I get it. I grew attached to them too. Those guys went to battle for us. The below tweet makes me sad. But I think we may grow attached to some of the new guys too. I respectfully hated Jrue on the Bucks - always seemed like he was in the right place at the right time.
Blake has stuck his toe into the stand up comedian ring previously, so I think opportunities in media/entertainment could pull him away from basketball if the money and exposure are right. But to be a good standup, he'll need a LOT more hours bombing in relative obscurity.
I feel about trading TL like I did when Ainge added Isaiah Thomas to the Irving trade. In rapid sequence:
Over these past 5 years, Holiday has played 321 games.
Trading what salary? Other than our top 6, which includes Horford who Brad has probably promised will not be traded under any circumstances, the top salaries on the team are:
They generated a 6.2M TPE in the Grant S&T, and have a lot of 2nds, so there's probably a fit out there if they want to go that way.
On the "traditional" note, DWhite and Jrue are two of the best guards in the league if you want to play drop coverage. Probably not a coincidence they really wanted them on a KP/Al/Kornet team.
Do we think that JH will primarily be in the small rotation? I kinda wonder if those minutes will go to White and PP with JH more in the wing rotation.
Tristan Thompson.
My head knows you're right, my heart still cries for how much fun it was to root for TimeLord (and Smart). I'll get over it in time.
I‘ll go out on a wing and disagree. I think JH will start, finish, and play in the middle largely as a 2 with White/Pritchard at the 1.
I'm pretty sure that OP meant 3/4 by wing and 1/2 by small, so I don't think anyone is disagreeing here.
Yeah, that’s Warriors “lineup of death” level. Nearly impossible to defend and pretty versatile defensively. I’m giddy.
The 2 is a small.
I would use “guard” as a 1/2 and ”small” as the little guy on the floor (who may or may not have primary playmaking responsibility). With the trade, I expect more lineups with a single big (KP or Horford), single small (White or PP), and multiple wings (including the Jays and JH).
Jrue is the archetypal Brad player
I mean, it's the same lineup but for some reason you want to re-define 6'4" 205 lb career point guard Jrue Holiday as a wing.
I always thought this was a problem with the last iteration of the Celtics: they had too many guys whose best skill was "doing X, for a Y".
I dont know the naming convention you are using. I thought Stevens thing was ballhandlers, wings, bigs.
Holiday is 6'5"; Smart is 6'3". but agree that Smart guarded bigs better; though with drop coverage that won't be as big of an issue.
I‘m not trying to be argumentative. Given the roster construction, I expect him to play more off-ball with a smaller, primary ballhandler on the floor. I think that White is going to be the starting PG with Pritchard backing him up, even if you consider that distinction academic.
That's a fair point, but we're not exactly talking about N'Keal Harry here. Having a point guard who can hold his own against much bigger players was huge for a switch everything defense (just as it was that Horford could generally stay in front of much smaller players), and a healthy Smart was an absolute monster for this team. That versatility is a huge bonus, if you play into it. With KP and likely a couple of smaller guards on the court (and Horford continuing to age), I suspect the switch everything defense will largely be a thing of the past. I'm curious to see how it goes.
I think we're looking at different people. Holiday is 6'3 with a 6'7 wingspan. Smart is 6'3, but with a 6'9 wingspan.
Brad Stevens must feel a bit like he traded his own child for a smarter, slightly more good-looking, better-behaved child who is dead-set on getting into Harvard. Like, sure, the new child is objectively better. But the old one was my kid, the one I watched grow from when he was a baby, changed his (metaphorical) diapers. More than a lot of coaches, Brad seems like he genuinely loves his players, has relationships with them that go beyond the court and last even after they leave the team, not unlike Popovich.
I was using the naming convention of the poster I replied to who thought Jrue was a not a "small"
Jrue will 100% be the starting PG, likely with White starting alongside him. They'll surely be staggered so White will play PG when Jrue is off, and Pritchard will back them both up.
I see different things for Jrue but I'm pretty sure he's taller.
I think he has been better off ball than on it.
Incredible job done by Portland. They will get more for Brogdon and TL by the deadline to boot!
Jrue is as well and always has been. Not sure what the poster means.
This is what makes Smart a special defender.
I agree that the versatility was great. The problem, towards the end of Smart's tenure, was that you were getting it at the expense of the primary offensive and defensive things a guard needs to do.
When was Jrue better off the ball? He's been a PG forever.
