Celtics 2020 Pre-Season Presser

[Conroy]

GM Roy: Welp, last year did not go as planned. We had our sights set on making the playoffs we had a great TC and we really felt like we were heading in the right direction...then the season started. I couldn't put my finger on what was happenning but we were underperforming to say the least. The long and the short of it was...our young guys just weren't ready. We shipped out both of our big offseason acquisitions in Dame Lillard and Vuvecic in an effort to get younger and brought in former #1 pick Julio De La Rosa and Defensive Stud, Rudy Gobert. In those trades we also sent out fan favorites, DAngelo Russell, Isais Stumpf, and Bonifaz Wenninger. All the roster turnover was definitely not in the plan but we are happy with how it all shook out. We went on cruise control to end the season because we weren't bad enough to be on the top end of the lotto, nowhere near good enough to sniff the playoffs, and we felt we had made all the moves we could make.

It appears this year is going to be another transition year. We had a good TC, but KAT didn't quite show up and we need him to be the offensive anchor down low. We absolutely love our core of 5 in Gobert, KAT, Brown, JDL, and Ulis but we have to be patient with the development of the latter 4. We drafted Vaughn Vaccaro and are intrigued by the type of defensive player he can become. We signed some role players to some contracts this offseason, we had hoped to swing for the fences and sent out some 1 yr 15M deals, but it just wasn't enough to attract a top tier guy. We are banking on another year of continuity and hoping Deron Williams and Rudy Gobert will be enough to teach the young guys how to win and we can put up a respectful season. If not expect a similiar season as last, in which we will focus on roster construction in efforts to strike while at least a few of our guys will still be on rookie contracts.

I'll now open it up to questions.

[IamQuailman]

Where do you see your team ranking within the conference?

[false9]

Julio De La Rosa is a hot topic in league circles. How much playing time will he get this season? What kind of production do you expect?

[NOLa.]

This team was set to build around KAT, but honestly his offensive ability has not met expectations. Ulis has exploded and exceed all expectations. Do you see the Celtics building around Ulis, rather than KAT? Who is the most untouchable out of those two?

[Conroy]

Where do you see your team ranking within the conference?

Pretty much right where I am after the preseason, above the tankers and below the playoff teams. Hopefully I'll regain some of that irish luck and this will be the breakthrough year.

[garbageman]

Sham Smith, Bulls.com: With Gobert's expiring contract and his offensive shortcomings making him non-ideal for a supermax, what are the conditions that would need to be met for him to have a chance to end the season as a Celtic?

[TheSyndicate]

Tyler Ulis looks like he could be an All-NBA talent. What parts of his game might you focus his training regiment on in the future?

[Conroy]

Julio De La Rosa is a hot topic in league circles. How much playing time will he get this season? What kind of production do you expect?

He is a very intresting case study in these new college players. He will get starters minutes this season, but I could see his production being in the shadows of Tyler Ulis who has put up monster numbers since his rookie season. We plan on being very patient with Julio if it takes him 3-4 years to reach his potential his prime may be cut short a few years, but we still expect his prime to be oustanding.

[Conroy]

This team was set to build around KAT, but honestly his offensive ability has not met expectations. Ulis has exploded and exceed all expectations. Do you see the Celtics building around Ulis, rather than KAT? Who is the most untouchable out of those two?

We love KAT, he was the first piece to the rebuild. But it was Ulis who really brought me back into becoming an active owner. I've been enamored with his game since his very first preseason. Still at my core I have only had success when building around a big man, and that will continue to be the plan. As far as which one is more untouchable, here's the answer nobody will enjoy. They are equally untouchable they won't be traded becuase of how much I over value them.