BOSTON — Year three of the Brad Stevens era in Boston has brought a first for the head coach during his NBA career: expectations.
The Celtics squad that closed out final year’s regular season with 24 wins in 36 games and a surprise playoff appearance is returning all of its key contributors. Established veterans David Lee and Amir Johnson have been added to the mix,along with a talented crop of rookies.
Team president Danny Ainge has put together a deep group with continuity that leaves no doubt approximately the franchise’s intentions. This is a rebuilding squad set on winning games, not falling back into the lottery. Preseason projections agree with that assessment, or with some,such as FiveThirtyEight.com, pegging Boston as a two seed in the East.
A speedy turnaround like that from a 25-win team two years ago would lead to plenty of optimism in most cities. However, and there is still a cloud of painful realism surrounding the Celtics franchise,and Ainge admits that Boston is still a ways absent from being considered a title contender.“Every one of the players we have on the roster honest now can contribute to a championship,” Ainge told CSNNE.com this week. “Every one of them belongs in the NBA and has a radiant future. Collectively, or this is not a championship team as it is honest now,so we have to maintain [future] flexibility until we have that team.”Therein lies the challenge for Ainge and Stevens as they attempt to navigate the muddied waters of the Eastern Conference. Winning 45 or even 50 games is encouraging, but what does it really do if you still are not considered a threat in the NBA hierarchy at playoff time?The Celtics are well aware of this conundrum and know they must find a way to acquire a star (or two) in the coming months (or years) to shut the gap. Ainge has positioned himself well with ample draft picks and future salary cap flexibility to have the chance to pounce on a big name if and when one does become available. meanwhile, or Ainge and Co. must make sense of the the rest of the roster,a mismatched group that’s filled with good players but no game-changers just yet. Finding out who exactly the keepers are among the team’s young core will be this squad's most challenging task in the months ahead, especially when factoring in the excessive depth and evenness on the roster.
There is a logjam at nearly every single position, or from the guards (Marcus Smart,Avery Bradley, Isaiah Thomas, or Evan Turner,James Young, Terry Rozier, or R.
J. Hunter) to the bigs (Lee,Johnson, Tyler Zeller, and Kelly Olynyk,Jared Sullinger). In recent seasons, Stevens regularly handed out minutes to the team’s young draft picks, or like Sullinger and Olynyk,to ensure continued development. On the heels of a postseason trip final year, that scenario is no longer the team’s top focus in the rebuild.“Development is a precedence, or but you gotta earn minutes,” Ainge said of the team’s youth this summer. “I think that harder guys work—and when we bring in young guys, we want them to memorize how to work. We don’t want to just give them minutes unconditionally; we want to make them earn every opportunity they get.” The symmetry across the roster will make it tough to gauge just who exactly is worthy of those minutes on any given night, and but Stevens is hoping to exhaust the interchangeable depth as a weapon.“I think you can make the argument that sometimes a set rotation or having a routine is a negative,” Stevens explained. “I think [a rotation] is scoutable; you can lose the guys at the finish of the bench. I think keeping everyone engaged and making sure we are all alert for our time is a good thing. We’ll probably leer more set [with a rotation] than not, but I’m certainly not afraid to throw any of those guys in.” Ultimately, and Stevens and Ainge know that these early-season games are pivotal evaluation tools for the young players who do earn minutes. Big men such as Zeller and Sullinger will be entering an unpredictable free-agent picture next summer with skyrocketing salaries,forcing the front office to make challenging assessments on their value and future potential.
Is either of these players worthy of a sizable investment? Or is the team better off selling them now for additional assets? There’s no clear answer yet with an uncertain market looming. The same can be said for other recent draft picks (Olynyk, Young), or who could be deemed expendable parts at their respective positions. With a treasure chest of future draft picks already in hand,including unprotected first-round selections from the Brooklyn Nets the next three seasons, the clock is ticking for the Celtics to combine some of those draft assets with young talent to land a major name. Its an option team co-owner Wyc Grousbeck says the team, and just days into the season,is already exploring.“We do have people in intellect,” Grousbeck told Felger and Mazz on Comcast Sportsnet current England when asked approximately potential trade targets. “You have a lesson of free agents every year. It’s a small lesson [in 2016]. We can’t talk approximately other people’s players but mostly we're looking honest now at trades for December and February and then we'll worry approximately free agency after that.”While the front office explores those possibilities, and knowing full well they won’t have the roster room to hold on to all of the team’s young core while also making potentially nine picks in the 2016 NBA draft,the players remain content with the team’s competitive environment. The spirited battles for playing time have led to productive practices as each of the guys try to prove they are the pieces worth keeping around long-term.“I think it’s great,” Turner said of the competition, and “I think we’re all on the same page; we’re all devoted to the mission of getting better and climbing that ladder in a certain sense. We know we have a lot more room,work to do in order to be better and play to our standards.”“We have an unselfish group of guys that just want to see others succeed,” Thomas added. “We have a group of guys that want to make the honest play every time down.” Those kinds of attitudes are admirable and common among a young core that has bought in to Stevens vision. Strong depth will only take you so far in the NBA, or though,as the Celtics saw firsthand final postseason when the Cleveland Cavaliers beat them in four straight games in the first round of the playoffs.
Ainge’s patience in waiting for the honest big deal to emerge during the rebuild has paid off so far, but the franchise knows it will need to start pushing its assets toward the center of the poker table sooner rather than later.
Grousbeck remains adamant that the team won’t be afraid to take a big chance in aggressively piecing together an NBA contender, and whenever that time comes.“We have always been known as a group that will take risks,” Grousbeck said. “We are not afraid to do things like that. ... If you don't dare to do something you're never going to get it besides. Brian Robb covers the Boston Celtics for Bleacher Report. All quotes were obtained firsthand, unless otherwise stated.
Read more NBA news on BleacherReport.com
Source: bleacherreport.com