Danny’s Dilemmas
by Jeff Clark on Dec 27, 2008 8:47 PM EST
in Boston Celtics News & Links
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PrintKnowing what we do about Danny Ainge, it is unlikely he will settle for the path of least resistance. My educated guess is that the moment he determines the team does not have a realistic chance of winning a title, that minor tweaking or a trade or an MLE free agent cannot fix the problem, he will implement a comprehensive plan to retool. The refusal to sign James Posey in 2008 was an indication that Danny is not going to sacrifice the future for the present. As much as Danny loves the C's tradition, I don’t think he would have any qualms about trading anyone on the roster – anyone – if he thought it would improve the team’s chances of ultimately returning to legitimate contention.
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The team as is can win the championship
But that’s not to say we couldn’t use some help at backup center (sorry Powe or Big Baby or O’bryant). I’m not that familiar with Joe Smith but maybe he or a similiar veteran can fill the gap?
I think it’s a little premature to even mention rebuilding when we have the best record in the nba and the best start in nba history
well, 27-2 was the best start, 27-4 is not even as good as last year.
And as elrod says, the c’s probably need to be better than last year in order to win it again this year, given the strides made by cavs (especially, imo) and the lakers.
and it’s danny’s job to think about the future as well as the present. as a fan, i’m curious about what his options will be and how he might be thinking about this. I enjoyed the article quite a bit.
by PJ Martinez on Dec 27, 2008 10:56 PM EST up reply actions
Danny
If Danny can do something to make this team better for the playoffs he will go all out to do it. It will be a prudent move if done, not a reaction to fan hysteria.
great article by elrod
he has some interesting and accurate things to say about the team as it currently stands, as well as providing thoughts on the future. personally, as a fan, I like to think about both, and I think elrod was pretty much spot-on in most of his evaluations. I hope his faith in Danny is rewarded!
I think we vastly underrates the contributions of KG on the defensive end and Ray Allen’s play at the moment, as well as seeming to not really understand that it’s much more likely that Paul is in a slump right now rather than decline. I think calling Pierce a top 30-40 player in the league only months after being the Finals MVP (and outplaying the regular season MVP in the process) is a bit much. However I agree that most of his stuff is pretty accurate.
If you keep predicting the imminent demise of a great team, eventually you'll get it right.
The article is worth reading, and makes several sensible points. But hey, it’s not that daring to predict a team is going to fall apart. Few remember, or hold you to account when you get it wrong. But even a stopped clock is right twice a day. And when you eventually get it right, you can annoint yourself a genius.
by no kidding on Dec 27, 2008 10:57 PM EST reply actions 1 recs
"Even a stopped clock is right twice a day"
Probably an adage that I should be more familiar with, but I hadn’t seen it before. Like that one. Good stuff, no kidding. :-D
-sw
Manuel Aristides Ramirez is the greatest hitter I've ever seen.
by Steve Weinman on Dec 27, 2008 11:45 PM EST up reply actions
I prefer “even a blind pig occasionally finds a truffle.”
Ainge doesn’t have to do anything until Ray Allen’s contract is up next year. Then he’ll have a dilemma, starting about two weeks before the 2010 trading deadline.
by Brickowski on Dec 28, 2008 12:00 AM EST reply actions 1 recs
Hadn't heard that one either, Brick
though it is similar to “even a blind squirrel finds a nut.”
Any others out there?
I’m enjoying this linguistic fun as a pleasant diversion from the roster concerns…
-sw
Manuel Aristides Ramirez is the greatest hitter I've ever seen.
by Steve Weinman on Dec 28, 2008 12:04 AM EST up reply actions
Elrod Enchilada's Article
I read the article quickly (no patience today), but I need to disagree with what he says about declines in PP, RA and KG. Yes, they are not the same as they were when they were 20 years old. But, could it be that they are better? That is what I think. They may not be as athletic, but they are better and smarter basketball players. Pierce and Ray, who had reputations of not being able to defend have turned into excellent defenders. Also, what is not taken into account is these three are on the same team now. They are surrounded by better players including themselves and Perk and Rondo. They don’t need to get the numbers they used to get. They need to play together with all their teammates in order to win. And that is exactly what they are doing. You can’t look at a stretch of games and say “PP is in a slump”. Maybe Ray or KG or Rondo or Perk have better looks against the team they are playing and PP is just being a facilitator.
We are getting alot of this talk because of losing 2 games. In LA the Laker’s played as well as they are able to, but the C’s, who played poorly all game, were in it with 2 or 3 minutes left. In Golden State you could see from the beginning that everyone was tired and missing Perk didn’t help.
By season’s end we will be fine.
This article is bizarre
Rebuilding? Lottery tickets? Who’s this guy?
Two points:
- “the refusal to sign James Posey in 2008 was an indication that Danny is not going to sacrifice the future for the present” – that’s a complete fabrication. Danny didn’t refuse to sign Posey, he offered him a 3 years full-MLE contract. This “it was the right decision because of financial/cap implications” spin is pretty boring. A SINGLE year of a MLE contract wouldn’t jeopardize the future of this franchise.
-“The Celtics’ bench this year has been a disappointment. Right now it looks like Danny rolled the dice and lost.” – True, but I wouldn’t call it a disappointment.
"refusal" vs. "3 years full MLE" = semantics
Danny declined to make Posey an offer good enough to keep him in Boston. Sure, he would have loved to have Posey on his own terms, but it didn’t work out that way. Elrod suggests that Danny was thinking of cap space in 2011, which is a plausible explanation, boring or not. It was a gamble, because the Celtics would undoubtedly be even better right now if they still had Posey. I hope it pays off in the end.
by PJ Martinez on Dec 28, 2008 12:36 PM EST up reply actions
I don't agree that it's semantics
I think the point cordobes is making is that this wasn’t a matter of Danny looking at a difference of four years and $25 million (what Posey got) versus no spending – but that the decision being made was really this “saving for the future” business rather than one more year pushing a deal from three years to four years. And for the folks who believed that having Posey back was integral to this team’s chances to repeating, that was the frustrating part – the idea that, as cordobes says, a year of an MLE deal would push us away from having James back another season.
-sw
Manuel Aristides Ramirez is the greatest hitter I've ever seen.
by Steve Weinman on Dec 28, 2008 12:57 PM EST up reply actions
some interesting issues raised by Elrod (as always). For those that don’t know Elrod isn’t a knee jerk reaction guy who wrote about the future b/c of 2 losses, but rather recognizes the very real mix of needs/goals Ainge is faced with filling.
some general/scattershot thoughts:
— while i agree with the overall premise, i think Ainge will work harder (and be more successful) than Elrod intimates in adding talent to the so-called “big 3” via trades and the MLE.
— I think Rasheed Wallace will be our #1 target next summer and that he’d take the MLE for 2 years to take 2 more shots at a title (and think he’ll have a better chance with BOS than DET).
— Much like the Pistons, Sixers, Celtics, etc. would build with an eye towards defeating one another in the 80s, Rather than trying to get a a Top 3-5 player, i think the most important thing, given our overall high talent level is to find a player (via trade or MLE signing or even drafting) who can matchup - especially defensively - with Lebron in say 2-3 years (when Pierce is more of a complimentary player). A guy like Posey was last year. Maybe that guy is BIll Walker, maybe we could add a young guy like Mickael Pietrus as a FA in a year or 2 for that role.
2 star-type players i could see Ainge targetting are Caron Butler (the Wiz are a mess and only gonna get worse) and Kevin Durrant (along with everyone, duh. But i seem to remember Durrant saying KG was his idol, so perhaps he would be a draw).
— I"d be shocked if Ainge moved KG (b/c like K. Malone or Parrish, KG can play into his late 30s/early 40s) or Pierce (b/c he’s said he wants to retire a Celtic and b/c he played through so much during the begining part of this decade).
— that leaves Ray Allen, unfortuntately - and whose contract is up in the mythical Summer of 2010. Traded at the deadline Ray Allen could return via MLE a few months later to finish his career a Celtic (which I think he’d very much like to). Like I said I could see Ainge going after Caron Butler to matchup with LeBron (allowing the Wiz to rebuild).
by Gainesville Celtic on Dec 28, 2008 8:21 PM EST reply actions
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