Garnett to Celtics talks back on

I'm still not buying that Pierce, Allen and KG are going to mesh.

 

What will the Celtics cap space availablity be with Allen, Garnett and Pierce taking home most of the bacon?
All I can figure from Garnett's standpoint is that he'll have an easier time going against the Eastern Conference and he knows what the deal was in the Twin Cities. He can't do much worse in Boston.

 

KG is the only one of those three who can play ANY sort of defense.

But.......this team will be in the top 5 in scoring, right behind GST, PHX, DEN, MEM.

 

I do not like the direction the Celtics are taking, but once you deal for Allen you have to go the Full Monty and pick up Garnett. You cannot stay in limbo with a veteran/youth roster. You have to committ one way or another.

Do they have a chance now to make the Finals? Sure. Why not.

Do they have a good chance of getting drilled in four or five games once they get there? Yes.

I need to see a decent PG on this team. If they can channel Mo Cheeks on the early 80s, they will be in good shape. Since that is not happening...

Will this team be able to defend the Bulls? I actually like the Bulls head to head against the Celtics. The Celtics do not match up well against the Bulls' team speed and youth.

The lack of a bench will hurt also. If they are stuck against the Bulls for seven games, will they have any legs left in game seven?

I think they would have been better served drafting Green and keeping him on a nucleus that would have contended (with a chance to win it all) in three seasons.

 

I agree with most of what you said, but I believe the Celtics are closer to winning a championship right now (and for the next 2 years or so) than they would be if they didn't make either of these deals and kept building with youth. When you stockpile all of that young talent eventually you have to trade some of it away to bring in established vets (like they just did) because once all of the young players started to develop into a championship caliber team, there's no way they'd be able to resign all of them.

 

I like this move for the Celtics, because before this they were really in limbo. With Pierce and Allen healthy they were too good to get a high lottery pick and too bad to get past the First Round of the playoffs. I think you either have to win-now or rebuild ... trying to go in-between is a mistake. Either the Celtics needed to trade Pierce and keep their #5 pick, or they needed to do this.

I don't think this squad will get out of the East unless Ainge can find a way to add some quality depth. Right now, the new-look Celtics remind me a lot of the Olajuwon-Barkley-Drexler (later Pippen) Rockets. Three aging superstars and nothing else. Garnett is very, very good, but I think this team will need a lot of luck to win a title and will be fortunate to reach the Finals even in the East. If Ainge can sign a few free agents on the cheap and mortgage the future a bit more for a couple of vets, though, they might have a shot at a title.

 

Danny Ainge, Neil Smith.

Neil Smith, Danny Ainge.

Wait, that's not fair.

Neil Smith won a championship as a GM.

 

This trade reminds me of that Herschel Walker trade when the Vikings sent a bunch of spare parts and draft picks to the Cowboys in exchange for one player. That ended up being one of the most one sided trades ever with those draft picks and parts forming the core of Dallas' three Super Bowl champs years later. Unless this gets the Celtics a ring this year or next, Boston fans will probably be regretting this big time in a few years.

 

Billy Boy weighs in.

 

What team does this help out more? If you look at it from the Celtics' standpoint, they get one of the best players in the NBA and make themselves a better team in the process, but now lack the bench depth. On the other hand, if you look at it from the T-Wolves side, they inherit some very good young players and Al Jefferson should be a force for a while in the paint. I think this trade helps the Celtics out more for one or two years, because Allen and Pierce are not getting younger, but in the long run, it tips to the T-Wolves.

 

Since I won't click the link, I presume Boston's Great Undiscovered Sports Columnist is rubbing one out over the deal.

 

Good guess.