I unfortunately don’t think Queta can get good enough to guard Embiid. He gets into foul trouble way too quickly and always had. I just don’t see him shaking that out of his gameplay.

KP is just SUCH a gamble. Idk, maybe if he’d take a sweetheart deal but I just don’t like gambling on KP having a miracle health year (playing 50 games).

That was the beauty of the KP/Jrue team, the space - always lanes as the defence were stretched. 

Nothing to do with your post but it’s so annoying how often people give Porzingis all the credit for this magical extra spacing that unlocked everything. No. The Celtics had five-out spacing for years on end, long before KP ever showed up. You know why? Al Horford, who is a significantly better shooter than Porzingis. And who was the starting big man for the Celtics during their championship run? Al Horford.

I love Porzingis, he’s a good player and a super likeable person but I swear to god people give him all the credit for getting us over the hump in ‘24 when he didn’t even fucking play. Al Horford was the piece that unlocked the Celtics’ title hopes from 2017-19 and 2022-25. He did what was needed for us to win a ring every single year and 2024 was the only year that the rest of the team came along with him.

They need more bigs. They need to keep jaybles

The glass-is-half-full take on the series against the Sixers is that Mazzulla leaned too much into Tatum and got away from the deep roster team ball that served them so well most of this season. If they can synthesize the two effectively next year, especially if Hugo/Scheiermann/Walsh continue to improve, that would go a long way in helping the spacing via team ball.

As for the Embiid thing, I thought all season the biggest issue they would occasionally run into was size. Queta is tall and athletic but not bulky for an NBA seven footer, and Garzilla et al are more PFs playing smallball 5 than legit NBA 5s, which works against most teams but really doesn’t work when you need a big dude to compete against an opponent’s big dude. I think the single biggest need for the Cs is another large, good defensive center. I’m a bit wary of KP, as he’s both injury-prone and also kinda skinny, but I have no idea who else is or could be available. I hope Brad has some clever stuff up his sleeve…

Brad said and we should believe him. The getting to the rim part IS a personnel issue.

Look, I love KP and wouldn’t mind back him at the right number

However, totally relying on him to solve our problems is fools good, gotta have a better plan A than that, KP can’t be the whole solution, he can be part of it but not all

Myles Turner intrigues me. But that contract could be a problem. A real 2-way stretch big is expensive and hard to come by. Derrick White hitting a shot also would have helped against Philly.

Love the idea. My 2 concerns are:

1. How many games does KP play during the season AND playoffs? I don’t see him ever playing 7 games in any playoff series.
   
2. Does KP solve our problem defending an Embiid in the paint?

Of course, we may not need to beat Philly next year but I’d rather have somebody just in case.

I applaud the post though because I don’t have a better idea. If C’s went this route, it would be worth the watch.

Celtics fans fascination with KP is delusional. We were a far better team with Al on the court over KP and we won the title without him! He stunk and was hurt for all of 2025. Thanks for that one cool sequence in game 1 of the 2024 finals but I don’t want that guy near my basketball team.

So one thing to note is its hard to give KP raise after using the mid-level exception. There is no avenue for the team to get meaningful cap room and we would not have bird rights. The way to structure better would be a sign and trade which I believe we would acquire KP with Bird rights. Just the weird NBA rules.

If staying under the tax is a need/priority then it’s hard to think of anything better than rolling the dice on a cheap KP return.

If he’s healthy he fills almost every hole we have. And with the emergence of Queta we can afford to bubble wrap KP or even bring him off the bench most of the season.

I’m on-board with gambling on KP. I think this is a fine year to try, if he’d sign a 2-year deal. I’d probably try him off the bench and keep him to 20-24 mpg. Basically how we used him in the Finals. Queta/Garza give you a good regular season floor and KP can give you that high ceiling to win a title.

We are dodging the tax anyway, so a low risk/high reward play like this is perfect for us. Next year, he’s a walking TPE that we can aggregate with other players to not hard cap us at the 1st apron

I feel like at this point, Queta is what he is as a player. He’s 27 going to be 28 next year and generally players are what they are at that point with rare exceptions. He’s still a high energy, athletic big that can turn a game with his defense and paint scoring but hes pretty close to his developmental ceiling imo. Best suited as an elite backup big.

KP - open to bringing him back but we have to be realistic about his health. He didn’t play much last year and his injuries are as much if not more of a concern than Giannis. I understand wanting to bring back guys from 2024 but KP can’t stay on the floor. It was great having him in 2024 but even in that season he missed a lot of time. We don’t have the depth where we could afford to have KP miss basically the whole first 3 rounds of the playoffs and need our MLE guy to give more than 45 games played

They need to trade Baylor Scheierman for Wemby

If you look at Quetas numbers against Philly they were very similar to his regular season numbers except minutes. He had trouble staying on the court. I don’t know that they need a number 1 I think the need a second big and Luka gets 3rd role.
I like the idea of Bobby Portis. He can give you back up big minutes and spell Tatum. Nice player nice contract. Doesn’t fit rebuild in Milwaukee. Sam’s contract (and sending him home to Wisconsin) could get it done. And yes, he can hit a 3.

personally i would sack joe, lower threes and get giannis /s

I’m of the same mind here. If KP is willing to come back for the MLE, I think this is the move. If not, maybe a Timelord comeback for the same. Keep under the # to reset the repeater tax and go all-in for 2027-28.

Brook Lopez could be an option as he’s the only fairly reliable 3 point shooter who can also guard the rim in our price range.

Porzingis on an MLE just isn’t happening.

KP - will he be able to get the jersey over the fork sticking out of his back?

KP not the answer- too injury prone. Honestly the fix MIGHT be a new coach that stops with all this non stop 3 point shooting, or mazzula finally switching things up in offensive strategy. Either way, we’re some major moves away from being contenders anytime soon. Spurs/Knicks outrageously talented right now.

This is why I think we’ll end up being a facilitator in a Giannis trade rather than a destination. I’m certain that one of the Bucks’ conditions of a trade will be moving Turner and he happens to fit nicely into our TPE. To stay under the tax we would move Hauser as part of it. Maybe also #27 in the draft for a future pick / 2nds.

Many here probably don’t like the thought of helping Giannis go somewhere else but adding Turner would improve the team hands down and legitimately open up space for the Jays to attack.

I just don’t understand how the prevailing opinion on this sub is that us losing was more of a “fluke” rather than the team just not being good enough.

When I look at the Knicks playoff roster this year I wonder how many minutes Pritchard and Hauser would get in the postseason. Both are major defensive liabilities and haven’t shown that they are really playable after the 1st round of the playoffs.Both are fine regular season guys,but to win another championship the Celtics have a lot to do to improve the depth of their roster.

If we change our style of play it is going to negatively impact Dwhite and JT, since half their shots are threes.

I feel like white turning into barely playable offensively was also just as much a factor. If he was a reliable 17ppg per night the series becomes much. Easier 

Behind Tatum/brown there was no reliable third option with white struggling. Pritchard is streaky.

But the other games Tatum/brown had to carry because white was a non-factor.

Bam, Turner, or Claxton could move the needle

We need may more than a stretch big to go back to competing. Also, Porzingis should stay far away from Boston, he’s damaged goods.

Kristaps is a bad basketball player; if he never comes to Boston again, it’ll be too soon. 7’3” and a worse rebounder than Payton Pritchard, and no defensive effort on the perimeter whatsoever. The Philly series was definitely winnable and a failure in coaching. “Fire Joe” is absolutely still the answer

There’s a reason KP was traded and it wasn’t about money.

Love that this sub considers getting rid a regular season coach who time and time again falls apart in the playoffs a ridiculous take but loves to throw out the idea of bringing back injury ridden players.

Giannis isn’t that much older than Brown. Also, our coaching regressed in the post-season, which was one of the largest issues.

Wanting KP back is non-sensical. We already had to play him light, and he was barely present in the post-season final’s run.

Our biggest issue every season is that we can’t handle Tatum off-court minutes.

The key to solving this is getting a competent second option, or getting a few depth guys who can handle it (Jrue, Derrick).

Right now we are giving a guy the ball at historic rate (Jaylen has some of the biggest usage numbers in history) when he cannot shoot, playmake, or pass at an average level and calling him a “2”.

I think you either pull the trigger for giannis (Tatum as the best 2 in basketball), KD (a high efficiency 2), or you get assets and move them for a Mobley, ant, or Bam sometime in the future.

I think queta is honestly a fine big man, and I’ve seen the Celtics have success with guys like theis and Kanter who are a lot worse. He grades pretty well analytically.

It seems more like the league evolved to hunt good shots and Cs strategy of out attempting from 3 just doesn’t have a fair chance except in the regular season

This the correct train of thought.

You don’t know what you are talking about

Has fire Joe died down? He’s incompetent.