Roster Reset

RosalieTCeltics wrote:what has happened to Blake Griffin?  did  he retire?  another team sign him?  Personally, he was a plus on this team, and I was never a Blake fan before last year. Any spot for him? Or is he gone?

Rosalie,

To the best of my knowledge Blake is still unsigned. While I agree with you 100% about him, I wasn't a fan of his before last year either but am now, is another big what we need? Oshae Brissett or Sam are the depth behind the Js. Are you comfortable with that? We have Derrick, the oft-injured Malcolm, the not-really-a-point-guard Payton and the 975-total-NBA-minutes Dalano as ballhandlers.


Bob


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I expect Brad to sign someone this month Before we know it it will be camp time he cleared another spot is there someone out there we just are not aware of? I personally wonder if the kid they signed will be around he as not iressive in the few games this summer could be three spots open before we know it And I really wonder about Kornet???

Well, I knew there was a real possibility that Champagnie would be cut by 8/1.  I doubt it was to avoid paying him $50K but by making the decision now it gives him more time to find another team to play for.  The Celtics concluded that his position has already been accounted for so why bring him into training camp to compete for a roster spot that is not available.

The Celtics have two roster spots open plus another 2-way contract available.

Has anybody seen the FA list lately?  There are a lot of players that are still available.  

For all the old school Bostonians out there, do you remember when Filene's basement actually had a 2nd basement below the first one?

Brad will be shopping metaphorically, in the lower basement.  

He will be armed with enough cash to purchase one item of clothing that has been marked down for many weeks.      He will not spend all of his money this time around. He'll need to find a roster #14 guy and keep enough left for the 15th guy next year some time.

The Celtics have the taxpayer MLE for $5,000,000 and the TPE from the Grant trade valued at $6.2 million.  They also have 2 other smaller TPE's for $605K and $1.86 million.  they will also have the Veteran minimum exception available and they can use as many as they need to.

The Celtics are right up against the 2nd Apron and are very likely to stay under that threshold ($182,794,000)

Per Spotrac they have $2,268,880 remaining before they hit the 2nd apron.  I am not sure how accurate that figure is.  However we need to add Champagnie $1.9 million to salary they can spend.  So the Celtics have around $4 million to spend and stay under the 2nd apron.

Will they try to add a player soon or continue the wait for another markdown?

Here's who is available via Spotrac. Scoll down the list. Available FA's are at the bottom:

https://www.spotrac.com/nba/free-agents/

OKC has something like 20 players under contract.  Brad could go shopping there and find a low cost addition.

Not sure if SH will be in our top 8 but he may be because of his shooting.  We cannot really look at any of the additions and conclude that they shoot the deep ball as well as SH..

I predict he is going play because he is actually our best shooter off the bench at the SF spot.  

The Smart trade should open up playing time for PP  unlike the Brogdon addition last year that squeezed playing time for him.  The Celtics will have 2 rotation guys that can be starters.  Even Sam can be a spot starter.  

Did you guys know that Sam who played in 80 games last year, started in 8 games.  He averaged 15.4 PPP while shooting 45.5% from deep on a whopping 9.6 attempts per game.  Throw in his 4.8 rebounds.  This will be year #3 coming up and he may be a guy that is even better than last years.  Don't sleep on Sam.

worcester wrote:Here's who is available via Spotrac. Scoll down the list. Available FA's are at the bottom:

https://www.spotrac.com/nba/free-agents/

worcester,

Nice list. Some pickin's there. This will change as more clubs start doing what the Celtics did yesterday with Champagnie, culling the non-guaranteed, unwanted contracts off their salary cap. They'll be marginal players, but...What I'm hoping for is a solid rotation point guard and/or wing, or at least capable of playing solid rotation minutes in case of injuries, and not bubble players.

I don't know how up-to-date it is. For example Udoka Azuibuke signed a two-way with Phoenix a day ago.


Bob


.

Bob

So you want a PG or a wing but not a big?

I would prefer a PF or better still a 3/4 guy.

Whomever Brad adds it is likely to be a deep bench guy that will get a standing ovation when he enters a game because he will rarely play.

dboss wrote:OKC has something like 20 players under contract.  Brad could go shopping there and find a low cost addition.

Not sure if SH will be in our top 8 but he may be because of his shooting.  We cannot really look at any of the additions and conclude that they shoot the deep ball as well as SH..

I predict he is going play because he is actually our best shooter off the bench at the SF spot.  

The Smart trade should open up playing time for PP  unlike the Brogdon addition last year that squeezed playing time for him.  The Celtics will have 2 rotation guys that can be starters.  Even Sam can be a spot starter.  

Did you guys know that Sam who played in 80 games last year, started in 8 games.  He averaged 15.4 PPP while shooting 45.5% from deep on a whopping 9.6 attempts per game.  Throw in his 4.8 rebounds.  This will be year #3 coming up and he may be a guy that is even better than last years.  Don't sleep on Sam.

Which Games did Sam start and against who?
(The numbers) Sounds a wee bit like fools gold to me.

I do not think people really watched Sam last year, you are right Dboss do not sleep on him. As the year went along, he was the first one after Brogden off the bench. Also, as the year went along, his defense picked up, he blocked some shots, Ala Derrick White style, and rebounded when necessary. No one says he is the second coming, but I do believe this could be a breakout year for him

I remember silly comments last season when Sam started, like, "He doesn't deserve to start, they should start Brogdon." At the time, I didn't read that the competition sucked, a bunch of G-Leaguers, so we may as well start Sam.

Who cares which team he played against? Apparently, it was against one of the other NBA teams, every single time.

There ain't no nit to pick here.

I remember saying he did not deserve to start and until he proves otherwise that opinion sticks.
And thats all this is- an opinion. Mine.

It does make a difference unless you believe all teams as well as players are equal.
You want to label it silly and i will let that one go.

At this time of the year, i'm certainly not going to waste any more time discussing Sammy.
Carry on…

here is a link to the ESPN stats for Sam Hauser under the category 'Splits'

https://www.espn.com/nba/player/splits/_/id/4065804/sam-hauser

I have no idea which teams he started against.  I could dig into the game logs but that is really not necessary.  I get your point ktron that there is some relevancy on who he played against.  The link also displays all the teams that he played against as well as his production but it does not break down if he was a starter or not.  Anyways we are talking about 8 starts against NBA teams.  If all were scrub teams then we could determine that he is good enough to be productive against scrub teams.

I mentioned him starting in 8 games where he was very productive only because I think he can be one of our top 8 or 9 rotation guys.  If needed he may be able to give the team a few spot starts.

During the playoffs, Sam's minutes were  cut significantly from 16 during the regular season to only 7.

I think the Celtics missed his outside shooting particularly given the fact that all 3 opponents played a lot of zones against them and two of our best 3 point shooters struggled to score from the outside (AH and MB)

Joe seemed to lose confidence that he could get the job done.  

Going into season #3 he does have an opportunity to establish himself as an everyday rotation guy.  Sam is not particularly quick or athletic but he has learned to make good reads defensively which has allowed him to establish good positioning.  Teams went at him all year long but he more than held his own.

We are probably going to see more zone defenses from the Celtics this year.  One advantage in doing that is that you can hide defenders that tend to get velcroed on screens and reduce some of the wear and tear that results from switching everything.

Well, I guess i will give SH the benefit of the doubt as far as helping us in someway. I rarely saw him cause us to lose or make fat headed mistakes so I’ll give him that.

I still don’t think he deserved to be a starter.
He’ll certainly get better coaching this year so if he’s productive at 8 or 9 and by chance he exceeds that then we’re all the better.

I mentioned that I didn't care to talk about Sammy at this time of year. Like Worcester I’m more concerned with our starters, who’s backing up Derrick and Jayson and can our newly acquired long drink of water KP and will and/or can he stay healthy.
I still feel we need a Kelly green version of a kick ass Cocaine Bear. Attitude minus the illegal substance. IE: War Criminal assassin.

Sammy is break glass in emergency so hope he’s enjoying the summer.

Ktron wrote:Well, I guess i will give SH the benefit of the doubt as far as helping us in someway. I rarely saw him cause us to lose or make fat headed mistakes so I’ll give him that.

I still don’t think he deserved to be a starter.
He’ll certainly get better coaching this year so if he’s productive at 8 or 9 and by chance he exceeds that then we’re all the better.

I mentioned that I didn't care to talk about Sammy at this time of year. Like Worcester I’m more concerned with our starters, who’s backing up Derrick and Jayson and can our newly acquired long drink of water KP and will and/or can he stay healthy.
I still feel we need a Kelly green version of a kick ass Cocaine Bear. Attitude minus the illegal substance. IE: War Criminal assassin.

Sammy is break glass in emergency so hope he’s enjoying the summer.

ktron

I agree 100% that Sam does NOT deserve to be a starter. I thought I clarified why I mentioned his 8 starts. I have no concerns about our potential starters other than the obvious injury histories for Rob and KP.

Our rotation appears to be the primary focus. Like you said, who BU Jayson. (Probably Brissett) Derrick who has been named a starter has a clear backup in Malcolm but who will be the primary 3rd PG off the bench. That is a question that can only generate conjecture until we see who that player is. At this point most concerns seem to reflect questions about the rotation.

I read that KP plans to play for Latvia in the FIBA Tournament. That gives me concern. I cannot help but think about what happened to Gallo. A guy with previous knee related injuries that decided to play during the summer. KP unfortunately fits into the same scenario. Fingers and toes crossed here!

dboss wrote:

Ktron wrote:Well, I guess i will give SH the benefit of the doubt as far as helping us in someway. I rarely saw him cause us to lose or make fat headed mistakes so I’ll give him that.

I still don’t think he deserved to be a starter.
He’ll certainly get better coaching this year so if he’s productive at 8 or 9 and by chance he exceeds that then we’re all the better.

I mentioned that I didn't care to talk about Sammy at this time of year. Like Worcester I’m more concerned with our starters, who’s backing up Derrick and Jayson and can our newly acquired long drink of water KP and will and/or can he stay healthy.
I still feel we need a Kelly green version of a kick ass Cocaine Bear. Attitude minus the illegal substance. IE: War Criminal assassin.

Sammy is break glass in emergency so hope he’s enjoying the summer.

ktron

I agree 100% that Sam does NOT deserve to be a starter.  I thought I clarified why I mentioned his 8 starts.  I have no concerns about our potential starters other than the obvious injury histories for Rob and KP.  

Our rotation appears to be the primary focus.  Like you said, who BU Jayson. (Probably Brissett)  Derrick who has been named a starter has a clear backup in Malcolm  but who will be the primary 3rd PG off the bench.  That is a question that can only generate conjecture until we see who that player is.  At this point most concerns seem to reflect questions about the rotation.  

I read that KP plans to play for Latvia in the FIBA Tournament.  That gives me concern.  I cannot help but think about what happened to Gallo.  A guy with previous knee related injuries that decided to play during the summer.  KP unfortunately fits into the same scenario.  Fingers and toes crossed here!

I’m with you on KP “skylarking” for Latvia. Kinda coincides with the new contract he just signed which has me concerned as well.

Bobby Manning @RealBobManning
about 32 minutes ago
Preseason schedule announcement: Celtics-Sixers - 6 p.m. - Oct. 8 - TD Garden. Celtics-Sixers - 7 p.m. - Oct. 11 - Wells Fargo Center


Bob
MY NOTE:  They've been shrinking the length of preseason and the number of pre-season exhibition games over the years and starting the regular season in the 3rd week of October instead of November so, for all I know, these two might be the only ones.  It's a decision based in part upon wanting to have a less compressed 82 games season as the league's contribution to "load management".  The teams take it the rest of the way by sitting their stars even when they're not injured.  Poor, delicate little Ming vases that they are.  Wouldn't surrounding them in bubble wrap help them jump even higher?  <SNARK>  There may be more one or two more preseason games but, if they start the season on or around October 18th (game #1 last season was vs Philly on October 18th) there may be a game between the 2nd preseason game vs Sixers on 10/11 and then.  They'll want to leave the teams at least a couple of days between the last preseason game and the regular season to tidy up loose ends.  Could there be another preseason game before October 8th?  Yes.  In fact I'm willing to bet there will be.

According to NBA.com the first days veterans can show up for camp is 9/29 if the team are playing international preseason games and 10/2 if they aren't.  Training camps begin 10/3 and the first preseason games begin 10/5.  So the chances of there being another preseason game before 10/8 are pretty good I'd say. This strikes me as BS.  The majority of the league is only allowed to practice for 2-3 days before playing in exhibition games?!  This is good for teams that are returning almost intact and not so good for teams that have a lot of new faces that need to be integrated.  We have Zinger, Oshae and Dalano to integrate (I'm not going to pump Walsh up here yet) and have to learn how to play together without the knowns of Marcus and Grant.

If this timeline is accurate then we're 65 days away from hoops and 60 days from the opening of pro camp.  Players will start trickling into Boston in the 1st - 2nd week of September to start working out and playing pick up games together.  When that happens the local sportswriters will start showing up for work again too, and we'll start getting some reporting.  So, 40 days or so for that.


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I believe the coaching staff 100% decides which player "deserves" to start.

The coaching staff knows who needs rest and who doesn't.  They know who is nursing an injury and who isn't.  They know who is ready and who isn't.  They know lots of stuff.

Fans don't.  Fans guess.  Fans chase after click-bait.  Fans have feelings. LOL

It is not about having an opinion.  Go ahead, have one.  I do.

Forming an opinion with little or no knowledge, armed with only your own preconceived notions, (to me) is silly.

I am also silly, at times.  I have been silly in the past and, most likely, I will be silly in the future.

After all, I am a fan as well.

Gyso..........You.....silly???? No....entertaining. We need a little foolishness here and there. As I have said many times, you make me laugh at times when I really need a good one!!! So, keep on being silly all you want. Too many people taking themselves seriously these days!

I’m silly to even think I qualify to assess a players ability’s.
I’m silly because I’m
Not in the teams locker room to lay witness to who’s in the whirlpool. Wait… they don’t use those things anymore. Me so silly. Lol.
Seriously though..

Watching a team as a fan and deciding that in your/my opinion a player is not good enough to start is a criminal offense here?

I did say it was an opinion. As you agree we all have.

Even though I think I sucked at it, I did play a little bit of basketball in my day for a few of the best coaches in the country, I think I know just enough about the game to form an intelligent opinion.

Yup. Sans your guy Scalabrine, one can suck and still have an intelligent opinion.

Whether one agrees or not is also what’s silly to me because I don’t care if anyone agrees with my opinion. 

Its an opinion as you pointed out. 

Pointed out what I believe everyone already knows. At least here.


Personally I rarely can tell what your opinion is because you tend to snub media and throw out the obvious, like “ coaches make the decisions” etc.

Who doesn’t know that? It’s not a revelation!

Btw you didn’t say whether you think Sam deserved to start.
I find that quite amusing.  Despite what you implied, I am
Interested in your opinion on this. I’m just not that interested in wasting time on #9in the rotation.

Finally, I do find laughter is good for my soul. I may never become one of those few fans but keep the comedic retorts coming. One never knows.

Keeeeeeeee!:-)

Gyso's point that we on the outside just do not know is 100% accurate, but it is fun to muse.

Gyso's point that we on the outside just do not know is 100% accurate, but it is fun to muse.

Worcester............Exactly!!!

Ktron,

I do not have an opinion whether Sam "deserved" to start.  I already said why.

Here's what I did do.  

When it was announced that Sam was starting, I was happy for him.  An undrafted guy, coming out of nowhere, is going to start for a team in serious contention to go far in the playoffs!  What an exciting time for him.

I wished him good luck and I hoped that he produced enough to satisfy the trust the coaching staff had in him.  It looks like he did, from the numbers dboss provided, and he in no way embarrassed himself or the team.  I was surprised that he started so many games, but I was also surprised to find that that Blake Griffin had also started 8-9 games for us.

I was excited for Sam because we rarely find a gem in the rejects pile.  We lost out on the Strus guy, and with that regret in mind, I was hoping for a little luck to come our way.  

I know that the opposition immediately started to hunt him on defense, to their chagrin.  I've seen other numbers that suggest that he held his own at that end.  The eye test confirmed this.  That is in the regular season, though.  We never got to see how he did in the playoffs, he didn't play enough to get in a rhythm.

I read your Sam - break glass comment.  It seems to me that starting Blake or perhaps fan-fave Luke Kornet would be the break-glass option.  Also, starting either of those two players produces nothing for the team, looking towards the future.  Starting Sam at least offered the coaching staff a chance to see what Sam can do against other NBA players and then they could go back and work on a specific thing or two, in hopes that he becomes not only a member of the regular season rotation, but also in the playoffs.

I also laughed a little when I saw your wasting time on discussing #9 in the rotation comment.  Not so much about your comment, per se.   The thing is, the entire Celtics Planet is going on and on (and on) about the last two roster spots (#14 and #15) and you think talking about #9 is a waste of time?  Celtics Planet disagrees!!  LOL

I guess it comes down to the fact that we sports fan differently.  There is nothing wrong with that, we just look for (dwell on?) something different when we watch and follow our favorite teams.  

Vive la difference!!

Sam never got so much attention, he would be impressed!!

The level of writing on Sam's Celtic Forum is superb, and I should know. I've been reading comic books since I was six