis, Brown extension, etc. But that was during the whole Miami only phase of rumors.

If they tried to acquire him now, while in a vacuum they had the pieces, they'd completely cap themselves going forward to upgrade depth, etc.

Can't rely on those 4 players to carry the team over the course of the season, especially with the injury concerns around Porzingis and Lillard.

I actually meant do the Milwaukee approach. Basically not deal for Porzingis, sit on your ass and then be able to deal for Lillard. I know it's very risky to bank on that but...

What a dope.

He can't be serious. The league is gonna look into tampering when everyone knew this was gonna happen at some point? Sour grapes on his part. I am sure numerous teams were looking into trading for him.

So is Dame going to refuse to report? He made it clear he'd only play for Miami.

Something tells me he'll be just fine when he sees Giannis!

 

[Maine Fan]

I only worry about my team, the Celtics. My concerns are about availability. For some reason, the Celtics like players who have health issues, injury-prone players, and slow healers like Brodgon, Porzingis, and of course the player with both, RW III. Then they have Horford who must have time off because of age. For me, these are big concerns because at least two of these players are starters in each game. Brown has his share of normal injuries. Tatum is for the most part healthy like White and Pritchard.
Let's hope they stay healthy.

Go Celtics

 

[LSCII]

So is Dame going to refuse to report? He made it clear he'd only play for Miami.

I asked that as well given his claims.

 

[Mione134]

I asked that as well given his claims.

I guess we'll find out

 

[CDJ]

I hope he did not fall in love with the Miami idea because of the South Florida weather! Would be a rather unfortunate twist if so lol

 

[RoccoF14]

Bucks get a player that moves the needle for them. Celitcs get worse on defense and add a player with durability issues.

What’s lost in this move is that Milwaukee also DRAMATICALLY improves their chances of extending Giannis with this move as well. Those 2 running a pick and roll is just unstoppable.