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Donkey
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1.) Re-Tool Through Addition - Clearly the Celtics have major holes in offense, and if we are to stick with Garnett and Pierce going into next season, the offense is going to continue to struggle and we will be a middle of the road team. We don't want that happening or else it would just be a drought period. What they need, is scoring, and rebounding. They need a center who can grab boards and score in the post, because Garnett at 37 is not the answer at center. He isn't built to be down-low and fight for the rebounds. He can get rebounds, but that's only because no one else rebounds. Having Garnett at center also normally buts Pierce out of position, Jeff Green takes the small forward spot, and Pierce is forced to either play the shooting guard or power forward, neither are ideal for him. As nice as it would be to get a Dwight Howard or Andrew Bynum down low, it's not realistic. It's more realistic to make a move for Pau Gasol, who I think would greatly improve the team. You could move Bass, Lee, and some other pieces in order to match salaries. I think the Lakers would be open to moving him for very little so he should be a primary target if this is the route we take. Another possibility I think would be Greg Oden. Despite injury problems, he was the number one overall pick for a reason, he can score in the post and rebound well. Now nobody expects him to play like a number one pick, as a starter I'm sure he can still grab a good number of rebounds. If he is healthy now, why not go for it, the Celtics have a mid-level exception to use and they can use part of it on Oden, it's a small risk high reward situation. The other possibility, which might be a reach, would be Andrew Bynum. At this point I don't see him resigning with the 76ers because they likely won't want him. While he will probably go to the Rockets, I think the Celtics have a chance to get him, but not by signing him as a free agent. They would need to do a sign and trade. I could see them doing a sign and trade with the 76ers, giving up Sullinger, Lee, Bass, Picks and other pieces to match salaries, so that the 76ers can get a true power forward in Sullinger as well as a shooting guard in Lee, I think it would benefit both teams a lot, but it is a stretch and probably won't happen, but it's an idea.
Primary Targets:
1. Pau Gasol
2. Greg Oden
3. Andrew Bynum
2.) Lose Salary & Rebuild - While Pierce probably doesn't have much value, you can still get something for him. Garnett, sadly, will most likely retire if Pierce is traded or bought out, but we could use the freed up cap space. What could we get for Pierce, probably not much, but a pick in this draft wouldn't hurt. I think the first step or the Celtics would be making the most out of this draft, at first glance it's a pretty weak draft, but there are some question marks that might fall down the draft. If the Celtics could free cap and get a pick for Pierce, that would be fantastic. It's not realistic to expect a high pick for him, but a mid first rounder wouldn't be too much to ask for. There are some great targets for the Celtics in this draft too. We all know that Ainge has been to Greece and has scouted Giannis Adetokunbo, and he looks like a star in the making. His shot isn't the best but his confidence is high and his athleticism is through the roof. He can drive to the basket and create his own shot at will. I think he is really worth taking with our pick this season, in the 20s. Again, this is a low risk high reward situation so why not take him. Hopefully he doesn't climb up the draft board too much. It looks like a lot of teams will pass on him though. If the Celtics can move up the draft at all, whether it's just getting a pick for Pierce or packaging our pick now to get higher, there are some nice names up there. First of all, Nerlens Noel. If your going to lose Garnett, who better to replace him. I think of Noel as almost a center version of Kevin Garnett. He can rebound and defend with the best of them, and having him at center would be a serious improvement for our team. While he doesn't solve our scoring problem, he does solve our rebounding problem. We would need to sign a free agent who can put up 20ppg in this case though. Another player we could draft would be Cody Zeller. He is definitley going to be a top 10 pick though unless something crazy happens. I don't think we can get a him to be honest, but he would be a great fit. He can rebound and score in the post, with sub par defense. He's even better than his brother Tyler, but my only concern is he is white. Not to be racist, but it's a fact that most white bigs are unsuccessful in the pros. He looks like the real deal though, and he has star potential. Now outside of the draft, the Celtics can make this rebuild a quick one by signing some free agents. One player I think the Celtics should really look at is Tyreke Evans, assuming he hits the market. He is a great scorer and can player point guard, shooting guard, and small forward. We could bring Bradley off the bench to back up the one and the two and start Tyreke at shooting guard. Matching him with a center like Noel, would be a dream almost. We could have the mix of defense and offense, with Rondo leading the way at point guard. Keep in mind this all is only possible if we can get rid of Pierce and Garnett's contracts, otherwise we aren't going to have the cap to do much. Worst case scenario we can buyout Pierce and just cross our fingers that Garnett retires. We wouldn't have many holes to fill. We have Rondo at point guard, Bradley at shooting guard who we need to upgrade with a scorer, Jeff Green at small forward, Jared Sullinger at power forward, and finally our one huge hole, center. Now Green is a question mark for me. If he was more confident driving to the lane, I could see him being our scoring leader, but he's not that confident. That is why, through free agency and the draft, the Celtics could in fact pull together a new team rather quick bringing in a scoring threat and a center.
Primary Draft Targets:
1. Nerlens Noel
2. Giannis Adetokunbo
3. Cody Zeller
Primary Free Agent Targets:
1. Tyreke Evans
Primary Targets:
1. Pau Gasol
2. Greg Oden
3. Andrew Bynum
2.) Lose Salary & Rebuild - While Pierce probably doesn't have much value, you can still get something for him. Garnett, sadly, will most likely retire if Pierce is traded or bought out, but we could use the freed up cap space. What could we get for Pierce, probably not much, but a pick in this draft wouldn't hurt. I think the first step or the Celtics would be making the most out of this draft, at first glance it's a pretty weak draft, but there are some question marks that might fall down the draft. If the Celtics could free cap and get a pick for Pierce, that would be fantastic. It's not realistic to expect a high pick for him, but a mid first rounder wouldn't be too much to ask for. There are some great targets for the Celtics in this draft too. We all know that Ainge has been to Greece and has scouted Giannis Adetokunbo, and he looks like a star in the making. His shot isn't the best but his confidence is high and his athleticism is through the roof. He can drive to the basket and create his own shot at will. I think he is really worth taking with our pick this season, in the 20s. Again, this is a low risk high reward situation so why not take him. Hopefully he doesn't climb up the draft board too much. It looks like a lot of teams will pass on him though. If the Celtics can move up the draft at all, whether it's just getting a pick for Pierce or packaging our pick now to get higher, there are some nice names up there. First of all, Nerlens Noel. If your going to lose Garnett, who better to replace him. I think of Noel as almost a center version of Kevin Garnett. He can rebound and defend with the best of them, and having him at center would be a serious improvement for our team. While he doesn't solve our scoring problem, he does solve our rebounding problem. We would need to sign a free agent who can put up 20ppg in this case though. Another player we could draft would be Cody Zeller. He is definitley going to be a top 10 pick though unless something crazy happens. I don't think we can get a him to be honest, but he would be a great fit. He can rebound and score in the post, with sub par defense. He's even better than his brother Tyler, but my only concern is he is white. Not to be racist, but it's a fact that most white bigs are unsuccessful in the pros. He looks like the real deal though, and he has star potential. Now outside of the draft, the Celtics can make this rebuild a quick one by signing some free agents. One player I think the Celtics should really look at is Tyreke Evans, assuming he hits the market. He is a great scorer and can player point guard, shooting guard, and small forward. We could bring Bradley off the bench to back up the one and the two and start Tyreke at shooting guard. Matching him with a center like Noel, would be a dream almost. We could have the mix of defense and offense, with Rondo leading the way at point guard. Keep in mind this all is only possible if we can get rid of Pierce and Garnett's contracts, otherwise we aren't going to have the cap to do much. Worst case scenario we can buyout Pierce and just cross our fingers that Garnett retires. We wouldn't have many holes to fill. We have Rondo at point guard, Bradley at shooting guard who we need to upgrade with a scorer, Jeff Green at small forward, Jared Sullinger at power forward, and finally our one huge hole, center. Now Green is a question mark for me. If he was more confident driving to the lane, I could see him being our scoring leader, but he's not that confident. That is why, through free agency and the draft, the Celtics could in fact pull together a new team rather quick bringing in a scoring threat and a center.
Primary Draft Targets:
1. Nerlens Noel
2. Giannis Adetokunbo
3. Cody Zeller
Primary Free Agent Targets:
1. Tyreke Evans
