Post by dcarson10 on Feb 22, 2017 19:12:36 GMT -6
Everything seems to going right for the Celtics the past couple weeks. They have flew past Toronto in the standings and now have a record of 37-20 and sit 3 games back of Cleveland for the top spot in the Eastern Conference. With all the success, they also are the favourites to land the top pick in what is considered an incredible draft due to owning Brooklyn's first picks for what seems to be the next decade due to the KG/Pierce trade a few years ago. It's obvious the Celtics are playing to win now, but what would be the best course of action to take out Cleveland and some of the big guys in the West? Their roster currently looks like:
PG: IsaiahThomas/Marcus Smart
SG: Avery Bradley/Terry Rozier
SF: Jae Crowder/Jaylen Brown
PF: Amir Johnson/Jonas Jerebko
C: Al Horford/Kelly Olynyk
11th: Tyler Zeller
12th: Gerald Green
IR: Jordan Mickey, James Young, Demitrius Jackson
Bradley and Brown have been hurting, but it looks like they will be back on Friday. Their starting line-up not only talent heavy, but it each player compliments each other fairly well. The weakest spot is definitely at the 4. I don't think there's a person in the world who dislikes Amir Johnson, but his ankles haven't been 100% in 4 years and it limits how much he can play. Jerebko can stretch the floor and plays O.K defense, but he's not consistent enough to put out there every night. Horford and Olynyk can share the floor, but Olynyk hasn't healthy and quite frankly, hasn't played to expectation when he's been out there. There was talk about trading for Boogie, and given what he was traded for, Boston probably could have had him. There are mumurs about Griffin and Melo, but those deals don't have much legs to them. While getting a PF would be great, there just doesn't seem to be one available that's worth moving Bradley/Smart/Crowder/Brown and the Nets' pick for. One deal that is possible is Jimmy Butler. If it's possible, they should without a doubt move the pick, Amir Johnson, and Jaylen Brown for Butler. I know some Boston fans don't want to move that pick unless it's for a top 5 player, but realistically, the top pick won't be end up as good as Butler is now. And if they do, it won't be for 3-5 years. Landing a player like Butler immediatelyputs them on Cleveland's level and will let them compete against Golden State, San Antonio, L.A, and Houston. Crowder can play the 4 in stretches and putting Olynyk or Jerebko out there with Thomas, Bradley, Butler, and Horford would be completely fine. George is another fine option for the same package, but Butler is quite a bit better in my opinion.
If they don't make a move in the next 16 hours, they really should look to trade the pick in the off-season. Every 3 or 4 years a draft gets the label like this has and it rarely lives up to the hype. Three of the top four prospects are also PGs and the Celtics already have three ball handling guards who are very good. They are in position to land a superstar with the Nets' pick and it would be irresponsible not to make the move. They could luck out into a championship, but odds are they aren't good enough to beat Cleveland at the moment, and certainly not Golden State or San Antonio. If the player the draft ends up being as good as advertised, they will have to wait a few seasons for that player to peak and by that time, Thomas, Bradley, and Horford are past their primes and Crowder is now making a huge pay day. Aside from moving that pick (and Brown if need be) for a superstar, they should use the off-season to go after Ersan Ilyasova, Zach Randolph, or Terrence Jones. They are strong at the guard position and the Crowder/Brown SF combo will be solid, they just need some bigs who can play consistent minutes and provide consistent production.
In short, they gotta move the pick for a superstar if it's available and use the off-season to add some depth at the 4 and 5 position. They are in a great position to compete for a championship over the next few seasons.
PG: IsaiahThomas/Marcus Smart
SG: Avery Bradley/Terry Rozier
SF: Jae Crowder/Jaylen Brown
PF: Amir Johnson/Jonas Jerebko
C: Al Horford/Kelly Olynyk
11th: Tyler Zeller
12th: Gerald Green
IR: Jordan Mickey, James Young, Demitrius Jackson
Bradley and Brown have been hurting, but it looks like they will be back on Friday. Their starting line-up not only talent heavy, but it each player compliments each other fairly well. The weakest spot is definitely at the 4. I don't think there's a person in the world who dislikes Amir Johnson, but his ankles haven't been 100% in 4 years and it limits how much he can play. Jerebko can stretch the floor and plays O.K defense, but he's not consistent enough to put out there every night. Horford and Olynyk can share the floor, but Olynyk hasn't healthy and quite frankly, hasn't played to expectation when he's been out there. There was talk about trading for Boogie, and given what he was traded for, Boston probably could have had him. There are mumurs about Griffin and Melo, but those deals don't have much legs to them. While getting a PF would be great, there just doesn't seem to be one available that's worth moving Bradley/Smart/Crowder/Brown and the Nets' pick for. One deal that is possible is Jimmy Butler. If it's possible, they should without a doubt move the pick, Amir Johnson, and Jaylen Brown for Butler. I know some Boston fans don't want to move that pick unless it's for a top 5 player, but realistically, the top pick won't be end up as good as Butler is now. And if they do, it won't be for 3-5 years. Landing a player like Butler immediatelyputs them on Cleveland's level and will let them compete against Golden State, San Antonio, L.A, and Houston. Crowder can play the 4 in stretches and putting Olynyk or Jerebko out there with Thomas, Bradley, Butler, and Horford would be completely fine. George is another fine option for the same package, but Butler is quite a bit better in my opinion.
If they don't make a move in the next 16 hours, they really should look to trade the pick in the off-season. Every 3 or 4 years a draft gets the label like this has and it rarely lives up to the hype. Three of the top four prospects are also PGs and the Celtics already have three ball handling guards who are very good. They are in position to land a superstar with the Nets' pick and it would be irresponsible not to make the move. They could luck out into a championship, but odds are they aren't good enough to beat Cleveland at the moment, and certainly not Golden State or San Antonio. If the player the draft ends up being as good as advertised, they will have to wait a few seasons for that player to peak and by that time, Thomas, Bradley, and Horford are past their primes and Crowder is now making a huge pay day. Aside from moving that pick (and Brown if need be) for a superstar, they should use the off-season to go after Ersan Ilyasova, Zach Randolph, or Terrence Jones. They are strong at the guard position and the Crowder/Brown SF combo will be solid, they just need some bigs who can play consistent minutes and provide consistent production.
In short, they gotta move the pick for a superstar if it's available and use the off-season to add some depth at the 4 and 5 position. They are in a great position to compete for a championship over the next few seasons.