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00:00Brad Stevens last night discussing the targets for the Celtics this offseason.
00:06Luke Cornett, Al Horford, doesn't want to pressure him.
00:09Thinking outside the box there?
00:12I, look, I don't think they're going to get Horford.
00:14If they find a way to bring back Al Horford, then, you know, we can all praise Brad Stevens.
00:18Yeah.
00:19Because I thought Horford sounded like a goner in the immediate aftermath of their playoff exit.
00:23It sounded that way, and it also, I forget if it was Shams or someone else,
00:26it's like he has a really big market.
00:28Robust market.
00:29Robust, even.
00:30So if he has a lot of options, you know, he would probably have to take a little less money here,
00:35and they're not a true title contender.
00:37Now, they're closer to that than maybe we would have thought the second Tatum went down,
00:42looking at, you know, Halliburton going down, sort of the state of the East.
00:45But if he has a year or two left in his career, I could see him wanting to jump on to somebody else that's a lot closer.
00:52Me too.
00:53And I think Al Horford, for the most part, has been chasing contracts.
00:57I mean, he took a little less last year, right?
00:59I'm trying to remember.
01:00He'd take a little less after the championship.
01:02But for the most part, he's chased a contract.
01:04He chased one here in the first place when he came to the Celtics.
01:06He chased one to Philly.
01:07Philly.
01:07That worked out.
01:08I don't blame him for that, but just look at the guy's track record.
01:11I think he's largely gone for the biggest contract, so he'll probably go for the biggest contract.
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01:35Because, yeah, I think Horford would be a home run.
01:39I'd be fine with Cornette.
01:40I don't know that he's an every-game starter, but, you know, he works.
01:44May have to be, depending on how it shakes out.
01:46Because you'd rather start Cornette than, you know, Kata or Tillman every night.
01:51You know, because those guys are still under contract.
01:52Correct.
01:53So, yeah, I'd give you Cornette over those guys.
01:55So your lineup would be what if it's Cornette?
01:58It would be Cornette.
02:00Well, it would be white, brown, Simons.
02:03There's your three obvious ones.
02:04One, two, three, boom.
02:05And then, I guess, you know, is there another free agent outside of Luke Cornette?
02:08Or is it Cornette and Niang, even?
02:10Like, if you have to.
02:11Like, right now, that might be what it is.
02:13I mean, can you start Hauser?
02:15Can you start Pritchard?
02:16I mean, those are probably the other guys that got to get in there.
02:17I wouldn't start Pritchard.
02:18Yeah, you could start Hauser.
02:19And maybe it's a matchup.
02:20I mean, if you start Hauser, that's pretty small.
02:21It's, like, one big.
02:22It's very small.
02:23It's very small.
02:23Plus, you know, Tatum was a great rebounder.
02:27That's another part of this, too, is, like, Tatum, you look at him, you're like, oh, he's a small forward.
02:30But he was, for many games, their leading rebounder.
02:32So, you're not only missing 20 shots a game and, you know, 25, 30 points a game.
02:38Guy's grabbing, like, eight rebounds a night, too.
02:39So, whoever else they grab there to play alongside, either Cornette or whoever your bigs end up being, they better grab some rebounds.
02:47So, look, they can also flip Hauser and give themselves more money.
02:50Right now, they don't have much below the second apron.
02:52So, you're talking about Cornette or Horford on a real short money contract.
02:55If they flip Hauser, I guess they still could, though.
02:58Last night felt like the time to do it, right?
03:00Yeah.
03:01If I had to guess now, and I would have guessed going into the draft last night he was going to get flipped.
03:05If I had to guess now, he's probably on the team.
03:08Maybe I have that wrong.
03:09So, it feels like, at least for now, although, I mean, the draft's weird.
03:12There's another round tonight, right?
03:14So, I guess there could be more roster movement tonight.
03:16And not that you're like, ooh, we wanted a second-round pick, but just to sort of see what else you can get for him.
03:20Maybe get a guy on a rookie deal or something like that.
03:22Let's save a little bit of money because, you know, Hauser's increase goes up this year, right?
03:26Last year, he wasn't making $10 million a year.
03:28This year, he is making $10 million.
03:29So, even though you're below the second apron, if you want to get a little bit more under, allowing you to sign, I don't know, a power forward or a center or two of those guys,
03:38than maybe, just because Hauser is a very, I think, effective player.
03:44And, like, he has the one skill set that every team would want.
03:47So, a lot of teams would be interested on it.
03:49But on this particular team, they might have that kind of covered.
03:54Now, even though he might be better right now than, say, Baylor Shireman is, you at least can duplicate that skill set a little bit.
04:00And you have a lot of, like, perimeter guys.
04:02So, you might have to move on from Hauser to get a big guy.
04:05I would have, right.
04:06To get an additional big guy, yeah, and to carve out money to do it.
04:09I'd have zero problem with them handing their minutes, the Hauser minutes, to Baylor Shireman.
04:14I'd be fine with that.
04:1530th pick a year ago, see what he has.
04:16I like what I saw in flashes from him a year ago.
04:18I have no idea if he can play or even be Sam Hauser.
04:21But I could see it.
04:22Sam Hauser was, was he a second-round pick?
04:23Was he undrafted?
04:24What even was he undrafted?
04:25Undrafted, yeah, yeah.
04:26So, I mean, let's not pretend like he had a massive pedigree coming in.
04:30And that'd be a way to carve out some money.
04:32And I want the Celtics to compete, contend next year, however you want to put it.
04:38And when I say contend, I mean in the East.
04:40I don't think they're true contenders for a championship.
04:42I think I know your answer to this, Keith.
04:44Yes.
04:44But what is a successful year for the Celtics this season?
04:48I think getting back to where they were this year, you'd have to view it as a success.
04:52I think they kind of, you know, probably have to be a playoff team.
04:55I think they should be a playoff team.
04:57And then I would say even win a round.
04:59Like, you can win a round.
05:00Now, depending on who you get matched up with, depending on what your final seeding is,
05:04I'm not going to beat them up over it.
05:06Like, say you end up drawing the Knicks in the first round this year.
05:08Say it's like a 3-6 matchup.
05:10And, you know, you lose a series where you don't get swept, but you lose that series.
05:14I think that's still a success.
05:16You know, just getting back to the playoffs without Tatum.
05:18Because, you know, if you're comparing it to other teams and other situations,
05:22it's still comical.
05:23I think Kevin Durant and Devin Booker missed the playoffs.
05:26I know that was in the West, but those are two great players on one team that missed the playoffs.
05:31So, if Jalen Brown's your best player, and Derek White's your second best player,
05:34in all likelihood, barring some other, like, major change,
05:37I think that should be a playoff team.
05:39So, that's a step in the right direction.
05:40And then anything after that is probably just sort of, like, you know, gravy.
05:44So, I thought you were going to say they could go farther than a year ago.
05:47No, I think they can, but, like, you asked, what's a success?
05:50That's not your bar for a successful year.
05:52No, no.
05:52So, we have a similar one.
05:54Making the playoffs is not enough.
05:55They should be a playoff team.
05:57So, and I'm not saying that's your goal for them.
05:59I'm just saying anybody who's like, hey, they made the playoffs good for them.
06:02They're in a play-in game good for them without Tatum.
06:04Well, because of the format, maybe saying, like, a top six seed.
06:06So, I mean, like, avoid the play-in.
06:08I think top four.
06:10Oh, okay.
06:11I would like them to be a top four seed next year.
06:13I think that's doable.
06:14I'd like them to host a round and then advance a round.
06:16Now, look, if they are the sixth seed, but they win a first-round matchup,
06:20I'll feel pretty good about that.
06:22But what's a successful year?
06:24I mean, maybe five or six is still fine.
06:27Let me see how it plays out.
06:28But in my head, you can win 50-ish games.
06:32That's not a ridiculous bar.
06:35And you look at some of the teams that did that a year ago.
06:37Again, I don't think Indiana has overwhelming talent.
06:40I think they're deep.
06:40I think they're well-coached.
06:42I don't think they have overwhelming talent.
06:43I don't think they have any more talent than you do, even now, without Tatum.
06:47And I think they won 50 games last year, right?
06:49And they were the fourth seed.
06:51Yeah.
06:51So that, to me, is a good, reasonable goal for what would be a successful year.
06:56Five or six, fine.
06:57I'm not telling you it's a terrible year.
06:59Easter Conference odds right now for the upcoming season.
07:01The Pacers, by the way, won exactly 50 games last year.
07:04Yeah.
07:04The Cavs are the favorite.
07:05Yep.
07:06And then right behind them are the New York Knicks.
07:09And then tied for third are the Magic and the Celtics.
07:12Even still after the Porzingis trade.
07:14Yeah.
07:14So I didn't know if they had taken a dip.
07:16No, that's still up there.
07:17Where, just by curiosity, is Detroit?
07:20Sixth, who I like.
07:21I also like them.
07:22And I think I could see them jumping up.
07:24I think the two trendy picks this year are going to be Pistons and Magic.
07:28I don't think the Cavs roster is going to look the same from now to the start of the year.
07:34And then the Knicks are still sort of like a little bit of a question mark.
07:36And then it's a big drop-off.
07:37Actually, after the Pistons, it's the Bucs or the 7.
07:41And then tied for eighth would be the Pacers and the Hawks.
07:45So I guess I would ask Celtics fans, do you think they can have a winning record next year without Tatum?
07:49Of course.
07:50I definitely do.
07:51A winning record?
07:51Of course.
07:52They have an overwhelming winning record without him.
07:54Yeah.
07:54So, yeah, I think they can do that.
07:56They won two out of their three games in the playoffs without him.
07:59So, a winning record last year.
08:02Orlando was exactly 500, 41 and 41.
08:05A winning record means you would be a top six seed, as you said, Keith.
08:08The Pistons won 44.
08:09The Celtics, I think, today have more talent than the Pistons.
08:12The Bucs won 48.
08:14Giannis is awesome.
08:15That's not a good team.
08:16That's not a good roster.
08:17That's not a good team.
08:18They're poorly coached with Doc.
08:19Yeah, I know.
08:19They won 48, and they were the five seed last year.
08:22So I don't think being a top four seed, winning 50 games with this roster is a stretch at all.
08:29I think, to me, that would be a successful year.
08:31Oh, we've seen less talented Celtics teams win more games.
08:34And if you're hosting a round, you should probably win that round.
08:37And so, to me, I would be happy with that.
08:40Yeah.
08:40I'm not telling you everything else is a failure.
08:42If they're the six seed and they win 45 games and they have a tough matchup in round one, that's not a failure.
08:47But I also wouldn't call it a success.
08:49So it would be somewhere in between.
08:50We'll make it a success.
08:51Top four 50 wins, win a round.
08:53Yeah.
08:53And I think that's definitely doable.
08:55That's right there for them.
08:57Now, what they get for the big guys, that's going to be a question because you are losing a lot with just the guys that you traded away.
09:05But again, you're not trading away a great Drew Holiday or even a great Chris Depp's Porzingis.
09:11You're getting a kind of an older, more broken down holiday and then a Porzingis that you can't even really count on.
09:19Like, I think it still circles back to, like, Tatum.
09:22Like, you lost Tatum from this team.
09:24Those other two guys are really good.
09:25But what were they even going to be in 2026?
09:28So I think depending on what pieces they have and keep around them, they could still be there.
09:34And if they won 61 games a year ago, and we even thought they could have won more.
09:38But take it what it was.
09:40They won 61 games.
09:41Because if they lose 10 more games, that's 51.
09:46I always bring up the Bulls-Jordan-Pippen comparison.
09:51So in 94, when Jordan's playing basketball, they actually won more regular season games the next year with Pippen.
09:57The team was loaded.
09:58They were also coming off of a title.
10:00And then they removed Jordan.
10:01I think they did add Kukoc.
10:02So it wasn't like they had nobody else.
10:05And they obviously didn't advance as far.
10:07They didn't win the whole thing.
10:08But it's not like, oh, you took the best player off.
10:10The best player ever, by the way, and lose like 20 more games.
10:14Like you still had enough of a championship team there.
10:17And so you were able to have a lot of success.
10:19Looking at it, because text line says, guys, I want whatever you're smoking.
10:23Top four pick.
10:24How are they doing that?
10:25Missing more than 60% of their starting lineup last year.
10:27You ready for it?
10:28They were counting playoffs, because I can do this easily in my head.
10:31They were 10-3 without Tatum last year.
10:33They were 31-9 without Porzingis last year.
10:36That's just regular season.
10:37How many playoff games did he miss?
10:39I lost track.
10:40He also played like five minutes in some of them.
10:43So look, they were 31-9 without Porzingis.
10:48I think they're a little worse off without Holiday and replacing him with Simons.
10:53But Simons is still a way better return than I thought they were going to get.
10:55And I think that's largely netting out, although maybe a half step back.
11:00But they were beating up on teams, missing guys.
11:03Jalen missed a ton of time last year.
11:04They won games.
11:05Tatum missed time.
11:06They won games.
11:07Porzingis missed half the season.
11:08They won games.
11:10So yeah, I think this team, that's reasonable.
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