Celtics 2025-2026 Discussion

[One-If-By-Sea]

Perhaps; but losing to the NYKs should make everyone here harsh, Tatum injury or no injury.

Losing those first two games against the NYKs was brutal. Does anyone think Bird loses both those games?

 

[RobertWeathers]

ya, given how we are seeing what happens when you do the over-pays and the bill comes due ... ouch.

It's ok to overpay as long as you a) win b) have tradable players with tradable contracts so you can accumulate assets like picks and gain more financial flexibility.

Jrue was an overpay (but still a quality asset) and it sucks that Brad needed to move players for financial reasons but he won a title and still has 2 All NBA players under contract for a few more years. If it was worst case scenario and he needed to move JB or White, he can do it and have the picks and cap space in return to reload.

The Suns' problem is Booker is not an All NBA player. Top 15 maybe. Hes pushing 30. He'll make 65m and 69m at ages 32 and 33. They have the human boat anchor in Bradley Beal who is untradable. Suns lost $14m last year so they have financial issues. They are in the 2nd apron and will win 30-35 games next year. Horrible situation and they did it to themselves. Sheer negligence. Credit card financial philosophy.

This was a desperate move by the Suns to maintain fan interest. They should have traded him and his old contract, packaged Beal and rebuilt with a whole bunch of picks and cap space.

They are f-ed.

 

[borisman]

Celtics Summer League games kick-off, err, tip-off this afternoon, at 4, on League Pass, NBA TV, so I won't be see it/tape to watch later.
Players of interest to me are two of the three draft picks playing (Hugo and Amari). I have no interest in Max Shulga. Don't know why, I just don't. C's hoping he can turn into Max Strus or similar type player. Also, Scheiermann is playing and he could get meaningful minutes this year, especially with Tatum hurt and Hauser likely taking some starter minutes. I liked the ShireMan pick but his shot looked off since last summer league games (which are usually boring AF) until this spring when it was looking right. Lets' hope he got that straightened out for good. The Celtics have a pretty good shooting program. Amari Williams could be a poor man's Rob Williams. He can pass like a pro but his offensive game is lagging behind. He's going to make the team with current lack of depth on the roster.

Here is the Summer League roster: (stolen from C's forum)
Celtics Roster
Jordan Walsh (38th pick 2023)
Baylor Scheierman (30th pick 2024)
Hugo Gonzalez (28th pick 2025)
Max Shulga (57th pick 2025)
Amari Williams (46th pick 2025)
Aaron Scott (undrafted rookie)
Ben Gregg (undrafted rookie)
Zach Hicks (undrafted rookie)
Hayden Gray (undrafted rooie)
Miles Norris (undrafted 2023- 2 way player with Boston)
Kenneth Loftin, Jr (undrafted, 3rd year, MVP in China last season)
Jalen Bridges (2-way player with Phoenix, played 8 games with Suns)
Kendall Brown (48th pick in 2022)
Isaiah Wong (55th pick in 2023, played 20 games with Charlotte)

 

[borisman]

Losing those first two games against the NYKs was brutal. Does anyone think Bird loses both those games?

Absolutely not. It's why I have little confidence with the game on the line and watching Tatum pound the ball into the parquet until there are 3 seconds left. It's maddening watching it and then he forces a shot that most of the time barely gets rim.
That said, the C's had a poor record at home this past season but were a terror on the road. It's why after dropping the first two at home vs. the Knicks they were still favored to win the series until the injury.

 

[RobertWeathers]

Celtics Summer League games kick-off, err, tip-off this afternoon, at 4, on League Pass, NBA TV, so I won't be see it/tape to watch later.
Players of interest to me are two of the three draft picks playing (Hugo and Amari). I have no interest in Max Shulga. Don't know why, I just don't. C's hoping he can turn into Max Strus or similar type player. Also, Scheiermann is playing and he could get meaningful minutes this year, especially with Tatum hurt and Hauser likely taking some starter minutes. I liked the ShireMan pick but his shot looked off since last summer league games (which are usually boring AF) until this spring when it was looking right. Lets' hope he got that straightened out for good. The Celtics have a pretty good shooting program. Amari Williams could be a poor man's Rob Williams. He can pass like a pro but his offensive game is lagging behind. He's going to make the team with current lack of depth on the roster.

Here is the Summer League roster: (stolen from C's forum)
Celtics Roster
Jordan Walsh (38th pick 2023)
Baylor Scheierman (30th pick 2024)
Hugo Gonzalez (28th pick 2025)
Max Shulga (57th pick 2025)
Amari Williams (46th pick 2025)
Aaron Scott (undrafted rookie)
Ben Gregg (undrafted rookie)
Zach Hicks (undrafted rookie)
Hayden Gray (undrafted rooie)
Miles Norris (undrafted 2023- 2 way player with Boston)
Kenneth Loftin, Jr (undrafted, 3rd year, MVP in China last season)
Jalen Bridges (2-way player with Phoenix, played 8 games with Suns)
Kendall Brown (48th pick in 2022)
Isaiah Wong (55th pick in 2023, played 20 games with Charlotte)

Scheiermann and Amari Williams are on my radar.

Scheiermann has the skill to be 10ppg off the bench next year. I already believe he can make plays. Hopefully he is adequate defensively.

Amari Williams IMO is already more skilled offensively than Queta. I want to see how hard he plays and his shot from 15ft. I think his D is already above average.

 

[captain stone]

Celtics Summer League games kick-off, err, tip-off this afternoon, at 4, on League Pass, NBA TV, so I won't be see it/tape to watch later.
Players of interest to me are two of the three draft picks playing (Hugo and Amari). I have no interest in Max Shulga. Don't know why, I just don't. C's hoping he can turn into Max Strus or similar type player. Also, Scheiermann is playing and he could get meaningful minutes this year, especially with Tatum hurt and Hauser likely taking some starter minutes. I liked the ShireMan pick but his shot looked off since last summer league games (which are usually boring AF) until this spring when it was looking right. Lets' hope he got that straightened out for good. The Celtics have a pretty good shooting program. Amari Williams could be a poor man's Rob Williams. He can pass like a pro but his offensive game is lagging behind. He's going to make the team with current lack of depth on the roster.

That was a horrible, HORRIBLE pick. It should've been the kid from Duke; but The Brad & his incompetent HC despise Big Men, so...

Here is the Summer League roster: (stolen from C's forum)
Celtics Roster
Jordan Walsh (38th pick 2023)
Baylor Scheierman (30th pick 2024)
Hugo Gonzalez (28th pick 2025)
Max Shulga (57th pick 2025)
Amari Williams (46th pick 2025)
Aaron Scott (undrafted rookie)
Ben Gregg (undrafted rookie)
Zach Hicks (undrafted rookie)
Hayden Gray (undrafted rooie)
Miles Norris (undrafted 2023- 2 way player with Boston)
Kenneth Loftin, Jr (undrafted, 3rd year, MVP in China last season)
Jalen Bridges (2-way player with Phoenix, played 8 games with Suns)
Kendall Brown (48th pick in 2022)
Isaiah Wong (55th pick in 2023, played 20 games with Charlotte)

Not one player with an NBA future in that bunch. Not. One.

 

[RobertWeathers]

That was a horrible, HORRIBLE pick. It should've been the kid from Duke; but The Brad & his incompetent HC despise Big Men, so...




Not one player with an NBA future in that bunch. Not. One.

OK Red.

 

[aluminum seats]

That was a horrible, HORRIBLE pick. It should've been the kid from Duke; but The Brad & his incompetent HC despise Big Men, so...




Not one player with an NBA future in that bunch. Not. One.

Define future captain so we can hold you accountable here

 

[UrbanCowboy]

It's ok to overpay as long as you a) win b) have tradable players with tradable contracts so you can accumulate assets like picks and gain more financial flexibility.

Jrue was an overpay (but still a quality asset) and it sucks that Brad needed to move players for financial reasons but he won a title and still has 2 All NBA players under contract for a few more years. If it was worst case scenario and he needed to move JB or White, he can do it and have the picks and cap space in return to reload.

The Suns' problem is Booker is not an All NBA player. Top 15 maybe. Hes pushing 30. He'll make 65m and 69m at ages 32 and 33. They have the human boat anchor in Bradley Beal who is untradable. Suns lost $14m last year so they have financial issues. They are in the 2nd apron and will win 30-35 games next year. Horrible situation and they did it to themselves. Sheer negligence. Credit card financial philosophy.

This was a desperate move by the Suns to maintain fan interest. They should have traded him and his old contract, packaged Beal and rebuilt with a whole bunch of picks and cap space.

They are f-ed.

totally. As much as it pains me, I realize top players get that crazy money. But you gotta choose wisely. Booker ... no way. Frankly I wouldn't have done it for jaylen brown, but that's water under the bridge and to his credit he has improved and arguably worth it.

 

[RobertWeathers]

totally. As much as it pains me, I realize top players get that crazy money. But you gotta choose wisely. Booker ... no way. Frankly I wouldn't have done it for jaylen brown, but that's water under the bridge and to his credit he has improved and arguably worth it.

I'd argue its ok at 30 but not good at 32 when he gets paid $65m but the way things are going it might be a good deal lol.

 

[1960Pats]

Eh whatever gets them to the top of next years draft. 3 big studs in that one. Be HUGE for Tatum and Brown going forward, especially for the apron BS.

As long as they don't trade White I'm 100% behind them.

They could pull a Red and trade a player to a really bad team and get the top pick, though I doubt that's an option these days. Plus, even if they did have the top pick, the NBA would give it to the team of their choice.

Who's playing center?

 

[borisman]

This guy was added just prior to the first Summer League game.
He was a top prospect coming in at W. Kentucky but never developed as thought. Better late than never, since we have no bigs? Let's hope he gives better minutes than Luka Garza.


Some Hugo highlights as well.

 

[One-If-By-Sea]

This guy was added just prior to the first Summer League game.
He was a top prospect coming in at W. Kentucky but never developed as thought. Better late than never, since we have no bigs? Let's hope he gives better minutes than Luka Garza.


Some Hugo highlights as well.

Thanks. Kind of depressing.

 

[ViperGTS]

Thanks. Kind of depressing.

Get ready. If Stevens is smart this whole season will be depressing. The CBA has (not shockingly) change the landscape of the NBA. Elite, cost controllable assets is the name of the game. A top 3 pick next year would do this franchise wonders.

 

[bresna]

There is no guarantee that a top 3 pick is going to do anything for this team. The hit rate on these players is about 50%.

2016 – Ben Simmons – Brandon Ingram – Jaylen Brown
2017 – Markelle Fultz - Lonzo Ball – Jason Tatum
2018 – Deandre Ayton – Marvin Bagley III – Luka Doncic
2019 – Zion Williamson – Ja Morant – RJ Barrett
2020 – Anthony Edwards – James Wiseman – LaMelo Ball
2021 – Cade Cunningham – Jalen Green – Evan Mobley
2022 – Paolo Banchero – Chet Holmgren – Jabari Smith Jr.
2023 – Victor Wembanyama – Brandon Miller – Scott Henderson
2024 – Zaccharie Risacher – Alex Sarr – Reed Sheppard

13 All Stars out of 27 picks.

I don't know if playing for a high pick is as smart as it seems. I agree that the CBA almost demands that you grow through the draft, but trying to suck for a top 3 pick seems like the wrong way to do it.

 

[rochrist]

Not to mention, often as not, tanking doesn't end up well in the lottery. Who got Cooper Flagg? Who got Tim Duncan?

 

[RobertWeathers]

Thanks. Kind of depressing.

Depressing how?

 

[One-If-By-Sea]

Depressing how?

Gonzales banking in threes with terrible form, and some center from W. kentucky that dropped out of college. Brad says they have had their eye on him for awhile. This "he is very versatile" or "we have had our eye on him for awhile" is BS talk.

 

[One-If-By-Sea]

Get ready. If Stevens is smart this whole season will be depressing. The CBA has (not shockingly) change the landscape of the NBA. Elite, cost controllable assets is the name of the game. A top 3 pick next year would do this franchise wonders.

Top 3 pick? How?

 

[RobertWeathers]

Gonzales banking in threes with terrible form, and some center from W. kentucky that dropped out of college. Brad says they have had their eye on him for awhile. This "he is very versatile" or "we have had our eye on him for awhile" is BS talk.

Who cares about form? Jesus.

I think you are overreacting to Brad's statements. It't not like Brad is expecting 20/10 and 4 blocks every right. He'll play 10-15 min and thats it.