Horford and KO - heating up as a frontcourt duo

[BE-Celtic]

Yeah there was this video not long ago who argued in favor of Kelly and Horford starting together (in another topic). I'm pretty on board on this idea too.

Plus, this rewards kelly for his few really good recent games and if Danny wants to trade him, then it could showcase him nicely. So i'm think it's a win-win situation. Amir not starting shouldn't cost games to the C's, even if a big part of his game doesn't reflect on stats sheets.

And finally, I always thought Amir and Marcus had a good connection with Marcus developping his passing skills. So this could be a strong second unit. Another reason to try it imo

I actually think Olynyk is better served in the second unit. He provides much needed shooting in a lineup with Smart and Brown who are not reliable shooters.

Smart also operates pretty well with Olynyk. I'm not sure about Amir and Smart.

Yes you have a point for the scoring. But this could be an opportunity for Brown and Rozier to get minutes and show they can fill this hole. I'm not sure this would work, but this could be worth a try in some easier games. If this fails, just go back to square one

[SHAQATTACK]

Kelly has been playing up to his potiental past couple games .

He needs to press the pedal to the floor , be less shy and not let up .


The motor is so important in the NBA .......always keep pushing and digging , or you'll find yourself on the outside looking in.

[CelticPride2016]

The decision will be based on the rest of the year, as the person above says.

If he continues to shine, then the best case scenario is locking him up to a Crowder styled deal. That one is $35 million/5 years. Perhaps $10-$13 million/yr sounds fair for today's CBA?

Danny will have to decide whether he thinks Olynyk is a Crowder check mark for years on end quality rotation guy or if he is an Amir to get shorter contracts but with more money.

The last month has elevated Kelly Olynyk far above the value Sully generated. He is not in the Bass, Humphries, even Turner level of if they walk, they walk.

Olynyk is basically still to be determined, but it's looking good.

Maybe these guys won't be selfish like KG and hog salary budgets. Isaiah should give us a discount.

I'm not saying Danny should be allowed to fleece players, but you'd think after a certain amount of millions, it wouldn't matter. Evan Turner is not a scrub, but you can't just throw out big contracts to everyone.

We survived Sully because he was fat and overrated. He had one great month last year at the beginning and then betrayed us. It looks like he is in shape now, but I can only go by his face which looked thin.

Kelly has good hands. He could have played tight end. He has a very unique background because of the growth spurt. He is sort of a natural, solid with high bb iq. I never thought he would improve this much on defense. I hope he can sustain the energy and focus. Every time on defense I am cynical of his odds at defending. But play after play, the other guy misses because of Olynyk. The eye test doesn't do him justice. These guys are kind of fun to watch - Amir, Marcus and Olynyk. They are a roller coaster for aesthetics, but they each have the winner gene. Same with Crowder. It doesn't look pretty, but at some point one must concede he is very good.

Olynyk is fun to watch. Our team flows with him for the most part. You want these guys to be able to forget about the media, t.v., big money, etc. and escape into the fantasy world of it's a game we can win. Some people collect stamps. We watch the Celtics.

I am rooting for Kelly Olynyk to emerge and to maintain what he is currently providing. Then all of a sudden he becomes the second sixth man off the bench with Smart. Jerebko is solid, but Olynyk has leapfrogged over him as the main big off the bench. Good for him. Great for the team.

[celts55]

Hard to say what he's worth. He's teased us before. If, and it's a big if, he can continue to play like he has recently, than sure you want to re-sign him. I'm guess he'd be in the 4 year 15 million per range. Hard to believe, but that's the price now a days.

[BDeCosta26]

Yeah there was this video not long ago who argued in favor of Kelly and Horford starting together (in another topic). I'm pretty on board on this idea too.

Plus, this rewards kelly for his few really good recent games and if Danny wants to trade him, then it could showcase him nicely. So i'm think it's a win-win situation. Amir not starting shouldn't cost games to the C's, even if a big part of his game doesn't reflect on stats sheets.

And finally, I always thought Amir and Marcus had a good connection with Marcus developping his passing skills. So this could be a strong second unit. Another reason to try it imo

I actually think Olynyk is better served in the second unit. He provides much needed shooting in a lineup with Smart and Brown who are not reliable shooters.

Smart also operates pretty well with Olynyk. I'm not sure about Amir and Smart.

Tough to say. 2nd unit needs shooters, but With KO's improved D they might be better off with him starting. Even if you keep him on the bench, he should be getting 25-30 MPG.

Because of this team's obvious rebounding/interior deficiencies, people hate on KO because he's a 7 footer who's not a great rebounder/post player. But he's HUGE for this team. Having him on the floor makes everyone's life a whole lot easier.

[KG Living Legend]

.I'll give Olynyk a thousand dollars a game. Overpriced yes, but that's the market today...

So, $82,000?

 Yeah. Though I'd start at 50k per year.

[Surferdad]

Provide space for IT4 to drive in. Are Making 3s, solid team D and passing. Especially good to see Horford or KO pass to each other for easy buckets

On a side note how much would you resign KO for?

In other words, an offense built around IT, which I think is a good idea.

[Big333223]

Jon Leuer makes about $11 million a year.  Trevor Booker makes about $10 million.

Market for KO should be along the lines of $12-14 million per year, depending on whether some other team thinks he can start.

KO is better than Leuer

You'll notice that's why I indicated he'll make more.

Leuer is actually a pretty nice test case. Last year, in Phoenix, he averaged 8.5 points and 5.6 rebounds on 38% three-point shooting. This season, Olynyk is averaging 8.6 points and 4.3 rebounds on 38% three-point shooting. Olynyk's points are down a little bit from where he's been in the past and his numbers are coming on a better team than Leuer's did, but it's pretty similar and Leuer was only a year older than Olynyk is now.

If the cap is set to go up another 20%, we can probably assume that Olynyk's contract will be at least that much more than Leuer's was even if he's valued the same. So we shouldn't be surprised  if Kelly gets around $15 million.

[ThePaintedArea]

Jon Leuer makes about $11 million a year.  Trevor Booker makes about $10 million.

Market for KO should be along the lines of $12-14 million per year, depending on whether some other team thinks he can start.

That sounds reasonable.

Proven, great fit, versatile, range of skills, plays physical, works on his game, team-first game and attitude, a plus on both ends. He's a Celtic. Give him a long-term contract.

[Monkhouse]

I hope Zizic and Yabusele really do show growth or maturity in their first year. I don't know how I feel about giving KO 15 mil.

[saltlover]

Jon Leuer makes about $11 million a year.  Trevor Booker makes about $10 million.

Market for KO should be along the lines of $12-14 million per year, depending on whether some other team thinks he can start.

KO is better than Leuer

You'll notice that's why I indicated he'll make more.

Leuer is actually a pretty nice test case. Last year, in Phoenix, he averaged 8.5 points and 5.6 rebounds on 38% three-point shooting. This season, Olynyk is averaging 8.6 points and 4.3 rebounds on 38% three-point shooting. Olynyk's points are down a little bit from where he's been in the past and his numbers are coming on a better team than Leuer's did, but it's pretty similar and Leuer was only a year older than Olynyk is now.

If the cap is set to go up another 20%, we can probably assume that Olynyk's contract will be at least that much more than Leuer's was even if he's valued the same. So we shouldn't be surprised  if Kelly gets around $15 million.

The cap is only going up about 10%.

[Big333223]

Jon Leuer makes about $11 million a year.  Trevor Booker makes about $10 million.

Market for KO should be along the lines of $12-14 million per year, depending on whether some other team thinks he can start.

KO is better than Leuer

You'll notice that's why I indicated he'll make more.

Leuer is actually a pretty nice test case. Last year, in Phoenix, he averaged 8.5 points and 5.6 rebounds on 38% three-point shooting. This season, Olynyk is averaging 8.6 points and 4.3 rebounds on 38% three-point shooting. Olynyk's points are down a little bit from where he's been in the past and his numbers are coming on a better team than Leuer's did, but it's pretty similar and Leuer was only a year older than Olynyk is now.

If the cap is set to go up another 20%, we can probably assume that Olynyk's contract will be at least that much more than Leuer's was even if he's valued the same. So we shouldn't be surprised  if Kelly gets around $15 million.

The cap is only going up about 10%.

My bad. Adjust your calculations accordingly.

[ThePaintedArea]

Then all of a sudden he becomes the second sixth man off the bench with Smart. Jerebko is solid...

Seventh Man/First Big off the Bench. Stevens calls Smart their "sixth starter" so maybe in that scenario Olynyk is the sixth man.

Jerebko fills a lot of gaps and gives coach someone he can count on. As long as the money can be made to work I think you can hang on to him indefinitely as the tenth man. 

[mmmmm]

And so ... in the Knicks game, Stevens promptly plays Olynyk just 12 minutes, and notably, no time overlapping with Horford.

In a game where we could have used some size for rebounding, KO played only 12 minutes (barely enough time to get warmed up) and Amir for just 18.

Amir actually played very well in this game, scoring 10 and grabbing 7 rebounds in that short time.  That's a 20/14 per 36 pace.   And then he got essentially no run at all after midway through the third.   Just one minute in the 4th, as NYK pulled away.

I'm more than a little puzzled as to what Brad's strategy here was.

[The Oracle]

And so ... in the Knicks game, Stevens promptly plays Olynyk just 12 minutes, and notably, no time overlapping with Horford.

In a game where we could have used some size for rebounding, KO played only 12 minutes (barely enough time to get warmed up) and Amir for just 18.

Amir actually played very well in this game, scoring 10 and grabbing 7 rebounds in that short time.  That's a 20/14 per 36 pace.   And then he got essentially no run at all after midway through the third.   Just one minute in the 4th, as NYK pulled away.

I'm more than a little puzzled as to what Brad's strategy here was.

They did in fact play together for exactly 2 seconds to run that play at the end of the 3rd qtr.  Horford/Olynyk not playing together last night is just one of the many baffling decisions Brad made.  Over the prior 2 games Horford/Olynyk were a +27 in 41 minutes and then not play them together at all??

His use of Rozier at the point and 3 guard lineups murdered the C's last night.  Rozier at the point was -12 I believe.  3 guard lineups (Smart/Rozier/I.T.) were -7 in 6 minutes.  I can't even give him the showcasing excuse because the lineup choices around players that could be being showcased were awful.