Danny Ainge made a huge gamble this season, and will most likely be judged by history on this decision alone. Anything short of Banner 18 will be total failure on his part, no matter how close they come. The President of Basketball Operations for the Boston Celtics traded away a franchise favorite in Kendrick Perkins, a move that most in the league didn’t, or still don’t, understand completely. The trade brought Jeff Green, the 2007 fifth overall draft pick by Boston, back to the Garden in hopes of providing a strong backup for Paul Pierce and Ray Allen (their go to guy for those positions was Marquis Daniels, so obviously they were in need of help). But without their star center in the paint, and with the aging O’Neal’s running on fumes, the main question on everyone’s mind is: Where do the Celtics go from here?
The Big Three is getting older. Everyone keeps wondering if they have enough left in the tank to make one more meaningful run for the championship. The key for the Celtics is to build around their MVP caliber point guard, Rajon Rondo. Pierce, Allen and Kevin Garnett won’t be there forever, but the future seems less certain with Kendrick Perkins gone. The first step in rebuilding for when the Era of the Big Three has run its course is resigning Jeff Green. The trade will be pointless if they can’t get the explosive young forward to resign. He’ll be the obvious replacement once Paul Pierce retires.
It’s doubtful that the Big Three will retire after this season, but the not so distant future is murky. Garnett’s not the same player he was even three years ago, and his knees are fairly quick to betray him. Ray Allen is 35, and will most likely want to retire near the top of his game. Pierce could linger for a while longer, but he isn’t getting any younger. He wants to be in the conversation with Larry Bird and Bill Russell – the greatest Celtics. So since the window of the Big Three is undeniably closing, the Celtics need to start grooming young players who can take over in a few years. That will start in 2012. Until then, resign as many as they can.
First to resign will be Glen Davis, the heir apparent to Kevin Garnett. He still has time to mature before he can be a great starter, but his abilities are undeniable. He’s a favorite in Boston, and seems happy to stay. As mentioned, they have to resign Green. I would argue they also have to resign Nenad Kristic and Troy Murphy, if only because Boston can always use big men. Von Wafer has proved his worth, but could easily be let go. Delonte West might not be out of the question to resign, depending on how the remainder of his postseason goes. Pavlovic and Arroyo seem unnecessary and should be cut.
The free agent market for 2011 is already watered down. Carmelo Anthony has been traded to New York, Zack Randolph has resigned with Grizzlies, Greg Oden is a gamble, Shane Battier and Kenyon Martin are passing their prime and the rest are role players. There aren’t any key names that the Celtics would have to have to be contenders for years to come. If they could lure Aaron Afflalo or J.R. Smith away from the Nuggets, or convince Jamal Crawford that the bench in Boston is much nicer than the bench in Atlanta this time of year, then that would definitely help transition from the Ray Allen days, but I don’t necessarily see any of those moves happening.
The big year will be 2012, when some major players will hit the free market. First and foremost, the Celtics have to get Dwight Howard to sign with them. If they can do this, everyone in the Garden will forget about that trade that sent some other center to Oklahoma City. Howard seems like a natural fit in Boston, and could easily average 25 points a game or more on Rondo’s assists. Another player available in 2012 who could be pivotal to Celtics’ future success is O.J. Mayo, the young guard from Memphis. He’s had his problems maturing and finding his role with the Grizzlies. By 2012 Ray Allen will be 37 going on 38, and may just consider hanging up the towel. Mayo could fit well into the hypothetical lineup of Rondo, Howard, Davis and Green.
The future of the Boston Celtics remains uncertain. And Danny Ainge’s trade might haunt him forever, depending on how far the Celtics progress this postseason. They’ve already eliminated the new look Knicks. And they’ll most likely be facing off against the other Big Three of LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh next round. If they get past that, a meeting against the Bulls seems inevitable (unless Atlanta or Orlando have some huge upset). But the Celtics were built for winning now, not later. This wasn’t supposed to be a rebuilding year for Boston, but Ainge has put them in an undesirable position where they have to begin looking at life after the starting five that never lost a playoff series.
No comments:
Post a Comment