Does Durant + Horford Actually Make Us Contenders?

[hpantazo]

Durant + anyone in the east is a contender

Basically this. We won 48 games last year without a top tier star and no high quality big men. Adding one of the best scorers in the league in Durant plus an all-star big man in Horford automatically makes us legit contenders, especially in the east.

[justice]

Absolutely, Durant and Horford make us contenders. However- the chances of this happening are very small. We should make every possible effort with Durant, but put just as much effort into a plan B.

[SHAQATTACK]

Durant + anyone in the east is a contender

Bingo !   That's one of the main reasons he should head east .   You can be sure IT has pointed that out .

He gets further every year with mostly just LeBron in the way.  In the West there are 6 Or 8 teams that can beat you .

KD battle is withe the LeBron club of ALL STARs .

KD needs to,set up,his own team to knock King James off the thrown .

I think Boston or  Miami only because of Riley ....gives KD the best place to gather his assets and make a charge for a title.

[GreenShooter]

No question this makes us a contender, even if Cleveland upgrades slightly. They'll be playing us for next few years in the ECF.

[rondohondo]

Roster would be

It              smart
Ab.           Brown
Duran .    Crowder
Ko               jerebko/mickey
Horford.   Amir

Really nice roster, probably need to add a sharp shooter and big man off the bench.

Trade chips to add another piece would be smart, brown, brk  17 and 18

Plus more cap space next year to add another max .

[GreenShooter]

Roster would be

It              smart
Ab.           Brown
Duran .    Crowder
Ko               jerebko/mickey
Horford.   Amir

Really nice roster, probably need to add a sharp shooter and big man off the bench.

Trade chips to add another piece would be smart, brown, brk  17 and 18

Plus more cap space next year to add another max .

Would prefer one in the starting line-up(upgrade Bradley) but one on the bench is start.

[saltlover]

Roster would be

It              smart
Ab.           Brown
Duran .    Crowder
Ko               jerebko/mickey
Horford.   Amir

Really nice roster, probably need to add a sharp shooter and big man off the bench.

Trade chips to add another piece would be smart, brown, brk  17 and 18

Plus more cap space next year to add another max .

KD and Horford are replacing Amir and Jerebko.  There is no room for either if we sign those two.

[GreenShooter]

Roster would be

It              smart
Ab.           Brown
Duran .    Crowder
Ko               jerebko/mickey
Horford.   Amir

Really nice roster, probably need to add a sharp shooter and big man off the bench.

Trade chips to add another piece would be smart, brown, brk  17 and 18

Plus more cap space next year to add another max .

We have their '18 pick also? Holy crap!

[rondohondo]

Roster would be

It              smart
Ab.           Brown
Duran .    Crowder
Ko               jerebko/mickey
Horford.   Amir

Really nice roster, probably need to add a sharp shooter and big man off the bench.

Trade chips to add another piece would be smart, brown, brk  17 and 18

Plus more cap space next year to add another max .

KD and Horford are replacing Amir and Jerebko.  There is no room for either if we sign those two.

Your right don't know what I was thinking.

Would need some vet min big man chasing a title. And a stretch4 to add to the bench

[saltlover]

Roster would be

It              smart
Ab.           Brown
Duran .    Crowder
Ko               jerebko/mickey
Horford.   Amir

Really nice roster, probably need to add a sharp shooter and big man off the bench.

Trade chips to add another piece would be smart, brown, brk  17 and 18

Plus more cap space next year to add another max .

KD and Horford are replacing Amir and Jerebko.  There is no room for either if we sign those two.

Your right don't know what I was thinking.

Would need some vet min big man chasing a title. And a stretch4 to add to the bench

I'm sure Perkins will come to Boston if Danny asks, for a vet big off the bench.  Zizic is an unlikely but not impossible option for interior depth as well.  We would have the room exception to sign someone to a 1+1 deal at $3 million.  And there's still the possibility of a trade.  We still have a surplus of young guards who are on the bench.  There are still teams with a surplus of young bigs.  It's not impossible that such a deal gets done.  Hunter and Young packaged together can bring back $4.5 million in salary.

[BitterJim]

Roster would be

It              smart
Ab.           Brown
Duran .    Crowder
Ko               jerebko/mickey
Horford.   Amir

Really nice roster, probably need to add a sharp shooter and big man off the bench.

Trade chips to add another piece would be smart, brown, brk  17 and 18

Plus more cap space next year to add another max .

KD and Horford are replacing Amir and Jerebko.  There is no room for either if we sign those two.

Your right don't know what I was thinking.

Would need some vet min big man chasing a title. And a stretch4 to add to the bench

I'm sure Perkins will come to Boston if Danny asks, for a vet big off the bench.  Zizic is an unlikely but not impossible option for interior depth as well.  We would have the room exception to sign someone to a 1+1 deal at $3 million.  And there's still the possibility of a trade.  We still have a surplus of young guards who are on the bench.  There are still teams with a surplus of young bigs.  It's not impossible that such a deal gets done.  Hunter and Young packaged together can bring back $4.5 million in salary.

We would also have the mid-level and bi-annual exceptions, right?

[TwinTower14]

Kyler confirming the report. Said he is also hearing that Durant may not sign a one year deal. May do a full commitment Becaus he doesn't want to be a distraction. Also said market doesn't matter. Roster, future and coaching.

[The Oracle]

It is very hard to build a true contender around Durant this off season.  Danny knows this it is crystal clear.  The free agent market is weak.  The C's are loaded with young, cheep talent but they need a year of growth.  You have to take Durant now obviously if he is willing to come.  It is going to hurt though if he does because you will have to trade away a lot of the young talent to build around him.  You must cut loose all of Sully, Amir, Jerebko etc. just to sign both K.D. and Horford. 

If you wait a year you can hit 2017 with a ridiculous amount of cap room, in a great free agent market, you can maintain most of your best assets and build a more viable contender.  The best case scenario is also the most likely that K.D. goes back to O.K.C. this year.  Hopefully he then joins the C's next year.

Patience could result in the Celtics building a contender while also simultaneously building for the future.  If Durant comes this year that thought will disappear quickly as Brown, 2017 Brooklyn, 2018 Brooklyn all likely are traded to add immediate help. 

For the 2017-2018 season Westbrook, Durant, Paul, Hayward, Griffin, Curry, Milsap, Ibaka etc. could team up together and pick a destination like Boston and you wouldn't have to give up anything or a lot less anyway and build a true contender.

[saltlover]

Roster would be

It              smart
Ab.           Brown
Duran .    Crowder
Ko               jerebko/mickey
Horford.   Amir

Really nice roster, probably need to add a sharp shooter and big man off the bench.

Trade chips to add another piece would be smart, brown, brk  17 and 18

Plus more cap space next year to add another max .

KD and Horford are replacing Amir and Jerebko.  There is no room for either if we sign those two.

Your right don't know what I was thinking.

Would need some vet min big man chasing a title. And a stretch4 to add to the bench

I'm sure Perkins will come to Boston if Danny asks, for a vet big off the bench.  Zizic is an unlikely but not impossible option for interior depth as well.  We would have the room exception to sign someone to a 1+1 deal at $3 million.  And there's still the possibility of a trade.  We still have a surplus of young guards who are on the bench.  There are still teams with a surplus of young bigs.  It's not impossible that such a deal gets done.  Hunter and Young packaged together can bring back $4.5 million in salary.

We would also have the mid-level and bi-annual exceptions, right?

No.  Those exceptions only exist if you're above the cap to begin with.  The room exception, which is a better version of the BAE ($2.9 million in year 1, two years max) is what exists for teams who use cap space.  (This is because the exceptions themselves technically require cap space, so you renounce them to create more cap space.)

[saltlover]

Kyler confirming the report. Said he is also hearing that Durant may not sign a one year deal. May do a full commitment Becaus he doesn't want to be a distraction. Also said market doesn't matter. Roster, future and coaching.

If true that would be great for us if he signed here.  The team it is best for is the Clippers, however.  If they moved things around to add Durant to Blake and CP, they would have trouble next year when all three became free agents, since they'd need cap room that they wouldn't have to re-sign Durant.