Our cup runneth over, who are our favorite ten players?

It was said that a true sign that our hunt for a all-star game changer would be over once we signed Tyler Zeller and/or any other of our 2nd round picks. That day is here. Now it looks like we may have more than 15 players under contract. Here we will give everyone a chance to be GM for a day!! Yay!!

The poll is set up for multiple choice, so you could pick everyone, if you so desire. Please try to control your urges (LOL) and play along. Please pick 10 or less.

I will limit the choices to the names listed on the team salary page found on this link:

http://www.basketballinsiders.com/boston-celtics-team-salary/

As BobH posted, the Celtics are still aggressively trying to make trades. Today's agreements do not mean that they're done for the summer.

gyso

I picked Al Horford, Amir Johnson, Kelly Olynyk, Jonas Jerebko, Jae Crowder, Jaylen Brown, Avery Bradley, Marcus Smart, Isaiah Thomas and Terry Rozier

That is my rotation, as of now.

gyso

I picked:

Horford
Brown
Kelly
Amir
Jonas
IT
Bradley
Smart
Rozier
Crowder

I could easily see Zeller being rotated in if Brad wants to go big.  



bob

jeesh, talk about being in a bubble!

all five of us picked the same players?

Geez---great minds think alike!!!!!

kdp59 wrote:jeesh, talk about being in a bubble!

all five of us picked the same players?

More likely it is because it is such an obvious choice for everyone, except for the sixth voter, who chose Gerald over Kelly.  I can see someone picking Tyler over Kelly, but Green?  That person loves him (or her) some small ball!!  

It kind of shows that with all the discussions over Young vs. Nader, etc., it really doesn't matter in the long run because all the players with no votes won't get much playing time except when Gino dances.

gyso

I think that might have been me! I skipped over Kelly's name by mistake.

I picked 10, I played along. Now I want to add Colton Iverson as an honorable mention. He's having a good career playing overseas, would like to see him get some kind of a chance, at least a camp invite and a shot to show what he's got. Every asset on this list should be given an opportunity to show they can be included in a trade.

gyso wrote:I picked Al Horford, Amir Johnson, Kelly Olynyk, Jonas Jerebko, Jae Crowder, Jaylen Brown, Avery Bradley, Marcus Smart, Isaiah Thomas and Terry Rozier

That is my rotation, as of now.

gyso

I think we all picked this except someone picked Gerald Green over Olynyk.

gyso wrote:I picked Al Horford, Amir Johnson, Kelly Olynyk, Jonas Jerebko, Jae Crowder, Jaylen Brown, Avery Bradley, Marcus Smart, Isaiah Thomas and Terry Rozier



gyso

So did I

Interesting list, but I would guess that the top 10 or 11 would pretty much be the same for just about everyone on this board. It would take a trade or a very significant injury to change these 10 or so guys.

Might be more interesting to start at the other end of the list. Some appear to be easy to eliminate. Not that I know everything or anything, but I have never heard of Pepper or Sesar so there are two guys who will not be on this year's team. Have either of these two guys ever even played summer league for the Cs? I have just never even heard their names before and wonder why they are on such a list, but I am sure that they are on there for some reason.

Datome is signed again to play overseas. Iverson seems to have fallen out of favor for some reason, and has no need to play in the D League as he is already making much more money in Europe. Thornton did not impress in summer games again this year so he will have to go back to Australia or somewhere similar.

This gets us quickly down to 20.

Even though James Young has a guaranteed contract for this year, he just has to go. In a trade of some kind or just eat his contract. He has progressed/regressed to where he cannot even be counted on in a tight summer league game and this is after two years of being in possibly the best learning/nurturing system in the league. Stevens and his staff have made EVERY player better that they have had with the team in the last 3 years (if the player were around for at least a couple of months) except James Young. Evan Turner is a great example. He went from being thought of as a totally wasted second overall pick who was on his way out of the league when Ainge picked him up and turned him over to Stevens. For the last two seasons he was a big part of our successes and now he has a 70 M, four year contract. Young has been in Boston as long as Turner was and he cannot get off the bench in a summer league game???

Now we are down to 19 players from the original list of 25. Three of these guys were last year's rookies, three others are this year's second round picks and one has no contract of any kind but may have been promised a chance to compete for a roster spot.

Rozier stepped forward at the end of last season and throughout the summer league season to not only stake a claim to a roster spot but also potentially to a rotation spot so he is certain to have a roster spot this season.

The team has not yet signed Nader to any type of deal which could indicate that they are looking to stash him somewhere. He has agreed to play in the D League, but it will be better financially for him if he goes to Europe of China while the Cs can hang on to his rights much more securely if he is not in the D League although they will lose the flexibility of having him play for them at all this year if he signs overseas.

Jackson has a better shot at making the roster than Bentil because Bentil appears to be somewhat lost on defense at the moment. I am sure that Stevens will look for a defensive contributor on his bench at a forward position rather than a guy who may only score only a few points per game. Jackson also has his position as a point guard in his favor which may come into play if Marcus Smart does not fully develop into a top level NBA point guard by this season.

If my math is correct, this brings us down to Hunter, Mickey and Holland. Holland may have been pretty much squeezed out with the signing of Green since they play the same position. Holland also - only a guaranteed tryout - has no money of any kind guaranteed to him this year.

For Mickey, the front court is still pretty crowded just like it was last year. Really the only change has been
Horford taking Sullinger's roster spot. Mickey may have potential (and, everyone seems to like him), but he may still not fit in. Hunter is another guy that everyone likes, but mostly we all like his intelligence, basketball IQ type stuff more than his actual performances so far. Tell me how it would be nice to put Hunter's bball understanding in Young's physical body. Hunter was picked mostly because of his shooting, but his shooting has been far from NBA ready to date. Nader may be a better NBA player right now, but the Cs will not likely bail on Hunter only after his rookie season.

Both Mickey and Hunter are still borderline NBA players for the Cs, in my opinion, at this time in their young careers and both may find themselves on the outside looking in as far as a roster spot this year.

My thoughts, how about some of your thoughts.

I pretty much followed the herd except I choose Mickey over Jonas.  I think Mickey has more upside and he can score in the post and provide some rim protection.

I think young is the odd man out although I am not sure that I would keep Jackson over him.  I think Hunter stays and I think Rozier finds his way into the rotation.  The Green signing was not a huge surprise.  

The Zeller signing makes sense.  I always thought he was a marginal starting center but a real solid backup.  Danny has done nothing to compromise cap space for next year.

Marcus Smart needs to have a very good year but do not expect him to makes his bones at the point.  He needs to continue to play defense and show noticeable improvement knocking down all those jumpers he loves to take.  

If no trades are made the Celtics should challenge for a top spot in the East based on their defense.  Adding Horford is big time and Brown looks to be another agressive defender.  

I like our team.

dboss

WideClyde,

Use the link at the top to see where I got the names for this list.  Pepper and Sesar are long ago draft picks that never signed with the Celtics.  The Celtics still own their rights.  Their inclusion in the list is just a continuation of an ongoing joke.  They were drafted in 1997 and 2000.

Other names at the bottom of the list may be more familiar to us due to them being drafted more recently, but their inclusion in the list was no less of a joke. Gigi, Colton and Thornton are not walking through that door!!

Still, Colton got a vote, so what do I know?  

gyso

I am glad you can amuse yourself with these little lists!!!!!

They are saying the remaining spot is a battle between Hunter, Nader, Young and Bentil.

I'm going with Hunter.

He was a rookie last year and I don't think expectations were high for him, especially as a #28 pick.  He also still has at least 2 more years on his contract.

Nader looked good, and the word out of Celtic Central is that they like him and want to keep him somehow, but he has almost zero experience in Brad's system.  The playbook they use in summer league is SO stripped down, and the competition SO weak compared to the regular season, it doesn't tell you much.  It would be in his best interest to go to Maine and burn it in up there.  There aren't a lot of practice days during the season and he won't be getting a lot of minutes in Boston.  In Maine he'll get 30/game.

Bentil was soft on defense.  The only way I see him being in Boston is if Olynyk is injured and Brad is desperate for a stretch 4.

James Young has had 3 years to learn and step up.  He hasn't.

The question I have is "what does the Demetrius Jackson signing say about Brad's confidence in Smart's abilities at point?"


bob


.

Bob,

The answer may be "nothing". Maybe Danny just likes guards.

gyso

You think!!!!!!!???????????????? Everytime you turn around he is signing one or dealing for one, Small ball lives and breaths in Boston

RosalieTCeltics wrote:You think!!!!!!!????????????????  Everytime you turn around he is signing one or dealing for one, Small ball lives and breaths in Boston

Rosalie,

And not just 'small ball' but 'small guards'.  I think the last time we had a TALL point guard was Brian Shaw!  It's ironic that Danny, who played on a team that excelled in the half court and only ran opportunistically, now favors guards who can't see over the defense but can flat-out out-run it.


bob


.

Gyso,

Now I fully understand why I had never heard of Pepper or Sesar. But, since I have been a Cs fan since 1960, I still have to admit that I still never heard of these two guys.

Glad that I did not reserve a roster space for either of them.

Regarding Iverson, I would still like to see if he could become the bench type of big man that most every team needs, but I guess you are correct in saying that he is not venturing through the practice facility doors.

I have been fascinated with Iverson since his first summer here. Last year he left the summer league so early we never really got to see him in action. These type of players must make decent money overseas to make them stay. Greg Stiesma was another one who played overseas for a few years and then came to the Celtcs. I have no idea where he is now. Oh well, I guess I will have to play a game in my head with Iverson at center!

By the way, I never heard of those guys eithr!!!!