Answering The Twitter Mailbag

This weekend I wanted to do a mailbag to answer questions that some of you might have.  I got most of my questions via twitter.  Here's a sampling of the questions and my humble answers.

mikerobbo34 @celticsblog do you think the team considered signing Iverson?

I believe Ainge admitted that there was some internal debate about signing Iverson.  Ainge has long been a fan so I would imagine it was Doc that vetoed the signing.  I'm sure that Doc has respect for AI but probably felt that introducing a guy like that wasn't the best idea for the lockeroom at that point in the season.  I agree.  For all his offensive prowess, he doesn't seem to be much of an ubuntu type of guy.  I think the Stephon experiment last year didn't hurt that much, but it didn't help much either.  In the end, if everyone wasn't buying in, it wasn't worth another experiment.

Colin_in_NYC @celticsblog here's a Q - How many minutes do you think will Big Baby get when he comes back and where are they coming from?

That's a really difficult question.  Shelden is much like Leon Powe in that he provides rebounding and energy but isn't always a good scoring option.  I could see another platoon situation like there was with Baby and Leon last year.  Both will be squeezed for minutes with Sheed coming off the bench as well.  I think you'll see Baby when Doc feels he needs some more offense and Shelden when Doc really needs a rebound.

sw43 @celticsblog How will this team recover from the offseason departure of defensive stalwart Mikki Moore?

Thank you Steve Weinman.  He'll be here all week folks.  Tip your waitress.  Wait, I thought we agreed that the Mikki Moore era never happened.  As soon as Tom Ziller invoked the name of Mark Blount, I knew we were in trouble.

But seriously, even with Sheed not in his prime anymore, he is so much of an upgrade over what we had last year it is crazy.

WAD1980 @celticsblog will rebounding be the fatel flaw of the 09-10 Celtics or will Danny Ainge find a way to improve it?

Lets just say that it is a tear in the fabric.  We can sew it up, patch it up, or ignore the problem.  Ignoring it isn't an option because the tear will just keep getting bigger and leave a big hole in our attack.  Patching it with an outside person might help, but might end up causing more problems than it is worth.  I think we have players that can rebound but they need to make if more of a priority.  Perk, Sheed, and KG should be able to board with anyone.  Sheed and KG spend a lot of time on the perimeter on offense, but if they emphasized it, they could pull down more boards.  I think.

4Hoopz @celticsblog why the Celtics? What's ur next fave' 3 teams? What players would you like to see in green? (realistically and/or unrealisticly)

Dad brought me to the '86 Championship rally in Boston when I was 11.  That pretty much sealed the deal for me.  Next 3 favorite?  I'd have to say the Twolves (formerly because of KG, now because of Big Al and Gomes), Nuggets (I like Melo), and anyone playing against the Lakers (or Magic or Cavs).  I've said before, Chris Paul is the only PG I'd trade Rondo for.  Durant is unattainable but would look great in green.  Ditto for Melo.  Basically, once the big 3 move on, we're going to need some bigtime scorers to put next to Rondo and Perkins.

bigguyd @celticsblog what are the c's going to do with Tony Allen? Is he tradeable at his point or do we keep him as a good 12th option?

Sure he's tradable, he's got an expiring contract.  As a player, however, he's not worth much at all. Couple his contract with Scal and JR Giddens and we can pick up someone for the stretch drive that might be able to help.  The key will be finding a team willing to dump salary at the deadline and not taking on too many years (probably the reason why Nocioni isn't a Celtic right now).

Brian0414 @celticsblog in the offseason, any ideas of who we may be able to land?

Oh man, I'm notorious for looking ahead and thinking about the next step, but I'm not sure even I can look ahead that far.  This team is built to win now.  I'm not sure anyone knows what's going to happen this summer, including Danny.

My best guess is that we'll take whomever we can nab for the MLE like we did with Sheed this year.  Hey, maybe if Shaq wants one more shot at a ring he'll sign on to be our Bill Walton 6th man.

CelticsCircuit @celticsblog: Is Rajon Rondo the best point guard in the Eastern Conference?

He's probably the best pure point guard, yeah.  It will be fun watching him and Derrick Rose grow up together.  Devin Harris had a heck of a year last year and Jameer Nelson is a heck of a player.  But I like Rondo for the way he can dominate a game without needing to shoot the ball much.

katee_nbaluv09 @celticsblog do you think perkins is having an all star worthy season this year?

Good question.  I'm not sure if I have a direct answer for you.  On one hand, I have to make the case that his defense deserves recognition and his offense has rounded his game into an all around player.  There aren't a lot of big men I'd trade him for in the East.

On the other hand, it will be very difficult from a logistical standpoint to get him on the actual All Star roster.  You can bet on KG and Paul being there, I'm betting Rondo will be on this year, then you have to wonder how many Celtics they'll put on the team and you start to weight the pros and cons of putting Ray vs. Perk on the team.  You can see why Doc avoided the question the other day.  He doesn't want to get in the middle of that debate.  In a perfect world, Paul, KG, Rondo, and Perkins go this year, leaving Ray to rest and spend time with family.  But I'm not sure it will work out that way.

What would you do for a Klondike Bar? (Kiorrik)

I'd do a lot for a Klondike Bar, especially if it was funny.  So the question isn't what would I do, but rather what wouldn't I do.  Here are some things:

• Root for Kobe for any reason.  In fact, I have him on my fantasy basketball team and I routinely root against myself.  I was hoping to jinx him by having him on my team, but so far no such luck.  Also on my team are Kidd, Richard Jefferson, Boozer, Varejao, and Horford.  I'm in 3rd place and hating every moment of it.
• Advocate trading Paul Pierce under any circumstance.  For the right deal I could trade Ray Allen.  I can't imagine it happening before the last year of his deal, but I would trade KG.  I would even consider trading Rondo or Perkins for the right deal.  However, I don't think I could part with Pierce for anything.
• Stop writing about the Celtics.  I love that this blog has become so popular and that you all like coming here to discuss the greatest basketball franchise ever, but if I didn't have this blog, I'd still be writing about the team somewhere.  I just can't get enough of this stuff and I am blessed to be part of this community.  Cheers.