Monday, July 30, 2007
The Guys in Green, Back in the limelight
By SG2.0
" The circle's gonna come back around. The sun always shines...it's just that sometimes there's some clouds." - Kevin Garnett
There was indeed something poetic about what happened on July 31, 2007. Without notice, the Boston Celtics were back on top of the NBA world.
Sure there were those that disagreed with the deal, which could prove to be the most influencial deal this franchise has undertaken since they swindled the Warriors for (ironically) Kevin McHale and Robert Parish in 1980. And when I first saw it, I was less-than-enthused about departing with Al Jefferson.
But then I remembered the pain. It was the pain that I and thousands of Celics fans felt on May 22, 2007, when those dreaded ping-pong balls bounced the wrong way. For the Celtics fan under 30 years old, that was it.
No Len Bias. No Tim Duncan. No Kevin Durant. No Greg Oden.
We were robbed of yet another opportunity to see the once proud franchise, the franchise that once owned the Boston sports scene, long before we can remember, become a player again.
It would take one hell of an off-season to ease the pain.
Now, we're in the midst of August and Colin Friggin' Cowherd is talking about the Celtics (I use friggin' in the sense that he is an ego-maniacal, self-promoting d-bag, that resembles what Jim Brewer would look like if he was still using the "Goat Boy" moniker).
Sadly, it's the only sports radio program I can get in San Diego that doesn't involve people calling up and saying things like, "Hey! Isn't Shawne Merriman the man?!"
Prior to the 2007 NBA Draft, Goat Boy Cowherd was calling Danny Ainge the biggest fool in the NBA. Granted just about everyone else was, but Cowherd was just ripping Ainge, the Celtics and Celtics fans for just whining about not getting the ping-pong balls to bounce their way and still complaining about the deaths of Reggie Lewis and Len Bias.
Fine.
Then comes along the Ray Allen trade. Cowherd rips it and says Ainge is just doing it out of desperation and that he should just quit immediately. He claims they are stuck between a rock and a hard place and they'll be mired in mediocrity for the next 10 years.
Fine.
Then comes the Kevin Garnett trade. People get exited. "Hey, the Celtics might be back!" people are saying. Cowherd rains on the parade. Says Ainge is just doing it to sell tickets and that he just saved his job until the next screw up. Says Celtics fans are dillusional if they think they stand a chance against the likes of big bad LeBron and his cast of Craig Ehlo's.
This is approximately the time that I truly got excited.
All those Celtic-haters, much like Celtic backers, are coming out of the wood-work. The media members that grew up Lakers fans and Sixers fans, who had not had a chance to trash on the franchise that once kicked their team's teeth in for years, had their chance once again.
Goat Boy Cowherd and "Did I mention I grew up in New York?!!!" Steven A. Smith, who praised the moves of buddy Isiah Thomas (Isiah Thomas!) for the past few years while all but branding Danny Ainge the anti-christ, were giddy about the chance to rip the Celtics on a national forum.
The difference this time around, however, is that people are listening when it comes to Celtic praising and ripping alike.
The Celtics are once again a polarizing organization.
And that, my friends, is a great thing.
Questions/Comments??? Email: SportsGuy2.0@hotmail.com
By SG2.0
" The circle's gonna come back around. The sun always shines...it's just that sometimes there's some clouds." - Kevin Garnett
There was indeed something poetic about what happened on July 31, 2007. Without notice, the Boston Celtics were back on top of the NBA world.
Sure there were those that disagreed with the deal, which could prove to be the most influencial deal this franchise has undertaken since they swindled the Warriors for (ironically) Kevin McHale and Robert Parish in 1980. And when I first saw it, I was less-than-enthused about departing with Al Jefferson.
But then I remembered the pain. It was the pain that I and thousands of Celics fans felt on May 22, 2007, when those dreaded ping-pong balls bounced the wrong way. For the Celtics fan under 30 years old, that was it.
No Len Bias. No Tim Duncan. No Kevin Durant. No Greg Oden.
We were robbed of yet another opportunity to see the once proud franchise, the franchise that once owned the Boston sports scene, long before we can remember, become a player again.
It would take one hell of an off-season to ease the pain.
Now, we're in the midst of August and Colin Friggin' Cowherd is talking about the Celtics (I use friggin' in the sense that he is an ego-maniacal, self-promoting d-bag, that resembles what Jim Brewer would look like if he was still using the "Goat Boy" moniker).
Sadly, it's the only sports radio program I can get in San Diego that doesn't involve people calling up and saying things like, "Hey! Isn't Shawne Merriman the man?!"
Prior to the 2007 NBA Draft, Goat Boy Cowherd was calling Danny Ainge the biggest fool in the NBA. Granted just about everyone else was, but Cowherd was just ripping Ainge, the Celtics and Celtics fans for just whining about not getting the ping-pong balls to bounce their way and still complaining about the deaths of Reggie Lewis and Len Bias.
Fine.
Then comes along the Ray Allen trade. Cowherd rips it and says Ainge is just doing it out of desperation and that he should just quit immediately. He claims they are stuck between a rock and a hard place and they'll be mired in mediocrity for the next 10 years.
Fine.
Then comes the Kevin Garnett trade. People get exited. "Hey, the Celtics might be back!" people are saying. Cowherd rains on the parade. Says Ainge is just doing it to sell tickets and that he just saved his job until the next screw up. Says Celtics fans are dillusional if they think they stand a chance against the likes of big bad LeBron and his cast of Craig Ehlo's.
This is approximately the time that I truly got excited.
All those Celtic-haters, much like Celtic backers, are coming out of the wood-work. The media members that grew up Lakers fans and Sixers fans, who had not had a chance to trash on the franchise that once kicked their team's teeth in for years, had their chance once again.
Goat Boy Cowherd and "Did I mention I grew up in New York?!!!" Steven A. Smith, who praised the moves of buddy Isiah Thomas (Isiah Thomas!) for the past few years while all but branding Danny Ainge the anti-christ, were giddy about the chance to rip the Celtics on a national forum.
The difference this time around, however, is that people are listening when it comes to Celtic praising and ripping alike.
The Celtics are once again a polarizing organization.
And that, my friends, is a great thing.
Questions/Comments??? Email: SportsGuy2.0@hotmail.com
Sunday, July 08, 2007
Just win, Maybe
Sure Ray Allen’s ankles are more fragile than the leg lamp in “A Christmas Story.” But when, in the past 20 years, has this franchise inherited a guy that scored 26.4 points per game the previous season?
When have they, in that period, had a guy that could shoot a basketball like this?
Danny Ainge’s plan from Day 1 was to acquire as many “chips” as possible in an attempt to get a legitimate All-Star.
He finally did that on Draft Day 2007.
His plan from Day 1 was also to have the Celtics not bow out in the semi-finals each year (like they did in 2003 when he took over) and instead be a team that would make at least two trips to the NBA Finals.
He certainly hasn’t assembled a team that can do that…yet.
Paul Pierce’s much-heralded “window” will be closing for good in about three years. They obviously made the decision to try and win now when they acquired Senor Shuttlesworth, so why not go for it all right now?
I propose two routes in which the Baby Faced Assassin should go about doing this:
1. Trade Theo Ratliffe’s contract, Gerald Green and next year’s No. 1 pick to Indiana in exchange for Jermaine O’Neal.
- This is the route I think all Celtics fans would prefer, considering Al Jefferson would be here to stay and would provide Boston with one devastating front court. The future franchise star would remain, all while giving the Celtics a chance to blow through a horrid Eastern Conference the next few years. Would this ultimately result in the C’s beating a team from the West and winning a championship? Probably not, barring Al Jefferson becoming even better than we all foresee and Rajon Rondo becoming a top-flight point guard.
However, it would keep Jefferson around for when the Celtics transition away from the Pierce era.
2. Trade Al Jefferson and Theo Ratliffe’s contract in exchange for Kevin Garnett.
- Is it a short-sighted move? Without question. But it would give the Celtics their best shot at banner No. 17 since 1987. They could definitely compete against any team from the West with Pierce, Allen and Garnett on the floor at the same time. Is it a guarantee? No way. But nothing is guaranteed. It’s not guaranteed that Jefferson’s 2006-07 output was a sign that he will be an All-Star player for the next 12 years. At the end of the day, he was the best player on a 24-win team. This is not the NFL, where smart teams like the Patriots can keep plugging in parts at free will and maintaining dominance for a 10-year period. The NBA is all about maximizing supposed “windows.” What’s going to happen when Duncan’s window closes? I guarantee the Spurs won’t look as smart as they do today. Most franchises don’t have the fortune of landing a once-in-a-lifetime player. That window closed for the Celtics on 5/22.
Either way, the Celtics can’t just stand pat and keep treading their wheels. I also believe, there’s really no scenario that they can or should keep both Jefferson and Gerald Green. One of them has to go.
Right now it looks as though, Jefferson is the guy to keep. But who’s to say Gerald won’t make a “Jefferson-like” leap as well?
Interesting times are to follow.
But here’s a prediction: Two years from now, Danny Ainge will be regarded as one of the top executives in the game.
And no, I’m not high.
E-Mail your thoughts and comments to: SG2.0@hotmail.com
Sure Ray Allen’s ankles are more fragile than the leg lamp in “A Christmas Story.” But when, in the past 20 years, has this franchise inherited a guy that scored 26.4 points per game the previous season?
When have they, in that period, had a guy that could shoot a basketball like this?
Danny Ainge’s plan from Day 1 was to acquire as many “chips” as possible in an attempt to get a legitimate All-Star.
He finally did that on Draft Day 2007.
His plan from Day 1 was also to have the Celtics not bow out in the semi-finals each year (like they did in 2003 when he took over) and instead be a team that would make at least two trips to the NBA Finals.
He certainly hasn’t assembled a team that can do that…yet.
Paul Pierce’s much-heralded “window” will be closing for good in about three years. They obviously made the decision to try and win now when they acquired Senor Shuttlesworth, so why not go for it all right now?
I propose two routes in which the Baby Faced Assassin should go about doing this:
1. Trade Theo Ratliffe’s contract, Gerald Green and next year’s No. 1 pick to Indiana in exchange for Jermaine O’Neal.
- This is the route I think all Celtics fans would prefer, considering Al Jefferson would be here to stay and would provide Boston with one devastating front court. The future franchise star would remain, all while giving the Celtics a chance to blow through a horrid Eastern Conference the next few years. Would this ultimately result in the C’s beating a team from the West and winning a championship? Probably not, barring Al Jefferson becoming even better than we all foresee and Rajon Rondo becoming a top-flight point guard.
However, it would keep Jefferson around for when the Celtics transition away from the Pierce era.
2. Trade Al Jefferson and Theo Ratliffe’s contract in exchange for Kevin Garnett.
- Is it a short-sighted move? Without question. But it would give the Celtics their best shot at banner No. 17 since 1987. They could definitely compete against any team from the West with Pierce, Allen and Garnett on the floor at the same time. Is it a guarantee? No way. But nothing is guaranteed. It’s not guaranteed that Jefferson’s 2006-07 output was a sign that he will be an All-Star player for the next 12 years. At the end of the day, he was the best player on a 24-win team. This is not the NFL, where smart teams like the Patriots can keep plugging in parts at free will and maintaining dominance for a 10-year period. The NBA is all about maximizing supposed “windows.” What’s going to happen when Duncan’s window closes? I guarantee the Spurs won’t look as smart as they do today. Most franchises don’t have the fortune of landing a once-in-a-lifetime player. That window closed for the Celtics on 5/22.
Either way, the Celtics can’t just stand pat and keep treading their wheels. I also believe, there’s really no scenario that they can or should keep both Jefferson and Gerald Green. One of them has to go.
Right now it looks as though, Jefferson is the guy to keep. But who’s to say Gerald won’t make a “Jefferson-like” leap as well?
Interesting times are to follow.
But here’s a prediction: Two years from now, Danny Ainge will be regarded as one of the top executives in the game.
And no, I’m not high.
E-Mail your thoughts and comments to: SG2.0@hotmail.com
