What You Won’t See in Boston
Posted by Steve Bzomowski on June 27, 2007
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In Portland last week to run an NTL Weekend Camp and what do we Bostonians see on I-84 East each day? Ouch!
I honked 5 times for the Celtics’ fifth pick, who, I predict, will never play with Paul Pierce.
Because Pierce won’t want to play with another “project”: Yi. Because he thinks that Green or Noah or Brewer will not be enough to make a difference; he’s correct there. And because management will have finally decided that they would rather trade Pierce while he’s still more marketable than he will be a year from now (approaching, then 31 y/o), than pair him with someone like Jermaine O’Neal or someone who, sans Al Jefferson (who they would have to give up), is just not good enough to get them anywhere interesting: second round of playoffs.
Pierce is petulant and thinks he is better than he really is. Is he, in fact, a top fifteen NBA player? (Lebron, Kobe, Duncan, Wade, T-Mac, Yao, KG, Bosh, Nash, Nowitzki, Amare, Brand, Carmelo, Boozer/Arenas/Dwight Howard/Iverson. Other than maybe Iverson, who would you not take straight up for Pierce? And there are probably a half dozen others.). Some contender surely must think they could use him. Rivers has had to kiss Pierce’s butt one time too many and for too long and will probably have convinced Ainge (if Ainge has a half a brain in his head and I think he does . . . barely) by now that Pierce has more value gone than staying. He serves no purpose here. He’d be better off somewhere else, too. Send him to Jerry Sloan, see how he likes it there.
Watch for major upheaval on the Celtics’ front. I mean, it’s gotta happen. But please let Pierce be gone and not Big Al. Please!
June 29, 2007 at 4:10 pm
Right on about the pick and Pierce. Will PP play with Allen? Not much defense!
July 6, 2007 at 5:37 am
Can’t agree with you more. I geflinched (I was in Germany when I heard the news) that the C’s acquired Ray Allen. This grab just makes things worse. It gives the Celtics the illusion that they’ll be better in the long term when in fact it’s just short term piece of candy that will make us feel good before it dissolves. While I have no problem trading Delonte West, he’s just a good backup 2 guard, it would have been better to trade Pierce and get something of value for the future. This future with or without Pierce in the short term is too far off for Pierce to be any value other than trade bait.
July 6, 2007 at 12:19 pm
Maybe they’ll play some D, but probably the best we can hope for is that Danny understands the virtue of making the trade in time for these older guys, and gets something for Pierce in a year or two — and maybe two is waiting too long.
The Big 3 retired as Celtics but Danny went to other teams — what did we get for him, anyway, way back when?
July 15, 2007 at 7:36 pm
I like the trade. A lot of people say the Celtics didn’t need more scoring, but actually they were 22nd in the NBA in scoring last year. Ray Allen has a lot of basketball left in him. There were no can’t miss guys at #5 and the Celtics didn’t need to get younger. Also, Allen’s contract becomes valuable in 2 years if he declines rapidly. With Allen, Pierce, and Jefferson as the big 3, I see good things. Our team makeup is similar to the 01 Milwaukee Bucks who almost made the finals with Allen, Cassel, and Robinson as the big 3. The average age is about the same and it’s a nice mix of inside scoring and outside shooting. I’m drinking the Kool-Aid!
July 18, 2007 at 4:45 pm
No, Dan, no. How are the Bucks lately? Bob Ryan had an interesting take in his blog, whose existence I discovered today. He’s not a fan of this trade. http://www.boston.com/sports/columnists/bob_ryan_blog/2007/07/why_danny_why.html
July 19, 2007 at 10:50 am
If memory serves we got Joe Kleine and Ed Pinckney for Danny..
Instead of Ray Allen shouldn’t the C’s have just traded for Tim Duncan? He would have solved so many of their problems and made them an instant contender. I would have traded West, Tony Allen, the #5 pick, and I guess Perkins if the Spurs want a big in return.
July 19, 2007 at 11:06 am
When all is said and done, in my view the Allen trade won’t make much of an overall impact. They should improve a little in the short term, but how much better will they really be?
Long term, if the idea is to truly become a title contender, is there any other recipe for that other than to get the next Duncan, Shaq, Jordan, Isiah, Bird, Magic, etc?
July 19, 2007 at 1:54 pm
Well, we got some value for Danny. I always liked Ed Pinckney, since I was in Philly and watched him a lot in college. It’s easier to contend for a championship with a Bird type, but titles have been won by teams solid from top to bottom without a superstar. Detroit’s recent championship team had a lot of good players but no one superstar — and Rah me no Sheed, Chauncey me no Billups. Rip me no Hamilton. Tay me no Shaun, I could go on all day, that’s the point.
And on the superstar front, there are superstars who raise their teams to their level, and those who don’t. Those who do: Duncan, Jordan, Bird, Magic, Russell. Those who don’t: Shaq, Kobe. Where does Isiah fit? LeBron is headed for the former group, which makes him quite rootable I’d say.
July 19, 2007 at 3:09 pm
I agree the trade is very bad if Ray Allen shows up to camp limping. But I am encouraged by his recent comments that his ankles feel great. Only 6 months ago Allen scored 52 points in a nail-biting overtime win against the Western Conference finalist Utah Jazz (YouTube highlights here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6O46IwaxkZk). If he’s physically declining, he’s hiding it well. Some NBA guards play well into their 30s while some drop off rapidly. I hope Ray is among the former. We shall see!
July 19, 2007 at 3:21 pm
I agree on the recent Pistons team, but that’s really the only such example in the last 25+ yrs which to me suggests that you do need an all-time great to win a title (some exceptions–’04 Pistons, ‘79 Sonics, ‘78 Bullets)
In other words there have been maybe 10 or so players in recent NBA history (25 or so yrs) who have been true difference makers…Without having one of those players, it’s EXTREMELY difficult to construct a roster of good but not great players capable of winning it all. The Pistons did it but to me they were the exception.
August 2, 2007 at 10:47 am
How does everyone feel about the KG trade?