Echoing Mr. Hobbs comments, House was a necessity but Tony Allen? Don’t get me wrong, I’ve seen him play well (…sometimes), but come on. The C’s have NEEDS!

Tony was necessary because Ainge is smart enough not to rely on rookies when you’re trying to win a championship.

sign kurt thomas and hope one of the rookies pans out?

Great to have these two back. I love the way the C’s operate in the half court with House on the floor. He’s a great contrast to Rondo and his energy is really important. Plus, we needed a shooter with Posey taking off.

And I like the Tony move, too. When he gets consistent minutes, Tony has proven that he can be a pretty good player, particularly if his knee continues to heel. If he can return to the way he was playing right before his injury, the C’s will be psyched.

And why is everyone clamoring for big men? We have five already, six if you count Scal (who will likely play the 4-spot when Doc goes small). I would think the final piece should be a guy who can play the Posey/Scal role. Darius Miles anyone? Austin Croshere?

I think the Celts might stop with the 14 roster spots … even if that means not replacing Posey … leave a spot open for the inevitable buyout bonanza that will occur during the season

This is VERY good news. I like the fact that there is a focus on maintaining chemistry. Tony Allen might not be Posey, but he knows his role on the team, and if they suggest a bigger role for him, the adjustment will be a bit easier. As for Eddie House, I am very happy because we kept a person that changes the game plan of the other team. Maybe another move might help, but I feel OK with us starting the season with the guys we have.

Eddie House deserves this 2 year deal and I’m glad he got it. He was a big part of the team this season until Sam Cassell came along. House gives us some bench scoring that we desperately need. He can knock down shots from anywhere on the floor. He also brings a lot of energy off the bench and veteran presence to our VERY young bench.

I’m guessing he got near the minimum for both seasons. 1.2M x 2 is what I would call “the mid-$2 million range.” I’m 90% sure we didn’t use the MLE on Eddie House.

I’ve always been a big fan of Tony Allen and I’m glad he coming back. He should be as close to 100% as he’ll ever be and I expect him to be a pest on defense this year. I know his handle is a little shaky but don’t sleep on TA’s ability to slash to the rim. He will bring some offense off the bench along with his defensive intensity.

One reason I REALLY like this signing is it will make Tony Allen and JR Giddens compete for minutes. One of the two should be able to make major contributions behind Ray Allen.

The only question when it comes to Tony Allen is this: are the owners willing to spend the maximum allowable? If so, then there is absolutely no downside to re-signing Allen.

Allen doesn’t take any money out of the MLE. We can re-sign him using his Bird rights. He’s signed to relatively short money and short years. We’re already paying the luxury tax so adding money to the overall payroll isn’t all that meaningful.

Signing Tony Allen, in other words, doesn’t take money from anywhere and doesn’t stop them from using the remainder of their free-agent money on other players. All he does is take a roster spot. You spend $5 million (okay, ten million considering the luxury tax) and you take a shot that he regains his pre-injury form. Plus you have Pruitt now to keep Allen out of the point guard rotation.

I like this move. There are people on this board who’d rather have Quinton Ross or Matt Barnes. But Allen is already a much better defender than either of those guys and has much more potential. Would you rather have Allen covering Joe Johnson, or Matt Barnes? Allen on Kobe, or Quinton Ross? We’re just wary of him because we’ve seen his flaws, in particular his propensity for the bonehead turnover. With Allen there’s obviously a good chance that he gets injured again or never improves his efficiency on offense. But there’s at least some chance that he becomes the player he was before his injury — and that guy was worth a lot more than 2 million. But if not, it’s only money and a roster spot, and there’s still time to add someone.

Tony has never been healthy the last two years. Healthy, Tony could be a real bargin at 2 million a year. Even recovering from the injury, he still contributed more last year than either of the rookies will this year. I really don’t see a downside to bringing both him and House back at close to the vet minimum.

House’s signing suggests Ainge made the assessment that Gabe Pruitt wouldn’t cut it as a back-up point guard.

I’m happy about bringing these two back, but we still have 2 needs to fill with one spot open.

House is a known commodity. He should give you pretty much exactly what he did last year. Tony is a bit of a question mark still. If his knee is right, which it looked to be by the end of the playoffs, he could be a very effective backup 2. He was tentative with it almost the whole year, and FINALLY, by the end of the playoffs he shed that gigantic knee brace. I think he should be back to where he was just before the injury, so backup 2 should be taken care of.

My concern is that he’s not big enough to play the 3 against a lot of guys, so imo, we still have no backup 3 (Scal doesn’t cut it). I realize we have Walker and Giddens ( Giddens seems more like a 2 than a 3 anyway), but I don’t think either rookie will be a trusted rotation member deep into the playoffs (it’s a rare rookie who would be).

Like with Walker and Giddens, I don’t see O’Bryant being a trusted rotation player in the playoffs. He might as well be regarded as an untested rookie, what with him playing all of 200 minutes so far.

So, in my view, we still need a vet long big, and a vet backup 3, with only one roster spot left. I suppose Danny will see how things play out early on in the season, and if backup 3 and backup 5 are still concerns, I’ll expect a trade to address these concerns. We’ve got Scal’s contract to package along with Baby or Powe, the rooks, or draft pick(s).

Just hard to imagine a rookie being a trusted rotation player on a championship team.

Glad to see House back, I like what he brings to the team, and his defensive energy last year surprised me…he’s more than just a sharpshooter. He seemed like the best of the remaining options.

The TA signing strikes me as a bit odd…I suppose it’s nice to have a backup who knows our system in case Ray Allen is injured, but we are rather overloaded at that SG/SF position. I wonder if there’s any possibility that the C’s package one of them and one of our undersized bigs in a trade for a true Posey replacement (although I can’t think of who)? I would imagine the team would want one or two roster spots open entering the season, to pick up buyouts and the like.

I’m glad both are back. We all know what House can do. Tony is the ?, but I think it’s worth the chance, seeing there’s not much out there for us. At the end of last year Doc said Tony was starting to come around in practice. There are negative comments about his ball handling, but I notice that the more he plays the better that is. I also think he became a better player, mainly in his passing game. He can take it to the basket, take a hit, score and make his free throws. He’s not a bad outside shooter and could be better with more playing time. Playing time is the key and if can earn it it’s worth the chance to a short, low pay deal. I still think we need the veteran big for the playoffs, not for the regular season and that could be done at the trading deadline. So, we lost Posey (whom I would have liked back) and PJ Brown (who probably would retire regardless). Anyone else we lost really didn’t contribute. So we are basically an intact team from last year with the possibility of being even better for various reasons. Now Danny can play golf.

Here’s my guess at the replacements:

Starters → Starters

(I’m treating House and Sam I Am as one guy, since usually only one guy played.)

1. House (both G spots) and Powe (C/PF) will be the primary guys off the bench. (Last year it was basically Posey and House off the bench.)
2. Allen will be the defensive wing off the bench. (Last year it was basically BBD early, Powe late, and Brown playoffs – getting these minutes since Posey and House left no wing minutes.)
3. Scal, Pruit, and BBD will be the reserves – used situationally. (Last year basically used BBD, Powe, Tony Allen here)
4. DNP Crew: Giddens, O’Bryant, Walker replace Scal, Pruitt, Pollard

Conclusion I’m drawing:

They are planning to play KG with another big more often (since Posey’s small ball PF minutes are likely going to be a big).
They are happy using House as the backup guard and either using Pierce or RA as a secondary ball handler, or bringing in Pruitt for a few minutes to beat presses.
They expect to see the good Tony Allen back by next season, and that he’ll be effective guarding SF’s or SG’s. They’ll use Scal against big small forwards that TA can’t handle.
This makes it more likely they try and get Walker to play a year over seas.
This makes it more likely they sign Giddens, since they have to insure against a TA collapse.

Summation (and there could be trades in the making btw):

(And let’s use the final playoff rotation for analysis)

Let’s assume the starters as a whole play as well as last year (some decline here, some improvement there, some guy plays more minutes, some guy plays less.)

Powe gets the Brown minutes and Posey at PF minutes and some of the BBD/Powe minutes. BBD gets the rest. I think this is a net gain. Posey and Brown did a great job, but Powe threw up a very high PER and should improve defensively. I think this is a push, or even an improvement. BBD should be a capable fourth big man.

House plays combo guard, and Pruitt reserve PG, TA gets defensive wing minutes (instead of PP playing at SG). End of the day House/Pruitt is the same as House/Cassel IMO. Tony Allen is a drop off from when Pierce was playing SG.

This means Pierce plays exclusively at SF. With TA or Scal likely playing the extra minutes. The extra minutes Pierce plays at SF are an improvement over Posey (or whoever else), the minutes TA/Scal play are a drop off from Posey.

Net: I think it’s a wash, or a small drop off, that can be made up for by better play together, since all the guys getting minutes will be in year two together.

I’m wondering if folks aren’t exaggerating in their memories how great the Celtics bench was last year during the regular season, especially on offense. As I remember it, we were constantly losing leads built by the starting unit.

So for this season, I’m fine with Tony Allen on the wing guarding the three spot. Maybe Pruitt and House/Giddens can be an effective backcourt, and Powe and Davis will be improved from last year. If the coaches can get anything out of O’Bryant, then great. Otherwise, late in the year Ainge will likely bring in what we need.

No matter what, we can’t win a championship before the playoffs start.

If you remove Posey fromthe equation for a momment, this team starts the year with a better roster than last year — as is! Despite O’Bryant’s lackluster start to an NBA career, do you expect less from him than you got with Pollard? O’B will likely give more than the injured Pollard did, and possibly give much more. Remember, PJ was a late season aquisition, which still remains a possibility (perhaps not PJ, but an equivalent). BBD and Powe have experience as regular rotation guys now, and I expect steadier play from both. House is House, but one year of playing with this team means he starts the year in a better place. TA began last year hoping he’d be 100% by January. Not sure he ever quite got there, but he certainly starts this year in a better place than last. Pruitt is no longer a rookis and looks promising. Rondo follows a year of growth and learning, and the big 3 begin the year as teammates rather than as 3 guys thrown together. Lastly, we have 2 rookies, each with potetnital to contribute and 1 (Giddens) looking NBA ready (to contribute) at least on the defensive side. With the MLE still available (it would seem given what I am guessing about the TA and House contracts), the C’s can still look to fill the hole at the back-up 3. The other encouraging note is that ‘chips’ are being nutured and raised among the young to eventually use for a bigger trade as time evolves and needs become apparent.

Well if it was a S&T – I doubt Ainge would be saying we have them back in the fold. However there is something to be said for getting some cash into the roster. As it was they would have had a hard time trading in season. Now House Allen Scal BBD could bring back a very solid player mid season (in terms of matching) and free the trading partner up for 2010.

If Ainge was confidant Gabe Pruitt would’ve been the equal to, or an upgrade over Eddie House as a back-up point guard, then I don’t think he would’ve resigned House. With Tony Allen, Giddens and Pruitt, Ainge had enough backups at the 2 spot. He would’ve used the money and roster spot to get a backup small forward.

All the same, Pruitt may still work out as a backup point guard.

I’m happy with this deal. Still have half of the MLE left, Tony Allen signs for 2mill…Now Trade Scals/Big Baby/Pick for someone!!!

Am I correct that House and T. Allen’s combined payout for 4 seasons of service (2 years apiece) is approximately what Posey gets in each of the 4 years of his new deal? This is much more cost effective spending to round out the bench with Tony at least being part of the solution to the puzzle of replacing Posey’s important role. The additions of Giddens and Walker and expanded roles for both Posey and Big Baby (all for relatively cost effective payouts) can be part of the rest of what it takes to replace Big Game James.

Posey’s veteran leadership now falls more on the newly crowned champion Big 3 (and House) but, in the long run, the franchise will be better off by confirming which of these many young and promising talents (Tony Allen and O’Bryant included) can actually produce consistent with their hoped for upsides.

Rondo, Perkins, Jefferson and Delonte West were to greater degrees previous manifestations of how actually playing more will vindicate Ainge’s acumen for evaluating talent. Allen (before his knee injury) was on the cusp of reaching this next level of accomplishment. There is no reason that at least some of the other youngsters (including T. Allen himself) won’t similarly improve with added playing time and responsibility.

i think it’s great. danny can keep em or trade em. house deserved to be back and he was team all the way- he’s a vet and a good clubhouse guy. tony is the ? it’s mostly the knees. are they healed? how long will they last? now that he’s secure, will he expand his game?

Until proven otherwise, I’m taking Danny at his word that he expects O’Bryant to be a big part of the team (adding the assumption that he means this year), and that Walker as reported is expected to get some seasoning elsewhere (developmental league?) first.

I’m also not so sure that the House signing doesn’t mean Danny’s confident enough in Pruitt to resign House, rather than pull in another veteran PG. I could see Danny stopping at 14, giving his young ‘bigs’ as much playing time as they can still win with (how well they know the benefit of home court advantage!), and only calling in another ‘old man’ veteran big late in the year if they think they need one.

And, I could also see a minor trade possibility, given the surfeit of players at the 2.

It’s a good move by Danny, it also allows him to use there Salaries in future trades as well, especially with them only signed for 2 years. Danny can package players for short term money if he is looking down the road to trade with some team looking for salary dumps…. case in point just recently Denver shipped Camby to the Clippers for a 2nd round pick??? hello!!!

Tony and Eddie know Doc’s system as well and feel comfortable around this team…

So, it’s not bad considering what Free Agents were out there and it also allows both of them to be here for 2 years when Scal’s contract is up as well. That will be lots of money off the cap and again… Danny will make a trade….

Good move ;)

It’s been a long three weeks.

Despite O’Bryant’s lackluster start to an NBA career, do you expect less from him than you got with Pollard

Yes I expect a lot less from O Bryant. Pollard gave a few decent performances before he spent the rest of the season on the sideline, I don’t think O Bryant contributes that much.

I hope Pruitt gets a shot at back-up PG.

I REALLY hope Ray Allen is healthy all season. If not – yikes.

Also – at this point – no one should count on Giddens or Walker for anything.

The lack of a pure replacement for James is not a problem yet … I think the Celtics are counting on buyouts and fishing for older vets who will take the shorter money … the PJ Brown/Sam Cassell strategy (both were good signings, one of them worked better than the other obviously) … makes sense, give the kids a chance to fill the void, and then find a veteran if the void is not filled

This team is the defending champion. I’d expect next year that the urgency for a 66 win season will not be there. The thing for them will be staying healthy and just getting a Top 4 playoff position, and the latter assuming health is almost assured in the East. Get into the tournament and take your chances.

Just to go back with what I was saying before.

This is a good move, considering in 2 years the only contracts will be

Garnett
Pierce
Perkins
Rondo

Everyone else’s salary comes off the books for about $41 Million. Danny has chips again for trading those contracts and acquiring players or waiting for when that group of free agents hit when it’s expected to be a bummper crop of free agents.

Have to take a look at the whole picture here with respect to where Danny is going. Again you get Allen, Scalabrine, O’Bryant, House, Allen off the books.

We still have the mid-level exemption to sign someone……. I’m fine with what Danny is doing

BTW: if there is a free agent to sign, I am expecting it would be Maurice Evans or Quinton Ross … former superb ath-a-lete who has the Detroit pedigree, so you expect the defensive potential to be there. The latter a superior defensive player, probably better than Posey as a man defender, but whose offensive game lacks confidence — though here he will get many open looks.

I just heard matt barnes signed with the suns for a 1 year deal, according to real gm, so he is off the table.

Lets not forget to that both these guys will be imminently tradeable. They will be veterans who can contribute but don’t make much money. When it comes time to make a trade deadline deals, guys like TA and House are valuable commodities to have. They act as valuable throwins to make the salaries work. Between Scal, TA and House, you have seven million to throw in to make a trade work.

His detractors may not like it, but the best Posry repalcement out thre was Tony Allen. TA can defend the other team’s best scorers while being an offensive threat.

My guess is that they were able to use the non-Bird exception for at least one of these plaers, and they had their LLE, so Ainge must still have a good chunk of his MLE available. Will he use it?

A trade is a possibility. Who knows?

Amazing how many people don’t understand that defense is what wins championships. Tony Allen is a LOT better defensively than anybody on the team, except Garnett – and trade height and you could see it there, too.

The only reason that people seem to think that Tony makes more turnovers is because Tony beats himself up over them….When he throws the ball away (or whatever) he hangs his head and feels it…whereas other players (ALL other players) just go on and don’t even acknowledge it. NOBODY in the NBA besides Desmond Mason can guard Kobe Bryant like Tony can….they’re the only two that truly get in his head (and both are former players of the defensive minds of Sutton (and in effect, Iba))

Tony’s signing makes more sense than House.

Tony can also bring the ball up the court and has definitely been a good backup in that regard also.

If Tony gets totally healthy, (and get’s the amount of playing time that he deserves), he’ll blow by so many people you guys won’t know what to think.

Congrats to the Celtics!

I think this is a great signing by Danny. He is setting us up for a legitimate chance to repeat, and setting the table in 2010 to rebuild. I am very high on TA’s future; I think by year’s end we will have forgotten about Posey. Posey was a great play-off guy, but is not irreplacable. Tony gives us more slashing and scoring ability, and is equal or better defender against 2s and small 3s. We should find a good outside shooter who can defend small 4’s and big 3’s, but if not, let’s wrap this up. We will be better this year than last, because our young guys are a year more experienced, and more importantly, we are bringing back alot of guys who know what it takes to win a championship. Tony Allen will have a much bigger role this year than last, as he will be fully recovered from his injury. I would love to see him eventually take over the starting 2 role in a couple of years when Ray is ready to come off the bench.

18 here we come!!!

Good to have House back and hope TA is healthy.
Hoopsworld article says C’s are in the mix for Devean George for the back-up 3. Really don’t know if he has much left in the tank. I prefer Mo Evans.

The more I think about it Tony must have some compromising pictures of Danny and Doc because he keeps getting chance after chance after chance.

Couldn’t have said it better myself. Tony Allen is a cockroach – the idiot just won’t go away! I would also like to know why people think that this moron has potential. He’s already 26 years old and still has yet to figure out how to make a jumpshot, dribble without carrying/palming the ball, or pass. I am also anxious to know who the genius is that keeps bringing this absolutely pathetic excuse for a “proffesional” basketball player back! All well, at least Eddie is back ;D

Excellent news!

C’s missed out on Barnes, as he’ll sign with the Suns. Tough. He did a 1 yr deal for 1.2. Cheap!

Hope Danny can dig up a tall, smart, veteran perimeter defender. They’ll need one.

I like TA & House, but they’re limited players who can’t sub for 20 minutes if needed. Allen is a total wildcard on both ends & House looks to shoot, not pass and can’t handle under ball pressure. They both have their uses but aren’t the guys you plug in for extended time.

Am I reading this correctly? We still have the MLE available?

Do you think Danny is going to make an offer to Childress now?

We have half the MLE left, we need a vet big.

I heard Gomes is looking for a the full MLE for 2 years. I think thats enough to pull him away from Minny.

We don’t have the full MLE.

I feel good knowing we are bring both of these guys back.

Both have earned the right to play as primary backups for the Celts. Our team defense will stay intact b/c of these signings.

On top of that, Danny got it done without giving up any long term deals – and leaving the flexibility of the extra roster spot and partial MLE.

That extra roster spot will come in handy, but we won’t know what hole to fill with it until we see 30-40 regular season games.

At this point it is a guessing game to say for certain that we need another pg, big, or wing. Time will tell us what piece we need for another playoff run. June is a long way off and this decision is better made around February, than right now.

agree with birdbrain. the backup 3 is a non-issue. ray and jr can play in a pinch along with walker. we’ll be fine. good resignings here especially my boy eddie $$$ nice to see he was rewarded for being a good soldier. tommy heinsohn will be excited by this news as well.

Great move. Posey was a unique single bench player but his price jumped too high given our three max contracts. So now we do it by committee – T Allen at the 2-3, Powe at the 4 along with Scal and BBD and perhaps from Giddens/Walker one gets some playing time.
I don’t see the need for a vet big. Powe and BBD are so young and will get better. OBryant, unless he’s an Olowokandi, should be the long big when we need a few minutes and fouls.
I like the team and I’d hold the last spot open through training camp-early season.

I love having my man Eddie back and I see him taking catches from Pruitt,not competing w Pruitt for back up PG.

Tony Allen helped carry Pierce off the court because he wasn’t needed in the game, not because he’s some kind of super-special teammate.

Ainge is a malignancy. He lets go of a sure thing in Posey in order to secure his marginal pet-project Tony Allen and leave some money floating around to take a stab at another of his draft day obsessions – shaun livingston. This team is both penny foolish and pound foolish.

Celtic fans who say things like “four years was too long for Posey” don’t quite grasp two important facts: 1) financial flexibility a tool to help your team upgrade, not an excuse to dismantle a succesful mix, and 2) the next big free agent to sign with the Celtics will be the first… which is to say it ain’t going to happen.

Phoenix is welcome to Matt Barnes. There was one playoff series against Dallas two years ago where Barnes made himself useful. With that one exception, he has done literally nothing.

I also have no interest in creaky veterans like Michael Finley, Devean George or the putrid Sam Cassell. The only veteran FAs who might be a good idea are Kurt Thomas and Walter Hermann. (Nachbar is following Delfino to Russia.)

Ainge quite simply overplayed his marginal hand. He bet that FA would take a big discount to play for the Celtics. He lost. Now he has to resort to 2 one dimensional wonders and call it a bench. I’m disgusted. We are a lesser team than we were last year. The bench is the same minus its two best pieces in Posey and Brown. Ridiculous.

Why don’t all the haters apply for positions in the league instead of pretending like they know something! Typical massholes. Quit your crying, I thought the big three was suppose to be the key and it was we have 17..For Christ sake we lost Posey. Ya he was good, are you paying to own the team for the next 10 years? Are you all you whiners out there. Danny couldn’t cough up the extra coin or chose not to to keep Posey…he is not coughing it up the owners are. I have a great idea why don’t you guys create a “Let’s keep the players fund” to help pay the lux tax. You’ve all had what? Six parades in so many years. I hope you all have season tickets to be crying this much.

Whats with the name calling?

Bob Dylan writes:

Ainge is a malignancy

Really? Didn’t this guy just put together a championship team? :-\
I am happy with the re-signings. I don’t think Ainge is done.

Green Mountain, you don’t make a lot of sense. PJ is retired either way — it’s not like he signed somewhere else and Ainge opted to let him go. Meanwhile Posey took the full MLE to go somewhere else; if Ainge had re-signed him, at the very least we don’t have House, and we probably don’t have Tony Allen either. Ainge didn’t overplay his hand at all. He signed two young, potentially useful veterans without touching the MLE, and signed a third using less than the full MLE, leaving room for one more player if needed. He lost exactly one important player to another team. Personally I would rather have Allen, House, O’Bryant, a three year deal for Walker, and flexibility next summer, than four years of James Posey.

I don’t know where all the panic is coming from. This team has a superior starting five plus good role players in Powe, Davis and House. You’ve got a solid wing defender in Tony Allen and two rookies with size and length who might give you something more behind Pierce and Allen. Sure, there are some question marks behind Perkins and at the backup 3-spot. But so what? Is this team really going to self-destruct in training camp? If the roster isn’t perfect, there’s plenty of time to make a deal during the season to shore things up. The team has tradeable young bodies and short contracts around the Big Three. Fiscally, it’s the ideal setup. And if they get lucky with O’Bryant and/or Giddens or Walker,we’re set.

I mean, seriously, people. This team won 66 games last year without a backup point guard. They’ll be fine. And if they’re not fine in the first half of the season, Ainge has time to fix things. The only thing that would really be worth getting upset about now is an insane multiyear contract doled out to an undeserving role player — a DeSagana Diop, for instance, or a Mark Blount. Or a James Posey, for that matter. THAT would be overplaying a hand. Not this.

This is not the final roster. Nice for the moment.

Richard, I’m with you! What’s with all the hate on Ainge? Calling him a malignancy? Such crap and disrespectful comparing people who are sick to Danny! Unbelievable! Imagine the hate if we hadn’t won last year after Danny sold our future for KG and Ray Ray. Why wouldn’t someone like Joe Johnson sign with us in a couple years especially if Ainge has the cash to throw at him. KG and Pierce would still be on the scene which would have appeal. There’s always a first time for everything. I swear people in Boston are never satisfied. We want to kavetch all the time on the Sox, C’s and even a little on the Pats. I guess that’s why talk radio is still so big. All the complaining.

I’ve never seen a poster on any board that “gets it” more than Bob Dylan. A real genius, that guy…

Don’t be surprised that Ainge-haters are popping up. There’re always going to be a few clowns who will stake out an extreme negative position. If things go sour at any point of this season, they’ll be around to tell us they knew it all along. Just ignore them. They love attention.

As I said last week, NO ONE is getting deal longer than 2 years. Letting Posey go was all about having capspace in 2009-2010. The Celtics may not have th space for a Lebron James, but they will have space for a 10 million-dollar player or close to it. The will also have the space to facilitate deals as the third team, which can get you nice goodies like draft picks as a “commission” for helping to broker the deal.

It remains to be seen whether or not Ainge cost the Celtics a future championship by not giving Posey the 4th year. It also remains to be seen if Posey will seriously regret not taking the 3 years that Boston offered. NO is a playoff team, but the national exposure (and endorsement opportunities) will likely be less there.

Bob Dylan, go find another team to bother. What a loser!

TA’s been injured and was the choice djour when Ainge traded all the youth last year for Allen/Garnett. TA was Doc’s boy, Delonte was Danny’s. All that aside, you bring back a guy who knows your system and his role and at a price that’s cheaper than had he not been injured. Plays decent defense and was starting to show some offensive progress until he was hurt – his IQ and turnovers is what puts him back on the bench.

House is a veteran guy – the cheerleader on the bench and also can space the floor in games where Rondo’s shot isn’t falling. Pruitt spent most of the year in the D-League last year so House is a logical choice to get spare minutes as needed, knows the system, knows his role … what’s not to like?

Bill Walker was a bargain basement pickup in the second round and rumor is they want him to play in Europe for a season or two, likely wasn’t drafted to make this years roster.

We played small ball last year because that’s what we had – a roster put together with who was available in Free Agency and Posey was a surprise addition. Does PP need someone to play the SF, yes – likely they will target Devean George or work a trade if need be.

We didn’t get Cassell and Brown until late in the season so there’s no need to panic yet for those two spots to be filled. After all – there’s a ton of points available and not a lot yet being signed. The question is whether the team thinks Cassell still has anything left in the tank or if Starbury is an upgrade. As far as Shaun Livingston goes, he’s a great long term intriguing addition but it sounds like he won’t be contributing much to any team next season regardless and the kid wouldn’t want to come here for a backup role anyway unless he wants a chance at a ring. Most of the kids want to vie for starter minutes, LA would’ve stuck with him unless his knee is in really bad shape.
So, I think Danny will fill the final spot with someone who will be an upgrade over Scal’s at the 4 spot who can play a little SF. I think we ended up needing PJ a lot down the stretch and I would be happy if I knew his roster spot was replaced with someone just as capable since we’re still extremely height challenged. If TA didn’t take the other half of the MLE, then we still have some of that to offer above the LLE to a FA on the fence but Danny will likely want to see who he can reel in with Veteran minimum contracts. I dislike Croshere and some of the other names out there but Juwan Howard (who wanted to play with Garnett before he came to Boston and considered signing here years ago) and Kurt Thomas are guys that could play the middle. Magliore has deteriorated but could still be 5 fouls off the bench in a support role, Kwame Brown may just find out he doesn’t have many suitors and needs an opportunity to put himself on a higher stage(although he struck out in LA) for a 1 yr deal, Chris Anderson who probably wanted a little more than the vet min (which we now have with Posey being gone) all provide some niche specialty roles depending on how Danny and Doc need to shape the roster.
Don’t forget too, that now all of these guys played on a championship and lived and breathed through the playoffs so Powe, Big Daddy, Pruitt (even in street clothes), TA know what it takes to be a champ and the expectations that go with it.
Gomes may settle for a yr deal at less then the MLE to return to Boston for a title chance and who knows what is going on with Delonte (I expected the Pacers to make a run) but I think Cleveland wants to improve via trade and not take on any luxury tax issues so Delonte’s probably not getting the money he wants either.

I think the team’s going to have it’s core team in tact with players who know the system with a returning coaching staff and still has time to wait for another “surpirse” to decide Boston’s not a bad choice if the delta money difference is a few hundred K. I also don’t think Lue was seriously on the Celtics radar and knew it but was using the media to get a best offer. If Cassell doesn’t sign with Denver (no need to backup Baron in LA) he’ll either go to the Lakers or end up with Boston. If he signs somewhere else soon, more than likely the C’s are going to wait out the Starbury option. I still can’t believe Danny is pursuing headcase Artest but I don’t think we have the salary structure to make it happen but he’d be a Posey replacement for sure. On a 1 yr rent a basis, it might work.

One other name to throw out there is Lorenzen Wright – he wanted the C’s to sign him before he went to Atlanta, now a FA with the Kings. Another FA Big we could be talking to – player who could fill in for minutes like PJ Brown and a veteran. Not on the top of my list but a guy who could add some stability on the bench at the 5 spot.

This wont be a shock to anyone but i think TA being back is fasntastic news ;D.

House too as he is the man when he doesnt have to take the ball up the court.

Green Mountain:

Keep this up, and you’ll solidify “our” fanbase in eternity with your petty, whiney self-righteousness.

Give it up dude. You’re NOT that smart-trust me. Your prior post proves me as the winner.

We won a Championship.

Shut your mouth. Enjoy the mid-summer blues with an aura of pride around your sports-loving soul.

We won a friggin’ CHAMPIONSHIP!!!

And I don’t like you.

scottboy79@bresnan.net

Proctology…

Well said. I’d break my laptop for your eloquence.

See y’all when I can afford a new one.

You’re my boy Procter & Gamble.

Who cares about cap space in a couple years when these are the years we have a shot at titles with Garnett and Allen before the wheels fall off? Makes no sense.
I agree that Ainge over-played his hand, although I guess ownership could have hamstrung him.
It’s really quite simple: We have gotten worse and other key teams will be improved — unless Ainge makes some surprising pick-up.

This is the same team as last year minus its two best bench performers. I don’t blame Ainge for not giving Posey a 4th year. I blame him for not replacing Brown and Posey with quality players. You can bury your head in the sand if you wish. Ainge is counting alot on the development of second round picks to give this team depth. Its not a smart move IMO.