Mailbag: Loose ends and unanswerable questions

My deepest apologies if I didn't get to your question in the previous articles or in these below.  I simply couldn't answer all of them.  The following really is kind of a grab bag of various topics so let's get right into them.

bucknasty34 What is more valuable to an organization, a coach who can implement the ultimate basketball system with the right players, a coach who can adapt any system to fit and accentuate the players on his roster or a coach who can't create a system but can lead and motivate guys to give incredible performances beyond their given talent level?

Great question that I'm not sure I can do justice to.  I suppose, like anything the best answer is "it depends."  Jordan and Kobe didn't fully thrive until they were put into the Triangle but they were also well equipped to make that system work.  Popovich has been able to adapt his system to the players on his team, but he's also had Tim Duncan, which makes just about any system better.  Doc was a great motivator but he also had some pretty motivated stars.  I think the most important thing is getting the right fit between star players and coach.  Which is nearly impossible to predict.

celticjay "What is your thoughts on this team focusing on becoming a defensive juggernaut. If we were able to acquire Larry Sanders, and Josh Smith. We would be a defensive powerhouse assuming Rondo stops playing his matador style D. Thoughts?"

I'm not sure if I'm ready for a full season of 62 - 59 final scores.  Nightmare-fuel.  Let's just move on.

rick robeys return interested to hear general thoughts, from your perspective, on the evolution of Celticsblog, both in terms of your approach to building the site but also in terms of the character and quality of the community; and also the place of entities like SB Nation in relation to the landscape of sports (or more narrowly NBA) journalism/ reporting...

I think the basics are still the best to focus on.  For me, content is very important, but community is king.  I've always wanted this to be a place where people feel comfortable and welcomed to engage in thoughtful discussion about our favorite team.

SB Nation gets that and they get the industry, which is why I'm proud to be part of the network.  I haven't had the time to do a lot of market research lately but I think we're still moving toward a bleeding and blending of the lines between "traditional media" and "fan blogs."  Silly labels like that are outdated and increasingly useless.  Each outlet or site is what the writers and site managers make of it.

The following questions I found to be impossible to answer exactly as they are asked - mostly because I do not own a crystal ball.  Sitll, it would be boring just to answer "I don't know" to all of them, so I did my best.

L.A Celtic fan with the log jam at small forward and guard who is the odd man out. when are the celts gonna trade jeff green along with some other assets out of town. what do you think is the next move D.A will make.

Green is still our best small forward.  Behind him Gerald Wallace is probably stuck here and Evan Turner just got here.  James Young probably spends a good deal of time in Maine this winter.  If Ainge trades anyone, it will likely be Jeff Green.  If not, then I don't know exactly how this is going to work itself out but I have a feeling that Gerald Wallace isn't going to be very happy about it.

mashtader What if the Cs wind up actually having to keep all their future draft picks due to lack of favorable trade options? There would not be room on the team for all of them.

True, true.  At some point something has to give and we'll have to cash in some of this quantity for some quality.

Jeff-Maine 18----> 15 players. Who's gone? Who is left?

The most likely guys gone are the unguaranteed guys.  Beyond that, I'd say that Bass and Green are the next most likely to be traded.

jyyzzoel Who is the Celtics next starting center NOT currently on the Celtics?

Umm, well, technically I guess Colton Iverson is not currently on the Celtics, though I'm not sure if he'll ever be a "starting center."  Maybe they'll get lucky and draft someone next year.

ntlmenke How many games do you predict that Marcus Smart will start next season?

Hopefully none.  But Bradley is always a risk to miss time and we'll see what happens with Rondo, so you never know.  I suppose we can put the over/under at 20 and go from there.

Redbird Will we make any serious moves to get some shooters, will Rondo and Green be traded, and will we will 30 games this year?

I would like us to add more shooters, but they seem to be at a premium right now, so I'm not exactly holding my breath.

CPCstyle If a tree falls in the woods and no one is around to hear it is Rondo still traded?

NOPE!

hondo "i hate all the rondo trade talks do you ?"

YUP!

Thanks again everyone.  Give yourselves a round of applause.