Putting It All Together

Adding up all the news that has come out in the last few weeks, including the last few posts (below), I'm starting to believe that Ainge is shifting his attention. Some events have shaped the change in plans. Big free agent names at the power forward slot have signed elsewhere (sometimes for way more than what they are worth). Also, Al Jefferson and Kendrick Perkins have shown more progress thus far than had been anticipated. It sounds like they'll both get playing time. If so, I'm starting to wonder if we might begin to resemble the Pacers team of a couple years ago that had 3 high school kids rotating in to get playing time. O'Neal blossomed, Harrington contributed, and Bender showed flashes but was up-and-down. We'll let the kids play and see if any or all of them pan out.

But in the here and now, there are still plans to add another player. What does that mean? I'm sure they are still looking into the Stromile Swift option, but if that doesn't pan out, who's left to get at the 4? Perhaps we'll fill the slot with Rodney (for cheap, short term money) and sign someone else at another position. Taking the same attitude as we took in the draft, we could go after the best player available and fill in positions later. If we trade Chucky for Eric Williams, who's to say the next move doesn't bring in a veteran point guard?

A lot will hinge on how Doc views Davis. Today he said that he only judges players after he meets them. I would think that if Ricky shows up to camp and plays the role of Leon, he'd be shopped to the highest bidder. If he comes in and buys what Doc is selling, he could be a huge scoring compliment to Paul. If he's really that much a part of the plan, and if Allen can earn some minutes with his D and slashing O, where does that leave Jiri? I'm a big Jiri fan because I think he does a lot of the little things that it takes to win. That is one reason why I don't believe Danny is done dealing. Its a numbers game and the swing positions are as crowded as ever. The odd thing is, the way things are going, you can't rule out the potential for Danny to add yet ANOTHER swing player. Stay tuned.