Author Topic: If u can go back in time and make 1 change to Danny's summer, what do u change?  (Read 23720 times)

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Offline Chris

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First change:  sign Birdman instead of Collins

Second change:  draft Perry Jones III over Fab Melo

Third change:  sign a legit backup point guard

Fourth change:  Sign Ray over Courtney Lee

  You'd have given Ray the money he was asking for?

Yeah, I get the idea of preferring Ray in a vacuum.  But paying him $9 mill a year - and being forced to bid against ourselves to do it - makes it a non-starter for me.

And it's not just about the money - if Danny caves on a request like that you'd better believe other agents would start pressing him for it.

Not to mention, I think there would have been real chemistry concerns with Bradley and Ray.  Money could possibly have convinced Ray to stay...but it wouldn't heal the bruised ego, and he would still not be thrilled to be coming off the bench for a young guy like Bradley. 

Yeah, he is going to come off the bench in Miami, but no one in Miami knocked him out of the starting lineup.  It is easier for someone who has already bruised your ego to hurt it again.

Online Roy H.

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First change:  sign Birdman instead of Collins

Second change:  draft Perry Jones III over Fab Melo

Third change:  sign a legit backup point guard

Fourth change:  Sign Ray over Courtney Lee

  You'd have given Ray the money he was asking for?

I get the sense that if the Celtics had made Ray a #1 priority -- offering him the $6 million but including the no-trade clause initially, wining-and-dining him, letting him know that he was a Celtic for life -- he would have signed here.

There's no way to knowing that, but I think the Celtics were very clear that Ray was a secondary concern for them this summer.


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Offline Chris

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First change:  sign Birdman instead of Collins

Second change:  draft Perry Jones III over Fab Melo

Third change:  sign a legit backup point guard

Fourth change:  Sign Ray over Courtney Lee

  You'd have given Ray the money he was asking for?

I get the sense that if the Celtics had made Ray a #1 priority -- offering him the $6 million but including the no-trade clause initially, wining-and-dining him, letting him know that he was a Celtic for life -- he would have signed here.

There's no way to knowing that, but I think the Celtics were very clear that Ray was a secondary concern for them this summer.

Yeah, I think the no-trade clause might have gotten it done.  But for me, that would have been a no-go.  I don't think Ray is THAT much better, when you also consider that he doesn't really want to play the role he is now best suited for on this team.

Offline Yogi

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Things people should consider before posting.

1) Ray wanted 9 mil a year so we could only sign him instead of Lee if we lose out on Terry, Bass or Green.  We also could not sign and trade Ray to any team other than Miami because Ray would not agree to that.  He was an unrestricted free-agent. 
2) If you don't sign Jeff Green, we won't be able to replace him with anyone other than a vet min player.  We had his bird rights and we were over the cap.

I personally wouldn't change a thing.  Fab Melo is literally gold in the NBA.  A player of his length, mobility, attitude, footwork and timing is INCREDIBLY RARE.  He's an investment for sure but the reward is a legit center in the NBA who can play both ends of the floor.  He's already a presence on the defensive end and he has all the tools to excel in the offensive end.  His jump shot looks smooth, just needs reps.  His passing is exceptional for his size.  He has the body to set screens to get shooters open.  He's not a stiff and he can finish easy shots created for him at the rim.  Considering the much older and not much better DeAndre Jordan is earning 10 mil a year how could anyone take Wroten or PJIII over this guy?  What has Perry Jones showed in 2 years against MUCH MUCH less competition?  Has there ever been anyone who was mediocre against college opposition for 2 years and became a star in the NBA?  Fab was probably the most valuable player for the #2 seeded Syracuse last year.
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Online Roy H.

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Fab Melo is literally gold in the NBA.



Literally?


I'M THE SILVERBACK GORILLA IN THIS MOTHER——— AND DON'T NONE OF YA'LL EVER FORGET IT!@ 34 minutes

Offline Yogi

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CelticsBlog DKC Pelicans
J. Lin/I. Canaan/N. Wolters
E. Gordon/A. Shved
N. Batum/A. Roberson
A. Davis/K. Olynyk/M. Scott
D. Cousins/A. Baynes/V. Faverani
Rights: A. Abrines, R. Neto, L. Jean-Charles  Coach: M. Williams

Offline pearljammer10

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I think id keep the summer the same. Maybe adjusting Greens contract to 7 a year instead of 9 and not fully guaranteeing year 4.

Offline BballTim

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First change:  sign Birdman instead of Collins

Second change:  draft Perry Jones III over Fab Melo

Third change:  sign a legit backup point guard

Fourth change:  Sign Ray over Courtney Lee

  You'd have given Ray the money he was asking for?

Yeah, I get the idea of preferring Ray in a vacuum.  But paying him $9 mill a year - and being forced to bid against ourselves to do it - makes it a non-starter for me.

And it's not just about the money - if Danny caves on a request like that you'd better believe other agents would start pressing him for it.

Not to mention, I think there would have been real chemistry concerns with Bradley and Ray.  Money could possibly have convinced Ray to stay...but it wouldn't heal the bruised ego, and he would still not be thrilled to be coming off the bench for a young guy like Bradley. 

  I think that chemistry might be better with Ray not here. Aside from the claims that he seemed to have some kind of issue with a number of people, the "big three" dynamic probably needed to be broken up. They really weren't a big three anymore, but this kind of drove it home.

Online Neurotic Guy

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I am positive I wouldn't trade JET for RA straight up right now.  It will be interesting in about 8 weeks to ask whether we'd trade Courtney Lee straight up for RA.  I predict we'll be very happy with Lee. 

RA re-signing is the only question mark I have about DA's summmer and I think Danny made the right choice not to bid higher. 

Offline saltlover

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Considering the much older and not much better DeAndre Jordan is earning 10 mil a year how could anyone take Wroten or PJIII over this guy? 

Deandre Jordan is only 23 months older than Fab Melo.  While I don't dispute the value of 7-foot tall players, I would consider it a success if Melo were as good in two years as Jordan is now.

People think Melo is a lot younger than he is because he was a sophomore last year.  He's five months older than Avery Bradley.

Offline BballTim

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Considering the much older and not much better DeAndre Jordan is earning 10 mil a year how could anyone take Wroten or PJIII over this guy? 

Deandre Jordan is only 23 months older than Fab Melo.  While I don't dispute the value of 7-foot tall players, I would consider it a success if Melo were as good in two years as Jordan is now.

People think Melo is a lot younger than he is because he was a sophomore last year.  He's five months older than Avery Bradley.

  He hasn't been playing the game that long, has he? I think he's got a lot more room to improve than most players that are his age.

Offline gar

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No Melo
No Collins
Keep Moore


Offline MJohnnyboy

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Re-signing Keyon Dooling, and that's only because he decided to retire and in the end steal money from us that we could have used on someone else.

Otherwise, I've loved this off-season.
-Sully and Melo are guys who are going to help us now and in the future. I've been very impressed with Sully's play so far, so much so that I'm starting to think he should start over Bass, and I've bought into Fab's potential as the next great defensive presence in the post. He's not there now but he's had some great highlight reel plays so far.
-We addressed our issues of scoring off the bench by adding Terry, who is basically going to do what we wanted from Ray last season. The man has embraced being a Celtic and looks comfortable playing on the team.
-Courtney Lee was the first guy that came to my mind when I heard Ray had left. At first I thought it was hopeless because I figured he would be out of our price range, but DA found a way, and Lee wanted to be here and even took less money. The guy is a lethal 3-point shooter not to mention a defensive pest. I couldn't be happier he's here. Lee will also help our scoring issues when Bradley returns from his injuries.
-I agree with the notion that Jeff Green was overpaid (for now), but it was either him or nothing, and I would rather take a young athletic 3 with upside instead of some veterans minimum player. The guy's looked comfortable out there, not to mention he's looked like a leader. Can't wait to see what he does now that he has a training camp and pre-season under his belt.
-I thought Brandon Bass wasn't coming back after we drafted Sully, and because of the other additions and re-signings he's been the under-the-radar move that no one is talking about. He fit in well last year and he proved he can produce whether he's in the first or second unit. I'm not against the idea of him coming off the bench because i think he'd do great. I'm so glad he's back.
-I was also glad to know Wilcox was returning. He was finding his niche last season shortly before his heart ailment sidelined him. He's a fantastic athlete and he can rebound too. The only downside is that he is injury-prone, but an injury may not be as likely now that we have depth. He could be a great veterans minimum  pick up for what he brings.
-Same goes for Darko. I expected him to bring great defense on the interior with his shot blocking and rotations as well as rebounding, but the one aspect that has surprised me the most is his passing. He is actually a fantastic passer for a big man and that could really help the 2nd unit. I hope he buys into the Celtic way.
-For what it's worth, Jason Collins is a proven Dwight Howard stopper by himself. It's not like he's going to get a ton of minutes but he'll come in and bring interior D when we ask him too. That, and the guy looks like he's in the best shape of his life.

I'm sad that Ray has bolted but Lee and Terry bring more to the table at this point so I don't really care as much. Signing Terry implied to me that the Celtics didn't really see Ray re-signing as a huge priority, but that's just me.

As for Birdman, there's a reason why he's still on the market after being amnestied almost three months ago. For those who are clamoring that we should have signed him, there's not something you know that other teams don't. If other teams figured he's worth the trouble, he'd be off the market. Simple as that.

Those are just some of my thoughts. I'm sure some will disagree but I really am satisfied for what the C's have been able to do.

Offline MJohnnyboy

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No Melo
No Collins
Keep Moore

Keep Moore, no Courtney Lee. Simple as that.

Offline saltlover

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Considering the much older and not much better DeAndre Jordan is earning 10 mil a year how could anyone take Wroten or PJIII over this guy? 

Deandre Jordan is only 23 months older than Fab Melo.  While I don't dispute the value of 7-foot tall players, I would consider it a success if Melo were as good in two years as Jordan is now.

People think Melo is a lot younger than he is because he was a sophomore last year.  He's five months older than Avery Bradley.

  He hasn't been playing the game that long, has he? I think he's got a lot more room to improve than most players that are his age.

That's the theory, but it's also true that people learn faster when they're younger, and the lost time will likely mean there are things he will never learn.  Add to it English is not his first language, and it's probably unfair to expect him to make a giant leap after one year in pro ball.  He certainly may, but people act like the sky is the limit with Fab, when the truth is it's likely much lower.

I do think he has the potential to become a starting NBA center, and that is obviously extremely valuable.  But he's going to need most of his rookie contract to get there, and probably shouldn't be kept beyond his rookie extension.