AFTERMATH: DANNY AINGE, NEXT YEARS ROSTER & REPEATING

The one quality that all great players and organzations have is the ability
to move on to the next thing. Once a shot has rimmed out r gone through,
once the season is over, either on top or in the lottery, the greats don't
dwell on it. They move on the the next shot, or the next task. For
example: Red Auerbach was not always right with his draft choices. If he
made a mistake, he got corrected it, by either cutting or trading the guy.
Any of the older guys remember Clarence Glover, whom I've mentioned in this
NG from time to time? How about Michael Young?

Got it? Red wasn't great because he was always right. He was great because
he knew he wasn't always right.

Last night, the Boston Celtics won banner 17. They did it in convincing
fashion. It's done and over with. The job now is banner number 18. Think
it's too soon to be thinking about it? It's not. I can guarentee you that
while these playoffs were going on, Danny Ainge was thinking ahead to next
season. He had to. All the teams NOT in the playoffs were working on their
draft plans and looking at available free agents to shore up weaknesses. It
would border on criminal neglience for Danny Ainge not to be working on next
season already.

Before going on about the roster and the chances of repeating, let's all
thank Danny for having a vision, having a plan, having the guts to stick
with it all while being smart enough to be adjust on the fly. After the
years of short term fixes and long term gutting of our once (and again)
proud franchise, Danny's steady leadership and vision was exactly what the
Boston Celtics needed. Don't know the plan? It was:

1) Turn over the roster,

2) Accumulate desirable young talent,

3) Instill a philosophy and discipline,

4) Make deals that move the roster forward.

5) Be patient and have stone cajones.

Danny said it when he got here. The roster at the time was too old, too shy
of talent and had overachieved. It was also bereft of a future. The
Pitino/O'Brien Crime Family had pissed on the future to create the illusion
of progress. I can't detail every move, but Danny proved he was serious by
coming in and moving Antoine Walker almost immediately.

Back to the future, specifically the 2009 edition of the Boston Celtics.
First off, most of the roster will return intact. We know the PP, Ray Allen
and KG will. We know that Perk, Rondo, Gabe Pruitt and Big Baby will all be
here next season. Brian Scalabrine still has a couple of years on his
contract, so it's safe to assume that unless there is a market for him
(something that is hard to see), he'll be back too. Leon Powe's salary for
next season is not guarenteed, but I can't see how the fan favorite will not
be back.

Sam Cassell and PJ Brown are not likely to be back. Sam was brought in to
fill a very specific role for the playoffs and he's done it. Part of Gabe
Pruitts job next season will be to fill the role that Sam filled. Also
remember that when Rondo was out of the game, PP and Ray often handled
ballhandling duties. Sam was a luxury the C's were willing to spring for to
win banner 17.

I figure PJ's chances of being back at about 30%. At his age, he might like
the idea of retiring having helped the Celtics win the Championship. How
can you top that for a story to tell your kids and grandkids? "I was
sitting on the porch when the Danny Ainge called..." From the Celtics side,
even though he'd be inexpensive and not complain about playing time,
re-signing PJ would be a crutch.

James Posey would like to be back. He's going to opt out of his contract
and look for a raise. All signs at this time see to indicate that Pose will
be back to fill the ML Carr role again.

The next one is tough. Eddie House. Not sure what will happen. Eddie is a
fan favorite. They love his shoot first, shoot always mentality, but under
Doc, he somewhat shed his reputation for being defense adverse. Against the
Lakers, a Eddie House sighting usually led to a surge of energy for the
Celtics. He was the ultimate professional in the ultimate professional in
the playoffs, but at his age, is he ready to be a bench player? Eddie is an
unrestricted FA, and his playoff run probably boosted his value. I suspect
the C's brought him in to keep Pruitts seat warm. Eddie is likely to go.

Unless he is healthy, Pollard might be history too. If he is healthy and
would come back for short money, he'd be an able back up to Perk. In his
abbreviated season, he had his moments. Pollard is 50-50 to me.

And what about the other fan favorite, Tony Allen? The C's have invested 4
seasons in Tony and seriously, we still don't know what to make of him. If
there is one thing everyone one knows about TA, it's this: He can play
basketball. He combines superior skills with unreal athleticism. He can
play 3 spots in a pinch and is a very good defender. Last season, when PP
went down, TA ran off a string of games that were a revelation. Then, on a
dead ball, he destroyed his knee and whatever might have been salvaged from
the 06-07 season. The C's can keep him for a reasonable amount of money.
If he has any setbacks, I suspect next season will be TA's last with the
Celtics.

By my count, that's 11 players that are either guarenteed or very likely to
be back. What are the C's needs? From where I sit, the most pressing need
if for an athletic big man. Someone in the mold of a young McDyess/PJ
BrownAlonzo Mourning. The C's had difficulty matching up with the athletic
forwards of the other teams in the playoffs. McDyess, Maxiell, Joe Smith,
Josh Smith all caused problems with the C's because they couldn't negate
them.

Being over the cap means the options on the free agent market are limited.
They'll have to look deeply at young players on other teams or to the draft.
There is almost no chance they'll be able to add a fourth "All Star" quality
player, even though there are several that are available. Marcus Camby
would be a wet dream. Elton Brand wants out of Clipperland. These guys are
also not happening. One young long athletic big man that might be available
is Big baby's former teammate, Tyrus Thomas. I don't know many others that
are available and that would fit the bill.

That means the Celtics unrestricted rookie FA, Brandan Wallace, from last
season might get a long look. Danny will be digging deep into the draft for
help too.

The secondary need will be some athletic SF's. Think Andre Iguadala or
Gerald Wallace. Skilled two way players.

What about repeating? It won't be easy, that's for sure. After kicking
pretty much everyone's ass this year and winning the Title, the C's will
enter next season as the bully everyone wants to knock off. In the EC,
they'll have Orlando, Washington and Toronto breathing heavily on them. I
expect that Cleveland will still be the Lebron show. Detroit is done as a
real threat, Chicago is not ready for prime time, the Heat, Bucks, Pacers,
Knicks and Net's are all a mess. Atlanta is on the rise, but realistically,
still a couple of years away. Philly and Charlotte are mysteries still.

The C's had match up problems with Orlando and Washington this past season.
That is why they need one more athletic big man, and some athletic SF's.
The C's don't match up well with these two team, and lest we forget, had
problems with Atlanta too. The C's current roster doesn't allow them to
cause problems for these teams either.

However the C's do have the formula to win it all and a captain that has
figured it out. I think they'll be in the mix next season too.

"Robert Chin" <bchin_us.DeleteThis@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:g3c8i401gjt@news2.newsguy.com...

....alot of good stuff snipped...

> However the C's do have the formula to win it all and a captain that has
> figured it out. I think they'll be in the mix next season too.
>
>
>

Good post. Can't help but think about next season. But, I am really glad
the Celts won in KG's and RA's first year. I was hoping, dreaming, for
just one championship in their three season window. However, with that goal
getting accomplished most directly, there is at least a fighting chance this
group might get two rings, especially now that the monkey is off their
backs. I would agree that Ainge needs to find a couple of quality players
to add to the roster. And preferably, here's hoping they are character guys
who are hungry for their first ring. That's the real challenge for Ainge
and Doc now -- how to keep that championship fire stoked. Another nice
thing about getting #17 out of the way is that Doc and co. can really focus
on developing some of the younger role players and judiciously using PP, KG
and RA thru the regular season. Now that the "Three Party" know the
grueling nature of a long post-season, we want them getting used to going
deep into the playoffs for the next few years. I for one will be very
curious to see how they resond next season. Will they slack off having just
accomplished what they've long sought, or will the easing of that burden
free their minds for greater things?