The Celtics landed Gordon Hayward and Marcus Morris this week but the reigning Eastern Conference No. 1 seed isn’t comfortable yet.
Per a CSN New England report, president Danny Ainge is searching for further moves that can improve their roster this offseason. It’s just a matter of figuring out what those moves might look like.
Initially the report speculated that Ainge could be targeting rebounding, something the Celtics lacked in 2016/17, but the executive noted that he feels young forwards Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum could help in that regard.
Another area that Boston could address is their backup point guard position. That said, the team president also mentioned that he was currently impressed with backup point guard Terry Rozier.
There’s more from Beantown:
- The Celtics have no intention of trading Jae Crowder, Adam Himmelsbach of the Boston Globe tweets. The forward had been floated as a possible component of a sign-and-trade deal to bring Gordon Hayward to Boston prior to the Avery Bradley deal.
- Veteran point guard Isaiah Thomas told CSN New England’s A. Sherrod Blakely that he believes he’s a max contract guy and that the Celtics are aware that they’ll need to bring the Brinks trucks out to retain his services when he becomes a free agent next summer.
- Newly added Celtics forward Marcus Morris comes with legal baggage and a CSN New England report breaks down the pending trial that will begin on August 21.
- The Celtics wouldn’t have had enough Brinks trucks to retain both Avery Bradley and Isaiah Thomas, Chris Forsberg of ESPN writes, a harsh reality that led to the trade that sent Bradley to the Pistons.
Crowder is gone. He can’t stand it that the Celtics acquired Gordon Hayward. StrAinge will see that’s a toxic locker room and move Crowder before the season starts or by the trading deadline.
So much for Luke Kennard getting meaningful minutes his rookie year LOL.. that’s one year down and four to go in my projected five-year, less than hyped career.
Isaiah Thomas is not a Max contract guy. He’s just now coming into his own as an All-Star and a starter. First few years of his career he couldn’t even stick around on one team. Max contract? heck no.
Just because the Kings and Suns have shaky management doesn’t mean that Thomas isn’t an extremely valuable player
You think the Suns want that trade back? I do.
The Sun’s GM actually said that he’d like a mulligan on that trade… He definitely knows that he made a mistake
I think there’s gotta be a middle ground between superstar worthy of a max contract and bad NBA player… perhaps IT fits somewhere in that range.
That said. He’s gonna turn 30 during the first year of the new deal. He’s a guy that relies solely on athleticism both to create separation and to create his shot. You want to pay that guy max money at 33 when the athleticism is nowhere near what it is right now?
He was on the same team for the first three years and has been with Boston for 2 1/2. Of you look at the difference in his numbers between Sac and Boston it is his shot total. He had to feed the star in Sacramento. 2 full years in Boston and he has two AS appearances. And now the team has talent around him. You’re telling me with the guys that get a max deal that IT isn’t worth it? It’s like you don’t get how basketball works. Most guys aren’t getting anywhere when they aren’t the focal point and don’t have talent to supplement their own.
Why do people always use the line “you don’t know how basketball works,” when someone has a different opinion?
If I was a GM I wouldn’t give a Max contract to a 5-8 shooting guard.
I love Isaiah Thomas, and his heart and his game and his impact in the fourth quarter on offense. He is truly an amazing man and player. I agree with all that.
If I was the GM of the Celtics I wouldn’t give him a Max 30 million-dollar a year contract. I believe he will break down at his size, and I believe that money would be allocated better.
It’s taken him 5 years to get to this point (confident enough to take the shot himself, and make it, instead of passing off to the other star on the team) so now he’s in his prime and I believe at the very top of his effectiveness. 1 year Max ? sure !! 5-year Max ….I wouldn’t do it.
But the thing is the max isn’t that important when they will be over the cap regardless. And since they will be over the cap they can’t easily replace him so as long as Wyc is comfortable paying him it shouldn’t matter.
Dragic > midgI.T
Wrong
Thomas needs a reality check, you are a huge liability on defense and don’t have the size to dominate the ball 80 percent of the time. Ainge would be nuts to throw a max at Thomas, I would only re-sign him if he agrees to be a 6th man.
You do realize he just put up 29 PPG and lead his team to over 50 wins… why shoudnt he start?!?! You can argue he’s not the BEST, but saying he’s not starting caliber is asinine. Also, “max money” isn’t a big deal when you are over the cap for a few years anyways and won’t be looking to move your core pieces. It’s the same reason the Wizards kept Otto Porter. If that’s what the core costs that’s what it costs. Wyc has deep pockets. He can pay it.
To chime in to ur point ( without IT heathy for celeb land series u seen how ONE win was the best the Celtics could do now with Hayward they would have a better chance & their two Rookies too!!
To be fair, I feel Boston took Game 3 from Cleveland because of their team’s unpredictablility in that game (no clear go-to option, with Thomas in the game you know the offense is running through him, without him you have no idea where its going) and they also needed a great bounce to win it on the game winner (great game by the Celtics, but its not like they smoked the Cavs in that game either).
But that is sort of helped now when you consider they added Tatum and Hayward. Along with IT and Horford, they have guys that can help all around. IT will still be the focal point but their are other guys to give the ball to when teams collapse on him. As fun as Crowder is, he is a black hole on offense. He might have a good game here or there but more often than not he isn’t reliable. Now he can be a defensive stopper off the bench and a valuable trade chip for a team that needs help at that spot.
Lmao dionis remains the king troll on this site, just when u think he cant top himself, he drops “isaiah is a 6th man at best” on us.
We’ve had our differences in the past, but this is exactly why I hate Dionis lol. Like occasionally he says something somewhat reasonable, but then he says stuff like this, he loves the THJ signing for the Knicks, and Markannen is the next Dirk… I hope these thoughts don’t actually run through his head realistically.
Sixth man? You’re an idiot
Smartest thing you’ve ever said dionis
You’re an idiot if you think midgI.T should be anything more than a great bench scorer. Proven worst defender in the league. Cavs will never be threatened by Boston while he’s starting
I would never give Thomas max.. They should have traded him instead of Avery Bradley… Either way neither guy is worth the money they will demand at the end of this season…
If they dump that cash on IT they can kiss their championship aspirations good bye.
Anyway, even IF he was worth max, the fact that he expects it tells us enough about his ego and where his priorities are at.
If Lebron James said he deserves the max, nobody would flinch. But you see all these other players getting max deals, I think Isiah Thomas deserves a max like the other guys who get the max too.
Exactly what you said, neither guy is worth the money they will demand, but IT is the guy they need on their roster and Avery is replaceable (obviously his defense isn’t) but as a whole he is replaceable. IT is their guy, he’s their heart and soul and he deserves a big contract. And also liamsfg, these players need to get paid. IT was the 60th pick!! Let him live and let him get his money.
How? They have the likely number 1 pick next year. They have trade assets on the current roster. If they give him money, they can’t sign anyone. They sure can trade for them though. They also have guys like Zizic and Yabusele who no one knows what to expect from. The Celtics and their title aspirations are just fine.
Didn’t they sign Bayne a couple of hours ago?
Yes
Thomas will not get a max deal, but it will be him that asks for less, not the Celtics asking him to take less. He wants to stay with the Celtics and he knows that the Celtics are built for winning now and in the future and he knows that he is better off to stay in Boston than going to a rebuilding team. The Celtics also traded Bradley knowing that they are going to have one(if not 2) of top pick(s) in the up coming draft and one of the top prospects in the draft is a SG who the Celtics could really use. This trade would have been perfect if they had drafted Fultz but Taytum is working out just fine. But either way the Celtics are going to be contenders now and in the future, and Thomas will probably end up taking a “hometown discount” to stay with the Celtics. I mean if he is smart(which it sounds like he is) he would take the a little less money to play for a winner. Or at least I hope he does.
Yup Danny should have a take it or leave it approach with Isaiah. That will either make him sign for less. GM’s can’t be at a player’s mercy like the Cavs are with LeChoke. If I was Gilbert I’d tell that bum straight up, “So you planning on going to LA next summer huh”, lets get you the FOH.
Some would say the “smart” move would be to take millions more dollars if it was offered to you. Two sides of the coin.
Cory Joseph would be a good fit if the Raptors want to trade him. Not sure what contract would go back to TOR though.
He’s already traded.. went to pacers on a sign and trade deal for miles
Wow no way!! I should’ve read the details on the Miles trade. Connor I was about to say you’re onto something, Joseph on Boston would’ve been a very nice fit.
Ha whoops that totally went over my head. That’s a shame he would’ve been a good fit. He’ll be available at the deadline again anyways since I don’t see the Pacers contending.
Too bad. Crowder for Joseph and Hamilton would’ve worked. Frankly probably just Joseph would in a 1 for 1 swap. But if that couldn’t work they could’ve taken Hamilton to TOR didn’t have to stretch him if they wanted more value.
Boston and Toronto might’ve been reluctant to do that type of trade since they are in the same division and playoff teams. Crowder definitely would’ve helped, but picking up Miles isn’t bad either. He’s proven he can play against SG/SF/PFs and his range will help. Toronto’s offense stalls a bit in the playoffs because they rely on attacking the rim and getting fouled…with games called a bit looser in the playoffs (not as many calls as during the regular season), it might be more beneficial for them to add a wing with proven range that can help Lowry and DeRozan operate better.
If the Celtics don’t give Thomas the max, someone will.
I dont agree.
Yeah and they’ll ruin their franchise
He’s getting the Max. Bring on the Brinks truck. Hopefully only for 3 years but it’s coming his way or he would have been traded and Avery would be here. Not many guys can average 29ppg.
I don’t think I’ve ever seen the phrase “Brinks truck” this many times at once in my life
It was mentioned in an article about the Celtics and Isaiah Thomas a few days ago. They had it like three times in that article.
C’s still fall far short of surpassing the Cavs. Hayward is an upgrade over Bradley (that’s what it inevitably works out to be), however they lost board help via Johnson/Olynik departures. Sure Brown and Tatum can help, but rebounding was a big issue…against the Cavs. It will also be an issue against the Bucks, whom I figure will be right there competing for the top spot in the East.
The trying to be more Warriors like. More Shooters and skills and ship out the lumbering rebounding big men. Perimeter Defense and shooting. Sorry they lost Avery Bradley.
I like the Baynes signing but I think they need to find a way to keep either Jackson or Mickey on the roster. If Smart takes Bradley’s spot then they will need to have another guard to come off the bench and Jackson can be that guy. Or if a guy like Brown steps into the starting role then Mickey should stay and fill Brown’s bench role and a backup forward. Either way I think one of them is going to stay with the Celtics and which ever one does stay it should tell us who they plan on using to replace Bradley. Either that or look at the remaining guard or forward market for another replacement and let both Jackson and Micky walk
No thanks, I want no part of giving IT a max contract.
He’s an incredible scorer but he’s terrible at literally everything else. He couldn’t block a shot if the shooter were sitting down. That’s a huge problem, and not the guy you give a max deal to.
If someone finds a viable alternative to Thomas that’s fine, but they will already be over the cap and can’t replace him.
Agreed and why does everyone care as if it’s their $. They will be over the cap by then and he just averaged 29ppg. Not many players can do that. He did it in the 4th quarter game after game. He gets at least 3 years for $90 to $100M. Maybe 4 years.
As for the 2 guard position I think we will see Jaylen Brown starting at the 2 with Marcus Smart coming off the bench along with Terry Rozier. Brown and IT at guard, Horford and Hayward at forward and Zezic at center grabbing rebounds. Baynes off the bench at center. Crowder and Tatum off the bench at forward. If they start small it will have Horford at center with Hayward and Crowder at forward w/ Brown and IT at guard. Stevens has all kinds of combinations to play with. Still Need to try and trade for Cousins or Gasol but that would require a lot of salary cap maneuvering.
Jaylen Brown can’t play two guard in the NBA. He’s not fast enough, can’t shoot the long ball well enough, and doesn’t have the quickness to guard 2’s on a posession-by-possesion basis. He’s great as a three, or a part-time four.
Any word on why there still hasn’t been a press conference to announce Hayward and why it hasn’t been announced yet? Being in Maine I don’t hear as much of what’s going on down there on the radio and press.. thanks….
My understanding is that the Celtics are still shy of max cap space by about $300K. They could easily create that space by waiving Jordan Mickey or Demetrius Jackson, or by stashing Guerschon Yabusele for another year. But they may still be weighing their options — maybe seeing if they can get anything in a trade for Mickey or Jackson. No real rush to finalize Hayward (though I imagine they won’t wait too much longer).
I thought they freed up space by trading Avery Bradley where they wouldn’t need to waive all these players previously stated that still left them 300k over… just curious if maybe there was rumblings of another big deal that may be holding it up..
The Bradley trade didn’t quite get there, but it did ensure they wouldn’t have to waive Mickey AND Jackson AND stash Yabusele — they’d only have to do one of those three things.
You never know, but I doubt another big deal is coming anytime soon.
Gotcha.. thanks for the responses.. I hope they don’t waive roizer.. I love the energy he brings