The Herald is reporting that Danny is investigating sign and trade scenarios.
Ainge’s summer isn’t finished, though. Though he declined to identify the next target, a league source said that the Celtics have been investigating sign-and-trade possibilities with other teams.
It is anyone's guess as to who Danny may be targeting in a trade. He is probably offering the expiring contracts of Tony and Scal to get it done, though. One name I have seen floating around is Travis Outlaw. Danny has liked him in the past and rumor is that he is available. He is 6'9" and just 24 years old. He is very athletic and brings a lot of energy. He is a good defender and has a nice shooting touch. He would be a great fit for the team if Danny could pull it off.
I have also seen a few rumblings of Danny making a trade to bring Posey bac, which wouldn't be all that bad a move since he is a great fit for the team and brings a lot to the table, but I don't see it happening.
As for the remaining free agents, Ime Udoka is one that Danny has shown interest in before and he may go after him again. Udoka is 6'6" and 31 years old. He is a good rebounder for his size and can defend. He is a versatile player and would also fill the need on the team.
Matt Barnes has been mentioned by many a Celtics fan as their choice for Pierce's back up. Barnes is 6'7" and can play the 3 or 4. He will bring energy off the bench will make the hustle plays. He is quick on defense and can hit the perimeter shot or can slash to the hoop. He would be a good fit on the team. Rumor is that Orlando is also interested in Barnes. I haven't seen Boston's name included in any rumors though.
Another name that has come up is Jerry Stackhouse, who was just released from the Grizzlies. He fits the bill of a 30 something (34, actually) veteran who would sign for the minimum to try to win a ring. He is 6'6" and a good scorer who is dangerous on isolation sets. He was a great athlete but has slowed down some. He has been known to be selfish early in his career but on a team like the Celtics would more than check his ego at the door and would be a good fit with the team.
Keith Bogans' name has been floated around. He is just 6'5" and doesn't have the height that the others have to guard the bigger 3's. He is a good athlete and a tough player and just 29 years old.
Bruce Bowen's name has also been mentioned. Bruce Bowen is one of the dirtiest players in the league and I know that Ray Allen for one doesn't like him because of a couple of dirty moves that Bowen made on him. He is one of the toughest defenders in the league, though and would give us that lock down defender that we have missed since Posey left. If you doubt that he is dirty, just go to You-Tube and put in Bruce Bowen and you will find dozens of videos of his dirty plays. It makes it really hard to like this guy.
Joey Graham is another name that I have seen mentioned. Graham is 6'7" and and 27 years old. He is strong and athletic, but doesn't really stand out for anything in particular. He would be a solid back up but wouldn't be my first choice.
There are others out there that Danny may be targeting, but these are the names I have seen mentioned most often. As I said in the opening paragraph, if he is looking at sign and trade offers, then it is anyone's guess who he is targeting. Hopefully he will get something done before too long before all the best players are snapped up by other teams.
Even though he is now playing for the enemy and behaved badly the last time we played them, I still miss Delonte. He is truly one of a kind.
I found this on Waiting for Next Year and it made me realize how much I miss Delonte. You never knew what he was going to come out with next. Here are a few of my favorites from when he was with the Celtics Delonte on the New Ball
"I did a few romantic things in my day, but I'm not the world's most romantic guy. But I can tell you what I would consider a special night. First, at my lady's work, I would send her a card giving her instructions for the night. Send it to her about midday, so the rest of the day, she has time to think about exactly what I had planned. I would pick my date up. She wouldn't know where we were going. It's got to be a hot day, so I can drop the top in my SL [Mercedes]. I've got the white SL 500. I would tell her, she would have to wear white. She must have on a white dress, because I'm going to have on white. I'd have told her in the note, she has to wear her hair a certain way, just the way I like it. So, I pick her up in my white convertible. From there, I'd have the music pumping on the radio. The Jim Jones pumping, you know, 'Summer in Miami' song pumping. Got to keep a little gangsta, you can't be too soft. You can't be in there playing some guy that's crying, talking about don't leave me and love me baby, wah wah and all that. So Jim Jones pumping and then from there, wind blowing through the hair, boom, we get straight to the point -- we eat afterwards because I don't want to kiss no onions. I don't want to kiss you tasting like onions and steak and mushrooms and everything."
"One more thing: When we're on the yacht eating, we're going to have some Popeyes chicken. That's for dinner. It's to let her know, put a mental image on her mind, first and foremost, if you ain't from the hood, you don't like Popeyes chicken. Everyone there loves Popeyes chicken and the biscuits -- phew. But that's just getting it on her mind, saying, you know, 'Yeah, I can wine and dine you, but I'm a little rough around the edges and I'm keeping it real with you. I can be romantic, but this is real, we're going to eat some chicken tonight. Chicken and biscuits.'"
Yahoo Sports is reporting that Grant Hill will return to the Suns.
Grant Hill has decided to re-sign with the Phoenix Suns, and a large part of the decision is based on the belief that Steve Nash(notes) is close to reaching an agreement on a contract extension, league sources told Yahoo! Sports.
The Suns will also sign free agent Channing Frye(notes) to a two-year deal for $3.8 million, sources said. The second season is at Frye’s option.
Danny has been on hold waiting for Hill to make his decision and in the meantime, other teams have been snapping up other top small forward free agents. Danny needs to move quickly now to plan B, whatever that may be.
I would suggest Matt Barnes as a very good plan B. He would be a very good fit with this team and could fit the bill for a veteran defensive 3. He is 6'7" so has good height. He averaged 10.2 points, 5.50 rebounds, and 2.8 assists last season for the Suns. He is a good teammate and should sign for the vet minimum. The Yahoo article mentions signing Channing Frye which means that the more than likely are willing to let Barnes go.
It will be interesting to see where Danny goes now that Hill is off the table.
Chemistry is one of the most important but underrated pieces to building a championship team. As I watched the Rasheed Wallace press conference, I was thinking about chemistry and its importance in building a contender. The Pistons of the 90's were a team with great chemistry because of playing together for several years. Because of that chemistry, they were able to win a championship without a superstar in 2004. Players on that team knew their roles and they worked very well together. For the most part, that team has been together for several years and they developed great chemistry as a team and because of that have been able to contend for a championship year after year.
The Warriors surprised everyone in the playoffs in 2007 when they knocked off the top seeded Mavs. In an article on SFGate, they mentioned the chemistry on that Warriors team.
Nelson calls the Warriors "one of the best chemistry teams (I've had), and I've been around a lot of good ones. But this one's really, really tight." "To see each guy kind of rely on each other, lean on each other, to have someone carry their weakness they struggle with and another guy pick them up? I think from that standpoint, it's been a truly team effort to get here."
It's not a stretch to believe that the chemistry that they had figured into their success in the playoffs.
On the other hand, I think back to the Lakers team that had 4 future Hall of Famers on it in Shaquille O'Neal, Kobe Bryant, Gary Payton and Karl Malone. They even had a future Hall of Fame coach and should have been able to win the championship that year. Granted, Malone and Payton were older at the time, but they still were competitive. Payton went on to be instrumental in the Heat championship in 2006 and Kobe and Shaq were at the top of their games. On paper, they were a lock to win it all. But, they didn't have any chemistry. There was in-fighting and bickering the entire year and I believe that is what kept that team from winning it all. They had the talent but didn't have any chemistry.
The Lakers made a big free agent move this off season in signing Ron Artest. In the process, the allowed a young player who was a perfect fit for the team get away. Artest has never been known as a good character guy and has also never been known as player who knows his role. Rockets fans were happy to see him leave as they felt that his poor shot selection and his insistence on taking too many shots hurt their team down the stretch and in the playoffs. He joins a team with one very strong ego on it already and my guess is that there is going to be some friction between them.
And then there was the Rockets team back in 1996 when they brought their own big 3 trying to win it all. From the Sporting News:
One great player can get a team on NBC. Two great players will give a team an excuse to print playoff tickets But in today's NBA, a team needs three great ones to dream of a championship.That's why the Rockets are smiling in their sleep these days. With Hakeem Olajuwon, Charles Barkley and Clyde Drexler, they may not have guaranteed reservations for next June. But they won't be swept by the Super-Sonics again, either.
This team had 3 Hall of Fame superstars, but this trio never really meshed and Drexler retired at the end of the season. They then brought in Scottie Pippen to team with Barkley and Olajuwon and the result was the same. The trio never meshed and the Rockets didn't win the championship. They brought in parts that never really fit together.
The USA Olympics committee know the importance of chemistry. They saw US basketball teams fall behind in spite of having some of the best players in the world on them. You throw together a group of players used to playing against each other and let them practice for a few weeks and expect them to develop chemistry. European teams are together for years and have developed a degree of chemistry and that translates into a stronger team. The Olympic committee is now taking a better approach by having the core group together for several years as they seek to develop a team chemistry among them.
Most often, the cause of chemistry problems is player attitudes. Players either have a higher opinion of themselves than they should or just aren't team players. Egos often get in the way as they did on that Lakers team. In putting this team together, Danny has not only brought in good basketball players, but also good character guys.
Before the 2007 draft, Tommy Heinsohn had this to say on the subject:
An often missed element of picking players, Ah and everybody starts going like the football coaches used to go by. Times and by how fast they were in the forty and what have you. Been my experience that the players with the best character, the players that truly love to play, the so called gym rats, who may not quite have all the talent these other guys have, but that by the end of their careers they will work themselves in to be great contributers to a program. And I've seen many players like that help a basketball program. They are not the star, but end up being great contributers. And so, the character guys, the guys that are willing to work, the guys that love to play the game, the guys that would pay ownership to play. Those are the kinda guys that you want to pick and that should be an important part of the mix.
Danny re-built this team with players who are willing to set aside their own egos for the sake of the team. Now, it appears that Danny has added one more player willing to set aside ego for the sake of the team. Here is what Rasheed had to say about his role on the team:
"My role is to back up these guys...if Doc wants me to start I will start, if he wants me to come off the bench I will come off the bench.....2 minutes or 30 minutes....the bottom line is the W. If I score a point and we win...that beats scoring 100 points in a loss."
At that point, Rasheed won me over. He understands the importance of team and chemistry. His teammates and coaches have always described him as a great teammate and a team player. He was a team player in Detroit and will fit right in on this Celtics' team that has been built on Ubuntu.
