What is the backstop if Danny Ainge's Big Plan falls through? Assume that Kyrie Irving goes elsewhere, the Pelicans get a better offer for Anthony Davis, Al Horford finds another max elsewhere, and the Celtics lose all the Tankathon coin flips. The the Celtics are left with their young uns and a shiteload of first round draft picks. For the purpose of argument, assume Ainge has picks 10, 14, 22 and 23 burning a hole in his pocket. What is the backstop for the younger-than-ever Celtics?
I'm thinking along the lines of:
build around Tatum, Brown and Smart,
give Hayward another year to recover his hops,
give Williams another year to perfect his timing,
lose Rozier and sign a veteran point guard, and
draft a few big men and hope they grow up fast.
FTR, this is counterfactual. I think Irving will re-sign, because the Celtics can offer the fifth year; Davis will be a Celtic for next year, because the Celtics have the most chips to offer; and Al Horford will stick around because he likes the Big Plan too. The downside, however, is a non-trivial possibility.
I'm thinking along the lines of:
build around Tatum, Brown and Smart,
give Hayward another year to recover his hops,
give Williams another year to perfect his timing,
lose Rozier and sign a veteran point guard, and
draft a few big men and hope they grow up fast.
FTR, this is counterfactual. I think Irving will re-sign, because the Celtics can offer the fifth year; Davis will be a Celtic for next year, because the Celtics have the most chips to offer; and Al Horford will stick around because he likes the Big Plan too. The downside, however, is a non-trivial possibility.