The Other Big 3

I have been very critical of all three: Danny, Doc, and Wyc. I did not think this was possible (KG and Ray Allen). No doubt there is still work to be done for #17, but at least for tonight, I salute all 3 of you men, and thank you for bringing championship caliber ball back to Boston.

Godspeed to #17.

Maybe now Wyc can do away with the dance team to save some money. Also, how about eliminating some of the noisy, useless crap that happens each timeout? The games should be enough for the fans now. As for the trade, it got me to hop back on the season ticket bandwagon today after taking a year off last year and only buying a 7-game package. I bought half-season packages today for me and my son. The pressure is truly on Ainge and Doc now. They MUST win it all in three years or this is a bust. And, they likely right now have the weakest, most inexperienced bench in the entire league.

I want to see Doc do something now. He has been given the veteran talent he always talked about – let’s see him perform. Danny has done well to put this together after the May 22 nightmare. Wyc has stepped up. The bench is thin-to-invisible, but I see the spotlight falling principally on Doc.

Although I don’t like giving up Al, I think DA and co. have nailed this one on the head. KG and Ray Ray are both huge character guys, which will eventually lead to good big 3 chemistry and lends at least some continuity to Celtics tradition.

first of this isnt the other shoe its more like a large boot. with that said there are 7 million dollars wyc needs to pay out, the mid level and the bi anual. then we need to grab the vet minimum for 1 or 2 players. a popular idea in the chat was brevin knight and james posey splitting the mid level and pj brown taking the bi anual, and maybe throw the vet minimum at dale davis and a guard, gary payton’s name was thrown out there more than a few times.

Banner 17.
It’s a crapshoot.

“I love it when a plan comes together”

- Hannibal Smith, A-Team

Making a move like this tells me that they are prepared to spend more money to fill out the roster and take this team to yet another level.

I’d also like to congratulate you Jeff. Once upon a time you were just a kid with a crazy hoop dream. It looks like that dream has finally come true.

I think about previous ownership and I want to puke. I have to hand it to this group. Thank you. We may not win a banner, but we’re back on tha map/

I agree with all but one thing…Doc did nothing to bring this to fruition (unless you count the losing that helped get us a top 5 pic to include in the Allen trade).

Danny has stockpiled (as painful as it has been) and Wyc has stood by him. Wyc is now proving true to his word of being willing to open up his pocket book. He said he wanted the “right move” to convince him to do it. Well, is there any doubt this is what he meant?

I’m so excited to finally hear us mentioned as honest to goodness contenders that it makes me giddy.

The most on-the-nose comments you made, Jeff, are in regards to the facts that Danny still has work to do this off season to fill out this roster properly and that Doc is completely on the clock. Tic Tic Tic…

#17, come to papa.

Well stated Jeff. Wyc really needs to be willing to let Danny complete this team and Doc needs to perform as a COACH. This should be a fun thing to watch play out, especially as the offseason winds down.

and a perfect fit for a team built to win now???? Larry Brown ,just in case Doc has trouble…now,a point guard please and a serviceable big guy..

luv ya Jeff, but you are confusing a desperate move to sell tickets with competent management.

this has hands down been the best day of my life. period.

Hahaha … first time i’ve seen a pic of Wyc, anyone else think his face is the spitting image of Marlon Brando in The Godfather?

I agree with the person who said get rid of the dancers and timeout distractions. Boston Celtic basketball is now a great product and the stands should be filled with basketball fans. I do not want to be bombarded with light shows and blaring Justin Timberlake music. Give me stats, news from around the NBA, maybe Red Sox/Patriots/BC basketball/BU hockey news and scores on the jumbotron, nicely understated.

Doc deserves a medal. He agreed to serve as the whipping boy for a team in transition that was never supposed to win (young teams never do). Now he gets to do what he does best – motivate players and manage personalities. That’s what NBA head coaches are supposed to do. Go back and read “The Jordan Rules.” Phil Jackson is no tactician. He’s a master manipulator of egos. And doing that has gotten him 9 rings. Doc will be just fine.

(Preface: just got home a bit tipsy and posted in another thread that may be dead, so perhaps with bad etiquette I post again, my apologies if so. I mean not to rustle feathers)

I think its time for a sensible middle ground here. Is the team better in the present moment than it was before? Yes. Was there too much given in the trade as it is reported? Yes. Am I pissed to give up Big Al? Yes. There is an instinctual level of being upset at giving up players one has invested time in watching develop (Delonte, Al, Gerald ((to a point)), Gomes ((is there a final word on his inclusion in the deal?)), etc.). But to say the team as constituted, and not allowing for any changes between now and opening tip-off, is a bust and destined for a 2nd round exit seems a bit pessimistic and drastic. Let’s watch the team and see how they play. Is Al a given? I might say probably and it pains me to see him no longer on the C’s. Gerald? Not so sure. I love rooting for him to become the player I HOPE he becomes but is it a given that he will? By no means. Delonte and Gomes are the types of players I would rather see stay. Solid back-ups who hustle and contribute in the way role players should. Can players like these be found again? Yes they can. Al Jefferson maybe no but thats the only player traded who isn’t perhaps replacable. I’m still on the fence about the deal but willing to look at it realistically, not as a black or white situation. Of course I’ve been wishing and believing, to a point, that the Jeffersons and Greens(and Rondos) develop to become the players we see they can perhaps become but that doesn’t mean they will. So in one sense we’ve gone from a best case scenario contender to a for a while contender in the East. I just think there is an attitude of these players will become all they can potentially be (and under Doc do you think they would?) and we’re giving up on this ideal situation, but how many players have you seen never reach their potential in the NBA? The list is too long to name all the names.
As for the Steve Nash, J-Kidd comment above, as mentioned Nash can’t play D to save his life and is in my opinion one of the most overrated players in the NBA. Seems ridiculous that he has two MVP’s and his obvious better version J-Kidd (who I truly hate) has none. But Kidd is def past his prime now and not an answer if you do believe in a long term concept, you can;t have it both ways. Garnett is a top-tier defensive player so lets not dismiss that entirely, one of the gaping holes in the team.
This is long enough as is (and written in a somewhat drunken state), though clearly not thought out enough but the point in the end is, I don’t know what to make of the trade yet. Part of me hates it for trading away the players we’ve seen grow and see the potential in, but outside of Al that is what it is potential (i.e. Gerald Green not Ryan Gomes…though with Al there still are some question marks one must admit), and who I;ve invested much time in watching play and grow, (it does pain me to see Big Al go, in a depressing feeling way) but as the team stands now one can’t say they are better as of today. And in the end he is getting older, and has played a few more NBA years than his age says, but Garnett is a beast of a player. So thats one drunken rant that I will quite likely disagree with in the morning but at least does hope to correct the black or white views for a little grey, and perhaps a little green.

Is gomes in this or not!?

Jeff,
A completely fresh take on the day—focusing on Danny, Doc and Wyc. Really enjoyable article. I haven’t seen any other media outlet give this particular angle.

The insight on how Doc’s coaching may change with a vet team was a nice insight. And, you know, Wyc gets so much criticism, but he and this ownership group have shown themselves to be accessible to fans and responsive to growing discontent over the franchises long droghy and the burning desire to win.

As for Danny, the outcome is yet to be seen, the moves can be disected and criticized or applauded, but one thing is undeniable. The guy moved. He did what the previous 3 administration’s (Gavitt, M.L., Pitino) all failed to do. He restored belief — not just hope, but belief — in a lot of fans.

I’m ambivalent about the trade, honestly. But I am excited by and happy to see so many fans with renewed belief. It feels good. I’m going to let myself feel good about the trade because I want to be in on that feeling.

The US repeatedly fills its national team with NBA stars and they wind up getting drubbed repeatedly by European or Latin American teams comprised of no-names who play like a team.

This trade brought out the fanboy in me .. Im going to start looking for tickets so i can fly to Boston From Australia to watch this team go..

Can i see room for criticism of all 3 ? hell yes, but right now im going to enjoy this for the next few years at least because its meant to be enjoyed and because i deserve it after what ive put up with in the last decade or so.

Jeff, you’ve taken the legs out from under Master Po with your timely analogy…“The bench is kiddie-pool in depth”…Loved it!

The bench will sort itself out.. there is a surplus of guys who would lower their price to play with this trio..

While today’s focus is on “the big three”, tomorrow’s focus will need to be on the next shoe to drop. Getting that defense-minded assist. coach will be critical (forget the excuse that the “veterans” can carry this team without one).

Characterizing our bench as “thin” may be less accurate than calling it INEXPERIENCED. One hopes that by association with greatness the bench will find it easier to fast-forward their maturization.

I keep reading that Tony Allen will need a speedy recovery if our perimeter defense is to improve. I’m hoping that Brandon Wallace takes up some of the slack if Tony isn’t quite ready. He showed glimpses of greatness in SL and I’m hoping that there’s more to come. He evidently showed more of the same in practice which led to his quick signing.

Glenn Davis’s last SL game seemed to justify his predraft ranking as the 24th best player in the draft. In fact, based on that one game, he should rank as a “lottery-type” player. Unfortunately one game does not a career make…Our bench may not be as thin as many assume. We do have a “TIGER” in our tank!

While many hoped that Scal would be ditched in the KG trade I think that his value to the team just jumped. He is a smart player that showed he could make others better (if only they could hit those open shots). He’s not the offensive threat we hoped for (but he won’t need to carry that load now) and his rebounding left much to be desired. He was more than adequate on defense and next to Perkins did the best job of “boxing-out” on the boards. Unfortunately he wasn’t quick enough to get the rebounds he set up for others.

Leon Powe is undersized but his long reach and aggressive determination compensate for his less-than ideal height. Powe needs better handles and a midrange game to rise to the next level.

That leaves Gabe Pruit who showed excellent athleticism and little else in SL. On what basis was he rated the 21st best prospect in predraft predictions? We’ve heard before that SL is SL and is a rather unpredictable gauge of a player’s upside (or downside). The jury is out on Gabe’s potential contributions to the Celtic’s this year. While player comparisons are tenuous at best, he reminds me of the hype and promise of GG, less potential upside but hopefully more cerebral in spirit.

Celtsfansince55 said:
  “The US repeatedly fills its national team with NBA stars and they wind up getting drubbed repeatedly by European or Latin American teams comprised of no-names who play like a team.”

I don’t get this post. What we had before this trade was a team that had neither great talent, nor did it play like a team. Especially on defense. I’d rather assemble this kind of talent and experience and trust them to gel into a team.

All of the good free agents have signed. Maybe they can bring back Charles Oakley.

It’s a lot of money to spend to make the second round of the playoffs. There is no way Rivers can keep guys fresh with this bench, and they will run out of gas, as Phoenix did a couple of years ago when they only had a 6 man rotation (and the Suns face the same problem this year).

Things are never as bad as they seem— or as good as they seem.

It was interesting to see that the survey conducted on FSNE indicted that 2/3rds of responding Celtic fans approved the KG trade. It’s also quite evident that sportswriters are near unamimous on the merits of the trade, apart from the increased news-worthiness, which is always welcome.

While concern remains about the quality of the bench support, we will be adding pieces to that bench even if it’s geriatric.

Nice breakdown on the other “big 3”. I think with KG and
Pierce and Allen used to playing significant minutes in
each game that the bench won’t be as big an issue as some
people think. The Cs could probably get by with an 8 man rotation. The need now is the backup point guard position. The KG deal puts it on Doc to step up and be
the coach that his supporters think he can be. We will see.

Danny stuck to his guns. I can question the soundness of this plan, but I can’t question the intent. They want to win right now. Whether trading 5 guys, 2 picks and a truckfull of money for one guy is sane is another question.

We lost our chance at consistent contention on lottery day so, for me, all this offseason madness is not such a bad move. Realistically, they had no chance to go anywhere in the next 3 years. At least they’re in the ball park now at which point you never know what can happen.

When it all falls apart in three or four years, we can start over, but for now let’s enjoy the prospect of a winning season.

a coach can be replaced in a NY minute-that’s a non-issue…the MLE and vet min will be huge next summer as guys will wait in line to come here eg-CWebb now maybe…we do not have to retire all 3 of these guys,in 2 summers Allen’s deal is ending…it’s not like we’re stuck with a 9 man roster for 5 yrs…by having 3 stars that can score/carry a team they just all got 2 yrs younger,they will love it

Just thought I’d check in with: WOW

Agreed that the bench will have to cover 10-20 mpg game for these three. They can’t play 40 minutes for 80-90 games and expect to be fresh.

And when does the coaching upgrade come? I’m no believer in the ‘roll out the balls’ approach. You need some strategy in the playoffs.

P.S. I’ll miss watching Al. He is and will be a pleasure to watch.

Go after Nate Robinson imo ..The Knicks seem to have their backup spot promised to Mardy Collins.
Its an unconventional choice due to some of the immaturity he has shown but the same was said about Jason Williams before he enters Shaqs domain and he changed his tune. I think Nate falls into that same category.

Not sure where the credit for Doc comes in, and does anyone recall or know the skinny on Pagliuca supposedly pressuring the partnership on moves?

As to Danny, I was a long-time supporter, grew wobbly, and now think he deserves all the credit in the world for doing exactly what he set out to do. It wasn’t always pretty and his mistakes were out there for all to see (‘There were times when I bit off more than I could chew’), but he did it the way he said he would.

Where are all the naysayers now that tried to drill in your head over and over that Wyc was too cheap to spend money?! You guys give some of these supposed “know it alls” way too much credit…

I feel bad for Big AL, but I think he just learned that above all this is a business.

It will be interesting to see if anyone out there has changed their mind about interest in the Celtics with who they have in place now. We need to fill out the roster, but I think this gives us more chance to now.

Sign Olowokandi to back up Perk. Sign Brevin Knight to back up Rondo. Slide in a couple others that get dropped off one of the loaded teams and we are all set.

Next year, when the Celtics payroll hits 85-90 million (including the luxury tax) with no championship, maybe Grousbeck can have lunch with James Dolan and they can have a good cry together.

The Celtics will have 9 players under contract if the KG deal goes through. They need at least 12 (required league minimum). Except for Scalabrine (6 yrs) and the injured Tony Allen (3 yrs), their bench has a grand total of one year of NBA experience, and except for Tony Allen, who was picked 25th, every bench player was either a second round pick or undrafted.

Each player they add to the roster— including the unsigned Davis and Pruitt—will cost double, because they are right at the luxury tax threshhold— or maybe over it, depending on how much trade kicker Garnett is willing to waive. If they use the MLE, that player costs 10 million in real dollars, not five. A biannual exception player costs 4 million, not two. Together, Davis and Pruitt will cost between 3.5 and 4 million, depending on what they can negotiate. And it’s not a one-year problem. They are in luxury tax hell for at least the next 3 years.

Even if they are willing to spend the money, what free agents are out there? They still need a point guard and another big man. The best available big man is probably the 41 year-old Diekembe Mutombo, or maybe Melvin Ely or Kelvin Cato. Is anyone up for the return of the Ukraine Train, the Kandiman or Dwayne Jones?

As for point guards, the best evailable veteran is probably Brevin Knight, whose game I hate. The other choices are guys like Gary Payton, Darrick Martin (who was a scrub on that 2003 Wolves team), Alex Acker and Will Blaylock, unless they can snag a Euro. And a good Euro won’t come for less than 3 million (which means 6 million to a team in luxury tax land).

Does anyone think that adding one of the avalable free agents listed above will put them into contention? I certainly don’t. And they have no assets to trade, so you can forget about guys like Barrea or RFAs like Dee Brown.

Ainge once again has failed to construct a roster that makes sense. Let’s throw money and big names at the problem. Let’s get on TNT and be “relevant.” Too bad they probably won’t win.

Ray Allen and KG are great character guys. This will be an easy team to like. However if this trade is as reported Ainge showed that as a trader he’s still the easiest pocket to pick. (Isiah being in a class all his own). Given what other teams could put up, and what the C’s had to show Garnett now with R.Allen aboard, Ainge gave up one Gomes and one #1 draft pick too much.

With all our youth chips traded we need the pipeline open for new talent and I don’t mean 2nd round “Hail Mary” picks. Brandon Wallace may be a real find but it’s doubtful. Very few talents slip through this league undrafted. (Ben Wallace being the big exception).

Of course McHale is going to talk down the upsides of Al, Gerald and a #1 but I believe he would have made the deal without Gomes and the other #1. Why? Because of his GM record. To lose a trade straight up to McHale is hard to swallow. Let’s hope the final deal is better than the reported one.

I agree with other posters about canning the dancing girls and the parachute dolls etc. I do like Lucky though and Heroes Among Us

A few things in our favor, and I agree work still be done for #17. You have the 3 big pieces though.

1) We play in the JV East, that alone is going to account for maybe 8 more wins this season as opposed to if we played on the other side of the Mississippi River.

2) Finding hidden talent in second round/undrafted players is sort of Ainge’s forte. If there’s one guy I put in charge to build a bench, it’s Danny.

3) We play in the walk it up East, not the run and gun West with teams like the Sonics, Mavs, Suns, pushing it down your throats night in and night out.

4) With the big trio we are a desirable place to be, just like Miami was a few years ago when they acquired Shaq and won it all.

5) This trade is happening “now” like I said it needed to so this team has the whole year to jell, make acquistions where needed, etc.

All things considered, I love where we are sitting right now today.

Having 14 ponies and 1 horse didn’t get them anywhere and Danny knows as well as anyone that championship-caliber teams only play an 8 or 9 man rotation anyway. Sure the bench is a little thin right now (except for the width of it that Big Baby’s holding down), but they will be adding to it and they are counting on a couple of players to grow into their roles for May/June ’08 and ’09. Because surely they could at least get to the playoffs as they are constituted now.

What may shift the balance on a more positive note is the sudden and rapid emergence of real help from the current roster. I’m specifically targeting Davis and Wallace as newcomers who could surprise.

Some of the fillers mentioned may not need to then carry such a heavy load. As for inside help, I always liked PJ Brown’s game.

http://dberri.wordpress.com/2007/07/26/the-undrafted-in-the-nba/

Let’s hope this is true, and starts applying to our team reeeeeal fast.

Ainge is a genius! He’s stuck to his plan (Draft, Develop, Deal), and pulled off the trade for THE PLAYER that everyone wanted. Don’t worry about the bench: the Celtics still have their mid-level and lower mid-level contracts to sign people. What free agent wouldn’t want to play with KG, PP, and Ray? The Big 3 don’t need to play 40 minutes a night. As long as you have two of them on the court at any given time, they’ll be fine. Ainge has done his job, now Doc needs to do his. I’m sad to see Big Al go (and he’s the only one I’m sad to see leave), but it’s worth it. They have a chance to win it all in the next 3 years, if not longer. What team anywhere in the NBA can match up with those 3? And they compliment eachother so well! KG in the high post, Pierce slashing to the lane, Perk setting a pick for Pierce, KG to Pierce, the D collapses on Pierce so he dishes to an open Ray. And even if Ray misses the shot, KG WILL COME IN WITH A MONSTER DUNK! Oh the joy! Oh the sweetness!

Evidentally the new service provider has more work to do. Several of my recent posts have been denied on the basis that…“Your comment is too short”…

If anything my usual comments could be considered too long but too short just doesn’t add up to a flawless system. It is frustrating and I’m wondering if others have experienced this same message???

I am also getting the “too short comment”.

If the all stars pass to everyone on the court, have good health and they get 2 more experienced players for the bench this will work.

So who is going to make up our bench? This is why I wouldn’t have included Gomes. He’d be a perfect sub for this team. Can play two spots, would be a 3rd year vet, and would compliment the Big 3 real well.

Anyhow, what FA’s are out there? Candiman wouldn’t be a bad insurance policy. He’d only have to man the middle and get a rebound. Who else though?

Is there anyway to grab a list of players we could add?

Webber
Knight
…

It takes 3 stars in this league to win a championship and no one can question that we have them. If Rondo takes a step forward and Perk gets back to healthy then we can be just fine. Bench big men of Powe, Wallace, Davis, Scal and I would like to see Kandi back to round it out. TA and Pruitt backing up the 1 and two. Not a bad bench at all.

I put all my effort in finding that backup veteran point. Knight or Payton would work just fine.

Hmmm….looking at the FA list real quick, and here are some names:

Jalen Rose
Chris Webber
Jake Tsazikas
Alan Henderson
Kevin Cato
Mark Jackson
Eddie House
Derek Anderson
Jeff McInnis
Vitale Potapenko
Jarvis Hayes
Michael Ruffin
Melvin Ely
Danny Fortson
Daniel Ewing
Cliff Robinson
Brian Skinner

Hmmm….

The key in aquiring bench help will be selling the “championship” possibility. Telling a Webber/Rose/Knight that playing for the minimum might get them that elusive ring, will be key.

You get the “too short” comment every time you try to cut and paste. Very annoying.

To respond to your comment, Jeff, yes, a team forfeits around 2.5 million this year the minute it goes even one dollar above the luxury tax threshhold.

The Celtics will probably forfeit their right to luxury tax distributions as soon as they add a required 12th player at the veterans’ minimum. And the real luxury tax hit will be for at least 3 years, so the Garnett deal will cost the Celtics roughly 7.5 million at least.

I’ve responded back about the too short comment as well. I found that you shouln’t use the paranthesis at all.

Okay, back to the trade. These 3 have a window of a 3-4 year span to bring another championsip banner.

The following contracts are up in that span

Ray Allen 16,000,000
Kendrikc Perkins 4,480,912
Paul Pierce 16,360,095
Brian Scalabrine 3,000,000
Kevin Garnett ** 22,000,000

If they don’t get anything done within that time span the $61,841,007 come off the books at the same time. Danny probably doesn’t know it, but he is setting himself up to grab more quality players and depending on how he drafts within that time frame, we might have some flexible room by then.

I wonder if Danny is calling Mr Allred to take one of the roster spots on the cheap? He’d be a better, more active, and cheaper option than Olowokandi.

Real World, there is no championship possibility in the future until Rivers is replaced. The influx of talent will get us into the second round but no further. Decision making shortcomings will trump the talent from there….and the lack of a defensive concept. I don’t think you convince any veteran looking for a ring until you address the weakest link.

Among your list, Real World, Jackson, Fortson, and Ewing look like possibilities. I saw Jackson in OK City last season and he still looks like he has something in the tank as long as you’re not asking him to play 30MPG.

I get this without using the smiley faces, without using parenthesis, without cutting and pasting. There has to be something else causing this…

Gomes was included in the deal to make the salaries work. Of course they probably tried to do this with Scal instead of Gomes and another player, but both sides have to want to do the deal. Minnesota is going to struggle for the next few years because of this trade and remain about the same level of play of last year. They had to feel like they were getting something out of the deal on their side to have hope as well. A 2009 draft pick and giving up the pick they owed us that we probably never would have gotten anyway makes no difference at all to us.

Here we go again with the Doc comments… Just like KC Jones, all Doc has to do is put these guys out on the floor and let them do their thing.

We have a defensively solid team with Rondo, Perk, and KG. …and if TA comes back fully healthy possibly even great.

We have a great offensive unit with Ray, PP, KG. Rondo just has to give them the ball and stand back. Perk can clean up the garbage. Look for him to push 8-10 pts per game just off of this.

How can anyone not think this team can go to the conference finals and very possibly the nba finals?! They would have a much better shot of giving the west a run for their money than the CAVS did.

Phoenix has a superior trio, much better complementary players and vastly better coaching, and they haven’t been able to win a title. This move makes the Celtics a decent team in the east, not a title contender. We are at or below the level of Cleveland and Chicago, still not as good as Detroit. Our big 3 are not exactly known as superstars in the playoffs and they haven’t even been there for two years. It’s going to take a season of trial and error to make this team work, and bad coaching will ensure an earlier-than-expected exit from the playoffs. So a small window gets even smaller. Meanwhile Big Al opts for FA in 2009 and signs the Bulls and we never get past them in the playoffs again.

The Celts will be in the finals one or more times in the next three seasons. If they get lucky they’ll win one. It had to be done. Period.

So I bought a boat for fishing…it’s 19’in length…then I discovered that in Virginia all boats over 18’ in length are assessed a “luxury” tax. Do I just chop 1’ from the length to save the tax? Will my boat even FLOAT if I chop 1’ away?

The boat costs $12,000 and the tax is $100. If I can afford a boat that costs $12,000 should I be concerned about paying $100 in Luxury tax?

This scenario only illustrates the false premise that the luxury tax should ALWAYS be avoided regardless of how close it places us for a real run at #17. The improved marketing opportuities, ticket price increases, T.V. revenue etc. should make any luxury tax loss financially PROFITABLE!

That’s a list of scrubs, C level talent, and rookies with potential. They officially now have Big AL as their best player. 3-4 years and Brewer, Foye, and AL can be a solid three, but even assuming they end up being as good as they could would anyone rather have them than PP, KG, and Ray?! Ricky is a decent player but a chemistry issue. Blount only plays in waves or when he goes up against the C’s to try and prove something. Howard is past his “mediocre prime”, Jaric is a dissappointment, so is Hudson… none of these guys would I want on the C’s other than AL and Gomes who we just gave them.

as far as free agents go, they should at least inquire about Charlie Bell, he’s a solid combo guard that they might be able to get for a reasonable price.

I’d rather have their coach, PLAYA….as far as the rest of the roster, Hassell would be a terrific role player. Howard would have been the perfect addition had this trade not happenned.

You make it sound like with one great player, two very good players, and essentially an NBDL roster that any coach can simply plug-and-play and you have a championship. If that were the case, anybody with assets would mortgage their franchise to accomplish it. Kudos to Danny and Wyc for accumulating the assets to try anyway.

1.9 RPG Scalabrine is your most experienced big off the bench. In order to have a championship contender with this roster, Powe, Davis, and Pruitt will have to come up huge as role players. I guess if they’re willing to invest this much it isn’t out of the question that they’ll spend more for vets.

Garnett would be no better than Big Al in Doc’s previous defensive schemes. We had a very solid defensive player in Paul before this defense and a lack of accountability defensively made him lazy defensively. Having a coherent defense is a major key.

I think the Peter Principle with Rivers comes in the second round….no matter what talent they surround him with. I hope I’m wrong, PLAYA. I sense Danny will be coaching this team long before mid-season anyway.

I completely disagree with Brick. Ainge is not “throwing” money at anything. While I think Jefferson will be great, there is no guarantee. Big Al will struggle in the West with all the PFs and no Pierce. KG will be a man among infants in the East. KG, Pierce, and Allen compliment each other. Add in Perkins and Rondo, who understand what their roles are, and what’s not to like? No team out there has a combo of those 3. Luxury tax hell? Only when you pay 3 guys max and only one is on the floor. If Wyc is willing to spend the money, that’s all you have to worry about. Ainge should be GM of the year.

3 developing stages of this trade

Big al(theo) for kg straight up
big al 3 yrs in 10 to dominate, kg 10yrs dominating
3 yrs left
tough deal but have to lean to kg to win it now and
deal with the future, in the future, most want to keep big al

kg for big al (theo),a #1 ,telfair and gg
it seemed like most were against this

kg for Big al (theo) a #1 telfair gomes another #1 and gomes
and everyone is gung ho

now im not commenting on getting kg or not getting kg, but
on how much were giving up , i mena couldnt we get kg for
deal # 2 but now were adding gomes and another #1
i think its way too much

Nice article man .