It's been quiet around the Celtics nation. No new rumors since Danny came out and said that it is possible but improbable that they move up in the draft. And also since a team source said that Rondo would not be traded.
But then again, I take everything that Danny says with a grain of salt. I recall a time right after Danny took over as GM when he said that he had no intention of trading Antoine Walker and then 2 weeks later, Walker was gone. Another time, Danny was talking on WEEI and stated clearly that he had nothing in the works as far as trades and 2 hours later, he made the trade for Wally. I really don't trust a thing he says.
Celtics guard Ray Allen has expressed a desire for a contract extension, league executives say, but that isn’t happening in Boston. … Stephon Marbury(notes) is telling friends he believes that the Celtics want to re-sign him.
… I trust "league executives" slightly less than I trust Danny. I'd love to sign Ray to an extension for 6-7 million a year. Doc has said that they would like to have Marbury back if he tests the waters of free agency and then wants to come back. I would only want him back if he was willing to sign for the vet minimum and also willing to come off the bench and back up Rondo.
Speaking of Rondo, he was on WEEI with Dennis and Callahan. You can listen to the whole interview here. Red's Army has some key quotes from the interview and I found this one to be very interesting:
People are going to make assumptions, everyone has opinions. I try coming to games as late as possible because I don't like hanging in the locker room, talking and waste time...I like to jump right into my gear and play. That's my ritual, that's what I do, kinda like my headband being upside down. We I come to the game I sit in the parking lot for like 30 minutes and think about my game...
As for as attitude wise, I can be stubborn...it's a great trademark for me because I love to compete so much, I love to win, I'm always studying the game....a point guard and coach aren't always going to see eye-to-eye...but at the end of the day Doc and I have a great relationship and we can talk to each other on and off the court. Great players are going to be stubborn at times...you aren't always going to be a yes man or always go with the flow, to be a leader you have to stand up on your own sometimes and do what you want to do...but you gotta stay with the team.
To me, this just tells me that Rondo has a lot of confidence and you want your point guard to have a lot of confidence in his game. I think it would be a huge mistake to trade Rondo. The Celtics traded away a young and talented point guard one time and watched Chauncey Billups lead the Pistons to a championship. The don't want to repeat past mistakes.
Following the Shaq to Cleveland rumors come the Vince Carter to Cleveland rumors. The Nets are looking to cut costs and trading Carter and his two years and $33.6 million would be a good place to start. The Cavs are offering Ben Wallace and Sasha Pavlovic in return for Carter. The Cavs are trying everything they can think of to bring in another star to keep LeBron happy. The San Antonio Spurs are also reportedly interested in Carter. There are rumors that the Cavs new Chinese owners are trying to convince Yao to come to Cleveland for obvious reasons.
Rumor is that New Jersey has offered Devin Harris for the second pick in the draft. Seems like there is an awful lot of interest in that second pick for a draft that is considered weak after Griffin at #1. We've heard rumors of Danny offering Perk and Bill Walker. There are rumors that Minnesota is offering Kevin Love and a pick for the second pick.
Kevin McHale was always one of my favorite Celtics. The length of his arms always amazed me. He was a class act too. Once when I saw the Celtics play in Miami, I followed their bus back to the hotel and the players were all standing around signing autographs and posing for photos. McHale got on his knees for pictures with kids and was really patient with the fans who wanted to talk with him even though I am sure he was tired from the game. Good memories of a great Celtics legend. I hope he lands on his feet and succeeds in life after the Wolves. His unique sense of humor would make him a great broadcaster. Enjoy the memories.
Today the news was released that Kevin McHale won't be back with Minnesota after 15 years as GM and coach. A couple of weeks ago, the new Wolves GM was saying that it would be McHale's choice as to whether he returned as the coach. Today we hear that McHale was very disappointed that he won't be back and that it wasn't his choice to leave. Big Al Jefferson said that he is disappointed, shocked and hurt that McHale won't be allowed to return as coach. McHale was a lousy GM, but he did a pretty good job coaching the team. They were on a roll before Big Al went down with the injury. He had a great relationship with the players. I think they should have given him a whole season to coach a healthy team.
Along with tossing out McHale, there are rumors swirling about a trade that would send Al Jefferson and the Wolves' #6 pick to Phoenix for Amare Stoudemire. Not sure that makes much sense for Minnesota because they are a young rebuilding team and adding a veteran like Amare doesn't make all that much sense. Phoenix has been putting Amare out there in trade talks with various teams, including the Celtics. The Wolves would be better off keeping the pick and Big Al.
On Sports Tonight they were discussing whether McHale would be given a position with the Celtics but they said that he still wants to coach and doesn't really want to leave Minnesota so he probably will look for a college coaching job near where he lives. Also they mentioned that KG and McHale didn't have the greatest relationship so he probably won't be showing up for a position with the Celtics in the near future. It's a shame because McHale was always a favorite of mine. It would have been nice to see him succeed as a coach with the Wolves.
June 30 is the deadline for offering qualifying offers to restricted free agents. I imagine that the Celtics will offer one to Big Baby. I can't see any scenario where they wouldn't. Then we wait and see what other teams are willing to offer him and whether Danny will match those offers.
The Raptors announced on Tuesday that they've extended a qualifying offer to restricted free agent Carlos Delfino. Delfino this past season in Russia playing for BC Khimky Moscow. It will be interesting to see whether he takes them up on their offer or elects to remain in Russia.
Reportedly, Ben Gordon’s agent has said that he has an $11 million promise from the Pistons to lure Gordon away from the Bulls. Does this mean that Rip Hamilton's days with the Pistons are limited? If the contract that the Pistions offer Gordon will average $11 million dollars over 4 or 5 seasons, then the contract would start out between $9 and $9.5 million dollars. The Pistons would still have enough cap space to sign another free agent along with trading Rip Hamilton for another player who could make an impact.
There is a rumor going around that has Samuel Dalembert going to Charlotte for Nazr Mohammed and Vladimir Radmanovic, and in return, the Sixers would either get a second-round pick in the NBA draft or swap first-round picks (17 for 12) with the Bobcats as well.
The word out of New York is that the Knicks are very interested in Tracy McGrady and there are talks with Houston to try to work out a trade for him. They are high on taking Jordan Hill in the draft and according to the New York Post, if they draft Hill, they will try to deal free agent forward David Lee in a sign-and-trade and Portland is interested. I really like David Lee. He is a hard worker and brings a lot of energy. I'd love to have him on the Celtics.
They were discussing the trade talks on Sports Tonight again, this time with Ian Thomsen of Sports Illustrated. Once again they were amazed that Danny is even talking about trading Rondo. They did propose that it would be a good trade if the Celtics could send Ray, Rondo, Scal and Tony to Phoenix for Amare Stoudamire, and Steve Nash. That way they can win next year and have both Nash and Stoudamire come off the books at the end of the season for the big free agent off season of 2010. They discussed the rumor that Danny offered Perk in a trade for the #2 pick. They pointed out that in the 1st round Dwight Howard averaged 24.0 points on 68% shooting. In the Conference Semi-Finals he averaged 16.4 points on 55% shooting and in the Conference Finals he averaged 25.8 points on 65% shooting. Those numbers show Perk's value to this team. The consensus was that the Celtics must win now and keeping Perk and Rondo is the best way to do that. Trading experience for a draft pick doesn't make sense at this point.
It is amazing all the trade talk that is going on. Along with the trade talk, there are a lot of free agents who will be hitting the market on July 1. If there is any fire from the smoke that is flying around, teams are going to look a lot different next season. The Celtics need to get stronger, not younger because if even half of the trade talks end up happening, the other teams in the East are going to be stronger.
Tonight on Sports Tonight, Tanguay, Russillo, Mannix and Felger were discussing the rumors floating around. It seems that Rondo is indeed being shopped around and could be traded. Apparently, Rondo is looking for a big pay day and the Celtics may not be willing to shell out for the big contract that he is likely to demand. Also, they mentioned that some of the players don't especially like playing with Rondo. All this is news to the fans. The bottom line is that Rondo is very talented and has played himself into a bigger contract. If you want to win, you have to pay for the players who can get you there. Point guard is a tough position to fill and the Celtics have a good one. I just don't see giving him away over money. There is a reason why there are a lot of teams out there who would love to have Rondo and the Celtics need to be very sure they can fill that position with someone just as good or better before they let Rondo go.
Also mentioned was that rumor about Perk and Walker for the #2 pick. They didn't seem to take that one very seriously. It just doesn't make sense to trade a player who is perfect for this team and a bargain to boot and start all over with a project. Center is another tough position to fill and the Celtics have filled it with one of the best defensive centers in the league. As they mentioned on Sports Tonight: if you look at how Perk played Howard in the playoffs and how others played him, trading Perk is not a very smart move. Other teams are making moves with an eye toward matching up with Perk. I am sure if Danny trades Perk, he will get thank you notes from centers all over the East because suddenly the Celtics aren't near as tough inside.
One of the teams that is looking to improve up front to match up with the Celtics is Cleveland. There have been a lot of rumors surrounding the possible Cavs and Suns trade that would send Shaq to the Cavs for Ben Wallace and Sasha Pavlovic. The Suns would save some money and the Cavs would get bigger and tougher up front to match up with the Celtics (and the Magic).
Speaking of the Magic, Hedo Turkoglu opted out of his contract and will be looking for a big payday. In order to give it to them, the Magic will probably be trying to move Rafer Alston, who wasn't all that happy with his playing time once Jameer Nelson returned to the lineup anyway.
The Hawks are looking to move Josh Smith, but may have trouble moving him since he has a $7 million trade kicker that will probably discourage most teams.
The guy Celtics fans love to hate, Bill Laimbeer has resigned as the coach of the Detroit Shock in order to pursue a coaching job in the NBA. He has been successful as a coach in the WNBA and will probably be given a chance sooner or later. I still don't like the guy. Let's hope he doesn't teach his dirty tricks to his team.
With the draft coming up, I expect there to be more and more smoke and a little fire as the rumors heat up about trades for draft picks. Also, on July 1, teams can start signing free agents and then it is going to get wild. I still think Danny should hold off on any big moves and concentrate on building the bench. If he wants to contend for another championship this season, he shouldn't mess with the chemistry too much. Leave the starting 5 alone and give them a bench to back them up so that they don't have to play an insane amount of minutes through the year. The Celtics need to improve, but it isn't the starters that need improvement. If the bench can hold their own, the starters will be able to stay healthier and fresher and banner 18 could be on it's way.
The rumor that is all over the web right now is that Danny offered Perk and Walker for the 2nd pick. It originated with Felger and Tanguay on Sports tonight with this exchange:
" Felger speaking: We heard a rumble today, just a little rumble. Danny’s throwing a bunch of stuff against the wall as he likes to do. Memphis sitting there at number two. Perk and was it JR Giddens?" Then Tanguay corrected him saying it was Walker instead of Giddens.
Everyone who knows me knows how I feel about Perk. I love this guy. I love his work ethic, his earnestness, his willingness to play his role to a T and to be an enforcer. He is also one of the biggest bargains out there. He is also only 24 and has improved every season he has been in the league. He began as a project and is now one of the best defensive centers in the league as evidenced by how well he handled Dwight Howard in the playoffs this year.
If this was indeed the offer, Danny is more than likely targeting Hasheem Thabeet. Here are Thabeet's weaknesses according to NBADraft.net.
Post game needs refining. Thabeet has not learned to keep the ball high. He puts the ball on the floor way too often instead of going straight up without dribbling. This leads to turnovers and more difficult shots … Though he uses both hands fairly well, Thabeet lacks back-to-the-basket moves and his hands are suspect. Offensively, he relies mostly on alley-oops and offensive rebounds to collect his points … Needs to develop a go-to post-move, whether it be a strong drop-step or jump-hook … Has good body strength, but toughness seems to be a questionmark. Gets pushed around by stronger players and spends more time on the ground than almost any player in college basketball … Looked absolutely helpless against Pittsburgh’s DeJuan Blair, one of the few players he faced with an NBA-type body … Could beef up about 10 pounds more, but needs to maintain his lateral quickness and athleticism … Needs to work on defending the pick and roll. Gets tangled and confused to easily ... Still raw offensively, sometimes struggles to catch the ball … Needs to be able to pass the ball out of the double-team a little better.
Reading over that, it could have been the list written about Perk, other than the toughness part, because Perk was tough coming into the league. And, with all those weaknesses, Perk averaged a grand 3 minutes per game his first season. But every one of those weaknesses have been addressed and Perk has overcome them. He now has an offensive game around the basket and even started hitting some of his jumpers last season. He no longer brings the ball down every time and he is a great passer.
Thabeet's toughness is questioned? Perk is one of the toughest centers in the league and no one pushes him around, not even Shaq. Does Danny really want to replace an established center who he was able to sign at a bargain price and who proved this season that even without KG, he can anchor the defense quite well. I keep going back to game 5 of last year's finals. In games 1-4 and 6, the Celtics dominated inside and Gasol and Odom weren't able to get anything inside. In game 5, with Perk out, Odom and Gasol were able to get anything they wanted. Perk is that effective inside and that important to this team.
And this isn't even mentioning how good I think Walker can be given playing time. He would be the Posey type backup to Pierce. A fierce defender capable of getting under the opponent's skin and also capable of getting to the hoop or hitting the jumper. I just don't see the value of giving up a player we have put 5 years into to get him to the point where he is a vital part of the team and one of the best at his position in the East in order to start all over again with another project.
One of the reasons the Celtics are so tough to beat is because other teams can't match their toughness inside, specifically Perk. Without Perk we go back to being just another soft team in the paint. I've been reading lots of rumors about Cleveland going after Shaq. They want the big man to match up better with Perk (and Howard). But, with a rookie, whose toughness is questioned, in the middle, the Cavs won't have to worry about Boston any more.
Amidst swirling trade rumors and rampant speculation, Wyc was on WEEI today and made a very curious statement. From the transcript on Green Street:
Addressing recently swirling trade rumors: “What not many people realize is how many calls are made and received throughout the league. We had a starting five that went a record 27-2. We can also offer someone a full max contract to someone next summer.” On his views of the NBA’s salary cap: “I didn’t really care about it as a fan. I wanted to put together an ownership group that would be able to put the best team on the floor and win. I’ll go find the money, and we’ll go in for another banner. The league has things in place to keep a lot of that from happening but we have a good revenue sharing system between the players and the owners in place. There’s a lot of sharing in between.” On the important free agency summer of 2010: “There is a scenario under which we could do that.”
Wyc said that there is a scenario under which we can offer a max contract to one of the premier free agents who will be available next summer. But what would that scenario be?
As of right now, here is what Hoopshype has the Celtics committed to in 2010-2011. Kevin Garnett $18,800,000 Ray Allen $0 Paul Pierce $21,513,521 (player option) Kendrick Perkins $4,390,208 Rajon Rondo $3,780,214 (qualifying offer) JR Giddens $1,100,640 (team option) Bill Walker $854,389 (team option) Total $44,726,729
The salary cap this season is expected to be around $58 million. That may stay the same or go up next season, but let's assume it stays at $58,000,000.
Let's look at a couple of scenarios on how this season and next could possibly play out. The Celtics would need to hang on to Ray Allen and let his contract expire. If they want to re-sign him, they could do so after the max contract was offered. They would have to put off giving Rajon Rondo an extension and offer him a qualifying offer and then work out his contract after the free agent was signed. They would need to let Big Baby walk as they would have to offer him a mid-level type contract to keep him. They could offer Leon Powe a minimum contract, and fill out the roster this season with 1 year contracts, which would probably be for the vet minimum. If we do all that, we would still be only around $14 million under the cap, which is not enough for a max contract.
There is a second scenario that may allow us to offer a max contract to some free agent. Let's say that the Celtics re-sign Big Baby for about $3-4 million. And they use the MLE this season and offer some player or players 2 year contracts at the MLE. That would add another approximately $6 million to the salary. That puts them around $54,726,729. This is probably underestimating it. That isn't enough for a max contract. But in this scenario, we can find out how much of a team player Paul Pierce is and how much he wants another ring. He has a player option for 2010-2011. If he opts out of that final year, that gives them enough money under the cap to sign a player to a max contract. The Celtics can then resign Pierce after the free agent is signed, hopefully for a little less. KG took a pay cut when he negotiated his extension upon coming to Boston. It could be Pierce's turn to return the favor.
Of course, this has to assume that Rondo would be willing to wait on working out an extension until after said free agent is signed. It also assumes that Big Baby would agree to $4 million. It also assumes that there are no trades and we go with the team we have now. And most of all, it assumes that Paul Pierce would agree to opt out of over $21 million to allow the Celtics to do this.
Is this a possibility? Maybe, but I don't know how likely it would be. But, it shows that Wyc is right, there is a scenario that would allow them to sign a max player. It would put the Celtics way into the luxury tax and so we would have to assume that Wyc is being truthful when he says that they are willing to pay for the right players and are committed to winning another championship.
I refuse to do a congratulations to the Fakers post like most Celtics blogs have done today. It pains me to even link to those posts. In my opinion, they won by default. If the Celtics had been healthy, I honestly don't believe that the Lakers would have won it. Theirs is a hollow victory because they know the best team wasn't in the finals and they didn't beat the Celtics. I watched the end of the game, but then turned it off immediately. I couldn't stand to watch the Lakers celebrate. I really, really don't like the Lakers.
I also don't go with all the Phil Jackson is the greatest posts. Yes he has 10 championships. But, he got those by player shopping. He takes teams with superstars like Michael Jordan and Kobe in place and runs with them. Red Auerbach is the greatest, period. Red built his teams from the ground up and he stuck with those teams, continuing to build as players came and went. He won 8 championships in a row with a team he built from rookies and free agents. He won 9 titles in 10 years. And, he wasn't just the coach, he was the GM and the coach. Phil isn't worthy to bow down to Red's feet.
All that being said, now we can get on with the offseason because the sooner the offseason is over, the sooner the Celtics can win banner 18 next season. The Lakers will have everyone gunning for them next year. Teams will be playing their best game (and sometimes only great game) of the season when they play the Lakers so they can boast that they beat the champs. Rarely do teams stay healthy 2 years in a row. It will be the Lakers turn for injuries next season. They are the team with the short off season to heal and refresh. Also, will the Lakers be able to sign both Ariza and Odom who are free agents? Chances are they will lose one of their key pieces, just as the Celtics did with Posey. They are the team with the target on their backs.
Yesterday we went out and got a 40" HD TV because I want to watch the Celtics win banner 18 in style next season. Garnett will heal. Danny won't make the same mistake 2 seasons in a row, going into the season with a weak bench. He will sign a couple of free agents that will give us a strong bench. Now it's on to the draft, free agents, trades, and Summer League.
So, LA, enjoy your championship this season because it will be back in Boston next year. (That's as close to a congratulations as you will get from me.)
