NBA Draft - Trades - Free Agents

ausbacker said:

In no way, shape or form were the Heat comparable to the Lakers if only for a glue guy like Haslem. Three players in their prime vs. one and magically, the Lakers are adding that max third guy and filling out their roster with what, 24 million? Unless a miracle unfolds, they're going to have AD and LeBron playing massive minutes all season.

The Clippers are better than the Lakers and they have a brighter future than the Lakers. That's not something I would have thought about the Clippers but they've done a damn fine job of trading and drafting into success.

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But that’s not what you said before, though. That’s you moving the goal posts. You said they were going to be “significantly better” than the Lakers if they only add Kawhi. There’s no way that’s accurate.

The NBA has a soft cap with ownership that’s very willing to pay the luxury tax. Even if they just rounded out their roster with shooters, they’re already better than the Clippers would be even with Kawhi. That’s what having both AD and LeBron on your team does. One or both of them will be playing without having to face double teams all game and, for Davis, it will be the first time in his pro career doing so.

captain insano said:

when you get older you won't be so quick to dismiss the old titles. they all count on the big scoreboard of titles. I'm not dying yet. I've seen six with my own eyes that i can remember. if it wasn't for len bias and Reggie Lewis who knows how many more. the Celtics went to the eastern conference final without Kyrie. they will be a lot better than people think. the heat are not currently or historically on the same level. Losing kyrie is a good thing.

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Well the sHeat suck right now and will for the foreseeable future so you’re not saying much. Re: what they’ve been, why would anyone expect them to match up to the Celtics or Lakers when it comes to titles? The Heat have been in the league a fraction of the time and their early years with Hardaway, Mourning, Majerle, and Brown were spent in the same conference as Ewing’s Knicks and Jordan’s Bulls.

NBA starting to feel like this for me..



I love the young C's and am glad KI is gone, but the power the players have over how teams are constructed nowadays is boring to me

KontradictioN said:

But that’s not what you said before, though. That’s you moving the goal posts. You said they were going to be “significantly better” than the Lakers if they only add Kawhi. There’s no way that’s accurate.

The NBA has a soft cap with ownership that’s very willing to pay the luxury tax. Even if they just rounded out their roster with shooters, they’re already better than the Clippers would be even with Kawhi. That’s what having both AD and LeBron on your team does. One or both of them will be playing without having to face double teams all game and, for Davis, it will be the first time in his pro career doing so.

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No moving the goalposts, I stand by my comment the Clippers are and will be significantly better than the Lakers. Outside of miracle contracts, there is no conceivable path to them fielding an 8-9 man rotation capable of winning a championship: it's two stars and a collection of journeyman or three stars who will be required to put up 40+ mins a night for them to win in a loaded West with hardly any depth. The Clippers have built a talented young core, have savvy veterans, have talent spread across positions, ownership stability, cap space, future draft pick flexibility and I can't believe I've turned (I wasn't a Doc fan but his coaching was magnificent this season) solid coaching, the Lakers have an ageing LeBron and AD, a guy who isn't a proven winner.

the current roster is still better than the one that made it to the conference finals in 16-17......I think the subtraction of Irving will make this team more fun to watch as I think Hayward, Tatum, and Brown will all be better... i think what the 3 1st round draft picks yield will provide all the needed depth....esp if they combine it with some FA depth signings like austin rivers

up until last season, the celts were a ton of fun to watch......if not getting to the finals makes your team irrelevant, well, that's your problem......I actually enjoy watching the game

One-Be-Lo said:

NBA starting to feel like this for me..

I love the young C's and am glad KI is gone, but the power the players have over how teams are constructed nowadays is boring to me

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it's all a matter of perspective.......under Brad Stevens, the C's have been a lot of fun to watch over the course of the entire season. last year when they came within a hair of going to the finals, they were so entertaining......yeah, there are times when the benefit of the doubt for the top players gets annoying, those top players come from somewhere, guys like giannis took 4-5 years to become a household name.....

fact is, if you want to create your own stars, then you can't have guys like KI come in and get in the way.....I think if the C's let Tatum and Brown max out on the court, everyone will be pleasantly surprised.

IllegalContact said:

it's all a matter of perspective.......under Brad Stevens, the C's have been a lot of fun to watch over the course of the entire season. last year when they came within a hair of going to the finals, they were so entertaining......yeah, there are times when the benefit of the doubt for the top players gets annoying, those top players come from somewhere, guys like giannis took 4-5 years to become a household name.....

fact is, if you want to create your own stars, then you can't have guys like KI come in and get in the way.....I think if the C's let Tatum and Brown max out on the court, everyone will be pleasantly surprised.

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Oh don't be wrong, last year's Celts were crazy fun to watch, I love Tatum and his potential.. I'm just annoyed by the general landscape of the NBA now and over the past 10 years.. the LBJ Heat "Big 3", KD going to the Warriors, LBJ to the Lakers etc. I was happy the Raptors and KL won it this year though. I have respect for the Warriors and their crazy run, but KD going there really rubbed me the wrong way.

One-Be-Lo said:

Oh don't be wrong, last year's Celts were crazy fun to watch, I love Tatum and his potential.. I'm just annoyed by the general landscape of the NBA now and over the past 10 years.. the LBJ Heat "Big 3", KD going to the Warriors, LBJ to the Lakers etc. I was happy the Raptors and KL won it this year though. I have respect for the Warriors and their crazy run, but KD going there really rubbed me the wrong way.

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but you didn't have a problem when the C's stacked their team?

IllegalContact said:

but you didn't have a problem when the C's stacked their team?

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Technically different to trade for both KG and Ray Allen

IllegalContact said:

but you didn't have a problem when the C's stacked their team?

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hmm I don't think the circumstances are comparable really.. big difference between guys at the end of their career looking for a ring and guys in their prime conspiring to join forces to create "super teams" - the 08 Celtics turned into a great team, but it's apples to oranges IMO.

Jackson 2 said:

LOL: Not 2, not 3, not 4, not 5 , not 6, not 7... Fraud...

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That’s 3 more than we won since he left and he’s been the roadblock in our way for following next 8 years.

aluminum seats said:

Here's hoping the real Tatum is the rookie who showed so much promise, and not the sophomore slump Kobe junior of this season.

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IMO, a lot of that had to do with personnel/rotation on the 2018-9 Celtics.

Tatum also needs to bulk up more...he needs to initiate more contact when driving the ball to hoop...to get to the line...the refs never give him calls because he basically bounces off bodies, IMO.

IllegalContact said:

the current roster is still better than the one that made it to the conference finals in 16-17......I think the subtraction of Irving will make this team more fun to watch as I think Hayward, Tatum, and Brown will all be better... i think what the 3 1st round draft picks yield will provide all the needed depth....esp if they combine it with some FA depth signings like austin rivers

up until last season, the celts were a ton of fun to watch......if not getting to the finals makes your team irrelevant, well, that's your problem......I actually enjoy watching the game

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Love this post! So true.

ALP said:

It’s hard to follow the timeline of then, now, but the spurs wanted a promising young star and an all star vet in return for kawhi

Obviously Celtics only has half of that equation and spurs looked elsewhere

We simply did not have what SA wanted for kawhi, getting him was impossible w the pieces we had to trade

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I agree. At the time Kawhi was also hobbled by an injury and seemed to be in a Cold War with Popovic. I don’t begrudge the Celtics for not making the deal, as it’s abcious hindsight. In addition, we’re probably validating the Celtics decision if KD and KT don’t get injured. That is, if you can’t be the Warriors, you need dig deeper.

My take is more that I think the Celtics overvalue Brown, and possibly overvalue Tatum. I’ve never been sold on Brown being a consistently great player, and Tatum is promising, but there are so many players around the NBA who appear to have huge upside but haven’t proven it yet. I think in the NBA you need a super elite player (Hindsight Leonard probably being the minimum) to really have a shot at a title. Kyrie Irving is leaps and bounds away from that level, and I think they ultimately regret their overly optimistic projection of Brown and Tatum.

lancerman said:

That’s 3 more than we won since he left and he’s been the roadblock in our way for following next 8 years.

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Jesus H Christ, "we" didn't proclaim on national TV that we'd win 7 or 8. If you can't see the difference in that then this is hopeless dialogue. Holy ****, the revisionist historians on this board, and elsewhere, who still fellate this fraud are astounding. He's a great, really great player. He's also a narcissistic, control freak who always takes credit for his teams' successes and NEVER accepts any responsibilities for his teams' failures.

Jackson 2 said:

Jesus H Christ, "we" didn't proclaim on national TV that we'd win 7 or 8. If you can't see the difference in that then this is hopeless dialogue. Holy ****, the revisionist historians on this board, and elsewhere, who still fellate this fraud are astounding. He's a great, really great player. He's also a narcissistic, control freak who always takes credit for his teams' successes and NEVER accepts any responsibilities for his teams' failures.

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I don’t see anything wrong about this statement.

IllegalContact said:

the current roster is still better than the one that made it to the conference finals in 16-17......I think the subtraction of Irving will make this team more fun to watch as I think Hayward, Tatum, and Brown will all be better... i think what the 3 1st round draft picks yield will provide all the needed depth....esp if they combine it with some FA depth signings like austin rivers

up until last season, the celts were a ton of fun to watch......if not getting to the finals makes your team irrelevant, well, that's your problem......I actually enjoy watching the game

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JC, thank you. Thank you...

The Lakers have been a complete train wreck the past 5 years and have made multiple bone head moves with the front office, trades and multiple bad top 5 picks. However, because 75% of the league wants to play there it ultimately does not matter. They will be able to acquire 3 of the top 15 players in the league due to their location and Hollywood and will once again be a favorite for next handful of years. Every single team in the NBA would sign Kawhi - only a few really have a chance.

Ainge played the long game and did it brilliantly. Acquired multiple picks through incredible trades and made generally solid draft picks. But Hayward and Kyrie get hurt last year and deprive the C's of a final appearance and this year Hayward is still not himself and Kyrie becomes combustible. If the C's were in LA they could have acquired Davis for Brown, Smart and picks, resigned Kyrie and Davis long term and been positioned to be NBA favorites for next 5 years. Instead they are left with a bunch of young kids and a likely 4 seed/2nd round playoff team. They're like a small market team in baseball where their margin for error is extremely slim. It completely blows but it is what it is.

One-Be-Lo said:

hmm I don't think the circumstances are comparable really.. big difference between guys at the end of their career looking for a ring and guys in their prime conspiring to join forces to create "super teams" - the 08 Celtics turned into a great team, but it's apples to oranges IMO.

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We also traded for guys they didn’t conspire with agents to muscle their way out of town.

TheRainMaker said:

Lakers can max out another player.

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No, they can't. Not if they expect to have a full team.