Watch out for the Celtics

[Coolbreeze44]

Boston's not even top-five in terms of young cores that I'm worried about if I'm the rest of the league.

1. Minnesota Timberwolves
2. Utah Jazz
3. Philadelphia 76ers
4. Los Angeles Lakers
5. Milwaukee Bucks

I'll take all five of those situations over what the Boston Celtics have in terms of players and assets. Brad Stevens makes marginal players much better than they are, and that's a credit to him, but to win a championship they'll need legitimate star level players. They currently do not have one and it's not a guaranteed that they ever get one. Pump the brakes on the Celtics bandwagon.

The chances of Boston acquiring some star level players over the next 3 years are extremely high. Whether it be by draft, trade, or FA, the odds appear stacked in their favor. I just hope they don't get too many. I'd take their situation over Utah, Philly, LA, and Milwaukee without hesitation.

[TeamRicky [enjin:6648771]]

[TeamRicky [enjin:6648771]]

Boston's not even top-five in terms of young cores that I'm worried about if I'm the rest of the league.

1. Minnesota Timberwolves
2. Utah Jazz
3. Philadelphia 76ers
4. Los Angeles Lakers
5. Milwaukee Bucks

I'll take all five of those situations over what the Boston Celtics have in terms of players and assets. Brad Stevens makes marginal players much better than they are, and that's a credit to him, but to win a championship they'll need legitimate star level players. They currently do not have one and it's not a guaranteed that they ever get one. Pump the brakes on the Celtics bandwagon.

The chances of Boston acquiring some star level players over the next 3 years are extremely high. Whether it be by draft, trade, or FA, the odds appear stacked in their favor. I just hope they don't get too many. I'd take their situation over Utah, Philly, LA, and Milwaukee without hesitation.

Agreed. Boston will strike big in free agency in the next two years. The Nets mortgage their future and Boston gets their next 2 first rounders in addition to this year. They are likely to add two more top 3 picks and next year's draft is said to be a good one.

Cam, how can you even think the Lakers are in a better situation? Its mind boggling. The Lakers are terrible while the Celtics are good and the Celtics have a ton of valuable assets while the Lakers are missing a first rounder.

[Camden [enjin:6601484]]

Boston's not even top-five in terms of young cores that I'm worried about if I'm the rest of the league.

1. Minnesota Timberwolves
2. Utah Jazz
3. Philadelphia 76ers
4. Los Angeles Lakers
5. Milwaukee Bucks

I'll take all five of those situations over what the Boston Celtics have in terms of players and assets. Brad Stevens makes marginal players much better than they are, and that's a credit to him, but to win a championship they'll need legitimate star level players. They currently do not have one and it's not a guaranteed that they ever get one. Pump the brakes on the Celtics bandwagon.

The chances of Boston acquiring some star level players over the next 3 years are extremely high. Whether it be by draft, trade, or FA, the odds appear stacked in their favor. I just hope they don't get too many. I'd take their situation over Utah, Philly, LA, and Milwaukee without hesitation.

The odds are never in your favor to get a star. There's just not a lot of them to go around, and most of them like to team up with other stars, which makes getting one pretty difficult.

They struck out on acquiring Kevin Love despite having all these great assets. They couldn't acquire Carmelo Anthony a year ago despite their efforts. They've been trying to trade for DeMarcus Cousins for years and still no dice. It's not as easy as you make it seem. And if you really believe getting star players is going to be that easy for Boston, then you should take their situation over Minnesota's while your at it.

Minnesota's best pieces: Karl-Anthony Towns, Andrew Wiggins, Zach LaVine, Ricky Rubio, Gorgui Dieng, No. 5 overall pick

Utah's best pieces: Derrick Favors, Rudy Gobert, Gordon Hayward, Dante Exum, Rodney Hood, Trey Lyles, No. 12 overall pick

Philadelphia's best pieces: No. 1 overall pick, Nerlens Noel, Jahlil Okafor, Robert Covington, Dario Saric

Los Angeles' best pieces: No. 2 overall pick, Julius Randle, D'Angelo Russell, Jordan Clarkson

Milwaukee's best pieces: Giannis Antetekoumpo, Jabari Parker, Khris Middleton, Greg Monroe, John Henson, No. 10 overall pick

All of those groups are better than the one below.

Boston's best pieces: Isaiah Thomas, Avery Bradley, Jae Crowder, Marcus Smart, Kelly Olynyk, Jared Sullinger, No. 3 overall pick

Future assets are nice, but they aren't sure things. Free agency isn't a sure thing. Trades for stars are never sure things; Boston knows this well as of recent history.

[khans2k5 [enjin:6608728]]

Given the above, I

I still think we should be the more desirable team to sign with or be drafted by. We don't have nearly as much clutter on the roster. We have a legit superstar big in Towns and I think they have some good players but nobody really as a legitimate all-star. Wiggins and Lavine both have all-star potential as well and we just added one of the best coaches in the game even if he has a few flaws. If Thibs can make Butler an all-star just think of what he can do for a guy like Wiggins who has even better tools than Butler had. I think Boston's war chest is a little overrated. They've had a war chest for a few years now and have always ended up just taking a bunch of players most of which don't pan out because they can't make a deal. I think their only hope this year is if Colangelo does something he doesn't normally do which is pick up that 3 pick for Okafor to get Dunn.

I love our situation too, but of all other teams, Boston has created a situation where they could challenge us at the time we are title contenders

Actually, their war chest has yet to be used. They are in the playoffs now and all their best players are on cheap contracts, and they have three top (or near top) picks in three years coming up and they have the best cap situation in the entire league. They will be wheeling and dealing with 8 picks this year and they have a bunch of extra picks in future years too. They can stash a whole bunch of international prospects or trade for more future picks. Boston will be a major player in free agency.

They've had 7 1st round picks in the last 4 years and 10 overall picks in those 4 drafts and what do they have to show for it? Sullinger, Smart and TBD's in Hunter and Rozier from last year. That's not a good track record and that's a lot of picks hence me saying they've had a war chest for a few years already and haven't done much with it.

[Monster]

Boston has done the right things acquiring assets and if so was a Celtic fan (used to be one) I would be feeling good about where they are but until they actually have a legit star player I am not going to get wildly excited about them. Like Cam said they have all the abilities to get something done and it hasn't yet. If Stevens is the real deal (which it looks like he is) that's going to be huge as it will help them both be a better team and likely develop players better which will both help the team as they build their roster together AND as trade assets. They have made some savy moves which have brought them their best 2 players in Thomas (really love that guy) and Crowder for basically nothing so that's something of note.

[TRKO [enjin:12664595]]

One thing I haven't seen mentioned is that they play in the East. The East is incredibly weak. Boston has great potential, but they need to turn their high end draft picks into superstars. Right now they have some of the leagues best role players, and a great young coach.

[TeamRicky [enjin:6648771]]

Boston's not even top-five in terms of young cores that I'm worried about if I'm the rest of the league.

1. Minnesota Timberwolves
2. Utah Jazz
3. Philadelphia 76ers
4. Los Angeles Lakers
5. Milwaukee Bucks

I'll take all five of those situations over what the Boston Celtics have in terms of players and assets. Brad Stevens makes marginal players much better than they are, and that's a credit to him, but to win a championship they'll need legitimate star level players. They currently do not have one and it's not a guaranteed that they ever get one. Pump the brakes on the Celtics bandwagon.

The chances of Boston acquiring some star level players over the next 3 years are extremely high. Whether it be by draft, trade, or FA, the odds appear stacked in their favor. I just hope they don't get too many. I'd take their situation over Utah, Philly, LA, and Milwaukee without hesitation.

Agreed. Boston will strike big in free agency in the next two years. The Nets mortgage their future and Boston gets their next 2 first rounders in addition to this year. They are likely to add two more top 3 picks and next year's draft is said to be a good one.

Cam, how can you even think the Lakers are in a better situation? Its mind boggling. The Lakers are terrible while the Celtics are good and the Celtics have a ton of valuable assets while the Lakers are missing a first rounder.

Boston's not even top-five in terms of young cores that I'm worried about if I'm the rest of the league.

1. Minnesota Timberwolves
2. Utah Jazz
3. Philadelphia 76ers
4. Los Angeles Lakers
5. Milwaukee Bucks

I'll take all five of those situations over what the Boston Celtics have in terms of players and assets. Brad Stevens makes marginal players much better than they are, and that's a credit to him, but to win a championship they'll need legitimate star level players. They currently do not have one and it's not a guaranteed that they ever get one. Pump the brakes on the Celtics bandwagon.

The chances of Boston acquiring some star level players over the next 3 years are extremely high. Whether it be by draft, trade, or FA, the odds appear stacked in their favor. I just hope they don't get too many. I'd take their situation over Utah, Philly, LA, and Milwaukee without hesitation.

The odds are never in your favor to get a star. There's just not a lot of them to go around, and most of them like to team up with other stars, which makes getting one pretty difficult.

They struck out on acquiring Kevin Love despite having all these great assets. They couldn't acquire Carmelo Anthony a year ago despite their efforts. They've been trying to trade for DeMarcus Cousins for years and still no dice. It's not as easy as you make it seem. And if you really believe getting star players is going to be that easy for Boston, then you should take their situation over Minnesota's while your at it.

Minnesota's best pieces: Karl-Anthony Towns, Andrew Wiggins, Zach LaVine, Ricky Rubio, Gorgui Dieng, No. 5 overall pick

Utah's best pieces: Derrick Favors, Rudy Gobert, Gordon Hayward, Dante Exum, Rodney Hood, Trey Lyles, No. 12 overall pick

Philadelphia's best pieces: No. 1 overall pick, Nerlens Noel, Jahlil Okafor, Robert Covington, Dario Saric

Los Angeles' best pieces: No. 2 overall pick, Julius Randle, D'Angelo Russell, Jordan Clarkson

Milwaukee's best pieces: Giannis Antetekoumpo, Jabari Parker, Khris Middleton, Greg Monroe, John Henson, No. 10 overall pick

All of those groups are better than the one below.

Boston's best pieces: Isaiah Thomas, Avery Bradley, Jae Crowder, Marcus Smart, Kelly Olynyk, Jared Sullinger, No. 3 overall pick

Future assets are nice, but they aren't sure things. Free agency isn't a sure thing. Trades for stars are never sure things; Boston knows this well as of recent history.

I like Minnesota's situation the best especially the presence of KAT and a core that seems to fit together. Other than Minnesota, Boston has the most potential to build a powerhouse team in the 2019-26 range.

Boston is already a playoff team and they will be adding three very high picks to that mix (Brooklyn picks) and also gets Memphis's future pick, they will get some top free agents and they have one of the best young coaches in the league.

Ainge has already shown the ability to attract superstars and probably has the best combination of cap space and ability to attract free agents as any team. Durant's agent has communicated with Boston. Boston is rumored to be in play for both Horford and Butler. Coach Stevens coached free agent to be next year Gordon Hayward in college

Milwaukee is worse now than Boston and they don't have the draft picks, capspace and ability to attract free agents like Boston. Same with Philly.

LA is horrible. They are among the three worst teams and have no franchise players. Sure they might draft one this year, but they will still be horrible. They traded away a future first round pick so that will hurt them in the future.

What is it you don't understand? Boston is already a playoff team and has the best treasure trove of draft picks in the league. Ainge has already shown the ability to attract superstars and probably has the best combination of cap space and ability to attract free agents as any team. Boston has a rich history of success that most of the teams you mentioned lack. Brad Stevens might be the best young coach in the league and once he gets some top tier talent there, watch out.

[TheFuture]

I still think we should be the more desirable team to sign with or be drafted by. We don't have nearly as much clutter on the roster. We have a legit superstar big in Towns and I think they have some good players but nobody really as a legitimate all-star. Wiggins and Lavine both have all-star potential as well and we just added one of the best coaches in the game even if he has a few flaws. If Thibs can make Butler an all-star just think of what he can do for a guy like Wiggins who has even better tools than Butler had. I think Boston's war chest is a little overrated. They've had a war chest for a few years now and have always ended up just taking a bunch of players most of which don't pan out because they can't make a deal. I think their only hope this year is if Colangelo does something he doesn't normally do which is pick up that 3 pick for Okafor to get Dunn.

TeamRicky is right, their roster is in a perfect position to be the next Miami or Cleveland. Two stars could choose to go there while having a deep team with the players like Crowder, Bradley, Olynyk, and Smart on friendly contracts. Let's not forget they have an all-star in Thomas already. They also have the whole Boston thing going for them, which is more appealing than Minneapolis to many players. It's hard for me to say their war chest is overrated, as it's only been a few seasons and their high prized picks from the Nets are finally going to pay off. I'd excited to see what Boston does this offseason, they should be plenty busy.

[TheFuture]

Boston's not even top-five in terms of young cores that I'm worried about if I'm the rest of the league.

1. Minnesota Timberwolves
2. Utah Jazz
3. Philadelphia 76ers
4. Los Angeles Lakers
5. Milwaukee Bucks

I'll take all five of those situations over what the Boston Celtics have in terms of players and assets. Brad Stevens makes marginal players much better than they are, and that's a credit to him, but to win a championship they'll need legitimate star level players. They currently do not have one and it's not a guaranteed that they ever get one. Pump the brakes on the Celtics bandwagon.

Well, Boston does have an all-star already in IT. Can't say the same for any of the other teams. With Colangelo in Philly i am not concerned about them at all as I think he ruins that team. The Lakers don't have anything i like. Clarkson may be gone this season, Russell alienated himself from that roster and i dont see him becoming a star anyhow. Randle is liked by some here, but he's no star either. Ingram/Simmons and attracting max free agents is what their hope relies on. If either of those players bust or they swing and miss on a free agent like Nash/Howard, then their destined to remain at the bottom for some time as they will lose their high pick next season.

1. Minnesota
2. Utah
3. Boston
4. Bucks
5. Either Orlando (I really like the Vogel signing), Detroit ( Drummond,Jackson, Pope, Johnson)

New Orleans is the wildcard. If they find a way to stay healthy and add some more pieces around Davis, they will be very good.