Celtics Offseason Mailbag: Yam Madar, Building Around The Jays, Hayward TPE Targets, Marcus Smart's Role & More!
Jonathan Bachman. Getty Images.It's been a while since I fired up the old Greenie Bag, so I figured while most of us just sit around and wait for tonight's Game 4 tip off I may as well bring it back and check in on what's on the minds of Celts stoolies. It's been a pretty wild offseason so far, there are still a million different directions that Brad Stevens can take this roster and we're about 19 days away from the start of free agency. I put out the call for whatever was on your mind and below is what you had to say. Let's take a look
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So I want to tweak this a little bit. I'm not sure this offseason is all that indicative about what Rob/Nesmith/PP's staying power might end up being and they fit your 4 year timeframe. But that is not true for everyone. While we don't know who may or may not be on this roster come opening night, this is clearly a huge offseason for these players in my opinion
1. Carsen Edwards
2. Tremont Waters
3. Grant Williams
4. Romeo Langford
Now these aren't all created equal. With Grant and Romeo, their development is more important in terms of actual rotation minutes. Especially Romeo. With Carsen and Tremont, they need to prove they can actually play at the NBA level. This offseason/summer league/preseason is going to be huge for them. The big one is Carsen since he has a guaranteed roster spot, so I do wonder what his future holds since there might be more NBA proven talent available to replace him with. Tremont is mostly whatever since it's a Two Way deal and doesn't take up a guaranteed spot.
I'll say this. I play Tatum at the 4 in 2K and I love it. I'm not sure he loves playing the 4 and having to deal with bigger players defensively, so I'm interested to see how their lineup combinations work with Rob/Horford playing next to each other. We know that shit didn't work with Tristan/Theis, but for me it all depends on who is around Tatum if you're playing him at the 4. I like it because it allows you to have more versatile shooters on the floor. Having him as a point forward so to speak can help expose mismatches as well. Personally I always thought their best lineups were when you bumped Tatum up a spot and had a versatile wing at the 3, but who knows if Ime Udoka feels the same way.
In terms of a pure shooter, they won't have a ton of money to work with, but if you're talking free agents that could be available, I would call on guys like Wayne Ellington, Redick, shit maybe even Danny Green just to see. There aren't too many "pure shooters" that are going to be available for what the Celts can afford, so I think the more realistic hope is that Nesmith takes a leap.
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Realistically? Probably your 4th guy. Just look at how a lot of these contenders are built with their top 3 guys, I wouldn't exactly put Smart on that level. I guess it all depends on who they play during their run too. If you're playing a healthy BKN team, your top 3 needs more firepower. Given his versatility though he could have the "importance" of a top 3 guy in a sense that when he plays smart and up to his potential he can make a real impact.
For example, he was probably their 3rd best player in that TOR series in the bubble and made a huge impact in that series win. But as we know, that team did not win the title.
In on both. I lean more towards Delon Wright simple because he's a more efficient scorer. He's not quite the passer that Satoransky is, but I think his skillset would fit better with what the Celts bench guard depth needs. Both are pretty "meh" in P&R offense, neither really iso's, so I'd rather roll with the more efficient shooter.
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For the Celtics? No. For the rest of the NBA? Absolutely.
In all seriousness, I am very intrigued to see Yam play in the Summer League. You bet your ass I'm taking myself to the desert to watch my Chosen brother. Point guard depth is an issue, and my expectations for him are end of bench guy/potential Two Way spot. Every highlight package I see from him gets me more and more excited, like this shit
Normally I'd be with you. He's an older UFA and a position of need. I'm just ruined by the Jeff Teague experience. He's another guy who used to torment my life while on other teams and then he joined the Celts in his early 30s and barely looked like an NBA caliber player. If nothing else can be done, sure kick the tires but I'm afraid to be honest.
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Personally, I think the route is focusing on building with the Jays, but do in with guys they are interested in. I don't think you have to go all in on Beal to the point where you're trading someone like Jaylen in order to make it happy. If you can find a way to add him in free agency somehow, great. If not, there are still other paths you can take to keep the Jays happy while improving your team. I'd rather kill two birds with one stone than do something drastic just to keep a guy happy that could still leave at the end of his current deal. What they end up doing is anyone's guess though
For flashes I think it's OK. Sort of like when we had Gordon Hayward initiate offense. I wouldn't say his playmaking is quite as good as Hayward's, but it's something you can do in certain lineups. I wouldn't have him as the starting point guard, that's taking it a little far, but I feel comfortable having him initiate offense with certain units. The appeal of Fournier is the flexibility he gives your lineups, but if I'd have both Smart and Pritchard ahead of him if we're talking starting point guards.
Alright, hope you all had fun. I'll probably bring this back once the Celts actually do something else this offseason. Feels great to go through these waters together.