Celtics 2024-2025 Discussion

[aluminum seats]

The loss of Reggie hit me really hard.
Unlike Bias, Reggie was one of ours.
I worked across the street from Northeastern while he was there and we hired Northeastern interns.
And unlike Bias, Reggie didn't die from cocaine. He had an undiagnosed heart problem.
Len's death was of course still horribly tragic- a kid shouldn't have to die from one mistake.
Those who remember Reggie know that he was on the brink of becoming one of
THE best players in the NBA. He was already an All-Star but he had just recently elevated his game to a new level when tragedy struck. So young and such a class act as a human being on top of being a great player.

Sometimes I still find it hard to wrap my mind around the fact that the Celtics had two great players die within seven years.

 

[Ice_Ice_Brady]

Four first round picks and KCP. Seems like a lot but I don’t know these days. He’s a solid player. Seems that draft picks are becoming less valuable in the NBA.

Grizzlies trade Desmond Bane to Magic in blockbuster deal

The Grizzlies traded Desmond Bane to the Magic for Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Cole Anthony, four unprotected first-round picks and one first-round pick swap.

www.espn.com

 

[ViperGTS]

Four first round picks and KCP. Seems like a lot but I don’t know these days. He’s a solid player. Seems that draft picks are becoming less valuable in the NBA.

Grizzlies trade Desmond Bane to Magic in blockbuster deal

The Grizzlies traded Desmond Bane to the Magic for Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Cole Anthony, four unprotected first-round picks and one first-round pick swap.

www.espn.com

Smart teams are compiling first and second round picks. With the new ****ty CBA the moronic whiny small market teams forced down the throats of fans....you are going to need many, many cracks at the draft apple to hopefully get some diamonds that you will need to stay competitive.

 

[ViperGTS]

Also, if that dude got that haul, what does Brown get you?

 

[Ice_Ice_Brady]

Smart teams are compiling first and second round picks. With the new ****ty CBA the moronic whiny small market teams forced down the throats of fans....you are going to need many, many cracks at the draft apple to hopefully get some diamonds that you will need to stay competitive.

The way I look at NBA trades is: is it likely you’ll get a player of equal or better value with the draft picks?

5 first round picks for Mikal Bridges. Yes, very likely you’ll get at least one player better than Bridges (who isn’t even in all star discussions.)

4 first round picks for Desmond Bane. Likely you’ll get a player better than Bane with four first round picks.

Teams are overpaying to trying to get a little better right now by adding solid players for star player compensation.

 

[aluminum seats]

Also, if that dude got that haul, what does Brown get you?

The way I look at NBA trades is: is it likely you’ll get a player of equal or better value with the draft picks?

5 first round picks for Mikal Bridges. Yes, very likely you’ll get at least one player better than Bridges (who isn’t even in all star discussions.)

4 first round picks for Desmond Bane. Likely you’ll get a player better than Bane with four first round picks.

Teams are overpaying to trying to get a little better right now by adding solid players for star player compensation.

Not gonna lie, I’m completely confused by teams’ strategy with draft picks for exactly the reason you guys are saying. They’re acting like first round draft picks are worthless, which is just not true. I don’t get it.

 

[Ice_Ice_Brady]

Jalen Williams gets away with an offensive foul basically every time he has the ball.

 

[RobertWeathers]

Jalen Williams gets away with an offensive foul basically every time he has the ball.

Series over

 

[jimnance]

Series over

Yeah it's going about how I thought it would. OKC is just a superior team and it's damn near impossible for the weaker team to win a 7 game series.

 

[RobertWeathers]

Yeah it's going about how I thought it would. OKC is just a superior team and it's damn near impossible for the weaker team to win a 7 game series.

Halliburton w/ the leg issue is a death blow if it lingers. The fact that hes been playing through it is great but it's clearly something that isn't going away with a shot. He is physically limited.

 

[Ice_Ice_Brady]

Series over

Pacers needed to win every close game. Losing Game 4 and blowing that lead is probably too much to overcome. Their margin of error was small. If they lose the next one, the series will be a lot like the Celtics Warriors final. 2-1 lead with a comfortable lead to go up 3-1, blowing it, and then losing the psychological edge.

 

[Ice_Ice_Brady]

It makes so much sense he’d say this

LeBron James bemoans ring culture in NBA: 'It's never enough'

LeBron James criticized the discourse around "ring culture" in the NBA, pushing back on the idea that a player's greatness is measured by how many championships he wins.

www.espn.com

 

[captain stone]

**** that mother****er.

 

[RobertWeathers]

**** that mother****er.

Word.

....and the convo started when Russ was lapping Wilt's 1 ring with his 11 back in the 60s.

What he can't comprehend (hes not dumb so it's a narrative thing with him) is superstars are measured by how much they win and how they've LED their teams to titles.

To win multiple titles, GOATs need a great supporting cast. Kobe had Shaq (or did Shaq have Kobe lol), MJ had Pip/Grant/Rodman. Magic had Worthy/KAJ. Larry had Kevin/Chief/DJ, etc.

LeFlop is taking this opportunity to basically deflect his failure to win and lead consistently by saying his teams weren't good enough.

 

[Ice_Ice_Brady]

Word.

....and the convo started when Russ was lapping Wilt's 1 ring with his 11 back in the 60s.

What he can't comprehend (hes not dumb so it's a narrative thing with him) is superstars are measured by how much they win and how they've LED their teams to titles.

To win multiple titles, GOATs need a great supporting cast. Kobe had Shaq (or did Shaq have Kobe lol), MJ had Pip/Grant/Rodman. Magic had Worthy/KAJ. Larry had Kevin/Chief/DJ, etc.

LeFlop is taking this opportunity to basically deflect his failure to win and lead consistently by saying his teams weren't good enough.

LeFraud has had as good supporting casts as anyone. Wade, Bosh, Kyrie, Love (during his peak), Davis, now Luka. But all those teams were assembled artificially for the sole purpose of him stacking his ring count. Now that he’s fallen short, he wonders why players value rings so much despite the majority of his career spent chasing rings by stupidly playing GM. The biggest ring chaser, super team schemer in NBA history.

It’s impossible to build an organic championship team around him like you’d see with Curry, Jokic, and plenty of stars of yesteryear. Role players just don’t flourish with him on the floor. He makes everyone else worse, alienates the coach, and then cries that he doesn’t have enough support.

But hey, who cares about championship? It’s only 99% of the reason why fans are interested and it’s a multi billion dollar business.

 

[RobertWeathers]

LeFraud has had as good supporting casts as anyone. Wade, Bosh, Kyrie, Love (during his peak), Davis, now Luka. But all those teams were assembled artificially for the sole purpose of him stacking his ring count. Now that he’s fallen short, he wonders why players value rings so much despite the majority of his career spent chasing rings by stupidly playing GM.

It’s impossible to build an organic championship team around him like you’d see with Curry, Jokic, and plenty of stars of yesteryear. Role players just don’t flourish with him on the floor. He makes everyone else worse, alienates the coach, and then cries that he doesn’t have enough support.

Thats the part i'll give him a pass on. It's close to impossible to keep a team together. However, to your point it's not like LeBron is going out of his way to make that happen. Hes worked the system. Hes maximized his earning potential. Hes left teams for a number of reasons. For better or worse because of his influence hes manipulated rosters.

When it came time for coaches and some players to move on, we all know Magic, Larry, and MJ had their GMs ear....but they never said it was unfair to be measured by rings. I mean, who says that?

 

[ViperGTS]

I don't know of one NBA player, past/present that I would take over Russell if I was starting a team. Probably in a party of 1 with that thought but thats how I feel.

 

[RobertWeathers]

I don't know of one NBA player, past/present that I would take over Russell if I was starting a team. Probably in a party of 1 with that thought but thats how I feel.

I don't think @jimnance, @1960Pats, or I would debate you hard on that. He is in all of our top 5 teams.

People will throw out Wilt, KAJ, Shaq, Olajuwon, etc as more fits for the modern game, better scorers, better rebounders, etc and they may/may not be wrong.

Russell had a great supporting cast, Cooz, Hondo, Sam, Tommy, but so did Jerry West and Wilt. One guy won a title with an all-time team in 1967 team and they both won one after Russell retired.

It is an irrefutable fact Bill Russell made his teammates better. He was an elite basketball talent in everything but scoring but understood how to score as a collective and not as an individual. He was an athletic freak with an absurdly high basketball IQ who completely invested every ounce of his being into winning and led by example.

The people who dismiss Russell are those that don't understand his game or his value. They focus on the era in which he played in and stats.

 

[jimnance]

I don't think @jimnance, @1960Pats, or I would debate you hard on that. He is in all of our top 5 teams.

People will throw out Wilt, KAJ, Shaq, Olajuwon, etc as more fits for the modern game, better scorers, better rebounders, etc and they may/may not be wrong.

Russell had a great supporting cast, Cooz, Hondo, Sam, Tommy, but so did Jerry West and Wilt. One guy won a title with an all-time team in 1967 team and they both won one after Russell retired.

It is an irrefutable fact Bill Russell made his teammates better. He was an elite basketball talent in everything but scoring but understood how to score as a collective and not as an individual. He was an athletic freak with an absurdly high basketball IQ who completely invested every ounce of his being into winning and led by example.

The people who dismiss Russell are those that don't understand his game or his value. They focus on the era in which he played in and stats.

One more thing about Russ: he would absolutely thrive in todays NBA.
Russell was much much quicker than Shaq,Kareem or just about any great center you wanna put up.
He would dominate the rim but he would also jump out and block 3's and he could handle any big off the dribble including Giannis.
Probably the smartest bball player who ever lived. And Larry makes 2. We had 2 pure hoops geniuses.

 

[RobertWeathers]

One more thing about Russ: he would absolutely thrive in todays NBA.
Russell was much much quicker than Shaq,Kareem or just about any great center you wanna put up.
He would dominate the rim but he would also jump out and block 3's and he could handle any big off the dribble including Giannis.
Probably the smartest bball player who ever lived. And Larry makes 2. We had 2 pure hoops geniuses.

I believe in all my being the greats find a way to be great no matter the era. They just have that in them.

I don't know if Russ would have averaged 30 rebounds a game in 2025 but I believe if you gave Russ a year to figure it out (weight training, game speed, plays, style, rules, etc). and surround him with talent....he'd win. No question.