The all-purpose "feel good" / pep rally / "optimism only" thread

[hwangjini_1]

No optimism in 2 months? [dang]. Here is something positive: we are almost certain to put a better team on the floor to start our next season then we ended our last season with. We have money to spend and picks to blow. Our best guy right now is probably IT, there are at least 10 guys better available this offseason. Good odds we get at least one.

not only that, but in a few weeks the celtics will be making a draft day deal or two to make the team better. plus they will get us all excited about which players they will draft.

good stuff for one and all. 

[LatterDayCelticsfan]

It looks loke Danny Ainge is poised to pill of a trade that will go down in history...again.

[Hemingway]

I wonder what is happening with Monroe. If it is true that he will pick either Boston or NY, its kind of a win win for us. If he would rather go to NY to play with Melo then he's probably not really about winning and we should be glad not to have him. If he picks us, thats great. Here is some optimism: If he did pick us, we would still wait and see what happens with a few other guys first, maybe thats about where we are at? Hopefully Monroe can be a back up plan, or plan to beat going forward.

Monroe/Zeller/KO
PP/Sully/Bass?/Jerebko?
Crowder/Turner
AB/Young
Smart/IT

I'm not saying the above line up is likely, buy its not crazy either, and thats great. So many options this summer, I'm optimistic that we get a step or two better.

[Hemingway]

If we can just sign a good big we will be really good. We can hold down the 1 2 and 3 with what we have and we can round out the 4 and 5 with whomever we get and zeller, sully bass and KO. We'd have a really solid 9 man rotation before even accounting for draft picks, cheap vets and other trades and signings we could potentially make.

Star Big man
IT
Smart
Crowder
AB
Sully
Turner
Bass
KO

Is it crazy to think we have a better than 50% chance of getting someone Monroe level or better this offseason? A lot of names we have a slim chance on, what do they all add up to? Some possibilities:

DMC
Love
LMA
Jordan
Gasol
Noah
Melo
PP
Monroe
Kanter
Soe draft pick we trade up for
Some one we're not thinking of

There are probably a dozen targets of guys who could start at the 4 or 5 for us. If we consider playing Crowder at the 4 and consider bringing in 3s as well this number probably goes up to a solid 15 guys we can target to upgrade. Is it over 50% we will at lease get 1?

[Rondo9]

After the insanity that is the draft. I feel the need to revive this thread again.

[Rondo9]

Going to bump this again.

[max215]

RJ Hunter's a promising shooter and great value at #28

[clappy]

Considering we started our night at 16, if even one of those picks hit it was a victory. I like the Hunter pick a lot.

[Rondo9]

I'm rooting for Roizer, after reading the embarrassing comments.

[GetLucky]

Because we drafted Thronton and passed over Upshaw, I'm starting a new CB catchphrase:

Dreads, not Drugs.

[LatterDayCelticsfan]

It has begun...greatest free agency ever.

[namtrag]

I followed Thornton because I am a W&M grad from years ago.  This guy will outwork everyone on the roster, guaranteed.  I hope he surprises some people.

[Dedalus]

Here's the roster I'd like/think will happen:

Smart/Thomas
Bradley/Hunter/Young
Crowder/Harris/Turner
KO/Jerebko/Mickey
Noel/Zeller

Trade any of the following for Noel: Rozier, Bradley, Sullinger/KO, Bass, Thornton, Datome, Pressey. They have the bigs we have the guards - we have to work w Phili... Whatever scraps we have left over, use to find another player in addition to Harris from Orl... Pumped for RJ Hunter. Go Cs

[hwangjini_1]

ainge drafted 4 players. if only TWO of them stick, ainge has done a great job, far above the batting average of most teams picking late in the draft.

i think ainge has assembled what will become one of the better back courts in the league. i am looking forward to seeing rozier, hunter, mickey, and thornton play this summer. let's see what ainge got for us!! 

[Evantime34]

I'm not going to lie I was really disappointed when we didn't trade up for Winslow, but after having a few days to digest I feel really good about the state of the Celtics. Here are the reasons why:

1. A lot of people loved to complain about Bradley. Well Rozier can be his successor, an upgrade that plays similar defense and can create off the dribble.
2. C's still have a chance to obtain lottery pick from the Mavs, Nets and Wolves. I expect the Mavs and Nets to be much worse next year and the Wolves could be good enough to give us their pick.
3. We have a young team, and it's more likely than not that several of their players improve from the previous year
     a. Sullinger is going to come into camp inshape since it's a contract year
     b. Olynyk could be better with a healthier year
     c. Smart is a hard worker who will improve in year 2
     d. Young looks like he is on pace to earn rotation minutes
     e. Crowder's 3 point numbers should move closer to his career average next year)
     f. Zeller had his best season as pro at a young age and will continue to grow in Stevens         system.
4. Although we don't have any superstars, who is to say that none of our guys develop into them or (more likely) that our guys won't improve to the point they can headline a package for one (a la Al Jefferson)
5. This is the first year in a long long time we have had cap space, it's unlikely we sign a top tier guy but we could sign someone that will help our talent base and add to our asset pool so we are ready if a star becomes available.
6. In his second year, Brad Stevens was one of the best young coaches in the NBA. With his work ethic I expect him to improve upon that.

In summation we are getting better and will continue to improve.