I love KG. He's my all-time favorite NBA player.
I started with that because I want to say some unpopular things. He won a championship here but I'm not sure he's an all-time Celtic. He spent most of his career and basically all of his prime in Minnesota. He also isn't expected to finish his career in green. He didn't really take a discount to play here. He didn't endure losing seasons.
His situation here isn't that different to Shaq's in Miami except KG was here 3 years longer (6 years vs 3 years).
Pierce is the guy I can see in the Celtics organization going forward. He's owed that if he wants it. If Rondo signs on to finish his prime in green maybe he gets that treatment too.
I'd love to see KG as an organizational figure but I don't think he's owed that in the same way Pierce might be. Honestly I'm not sure KG has the kind of personality that would make a good coach. Not all coaches have the same personality but I'd argue that virtually all good coaches have a high level of patience. From my recollection that isn't KG's strength.
So that is my take. I'd love to see KG here, as a backup center or as a coach. I'm just not sure it's in the cards.
c's clear enough cap space to sign rondo and Marc Gasol next year. We become contenders , and KG sign a 1 yr vet min deal
I really can't see KG taking the minimum. In the case where he did we'd have to:
Decline options on: Fav/Powell/Pressey/Zeller
Find a way to trade Wallace before this season ends
Rondo's $12.9M cap hold leaves our cap space at around $6M. If waive the rights to all of our expirings and decline Pressey, Powell, Faverani and Zeller we get to $13.4M in space. Trading Wallace opens that number up to $23.5 which is just over a max deal. We'd sign Gasol with that space, use Rondo's bird rights to resign him to the max and that would put us 3.1M in the tax which gives us the mini-MLE to use. KG might take the mini-MLE but I'm not sure a lineup of Rondo/AB/Green/Sully/Gasol with Turner/KG/KO/Smart/Young off the bench is a contender. We're probably still one (scoring) star shy of contention. Unless Jeff Green becomes a go-to scorer this season (unlikely) that team probably wouldn't get out of the East.
This plan also has the added benefit of killing our financial flexibility for 3-4 years.