# At the 5



## Rick2583 (Mar 17, 2014)

Forgive me if I've already hit on this but at my age I forget sometimes.....

Based on 25 minutes or more
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Jared Sullinger 6'9" 260 lbs (52 games) 9.1 RPG, 15.8 PPG, 46% FGA
Kelly Olynyk 7'0" 238 lbs (16 games) 8.2 RPG, 16.1 PPG, 52% FGA
Tyler Zeller 7'0" 253 lbs (7 games) 8.0 RPG, 15.1 PPG, 60% FGA

Sullinger did commendable job last season at the 5 but I'd rather see him at the PF position. THOUGHTS?


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## RollWithEm (Jul 16, 2002)

I think Olynyk has more upside than Zeller, so I would give him a shot and see how he does. Sully should be playing his minutes at PF.


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## Rick2583 (Mar 17, 2014)

RollWithEm said:


> I think Olynyk has more upside than Zeller, so I would give him a shot and see how he does. Sully should be playing his minutes at PF.


 That would be my choice also.


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## RollWithEm (Jul 16, 2002)

So this coming offseason is the only one where the Celtics do not get the Brooklyn pick or the right to swap with Brooklyn, correct?


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## Boomshakalaka (Mar 24, 2011)

I think Olynyk is a better prospect than Zeller, but I think Zeller is a better fit in the starting lineup. One problem for the Celtics last year was the inconsistent bench production. Olynyk's role will increase this year and he'll be a big time producer, coming in to maintain our offensive versatility when Sully is subbed out.

I think the Cs may finish a lot of games with Sully & Olynyk on the floor together, but I think Zeller will start.


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## Bogg (May 4, 2009)

I have a feeling that Sullinger starts at power forward this coming season and it winds up a toss-up between Zeller and Olynyk at center. I feel like Zeller would do a better job rotating defensively so I have a slight preference for him as the starter, but it could be either one. Then again, Stevens could go Sullinger/Bass in the frontcourt, and the more I think about it the more likely that seems. 



RollWithEm said:


> So this coming offseason is the only one where the Celtics do not get the Brooklyn pick or the right to swap with Brooklyn, correct?


Yea, Atlanta has swap rights with Brooklyn this coming draft, and then Boston has pick-swap-pick with Brooklyn the next three years. However, the C's do have the Clippers' pick and the Sixers' second-rounder (which should be in the 31-35 range) this year, which might be enough to trade up into the very late teens - or, you know, just taking two guys that fall.


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## RollWithEm (Jul 16, 2002)

Bogg said:


> Yea, Atlanta has swap rights with Brooklyn this coming draft, and then Boston has pick-swap-pick with Brooklyn the next three years. However, the C's do have the Clippers' pick and the Sixers' second-rounder (which should be in the 31-35 range) this year, which might be enough to trade up into the very late teens - or, you know, just taking two guys that fall.


I feel like Brooklyn is only going to get worse and worse as the years go by. Each season's pick will be more valuable than the last.


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## Bogg (May 4, 2009)

RollWithEm said:


> I feel like Brooklyn is only going to get worse and worse as the years go by. Each season's pick will be more valuable than the last.


They'll have a really rough time getting any better by the 2016 pick - they're pretty much locked into their core for the next two years. It's a wild-card after that though, because if they manage their cap sheet intelligently going forward they can have plenty of room for max contracts and the recruiting advantage of being in New York. Hopefully they keep mortgaging the future and that whole run of '16-'18 picks are good, but they could turn things around if they're smart about it.


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## RollWithEm (Jul 16, 2002)

Bogg said:


> They'll have a really rough time getting any better by the 2016 pick - they're pretty much locked into their core for the next two years. It's a wild-card after that though, because if they manage their cap sheet intelligently going forward they can have plenty of room for max contracts and the recruiting advantage of being in New York. Hopefully they keep mortgaging the future and that whole run of '16-'18 picks are good, but they could turn things around if they're smart about it.


I guess I'm not as optimistic about their chances of changing their fortunes in the next 3 years. If they do allow Lopez, Williams, and Johnson to fall off their books, I don't think they will be able to lure the big free agents. If they keep two or three of them, they will be relying on those guys to take major paycuts in order to bring in even one additional max free agent.


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## Rick2583 (Mar 17, 2014)

Bogg said:


> I have a feeling that Sullinger starts at power forward this coming season and it winds up a toss-up between Zeller and Olynyk at center. I feel like Zeller would do a better job rotating defensively so I have a slight preference for him as the starter, but it could be either one. Then again, *Stevens could go Sullinger/Bass in the frontcourt,* and the more I think about it the more likely that seems.
> 
> 
> 
> Yea, Atlanta has swap rights with Brooklyn this coming draft, and then Boston has pick-swap-pick with Brooklyn the next three years. However, the C's do have the Clippers' pick and the Sixers' second-rounder (which should be in the 31-35 range) this year, which might be enough to trade up into the very late teens - or, you know, just taking two guys that fall.



So you'd have Green coming off the bench? I'd think I'd rather go with Bass coming off the bench.


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## Bogg (May 4, 2009)

Rick2583 said:


> So you'd have Green coming off the bench? I'd think I'd rather go with Bass coming off the bench.


Green's pretty much guaranteed the starting small forward spot unless there's a major shake-up in the next couple months - he's probably the team's best offensive player right now (or at least their best pure scorer). In the scenario I mentioned Sullinger would be the nominal center and Bass the power forward. Now that I've re-read my post, if you thought I meant that Zeller was the center with Bass/Sullinger at the 3/4 then that was poor communication on my part.


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## Rick2583 (Mar 17, 2014)

Bogg said:


> Green's pretty much guaranteed the starting small forward spot unless there's a major shake-up in the next couple months - he's probably the team's best offensive player right now (or at least their best pure scorer). In the scenario I mentioned Sullinger would be the nominal center and Bass the power forward. Now that I've re-read my post, if you thought I meant that Zeller was the center with Bass/Sullinger at the 3/4 then that was poor communication on my part.



Got ya Bogg. BTW: I'm not really familiar with Zeller's game, how is he defensively & what part of his game favors him over Olynyk?


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## RollWithEm (Jul 16, 2002)

Bass is another guy who the C's desperately need to trade and extract some sort of value from. Maybe a playoff team who needs more big depth (like the Thunder) would consider moving a young guy with some talent (like Jeremy Lamb or Perry Jones) for Bass.


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## Bogg (May 4, 2009)

Rick2583 said:


> Got ya Bogg. BTW: I'm not really familiar with Zeller's game, how is he defensively & what part of his game favors him over Olynyk?


Zeller's just an okay all-around backup center, but Olynyk being a negative on defense gives Tyler the edge, in my opinion. To me, Olynyk's more of a tall stretch-four than he is an actual center, and with the difficulty that Sullinger's going to have defending anyone on the perimeter I'd rather have a center who's at least okay on defense to rotate over. 



RollWithEm said:


> Bass is another guy who the C's desperately need to trade and extract some sort of value from. Maybe a playoff team who needs more big depth (like the Thunder) would consider moving a young guy with some talent (like Jeremy Lamb or Perry Jones) for Bass.


Word is they're trying really hard to move Bass, but nobody's interested in giving up any real value for a bench guy on an expiring contract (shocker, I know) and Ainge doesn't want to eat a bad contract that extends beyond this year as part of the deal.


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## E.H. Munro (Jun 22, 2004)

Bogg said:


> Yea, Atlanta has swap rights with Brooklyn this coming draft, and then Boston has pick-swap-pick with Brooklyn the next three years. However, the C's do have the Clippers' pick and the Sixers' second-rounder (which should be in the 31-35 range) this year, which might be enough to trade up into the very late teens - or, you know, just taking two guys that fall.


Boston only has a pick swap right in 2017, in 2016 and 2018 they own the picks outright.


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## RollWithEm (Jul 16, 2002)

E.H. Munro said:


> Boston only has a pick swap right in 2017, in 2016 and 2018 they own the picks outright.


So they own both their own and also the Nets pick in those seasons, right?


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## E.H. Munro (Jun 22, 2004)

Right, they have two #1s in 2016 and 2018 and then the better of theirs or Brooklyn's pick in 2017.


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## Bogg (May 4, 2009)

E.H. Munro said:


> Boston only has a pick swap right in 2017, in 2016 and 2018 they own the picks outright.


That's what I said, no? Rights to the pick, rights to swap, rights to the pick in 16-17-18.



E.H. Munro said:


> Right, they have two [URL=http://www.basketballforum.com/usertag.php?do=list&action=hash&hash=1s]#1s [/URL] in 2016 and 2018 and then the better of theirs or Brooklyn's pick in 2017.


Three #1s in 2016 if you count Cleveland's.


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## E.H. Munro (Jun 22, 2004)

Bogg said:


> That's what I said, no? Rights to the pick, rights to swap, rights to the pick in 16-17-18.


Sorry, I misunderstood what you wrote because you wrote it out shorthand. But re-parsing it that's what you did mean.




Bogg said:


> Three #1s in 2016 if you count Cleveland's.


I completely forgot about the LeBroniers' pick.


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## Bogg (May 4, 2009)

E.H. Munro said:


> I completely forgot about the LeBroniers' pick.


Plus, probably, Philly's second-rounder as well. If things don't come together for them in the next year or so that very well could be nearly as good as a late first-rounder.


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