Ainge Will Not Cut Scal

Right now, it’s painful to see Miles playing.

Unless he’s still very rusty and his overall athleticism will improve by miles (no pun intended) in the near future, there’s no way that guy can play pro basketball, let alone in the NBA.

There you have it boys and girls. In black and white.

It´s green and white. And yes, I´m just nitpicking. :P

Oh, and kudos to Ainge for ending the “cut Scalabrine” silliness (hopefully).

With all the good Danny’s done, he gets a mulligan with Scalabrine. I recall at the time a lot of posters being shocked that Scal was offered a five year pact, now that chicken is coming home to roost. There is no doubt that if Scal had an expiring contract it would not have been renewed this year. If Scal gets any serious minutes this year we will be in big trouble; he used to be able to hit the three, he doesn’t even do that anymore. It seems there’s always a hanger- oner ( remember Waltuh ) and I guess Scal will be it for the next two years. He is painful to watch in action.

My daughter always operated under the concept that unless she was given a solid ‘no’ from both of her parents, then she had an acceptable ‘yes’. And my daughter would say Doc Rivers just said, “yes, Cassell will be holding a clipboard this season.”

at least scal hustles. on offense, he has looked pitiful and i hope danny’s comments can take some pressure off him so he can muster up some kind of relaxed shot.1/2man1/2 oyster has the right expression— danny’s mulligan.

I don’t think it’s all bad if Scal is around and Cassell starts the season as an assistant coach. It will mean nobody has to leave the roster for now and buys more time to figure out what to do.

BTW 8.7 Mil in expiring contracts is not enough to bring in one of the prized players from the 2010 free agent class. Ray alone makes about double that.

I’d like to hear from Danny if he can tell us what his plans for Powe and Davis are since both will be free agents next summer.

Right now Scal’s contract will keep on the team,this doesn,t look good for Miles. I think the only way that Miles makes it is for Sam to go to the bench to coach.

Can Cassell “unretire” before the playoffs if we need him?

Great news about Scal. He’s a valuable piece.

Scal shouldn’t be judged on his preseason games, the guys he’s playing alongside aren’t the ones he’ll play with in the regular season. Scal should be judged on the 9 games he started last year, and when he played very well.

Scal is a good utility player for a team to have.

The fact remains that unless Cassell retires they will have to cut a promising young player instead of an older, less useful one.

Letting Darius Miles go (or Walker or Giddens or Pruitt) while keeping Scalabrine is just plain crazy from a basketball POV.

I think I will defer to Danny’s judgement and his ability to see the entire picture and value of the guy versus the many complainers about Scal’s game who only look at the box score. Scal has never been as bad as many on here try to portray. He is good for this team.

I will definitely side with the Master on this one. Scal sucks. Period. While I can understand the logic of ‘using’ him which in essence is what it is…using his contract for future good, I can’t stomach seeing him come in games. Basically this is just a wasted spot that’s oh ‘hold’ for future consideration. We will have a 14 man roster plus Scal. That’s the way I see it. Sorta like the old time musical groups…Smokey Robinson & The Miracles, Martha and the Vandellas; The Boston Celtics and Brian Scalabrine. I am not one to usually pick on the pathetic but I hate the fact that he’s just a wasted spot on the roster. I dont care that he knows the system…it seems like he’s been here since Dino Radja was here, of course he’d know the system. He hustles…um, let me see. How many rebounds do I see him crashing the boards for? How many charges does he take, how many loose balls does he goes into the stands for? Sorry, I dont buy the hustle aspect either. When he’s on the floor he’s a brick in a china store. I would keep Miles all day over him if it came down to who doesnt make the team. Miles can actually be an investment that will pay off next season and beyond. Once he gets back into basketball shape he will be just fine. Those judging him on 4 preseason games just dont get it. It’s not like I’m his campaign manager but he has talent. Scal on the other hand….well…he has boobs. You make the call!

You go, Po. I think Danny sees Scal as a vet big body who is sort of like Hank Findel to Garnett’s Dave Cowens (even if Powe is a solid backup PF). But really, the point is obvious that Danny wants to squirrel that contract away for future usage, and in that case Ainge is being smart. Maybe a bit risky, but smart.
My heart says cut Scal. My head says keep him for future packaging. But oy, no matter the Celtics’ record while KG was out, Scal inarguably is painful to watch especially on offense. (For he does “offend.”)

Some of this complaining about Scalabrine, who’ll never see any playing time, sounds a bit suspect. The word “whipping boy” comes to mind.

I’m thrilled our biggest concern is about the 15th / 16th player.

VT, I dont think anyone said it was our biggest concern. Jeff put it on the first page therefore it was a topic of discussion. As far as him being a whipping boy…doesn’t every team have one? ;D

I couldn’t care less about Scalabrine one way or the other. He’s not going to be on the roster after next year anyway.

What I do care about is retaining and developing young talent against the day when the “big 3” start to decline.

If the rules permitted a 16-17 man roster I would have no problem with keeping Scalabrine and Cassell. But the rules do not. Therefore I go with youth and raw talent over a fading veteran has-been (in the Case of Cassell) or never-was (in the case of Scalabrine).

How Scal ranks among or bigs?

- he’s the 2nd best venturing out on the perimeter offensively and defensively.
- he’s our 2nd best screener (I know screens aren’t as fancy as, say, assists, they don’t appear in box scores and one can’t see them if he’s only watching the on-the-ball action, but good screeners are very valuable for a team).
- he’s our 2nd best team defender.
- he’s our 3rd best 1×1 defender, assuming he’s guarding PFs who don’t play in the low post (those are a rarity in the league nowadays anyway).
- he’s one of the worst rebounders but is very good boxing out, a skillset that never hurts a team.

Why we should get rid of this guy considering our current bench situation is beyond my comprehension.

So far this preseason, Scalabrine has brought more negatives than positives. Even a Scal supporter like me has to admit he doesn’t appear to have NBA reflexes and he sure is hell shoots bricks.

But, he is what Doc called him – an energy guy. He hustles on defense, he understands the offensive flow and doesn’t bust the play very often. Situations can call for him. Relax, Scal critics. He’s not going to play much.

What I find interesting is that his shot is now all mental and wasn’t he one of those guys that was a positive thinking disciple. What happened

add ‘Stayin Alive’ to Scal’s playlist…

31 comments and counting for a guy who’s pretty much a non-factor. I’ve never understood the Scal hate. For my money, guys like Theo Ratliff and Scott Pollard were much bigger disappointments, and much better targets for our scorn and derision. At least Scal shows up to practice.

We’re not really discussing Scalabrine here, we’re discussing the roster spot that he occupies. It isn’t hate, it’s about making choices as to which players should be on the roster, and which players should be let go.

It’s not like a baseball or football roster. Even a couple of minor injuries and your end of the bench guy is now playing significant minutes.Scal is fine for who he is. But I think he peaked physically about 4 years ago. That’s tough for a 29 yr old.

31 comments and counting for a guy who’s pretty much a non-factor. I’ve never understood the Scal hate. For my money, guys like Theo Ratliff and Scott Pollard were much bigger disappointments, and much better targets for our scorn and derision. At least Scal shows up to practice.

Pollard was a vet minimum signing who contributed more than Scal when he was on the court.

This might be brilliant and excellently patient big picture thinking from Ainge.

Sign Sam Cassell to an assistant coach deal…for now. Sam the coach is around and teaching on and off the court but Sam the player is unemployed and still a free agent who could sign later down the road. Meanwhile, one of the borderline guys on the roster gets a chance to stick with the C’s during an extended audition.

I don’t think there is any rule that he can’t also do the PJ Brown thing and sign with them later, if they later feel like they need to make a move and cut somebody or do a 2 for 1.