June 29, 2007
The Celtics acquired a seven-time All-Star last night without giving up any of their major players, and while there remain questions as to how Ray Allen will fit with Paul Pierce and the rest of his new teammates, the improvement in talent was enough to satisfy Danny Ainge and Doc Rivers.
``We think Ray Allen is a great player and has a lot of basketball left in him, and it's really hard to acquire All-Star-caliber players,'' said Ainge, the C's director of basketball operations, after picking up Allen and the 35th overall pick from Seattle for Wally Szczerbiak, Delonte West and the rights to former Georgetown forward Jeff Green, who the Celts chose with the No. 5 overall pick last night. ``We think it's an opportunity to make Al Jefferson better, make Paul Pierce better and Rajon Rondo better and others. We couldn't be more thrilled. It's going to give us a chance to compete in the Eastern Conference.''
Speaking on whether this is now the best Celtics outfit in his tenure, which began in 2003, Ainge said, ``This team is . . . they have no excuses, this team out there. I mean, these guys can score the ball. We have experience, we have shooting, we have scoring, knowledge. I'm not saying our team's perfect and it's a perfect fit right now. We still have some work to do this summer to prepare us even more.''
Those moves could be large.
According to one source, the Celts still aren't sure whether they should close the door on a trade for Kevin Garnett, though Minnesota was looking for the fifth pick, as well as Jefferson, to make that work before last night.
The deal for Allen, meanwhile, apparently had been discussed for a while, but wasn't completed until the Sonics agreed to accept Szczerbiak instead of Theo Ratliff late yesterday afternoon. Szczerbiak has two years left on his contract, Ratliff one.
Allen, who turns 32 on July 20, played just 55 games due to ankle problems last season. The UConn product still averaged 26.4 points before having surgery to clear loose bodies from both ankles in early April.
``I think he's a game-finisher,'' said Ainge, who noted that Pierce was ``thrilled to death; very excited'' about the move.
``This is something that we've been talking about for a year - to take advantage of this opportunity with a player that we think is one of the best Celtics to ever put on a uniform in Paul Pierce, and we want to maximize his career. We want to surround him with more veterans and more talent, and that's what we've been trying to accomplish.'' Celtics sources had said repeatedly since the end of the season that the club was not looking to overburden itself with high contracts. That was at least part of the reason that trade talks for Phoenix' Shawn Marion never went far. In that Ainge said most trades these days are done with a strong financial component, here's how the Celtics-Seattle transaction shakes out:
** Allen has three years left at $16 million, $17,388,430 and $18,776,860.
** Szczerbiak has next year at $12.5 million and the year after at $13.5 million. ** West is entering his last year at $ 1,889,760, but the C's were planning to talk to him about a contract extension.
Outside the cost of West and the No. 5 pick, the move will cost the Celts a bit more than $26 million.
Asked if the deal leaves the Celts with just one point guard (Rondo), Ainge noted that Sebastian Telfair, who was arrested this spring on gun charges, is still here.
``Sebastian's with our team right now,'' Grousbeck said. ``Sebastian's on the roster. Sebastian and I talked shortly and had a discussion. It's a long time 'til November. We'll see what happens.''
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