What If...?

What if…

Pierce had been traded to Portland for Nick VanExel’s nonguaranteed contract and the the #3 pick, and Chris Paul had become a Celtic?

Jefferson, Perkins, Jeff Green, Joe Johnson, Chris Paul

with Rondo, West , Gomes, Powe, Allen, BBD and the rest coming off the bench.

By the way, if Joe Johnson had not been traded, the Celtics could have used the first round pick that was traded to Phoenix in that deal (#22) to draft Tayshaun Prince, Carlos Boozer or Luis Scola, just to name three.

Because we would be dealing with an entirely different set of circumstances.
No one really knows what the team would look like today.
Plus IMO, that line up Brick just mentioned may be one of the worst defensive teams in the history of the NBA
Perkins is the only defensive presence and he’d foul out of every game.

I can’t speak for the Empty the Bench article, but the purpose of my own piece was to view a player in different (hypothetical) circumstances, to possibly see the player in a different light. And obviously to do it with certain Celtics.

As I suggest, GM’s and scouts do it all the time in evaluating potential players for their own team and system.

An interesting example over his career is someone like Donyell Marshall. He has flourished…or sat. There has been little in between. Did he need the right system? it seems so.

Glen Davis and Leon Powe are two other interesting players to walk down that road with.

Delonte West is another one. Promising start here, then doesn’t play in Seattle…at all. His development stops. Goes to the Cavs, he is now starting on a contending team.

Sometimes, a great team can makes players look better than they are. Danny Ainge was traded to the Kings. The Kings thought he was good enough to make him into a first or second scoring option. Danny did well, but couldn’t really fill that role.

The point of the Rondo piece, in spite of the Celtics being predominantly a half court team, is that it looks like this is the best of all worlds for him. Where would he be developmentally right now on other specific teams?

It is an interesting question.

Hey, maybe I’m the only guy that thinks that way. Whatever.

thanks for the daylight, Jeff.

best,
T

…unless we win the #1 or #2 pick.

Delonte West in Seattle is a case in point.

Hey guys, glad to see you discussing and taking the time to check out my article on Empty the Bench. I just wanted to excerpt the two disclaimers/caveats I put in the intro. Basically it’s an exercise as a pure thought experiment for discussion and interest:

"I also have two disclaimers. First, acquiring Ray Allen and Kevin Garnett was absolutely the right thing to do. In the NBA a bird in the hand is worth five in the bush. If Ainge had kept the core intact I don’t think the young kids had a snowball’s chance in hell of winning a title in the next two or three years. It would have been a long-term project along the lines of the current Portland Trailblazers with no guarantees of success. When you have a legit shot at a title you take it, no questions asked. Rings are what this game is all about.

Second, there’s an undeniable butterfly effect to take into account here. I acknowledge that we have no way of knowing what other moves would have been made, what contracts would have been signed and how drafts would have shaken down in the alternate universe where Ray Allen is still struggling futilely in Oklahoma and Kevin Garnett is still toiling away in the Twin Cities."

You cannot forget that if we never made the KG trade we would of had the Minnesota lottery pick. It may not have been as good because Garnett would have made Minnesota a better team. But, say the Celtics got lucky, and Minnesota beats the odds and gets a high lottery pick. The Celtics could of drafted OJ Mayo.

A team of Rondo, Mayo, Green, Jefferson, and Perkins is dangerous. And you cannot forget about the proven vet players of Wally, West, and Gomes. And, oh yeah, we still would of had that guy by the name of Paul Pierce.

but looking at the most realistic out come, we have starters Perk, Jefferson, PP, DWest, Rondo with J Green, T Allen, Gomes, Powe ,Telfair, and Wally off the bench(No BBD because he was from the Ray trade). I am going to say PP doesn’t get traded at that point especially with Wyk and all saying he was always going to be a Celtic for life. I think if Cliff Ray, Tom T and Doc are all here, thats now a 50-55 win team with a good long term future.

The Big Ticket is the big difference as well know. Al is almnost, almost an unstoippable force in Mn, yet they are still not good at best, so far. Al just isn’t a good defender and that is what would hurt the above team so much

Danny was very clear that if held the 5 pick, he would have drafted Yi, not Jeff Green.

As many theologians will tell you, it was preordained on the day of creation that Danny would trade for Ray Allen and then Garnett. Free will is just an illusion.

So don’t be so quick to praise Danny, or blame Chris Wallace for the 2001 draft. God knew about Joe Forte all along.