# Should I stay or should I go?



## Rick2583 (Mar 17, 2014)

Looking ahead to the 2015-16 season we seem to have a log jam of players in the back court. Decisions are going to have to be made.

Newly acguired Isaiah Thomas (26) is due approx $20M over the next 3 seasons & has looked good so far & should be a keeper. Also in the back court is Avery Bradley (24) who's due approx $25M over the next 3 years, Marcus Smart (20) due $3.4M next season with team options for $3.5M in 2016-17 & $4.3M in 2017-18. Phil Pressey (24) has team options for the next 2 years totaling approx $2M (I'm guessing he won't be retained).

Then we have Evan Turner (26) a big SG at 6'7" and has played very well for us, is due $3.4M for next season. and IMO should be extended. James Young (19) who I'd like to see get more playing time over the last 25 games is due $1.7M next season with team options totaling $4.6M over the following two years.

In the front court we have Jared Sullinger (22) who's due $2.2M next season with a Q.O. for $3.2M in 2016-17 is a definite keeper & needs to be locked in for at least a 4-5 year contract ASAP. I like the kid Jae Crower (24) who's also shown to be a pretty good player & IMO should be retained & has a low Q.O. for next season. I also like what I've seen for the newly acquired kid Jonas Jerebko.

And finally in the middle I like the combo of Olynyk (23) who's due $2.1M next season with a T.O. for $3.1M in 2016-17 & a Q.O. of $4.2M in 2017-18. & Tyler Zeller (25) due $2.6M next season with a Q.O. for the 2016-17 offer.

So there it is. Ainge has done what was needed in getting younger but a lot of decisions need to be made about what to do with all this youth & if we need to acquire some veteran leadership & what to do with the Albatross known as Gerald Wallace. IMO since he's not playing much anyway, just buy him out & open up a roster spot.


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## RollWithEm (Jul 16, 2002)

Almost any player on this roster (with the possible exception of Marcus Smart) should be primed and ready to move to another team at a moment's notice. Ainge has done an excellent job of accumulating assets that have value. If he starts packaging players with picks for established talent, this team could turn over quickly.


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## Rick2583 (Mar 17, 2014)

RollWithEm said:


> Almost any player on this roster (with the possible exception of Marcus Smart) should be primed and ready to move to another team at a moment's notice. Ainge has done an excellent job of accumulating assets that have value. If he starts packaging players with picks for established talent, this team could turn over quickly.


 You lost me Roll, why with the exception of Smart as opposed to say an already proven Sullinger or Thomas.


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

All Sullinger has proved is the ability to eat like Bojack Horseman. He's a slow footed 6'8" C who really doesn't have a defensive position. He's OK as bench depth, but if someone else wanted him he should absolutely be available.


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

Right now Boston is a ten man bench in search of NBA starters. Smart has the ability to be a legit third option (though obviously he isn't there yet), so he's probably someone they should keep. But the rest of the bench depth should be available to anyone that has starters to trade.


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## Bogg (May 4, 2009)

So much depends on what happens via the trade market (Boston's real key to a rebuild, the way things are going), it's tough to say exactly who should stay versus who should go - it'll almost entirely be based on who they're able to trade for and, by extension, who the team(s) they're trading with want in return. Sullinger's injury history and (likely related) weight issues make me skittish about committing big money to him over a four-year period. If he gets in great shape this summer and throws up a 19 and 9 next season I'm happy to make him the centerpiece in a deal for an all-star, should one come available, so that another team can roll the dice on him not putting the weight back on. 

I really like Smart, I really like Crowder, and the Thomas-Bradley duo have been very good relative to their salaries (which are low enough that you could live with them coming off the bench, should the lineup dictate it). Turner's been pretty good as a point forward relative to pre-season expectations, but I don't think he'll be happy long-term as a backup forward on a non-contender (he's just not a good fit with other ball-dominant players), and so he may be the obvious choice to be moved along to a title hopeful for a pick as cheap bench help. Crowder's simply a better fit as a 3-and-D kind of guy playing alongside stars. 

Bass and Jerebko (in a very limited sample size, admittedly) have both looked pretty good and, in a vacuum, would both be welcome to come back at the right price, but as things currently stand there's simply no room for them. The C's are currently slated to bring back most of their rotation while heading into the draft with their own first, the Clippers' first, the Sixers' second, their own second, and possibly the Wizards' second (with the last two likely draft-and-stash candidates). The team is ripe for one of those "three players and two picks for a star" type of trades to consolidate things, I'm just not sure who it is that actually becomes available.


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## Rick2583 (Mar 17, 2014)

Also I haven't followed closely but from everything I'm hearing with the exception of Okafor its not a very strong draft this year.


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## Bogg (May 4, 2009)

Rick2583 said:


> Also I haven't followed closely but from everything I'm hearing with the exception of Okafor its not a very strong draft this year.


Ainge has said once or twice he's not in love with this draft, but that could also just have been Ainge floating the idea that the C's first was available to test the market, and he's also said that he'd prefer not to back into the playoffs with a poor record just because nobody else is winning either. I don't think Ainge is banking on any one outcome (i.e. "we _have_ to get a top-five pick", or "we'll sign a star free-agent").


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

Rick2583 said:


> Also I haven't followed closely but from everything I'm hearing with the exception of Okafor its not a very strong draft this year.


That depends, I think the 1st/2nd tiers of this draft extend out further than last year, but the 3rd tier of this draft is pretty awful and shallow and the 4th tier starts relatively early. Great year to need a C though.


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## Rick2583 (Mar 17, 2014)

E.H. Munro said:


> That depends, I think the 1st/2nd tiers of this draft extend out further than last year, but the 3rd tier of this draft is pretty awful and shallow and the 4th tier starts relatively early. Great year to need a C though.



And to think, correct me if I'm wrong (which would be rare) but didn't we have a shot at DeAndre Jordan in that Doc Rivers fiasco?


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## Bogg (May 4, 2009)

Rick2583 said:


> And to think, correct me if I'm wrong (which would be rare) but didn't we have a shot at DeAndre Jordan in that Doc Rivers fiasco?


Not really. Supposedly there were talks to swap KG and Jordan as a side deal, but the Clippers were leaking everything to the media to frame the talks as being blatantly illegal under the CBA (which they were), and the league forbade the Celtic and Clippers from executing any further trades beyond Doc for a first for a full year. I doubt the Clippers were ever serious about swapping the two, but it worked out just fine in the end because Nets deal doesn't get made without KG still being around.


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