Everyone, not just Celtics fans, have been concerned about Bill Russell since news of his heart procedure came out. Today, NBA.com posted an interview with the Celtics legend where he addresses the procedure and the state of his health, his Mentors' Golf Challenge, Team USA's performance in London, Ray Allen's departure, Jeremy Lin and much more.
NBA.com: Focusing on the offseason, the Celtics made a few moves. Do you think they can emerge out of the East with the additions of Jason Terry and Courtney Lee, despite losing Ray Allen?
Russell: You don't know how they will play together. Getting a better player doesn't necessarily make you a better team. That may sound kind of weird. You may acquire a player with better statistics but may not make you a better team. Red Auerbach and the Celtics, we used to talk about that all the time.
The question you have to ask yourself, 'How does his style fit with what you are going to put him with and will it make you a better team?'
What Miami is doing is similar to a theory that Red used to have. You have a core group and you bring in some veterans so you don't have rookies coming off the bench. Most of the time it worked but sometimes it doesn't. Sometimes, we would bring a veteran in hoping to get one more year out of them but they were psychologically destructive, so we can only use them one year. They were not about winning. They were about their career.
See, a lot of guys give lip service to the concept of winning but they don't mean it.
To read the whole interview, click here.
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