Gordon Hayward signing 4 yr max contract with Celtics

[DarrylS]

Still trying to figure out how they can guess how Jason Tatum, Lonzo Ball et al are going to work out after one year of College Ball, even though they come from big time programs.. not sure how much faith you can have in a couple of 19 year olds?? They are still maturing..

I have been a Celtics fan since the 50's and find today's game controlled more by the players than by the GM's/Coaches.. which is a major reason why I do not care for it all that much.. now there are rumors that James is trying to set up a "Super Team" in LA next year when he can walk away from Cleveland..

It seems very contrived as the league is controlled by the players...

 

[RobertWeathers]

2004 Detroit Pistons

That is the closest you will get however either on that team or the 05 squad that also went to the finals there were multiple all stars and 3 members of the all defensive team. That team had elite defensive talent but not elite talent offensively.

With that said, Larry Brown was an excellent all-around coach.

 

[Doctor DDS]

The NBA's current collective bargaining agreement makes it extremely difficult to build or re-build a team. With the majority of the top players being one and done and eligible for free agency after just 4 years it is very hard to find the right balance of players. Football players are older and are much closer to producing so there is much more value in sprinkling in youth and managing a real salary cap. As good as Tatum projects to be he will likely still be developing when he first hits free agency and the C's will seemingly be forced to offer a massive contract before they have been able to take full advantage of his contract. Boston, along with teams like Philly and Minnesota is seemingly well positioned with lots of picks and/or youth but how they develop and get paid will determine if this works or not. Wish the NBA was more like baseball with a longer period of team control.

 

[borg]

Is it just me.....
This offseason, I've read/heard how impressed Ainge and Boston were with Zizic after a successful pro season overseas. "Boston has plans for Zizic"
Maybe I'm jumping to conclusions after 4 irrelevant summer league games....but Zizic sucks.
Here's what I know:
Zizic has been benched in 2 of the 4 summer league games including last night. During Zizic's 10 minute stint, LA sliced through Boston's defense at will while showing zero offensive aptitude. Only after he was relegated to the pine did Boston begin its long march back to victory.
My eyes see I guy who tries hard but athletically he does not belong on the floor. I have yet to see him challenge a shot vertically. He prefers to keep his feet on the floor and extend his hand toward the shooter as if projecting a voodoo curse.
If Zizic is the team's solution on the boards, Trader Danny must be sh*tting himself right now.

On a positive note, Semi Ojeleye had himself a night from the 3 point arc finishing with 17 points. Could this be the long distance bomber the Celtics hoped James Young would turn into? Semi's path to the NBA will be worth following, IMO. His stroke is proven and legit.

Finally.......Ball balled last night. His vision is as advertised. And hats off to the LA fans who have swarmed into Vegas and made their presence known at these Lakers games. That's awesome.

Edit: I feel bad for Kyle Kuzma, he drops 30 points last night for LA and should have been the story of the game, but the Lonzo Ball hype sucks all the oxygen out of every room he steps in.
Note : Kuzma was drafted with the Celtics pick swapped with Brooklyn
Also: Jaylen Brown.....yikes. The kid too often lacks basketball sense.....7 fouls......horrible shooting night. Can't argue about his effort....just the results.

 

[rochrist]

The NBA's current collective bargaining agreement makes it extremely difficult to build or re-build a team. With the majority of the top players being one and done and eligible for free agency after just 4 years it is very hard to find the right balance of players. Football players are older and are much closer to producing so there is much more value in sprinkling in youth and managing a real salary cap. As good as Tatum projects to be he will likely still be developing when he first hits free agency and the C's will seemingly be forced to offer a massive contract before they have been able to take full advantage of his contract. Boston, along with teams like Philly and Minnesota is seemingly well positioned with lots of picks and/or youth but how they develop and get paid will determine if this works or not. Wish the NBA was more like baseball with a longer period of team control.

Well, they don't hit unrestricted free agency after four years, first comes restricted. Players are not that hard to retain as restricted free agents if you really want them. So typically with a good player, you're going to have them under control for at least 7 years.

 

[rochrist]

Is it just me.....
This offseason, I've read/heard how impressed Ainge and Boston were with Zizic after a successful pro season overseas. "Boston has plans for Zizic"
Maybe I'm jumping to conclusions after 4 irrelevant summer league games....but Zizic sucks.
Here's what I know:
Zizic has been benched in 2 of the 4 summer league games including last night. During Zizic's 10 minute stint, LA sliced through Boston's defense at will while showing zero offensive aptitude. Only after he was relegated to the pine did Boston begin its long march back to victory.
My eyes see I guy who tries hard but athletically he does not belong on the floor. I have yet to see him challenge a shot vertically. He prefers to keep his feet on the floor and extend his hand toward the shooter as if projecting a voodoo curse.
If Zizic is the team's solution on the boards, Trader Danny must be sh*tting himself right now.

On a positive note, Semi Ojeleye had himself a night from the 3 point arc finishing with 17 points. Could this be the long distance bomber the Celtics hoped James Young would turn into? Semi's path to the NBA will be worth following, IMO. His stroke is proven and legit.

Finally.......Ball balled last night. His vision is as advertised. And hats off to the LA fans who have swarmed into Vegas and made their presence known at these Lakers games. That's awesome.

Edit: I feel bad for Kyle Kuzma, he drops 30 points last night for LA and should have been the story of the game, but the Lonzo Ball hype sucks all the oxygen out of every room he steps in.
Note : Kuzma was drafted with the Celtics pick swapped with Brooklyn
Also: Jaylen Brown.....yikes. The kid too often lacks basketball sense.....7 fouls......horrible shooting night. Can't argue about his effort....just the results.

Re: Ball, so far 7 for 28. He's a poor man's Rondo. At least Rondo was athletic enough to get to the basket and defend when he cared to. Ball is going to be a sieve.

 

[Patsgofor4]

Re: Ball, so far 7 for 28. He's a poor man's Rondo. At least Rondo was athletic enough to get to the basket and defend when he cared to. Ball is going to be a sieve.

It hurts my eyes to watch Ball shoot. In my opinion, there is no way he is ever going to be a 20+ per game scorer with that awkward stroke.

 

[borg]

The NBA's current collective bargaining agreement makes it extremely difficult to build or re-build a team. With the majority of the top players being one and done and eligible for free agency after just 4 years it is very hard to find the right balance of players. Football players are older and are much closer to producing so there is much more value in sprinkling in youth and managing a real salary cap. As good as Tatum projects to be he will likely still be developing when he first hits free agency and the C's will seemingly be forced to offer a massive contract before they have been able to take full advantage of his contract. Boston, along with teams like Philly and Minnesota is seemingly well positioned with lots of picks and/or youth but how they develop and get paid will determine if this works or not. Wish the NBA was more like baseball with a longer period of team control.

Totally agree
This one and done replenishment system is not serving the teams. Doubt the NBAPA would ever adopt my solution ....but here goes...
A drafted 18 year old must be under control by the team drafting him for X years
A drafted 19 year old....X-1
A drafted 20 year old....X-2
A drafted 21 year old.....X-3

The question...what should X equal? (8?)

 

[YOUGOTMOSSED]

I don't disagree with what you said, but I'm just curious...if you agreed with LeBron's politics, would you still feel the same about him?

It's a pet peeve of mine when athletes/celebrities start lecturing "the little people" about political issues. Most of them are not very bright and are out of touch with the rest of us as a result of the isolation that inevitably comes from fame.

Even on the rare occasion where I agree with what they're saying, they usually don't do the argument justice. No matter what their political views are, it's probably best that they just STFU about them IMO.

 

[NashuaPats]

I think what the Celtics are doing is quite fascinating. They are loading up on tall wing type players. Crowder, Hayward, Morris, Tatum, and Brown. These guys are all between 6'6" and 6'9", fairly athletic, and can fill positions from 2 through 4.

Defensively, Stevens uses a lot of switching. It's an effective defense, but it can be taken advantage of by the opponents finding mismatches which the Cavs did very effectively. But when you have athletic guys that are 6'6" to 6'9" even the Cavs won't easily find mismatches.

On offense, they will have lineups where all 5 players can shoot the three while also having 2-3 guys who can create their own offense. They can have 3 tall wings playing at a time while having a guard like Thomas or Smart on the floor and Horford at center. You could even have Morris play some small ball center. And of course they can mix and match line ups with IT and Smart both on the court (which will happen a lot) or even having two bigs with Zizic, Theis, or Yab sharing the court with Horford.

This will be really interesting to watch play out. They also have a great shot at an early pick next year (Nets and Lakers) and have a shot at Ayton or Bamba. They will compete now while having a shot at contending while also building for the future. Great job by Ainge.

 

[gitgronked82]

Is it just me.....
This offseason, I've read/heard how impressed Ainge and Boston were with Zizic after a successful pro season overseas. "Boston has plans for Zizic"
Maybe I'm jumping to conclusions after 4 irrelevant summer league games....but Zizic sucks.
Here's what I know:
Zizic has been benched in 2 of the 4 summer league games including last night. During Zizic's 10 minute stint, LA sliced through Boston's defense at will while showing zero offensive aptitude. Only after he was relegated to the pine did Boston begin its long march back to victory.
My eyes see I guy who tries hard but athletically he does not belong on the floor. I have yet to see him challenge a shot vertically. He prefers to keep his feet on the floor and extend his hand toward the shooter as if projecting a voodoo curse.
If Zizic is the team's solution on the boards, Trader Danny must be sh*tting himself right now.

On a positive note, Semi Ojeleye had himself a night from the 3 point arc finishing with 17 points. Could this be the long distance bomber the Celtics hoped James Young would turn into? Semi's path to the NBA will be worth following, IMO. His stroke is proven and legit.

Finally.......Ball balled last night. His vision is as advertised. And hats off to the LA fans who have swarmed into Vegas and made their presence known at these Lakers games. That's awesome.

Edit: I feel bad for Kyle Kuzma, he drops 30 points last night for LA and should have been the story of the game, but the Lonzo Ball hype sucks all the oxygen out of every room he steps in.
Note : Kuzma was drafted with the Celtics pick swapped with Brooklyn
Also: Jaylen Brown.....yikes. The kid too often lacks basketball sense.....7 fouls......horrible shooting night. Can't argue about his effort....just the results.

I've really been dissapointed with zizic so far... i was most excited to watch him after tatum. was really really hoping he could start at center this year.

i agree his shot-challenging is brutal to watch as of now. does not seem athletic enough to actually hold down the paint. also just keep seeing jaylen and tatum skying over him for boards. if he isn't pulling down 10 boards in summer league, i don't see him being our solution going forward...



save us yabu

 

[fair catch fryar]

It's a pet peeve of mine when athletes/celebrities start lecturing "the little people" about political issues. Most of them are not very bright and are out of touch with the rest of us as a result of the isolation that inevitably comes from fame.

Even on the rare occasion where I agree with what they're saying, they usually don't do the argument justice. No matter what their political views are, it's probably best that they just STFU about them IMO.

I tend to agree with you there, but there is the rare occasion where an athlete or performer can actually articulate an argument that is worth listening to, as rare asa that is. The dumb ones seem to spout off the most and the smart ones know better.

 

[NashuaPats]

I've really been dissapointed with zizic so far... i was most excited to watch him after tatum. was really really hoping he could start at center this year.

i agree his shot-challenging is brutal to watch as of now. does not seem athletic enough to actually hold down the paint. also just keep seeing jaylen and tatum skying over him for boards. if he isn't pulling down 10 boards in summer league, i don't see him being our solution going forward...



save us yabu

I've been disappointed by him as well. That said, the summer league is a horrible way to judge big guys. It's so fast paced, hectic, and guard dominated. With more structure where he knows his role, he might look a lot better. He did look really good last season playing in a top European league.

 

[gitgronked82]

I've been disappointed by him as well. That said, the summer league is a horrible way to judge big guys. It's so fast paced, hectic, and guard dominated. With more structure where he knows his role, he might look a lot better. He did look really good last season playing in a top European league.

fair. still, i'd think if you put most strong centers in these games they'd do better than this. zizic looks remarkably slow getting up and down the court and hasn't been able to rebound enough in the half court

 

[NashuaPats]

fair. still, i'd think if you put most strong centers in these games they'd do better than this. zizic looks remarkably slow getting up and down the court and hasn't been able to rebound enough in the half court

I remember Al Jefferson horribly slow as well his first couple of seasons. Once, he caught up mentally, he suddenly looked much quicker. The fact is, unless you are a future hall of famer, 90+% of centers are extremely slow compared to everyone else. They need structure. I'm less confident in Zizic now than I was a week ago, but I am not writing him off either. I still think there's a legitimate chance he can contribute this season at 10-15 minutes a game battling bigs when the rest of the roster is getting dominated on the boards/rebounds.

 

[RobertWeathers]

I remember Al Jefferson horribly slow as well his first couple of seasons. Once, he caught up mentally, he suddenly looked much quicker. The fact is, unless you are a future hall of famer, 90+% of centers are extremely slow compared to everyone else. They need structure. I'm less confident in Zizic now than I was a week ago, but I am not writing him off either. I still think there's a legitimate chance he can contribute this season at 10-15 minutes a game battling bigs when the rest of the roster is getting dominated on the boards/rebounds.

I've watched Zizic twice now and I dont project him to be able to match up physically with the big boys. He also looks slow as hell.

If he gives them 15-20 quality minutes I'll be a pleasant surprise.

They need a young Tyson Chandler.

 

[NashuaPats]

I've watched Zizic twice now and I dont project him to be able to match up physically with the big boys. He also looks slow as hell.

If he gives them 15-20 quality minutes I'll be a pleasant surprise.

They need a young Tyson Chandler.

I'd prefer a young Tyson too, but that's not in the cards. Maybe, we'll get a guy like that next draft.

Have you watched any of his performances from the top European league he played in this past season? He looked much quicker than he does now. There could be a lot of reasons for that. I'm not projecting big things for him. Just some rebounding and defensive presence near the hoop in games the Celts are overmatched at the boards. I expect him to play less than five minutes most games and maybe 15 in games against the few teams that still have old fashioned bigs. At least that's what I'm hoping. You very well may be right that he's not good enough, but I need to see him in a better structured NBA to be sure he's not. He was too good this past season in Europe to be pessimistic that he can't compete.

 

[borg]

His game reminds me of an Eastern European car 30 years behind the times ....no accessories, one gear, spitting out exhaust....clunky

 

[jah]

Still trying to figure out how they can guess how Jason Tatum, Lonzo Ball et al are going to work out after one year of College Ball, even though they come from big time programs.. not sure how much faith you can have in a couple of 19 year olds?? They are still maturing..

I have been a Celtics fan since the 50's and find today's game controlled more by the players than by the GM's/Coaches.. which is a major reason why I do not care for it all that much.. now there are rumors that James is trying to set up a "Super Team" in LA next year when he can walk away from Cleveland..

It seems very contrived as the league is controlled by the players...

You mean the guys who actually play the game and put their bodies on the line have more agency and get more respect than in the NFL? Sounds like an absolute tragedy.

 

[RobertWeathers]

I'd prefer a young Tyson too, but that's not in the cards. Maybe, we'll get a guy like that next draft.

Have you watched any of his performances from the top European league he played in this past season? He looked much quicker than he does now. There could be a lot of reasons for that. I'm not projecting big things for him. Just some rebounding and defensive presence near the hoop in games the Celts are overmatched at the boards. I expect him to play less than five minutes most games and maybe 15 in games against the few teams that still have old fashioned bigs. At least that's what I'm hoping. You very well may be right that he's not good enough, but I need to see him in a better structured NBA to be sure he's not. He was too good this past season in Europe to be pessimistic that he can't compete.

I've seen bits and pieces of his games with Dogus. Not enough for me to make a call.

He's still developing. Just gotta see how it goes. When it comes to NBA prospects I'm wrong more than right.

I want him to become a mean Croat.