The Weekend Greenie Bag - Everything From Trading For A Superstar To The Bench To The Draft
Oh hello there. Welcome back to another edition of the Weekend Greenie Bag, I’m thrilled you chose to spend some time nursing your hangover with us. As I’m sure you know if you’re reading this blog, times are tough for our beloved Celtics right now. Not exactly the best look to end their season, and their recent stretch of play has many of you writing in with the same concerns that I have. As we approach nut checking time, there is a strong chance you are feeling things. Excitement, nerves, doubt, confidence, whatever it may be, don’t feel as though you need to go through it alone. That’s why I created this Franchise back in August. We can vent/celebrate/panic together. Tweet me whatever you want with #GreenieBag, or email greenieceltsbag@gmail.com.
And with that said, your questions!
I’m sorry Michael, I didn’t mean to laugh, but like I said things have been tense over the last week and this was just the question to lighten things up. When will the Celts be able to trade for KAT or AD? How about never? Let’s start with Anthony Davis. He JUST signed his 5/127M extension, and is not a free agent until 2021. Now let’s say NO stays shitty, that means realistically the Pelicans don’t have to get serious about trading him until the 2019-20 season, two full seasons from now.
With KAT, this is even more of a stretch. He becomes a restricted FA in 2019, and there is absolutely no chance, I mean lower than 0% that MIN doesn’t match whatever offer is thrown his way. That means you probably are adding another 5 years to his deal, so see ya in 2024? Yeesh.
The problem with trading for either of these ridiculous young big man, is by the time they are ready to potentially be dealt, the Celtics suddenly don’t have that treasure chest of “assets”. We’ll know by then if these BKN picks are busts or not, guys like Crowder and Avery might not be around to help throw in a trade, same could go for Isaiah. So if the Celts don’t have the NBA ready talent to trade, and don’t have a plethora of high lottery picks, how on earth are they going to pull that off? They can’t even do that right now and they have all of those things.
So while I appreciate the question, I can’t help but laugh.
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Hey Greenie,
First time bag-contributor, really been mulling this one over for the past few weeks…
Let’s say the Cs get the #1 pick in the draft. With Danny Ainge’s “best player available” motto, I would say he would take either Lonzo Ball or Markelle Fultz. That being said, with ITs expiring contract, and him wanting max money, what is the Celtics move?
Taking Josh Jackson or Isaac Hartenstein would basically guarantee IT staying a Celtic and getting a max deal, but are those two really the best players in this draft? Does Danny move on from IT, maybe trade him for a stud big in a Hollywood blockbuster? Or do they trade back a few spots and pick up another good player or pick?
Ps, great blog, the only reason I still open this app! – Jarrett
A lot has been made about the Celts pick over the last 24 hours since officially securing the best Lottery odds. While I agree that it’s better to have the odds than not on your side, I want to URGE all Celtics fans to be a little cautious and here’s why. The team with the highest Lottery odds has won two years in a row twice in Lottery history. It happened in 2003/2004 and it happened again in 2015/2016. You want to know what has NEVER happened? The team with the best odds winning three years in a row, which is what the Celtics are going to have to do if they win the #1 pick. I’m what you could call, skeptical.
I’ve been on record for a long time on how I would approach this PG situation once they ultimately take Fultz if they get that pick. I get Isaiah wants max money, but I also think there is an opportunity to work around that. I am of the camp that you extend Isaiah a year early, do it THIS summer for a slightly lower price. He makes $6M next year, what if that was 20M? You give Isaiah the security and reward him for his play a little early, he returns the favor and takes less than that “max” Everyone wins.
Does this mean that as a rookie Fultz might not play much? Maybe. But why is that a bad thing? Let him go through next year with little pressure, learn how to play in the NBA, and you can then have a backup plan as you evaluate Marcus/Avery/Rozier for decisions that you need to make that summer. Figuring two of those three are probably gone after next season, Fultz is then able to get up to the 30mpg that Smart/Avery play now, and you still have Isaiah for the next 3 years, where his contract will be up at 31-32. Not terrible at all in my opinion.
I also think if the Celts somehow fall to three, Danny will probably consider taking Tatum and letting Olynyk walk, but that might just be me.
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I don’t think anybody is considered “untouchable” on this team except for Marcus Smart. He brings an element to the team that not any player in the LEAGUE could replicate; his fire, his tenacity, his winning-playmaking ability (taking charges, hustling for a loose ball, etc.) – Thomas
Thomas, you may want to grab a seat because I have some very real, and very bad news for you. Marcus Smart is 10000% tradable. You’re telling me if you could bring in a true blue chip talent, but the other team wants Marcus as part of the package the Celtics should turn it down? That’s bananas. There is no denying that the impact and value of Marcus is real, and he without a doubt makes this team better. However, he is not untouchable. There is not a player on the roster that is untouchable. Everyone has a price.
Ding ding ding!! Sean nailed it. With a week or so left in the season there is a lot of speculation as to how this team will perform in the postseason. What will Isaiah do? Will the rest of the starters show up? Can Brad actually not get outcoached? All 0f these concerns make sense, but I don’t care about any of those things as much as I care about how the second unit will perform. What’s the point of having #depth if they are going to hurt you? These last two games they’ve essentially been unplayable. Fortunately with the playoffs comes a shorter rotation, where we’ll probably just see Kelly/Jaylen/Marcus on a consistent basis. That makes me a little nervous. Kelly is not what I would call a consistent player yet, Jaylen is a ROOKIE, and Marcus offense is what it is. They are going to need those three guys to be at their best because without them things get very difficult for the Celts.
The problem with this unit that we’ve seen recently is their offense is all out of wack. Their shot selection has not been great, and defensively they aren’t communicating and the effort is no where close to where it needs to be. I think having a consistent rotation will help, but there is no way around it. If their bench unit plays like this in then playoffs, the Celtics are going to struggle.
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Hey Greenie,
A lot has been made of the Celtics inability to score without Isaiah on the court. Marcus has gotten a lot of shit (and rightfully so) because he’s been brutal as of late. How come Brad isn’t much held accountable? If Al Horford is getting 6 shots a game, and Marcus, Jae, and Avery aren’t hitting from outside and still settling for threes, isn’t that ultimately the coaches fault?
Don’t worry, still going 16-0 in the playoffs, just concerned about margin of victory – Matt
I’m with you Matt. Part of the problem with Marcus is his shot selection, and everybody knows it. He loves to take threes he shouldn’t take. Part of that is on the player, but part of that is on the coach. Why not just call a set almost every possession that calls for Marcus to be in the post? Brad can do that.
With Horford’s problem, I think it’s a combination of just his style, his teammates not getting him involved, and same thing here with Brad. Call some plays for him. What’s frustrating is we can all see how much better this offense is when Isaiah/Horford play off each other. Brad can’t let an entire half go by and Horford takes 1 FGA.
I do think Brad has started to get some flack, especially with his rotations late in the season, and while I do believe he is one of the most promising coaches in the league, that doesn’t make him perfect. I’ll be interested to see what kind of in game changes he makes in the playoffs when shit like this happens. There are no more excuses, Brad finally has the talent to make progress in the playoffs, it’s now up to him to put his team in a position to succeed.
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Best god-damn Celtics blogger from Timbuktu to Portland, Maine. Or Portland, Oregon, for that matter.
Should the Celtics lose out to avoid first round match ups with the Bulls or Pacers? Lance Stephenson has me shook.
Thanks – Larry
First off Larry, Lance can’t play in the playoffs so don’t worry. I also am not worrying about playing either the Bulls or the Pacers in the first round. The Celtics are yet to lose to Indiana this season, and they split with CHI and if not for that bullshit foul before the ASG, they win that season series as well. I know the Celts have to show they can actually get out of the first round first, but none of these teams should utlimately scare you. You want to talk about second round matchups I hear you, but if the Celtics simply play how they have all season, pick anyone you want, CHA/MIA/IND/CHI, it shouldn’t be a problem.
OK, Greenie Awards time!
This week’s MVP: Isaiah Thomas
I didn’t get to give Isaiah proper praise this week in the blog out of principle, so this feels like the right spot to do it. In two games in which 90% of the team didn’t show up, Isaiah was effective in both. 26/4/6 on 47% shooting against CLE, and 35/5/4 with 47/50% against ATL. Isaiah is ready for the playoffs believe that.
Play of The Week: Avery Bradley
I’ve put this in the blog before, but people forget the bounce has been real with Avery for a long time
This week’s LVP: Avery Bradley
Hate to do this right after giving him a sweet award, but listen his shooting has been a problem in both losses this week. When he’s in a slump like this, we all feel it.
This week’s Most Improved Player: Jae Crowder
It appears as though Jae is starting to work his way out of his shooting slump and get back to where he was at the end of March. Throwing up 45/40% and 64/57% splits over the last two games, that’s an encouraging sign as he finally looks to be entering the playoffs healthy.
That’ll do it for this week, hopefully this helped kill a little time and get you mentally ready for the tip against CHA later today. Thanks again to everyone who wrote in, and in no way should you even consider stopping.
Have a great weekend!