Zach Lowe: “All the rumblings around the league are that Boston is going to buy at the deadline”
Get a center, Tatum comes back, favorites in the east let’s gooooo
It doesn’t even need be a Zubac level center at all. It can just be another big body somewhere in between Queta and Garza skill wise. Just need a body. Absolutely not worth giving up Simons for though.
Theis or Horford are comin back bby 😎
With Jimmy buckets down for the year, I feel like Al is not entirely out of the question. I don’t know what his salary is and if we could make it work with the cap/aprons, but if it’s possible to get him for a reasonable price I’d love to see it
He’s making about 5.8 million. The trade I’ve worked out that makes the most sense is Horford and Gui Santos for Baylor, Tillman, and Boucher plus minor draft capital to get it done. Otherwise a 1 for 1 would need to be like Pritchard due to salaries.
Subscribe.
Horford fits into their 22..5m TPE. They’re 7.8m under the 2nd Apron. If they want him it’s pretty easy
No thanks he bailed twice when it looked tough
I was thinking Tillman and some promising young guys, maybe a pick. But I have zero ball knowledge when it comes to GMing.
How about Horford and Kuminga for Simons?
Eww Kuminga? Have you not been paying any attention? That guy ain’t a winner
I just looked at the Warriors cap page and daaaamn are they thin behind Curry and Draymond with Jimmy gone. Like, they might actually be ass. Their 3/4/5 best players are… Podz, Kuminga and maybe Moses Moody? They’ve been playing at an 8 seed level WITH Jimmy. Yikes.
Get Zubac, and bring back Horford.
We’d be in a real good spot.
Theis would be perfect
I love Al but I do still hold him leaving against him, so wouldn’t be going out of my way to bring him back now that we are better than he thought
I don’t hold anything against him. He made what he felt the best decision was for him. That’s all anyone can do.
Same with Ray Allen, who I also never had any bitterness toward.
And i am offended that he thought it would be better for him to play for the warriors than the Celtics. Its irrational but I stand by it haha
Honestly I can’t blame him. Leave us once, shame on…leave us twice…you can still come back again
Leaves us three times, fuck the peace signs, oh never mind, come back
Horford + Kuminga for Simons works money wise
especially when the asking price for a big like Zubac is so high (multiple 1sts)…. Celtics only really need a Robert Williams type center that can give them solid 10-15 minutes of being a vertical lob threat to complement Queta as a backup for those games where they dont want to go small ball at center but Garza is getting run off the court….
I think it really needs to be a Zubac guy if they actually want a shot at winning a ring and now just a shot at coming out of the east
not really, Queta is doing alot of what Zubac does in terms of being a paint presence defensely, is more mobile and works better as a vertical lob threat off of PnR…. they only need a rotational big and maybe a guard if they end up trading Simons as part of getting that big…. trading multiple firsts for 29 year old Zubac that doesnt fit their overall offensive playstyle isnt how the team should be using their remaining draft capital
We need a big who can play a good chunk of minutes and bring rim deterrence to the defense. It’s all fine and dandy for the regular season but people lock in for the playoffs and defense becomes much more important. We need to be much better on that side of the ball to have any chance against anyone coming out of the west.
Queta has done just fine with that. Zubac isn’t the big to invest multiple firsts in when we still owe multiple firsts (a swap 28, outright 29), and with his lack of mobility that will get punished come playoff time… there will be other role bigs that the team will find that doesn’t cost them most of their remaining flexibility for improving the roster around the Jays… if we give up most of our picks for a role player like Zubac now, we start entering Bucks territory of no ways to improve the roster around the Jays for future playoff runs
Agree on Zubac not being the guy, but Queta isn’t it. He’s a 2nd big, not a 1st. It’s painfully obvious. Luckily this is what Brad excels at. If there’s a guy to be found at a good price he’ll find him.
didnt say Queta was the guy long term, my point was more that for the salary he has and the cost in terms of what the Clippers want for Zubac, Queta does many of the things the team would be looking for from a big like Zubac in terms of rim deterrence and rebounding at a fraction of the salary and not having to give up 2 firsts plus a pick swap (as a starting point).
Queta’s a fine stopgap for the year and the best bet is to find a serviceable backup to shore up minutes for this season (where the return is minimal) then address the position in the offseason. But the point being in terms of asset management, stripping away most of our remaining picks in an overpay for Zubac isnt the best way to maximize the Jays window and would put us in a dangerous situation similar to the Bucks where we wont have tradeable picks until the 2030s and I wouldnt want to put a team in that position for Zubac.
With Simons salary, we are talking about Hartenstein, Claxton, Miles Turner
I think these aren’t bad choices if these teams are willing to sell for an expiring. Turner is probably the worst deal, but likely fits better with our team
Queta started 6 whole games before this season. He has basically never played more than 25 minutes a night. I love the guy but let’s be serious.
Exactly. Just a guy who can rest Queta and Garza. Maybe someone with defence abilities over offensive so he can be an alternate option to Garza if he is getting played off the court.
That Detroit game with Queta and Garza in foul trouble early and having two minutes of Tillman followed by Baylor at the five exposed the massive limitation of this squad.
if Rob Williams was making Horford’s \(5.5 million salary, thats who I would love to get as that 3rd big, but at his current \)13+ million salary, its tough because either we’d have to trade Hauser (not happening) or do a 3 team deal with Simons where the Celtics get Rob and another scoring guard to replace the production Simons has had and that gets too complicated… thankfully Brad/Zarren are paid to figure this out for us
We could go after his team mate Duop Reath. Not as good, but wonder if we could Queta him and turn him into a good rotation guy with opportunity.
apparently Yves Missi of the Pelicans is available because of Derik Queen, so I would atleast see what the Pelicans want for him and also Day’Ron Sharpe
Sharp is the ultimate prize but I think the Nets have realised what they have with him and to get him would cost a lot.
Missi would be very nice, and trading NOLA seems like a very savvy move.
yea its tough to gauge teams could either look to move guys or be unrealistic with their ask depending on how they view the season. And prices could drop by the end of the trade deadline, but either way I hope the Celtics strike a good balance of finding someone that is cost controlled and their team isnt asking an absurd amount for a backup center
Nah, get Zubac. Let’s not cheap out.
Get the best players we can.
I agree, we need a good big man, and you have to give something for It. You can’t win the Championship with a weak big man rotation. We have a lot of wing players, simons is good, but we can bring someone more useful for the team.
Jock Landale would be huuuuge
Pipe dream, but I wanted Kalkbrenner at the draft badly
simons was always just a rental his contract expires at the end of this season and the celtics aren’t resigning him nor should they. don’t be surprised if they trade him away.
Give me Goga Bitadze
I agree with you 100%. I’m gonna say something even more controversial them with Tatum and brown are the only eastern conference team I could see beating OKC four times no one else could even get close.
Brad’s savvy enough to find the Derrick White of big men - someone not on our radar, not a “star” but will come in and make a big impact. I’ve got faith.
I’m not even certain we need a center… Queta and Garza aren’t big names but they’ve been more than serviceable and Tatum will likely make both of them better with his distribution when he comes back. Why potentially give up rotation pieces when this team is playing good basketball without their best player?
Chad Stevens bout to fuck with that
We’ve been hitting on our young guys and we have a great 2nd round pick this year, meaning our 1st isn’t ultra important for the future. It’s going to be late anyway.
It’ll be interesting to see what we try to do, but being able to acquire a cheap, Queta-like backup should be possible with that pick. I’ve been pushing for Yves Missi, but there have to be other potential Centers available
Been trying to tell people this, our first this year is super super expendable because that 2nd is almost more valuable, it’ll be in the 31–34 range
The other thing is that we should pick a direction: either get under the tax or maximize the space we have under the 2nd apron
I would rather us maximize the space under the 2nd apron, but either direction would require a trade.
We have a bout 7-8mil in space below the 2nd apron and a TPE we can take money into. Let’s say we trade a couple of min contracts, that’s about 12mil we can bring in. Maybe we can help a team cut some money from their center position to get them under the tax.
My favorite target for a maneuver like this is Goga Bitadze, but Magic won’t play ball with a team they’d have to face in the playoffs.
Can only include 2 minimum contracts in a trade. That loophole was closed. So that’s 5.8m roughly + the 7.8m they’re below the 2nd Apron.
13.6m…Rob Williams is making 13.1m…if BOS wants to keep 3 Bigs long term & they feel they can run a platoon for 48 mins there are worse ways to go.
Rob may be injury prone, but playing 15-18mpg with managed rest in the regular season seems manageable.
Then you up the use to 20-25 min in the playoffs.
Rob/Queta/Garza is a low cost regular season rotation with 48 mins of playoff rim protection for $20-30m AAV total spend.
https://preview.redd.it/u4nbfn18qleg1.jpeg?width=1290&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=a34cc1eab49f4542f916e26067d5cb64bd77ca96
Rob’s high risk, but high reward. Might be exactly what this team needs to thread the needle on price-to-impact ratio.
I don’t think that guys on rookie scale contracts count toward that. So for example:
Someone like Timelord or someone like Gafford could be on the table
I was thinking that same point. those picks are more a available for trade to grab starter level talent since we already hit on their other use (cheap role players)
our 1st isn’t ultra important for the future.
Not only that, but we aren’t even in a position to play and develop that 1st.
We would almost be looking for a draft and stash prospect at this point, and we’ve seen how those play out.
Or we’ be putting ourselves in another Nesmith situation where we’re forced to sell low because we can’t give them a proper chance at playing.
He would have to be an out-the-box sensation to get minutes on this team.
I disagree. There’s minutes at the 5 that aren’t insanely difficult to win. Not to mention things change quickly, if we made a consolidation trade for instance we’ll need players to step up all over again.
if we made a consolidation trade
Right…. but we’re talking about if we don’t make such a trade.
A consolidation trade would likely include us giving up that 1st.
For those wondering about Simons: he had no idea if we were keeping him or not. The only intel he seemed to have is that we’re going to add one way or another
If we are buyers then we aren’t ditching our best 3 point shooter.
Exactly and Joe seems to love the guy now. Tatum as well. I know Tatum wants to at least play with him and best believe he’ll have some input in roster moves.
I feel like with Brad we can’t sit here and guarantee anything lol. He’s ruthless
We’ll see, I could absolutely see them keeping him or selling high if the right player is available. Brad will do the right thing
He’s 45% on C&S 3s and Tatum’s presence would open up even more of those opportunities for him. Can still get off his own looks at an average clip too. Will come in handy in the playoffs when things get stagnant and we need a spark.
Brad is not afraid to sell high on assets he doesn’t see as a long term fit. As well as he’s doing, would he get the volume he does when Tatum comes back? And if yes, who loses out instead? White? Pritchard? Because one of them will need to go to bring in a Center. To me the obvious long term choice to leave is still Simons, especially with him having the least certainty over whether we’d be able to retain him
I like Simmoms, but the Celtics already have 5 guards doing the same thing. Realistically they’re not going to keep him if Zubac or JJJ is a possibility.
We’re gonna some some absolutely obscure fringe player and they’re gonna be a perfect fit and play themselves into a mid level contract, which will then be a disaster for the new team who signs him away from us.
If Miami decides to go other directions, Bam is the guy I want. Fits our timeline and would be perfect for this team in all ways (always considered him the closest Horford clone)
Bam is who I’d sell the farm for but I’d be shocked if Miami wanted anything to do with the Celtics lol
Who would you give up?
Siri, name all of the Celtics assets.
I don’t think Riley trades him to Boston
If you are above a certain age (I have no idea what the cut-off is), you understand that Riley will not trade with Boston and Boston probably is wary of trading with Riles - though Brad would definitely attempt to do so.
Riley hates the Celtics more than anything in the universe. The feeling is mutual.
I don’t think there should be a cutoff. It’s practically gospel at this point that Riley is the anti-celtic. Bro puts Silky Johnson to shame with his level of hate.
Ainge is gone though. I feel like the bad blood between those two was more legendary than the Celtics hate. Wouldn’t have been possible last decade, but things change.
Hes also a friend of JT no?
I don’t see how they can have 3 $50M+ players on the roster next season
He’s also very close with JT so that is another plus.
Brad the Chef always cooks up something good.
The USS Stevens runs silent and deep, and surfaces only at a time and place of his choosing.
Would anyone be surprised with a Horford reunion? At 5.9M he’s a great fit and could be absorbed without impacting much of the roster.
Main tradeable guys and their 2025⁄6 salary:
Simons, $28m expiring
Hauser, $10m for ages
Baylor, $2.6m for a few years
X, $2.5m expiring
Minott, $2.4m through next season
Boucher, $2.3m expiring
Everyone else is either an integral part of the rotation or Hugo Gonzalez. And the only reason I included Simons and Hauser is because if we have JT, we can live without those guys.
Gotta trade something to get something. The nice thing about Walsh an Hugo is they have shown enough to have a little bit of trade value. Both could be desirable throw-ins in a larger trade.
After all is said and done I hope Hugo still with us. Not only because he is spanish, but the kid got potential
I will guarantee he is just about locked with the Celtics, I see no way we trade him, I see very high upside from him.
Not just potential, but he’s productive now and on his rookie deal through 28-29. Unless whatever’s coming back is absolutely incredible value to the point of being unrealistic, trading Hugo would be real dumb.
I’ve become resistant to trading Hauser and even Baylor for similar reasons. Jerk off to stars all you want, but you still need a productive bench to go anywhere, and those guys can play and are under contract for a few more years.
Walsh and/or Queta are the guys who should go, since their contracts are up after 26-27 and depending on how things shake out you literally might not be able to pay them anyway.
Why are we down on JJJ? Everyone keeps pointing to his rebound numbers but he’s a DPOY and scores from 3 levels. Seems perfect. I assume his rebound numbers are lower than you’d expect because he plays double big lineups a lot.
He’s a good player but his rebounding really is poor. It’s not just from playing with another big. He would fit really well with us though since the Jays are both excellent rebounders. And even PP and White are good reboundin guards.
Also Horford was never the best rebounder and he fit in just fine.
I think another big issue people havent mentioned yet is the foul trouble.
He would be great but his contract is massive which I think is the problem.
He’s a flopper
Nice player, but doesn’t really fill our biggest need, and would basically cost us all our ammo.
JJJ is a perfect fit today but the main issue is the money. Get him and he is basically your third wheel the entire rest of the Jays prime. I would still do it, but he’s been the guy I was hoping they’d target since the summer so I may just be take-locked.
Title run?
Wish we could bring Kornet back
Seems like we keeping Inferno which is pretty nice.
We should be, we have a prime opportunity to make the finals this year and from there anything can happen.
Who we pick up will determine whether that happens or not, along with a Tatum returning that isn’t a net-negative on the floor.
I want Zubac
WHOOOOOO?
whats the timestamp for when he said that?
Around 1:01:30
Could be that we’re buying. Or this info is getting out to pressure a team like Detroit, New York or Cleveland into making a move
Zach is likely getting this info from non-Celtic front offices.
That’s what I said a few weeks ago. Celtics are buyers
With Hugo and Jordan Walsh could the Celtics trade Sam Hauser.
I trust in Brad Stevens
Al Horford you are a Celtics(for the 3rd time)
Jaren Jackson or Bam Adebayo
Had a feeling that Simon’s was only going to be a temporary piece with us but as time goes on, I’m starting to like him as a Celt. Another competent big is the ultimate objective though, someone who can give us 15 and 9 a night with decent defense and lob threat ability
Sounds about right. Zach Lowe mentioned on his pod with Kirk Goldsberry that he has heard the Celtics are 100% buyers. No names, but it fits with the timeline. Makes sense to look for more bench shooting or a playoff-ready wing. Would not be shocked if Brad tries to squeeze one more rotation piece for the stretch run.
JonasV
What about Nurk?
That’s my pick too
Oof he makes $19M. That is too much and won’t work in terms of salary matching.
TPE from Porzingiz
Welcome to the Celtics JJJ
I wonder if the Nets would part with Danny Wolf. He’s a 7-footer who can shoot the 3 and has wing-level handles. He’s a solid rebounder and doesn’t have to be relied upon on offense. He’d fit in perfect off the bench.
He’s a rookie lottery pick. They will not part with him.
27th overall is not a lottery pick.
I understand this is sac-religious to say but fuck it; im kinda coming around to the idea of sabonis IF we could get Ellis along with him
Think about how insane our offense would be with the second best passing hub at center as the focal point passer at the nail/top of the key in the queta role, like it’s actually intoxicating to imagine white Pritchard and the jays flying around next to such an elite passer like that.
Also, I understand he’s limited defensively but I think he makes up a lot for that with how dominant he is on the glass. Rebounding is at an all time premium and he’s elite elite at that, we would be able to insulate him in a massive way defensively with our infrastructure also, and I think our offense would have sky high all time best potential
And then the Ellis aspect, seems like the kings would move him and his contract is tiny
The deal gets a little crazy but it works perfectly
Celtics trade Simon’s/hauser/baylor/tillman/boucher plus our first this year for sabonis/ellis/mcdermout/eubanks
Sac gets 3 good rotation players and a first for sabonis/ellis
Our starters post trade is white-brown-Walsh-Tatum-sabonis
Our bench post trade is Pritchard-Ellis-Hugo-minott-queta/garza
Idk I think that’s kind of a sick team and probably worth it- like I feel our offense would be all time great and the defense would still be top 10, having guys like Ellis-Hugo-minott-queta off the bench would help the defense a ton too, plus 1-4 of the starters are all great defenders
“Security! Yup, this guy right here” 👆
KP buyout and reunion
KP is straight cooked.
but he’d look great in green on a minimum for 20 mins a night
I want to relive the 2024 team so bad, his vibes were so good. Loved every min but maybe if we got him for a vet min?
KP’s POTS and the foot surgery he got after the finals cooked him. He has no lateral quickness anymore.
He was really good before that
No one’s gonna like me saying this but trade D White and give his minutes to Simons
Lmao there’s no way you think this seriously
okay i’ll bite - trade DWhite for …?
D White, Hauser for JJJ
Or go big:
White, Simons and #1 for Lauri Markkanen
I bit and now i’m spitting it out
We need a big my dude
i dont disagree. but trading our back court for Lauri is dumb. he’s a 4. and so is JJJ. He’s also an elite weak side help defender he’s a whatever 1on1 defender and fouls like crazy and is a low iq player. Feels like another KAT to me.
We need a true 5 Garza can’t play playoff rotation minutes on a championship team.
Lauri can play the five, but I hear you, there’s no true big that we need. A healthy AD would be perfect but I think he’s toast and is to expensive.
only if we’re getting a Dylan Harper level player in return.
Lotta years left on a rookie scale deal + play now talent.