I am predicting that this off-season will leave no Celtics fans completely satisfied and DA is in the right by doing so. I have been on the dramatic change for 14-15 band wagon ever since PP and KG where traded. There are two poles to this. One side is a youth rebuild (ala 76ers) the other side a gather and trade approach (like Cs did for KG and Ray). I think DA is going to sit in the middle for one more year and let a Rondo lead FA summer dramatically play out with the end goal being the retention of Rondo, S&T acquisition of Love (if he cant pull something off at trade deadline) and the acquisition of one of the FA centers (M Gasol, D Jordon, O Asik).
With that said here are the moves I would like to see/ could see happening in the next few weeks.
Trades:
TPE for Perk and 2 2nds ( this could be a $ clearing trade that brings P Gasol or PP to OKC)
Bass or S&T Hump for Biyombo ( Hornets need McRoberts replacement and want more playoffs)
Bogans gets his 2014 option picked up so that his contract can be retained as a trade-able asset
When the dust settles on the summer the Cs will be a better balanced team with their acquisitions of true centers but still a relative non factor in the east.
2014-2015 opening day 15 man roster
PG Rondo, Smart, Pressey
SG AB, Young, Berten/Edwards (from summer league)
SF Green, Wallace, Johnson
PF Sully, KO
C Perk, Biyombo, Fav, Anthony
I would expect a consistent 9 man rotation with Smart and KO being the first guys off the bench and Wallace and Biyombo getting ever game minutes. Perk will start but will play less then 25 min and sully around 30 leaving nearly 30 min for KO and a solid 14-16 each night for Biyombo. With the guards I would expect a heavy 3 guard rotation with smart and AB playing around 30 min and RR 35. I also wouldn't be shocked to see some really small ball with all three on the court together in a heavy pressure set. Young I think will get some time in blowouts but will also spend time in D-League.
This team will likely be lottery bound but will do so while playing good basketball. Offence will not come easy but they should be an excellent defensive team. If Sully, KO or Smart surprise with their production then this team could sneak into the playoffs. Barring a mid season Love trade next off-season is where the fire works will happen. The draft will be center heavy and the Cs will have at least 2 first and either a 76ers surprise first or an early 2nd. Along with draft assets they will still have bogans deal and a bunch of young prospects to go along with cap space.
Topic: My prediction 2014 will be a lame duck season (with trade ideas) (Read 2786 times)