deep breath: ok, what do we look like next year?

[Jeff]

assuming (as I do) that we'll play out the year and NOT trade Pierce or KG and they both retire at the end of the year...

ignoring for a moment the cap implications, that leaves us with the following roster

temporary starters

Bradley
Lee
Green
Sullinger
umm, Bass?

other:
Rondo (back mid year?)
Terry (doesn't make sense going forward - trade? buy-out?)
Fab (probably still in Maine)
draft pick (low lottery to mid teens)

as much as I love Sully and Bradley, that's a lottery roster

of course you can't take it in a vacuum like that - there will be some moves and free agent pickups

but still, someone get me some comfort food and hold me tight, I'm gonna miss my binkys when they are gone

[pearljammer10]

Yeah that aint looking to promising. Esepcially considering we STILL wouldnt have a middle man.

[Who]

Too old to compete is my fear.

Edit: Sorry, replied before reading. Without KG and Pierce, I would say they could be a .500 team with some veteran role player big men arriving with the MLE and/or veteran's minimum. So a team competing for a low playoff seed.

[theswitch]

Yeah, I mentioned this elsewhere. Not only is that team terrible, but it is riddled with bad contracts. Green and Lee, fine - I can naively cling onto hope that they'll produce as starters. Bass and Terry? We need to find a way to get rid of those two. Otherwise it's the same lineup not just next year - this is the lineup for the next 2-3 years. Gross.

[Fafnir]

I think Melo gets a shot at playing 10-15 MPG next year.

[sofutomygaha]

The Celtics would surely add one or more of the free agent bigs class that includes Millsap, West, Smith, Mozgov, Okafor, Pekovic, and Bynum. They wouldn't go to war with that starting five, even in a rebuilding year. It also wouldn't surprise me to see Corey Brewer slotted ahead of Green in this post-apocalyptic nightmare world.

[wdleehi]

If that is the case, the Celtics should try to move Green, Terry and Bass for younger, cheaper talent. 



Do not waste any cap space on guys that are only "good".



If it means waiting until Rondo is healthy to go after someone, do it then. 



There are worse things when trying to rebuild then Rondo, a top 10 draft pick, young talent and cap space/last year contracts. 

[sofutomygaha]

Jeff, do you really think Melo could start next year in Maine? That seems crazy to me.

[Who]

PG: Rondo, Terry
SG: Lee, Bradley
SF: Green, (backup SF)
PF: Sully, Bass
C:  (new center), (backup center), Fab Melo

I think that is a team that can go .500 or close to it if Rondo plays at a high level.

I am thinking of low level options like Kwame Brown and a Ronny Turiaf type as incoming centers. Probably a minimum contract SF. Maybe Martell Webster or even a DeMarre Carroll type.

[KGs Knee]

1st-  As much as we may assume Pierce and/or KG will retire at seasons end, it is far from guaranteed.  If, anything, they might feel as if their last opportunity has been stolen from them, and decide to come back for one more go.

Now, if they do retire at seasons end, the best move would be to just use next year as a rebuilding year.  Rondo will likely need the entirety of next season to work his way back into form.

I suspect Green is here to stay, for better or worse.  Danny seems to really believe in him.  Bass and Terry need to be traded for expirings.  Once Pierce and KG come off the books, along with Terry and Bass' jettisoned salary, we could have a decent chunk of cap space and probably a high lottery pick to go along.  Summer of 2014 is looking like the year to make our move.

[lightspeed5]

i still dont see why kg and pierce would retire... KG has nothing else to do other than basketball.

[Jeff]

crazy idea time: what if KG and Pierce sit out the first half of the year and come back at the same time as Rondo?  basically the Roger Clemens plan times 2

insane?  maybe

[Fafnir]

Jeff, do you really think Melo could start next year in Maine? That seems crazy to me.

I took Perkins till this third year to get on the court.

[rondohondo]

crazy idea time: what if KG and Pierce sit out the first half of the year and come back at the same time as Rondo?  basically the Roger Clemens plan times 2

insane?  maybe

then stern would fine them like he did to the spurs x 40

[Lucky17]

I don't see KG and Pierce retiring after this year. After next year, perhaps.

I suspect the gameplan for next year will be to mirror Chicago this season: remain competitive while awaiting the return of the franchise point guard, and then hope to make noise in the latter half of the season.

Summer 2014, Pierce comes off the books, and Garnett could retire for additional cap space (only partial guarantee on his final year). There won't be a whole lot of cap room, but virtually everyone currently on the roster will be on expiring contracts going into the 2014-15 season. That will be the rebuild year.