Random Thoughts on Roster Cuts, Vitor, Rondo and more

 The Celtics have begun the process of paring down the roster to get to the mandatory 15 players before the start of the season.  Celtics coach Brad Stevens gave Erik Murphy, Tim Frazier, Christian Watford and Rodney McGruder the bad news that they won't make the team this season. This shouldn't be a surprise for anyone as those 4 players were big longshots to make the team in the first place. They may end up with the Celtics D-League affiliate Red Claws if another better offer doesn't come along first.



The Celtics roster is still at 16 guaranteed contracts and one more will need to be cut. It was reported in the Globe a couple of weeks ago that Vitor Faverani could be the final cut to get the team to 15 contracts. But, Danny Ainge spoke out after that and said that Vitor is a part of what they are doing this season. And then he traded Joel Anthony to the Pistons for Will Bynum, which reduces the center depth, which wasn't all that deep to begin with. So, it would seem that Danny meant what he said when he talked about wanting Vitor around this season.

Danny hinted at wanting to make another move before the season, which would need to be a 2 for 1 trade to reduce the roster. But even if he wants to make a move, it takes two to tango and he may not be able to find a suitable trade partner. The Herald today mentioned that the Celtics are still working to find a trade that would find a team for Bynum as well as give the Celtics something back, even if it's another draft pick. If a trade can't be worked out, Bynum will likely be waived by the end of the week.

Bynum would make a good veteran voice on the team, but the Celtics already have Gerald Wallace as a veteran voice, along with players like Jeff Green and Brandon Bass, who have also been around the league for awhile. Dwight Powell has a ton of upside and can play the 3 and the 4 and is also athletic and can shoot the ball. I really like what I've seen from him so far and can see why the Celtics would want to keep him around awhile.

When Rajon Rondo injured his hand, the reports were that he'd be out for 6-8 weeks with some people even saying that it may take as long as 10 weeks for him to recover. I'm picturing Rondo listening to the doctor telling him 6-8 weeks and him mumbling under his breath, "Okay, 4-6 weeks." You can say what you will about Rondo, but you can't question his toughness or his competitiveness.

As for the 44 minute game, I don't think cutting 4 minutes from the game is the answer. Cutting the timeout from the second and forth quarters helped the flow of the game much more than cutting a minute from each quarter. Or maybe cut a commercial or two off by shortening the timeouts a bit or halftime or any other things, but don't cut the game. In the Comments from the Other Side, one of the comments mentioned how a half gallon of ice cream is now a quart and a half and 16 ounce cans are now 14.5 ounces. Everything gets made smaller for the sake of money. Keep the games 48 minutes.

After missing much of the preseason with a strained hamstring, James Young has practiced two days in a row without a setback.  He is expected to be available for Wednesday's final preseason game vs the Nets.  Hopefully he gets some playing time, especially with Brad Stevens saying that some of the main  players will be playing fewer minutes in the finale. 

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