Lance Stephenson anyone?

[Alleyoopster]

You're right people can dream. I'm just the type of person who's more realistic. I can't think of a time when a top notch free agent chose to come to Boston. Even with the big 3. Only reason we were able to pull that off (it was a trade not free agent signing with Garnett) was because fortunately Seattle wanted to move forward with their future and blew that team up and gave Ray Allen away for mediocre talent. Dream all you want but give me an example in the last 30 + years when a top notch free agent was like "I'm taking my talents to the Celtics" .. Maybe Nique although he was at the tail end of his career.
 My question is Who's a better alternative? Evan turner is on his way out. Sorry to be negative nancy but Brown is only 19. If he does pan out , I think it'll be 3-4 years down the road. What puts me at odds with many on this forum is the fact i've always been an advocate of getting Veterans. A harmonious blend of good young players and Solid Vets is what constitutes a winning organization. I fail to understand this love affair people (not just C's fans) have with Puppy squads. They don't win. I think we got wayyyy too many "he'll be great in the future" prospects. We need to be veteran minded at this point. I think signing a player like stephenson who is in search for a new home and new start is a step in the right direction.

Last year was the first year since 1997 that we had any cap space.  Signing a marque free agent is difficult WITH cap space, but it is actually impossible without cap space unless the player is willing to play for the minimum or one of the (very small) cap exceptions (in other words, it doesn't happen unless the player is on the tail end of their career).  Sign and trades are possible, but require sending salary out, which makes them difficult for a team that is trying to compete.  The circumstances around the Celtics for the past 20 years (and ESPECIALLY during the Big 3 era) make it impossible to say whether or not the Celtics can't sign big free agents.

I'm not agreeing or disagreeing with your last statement. Just not sure what you mean. Could you clarify?

Essentially, we haven't had the ability to sign those types of free agents, because we've never had the required cap space to sign them in the first place. So there's no way to know whether or not we can truly attract free agents, because our cap situation the last two decades has prevented us from even being able to try.

Okay, thanks...I got it now. 

[Eric_Suede]

Don't Stephenson and Turner hate each other from their time in Indiana? Out of the two, I would rather have Turner, who has proven to fit on this team and who Stevens likes .

I seriously doubt Turner is going to be with the C's next year. I hear a rumor that actually the Warriors are interested in him. For the record i'm not totally against "draft & stash" type of development but I think we actually had a good run this past year. I'm going to be honest I'm a die hard C's fan but this past years roster TOTALLY exceeded my expectations coming into the year. I think we need to build on that. Getting even younger isn't the answer.

Also I think it's unfair to label Stephenson a "head case". What are you basing that on? His attempt to rattle Lebron. Had his "dennis rodman" tactics worked he would've been a genius and and clever. I personally didn't mind that at all and like monk said I even thought it was cute. He was gaining strides and confidence in Indiana so I don't think he was out of line to believe he should've been given opportunity to play a bigger role in Indiana. I'll give you the Charlotte debacle. He was a dissapointment there but for the VERY few minutes in LA he was given and his time with Memphis. I think he rebounded quite nicely and I don't recall any stories in LA or Memphis that labeled him a locker room cancer. I ask again , with Turner more than likely heading out the door, what Swing man do you guys think will fit us better? I hope Brown proves me wrong but ...... I don't see him being "that guy" just yet. I really think we need to look at building on the momentum from last year, getting younger and regressing is not cool.

[PhoSita]

We just drafted a guy who, hopefully, plays a similar role to Lance but has much higher upside.

[Eric_Suede]

We just drafted a guy who, hopefully, plays a similar role to Lance but has much higher upside.

Key word HOPEFULLY.
A 19yr old KID, who will NOT be able to be able to "Beast" on the NBA level. I'm not dumping on him but again, we need to build on our momentum last year. If we stand pat we'll be worse this year. Need another swingman folks. If not Lance who do you guys think we should go after?

[BitterJim]

We just drafted a guy who, hopefully, plays a similar role to Lance but has much higher upside.

Key word HOPEFULLY.
A 19yr old KID, who will NOT be able to be able to "Beast" on the NBA level. I'm not dumping on him but again, we need to build on our momentum last year. If we stand pat we'll be worse this year. Need another swingman folks. If not Lance who do you guys think we should go after?

I'd rather give minutes to a 19 year old who can't "Beast on the NBA level" and won't disturb the locker room than a 25 year old who can't "Beast on the NBA level" and has a history of being a problem

[PhoSita]

We just drafted a guy who, hopefully, plays a similar role to Lance but has much higher upside.

Key word HOPEFULLY.
A 19yr old KID, who will NOT be able to be able to "Beast" on the NBA level. I'm not dumping on him but again, we need to build on our momentum last year. If we stand pat we'll be worse this year. Need another swingman folks. If not Lance who do you guys think we should go after?

Who cares if we're worse this year?

The Celts aren't winning a title next year unless Durant comes here in free agency.

If it's another bridge year, I'd 100000000% prefer to give the time to the guy we just took at #3, and also give a bigger role to the guy we took at #6 a couple years ago, than see if another reclamation project can help us make the second round.

[Celtics18]

I feel like it's got to be a delicate balancing act.  I definitely want to see young guys get the opportunity while at the same time maintaining--if not improving upon--our winning percentage since midway through the 2014-2015 season.

I don't see any reason to sign Lance Stephenson to come here and compete with Jaylen Brown, Marcus Smart, Jae Crowded and even RJ Hunter for minutes.  Not worth it.

[Silent Storm]

Stephenson is a head case and does not fit the culture of the team. Avoid like the plague.

[BudweiserCeltic]

I was interested in him last season. But no need to go after him this free-agency, unless everything is quite depleted.

[CelticGuardian]

Nah dude, I think that would cut into Jaylen's minutes, and we already invested the 3# pick on the guy.

That being said I want Turner gone... I need to see Smart/Jaylen(or atleast just Smart) prominently featured in our offensive scheme, or I will not believe a single word Ainge says about anything Celtics.