It is time to put things right.
I was willing to go along with the program last year. I understood the concept of maintaining financial flexibility and not overpaying a player. I talked myself into agreeing with the decision to let James Posey sign elsewhere.
I was wrong and so was Danny.
Could Posey have put us over the top to win a title this year? Considering that we'd still be without KG, probably not. However, staring at our team needs, one of the glaring holes is a veteran, defensive minded small forward to come off the bench and give Pierce a rest. A bonus would be a guy that can also shoot and has championship experience. You know, like James Posey. As Bob Lobel might say, "why can't we get guys like that?"
Ainge has been willing to reverse course in the past. He brought back Antoine Walker. He dumped guys that were a bad fit, even though he was the one that brought them in (Ricky Davis). Danny is a shooter, and shooters have short memories. Time to do that again.
Posey was supposed to be the missing ingredient in New Orleans. He wasn't. Posey didn't play poorly, he just wasn't what they needed to put them over the top. At the deadline, New Orleans tried to trade Tyson Chandler for, ...essentially nothing. They need to shed salary in a big way. I'd like to help them out.
James Posey for Brian Scalabrine and Tony Allen
Tony was supposed to be our Posey replacement. He wasn't, but Ainge is good at selling us on Tony, he should be able to sell the Hornets on him. Scalabrine ended up being our poor-man's Posey. Between the two of them, they should be able to give the Hornets a reasonable alternative to Posey on the court and both have expiring contracts.
Will Posey be overpaid at the end of his deal? Yeah, probably. But I don't care anymore. We've got the Big 3 and we need to win now. We've proven that we can do it with Posey's help. Bring him back.
And if that fails, revisit the interest that Ainge showed in picking up Nocioni (once again, offering expiring deals).