I had a rough order in which I wanted to do these Thank You's but considering the fact that James Posey is opting out of his contract, I thought it might be a good idea to get his thanks in quick. Who knows? Maybe a little blog love would convince him to stay!
Thank you Big Game James! You brought a Championship swagger to this team. You were one of Tom Thibodeau's star pupils on defense. You got under the skin of opponents as the classic "guy I'm glad is on our side." And you had a tremendous knack for hitting dagger three pointers that either killed a run by the other team or started one for us.
It is impossible to say how many games would have swung in the other direction if we replaced James Posey with an average reserve swingman, but I'm sure it would be more than a handful.
Will he be back? The team wants him but it is no sure thing.
The key reserve is expected to exercise his option and forego the $ 3,462,480 he can take for next season. And the list of suitors should be lengthy. (How badly do the Lakers need a guy like this?)
The Celts are hoping they can bring him back with a deal that not only takes care of Posey but allows the club the ability to make other needed moves.
And there's the rub. I could not and would not blame him one bit for taking whatever deal was set before him with the most zeros and years on it. With that said, if the Celtics throw big truckloads of cash at him (perhaps matching another team's offer), then the team might be handcuffed in terms of other moves. If we want to reload for another title and keep an eye on the future, a little bit of cap flexibility would be nice to have.
Can they work something out? Paul Pierce seems pretty confident.
"I think he likes us," Pierce said with a smile. "I think he’ll want to stick around another year."
If there's one thing I've learned this year, it is never to doubt The Truth.
(also see SportsAgentBlog)