Gordon Hayward signing 4 yr max contract with Celtics

[RobertWeathers]

His 3 point stroke is NBA ready.
Being 22 ( 2 years @Duke / 1 @ SMU), he is more refined than most summer leaguers so the question going forward is "upside."
He's listed at 6'7 but looks smaller in HD.
He's definitely not just a roster filler like Hunter or Young...body built for battle / shooting proficiency required in today's NBA

On another topic....Josh Jackson looks to be the real deal with nightly stats that I expected from this athletic, physical, determined forward. Tonight...21 pts 15 rebounds ...9/17 shooting....no 3s. A Draymond Green type player.
Right now....I'm labeling Tatum ....finesse ....and Jackson ......physical.
We'll see what these two look like a few years from now

I wouldn't quite call Tatum finesse. I think he wants to play tough He still has a bit to go with his body filling out.

 

[Froob]

His 3 point stroke is NBA ready.
Being 22 ( 2 years @Duke / 1 @ SMU), he is more refined than most summer leaguers so the question going forward is "upside."
He's listed at 6'7 but looks smaller in HD.
He's definitely not just a roster filler like Hunter or Young...body built for battle / shooting proficiency required in today's NBA

On another topic....Josh Jackson looks to be the real deal with nightly stats that I expected from this athletic, physical, determined forward. Tonight...21 pts 15 rebounds ...9/17 shooting....no 3s. A Draymond Green type player.
Right now....I'm labeling Tatum ....finesse ....and Jackson ......physical.
We'll see what these two look like a few years from now

LT, is that you?

 

[borisman]

I wouldn't quite call Tatum finesse. I think he wants to play tough He still has a bit to go with his body filling out.

He's not exactly physically dominant nor do I think he will be as he fills out/matures physically. He doesn't have to play tough. He has a plethora of offensive moves so he'll be a nightmare for defenses in short order I think. He's much more ready than Brown was last year. It's only summer league but you can just tell he's out there working on stuff that coaches want him to work on. He's got a weird leg kick on his fade-away jumper, especially around 17 feet out but's it's deadly.
He's been compared to Carmelo Anthony and I think it's a good comp. He's only 19 so it'll be fun watching him develop. Let's hope for 2 top 5 picks next year and the future will be looking bright.

 

[RobertWeathers]

He's not exactly physically dominant nor do I think he will be as he fills out/matures physically. He doesn't have to play tough. He has a plethora of offensive moves so he'll be a nightmare for defenses in short order I think. He's much more ready than Brown was last year.

I agree. The question is what he'll bring defensively. I don't think he'll ever be lockdown but if hes adequate and in 2-3 years averaging 20/7/3 and a couple of steals a game then I'm satisfied.

It's only summer league but you can just tell he's out there working on stuff that coaches want him to work on. He's got a weird leg kick on his fade-away jumper, especially around 17 feet out but's it's deadly.
He's been compared to Carmelo Anthony and I think it's a good comp. He's only 19 so it'll be fun watching him develop. Let's hope for 2 top 5 picks next year and the future will be looking bright.

Agree. The Melo comparison is interesting. He kinda reminds me of Joe Johnson a little.

 

[JoeSixPat]

I really like the Baynes signing. Between him and Morris the C's have added a lot of toughness or "edge": they didn't have last season. I see them dramatically improving their rebounding this season.

BTW- most of the media are still conceding that Cleveland has a significant gap over the C's. I don't see it. Yes their top 3 is better than our top 3, BUT its still a 5 man game and the C's look to be likely to be deeper and more versatile than the Cav's, which should close that gap considerably. Of course that will all depend on how quickly Brown and Tatum develop and how fast Stephans is able to integrate all the new pieces into a smoth operating team.

Bottom line: Since 2010 I've been just a casual C's fans after decades of being a close follower. But how can anyone NOT be excited about the future for this team when you concider the talent that exists now and the fact is they are likely to have at least one top 5 pick in each of the next 2 years. As well as having a myriad of other first round picks to use as leverage.

I heard one basketball guy put into a really interesting perspective. The C's have a 3-4 window with a "big three" of Thomas, Haywood, and Horford. And just about the time THAT window will be closing, the Brown, Tatum, and whomever all those lottery picks bring (either in deals, or bodies) will be coming into their own "big three".

So what Danny has done is to build a team that is likely to be competing for at LEAST a conference title every year for the next decade. What more can a fan want.

For the $5 million or so, Baynes was a great signing

Personally, when everyone was talking about trading for Paul George m (6.5 rbds a game) and his $73 million contract, I was more interested in seeing them spend a lot less on the older Tyson Chandler and his 11 rbds a game - even at age 34

Of course - one would want to save him for the playoffs - so that makes Baynes the wiser choice (as he also has more upside) - but come spring, if Chandler is healthy, I could see them making a trade for a guy like him if they think they have shot

And as for Morris, some fans seem to think he was a salary throw in for a trade - but he plays D against LeBron HARD

I don't think this team is set to peak this season while LeBron is still in the East - but I wouldn't write them off in a 7 game series against the Cavs either. (Against the Warriors? Well, I'm less sure but even there, I think the Celts match up better against the Warriors than the Cavs do.)

 

[rochrist]

Zizic following up his excellent last game with 14 points, 10 boards, 1 assist, 3 blocks and 0 TO in 17 minutes of play. Seems as though some people were a bit too quick to write him off.

 

[borisman]

I'm sure there's been talk about Marvin Bagley in this thread and how disappointing it is that the C's have "0" shot at getting him.
Not. So. Fast.

Marvin Bagley III, the country's No. 1 basketball recruit, could skip senior year to play for Duke or USC, per report