Monday, September 9, 2013

My contributions to Celtics Blog's "Summer Boredcast" series (Part 1)

After Chris Forsberg of ESPN Boston asked a number of local Celtics writers to help out with his "Summer Forecast" series, the folks at SB Nation's Celtics Blog decided to do the same thing.  It's called "Summer Boredcast" (as in bored with nothing better to write about in the NBA offseason), and here is what I have contributed so far (with links to each article):

What is the best case scenario (and record) that you can come up with for this year?
42-40: Rondo comes back Day 1 with something to prove. Stevens gets everybody to play hard, especially on defense. Because of this the C's win a lot of those games in the dregs of the season against crappy teams. The "core 5" of Rondo, Bradley, Green, Olynyk, and Sullinger gel as a unit, and run unsuspecting clubs right out of the building. Boston falls in 7 games in an epic first round playoff matchup against Pierce and KG's Nets team, who then knock off the Heat before downing Doc's Clippers in the Finals.

And the worst case scenario?
17-65: The "core 5" never takes shape. Rondo gets all "D-Rose" on us and doesn't come back till March. When he does Boston is so bad already that he mails in the rest of the season. Avery Bradley's confidence is shattered by being forced to be a point guard, again. Gerald Wallace tries to be the go to guy, which ruins Jeff Green's mojo as well. Sullinger and Olynyk suffer from chronic back and foot injuries respectively, and miss most of the year. Kris Humphries is the lone bright spot, which entices Danny Ainge to extend his contract through 2017.

Eddie House celebrates the 2008 title.
Who was your favorite non-star Celtics player of the last 15 years?
Eddie House: Arizona State Sun Devils are cool. I love three-point shooters with no conscience, and House once had a 61 point game in college. But somehow he also managed to pull off being the backup point guard on a title winning team in 2008, not an easy task for a guy who loved to shoot from anywhere at any time.

And your least favorite?
Marcus Banks: I ran into Banks at the North Station Hooters (yes, there used to be a Hooters by the Garden) in April of 2004. He was wearing a Maryland Len Bias jersey. This made no sense to me on any level; he's from Vegas and played at UNLV, and he was only 4 years old when Bias died. I'd had a few pops at the time, so I decided it'd be a good idea to ask him about it. I said something along the lines of "Don't you think it might be a bad idea for a Celtics rookie to wear that jersey?" All he said back was "Nah, man." I honestly don't even think he understood why.

If you were the GM and management told you to tank the season but do whatever you can to win the following year, what would you do between now and the trade deadline?
I trade everyone on the roster besides the "core 5" (Rondo, Bradley, Green, Sullinger, and Olynyk) for contracts that expire at the end of the season. I'd probably have to have Gerald Wallace murdered, assuming that does get his salary off the books. Heading into 2014 I'd have just 5 players and roughly a $30 million payroll. After my lottery prayers fail with the 4th pick in the draft, I offer max contracts to DeMarcus Cousins and Greg Monroe, then try to persuade Dirk to come to Boston for the veteran minimum. I fill out the roster with rookie free agents, and hope Brad Stevens can get that group deep into the playoffs.

The series continues in the follow days with a three-year outlook for the team, whether it would be more fun to be Head Coach, GM, or owner, who will be next season's LVP (least valuable player), and the origins of becoming a Celtics fan.

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