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Post by DERRENMATTS on Jul 27, 2016 19:32:50 GMT -5
After we lost out on Kevin Durant, I was content to stay the course and go into the season with what we have. We're likely going to win 50 games, make the playoffs as a top 4 seed, but get eliminated before the big dance. But that was fine because we're getting Brooklyn's high lottery pick, which will add another high caliber talent onto our team. And we'll have the cap space to go after another max player next summer.
This doesn't sound bad at all, and I can endorse it.
But then there's talk that we could possibly get Blake Griffin and Russell Westbrook -- but we'd have to gut most of our team (save Bradley, Crowder and IT) including our coveted draft picks. We're giving away a whole lot, but we'd elevate our status to contendership, and afterall, isn't that what we're trying to do anyways?
If this is the route Ainge wants to take, I can endorse it.
So which way is the best? Ultimately, winning the championship is the goal -- which is the more sure route to take?
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Post by oldtimeball on Jul 28, 2016 4:20:17 GMT -5
Can't happen now.. Until December. lol
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Post by FLCeltsFan on Jul 28, 2016 20:25:35 GMT -5
Doc has said that they are in win now mode and definitely not going to trade Griffin. He said they never considered trading him.
Westbrook said he wants to play with OKC this season. I don't see him wanting to come to Boston anyway. He's more an LA or NY kind of guy in that he likes the fashion shows and the limelight.
I don't think we ever were even close to getting either of them. I think it was all rumors. We'll get a star one of these days and it probably won't be either of those guys.
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Post by DERRENMATTS on Jul 28, 2016 21:00:35 GMT -5
I'm not sitting next to Ainge so I don't know who he's calling and communicating with. But I don't know if we can dismiss all these trade talks that surfaced about us going after Griffin and Westbrook. Maybe a bulk of them are just whispers that we thought was something, but it wasn't. But a few of them maybe were true.
But we'll see. As Danny said, he's not done yet. And seeing how crowded our roster is, he's gotta make a couple of moves, at least.
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Post by DERRENMATTS on Jul 29, 2016 21:43:25 GMT -5
Am curious to hear your guys' thoughts on whether its better to stand pat or go all in.
Here's a question for you all -- Westbrook is possibly available; now, if not trade all in for this superstar, which superstar will you try to target down the line?
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Post by FLCeltsFan on Jul 29, 2016 21:53:58 GMT -5
I'm always afraid of giving up and trading a young guy and then see him become a star on another team. I'd kind of like to stand pat right now. If Westbrook is available now, it would take way too much to get him. I like what we have now and would like to see how they will do with Horford and give the young guys like Rozier, Brown and Mickey a chance to see what they can do. Then next year, go for a star...Hayward is pretty much a lock from what I have seen. There will be a lot of other free agents and possibly other trade possibilities that we won't have to trade half the team for. But that's just me.
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Post by freshnthehouse on Jul 30, 2016 11:05:23 GMT -5
I think now is a good time to pay for stars, if you can get them at a reasonable price. Like, I don't think they should give up half their roster and some draft picks for Jimmy Butler. But if OKC because certain that Westbrook is gonna leave and they decide to trade him, you have to get in on that.
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Post by oldtimeball on Jul 30, 2016 11:15:03 GMT -5
At some point its time to commit to more than mediocrity.
I don't want to overpay but don't want to wait for mediocre draftees to get magic bean dust sprinkled on them and they finally get it..
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Post by eja117 on Jul 30, 2016 11:27:45 GMT -5
I'm not going all in any immediate time soon because we have all the chips. We have a ton of cap space and very high draft picks coming our way. I think the huge difference between now and when we got KG is that the cap is going up and deals are getting incredible, so the Griffins and Westbrooks have no desire to sign anything right now. Even Durant only signed two years. I am confident we will get meetings with top players and get players that fit without giving stuff up.
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Post by FLCeltsFan on Jul 30, 2016 11:53:59 GMT -5
I'm not going all in any immediate time soon because we have all the chips. We have a ton of cap space and very high draft picks coming our way. I think the huge difference between now and when we got KG is that the cap is going up and deals are getting incredible, so the Griffins and Westbrooks have no desire to sign anything right now. Even Durant only signed two years. I am confident we will get meetings with top players and get players that fit without giving stuff up. I concur. Also, it gives us a chance to watch the young guys that we have already a chance to show which are worth keeping and which ones aren't and also gives them a chance to get some playing time to improve (or not) I don't see Westbrook signing an extension. He said before all the Durant stuff that he's really looking forward to free agency and I can see him wanting the attention. Also, I can see him preferring one of the big media markets because he likes the limelight. That's just my opinion of him. I'd rather see Griffin play a year to see if he has bounced back from those injuries. He definitely wasn't the same player after he came back from the injury last season and then there were reports of him needing a bone marrow injection or something after the season. Besides Doc said there was never any intent to trade Griffin and that he tracked the rumors down to a couple of blogs that everyone else piled on from. He wants Griffin to retire a Clipper. Besides, there will be another cap jump next season and the deals will be even bigger. Why sign an extension now when they can wait and get a bigger payday. |
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Post by oldtimeball on Jul 30, 2016 14:20:33 GMT -5
How confident were you we would land Durant? What do you base the confidence on? The signing of Al ? That's a flimsy bridge..
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Post by jmost on Jul 30, 2016 14:24:25 GMT -5
I don't expect anything big until December at the earliest. This season is going to be about who can improve and develop among our own guys. We should find out if Smart is going to be more than a defender. Can Rozier build on his Summer league play and be a good PG in the NBA? Can RJ be the shooter we thought? Does Mickey have an NBA game? Most of all, what do we have in Jaylen Brown?
I have come to believe that all the talk about Westbrook and Griffin was made up by bloggers who needed something to write about. No factual basis to any of it. So let Stevens do what he does, which is help players get better, root for the Nets to stink, and keep building this thing. Realize that, barring major injury to a superstar, the Finals are already set, with Round 3 of Warriors/Cavs on tap (with only the Spurs having a chance to crash the party), and improve the team by trades if something good presents itself. Otherwise, be patient and know that we're in a good place and moving in the right direction. Everywhere I look, we are picked 2nd in the East, and with the 4th best overall odds of winning the title. And probably adding a very good draft pick next Summer, not to mention the next year.
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Post by DERRENMATTS on Jul 30, 2016 15:19:05 GMT -5
The danger of waiting is (and I'm not opposed to waiting) you don't know when a superstar is going to be available. And if they are available, as in free agency, well you are going to have to compete against top teams to get that player (like the Durant fiasco).
We can wait for guys like Hayward to hit the open market, and we shouldn't trade a whole lot for a star of Jimmy Butler's caliber (3rd tier All-Star). We need to be shrewd about acquiring these caliber players.
But when a chance for a superstar, who has many years left in his prime, arises, its time to give it a shot.
It is highly unlikely for Jaylen Brown, or anyone we draft, to become a top 3 - 5 player in the league. That is the top of the top. I don't even think Karl Anthony Towns will reach that level. Not even Anthony Davis.
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Post by jmost on Jul 30, 2016 15:36:33 GMT -5
I agree that we need to stay open to any and all opportunities. I just don't want Ainge to feel so compelled to make a move that he overpays. I have ZERO interest in becoming the Milwaukee Bucks of the 1980s, a really good team that had no chance to compete with the great teams of the league. When you look at who has won titles, it's usually teams who hit a home run in the draft (or, much less often, in free agency) So trading a shot at a superstar for a sure thing, good ballplayer, does not excite me - especially in a draft year like 2017, which is supposed to be one of the best ones in a long time. The slightly better is the enemy of the possibly great. If we make trades, unless it brings a true, prime of career superstar with years left on his contract, I do not want to part with the 2017 Nets pick.
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Post by oldtimeball on Jul 30, 2016 16:50:18 GMT -5
And that pick could be good. Or the nets could go all in and get to .500. They do have a very rich owner.. Who I am sure is tired of losing.
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