Skip to main content

Brad Stevens giving youngsters minutes - development or trade-showcasing?

Image
By

Rob Williams & Payton Pritchard may be emerging




Rob Williams per-36-minutes stats remain impressive

Brad Stevens has been displaying some un-Brad-like behavior in this season's first three games. Four of his young guys have averaged 15-or-more minutes this far. The question is, does this significant floor time indicate Stevens is devoted to developing his fledgling troops, or are they being showcased for an impending trade.

Celtics fans need to think this way with Danny Ainge at the helm. Rookie Payton Pritchard leads the foursome in minutes at 20.3 MPG, followed by Grant Williams at 18.7 MPG - Robert Williams at 17.0 MPG and Semi Ojeleye with 15.3 MPG.

To answer my own question, I believe the Celtics boss is covering the middle road - having Brad play and develop all four youngsters, while showing potential trade partners what these guys can do. The small 3-game sample shows Pritchard and Williams III as the players that stand out, either as trade bait or potential, solid rotation guys for Boston. Rob's per-36-minutes stats, always impressive, show 16.9 PPG, 8.5 RPG,  4.2 SPG and 3.2 BPG.

So what's the deal on the trade front. The season-ending injury to Brooklyn's Spencer Dinwiddie may take the Nets out of any Jame Harden sweepstakes. My stand on any Boston/Houston deal would not include any of Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown or Marcus Smart - which means it probably won't happen.

However, if Kemba Walker's knee woes are more serious than advertised, his earnings would be needed to even start the necessary salary-matching. The remainder of the money sent Houston's way would be from the fledgling players already mentioned - maybe a veteran or two - and draft picks. As unlikely as The Beard-coming-to-Beantown may sound, don't rule it out.

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Elm Street Nightmare

By
 A true-and-suspenseful horror tale of haunting, homicides and the hunt for triple-murderer, Daniel Laplante - as told by the cops that were there By Lt. Thomas Lane (Ret.)  Daniel Laplante - cold, calm, clever, calculating- Photo: YouTube   Elm Street  surfaces on six (6) occasions in the Laplante saga: 1.) He  resided on Elm Street  in Townsend, Massachusetts  2.) He  kidnapped a woman  at gunpoint on  Elm Street, Pepperell , Massachusetts 3.) That kidnapped woman fled to the Gillogly residence on Elm Street after escaping from the armed fugitive, Laplante. 4.) He was arrested and transported to Massachusetts State Police Barracks on Elm Street in Concord . 5.) He was  tried, convicted   and sentenced for the murders at  Superior Court , corner of  Elm Stree t and Gorham Street, Lowell, Massachusetts. 6.) The author, Thomas Lane, lived on Elm Steet, Pepperell, Massachusetts while a police Sgt./Lt. for the t...
19 comments
Read more

In defense of Marcus Smart

By
 Let me make it clear first of all that I am totally against making a threat of any kind that even hints at harming, or certainly killing, another human being. Marcus Smart was wrong in doing so in the Celtics loss to the tanking Oklahoma City Thunder , and he deserved the one-game suspension. But to be honest, part of me loved that it occurred. . This type of thing can happen when a player gets to a point "beyond frustration" and is having a bad game. Marcus and his teammates have been under-performing generally - were in the process of losing to a pathetic-and-tanking Thunder team - and Smart was having a bad game . And he let loose verbally at the closest target - an NBA official. Wilt Chamberlain did a similar act versus referee, Earl Strom when Wilt was having his usual tortuous time at the free throw line (per Chicago Tribune's Sam Smith): ''He was in one of those 1-for-13s,'' recalls referee Earl Strom. ''Nothing was getting close. S...
Post a Comment
Read more

Did the Celtics Kevin McHale really have a wingspan of 8-feet?

By
According to many sources, the Celtics Kevin McHale did indeed have an estimated wingspan of 8-feet. One of those sources is Wikipedia, as seen below: Kevin McHale American basketball player DescriptionKevin Edward McHale is an American retired basketball player who played his entire professional career for the Boston Celtics. He is a Basketball Hall of Fame inductee, and is regarded as one of the best power forwards of all time. He was named to the NBA's 50th Anniversary All-Time Team. Wikipedia Born: December 19, 1957 (age 61 years), Hibbing, MN Wingspan: 8′ 0″ Height: 6′ 10″ Spouse: Lynn McHale (m. 1982) NBA draft: 1980, Boston Celtics (Round: 1 / Pick: 3) Hall of fame induction: 1999 Number: 32 (Boston Celtics / Power forward, Center) Kevin was listed at 6'10" tall when he was drafted with the 3rd pick in the 1980 draft. Red Auerbach, in yet another heist, brought in both McHale and center Robert Parish (via trade) prior to the Celtics' 1980-81 Champion...
Post a Comment
Read more