Celtic Nation wakes up tomorrow morning and finds out that James Posey signed with the Lakers for the full MLE and Corey Maggette preferred the warmth of San Antonio to the harsh winters of the northeast.
Not good.
On the other hand, Danny Ainge thinks to himself, just what I wanted. I’d rather spread the MLE over two or three players than give it all to one guy anyway.
So he nickels and dimes Tony Allen, who promptly says “screw it” and signs with a another playoff contender in the East. Same for Eddie House.
So where does that leave us?
An aging core of superstars.
A center with chronic shoulder problems.
A point guard who has all the tools you’d ever want in your quarterback, except for a reliable jumper.
Anything else?
Yeah, you got your Leon Powes and your Big Babies and maybe even your Gabe Pruitts. I won’t mention #44, because I’m still searching for our essential group of playmakers and contributors, and Brian Scalabrine is a stop-gap guy at best.
So what’s left?
Obviously, we need a back-up center. Chris Andersen could make some plays on D, and perhaps a few on O. He’d be an overall upgrade over Pollard but a significantly bigger risk than PJ. Danny probably doesn’t sign a third stiff behind the Birdman, unless it’s for non-guaranteed money, sort of like Brandon Wallace last year. Instead, Danny will try to retain enough flexibility to keep roster spots 14 and 15 open down the stretch, also like last year.
Anything else to hope for?
Yup. We can hope that JR Giddens is this year’s Rodney Stuckey, a late first rounder who blossoms into a contributor. I hate to say this, but I’m thinking Danny might be putting a couple of chips on this bet, and, being the shill I am, I might do the same. In my personal opinion, Giddens has the opportunity to make a name for himself in a 8-16 minute role right off the bat, unless, of course, Danny signs Maggette (but since we're playing worst case scenario, we aren't allowed to pray for home runs).
So is that it?
More or less, yes, that is it.
I hesitate to bring up the name of my dark horse, but since I started campaigning for PJ Brown on the first day of the season last year, I might as well start my campaign to give Kirk Snyder a look. This dude is a rugged wing that could provide a lot of what Tony Allen provided, only on the cheap and without the knee problems. I know he got cut by the T-Wolves, but take a look at their roster. Foye, McCants, Brewer, plus a bunch of other 2s and 3s McHale is keeping his eye on. No way Snyder gets minutes before those three first rounders, and because Snyder was one of the first players Danny invited to mini-camp, I suspect Lurch told Danny to at least give this guy a look.
Powe and Davis should provide solid minutes at the four and a few at the five. I'm not expecting a so-called breakout season from either. Danny most certainly will continue to review the list of available free agents, but don't expect the the Tyronn Lues of the world to make much of an impact. Players like him get signed more for stability than anything else.
Does this all worry me?
Sure, a little. Three impact players and a bunch of question marks sounds a lot like the team all the critics picked last year to struggle through the regular season and get beat by Cleveland in the playoffs.
But those worries are for another day.
We just won our first championship in 22 years, and I plan to celebrate until the next champion is crowned. Unless the 2009 Boston Celtics start going down with a series of major injuries, next season won't be as painful as 1987, and I already lived through that nightmarish campaign. So I'll be OK this year.
Most importantly, I expect the 2009 Boston Celtics to play a little more like the Detroit Pistons of the last few years. They'll be good, but there won't be the same sense of urgency. They won't come out of the gate 29-3 or finish the regular season with 66 wins. What they will do is keep on working to make themselves better, and Danny will keep working the phones to give this team the best shot he can at winning number 18 next June.
That's really all you can ask for.
4 comments:
I love what you're doing with this blog! I've been following it since it's inception.
As a 31 year-old Celtic fan who was all of 9 years old when they won in 1986, I especially enjoy reading all the 80's articles from the Globe that you have done an excellent job of posting.
While we're on the topic of "worst case scenarios", I hope that the '09 Celts don't become the '84 Sixers, who lost 3-2 in the first round best of 5 to the Nets (the road team won every game).
What made the '87 Celts so special in the eyes of its fans was that they valiantly attempted to successfully defend their title in spite of such huge hurdles such as injuries and a younger opponent with a deeper bench.
I've always felt that the true mark of a great team was how well they defended their title the next year.
The Lakers had to practically stab us and twist the knife before they finally beat us in '87.
So I hope our hoop heroes don't go out like the aforementioned '84 Sixers or worst yet, the '06 Heat.
Thanks, Martin.
Yes, it should be an interesting year. I'd like to think that the C's will still be strong, but long-term injuries to any starter could be a killer.
The 87 team definitely had a lot of heart.
Tony is my bet to be the free agent signee at the wing. I think Posey will get the money and years the Cs are unwilling to offer. Maggette is going to the Spurs or whoever can give him more than the MLE (which I think might only be Golden State at the moment). I think Danny will be able to nickel and dime Tony who should be in line for a lot of minutes as the first wing off the bench.
That might be acceptable, Michael, if we could somehow land a scoring wing or if Giddens becomes a scoring wing...
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