Which realistic big would help this team the most? What would you give up?

[seancally]

From where I'm sitting, it's becoming clear that this team still lacks the one back-line big who can set the hard screens, pick up the contested boards, block shots and just be a presence in the paint/post. Al does a great job for his skillset, but he's not that guy. Amir has his moments but he's not that, either. The rest of our bigs are more finesse players who add value in some ways, but not that way.

For these purposes, we're excluding Boogie - whom I would love to acquire - because that's not really the point. Is there a big on the market (I can think of a few) who might be available without killing out assets and fundamentally changing our team and who would help us right now and in the future?

Some options I can think of:

Bogut - Grade-A enforcer, good passer, smart, excellent defender. Zero outside shot and limited ability to switch onto quicker guys (right?). But remember how valuable he was for GSW, even just for 18-20 minutes, to set the tone...

Faried - Huge motor, versatile defender, great rebounder, gets hustle baskets. No shot, poor FT shooter, not a polished offensive player.

Noel - Great upside, excellent versatility and length, rebounding, shotblocking, steals. No outside shot, set to become a RFA, so may not be worth giving up assets and then paying him a bigger contract right away.

Etc...?

We're in a good position - and maybe some of you think it's most wise to wait, draft, and sign free agents. If so, speak up! I'd love to hear some thoughts.

[Vermont Green]

Hard to say how realistic any potential deal is.  I like Nurkic as discussed in another thread but he may not be so available.  I think we should make a run at Monroe.  I think he is more "gettable" then many of the other options discussed.

[mctyson]

The response first:  who is available?  Can't really say what we'd do until we know who is available.

I have always like Faried.  I think he would fit perfectly on this team from a style and need standpoint.  I don't know why Denver would trade him after extending him a couple years ago, but his contract certainly is valuable now given the cap increase.  He doesn't get a ton of minutes for them so there's a chance that he is buried enough on the bench to make him tradable.

For any of these deals I am not giving up any Brooklyn picks.

[seancally]

Hard to say how realistic any potential deal is.  I like Nurkic as discussed in another thread but he may not be so available.  I think we should make a run at Monroe.  I think he is more "gettable" then many of the other options discussed.

I like Nurkic too, but agreed.

Monroe is a weird one. Not sure what happened to him in Milwaukee. I'm also not sure he does anything much differently / better than Horford, except he's a poorer shooter and defender. At this point, I place more emphasis on defensive prowess than offensive.

[SHAQATTACK]

With the dominance of Spurs , Warriors and Cavs .....then there is everybody else

To join the conversation with the above three it will take Boogie .....I'm afraid anything less and we'll still be outside looking in for a title.

LeBron hold the keys to the East .    Period . 

As long as he healthy he sits on his throne on the East .

Nobody is pushing him off that throne unless a major trade falls to another Eastern team.

Basically unless Boogie comes to town , then Father Time will eventually do his job on LeBron and take him down.  It maybe a few years .  He guy never has had anything serious wrong.

[drogbagarnett]

Serge Ibaka!!

I thought about this for a while and I think Ibaka would be the perfect fit for this team without changing too much oir way of playing or costing too much (unlike nurkic) or affecting our cap long term (unlike monroe)...
He is so perfect for Brad Steven's system and could be great next to horford!!

Defense:
He is a great shoot blocker (unlike monroe)
Can switch to smaller guys (unlike bogut)
Can board better than any of our current bigs
Can switch with horFord on 4/5 like Amir...
Would make us a terror on D.

Offense:
Can post up
Can shoot the midrange
Can be relied upon in crunch time (couple of game winners already for the magic)
But most importantly Can knockdown 3s and open the lane for IT (unlike all these other bigs we are talking about!) This is so crucial for Brad Steven system and IT!

Cost:
Magic being out of the playoff picture and Ibaka being free to choose whichever playoff teams he wants in the summer, Orlando would be wise to get something for him and avoid losing him for nothing after giving away Oladipo! I offer them  Zeller+Mickey (or just amir) to match salaries plus 1 non BKN 1St rd pick , plus 2 second Rd picks...

If we can then get Gordon Hayward to join his old coach and be our 2nd offensive weapon, go to scorer with size in money time,  I would go to war with a team like this while waiting to cash on my BKN Nets picks!!

Thomas Rozier Jackson
Bradley Smart Green
Hayward Crowder Brown
Ibaka Jerebko Nader
Horford Olynyk Zizic

[coffee425]

Serge Ibaka!!

I thought about this for a while and I think Ibaka would be the perfect fit for this team without changing too much oir way of playing or costing too much (unlike nurkic) or affecting our cap long term (unlike monroe)...
He is so perfect for Brad Steven's system and could be great next to horford!!

Defense:
He is a great shoot blocker (unlike monroe)
Can switch to smaller guys (unlike bogut)
Can board better than any of our current bigs
Can switch with horFord on 4/5 like Amir...
Would make us a terror on D.

Offense:
Can post up
Can shoot the midrange
Can be relied upon in crunch time (couple of game winners already for the magic)
But most importantly Can knockdown 3s and open the lane for IT (unlike all these other bigs we are talking about!) This is so crucial for Brad Steven system and IT!

Cost:
Magic being out of the playoff picture and Ibaka being free to choose whichever playoff teams he wants in the summer, Orlando would be wise to get something for him and avoid losing him for nothing after giving away Oladipo! I offer them  Zeller+Mickey (or just amir) to match salaries plus 1 non BKN 1St rd pick , plus 2 second Rd picks...

If we can then get Gordon Hayward to join his old coach and be our 2nd offensive weapon, go to scorer with size in money time,  I would go to war with a team like this while waiting to cash on my BKN Nets picks!!

Thomas Rozier Jackson
Bradley Smart Green
Hayward Crowder Brown
Ibaka Jerebko Nader
Horford Olynyk Zizic

Things i disagreed with. But i like the suggestion. TP

[Phantom255x]

Serge Ibaka!!

I thought about this for a while and I think Ibaka would be the perfect fit for this team without changing too much oir way of playing or costing too much (unlike nurkic) or affecting our cap long term (unlike monroe)...
He is so perfect for Brad Steven's system and could be great next to horford!!

Defense:
He is a great shoot blocker (unlike monroe)
Can switch to smaller guys (unlike bogut)
Can board better than any of our current bigs
Can switch with horFord on 4/5 like Amir...
Would make us a terror on D.

Offense:
Can post up
Can shoot the midrange
Can be relied upon in crunch time (couple of game winners already for the magic)
But most importantly Can knockdown 3s and open the lane for IT (unlike all these other bigs we are talking about!) This is so crucial for Brad Steven system and IT!

Cost:
Magic being out of the playoff picture and Ibaka being free to choose whichever playoff teams he wants in the summer, Orlando would be wise to get something for him and avoid losing him for nothing after giving away Oladipo! I offer them  Zeller+Mickey (or just amir) to match salaries plus 1 non BKN 1St rd pick , plus 2 second Rd picks...

If we can then get Gordon Hayward to join his old coach and be our 2nd offensive weapon, go to scorer with size in money time,  I would go to war with a team like this while waiting to cash on my BKN Nets picks!!

Thomas Rozier Jackson
Bradley Smart Green
Hayward Crowder Brown
Ibaka Jerebko Nader
Horford Olynyk Zizic

Can the Celtics even afford BOTH Ibaka and Hayward (Ibaka is also a FA after this season).

Then there's the conundrum of who to keep between IT/Bradley/Smart in 2 summers...

[Fireworks_Boom!]

I watched the Dallas game against the Lakers last night. That team is not tanking. I saw tremendous effort from them. And Cuban has come out and stated the same. I don't see Bogut being available for these reasons. He would be my favorite target of all because of style of play he brings and his favorable contract (which doesn't hamstring our cap).

I think Celtics will look to players who are in similar situations (expiring contracts). This would include:

Serge Ibaka
Paul Millsaps
Taj Gibson
Zack Randolph
Tiago Splitter
Ersan Ilyasova
Roy Hibbert
Luis Scola
Derrick Williams
Kris Humphries
Nick Collison
Nene Hilario

My top 3 from this list:
1. Paul Millsaps (Offer: Amir Johnson/Jonas Jerebko/Kelly Olynyk/Future BOS 1st or MEM 1st)
2. Serge Ibaka/Aaron Gordon (Offer: Amir Johnson/Jonas Jerebko/Brooklyn 2018*)
3. Roy Hibbert (Offer: Jonas Jerebko)

*I think ORL would need more given they traded away Oladipo for Ibaka. This ORL trade would solve a lot of issues we have in the paint though.

[footey]

Noel is our best bet in terms of fit. He basically would replace Amir, whose production has dropped a lot this season.  Amir looks 10 years older than he is. His knees look shot.  Too many miles, I'm afraid.  Great teammate, but just really a weak link for us.

Noel has so damaged his FA value, I think we would have no trouble re-signing him in the off season.  I just don't see teams lining up to give him a big contract. Of course, if he became a big contributor for us post-trade this season, that could change. But in that case, we would probably be willing to give him a big contract.

I don't want Ibaka, he is too old. We have to look toward competing over the next 5-10 years, not the next 1-2 years.  Our Brooklyn stash affords us the luxury of long term planning while competing short-term, and building a winning culture in the interim.

[Fireworks_Boom!]

Noel will command at least $10m per annum in FA. I'm not interested in that.

[MetroGlobe]

I don't want Ibaka, he is too old. We have to look toward competing over the next 5-10 years, not the next 1-2 years.  Our Brooklyn stash affords us the luxury of long term planning while competing short-term, and building a winning culture in the interim.

Have you bought into the idea that Ibaka is much older than his listed age?  Because officially, he just turned 27.  He's only two years older than Kelly O.

[MetroGlobe]

Noel will command at least $10m per annum in FA. I'm not interested in that.

Why?  Who else would we spend that money on?  There aren't other bigs available for that kind of money.  Amir and Zeller combined make that.  Wouldn't it make sense to consolidate those two guys into one productive guy like Noel?

[coffee425]

Noel will command at least $10m per annum in FA. I'm not interested in that.

Why?  Who else would we spend that money on?  There aren't other bigs available for that kind of money.  Amir and Zeller combined make that.  Wouldn't it make sense to consolidate those two guys into one productive guy like Noel?

We'll need every dime to extend Demarcus Cousins to the supermax deal

[Fireworks_Boom!]

What makes you categorize Noel as productive? He is an offensive liability and is injury prone.