Wow that really sucks…

This is the first really bad news we’ve had in a long time. I sure would have given Pose 4 years.

As I said, the longer it dragged on, the less likely Posey was to return.

Let’s hope Danny turns his attention to players like Childress and Krstic, not to mention some of the ex-Celtics. There are still plenty of useful FAs out there, both unrestricted and restricted.

So where does this leave Giddens, who is also represented by Bartelstein?

Ainge was stupid not to offer this guy 4 years. All he had to do was trade his reasonable expiring contract after the 3rd year. STUPID, STUPID, STUPID.

I guess Ainge got lucky that Posey and House was all that was left on the market last year or else he would have signed lesser players, like he usually does in free agency. >:(

4 years at $25M, is this a bit more than the MLE?

Bad – A key member of the bench is gone
Good – There are still other names out there, and his contract would have hurt in 2010, when replacing Ray will be the key.

Good for James though that he was able to parlay a good year into a big payday, but I agree that 4 years was too much. Last year at this time we were saying good signing Danny, but if last year he had given him 4 years at the full MLE we would have all killed him. He’s the same player he was then, and he can still be replaced by this years James Posey. We just have to give it time and see what the next play is.

posey was so clutch, very bowen like- we gotta go after another clutch performer

Let’s stop the bleeding and get back Eddie House. Hopefully he does not need the full MLE. Let’s get Tony Allen back as well, can’t hurt. Maybe we can have enough room within MLE for another quality player.

the key loss of Posey is his ability to play the 2-4 positions. not sure if there’s anyone left on the market with that ability. could mitigate that by resigning TA to cover the 2 (and in some cases the 3) position for defense. need a solid player for the back up 3/4 slots (Walker may be able to contribute next year but this year would be very optimistic).

keeping house at this point would help retain some continuity for the team.

Danny held the line on his 2/3 year offer and I can’t blame him for that. The Sox and Pats have shown that just re-signing all the championship heroes is not what brings more championships down the line. Posey was a great crunch time player, but for a team with as little flexibility as the C’s have right now, they have to be wise with their cash.

Whats the problem? We still got Scal.

Wow, I’ve been refreshing the site every hour, expecting to see something; not prepared for that.

You can’t fall in love with a player. We’ve got the whole starting five coming back – we’ll just have to find another bench star. Not that easy, really, but 4 yrs = too much. Oh well.

Ta, Poze.

4 years is a lot and I credit ainge and ownership for not giving in but this leaves a HUGE void on the bench. Pose brought stability, defense and ability to stretch out the D. Plus he was a very cerebral player. He was a very rare package. Congratulations to James for getting what he thinks he deserves.

Danny spend the 5.5M wisely and try to get someone who can score (TA >:()

Why did the players ever agree to a Luxury Tax? I can understand the overall concept of ‘We won’t have as many teams, so not as many overall jobs without it’, but it still sucks.

I agree that NO will regret this by year 3. They just have too little revenue to pay that much for a bench player,no matter how good. As much as I liked Posey,Danny did the right thing.

The sky is falling, the sky is falling….or is it? Not many trusted Danny when he traded the team for “over-the-hill” players like KG and Ray Allen.

I have a feeling that Danny was prepared for this and will try to restructure the bench in a new way….which includes adding athleticism, a touch of better offense and a defensive specialist. Who might these players be? I hope none are “walking wounded” as in Pollard (even before he donned a Celtic’s uniform).

Barnes, Childress, and Miles have been mentioned but will Danny hold a roster spot for players likely on the cusp of a buyout?

Two weeks ago I was ready to give Posey anything he wanted. I’ve come around to the position that Ainge was right not to go four years, and why initially he only offered two years. To see the reason why, just go here: http://hoopshype.com/salaries/boston.htm.

In June of 2010 the Celtics will have a payroll of only 44 milllion (a figure which includes Rondo’s qualifying offer) and could easily have the cap space to go after a major free agent— and that includes a player like LeBron James or Dwayne Wade. The only possible fly in the ointment is Rondo. He will be a restricted free agent, and if he gets a huge offer sheet, the Celtics will have to decide whether or not to match. But even if they match a 7-8 million-dollar offer for Rondo, they will still have around 10 million to spend (The cap is at 58 million now, but could easily be more two years from now)UNLESS they make long term commitments now that eat into that cap space.

So I don’t see Danny giving too many long term deals between now and 2010.

Note that New Orleans is in a completely different position. With the big extension they just gave to Chris Paul, they will be over the cap in the summer of 2010 no matter what they do. So Posey does not cost them a shot at a premier free agent.

It’s Ainge’s job to think ahead. There are plenty of good players still around.

That kind of doesnt surprise me that he signed with New Orleans. Posey likes to drink

I’m glad Danny didn’t give Posey what NO did.

I’m pretty disappointed that we let a proven winner like Posey go because we didn’t want to have a $7 million salary on our 2012 books.

Very disappointed.

This just shows us that it’a business ,and that’s ok. I can’t fault Posey and I certainly can’t fault Ainge either , I wish Posey the best and I have no doubt Danny will come through.

This is too bad. Posey brought a rare combination of lock-down defender and the ability to consistently hit the open three when the ball was dumped off a double team or dribble penetration. Not to mention the clutch value of many of those 3’s. It usually takes two players to bring those skills to a team. As a positive, House and Allen can combine to give the Celtics these skills without needing a new player.

Danny is certainly more qualified to make these decisions than I am. So I say, “go get ’em Danny” and “bring home #18”!!!!!!!!!!!

Sign Matt Barnes!

Younger, cheaper, good srcappy defender, decent 3 pt shooter, will happily come off the bench for a playoff team, nevermind a contender.

Good luck James! Thanks for your part in capturing 17!

He got a great deal, but now we can pick up more players to fill some of our holes with the full mle remaining.

Brick, the problem is, you don’t play for 2010 when 2009 is right in front of you. We should worry about flexibility when we’re looking to get better, not when we’re in the position of defending the title. Posey was a key guy in ways the stats will never indicate – a consistent clutch player on a team with two guys (KG and Ray) who tend to disapear under real pressure. It is hardly a stretch to say that we would not have won had his role been filled by a less savy, younger player. Even by the most optimistic kool-aid-y outlook, the core of this team has a small window to win as much as they can, but by jettisoning Posey it looks to me like Wyc/Danny are content with #17 and now just want to remain “relevant” (ie: marketable). Disgraceful.

I didn’t think that anybody would be willing to lock him up for that four-year deal, and that he would eventually be back in green for a three-year deal at the full MLE.

While I’ll miss Pose a great deal, I’m glad that Danny didn’t get suckered into a big deal like that. I’ll miss Pose and I’m grateful for what he did here, but you have to look at the big picture here. Again, I’m glad Danny didn’t get talked into a huge financial commitment.

It’ll be interesting to see what Danny Boy goes after as a replacement. Josh Childress or Ryan Gomes would be nice, but that’s just wishful thinking. You’d assume that Atlanta and Minnesota would match just about any offer for those guys. After that, I’d like to take a look at Bonzi Wells for a one or two-year deal. Hey, who knows – a second go-around with Ricky Davis?

Other guys I might look at are Quinton Ross and Matt Barnes.

Just no Darius Miles, please.

I loved Posey but he got way over paid. More than 6 million a year. We couldn’t have paid him that much anyway. We just have to move on from here. Thanks for a great year James.

I’m happy for Posey. He got the contract he deserved and is good value for that money.

Be interesting to hear everyone’s plan B’s over the next day or two. Be even more interesting to see what Danny does next, surely this has been on his mind since the opening day of free agency so he must have a fairly clear idea of what he wants to do. Hopefully we’ll something quick.

To expand on my last post, here is a partial list of players who may be available in the Summer of 2010

LeBron James (player option)
Dwayne Wade (player option)
Chris Bosh (player option)
Jermaine O’Neal (unrestricted)
Rip Hamilton (unrestricted)
T.J. Ford (player option)
Michael Redd (player option)
Joe Johnson (unrestricted)
Hedo Turkoglu (unrestricted)
Dirk Nowitzki (player option)
Tracy McGrady (unrestricted)
Manu Ginobili (unrestricted)
Mike Miller (unrestricted)
LaMarcus Aldridge (restricted)
Carlos Boozer (unrestricted)
Deron Williams (unrestricted)
Kobe Bryant (player option)
Amare Stoudemire (player option)
Steve Nash (unrestricted)
Shaquille O’Neal (unrestricted)

And that list doesn’t even include the lesser lights (e.g. Al Harrington, Stephen Jackson) or the players who may become available before then (Jason Kidd, Ron Artest, Alan Iverson)

Never has so much talent potentially hit the market at the same time.

Is Posey worth missing out on one of those players? And why does everyone assume that we can’t win more championships without Posey? The starting 5 is intact, and players like Powe and BBD are starting to come into their own.

Does anyone know what the contract status of Scalabrine. When he signed this 5 yr contract, I thought that the Celtics had an option on year 4, which is this year.

With the exit of Posey and having Big Baby and Powe (O’Brynat) I think it would be smart to let Scal leave and fill his spot with another 3, maybe Matt Barnes and then bring back TA and either sign T Lue or Eddie House.

Comments.

I truly believe Plan B has been Plan A all along..what exactly that is, I am not sure, but we will soon find out.

Too bad this didn’t happen a few days ago. Najera just signed with the Nets, he could have provided some similar skills for the 3/4 defense. I like Barnes as an energy defender, but can he hit jumpers? Haven’t seen him enough.

Doesn’t this need we would do really well to sign Tony? We need to have some defense off the bench, especially someone who can guard the 1-3 positions. House would now seem to be more pressing for a three-pointer shooter/instant offense off the bench; give him two years if he wants it. Sign someone like Barnes and then see who among Walker, Giddens, and Pruitt can contribute this year. That’s my plan B. I’m not too worried

Roy, you are right about the QO

However, there is only a cap hold for first round picks and qualifying offers (which need not be made), and when you are picking in the 25-30 range, the cap hold for picks is small. Assuming a cap in the 62-63 million-dollar range, they will have well over 10 million to spend, even if they resign Rondo.

2010 is the year they must make a splash, because in the following year they will have to resign Pierce and Perkins, so there is no way they will have cap space after that unless Garnett is allowed to leave.

Look at the bright side.

Posey didn’t sign with an Eastern conference team, and his departure makes this off-season much more interesting.

He was a one year rental and helped our squad achieve the title. I loved his intensity on D and sharp 3’s in crunchtime. However, I didn’t think he was going to come back anyway. Good move for the Hornets and JP’s pockets.

totally fine with letting him go. I love the guy, but not offering the 4th year was smart, and I don’t blame Posey for taking the money at all. Frankly I think he got overrated a bit due to a hot playoff run. He’s the definition of solid, but he was being sought after like he was this insanely valuable guy. A 4 year MLE is too much.

And frankly I love watching the Hornets and he’ll fit in really nicely there.

Insane deal for Poz. NO will hate that deal in the last years. For now, we have a hole to fill…

2010 we make a splash? We are talking two summers from now right? so we are talking playing the next summer for a title, June 2011? And how old will our guys be? You think that is brilliant? you think D Wayde plays for ten mill? Not once noT ONCE did anyone explain why it made sense to sacrifice the next two years for what might happen three years ago when our team is OLD…and nO ONE earth shaking will be available for ten mill a year then. This is insane.

I wanted Posey back in green, but not for 4 years.

He will hit the wall before this contact is over and it will be someone elses problem. During the mean time Posey will play the Lakers three or four times a year and we can enjoy watching him help destroy them.

NO had a panic attack or something. They must have watched the Finals, and deduced that if they are to meet Kobe in the playoffs next year, they MUST have Posey to stop him.

Too many years, too many dollars and they still have some question marks on their roster.

Happy for James, bummed for the C’s, but the sun will still come up tomorrow. And we will still be defending Champions next season.

Knew this was going to happen and this is a tremendous situation for posey and new orleans. New orleans have alot of young guys and could afford to give posey 1 more year than he deserves. BUt he is a glue guy, a champion vet. Wow i’am going to miss him, he played his heart out every single minute. Also i thank him for waiting a couple of days after the dvd day to sign this deal, very classy individual.

I also can’t blame danny, we just don’t know what will happen in two years, if ray allen will resign if paul pierce will resign etc.

So now its dannys turn to sign giddens and walker, sign a vet pg and hurry and try to get matt barnes for example before he is gone too.

The only thing left we can do to sign folks who will ALMOST make our team as good as it was will be to sign House, TA, and get Childress. I wonder if the way this is going if ANY of that happens.
DA never made oNE decent FA signing all these years until last year when we got house, Posey and pJ and now we are about to lose them all.
Maybe he can find another scal.

We’re going to miss him come playoff time but I think it would’ve been a mistake to handcuff him for four years. Maybe if the big three were all in their 20’s, but we need some flexibility at the end of this current run.

What does Childress want? Let’s make the Hawks sweat a little.

I realize McHale would get murdered (even more) if he let Gomes come back to us. But what kind of contract did the Wolves offer him a few weeks ago?
Is it at all possible we could get him back this summer?

there is going to be a free agent left out in the cold when the dust settles and hopefull danny has his eye on a player or two. I like childress- good size, can play 2 positions and is a decent defender and scorer. when we drafted not 1 but 2 wing players I thought the hand writing was on the wall that posey would not be back. danny made his mind up as to what he wanted to pay and he stuck to his guns.I aplaud that but we will miss james no question and you have to wonder why we’re worrying about 4 years from now when the window to win is now and posey was there for the taking. Look where we were a year ago. a lot can happen in one year let alone 3 or 4. Had we signed posey I think there would have been a way to overcome the salary problems later on. anyhow let’s hope danny has something up his sleeve. I think this whole posey negotiation was handled poorly by danny- from the infatuation with maggette which no doubt pissed posey off to the unwillingness to consider adding another year.

While we all valued Posey and wanted him back, I think this is an outcome most fans can live with and understand. Going 4 years for 25 million is clearly too much, and this isn’t baseball where they can just eat bad money if they wanted. I think it was clear all along that Posey had little to no connection to Boston, but was rather a hired mercenary who did his job splendidly. I have heard a lot of discussion about how we owed Posey and should be willing to do whatever to keep him as one of the glue guys to the Championship which he clearly was. What has been said less frequently, is how coming to Boston helped Posey get into this great position for himself. There are only a handful of teams he could have signed with that were even capable of getting to the Finals let alone winning it all. Yes, he helped the C’s get there, but they also helped him have that chance.

While he was clearly important, no one player can claim to be the guy who made it happen, not even PP, Ray and KG, they all needed each other to get it done. So the C’s and their success helped Posey as much as he helped them. I would not have expected him to take a “hometown” discount, good for him, but for those who want to start Ainge-bashing again as to why he is being so cheap, Posey could have taken less to stay here if he realized how much he owed the Celtics, instead of seeing it as how much the Celtics owed him. Last year, after the Big 3’s money, Danny had to take guys on the cheap, Posey didn’t exactly have tons of suitors last year, he was still available in late August, coming off a DUI and a rep of being a somewhat dirty player after some of his flagrant fouls against Hinrich and others. We could not have signed Posey and House if they did not take 1 year deals for short money, nothing has changed in this regard in terms of the Celts money being locked up whether they won it all or not. In fact, had they not won it all, would Posey (and even House) have been able to leverage merely a good playoff run into substantial raises? I choose to see it as the Celts’ success is what helped launch Posey’s desirability just as much as he helped them go all the way. Another year of chemistry with the Big 3, another year of development plus Championship experience for Kendrick and Rondo, a couple of moves to solidify the bench and the C’s will be fine.

why do i have a feeling Ricky Davis will be our 6th man…

what you guys aren’t getting is pose was willing to come back for less and said it all along.

“why do i have a feeling Ricky Davis will be our 6th man…”

Good god.

Despite our opinions, this is a remarkable situation where one player who averages about 7 points/game has had such an impact on our emotions and in his value to our team. I just wish James Posey the best of luck in his future and thank him for the effort and all else he gave to our team.

It’s a bad move, for one simple reason: Getting Ray Allen and Kevin Garnett was to mortgage the future and win now. We suck it up and “overpay” James Posey, we’re solid contenders the next two years. Anything less than the lineup we had this year, and we’re going to struggle. I firmly believe that.
I’d gladly be mad at Posey on, say, the last two years of his four-year deal if I get a title out of the deal over those first two years of his deal. As it is, Danny’s either got to find someone COMPARABLE or hope players develop. And we all remember how long it took waiting for players not named Al Jefferson to develop.
That said, we pick up Childress or maybe even Matt Barnes, I’m not feeling so much pain. But unless you get someone comparable to Posey, common logic dictates we struggle next year. And considering how old KG and Allen are, every year counts.

Just to clarify: When I say “struggle,” I mean to win a title. The rest of league appears to be catching up with us. (Lakers improve with a healthy Bynum, Hornets improve with Posey, Sixers improve with Brand, Hawks improve with maturity if they keep everyone, Pistons improve with a healthier Billups, etc.)
Not saying without Posey we “struggle” to win period, just we struggle to win a title.

I think it’s too early to believe we struggle next year. Let’s see who we sign to fill Posey’s position. Yes, Posey helped us tremendously with defense and rebounding, and he hit some big shots. However, the second unit really struggled on offense. Perhaps we sign a better scoring option on the wing to lessen the overall impact of losing Posey.

Bruce Bowen didn’t hit the proverbial “wall” at 34. Some can say he’s lost a step now but at 35 he was as tenacious as ever.

Posey could still be very solid and contributing at that point in his career. What stinks is we lost our 6th man from our title team…

Bruce Bowen didn’t hit the proverbial “wall” at 34. Some can say he’s lost a step now but at 35 he was as tenacious as ever.

He’s also more affordable and a better player than Posey.

Hollinger’s column is extremely flawed, for three reasons:

• He relies too much on statistics. As we finally learned, having a player like Posey is all about the intangibles he brings to the team on and off the court. That’s a HUGE missing part of Hollinger’s breakdown of Posey’s value.
• He glosses over the Bruce Bowen analogy as some kind of exception to the rule. Posey is like Bowen in that he IS an exception to the rule. That’s why you get guys like this. I’ll be THRILLED to be the team he begins to run out of gas on if it keeps us in the title hunt during the final years of KG and Ray Allen’s prime.
• No mention of Robert Horry, who I believe belongs in the same group.
  Short version: These are rarities. You hang onto them as long as you can. I’ll gladly take the pain later. They’re worth it.
  Unless, of course, you can replace them with someone comparable.

DJ, You hit the nail on the head! We will still be a good defensive team with KG, Perk, Pierce and Rondo. But I hope not to see our 1st quarter leads evaporate in the 2nd quarter. We could really use a Vinnie Johnson type of solid scoring option for the bench. Sometimes you have to be willing to change things up a bit to stay ahead of the curve. Last year it was defense. Maybe we can add a bit more offense out of the bench this year.

• He glosses over the Bruce Bowen analogy as some kind of exception to the rule. Posey is like Bowen in that he IS an exception to the rule. That’s why you get guys like this. I’ll be THRILLED to be the team he begins to run out of gas on if it keeps us in the title hunt during the final years of KG and Ray Allen’s prime.
• No mention of Robert Horry, who I believe belongs in the same group.

They’re not comparable. One, Bowen is a better player than Posey. Two, Bowen is only getting paid 4 million dollars a year, not the full MLE. Don’t you think the C’s would have jumped at the chance to play Posey less than the mid-level? This is about money. Posey was asking for too much money and for too long of a deal. The C’s (rightfully so) obliged for one of those two.

I don’t think Hollinger’s column is flawed at all. I liked Julian Wright at Kansas and he played very well for the Hornets last year. Now he’s going to be buried on the bench. Also, the “swing” 3-4 guy in their lineup is David West, who is an all-star and a 40 minute player. And Stojakovic is also a 3-4. So where do they put Posey— at guard?

Statistics aside, he does not fill a hole on their team. Instead, he duplicates at least two players they already have. What the Hornets really need is another 6-10 banger who can protect Tyson Chandler and deflect some of the fouls that would otherwise keep Tyson on the bench.

I like Posey but not for the 4 yrs – but hope this isn’t a S&T (like Bonzi and Anderson).
There are LOTS of folks out there to play a bench role on this team. There’s Gomes, Barnes, House, TA, Livingston, Childress, Thomas, Robert Swift, Delonte West, Bonzi, Birdman, plus the potential for S&T’s with Scalabrine. Not using the full MLE on a player gives us the ability to sign Walker (like waht Danny’s done with Pruitt, Powe and big Baby). We’re the NBA champions and guys are wanting to come here for a chance at a ring. Our biggest need this year that Posey provided was the IQ to go with an occassional 3 an good defense. Unfortunately, TA has great defense, was a spotty shooter and his turnovers and IQ is a negative. House is not the ball handler, not a great athlete or great defender but he can shoot. Size, athleticsm and bench scoring was our biggest need. We got O’ Bryant for size (upgrade over Pollard), we got a rookie (Giddens/Walker), Pruitt hopefully will be able to play 1/2 and we have our pick of veteran PGs (Cassell, Lue, Starbury) and we can probably get a good defensive stopper (Barnes) or someone who knows our system (Gomes) that can provide adequate bench minutes. Sure, Gomes is restricted but McHale’s got quite a few signed players and you can only take 15 on opening day so maybe he’d let Gomes go in a S&T of sime type or renounce him. Oklahoma’s got 5 bigs on their roster so maybe they’d consider renouncing Swift. Some teams are under the cap – camby went for a song. Danny’s best moves are gonna be with Vet minimums and addressing needs.

Posey was great, but don’t you think a lot of players would look good playing with the big 2 or 3 at any given time? I wish him well but I agree with Danny – no more than 2 yrs unless the 3rd and 4th was a team option.

Big Easy absolutely has it right – we traded our young guys to Win Now, and as that window is a small one, now is NOT the time to play the “financial flexibility” card. It’s just absolutely insane. You worry about those things when you’re trying to get to the top of the mountain, not once you’ve gotten there!!! I mean, isn’t the whole challenge in trying to put together a Team, a group of guys whose talents complement each other, who have great chemistry, and who have that collective swagger of a champion? We waited 21 years to get that group and now moron Ainge throws away one of the key guys because he costs too much?!! We wouldn’t have been paying Posey for year 3 and 4, we’d be paying him for the next 2 seasons and accept the cap hit in the later years as the price of doing business. There is no greater financial albatross facing this team than the last years of the Garnett deal, so should we trade him now because of how it’s going to impact us in 2013? Of course not, you accept it as part of the price of winning now. God. I’m just sick about this.

Also, someone said before and I agree – Plan B was Ainge’s Plan A all along. He was never serious about resigning Pose or House, and I tremble at the thought of what kind of ghastly riff-raff he’s going to import to take their place.

Are you people kidding me? With the mad money that gets thrown around in the NBA for complete stiffs, you’re going to rationalize this, and say we couldn’t give him 4 yrs/$25 million? This is ludicrous.

Plan B? Plan B is to have a weaker team next year, apparently. But oh! Thank heavens we’re not stuck with a 34 yr old James Posey in 2012.

You people are all on crack. Just because we won a title doesn’t mean that Danny is always right. This is the guy who brought us Scals, traded Brandon Roy for Sebastian Telfair and gave Mark Blount $39 million.

This was a stupid, cheap move. Danny, you’re not Theo Epstein, and we don’t have a farm system that is going to produce the next Posey.

This sucks. Get real, Kool-Aid drinkers.

Does anybody really believe the best of Posey is yet to come? I think not. The guy was clutch for Boston this year, but he was playing at such a high level because he had to, as he more or less auditioning for his big payday (which was well deserved). But there’s no way he’s gonna be able to keep up that level of intensity we saw this year (ironically, his new contract may actually serve as a disincentive for maintaining that level of intensity).

With that being said, I’ve been amazed by the Posey obsession thus far. Glad it’s over, and now we can move on. Posey was great for the C’s but certainly not worth what he was asking for.

Danny Ainge really makes me sleep well at night with the way he conducts business.

Truth Hurts said:
Are you people kidding me? With the mad money that gets thrown around in the NBA for complete stiffs, you’re going to rationalize this, and say we couldn’t give him 4 yrs/$25 million? This is ludicrous.[/quote]

I wouldn’t say this is purely about money as much as being about what’s in the best interest of the Celtics. And just because the Celtics can afford it doesn’t mean they should throw around their money with reckless abandon.

[quote]Plan B? Plan B is to have a weaker team next year, apparently. But oh! Thank heavens we’re not stuck with a 34 yr old James Posey in 2012.

I take it you’re assuming this team was constructed to win now… which is not quite the case. We have three starters (PGA) that are well into their prime and two (Rondo/Perk) that are just coming into their own. While the bench will be important, James Posey just isn’t what we need to keep that fine balance between “win now” with an eye on the future.

This team WAS constructed to win now. The whole POINT is that RayRay and KG have only about 2 or 3 great years left- so we get keep a championship team together for that long and then trade Pose in his 4th year or whatever. The fact that Rondo and Perk are emerging just means we have a better chance of not having another 21 year dry spell afterwards.

In the last year you could FEEL the title coming. With Posey gone you can almost feel the team going its separate ways. I don’t know about you guys, but I’m nervous about House now more than ever.

As much as I LOVE Bob Dylan the man, I can’t say Bob Dylan the poster is making too much sense. Disgraceful for a, albeit very valuable, 6th man? It’s not like we let PP walk. Posey came here, signed a one year deal, knowing he wanted to play for a winner and hopefully parlay that into a long-term deal. Posey played great and wanted to be payed. Fine. I appreciate all he did for this team truly, but it makes no sense to give him that contract that he got from NO. Posey is great, I loved rooting for him and watching him play but he is not an all-world unreplacable player. It is far wiser to not handcuff the team for the next four years overpaying when you can sign a player who can potentially be equivalent for less. Sentimentality has its place in our hearts, and our heads to a point, but let’s be real.

what it means to “handcuff” a team for four years by using the MLE on a key member of the roster, I am not sure. But I’ll say this ChainSmoking, if the day has come when it makes no sense to advocate keeping a championship roster together to make a run at repeating, then I don’t want to make sense. You see, it’s very, very simple…

No it isn’t that simple. It’s simple in an ideal NBA, an NBA that lacks the intricacies of the salary cap, that looks more like MLB than the NBA. Face reality, there is a salary cap in The Assoc. and you have to deal with your roster not always as you would wish but as reality presents itself. Giving Posey a 4 year deal at the MLE would limit the moves the team could make in the years to come.

Now, I understand the argument of “keep the team together”, that is great and I agree if we didn’t have to contend with a salary cap, and you know what, what have we lost from this team so far, Posey, thats all. As I said, I love Posey as a player, but is he irrepleacable? In the end, no he isn’t. It isn’t like we didn’t poney up the cash for PP or KG or Ray or Rondo. As much as I do love Posey he is a role player. He is an above par 6th man but what he brings to the table is not equivalanet to the money he got, and it can be replaced. I’m sorry but that’s how I see it, and I think many others here do as well. And yes it would handcuff this team in the future to spend the money he got from NO.

Now, you say “to keep a championship roster together”. Well, is it neccesary to show you how the ‘84 C’s were different from the ‘86 C’s rosters? The starters might have been similar but the bench was certainly different. You can replace role players, that is the reality of the NBA. Or go back further and look at how the roster changed year to year in Russell’s run (and there wasn’t even a salary cap then). Teams change, teams lose players to FA now. Players retire, etc etc. And look at the roster as it stands today. How different is it? Look at those Bulls team that twice ran off three in a row. Were they the same every year? No. So don’t say it is that “very, very simple…” when really it isn’t.

Good points Chain Smoker! You need the stars to win. Role players do help too but they move on in time. We should be more worried about who we will bring in here in 2 or 3 years not who’s leaving from our bench now. We will be fine next year. 2011 is a different story.

Bob Dylan said:
…if the day has come when it makes no sense to advocate keeping a championship roster together to make a run at repeating, then I don’t want to make sense. You see, it’s very, very simple…

IMO your concept of a championship team seems overly simplistic. the reality is, it’s almost impossible to keep a team together with the same players year in and year out; it ignores the fluidity and dynamic nature of an ever changing marketplace. You’d be hard pressed coming upo with just one team in the NBA that hasn’t lost or acquired a new player in any given season. I wish things were as simple as you perceive them to be, but that just isn’t the case. James was great for the Celtics, but he’s not as important as some are making him out to be.