Stringing Fans Along

[Rondo9]

Throw this into the discussion:

Half-full Celtics fan: It’s only been a couple years, give this rebuild some time! We’ll have plenty of cap room to chase Big Names next summer!

Half-empty Celtics fan: Everyone will have cap room next year. And if this summer has been any indication, almost all of the highest-impact names stayed put (so far) – Love, Dragic, Jimmy Butler, Kawhi Leonard, Anthony Davis, etc – as players chase security. Are we going to have to settle for the likes of DeMarre Carroll (a rich man’s Crowder)?

What if the Morey playbook is looking luckier and luckier by the year, and the Thunder just made a catastrophic error in trading Harden? With the cap going up significantly, nobody is going to let a Top 5 pick slip through the cracks again. At what point do the 76ers and Celtics look themselves in the mirror and say, how the hell did we end up in Kings/Timberwolves territory?

http://thebiglead.com/2015/07/02/what-the-hell-are-the-boston-celtics-doing/

Unlike the Kings and the Timberwolves (when Khan took over.), the Celtics and the Sixers actually have plans to rebuild (though I greatly prefer the Celtics plan over the Sixers.)

[Nikki8]

I agree with everything you said.  I think I'm in the minority, but I have no issue with what Hinkie is doing.  It's pretty clear that you can't win in this league without at least one superstar, so I don't fault Hinkie for trying to maximize his chances at getting one.  It's a risky strategy because he's basically betting everything on a few players developing well (and staying healthy), and if any of these blue chippers don't pan out they're screwed.  But I like their chances of winning a championship with their current core a lot better than ours.

Well said. I envy them having Sacic, Noel, Embid and especially Okafor. They should also probably have there own high pick in the next draft plus the Lakers if it is above #3. They have a very bright future, will have cap space and even if Embid is a bust they still have two potentally elite big men. There a point gaurd and scoring wing away from being an awesome team in a few years,

[More Banners]

Things look as hopeful as they could to me for us. The C's have been accumulating solid defenders at all positions, mostly, which is essential. As the you guys develop their offense, things will look better. Almost no cap dead weight, save Wallace, who has only a year left and came with a pick. You know what they say...

Anything is possible!

[D.o.s.]

Also hilarious is people saying no stars will ever get moved again since the cap is going up.  Stars always move.  Not all the time (obviously) but the cap going up doesn't matter.  Every player's salary will go up too, so why won't the same money squeezes occur?  Aren't we watching All Star caliber players move this very year?   So illogical.

I think an element of cheering for a team yet to reach "consistent contender" status is this anticipatory feeling you describe.

I feel the difference between us and the Sixers is that we are not apologists of losing. The Celtics try every season to improve, and put out a product that is enjoyable for fans to watch. We may be constructing the equivalent of an NBA mid-major, as a few posters have suggested. However, I feel we can at least take pride in the fact that we try to win.

To me, that's a big difference.

I think it's largely semantics.

Not to fans who enjoy watching competitive basketball.

Everyone enjoys watching competitive basketball -- it is tiring to watch a team with a serious talent deficit lose after keeping the game "entertainingly close" for 82 games.

"Well, at least they tried" doesn't have enough variations to sustain me for another season, sorry.

That doesn't describe last season for Boston, at all.

The Celtics started last season with Rondo, Green and a dysfunctional unit that was one of the worst in the league.  Then they made some trades, started playing A LOT better and finished with one of the best post-all-star records in the league.

And as for talent, I don't know what to say except that too many people on this board are hopeless. 

Mike

Oh look it's this argument again.

I think Pho described it most recently, but the fact that the C's were deep, relatively healthy, and were facing several teams that were playing down to them should not be conflated with a squad that has a talented roster.

In fact, I believe you tried to make the case that the C's weren't any more talented than a lot of the teams that they finished ahead of in the standings. Why the swap now?

Playing down to them? I think they the teams took them seriously.

Ok.