Who are you ? and what have you done with Jeff ?

With one more year experience, I believe Al Jefferson = Kevin Garnett. I would love to get KG if somehow we could do it without giving up Big Al. I’m positive that Big Al has a decade and beyond of putting up KG type numbers. How many more years will Garnett be able to produce at his current level? I’m willing to risk a championship run this season for one more year of developing Big Al. After that, we’ve got a KG type player for years and years to come.

The problem is that Minn. doesn’t do they trade without Rondo thrown in as well. And I did not read where Garnett agreed to change his mind about Boston. I understand your thinking, though, now that we threw away the 5th pick on Allen.

The championship run won’t come because BIG Al has a KG game, it’ll come when “the other shoe drops” and we have inside help on defense. We could go this year with Al if we had a Camby and a veteran PG without selling the farm!

Well! Let the “Good times rolls” I would cover your bet and double Wyc’s money on the come line. Before you bet however, let me confer with you on the trade parts. Why not offer three first round picks in the next three years (in lieu of Big Al) Telfair Green and Ratliff. I would love to live three or more years of 82 games per year of NBA basketball in Boston with that over the hill gang. Lets get it on!! The team of Garnett, Ray Ray, Paul, Big Al and Rondo would be fun to watch and give life meaning. Can you believe it Garnett would be the fourth option for the last shot. Boy! we surley would be a winner.

“We could go this year if we had a Camby and a veteran PG without selling the farm!” Right now, the C’s start 3 guys with 20 TPRs. No one else in the East has that. Not DET, Not NJ. Not CHI. CLE & MIA are one man shows.

Tweak the bench dont sell the farm.

My simple repy is. “No”

I think Camby and Brevin Knight/Steve Blake could bring us out of the East while holding onto some youth. But I would also do the exact trade you proposed if it got us KG (with an extension in place). Either way I think we could be competing for a championship, and you dont pass up the opportunity to get into that level, since it is very hard to do.

I’m with you Jeff. What have we won in the lat 20 yrs. Go for broke, make the trade. If it doesn’t work blow it up again in a few years.

Digger

I like your idea and the whole just start the rebuilding over if it fails. But, a guy like Jefferson does not come around all that often. His skills and talent are very hard to come by. If you can get KG without giving up AJ & Rondo (I doubt it), by all means make the trade. Otherwise, its best to not think about it, and think about other more palatable moves.

Sign Knight to a resonable, short contract and get a big.

the after len bias celtic team with all its hurts is what we would have. yes we would win and be in the playoffs and it would stop there and after 2-3 years you would have another wasteland.we have accumulated some chips for our future. let the one who shines the most, big al, stay and let’s build around him.

Now that we have Ray Ray on board, I actually think the move to make right now is to trade Pierce, especially if Wyc is reluctant to pay the luxury tax. I would deal Ratliff, Green, and Telfair to Charlotte for Gerald Wallace (sign and trade), and Brevin Knight. Then I’d deal Paul and Scal to the Jazz for AK-47, Ronnie Brewer, Giricek and a 2008 first rounder. That would address the C’s defensive woes and give them a great core for the next three years.

Starters: Rondo, Ray Ray, Wallace, AK, Big Al
Bench: Knight, Tony, Brewer, Giricek, Gomes, Perk, etc.

I think that makes us a contender right away without taking a huge risk.

I was against the acquisition but now you have to play for it all, go get Garnett at almost any cost. The Allen trade makes no sense without KG.

All or nothing, it’s okay with me.

Golden State has the lead and will close the door on us very soon i suspect.

NEXT !

But Garnett does not fill the void on D that they will still have. I like the idea of going after Camby. Now your starting five is Rondo, Allen, Pierce, Jefferson, and Camby. With this starting five, they become favorites in the East.

Camby can’t cover Duncan, we saw that in the playoffs, KG can.

All or nothing.

I love Al, but he’s no KG at this point and he can’t cover Duncan either. If I was building for the future, I keep #5 and Al, but now with Allen
the future is now, go get KG.

KG, Pierce and Allen are not as good as Duncan, Parker and Ginobili. And the rest of the parts on the Spurs team are better as well, especially the bench.

What if the Nets make the deal for Jermaine O’Neal to go along with Carter and Kidd? Or if Miami manages to land Rashard Lewis to go along with Shaq and Wade?

The impediment to any championship drive with KG, PP and Allen is point guard. Rondo is just not ready to compete on the level of Kidd, Parker, Wade, Nash, etc. Perhaps in a year or two.

KG also now has a 6.25 million trade kicker added to the 22 million he already makes.

I, too, believe Golden State or Phoenix are the two likeliest destinations with the Warriors having the best mix of young players (Ellis, Wright, Biedrins, O’Bryant) to offer along with picks and salaries.

Sending Al Jefferson away (even for KG) will create the same kind of long term void that arose when Len Bias celebrated too much after being drafted. One more veteran role player is all that’s needed to nurture the Celtics young. Whether it’s a seasoned backup point guard or a center to platoon with Perkins (or both) remains to be seen. It seems like Ainge has identified his young core to mature alongside Pierce and Allen: Jefferson, Rondo, Green, Perkins, Gomes and Tony Allen. Telfair is in limbo and could go either way (although the Celtics will hold onto him long enough to at least restore some of his trade value). Pruitt and Big Baby Davis will be allowed to properly develop as role players off the bench.

Although Ray Allen balances the roster age somewhat, isn’t the team actually skewing younger with Wally and West essentially replaced by the two rookie draftees?

Although controversial, the suggestion to move Pierce for AK47 makes some sense. Arguably, Ray Allen is a better leader and example for the Celtics young. Green and Tony Allen (if healthy again) would adequately man the other wing and develop further with significant playing time.

The Ray Allen acquisition (which essentially traded his proven offense and the risk of his injury or decline for the uncertainty and invevitably delayed development of the #5 pick) didn’t significantly change the course of the current rebuilding project. In fact, if Milwaukee can’t sign Yi, could a package that included Green be enough to swap for who Ainge probably wanted to pick at #5 anyway? I only see the young core of the Celtics being dealt in a trade of this type (for another young player with potential), not for any expensive veterans (no matter how good) who are on the downward slope of their careers.

Swap GG, future picks for Yi, and all is forgiven.

OK Jeff, you lost it. That trade makes no sense. Jefferson is a 20-10 guy today. Trading all of our young talent, picks and more for a guy who only won a playoff series or two makes little sense. This team would be better off making a play for Camby or Gasol. Take one step now and see what we have and then take the final step next year. Theo and Green would probably get you Camby. You would have to add more to the package to get you Gasol (I have not check trade tracker). A starting 5 of Rondo, Allen, Pierce, Jefferson and Camby would work. Camby is still a great defender, he can play the high post on offense and we wouldn’t have to give up much to get him.

Why go for Garnett when Big Al is THIS CLOSE to becoming an all-star power forward anyway?
I DO like footey’s idea of trying to trade for Yi, who would be a nice bench guy to back up Big Al and even Perk.
But we should/could use Theo’s $11 wisely; we could get a Kirilenko still. No to Jermaine or Lewis. Get a nice defensive stopper type who can score a bit.
Chill, Jeff. Don’t jump that shark!

Here’s my question: assuming a trade could still be worked out, and Garnett agreed to come here, would we really want to sign him to a long extension? I am in the “go for it now” camp, after the Ray Allen trade, but I say that with the assumption that we’re going to need to go into rebuilding mode again in 3-4 years. Given their ages and the miles on their tires, do we think a PP-RA-KG trio would be contenders for longer than that?

Remember the Lakers!

They tried to buy a championship not long ago, how’d that work out? Payton Shaq Malone Kobe didn’t get it done, and the fact that Malone and Payton had never won anything prior is eerily similar to our situation. If this collapses (all it would take is on key injury) then we just sold our future and we wouldn’t get another shot at it. Way to big of a risk, I am not on board.

Still no idea if KG would want to play here and sign an extension. That is imperative to a deal that includes Jefferson. “Go for it now” sounds great but you can’t do a 1 year rental. That’s insane.

It’s clear that Jeff has lost it, but this article was by no means the first indication! This trade would work, but only because other veterans would flock to our banner.

Add guys like Grant Hill, Chris Webber, and Darrel Armstrong to our shopping cart for the veteran minimum, million dollar exception, and mid-level exception, and then we have a pretty deep squad.

Rondo/Armstrong
Allen/Allen
Pierce/Hill
Garnett/Gomes
Perkins/Webber

No call me crazy, but I think a much more palatable option would be to trade Perkins, Scal, Telfair, Allen, Gomes, our ’08 #1, and the Minny Pick for Gasol and Kyle Lowry.

Rondo/Lowry
Allen/Pruit
Pierce/Green
Jefferson/Davis
Gasol/Powe

Tack on a solid 4-5 for the MLE, and we are in better shape than ever: Jefferson & Gasol > Garnett & Perkins.

KG is going to CA or TX. Latest rumor is that Dallas is interested.

Allen cost them one good young player and KG would cost them three more. Not worth it. Besides, it’s crazy to spend 60 million on 3 players. You need a bench.

Kickers are a one-time bonus, and can be no more than 15% of the remaining value of the player’s contract. I don’t know how big KG’s kicker is, but it could be as high as 6.9 million (15% of 46 million). That means Garnett could cost the receiving team in a trade 28.9 million next year.

LOL, you could probably extend Big Al for 5 years for less money than KG would cost for two years.

Jeffrey ,you devil you…catching us off guard on a monday of a holiday week..at this point i’m open to anything…the Allen deal is fine with me and we can go in many directions from here..get more pieces but not trade AL…trade AL for KG,….but i’m with theham,trading Pierce will give us the best assets to go with AL and be the best longterm option but still able to compete now “IF” AL comes up huge….I think you can trade Pierce to Dallas,a great fit for both PP&Dirk,with 2 more teams and Wyc&Cuban will take tax hits to make a crazy trade happen…..we get KG,keep AL ,and we’re on our way

Horrific idea. With 3 guys 30 , odds are that at least one of them will spend significant time injured (see last season, when all 3 were hurt). If that happens this time, then we’re stuck with 3 old guys, no title, and no future. It just likely won’t work, and in 2 years we’re back in the toilet. I have no interest in having 2 good years (and the odds on 3 30 players remaining all-stars past that are really slim). On top of everything else, it feels a little artificial to win using rented players.

It’s taken this team 15 years to find a legitimate star in the post. Now we’re trying to sacrifice him for an outside shot at a title. No thanks.

Sorry Jeff, but I don’t agree with you.

I just finished picking up my oldest at Hoop Mountain at Stonehill College, and had a chance to talk with Ryan Gomes for a few min… Actually he is having his camp “The Ryan Gomes Camp” July 16th at Stonehill for those who have kids…very good camp

Trust me he is relieved that he didn’t get traded….also bringing KG would be a “HUGE” mistake….

1.) There are no guarantees of anything in this league….

2.) I like our youth of Jefferson, Gomes, Perkins, Rondo, Allen. I’ve left Green out because he doesn’t have the work ethic that the others do. For all the talent he has, he doesn’t seem to apply himself and want to work on his game as much….that’s why you hear lots of talk with Green being included in trade talk….And I must also say that maybe…just maybe Telfair has gotten the message as well because he has been working on his game

3.) Pierce and Allen together is very enticing 1-2 punch in scoring and it will actually help this team in being a 45-50 MAX…. win team… face it, this team tanked on purpose last year to ultimately get either the 1st or 2nd pick in the draft…but it never panned out this way

4.) With Paul and Allen doing the scoring… Al’s game will be tested for sure, but I see his level increasing even more than this past season. For one having a healthy Perkins around will take the pressure off Al manhandling many of the big men in the league….. And it will also draw some of the big men away from the basket helping the guards in stopping Paul and Allen….

4.) I’m very high on the 2 second round picks that Danny acquired….Davis and Pruitt are projects for sure.. But if one of them steps up than Danny has found another keeper…

5.) Don’t sell yourself short on this teams as it stands…granted I was very disappointed on draft day…but taking the time to see for what this team is now and what it might me…. the trade made sense… it made sense that it relieves allot of pressure off everyone…and having a Veteran presence with the All-Star caliber that Allen brings to this team.

Sorry Bringing KG is the wrong mix with this group, it really is. He is a big “TEASE”

I’d rather we keep our current team and see if Danny does anything with the Ratliff contract and adding Green to make it work….

Again I’m only going from what I hear about Green’s lack of work ethic and committment to the team…

I agree with everything you said Jeff.. this is a simple decision, you take the chance and you make the move. If it doesn’t work at least you can’t say you didn’t try.

I agree, Jeff, with your logic. That was my immediate response to the deal. Upon reflection, though, I just do not think the Cs can afford to trade Big Al. Why? Because we still do not know his upside exactly, but there is a distinct chance that he can be a 22 ppg, 12 rpg guy. And not in four years, but as soon as next year and definitely by 08-09. In that case, he puts us in a position to win now, and promises a good ten years of superb play.

I was struck by Gorman’s comments after the draft that he would not trade Big Al for Garnett, even if the idea was to win now. It is striking to me that Tommy and Mike, two guys in constant contact with the team, are Big Al’s biggest boosters. I think we stick with Al and put him in a situation where he is expected to win.

I know all the lines about how we are tired of waiting. Well there would be one thing much worse than waiting: trading Al, not winning a title, really being lousy in three years, going back to the full rebuild mode, AND seeing Big Al become a Hall-of-Famer and lead a contender from 2009-2018. That would be a fate worse than anything else imaginable.

I agree… do it. It will however, be funny to see who plays when the vets all go down with injuries. :o

Steve Blake (health, shooting) is starting to sound even better than Brevin Knight (lack of health, shooting).

Al for KG is too much. The comment about about KG not pounding the paint is a good point. He’d be great on defense, though, and that’s hard to pass up. But, I think there are better options not involving giving up a very good post scorer who is only going to be better with Ray Allen around.

We need Perk to be our back-up center, not our starter. We need a defensive center who doesn’t need the ball (Murphy’s article about that possibly being a healthy Theo is quite interesting). Dikembe Mutombo is a free agent. Although he wouldn’t be a desired starter.

If we want a championship and not just the East, we have to have the depth to play with the Spurs, Suns, Mavs, etc. Steve Blake looks great right now.

No Gerald Wallace, thanks.

How about a post breaking down the free agents out there and who would be good and who we could have a shot at and who would not be a good fit, etc.?

I can’t help but think about the pressure being heaped on Big Al. Let’s hope the progression from last year continues. Remember, he’s had 3/4 of a good season in his career so far. Now everyone thinks he’s another KG. Let’s hope he stays focused and avoids nagging injuries.

well I must be the biggest KooL Aid drinker because I don’t think the bench as you propose it is that thin.
We won titles with almost no one after the 6th guy. The team you propose would only have around 70 minutes left for the bench. Well TA comes back and gets 28, Gomes gets 22, and I think Baby and Pruitt will both be fine. I would argue that Baby in particular is as NBA ready as anyone outside of Durant and Oden. Yoy will see because this trade may well go down. We have more than anyone else can offer, as the thread I started about this suggested. Garnett is gonna figure it out too. We will have a great 3-4 years

wow, this looks familiar:

http://www.realgm.com/boards/viewtopic.php?t=683637

Wing players such as Pierce and Allen put up very nice numbers but you don’t win with wing players as your core players. Just look at the impressive numbers Bryant and Mac Grady put up every year.

If either one was a point guard or center and dominated at their position as they do as wing players the results would be much different.

I’m still seething over the trade, to have so much money tied into wing players ( easily available more than any other position ) is absurd.

http://www.fannation.com/truth_and_rumors/view/9629

phoenix might not be an option for kg anymore

I would look to add Mourning or Mutumbo, along with KG, if possible. I think they still add a defensive presence, and would be just the right people to help Perk. If Perk ever figures out how to stay out of foul trouble, he would gain alot more experience.

I’m as done with rebuilding as anyone, but I firmly believe that a KG acquisition muddles things offensively and destroys our bench to the point of being useless. I’m confident that Ray Allen and Paul Pierce (as well as KG) have plenty of game left in them, but it’s a loooong season (especially if you want to make a championship run). I’m not excited about the idea of having a crap bench, and pulling a Phoenix and trotting out a 9-man rotation (that includes 3 superstars over 30 years of age) for the duration of the regular season.

I’m firmly in the camp that believes we need to acquire Marcus Camby and a Brevin Knight or Steve Blake type. Acquiring KG throws not only the future to the wind, but chemistry as well. How is the ball going to be shared on offense? Whereas, if you keep Paul Pierce, Ray Allen, and Al Jefferson as the three main offensive weapons, and add a defensive minded guy in Camby, and a veteran PG who can know his role and help bring Rondo along, that sounds like a formula of success to me.

Bringing in KG makes us the Yankees of the NBA. Big money talent, no chemistry.

Ancient Red, can you elaborate on where you heard about Greens work effort. This is the first time I have heard about it and it explains a lot. I agree the guy is talented, but Im not a fan of his play yet. With his talent, he should be a much better defender, and his offensive game should be a bit crisper. Majority of the time last year he seemed like he had no idea what he wanted to do other then try to get a shot up.

Also, can you share anything from your conversation with Gomes, in particular if he spoke to Pierce and what his reaction was to the trade.

I really want to hear Pierce’s reaction. Not sure if you guys saw the post trade press conference, but DA and the coach’s response to questions of Pierce really made me uneasy. I don’t know what it was but it seemed like they were biting their lips or something.

Very disappointing, Jeff. I usually find myself agreeing with you, but not this time, for reasons already addressed.

You say you’re done with “rebuilding.” What does “rebuilding” actually mean? Are the Spurs the only team that isn’t rebuilding? Or is rebuilding only for young teams that are building through the draft?

It seems to me that once DA makes his other moves this summer, we aren’t rebuilding anymore. He will continue to make changes, but the team will have an established core and identity for the next few years, and it will have several major pieces in place (Rondo, Jefferson, maybe Gerald) for the next decade. The rebuilding phase is over. And that’s the main reason I’m against trading Al for KG: the rebuilding will start from scratch in a few years if you do that.

Why can’t a combo of Gerald Green and Al Jefferson be as good as Garnett? I’d keep them right here and let them play.

Hey, Jeff, I didn’t mean “disappointing” that way at all. You certainly do NOT need my approval. I only said I was disappointed because I’m really dead set against trading Al for KG, and when I hear somebody whose opinion I really respect and whose knowledge I don’t question sign up for that trade, I get a little bummed out.

How could I be disappointed in the guy who created and maintains this site, my haven from everything I’m supposed to be doing every day? ;)

If Al & Green and scraps are enough to land KG then we NEED to “go for it” get KG. I also believe KG, Ray & PP are better trio than Dunncun, Manu & Parker, remember the player PP IS in the playoffs, I do, that is why I think our hopefull trio would be better than the Spurs.

Plus I love our backcourt’s D in TAllen, Rondo & Pruit and if we add Brevin Knight we’re ready to go to battle with anyone!

KG KG KG!!!

Eeyore… point taken, but a compression sock is not a boot.

http://celtics.bostonherald.com/celtics/view.bg?articleid=1006871&srvc=home

wow, the roster we have now is the best roster we have had in the last 10 years, maybe even 15 years i think we could contend in the east with the roster we have now i mean c’mon pierce and walker made it to the east finals why not pierce and allen AND big al.. but it would help to get brevin knight and marcus camby then we would contend for sure.. JEFF has gone crazy.. trading the whole bench for KG haha..

Kakopedi…seriously? You think all that matters in terms of winning is that KG, Ray Allen, and Pierce are a better trio than Duncan, Manu, and Parker? Where are the role players? Where’s the Finley, or Horry, or Barry, or Bowen?

It’s that kind of thinking that’s going to screw us over. We’d have those three guys and nothing left, and that would get us…nothing. The Spurs don’t win because their top three players are better. They win because they’re a well balanced, well thought out team, where everyone’s role is clear. (And the lovely Nurse Rivers, mind you, is the worst coach in the world at defining roles.)

Al is a better low post scorer than Garnett right now. One columnist is Minny said he was soft. Why hasn’t Garnett even made the playoffs in the last 3 years. I don’t think he’s worth it. Acquire a defensive big to play next to AL, don’t give up AL.

Want to be MIA (w/Shaq)= 1 and done
Or SAN. Always contending.

I like the go-for-broke attitude, Jeff, but I’m with the camp that thinks they ought to trade Pierce.

I see potential problem with Pierce and Ray Ray. They are both used to being the one-on-one, go-to guy on offense. Pierce probably would’ve rather had a big who can play D, no conflict there. Now, there could be ego issues involved and you end up having a problem. I frankly would much rather have Ray Ray taking the last shot of the game than Pierce.

So, let’s move Pierce and grab AK47 – while his value is down. He is a great shot-blocker, can rebound and lend a defensive presence, and can score despite last year. That way we keep AJ as a transition into the future. Also, we keep GG who can now learn from Ray Ray how to play the pick-and-pop game from the best.

Bottom line – we have too much offense, not enough D. A guy like AK47 for Pierce will balance the team and we keep the right guy as the go-to scorer.

Im with you Jeff. Before the Ray Allen trade it was a different story but now, I think you gotta go for broke. We earned it. Get KG and sign him to a 3 yr deal, so Ray Allen comes off the books the year before KG and PP do. Then you could go nuts and sign all the free agents from this years draft class. Not a bad plan, let’s do it

If last summer we had offered AL and GG for Garnett and MN would have taken it, what would you have thought? Well GG is not a lot better and Al is but Garnett is better now. and we get three year out of him while Gomes, TA, Rondo, Baby, Perk, Pruitt keep coming on. What? We need more than SIX yound players or you think we have given away the future?? WAKE UP!

We have been “blowing it up” for the past 20 years. We failed time and time again to get significant free agents in here annually. I’m very pleased with the Ray Allen deal, but know that it alone won’t bring us a championship. We need to get someone down low that can defend. I would be pleased with any one of the following three: Garnett, Kirilenko, Gasol.

Tony will be fine, Gomes can play 24 minutes which only leaves 46 after him alone. Baby will be good for 12 , so you are down to 30 minutes. You still have Tony and Gabe and there is only 30 minutes left. Math helps, see? You want to pick up a free agent dog to play 12-20 so we can all feel bette? Ok, lets do that.

this idea that we need twelve guys is what got us in bad shape in the first place. 8-9 is enough. What, you are worried about how we will do if PP, Ray or KG get hurt?? BWAAAHAAAHAA well we are SCREWED if that happens anyway even if we are pretty deep. DUH. You saw how SA played last year with Duncan having sore feet?. We won’t win it if we get injured anyway, see???

Jeff, I would have to disagree with you here. I truly believe that Al Jefferson has a good chance of having BETTER numbers than KG this year. Yeah I said it! So the “Win Now” argument doesn’t really apply. I was, and am, all for the Ray Allen trade because I do want the Celtics to contend in the next 3 years, and that trade allowed them to. Al Jefferson is a beast and truly wants to stay in Boston. I’d rather have young, hungry Big Al than Garnett (who has already said he doesn’t want to play in Boston). All we need to do now is add a few veterans at the C and PG positions and we have a good enough team to make it to the finals for the next 3 years. Then, we can pass the torch to Big Al.

Oh man, is that a bad idea. My wife would like the Hope diamond but that isn’t going to happen. Garnett is a wonderful player. They went for Allen because Garnett was too expensive. His price hasn’t come down and our wallet now has Ray Allen to feed. Allen, if he’s healthy, makes us better. Jeff Green, if he’s not a bust, makes us better. We went the Allen way. It isn’t risk free but it wasn’t a stupid move. Garnett – at the rumored cost – is a stupid move.

Plug in anybody at any position with Rivers as coach and you’re still embarassingly outcoached game-wise, rotation-wise, and crunchtime-wise. You still have no professional defensive sets.

How disappointed would pro-Garnett people be if Wyc bit the payroll bullet and we still ended up a .500 team? How dissappointed would pro-Garnett people be if we got embarassed in the first round of the playoffs?

In the case of a mega-trade like this with this coach, the scenario would be rosier if the inmates (players) ran the asylum instead of the coach.

Jeff said:

“maybe Jefferson will score more points and perhaps grab more rebounds (unlikely) but he might not ever play the all around game that KG has right now.”

So what? And all those points and rebounds that KG has on his resume are irrelevant. It’s going forward that matters.
 
 

The only other win now option is to pick up a vet fa point guard, any stiff who can fxn well for 12 minutes and play d, and see what BIG we can get for GG, garbage and future picks. I mean, we all know this. Its up to Danny. But id rather see the roster thinned because of Doc’s inability to think on the fly

Jeff, I will concede that Garnett will bring more to the table defensively and a few more assists – but I don’t think that’s enough to make the trade worth it. We haven’t seen Jeffersons ceiling yet, Garnett is past his prime. Don’t do it Danny!

Jeff, agreed, let’s do it.

People act as if a KG trade means the team has no future in 3-5 years and that is false…if the Celtics re-establishe a culture of WINNING other major Free Agents will actually WANT to come here again…by the time KG/PP/RA are expiring the Celtics will have 40-50 million in salary space to sign FAs who have watched the Celtics compete for the title for 3-5 years…

People around here have simply forgot what happens when the team is a true contender…it becomes much easier to recruit fresh young talent on the FA market when you’ve got 3 aging HoF players with loads of league respect telling them to come on board and help the cause…

Everything in life requires taking chances, but it would be infinitely easier to sell players on building a championship team if the team already is most of the way there: KG/PP/RA is a team that’s almost all the way there-regardless of the bench…team can sign a MLE guy, re-sign Kandi for minimum and use the million dollar exception for another ring-seeker…it’s not that hard to build out an 8 man rotation and that’s what title teams do…

bodyofwater…Isnt that the bar, the Spurs, if we bring in KG? With KG we’d destroy the East and then its on to the West.

Our bench would be the missing piece but I think we’ll have enough left over to atleast be in the Finals and maybe win it all, plus KG, Ray & PP together would have a 4-5 year window at a few rings, its worth it in my opinion.

Otoh, getting KG is useless if Doc is around, so I’m starting to back down,just a little bit, on getting KG in green.

Jeff is entirely correct. What we are right now is the Washington Wizards. And this notion that Al is anywhere near the player Garnett is must go away. It’s not just about numbers, people. WATCH THE GAME! Certain players have an affect on how the entire game is played. KG has this affect, Al does not. Certainly not deensively. But, not offensively either. KG’s shooting range and passing ability are far superior, while his post game is vastly underrated on this board. KG plays in a system where he is not often on the block…that doesn’t mean he can’t score there when needed. Besides, KG in a high post position creates the space for Paul to work where he has always done the most damage – on the mid-to-low wing area. When you think this through in basketball terms, and not just with fantasy-league stat comparison, there is no question that this trade would be best if a championship contender is what you want.

Jeff – you are dead on. This is the only move to make at this point.

Roy – no worries about the bench. You sign Brevin Knight and any big man free agent and hope Gabe and Big Baby develop faster than expected.

This is the only move to make at this time.

The one problem is not the bench it’s Glen Rivers lack of in-game coaching intelligence. He would have to be replaced at the midway through the season.

Before you start popping the champagne with championship # 17, everybody is forgetting one critical point……the Doc factor !

I rest my case .

Tim Duncan 31
Manu Gernoli 29
Bruce Bowen 35
Michael Finley 33
Robert Horry 37
Brent Barry 36
Fabrico Oberto 32

I guess someone at the Spurs front office didn’t get the memo about how you can never win a championship with a bunch of guys over 30. How can all of you people who won’t give up Al Jefferson for Kevin Garnett but then in the same breath talk about how the team is going to stink next year? If Al Jefferson is really that good, then the team has two proven All-Stars on the permimeter to go with a 20 10 PF. No one in the east has anything close to that. Yet, according to some on this board, the Celtics are a 38 win 8 seed in the East next year. If Al Jefferson is any good, the team is going to be very good. If the team stinks and is an 8 seed in the East at best, then maybe Al Jefferson isn’t so good and the Celtics will be stealing Garnett from the Timberwolves. Which is it because it can’t be both.

As constructed now this team wins somewhere between 35-40 games I’m afraid. To get to the next level we’ll need at least one veteran big, need a vet PG and a guy that can facilitate the offense to play the PF spot next to AJ.

Jesus, is anybody else on this blog an adult with a house w a mortgage, gas at $2.05/gal, kids in/heading to college etc? Now pretend you’re managing the Celtics. Same thing only with more zeroes on the numbers. Get real with your opinions. KG’s price is not affordable.

No, Jeff, you haven’t lost it. You should be locked up and have the key thrown away. Out of your mind! Totally out of your mind. Kevin Garnett in a few lifetimes could never spin and twirl with the ball like Al jefferson. Nibody in the league can post up like himn and you would trade him, you dipster. 16 was a long time ago, kid. To just win once nowadays is a mioracle and you don’t give away players like Green and Jefferson so easily, chump. I thought this place had relevance. The leader is whacko.

Id rather trade for Okafor. Get it done Danny!

Oh, and I dont care who this team brings in via a trade or free agency. The Celtics will never win a championship with that idiot Doc Rivers as its coach.

I would trade Pierce for Okafor in a heartbeat. Phenomenal defensive player! He’d be a great Celtic.

I’m sick of this topic. We have a KG article every other day, and the same people say the same things. And we get accused— rightfully so- of repeating ourselves.

Jeff, it’s a dead horse. If there is a credible rumor that the Garnett-to-Boston trade talks have been revived, then by all means go with it. But until that happens, there are other topics for discussuion, starting with Summer league (starts in 4 days) and the composition of the C’s roster.

And who is going to coach the summer league team? Will Beetlejuice be replaced? Will Chris Wallace be replaced? What are the coaching staff and the front office going to look like going forward?

Another topic I’d suggest is what the C’s Atlantic division rivals have been doing in the offseason and how that impacts the Celtics’ chances of at least winning something.

Wildblue said:
  Jesus, is anybody else on this blog an adult with a house w a mortgage, gas at $2.05/gal, kids in/heading to college etc? Now pretend you’re managing the Celtics. Same thing only with more zeroes on the numbers. Get real with your opinions. KG’s price is not affordable.

No, Wildblue, it’s not the same thing. Owners of sports teams like to make profits, yes. But, most of them like to win more. There are far easier ways for a billionaire to continue making much higher profit margin that owning an NBA franchise. And there are plenty of examples where owners did very financially irresponsible things in order to win. The only question for them is if KG would bring us a real chance at winning it all. Short of that, then you’re right, they wouldn’t do it.

trade jefferson and the celtics will be beyond terrible in four years. like, ‘04-’05 hawks bad. have fun rebuilding again.

Besides, these owners have shown the marketing creativity to pack the house with the second worst team in the league. I’m pretty sure they’d know what to with the afterglow of a championship.

Answer: 1 and done is better

“all glory is fleeting”

“trade jefferson and the celtics will be beyond terrible in four years.”

No worse than the terrible that they’ve been the last couple.

Jefferson as the top option on the team led to something like a 5-24 record…

I completely agree with Jeff’s assertion that KG will be the better player for the next three years.

That trade makes no sense. From a pure production standpoint, you would be getting KG, who averaged 22/12 last year, but giving up Al who averaged 16/10 and is 9 years younger. So you would mortgage your future and pay huge money for an extra 6pts and 2 rebs a game, and you know Al’s numbers are going up, not down! It reminds me of when the Yankees traded for A-Rod, everyone got hung up in the big name, but they had to give up Soriano to make the deal and in the end they weren’t that much better since there was only a slight increase in production. So, I agree they need to add to this team (big guy, defense & rebounding), but you don’t trade a 22 year old low post scorer!

He gets fewer touches with the ball with Ray Allen and we become more of a perimeter team.

This is a dumb statement, just like the idea that Ray Allen “cost the Celtics their future,” is a dumb statement.

Pierce can post, Jeff can post, Gomes can post, Powe can post, Big Baby can post. Big Al doesn’t get less touches than before, he’ll get more. If you think otherwise you don’t watch Ray Allen play very much. Ray Allen is a very intelligent player and plays inside-out. He will feed Jefferson the ball all night to get himself open, and if you’re dumb enough to leave Ray Allen open . . .
Lastly, Delonte West and Jeff Green (or Yi, or whoeverelse might or might not have been an all star) were never “the future” of the C’s. That mantle has laid squarely with Al Jeff, and now Rondo and Green.

Stick with Pierce, Allen, Jefferson, Rondo, and Sign/trade FA. This is going to be a very good team.

Starters: Perk, KG, PP, Ray Ray, Rondo. Bench: Tony and Gomes as 6 and 7. Are you guys so down on us that you forget those two guys are solid?? Baby is the 8th man and the guy is going to be very good. He would have been top 15 in a normal draft. Great attitude, hustle, nice touch and a friggin horse. I saw Pruitt play and he can come in and play 12-16 quality minutes right now. Those guys aren’t just out of HS anymore. This team contends for a title the next 3 years. Like I said before even after this trade we have SIX young developing guys!

We don’t need KG, although the Allen trade makes his aquisition more logical. We do need something more than we have since we’ve sold a portion of our future for some fools gold. If we drive Al Jefferson and Green out of town then we’ve totally sold our souls. That’s why I would concentrate on bringing in a lesser front court player that would cost Theo & marginal players/picks. MaGloire is an interesting player, as is Camby. Kwame Brown? Heck, I’d even sign Chris Mihm if I had to. What I wouldn’t do is trade what’s left of the farm for more fools gold.

Before I would have agreed with Jeff, but after a weekend to ponder the draft, I don’t want the Celtics to trade for KG. They need another big to rebound/play D. For one season, PJ Brown or Magloire at a reasonable price would be fine. I figure it will take that long for Clifford Ray to get Big Baby in shape. I like Steve Blake a lot and hope the Celtics can land him. They have the veteran’s exception to sign someone with.

Pierce, KG, and Allen is exciting, but they’d have NO bench because they’d have to trade everyone. Remember when Houston had Barkley, The Dream, and Pippen? Didn’t work because they had no bench.

They have their starters. They need bench depth. Let Allen and Pierce be the focus and then over the next 3 seasons you let Jefferson and Green step up and take over. It will work.

Sign Billups – Rondo is not ready to run a Championship team.
4 years/60 million

Wyc must restore Celtic honor (is his shares are to be worth anything). Wyc also state that he would spend for a championship team. Luxury tax? Who cares the team will make it back with a championship run.

My suggestions:
1. Sign Billups
2. Trade for KG

Billups/Rondo
R Allen/T Allen/Pruitt
Pierce/Gomes
KG/Powe/Big Baby
Perkins/FA

Sure your are paying luxury tax, but you are also playing in the championship series that will pay the tax.

Even without the KG trade, if AJ is going to be as good as the no-KG trade folks claim we should be playing in May of ’08.

By making these moves we hopefully will not hear All-Star players saying that they do not want to be Celtics.

Wildblue,
I have to respectfully disagree. Sports franchises are one of the worst businesses to get into from a quarter-to-quarter bottom line standpoint. Something like 18 of the NBA’s franchises LOST money last year. It’s the rule, not the exception, and NBA owners know it before they get involved.

For all but a handful of owners (Sterling, the Gastons, etc.), profit comes second to having a very expensive hobby and the flashiest PR/networking tool ever: A shiny new sports team! Look at the Maloofs. When Sacto is successful, they get tons of free advertising for all of their other businesses just by sitting in the front row during nationally televised games. Other rich people see them, are duly impressed, and want to do business with them. That’s what it’s all about.

I’m not saying the owners are looking to lose money. Most want to avoid the luxury tax. But they also know spending an extra, say, $10 million to buy top-tier talent can pay huge dividends in terms of publicity and building long-term value/equity. Whether Wyc and his team fall into that category of owner remains to be seen.

BTW, $2 a gallon? I wish I lived in your neighborhood!

Master Po wrote about Al Jefferson, “If he is traded he has to play with Skippy doofball Blunt and Pimp Davis and all that hard work he put in to be a good Celtic means squat. Stuck with those losers would suck.”

That’s actually a really interesting point: if Al is thrown to the Wolves, what is the likelihood that he would actually re-sign there? Because he wouldn’t be stuck, he’d be up for a new contract fairly quickly, yes?

“Billups is past his prime…forget about him, please.”

I dont agree that he is past his prime, but I completely agree that we should forget about him. He will never be a Celtic again, plain and simple.

I am getting sick of seeing people claim that trading Al Jefferson for Kevin Garnett is an upgrade worth giving up so much for. This isn’t directed towards anyone in particular, just everyone trading Jefferson for Garnett. Jefferson > Garnett, not in all around game, but as a Celtic with the desire Jefferson has, you need to keep the kid. Get a defensive center to play the minutes that Perkins doesn’t and a solid vet point and we are good to go.

CsfanNH

“Al is a better low post scorer than Garnett right now. One columnist is Minny said he was soft. Why hasn’t Garnett even made the playoffs in the last 3 years. I don’t think he’s worth it. Acquire a defensive big to play next to AL, don’t give up AL.”

And that columnist is a moron?

" That trade makes no sense. From a pure production standpoint, you would be getting KG, who averaged 22/12 last year, but giving up Al who averaged 16/10 and is 9 years younger. So you would mortgage your future and pay huge money for an extra 6pts and 2 rebs a game, and you know Al’s numbers are going up, not down! "

There’s also the fact that Kevin Garnett is one of the best defenders in the game and also a fantastic passer. In terms of impact, KG affects the game far more then Jefferson does. It’s time to cash in the chips.

There is a reason there is a sentiment around the league that Celtic fans overrate their youth. Celtic fans, not all of them, just the insane ones, validate that sentiment with statements such as “In a year, Al will be just as good as KG,” basically making the claim that Al will jump to being a top 5 NBA player and a surefire hall of famer while having one good half of a season. While Al may have one of the best post games in the NBA, KG just about dwarfs him in everything else. Shotblocking, defense, rebounding, passing, midrange game, etc etc etc. KG does not need shots to be effective which is why bringing him here with Allen and Pierce makes this team a championship contender.

Yes, and then the Celtics will have 70 million invested in 4 players… Billups won’t be walking through the doors and KG isn’t going to be either… Let’s just be excited about what we have. We have PP in his prime, R. Allen probably at the end of his prime, Big Al/Rondo well before their prime, and some nice pieces around the four of them. 07/08 will be entertaining with the pieces that we have. Expect some minor additions/subtractions to the team!

I’m with Jeff,go for the gold.I’m tired of watching a losing team every year,I’m ready to experience A Celtic Championship!I was to young to watch them live.Lets Go Celtics!

I think the starters from that Pistons championship team are over-rated in terms of individual talent. That year was strange. They clicked perfectly together after the trade. It was five players doing things the right way and meshing into a cohesive unit. But they lost it somewhere along the way, and none of them is really a difference maker individually.

There’s a reason Billups has played for (I think) 7 different teams in his career. He frustrates coaches, one after the other. He’s not a true point. He is inconsistent. Not a great shooter (disregard the hyperbole of the announcers and look at his %ages). He sometimes loses interest, like in the conference finals this year. And he’s a slow-it-down guy to the core.

No thanks.

Remember a few years back when the Lakers stocked up on more and better all-stars than we would have even by adding KG. We’d be creating a house of cards that a) would probably fail to mesh under Doc’s watch, and b) even if we managed to squeeze out of the East (which I don’t we would), we’d get slaughtered by whoever came out of the West. That would be the result of the first and most successful year. After that it would be downhill all the way.

“doubt” not “don’t”

im with you jeff. lets get kg and be champinship contenders. when was the last time we could say that.

I would be surprised if KG came here or anywhere else. I don’t know if another team would give up their best big man for a 31 year old with the biggest contract in the league. Their is a shortage of great big men. We should keep Al and Perk. Try to sign a big man free agent and look at some walk ons like Kyle Visser from Wake Forest. We should have at least 4 players close to 7 feet tall that can rebound and clog up the middle on defense.

   Readers..if you were Garnett, would you come to Boston now? No. I scent a repeat of the Joe Johnson scenario. WIN NOW!
             My foot.
1) Would you be looking to play for Doc Rivers?
2) Relying on very old stars forgets that the elderly get hurt more often.
3) Old stars price you out of a real run for a title…see Pierce,Garnett, Bryant and their ilk.
4) Draftees are cheap..and forgoing them vitiates the self-belief in team building.

Sorry folks, I’m not with it. Were looking at a more expensive version of the 2006 hobbling
Pierce/Zerbiak. I’d rather they’d chosen Noah, Brewer or Jianlian and Pruitt then gone out and got another big in the free agency mkt or trade. We needed size..but we still haven’t gotten another over 6"7"(Davis).
Bonkers…plain bonkers.
C’mon Danny, prove me wrong!
P.S. tho he wasn’t Tony Parker, Delonte gave everything ; I will miss him and wish him the best.

Maybe because you’ve traded for a 32 year old shooting guard at the of the #5 pick, and therefore are trying to win now. Adding a proven veteran low post defender like Camby helps you do that, which is win now.

I can also imagine myself winning this coming Friday’s lottery and then I wouldnt have to worry about the Celtics cause I would be traveling all over the world all year long, for the rest of my life.

I hope tomorrow Jeff writes up a nice post about not going for KG ;D ;D ;D

CsfanNH

Make that $3.07/gal for gas. I must have sticker shock! Which is what we’ll all have if the total cost of KG is figured. I don’t think Grousbeck and Co are in the same league as the Maloofs or Cuban or Dolan, or Buss – and that is a compliment. Lose $1-2 million on your basketball toy and that’s not good. Lose $10-15 million and that’s not acceptable. Grousbeck is a fan. He is at every single game that I’m at. He doesn’t deserve the BS insights from the macro-economists on this Blog. They want to win and they have left their faith for another year in Danny (and Danny in Doc). They’ve made a pretty good gamble on Ray Allen. They aren’t going to pay for KG. That’s how you lose $10 mil per year. They are fans but not stupid fans.

AL is getting better, Garnett is not. Ainge overpaid to get Ray Allen. He would overpay bigtime to get Garnett. Let them pick up a defensive 4 or 5 and they will be ready. I do like Pierce for Okafor. I’d drive Pierce to the airport!!!

Jeff, you aren’t crazy….I’ve said before i would be having having either Al or KG, PERIOD. Either way, i’ll be happy, but lets all face the facts after this trade for Ray Allen happened. Allen is 32, Pierce is 30, and KG is 31. Al Jefferson 3-4 years from now will be entering his prime. Danny is obviously making this move to improve NOW, do to the ages of the star veterans we have on our team. If we did give up Al for KG, it would make sense in order to be a contender every year for the next few years, very possibly winning a championship. The acquisition of Ray Allen, would ONLY be great and truly usefull, if we made a move for a kevin garnett this summer. What if Al Jefferson gets injured again, or has some freak surgery and misses time again for the 4th year in a row?? Will Ray, and Pierce alone bring us anywhere?? No. Kg is a machine, he never gets injured, and if there is a time to have a great chance at creating a championship team, it is now. You can always start over, there are 10 Al Jefferson’s out there for every 1 KG. As mesmerized as people and i am about Jefferson’s superb offensive touch, we fail to realize how horrible he is on D.

typo- 1st having = happy

Jeff – I find it quite interesting you read someone the riot act telling them you don’t care what they think of your opinion and are offended that they would tell you what to do, but the second Brick does it above (telling you he’s sick of the articles you are writing and telling you what to write about instead) that you let it slide… The first comment from the other guy you had to read into it quite a bit to come away with that impression. Why the lambasting of a poster over nothing?!

BTW – KG would be a good add to the team, but not at the price of Big AL. I’ll take Big Al’s 20-10 over KG’s… If anything else but Big AL or PP gets that done fine, if not then it’s not really an upgrade. Live to play another day. Don’t push all in with unsuited 7 and 4…

I agree. “Go all in” or “double down” or whatever card game reference you want to use. It’s the only thing that makes real sense in the light of the Ray Allen deal. I don’t want to give up Big Al…..but there is no way in hell that he’s going to be better than KG next season. By the time he is better than KG, Ray Allen will most likely be past his prime and Pierce will most likely be way past his prime.

If you wanted to build the team around Big Al, you don’t trade a #5 pick for a 32-year old Ray Allen. Again, it just doesn’t make sense. You keep the pick, or trade it for young players…..and maybe you deal Pierce as well. I don’t understand how someone can dismiss concerns over a narrow 2-3 year window after the Ray Allen deal and then turn around and use that same argument against an AJ for KG move. Maybe that #5 pick couldn’t have gotten a player from the draft as good as Big Al but then again, Big Al isn’t going to win anything 3-4 years down the road without some young talent next to him anyway. And by talent, I mean something a bit more than GG and RR. I think perhaps the problem is, some Celt fans are too in love with any C’s player not named Bassy or Veal.

the team the way it is wins the east and thats without
mortgaging the farm to get kg
last year we played without wally most of the year and
without pp half the year and rondo powe and gomes were very
young and lacked experience
rondo and ray allen in the back court
pierce big al and perk upfront
green and gomes off the bench
finals this year , taste of tough playoff games then
next year we close and for many more as we have #1s to use.

garnett changes everything will cost the farm and if
we dont get passed spurs because rr,gg and big baby are
one more year away, garnett will want out we will get
a little for him have no 1st while he was here , be out
big al and on top of it all rebuilding and allen
contemplating retirement
i think the 5 games kg gives us over big al isnt worth
the risk of the scenario above. we can win it without him

For the record (like it matters after 150 posts), if anybody asks, I’m officially down on the trade. And really, only for one reason: After Raef, Wally and Theo, I’m tired of taking on vets coming off of injuries. You could easily argue that Ray Allen will be fine following surgery, but doesn’t Ainge see the precedent of this?
I like Bob Ryan’s blog post, which I’ll respond to appropriately. We were ALL thinking veteran; NOBODY was seriously thinking Ray Allen. Too much age, too much risk, not enough long-term benefit.
Bringing Garnett simply has too many question marks to make it work, but my big one is that Big Al will be an All-Star for years; Garnett will continue to slip for years.
Bad, bad idea. Worse than the Ray Allen trade.

Great commentary Master Po. Big Easy, how goes it amigo? Please, don’t interject logic into this conversation. Making sense is not allowed on CelticsBlog.com…..

Whooooooooo Am I the only that is a fan of GGreen…. Don’t you realize Ray and Paul are getting old and by then GGReen will be money!!! He is the next TMAC… call it

Jeff, there are 149 responses/comments ahead of me and so my response could very well be in there already. I am sure you flipped back and forth on this at least a few times, if not more, so this is how you feel today. How you feel next week or tomorrow, who knows?

Maybe it’s the old school in old me, but I love the kids we’ve developed and the new picks we just made. It is so much more satisfying to have your main guys developed from within your organization, when the team puts it together and moves to the next level and on to win it or come close.

Yes I loved the way Red would find key role players — Embry, Nelson, Silas, Walton, Henderson, Nate — to make big differences in the team that would help lead to a championship, and how he would fleece teams for stars of the future, but through it all the heart of the team were acquired and developed within.

Fleecing is not so easy these days, although we may look back at what we did with Seattle and find that we fleeced them or they us. I’d say, if in retrospective, a fleecing results, best chance is, we fleeced them. You may want to try thinking about it this way when you see how close Pierce and Ray Allen’s statistical contributions as well as intangibles are. If we got from Seattle what we gave to them for Paul Pierce in a year or two, would you like it?

Getting back to the main point, Cousy, Russell, Heinsohn, Satch, KC, Sam, Cowans, Havlicek, Cornbread, Jo Jo, Bird, McHale and even Parrish was a find who blossomed here. And improving with our homegrown guys and going on to win in the next few years, or at least contending for the championship would be so much more satisfying than going out to acquire a superstar. What a Garnett would bring is the expectation to win it all, and all the fans get is the expected win or failure. And we’d have a two or three year window before we’re back to square one, jealously looking around to see how our former young guys are leading other teams to success. That’s what we have had to deal with as Pitino’s legacy. No more of that please.

It will be much more fun to define success as watching the Celtics grow into a champion as they lay a foundation for ongoing success as well (see NE Patriots as model). The best thing about getting Ray Allen is we didn’t sacrifice our future and we’ve given ourselves the chance to get much better now. So we can be heading in the direction for ongoing success, if we don’t get crazy and go after a star in exchange for our future.

havlicekstoletheball and Fire Tubby made the point in a lot fewer words than I did.

It’s sad how us Celtics fans totally over-estimate our young talent. K.G.‘s numbers are a little better than Al’s on paper. But factor in how he is Doubled & Tripled teamed everynight with no other stars around. And still manages to put up those gaudy numbers. And I haven’t factored in the Motor that K.G. plays with only matched by 1 other person in the league maybe & thats KOBE! He doesn’t just have TALENT. He maximizes his TALENT! KG is always in great shape. probably only gains 3 pounds in the off-season without working out. LOL! A physical marvel who the basketball God’s could have only created. He probably can wind up playing until he is 38-40. Remember Parish did, and did it very well I must add. I didn’t even factor dribbling, passing, jumpshooting, shotblocking & overall basketball IQ? The Celtics would be the idoits if this deal is not persued by the Boston management. K.G. is a rebuilding plan that goes into effect this year, by winning the East. Thats a gaurauntee! Then when the Contract of Al Jefferson is up & he becomes a free-agent. We can always attempt to charm him back to Boston after we build a atmosphere of winning high quality basketball. Until then I am happy with Kevin Garnett donning the Green & White.

This trade is not for me.

We are close, very close and now is the time for putting the lid on the pot and simmering the ingredients.

We certainly do not need to throw out what we have put in and apart from Brevin Knight and another big, we do not need any other new ingredients.

Cheers

Aussie

What gives Jeff!!!!

I remmeber turning on my TV and had to wait 30 seconds for the picture and sound to go on. Now this generation is so freaking spoiled with Instant Gratification.

No way will I ever give up AL and I think GMoney will be the next McGrady and replace PP.
I don’t like KG’s game anyhow. Does anyone remember McAdoo well this is KG with those 15-17’ jump shots. He has no down low game like AL has.

Let’s see what happens with this edition with Kirolenko added and I see them reaching into the middle of the playoffs with this line-up. 8)

I forgot to add the CYA caveat to my earlier post about being down on the Ray Allen trade: “For now.” If Ainge were to add, say, Kirilenko with Theo’s expiring contract, and, say, Grant Hill with the MLE (could that happen?), we’d be doing very, very well. KG isn’t the answer; quality, veteran depth is. KG’s one player; we need 2 more easily. I’m normally a quality over quantity type guy, and in some respect the Allen trade helps bring quality (however briefly). But load up all the eggs in the KG basket kills our future, and still doesn’t address serious needs at the point, the 3 AND the 5 positions.

By not drafting a good prospect last year with the #7 or #5 this year, Danny has forced our hand in acquiring Theo’s contract (although at this time last year it was looking like we could pencil Theo in there for 10 min a game), Telfair and Ray Allen.

KG is the one vet avaiable out there that truly mortgages the future, but gives you 2 to 3 years of championship run. Danny has put us in a position I believe where we need to make the Big Al trade if we want to sniff at a championship run the next five years.

Last year I thought Pierce should have been dealt and we could have had the likes of Deng and future picks. We could have also dealt with the Raptors who didn’t want the top pick and taken Aldridge. Gay or Roy was available at the #7 (Minny was committed on Foye); and Rondo could still have been picked up late in the draft as the Nets’ pick of Williams. That was our best hope and we let that ship sail on the youth movement.

Obviously Brewer, Yi or anybody else at #5 couldn’t turn us completely around, but by trading that pick again, it is now or never time down the vet road.

People, get the “Big Al is going to average 20/10” out of your minds. He is def. capable of it if there was no one else on the team, but as long as Ray Allen and Pierce are here(healthy), you won’t see him averaging 20 ppg. We have NO INSIDE presance on defense, Al is light years away from having a championship caliber presance, let alone an all-star kind. It’s great that Al has his gifts on the offensive end downlow, but it is his lack of understanding D, that will decifer him being a Jermaine O’Neal type player, or a Kevin Garnett type player. Right now, Al is a chair on D, and as long as thats his M.O., it won’t matter if he scores 20 ppg if he gives up 20. With the Acquisition of Ray Allen, KG would make sense in order to realistically chase a championship. Before the draft, not so much.