Creating the Perfect Offseason Plan for the Boston Celtics

BLEACHER REPORT
BY GRANT RINDNER (FEATURED COLUMNIST)

With Rajon Rondo and Jared Sullinger sidelined with injuries and Kevin Garnett banged up himself, it would be easy for the Boston Celtics and their faithful to chalk up their disappointing first-round playoff loss to bad luck and look forward to the start of 2013-14.

However, the reality is that this Boston team was struggling even with Sully and Rondo, and with Garnett, Paul Pierce and Jason Terry aging, standing pat is not an option—not if this team wants to contend for another season.

Now that the team has exited the postseason earlier than anticipated, all of the talk in the Celtics' circle has—as expected—switched to the futures of KG and Pierce in green.

This is the murkiest offseason the Celtics have had since the start of the Big Three era back in 2007. While no plan is perfect, here are a few ideas for how Boston should approach their offseason plans to keep the team competitive and well-positioned for the future.

Draft

Boston has just one pick in the draft, the 16th overall selection, and it's their highest first-round pick since the year they drafted Jeff Green fifth overall and immediately shipped him to the Seattle SuperSonics.

The Celtics have plenty of areas of need to address with this pick, but with Garnett's retirement looming and rookie Fab Melo looking more and more like he's going to be known forever as the guy who walked into a door, the team is expected to target another big man.

One of the best options the C's have is Louisville's Gorgui Dieng, a versatile frontcourt player fresh off of winning a national championship in college. Dieng averaged 9.8 points, 9.4 rebounds, two assists and 2.5 blocks per game while shooting 53.4 percent from the field.

Dieng is a long, talented athlete who, at 6'10", could be the team's primary backup center and eventually be groomed to be a starter down the road. He is a great shot-blocker and defender who can control the glass with his strength and length.

Offensively, he is actually a surprisingly skilled player. He can drill the 17-foot jump shot with regularity, a valuable skill in a Celtics offense with Rondo, and he is an underrated post playmaker and passer.

Other options for Boston include Duke's Mason Plumlee, who would provide more offense than Dieng but is less skilled defensively, and sweet-shooting Croatian prospect Dario Saric.

The key to the Celtics' draft in 2013 is to grab a player who can contribute immediately for another playoff run, but has not maxed out his abilities and can potentially assume a larger role in the upcoming rebuilding years.

Trades

Obviously, the major trade Boston would pull would involve dealing Pierce for a package based around young assets and draft picks who could potentially grow alongside the team's young core of Rondo, Bradley and Green. This is an extreme move, but according to Adrian Wojnarowski, it is a move Ainge has seriously considered in the past. While it would undoubtedly hurt the team in the short-term, it may prove helpful in the long run.

Still, it's not like Pierce is a scrub by any means; he averaged 18.6 points, 6.3 rebounds and 4.8 assists per game in the regular season, while shooting 38 percent from three-point range. He was forced into the slightly foreign role of point-forward when Rondo went down, but thrived down the stretch and remains a viable option for a team that's one piece away from contention.

Dealing Pierce has ramifications, though, as it could play a major role in what kind of decision Garnett and even Doc Rivers makes going forward.

KG has plenty of trade value, given his veteran leadership and defensive ability, but he boasts a no-trade clause and is not a lock to even suit up again in the NBA.

We could discuss the ludicrous trade Stephen A. Smith broached recently involving shipping Pierce and KG to the L.A. Clippers along with Rivers for a package of Blake Griffin, DeAndre Jordan, Eric Bledsoe and more, but let's not waste our breath.

More realistically, the Celtics need to find a way to move one of the four (that's right, four) bench combo guards they have acquired in the past year. Jason Terry, Courtney Lee, Jordan Crawford and Terrence Williams were all erratic during 2012-13, and all of them looked remarkably bad attempting to run Boston's offense.

Terry will be tough to move, and actually ended his season in solid fashion during the playoffs, while Williams is a low-risk, high-reward athlete who could be groomed into a true backup point guard with great size.

In all likelihood, look for Boston to pursue a move of Lee or Crawford that could net them either a frontcourt player or a playmaking point guard to come off the pine. They could also pursue the big man route through a trade.

Free Agency

What the Celtics can do in free agency largely depends on whether or not KG and Pierce come back. If both are back in the fold, this team has little cap room to do anything but bring in a couple of low-impact veterans and go to war with a hopefully healthy roster.

If one or both of the remaining Big Three remembers hang up their high-tops, then things could be very interesting for Danny Ainge and company when the free-agency period begins.

The Celtics' main target, if they have cap space, will likely be Josh Smith. Smith was nearly landed in a three-way deal with the Dallas Mavericks reported by Wojnarowski, and has a close relationship with Rondo, with whom he played at Oak Hill Academy.

Smith averaged 17.5 points, 8.4 rebounds and 4.2 assists on 46.5-percent shooting for the Atlanta Hawks in 2012-13, and J-Smoove is the kind of all-world athlete who could help this Celtics team find their identity as they transition into a new era of basketball.

Other major options include Nikola Pekovic, a restricted free-agent center who could give the team some real grit on the inside. Pekovic is an old-school banger who relishes physical contact and has a surprisingly developed offensive game.

Al Jefferson, a former Celtic who was shipped out in the KG deal of 2007, would be a realistic option if the team shed some salary from Garnett and/or Pierce. Jefferson is one of the best low-post scorers in the game and averaged 17.8 points, 9.2 rebounds and 2.1 assists per game for the Utah Jazz.

If the team looks to make small, low-impact moves, they could target rotation pieces like Will Bynum, Earl Clark or Al-Farouq Aminu to provide some punch off the bench. These are not headline-grabbing players, but they can all contribute at a decent level and provide the kind of playmaking (Bynum) and rebounding (Clark and Aminu) the C's sorely lacked in 2012-13.

Coaching

Barring some unforeseen development, the best option for the Celtics' head coach position is the man who has been pacing the sidelines for them since 2004: Glenn "Doc" Rivers.

Rivers signed a five-year contract extension worth $35 million in 2011, with the implication being that he would be around to aid in the inevitable rebuilding process. However, it is a distinct possibility that should Garnett and Pierce exit, he will choose to do the same.

Rivers is an excellent X's-and-O's basketball coach who can draw up great plays, particularly in close games and out of timeouts, although he struggled with the team's offense against New York, relying heavily on a questionable Paul Pierce-on-Raymond Felton post-up. More than that, though, he is a phenomenal motivator who helped to build Boston's never-say-die attitude.

There are rumors from ESPN that the Brooklyn Nets will look into bringing Doc Rivers in to fill their head coaching vacancy, but Boston needs to work hard to ensure that they don't lose him at all, let alone to an Atlantic Division rival.

The team may need some small tweaks with their coaching staff; bringing in someone with a fresh take on Boston's stale offense could make a significant difference. But the reality is that whatever minor adjustments the Celts make will be meaningless if they let Rivers, viewed universally as one of the game's top coaches, retire or join another NBA staff.

112288

The only point that has not already been discussed from here to Sunday and which I heartily endorse involves bringing in an offensive coaching equivalent to what Thibodeau was on defense.

Sam

I was really impressed with Dieng during Louisville's run, hope he is there at 16. We've got to take him, then I'd waive Pierce and talk KG into retiring and siqn Big Al....or miraculously get rid of enough parts to keep KG if he refuses to retire and then still sign Big Al.

Cow,

bro i'm all over signing Big Al- if PP and KG both are gone, then **edited* DOUBLE ** yes..

but i dont think even then we have the peices to get back to the finals. I do think we have the peices now to do it, i think if we were willing to spend some draft picks we got what it takes to add what we need to get us back there.

I've seen a few idea's of making deals to trade for Big Al, but those were mostly "IF paul and/or KG retire- or sending one of them away in return for him.

just my thoughts and wonderings, but if i recall we have a plethera of second round picks thru 2017-

not an armchair gm proposal but a wondering- would Utah be interested in a deal for something like Bass+ either JET or Courtney + Melo + this yrs first + some seconds and our 2015 first for Big Al??

a pickup like that, and the addition of a good b/u pg for Rondo and we're right back in buisness in the contender hunt.

do that and... (ok i'm going into the land of fantasy) if Oklyhomah were to amnesty Perk and we could resign him- and with KG-PP- Rondo-Green- Sully-Bradley i'm picking us as favs for the title.

To those who are interested in retaining Paul Pierce:

It seemed to me that he had more slippage in his play this season than I've ever seen in the past. I understand all about his being pressed into service as a point forward at times. But I'm talking about basic things such as having the ball ripped out of his hands repeatedly, driving into traffic and not being able to prevent a steal, slowed reflexes on defense that meant than when he had to switch off his man, he was frequently overmatched by a faster, more agile, or bigger opponent.

Paul's done a great job with the Celtics. So did Danny Ainge, Paul Silas and others whose numbers weren't even raised. Obviously, Paul's number should be raised, but it seems to me that sentiment is clouding some thinking in believing Paul's problems won't recur (or increase—possibly along with injuries) next year as long as Rondo is back.

Small forward is a position that is best filled by someone 6' 7" or taller with substantial agility, speed, shooting, and (hopefully) jumping ability. Paul's at the lower end of the height spectrum, and the other areas seem to be severely compromised in Paul's case.

Keeping Paul on the team almost guarantees that next year's version of the team will see a resumption of the same conflict between Rondo's best style and Paul's preferred style. It's been oil and water for some time, although both players were so good at what they did that they somehow made it work. This season (before Rondo's injury), I believe the dichotomy was reaching the point of no return, and it was easier for Rondo to cave in to Paul's style than for Paul to adapt to a high-tempo game.

How many times have I read (on this board) about Rondo having to wait for teammates to catch up to him when he tries to start a break. Well Paul is at one of the key wing positions that are supposed to buttress a break, not undermine it.

I encourage people, when they're thinking of the future, first to consider the direction in which the entire team would be best advised to go in order to be competitive; then think about each candidate's prospects in filling a role that is a prerequisite to going in that direction.

Just thinking about the advantages or disadvantages of this player or that player in a vacuum leaves too many gaps in filling the team's needs.

For instance, IF the Celtics were to acquire Al Jefferson, would he help them to be proficient in the help defensive style that has succeeded for several years? He's not nearly as agile as KG, who was able to feint and recover better than anyone else on the team. That's just a tiny example of what I mean when I say that decisions made with respect to an individual should start with an analysis of how well that individual will fit with team strategy or may even lead to a new and better strategy. There always has to be a context; and, much more often than not, the context is the welfare of the team.

Sam

Sam hooter

Al Jeffersons defense is better than Zack Randolph who plays with a monster 5. Big Al has been out of position for years as a 5, to me hes better as a 4/PF. I'm hoping we can get one of these 7 footers like Alex Len or Rudy Gobart, but they will probably be gone. Hoping Dieng could be there and is a legit 6'10". Perk and Dwight Howard are only 6'10" so if the big has the legit skills and attributes, that could be tall enough. I was impressed overall with Dieng in the NCAA'S he protects the rim, has a jumper and is good passer with good hands. Put him next to Big Al could be the end of our rebounding problems.

I love Pierce and KG as much as anyone, but they are only going to lose more and more to Father Time, if there was a way to amneisty enough pieces to keep Pierce and KG and sign Big Al and draft Dieng then I'd be all for it, but we can't pawn off all the pieces? So Pierce we know we can waive and at this point KG can't play 82 games anymore and do you see him healthy for a deep playoff grind going forward? We need young blood, we have some legit pieces. I'd rather start the rebuilding sooner than later.

cow

Matty wrote:Cow,

bro i'm all over signing Big Al- if PP and KG both are gone, then **edited* DOUBLE ** yes..

but i dont think even then we have the peices to get back to the finals. I do think we have the peices now to do it, i think if we were willing to spend some draft picks we got what it takes to add what we need to get us back there.

I've seen a few idea's of making deals to trade for Big Al, but those were mostly "IF paul and/or KG retire- or sending one of them away in return for him.

just my thoughts and wonderings, but if i recall we have a plethera of second round picks thru 2017-

not an armchair gm proposal but a wondering- would Utah be interested in a deal for something like Bass+ either JET or Courtney + Melo + this yrs first + some seconds and our 2015 first for Big Al??

a pickup like that, and the addition of a good b/u pg for Rondo and we're right back in buisness in the contender hunt.

do that and... (ok i'm going into the land of fantasy) if Oklyhomah were to amnesty Perk and we could resign him- and with KG-PP- Rondo-Green- Sully-Bradley i'm picking us as favs for the title.

I wish Perk would get amneistied, on the Big Al trade your giving up way too much, hes not worth 2 #1 picks, we need those picks. Big Al is an unrestricted FA, any team can sign him, we just need to clear up room.

Cow,

Plumlee, Dieng or Withey. If we can take one of those three it will be a plus.

I also agree that we need to find a way out from under some contracts if at all possible. The two that handicap us the most, of course, are KG and Pierce. The draft is thin and we need to be able to bring in some players. Rondo, Green, Bradley and possibly Sullinger, along with one of the three above, might be a good start. Having the money to look for a forward to go with that core group would be huge.

Regards

NYCelt wrote:Plumlee, Dieng or Withey. If we can take one of those three it will be a plus.

I frankly think any of those three would be better than Fab Melo.

Sam,
I think the biggest so called drop in PP game was the fact that he HAD to handle the ball that much more without Rondo. Other than the inflated turnovers and his lower shooting percentage Paul had a great year. I would bet money if the all star team had been selected for the second half the year he would have been on it.

Someone said something about Doc and him using Pierce to post up Felton. That is the problem, He didn't post Felton. PP needed to be down by the basket posting Felton, not at the top of the key trying to get around a PG that is a ton quicker. That was a Doc problem IMO.

Sam you even started a thread earlier in the year defending PP play showing how many areas of his game were high compared to his career numbers.

Anyone notice how much Durant is losing the ball now days?

Outside wrote:

NYCelt wrote:Plumlee, Dieng or Withey. If we can take one of those three it will be a plus.

I frankly think any of those three would be better than Fab Melo.

Outside,

Fab Melo. Sounds familiar, but I can't quite place him.

Was he the guy they used to refer to as "the 5th Beatle?" You know the one I mean, the guy Ringo Starr replaced as drummer.

Regards

I believe that was Pete Best. But to put Melo in the same sentence with the word "Best" would be a sacrilege.

Sam

sam wrote:I believe that was Pete Best. But to put Melo in the same sentence with the word "Best" would be a sacrilege.

Sam

Good point! I wasn't sure what else to play "Fab" off of but "Fab 4."

cowens/oldschool wrote:Sam hooter

Al Jeffersons defense is better than Zack Randolph who plays with a monster 5. Big Al has been out of position for years as a 5, to me hes better as a 4/PF. I'm hoping we can get one of these 7 footers like Alex Len or Rudy Gobart, but they will probably be gone. Hoping Dieng could be there and is a legit 6'10". Perk and Dwight Howard are only 6'10" so if the big has the legit skills and attributes, that could be tall enough. I was impressed overall with Dieng in the NCAA'S he protects the rim, has a jumper and is good passer with good hands. Put him next to Big Al could be the end of our rebounding problems.

I love Pierce and KG as much as anyone, but they are only going to lose more and more to Father Time, if there was a way to amneisty enough pieces to keep Pierce and KG and sign Big Al and draft Dieng then I'd be all for it, but we can't pawn off all the pieces? So Pierce we know we can waive and at this point KG can't play 82 games anymore and do you see him healthy for a deep playoff grind going forward? We need young blood, we have some legit pieces. I'd rather start the rebuilding sooner than later.

cow

Cow,

of course father time is quickly catching up with Paul and KG, however i think keeping them around if possible till KG's contract expires and prolonging a rebuild till then has merit.

for the 13/14 campaign we currently have 14 guys under contract, supposing KG retires and paul is let go/amnestied we still only are left with about 12 mill under the cap, less than that actualy if we keep our first this yr, figgure ten mill and change? It's going to be a long road to take the same guys we got now, a 10 mill a yr guy and a 16th (or 17th?) pick and become a contender again. Look at several yrs of whealing and dealing to get back there again.

I asked a Jazz freind if he thought Utah would do a sign and trade for the same deal i suggested, Bass/terry or Lee + 17th pick + a future first or even some 2nd rounders and he felt they'd do it in a heartbeat..

first lets address sending a second first for Big Al, ya said it'd be overpaying, that we need those picks- but ya gotta pay to get the goods, and while a second first- the year after next might be overpaying some, I think the addition to the team of Al and the use of the MLE on a quality b/u for Rondo puts us right back on top of the league for another couple yrs- lets look back to the last time we had the leagues best record- our draft choice was Gibbons- how much exactly did we 'need" him?

Now do we realy need Big AL- we we certianly need a quality big like him- and he comes with a a familararity of Docs system. Does we play defense the way we like? well not as such... but we've brought in others who have been able to buy into the system to a satifactory degree-

besides we have an issue with the Celtics calling card its Defense- as good as its been historically during the KG era- time after time, its still failed to prevent the other team from outscoring our offense when it mattered most- when we were in a win or go home playoff game ever since the championship year. This last season our offense just sucked.. and i mean SUCKED..

I dont see PP or KG being 82 games + playoffs capable for 30+ minutes a night anymore- in fact going forward i'm inclined to say- bring both off the bench and even give them some road games off, especialy in the case of those two, i'd prefer them playoff ready than as a nesecesity during the reguler season.

I'm just of the opionion that, keeping both around, it think we have the peices there to make a deal to bring in what we need to compete for #18 and maybe #19 without dealing guys like Sully- Bradley-Rondo- Green away as well..

Tardust,

It's true I was impressed that Paul was playing so well earlier in the year. However, things change. I'm sure some of his later problems could have been caused by asking him to play point forward. However, it's far from the first time in his career that he has been given that chore in Rondo's absence, and he looked much worse this time.

I also think Paul's becoming more vulnerable on defense. I mean, he has to play someone on defense, but it seemed he was consistently overmatched regardless of whether he was playing someone bigger or smaller than he.

I was all for keeping this nucleus together this season just as I felt practically like a lone voice in doing so when they ran into problems the past two seasons. In the last two seasons, they found ways to come together and especially to get their chemistry in gear despite injuries. This season, that never happened.

You look to your leaders in such a case, but it's very questionable as to whether KG and especially Paul can any longer be leaders by example, if only because their time on the floor is becoming increasingly limited.

Depending on what happens this summer (and I wouldn't be surprised at anything), I would rather pay a reasonable sum for a decent backup for Jeff Green as Jeff continues his journey to a leadership position than to go into a season with Green and Pierce bumping into each other where leadership is cocerned.

You say "other than the inflated turnovers and lower shooting percentage." Sorry, but I'm not willing to overlook those factors, and I'd add increasing defensive ineptitude.

Paul Pierce is being paid as a guy who could put the team on his back in clutch situation after clutch situation. That person no longer exists. His signature move used to involve slashing and often attracting fouls and "and one" situations. He can no longer do that with anything remotely resembling a high degree of efficiency. He's still dangerous in spurts, so he still attracts double-teams—and that's a good thing. But he used to be the guy benefiting when a teammate got double-team.

I just see things with Paul on a downhill slide. I think this team is one that has to be focusing on upside. But maybe I'm wrong and he'll be the team's MVP next season.

Sam

hooter

I only do the deal if we can keep the #1 picks, just cause Giddens was a bust doesn't mean you can't get lucky with a late pick. We got Rondo and Avery Bradley with late picks. I'm watching this kid Jimmy Butler doing a great job defending Lebron, Iman Shumpert was another late pick stud. Big Al without another big like a Dieng is not enough. Big Al and Sully together could be defensively inadequate, them in a rotation with a legit big defensive BIG could work. Dieng looks like a real energetic 6'10" not 6'8" that can protect the rim.

cow

OK, I know this has nothing to do with the future, but with our past. I've seen enough watching Miami vs. Chicago Game 3...so who dropped the Nate Robinson ball in our organization?

Cow and Hooter,

Dieng...yes, certainly.

Big Al? Why the heck would we want to go back down that road again? Very limited abilities at both ends. Pass.

Sully is good for depth, if he can stay healthy and not bulk up. He might provide some solid minutes off the bench.

Regards

dBrown,

Who dropped the ball in not drafting Jimmy Butler! He went last in the first round 2 years ago!

112288

112288,

I've never been able to figure out the draft. To me, you might as well be at the Craps Table in Vegas. Draftees with either so much promise or none at all, as you point out, come out of the black box that is the NBA with no relation to where they started.

Well, as was shown last night, this is the beginning of the end for CHI. At least over in 5, at most 6.

I know there are a ton of things that go into a draft pick, more than we as armchair quarterbacks can ever imagine. The stakes are so high in that they are dealing with multimillion pawns, the slightest mistake or wrong decision can result in total financial ruin for a franchise for years and/or perhaps wipe them out as the NBA is littered with broken dreams.

As for us, we have been blessed with great leadership throughout our storied history. We have to hope that the current leadership in DA, Wyc and Doc know what they are doing. In the end, I am sure they will tell us that it's the intangibles that kill them every time - who gets injured when, personal lives, synergy, etc. It's no wonder everybody from the top down is traded away daily in hopes of something better. We along with the Lakers have shown what stable leadership with principles and traditions can do to separate us from the rest of the league.

As armchair quarterbacks, we get to speculate and watch it all unfold and then comment profusely on it. Thanks to Sam and his infinite wisdom back in the Boston Globe days, which bring up some "fond" memories of our own, we have our current awesome Boston Celtic forum. I remember all of Sam's posts back then stuck out far and above everyone else's, for many reasons, but each BG thread overall would inevitably result in someone saying something about someone's mother and having to call upon some nebulous person up the food chain in the BG to settle the 3rd grade disputes.

Even in what we consider the down times, i.e. when we aren't playing anymore in the playoffs, DA and company are feverishly working for next season. There is no down time in the NBA. I don't envy what they have to do and they earn every penny.

OK, I know this is random as is my whole response here but speaking of history, I just read Robert Parish's history. Very, very fascinating! I never knew the crap he went through in college. If interested, just google the Wikipedia version.

112288, do you think DA will do anything big now before the draft?

Bulls got shafted!!! those calls down the stretch sucked, every call went whos way?

dBrown,

Thanks.

Danny do something? If he can move up and get the number 1 center in the draft who is worth more then a grain of salt, I say he packages his #16 pick and a current Celtic. My post yesterday from Reds Army said that Danny could never keep Pierce unless he renegotiates his contract extension in favor of the Celtics, if not Danny has to deal him. However I would prefer to deal him and get someone back. That forces KG's hand....and if we get a good center back he'll stick around and play power forward with Sully.

Let's put it this way, we need KG more then we need Pierce. KG runs the defense which is Celtic Basketball....Pierce is just Pierce....he brings veteran leadership. You now see who's more valuable.

112288

Cowens,

The game was a sham. The NBA hit a new low. LJ pushing off a defender the whole game, and they call it on the defender......a JOKE! If the ref's were honest, LJ fouled out twice or 10 fouls.


112288

Don't forget, cowens and 112288, LeBron doesn't foul out! So the refs can't call some "meaningless" foul(s) that puts that self-proclaimed Law into question!! Come one, guys!! You know better than that!!! Shame on you!

OK, all seriousness aside, 112288, for some reason, I just had a Shaqback, which is a Shaq flashback. After I read what you wrote, all I can see is if KG stays, he pulls up lame in some random game during the regular season. He has done well after his round of injuries, but you have to wonder is there is one more good season, even in a backup role, left in him...injury free of course.

Better yet, 112288, Flashaq works better!