I know there's not much that can be done since it's completed. But I've heard a lot of opinions from Lakers, Cavs, Magic, Heat, etc fans, but how do the actual Celtic fans feel about this? I personally don't think I would have done it because it seems like a lot of people to give up. I mean, just the ratio itself. Anyway I don't see the "Big 3" as ego driven stars and I think they'll compliment each other well. Another thing I don't like is the salary cap implications. A huge chunk is already gone with the 3. Too bad you have to have at least 5 on the court at any given time.
I think the Celtics will get a championship within the next 3 years. I've always been a huge Paul Pierce fan and I really hope he gets a championship. He really deserves it.
They gave up two potential all-stars, two potential good role players, an expiring contract and 2 first-rounders for an aging Garnett? Jesus, Ainge is the one throwing Kevin a bone here. Look out for Boston in the next two years, look out for Minny for the next ten years. McHale has redeemed himself on this one.
<div class="quote_poster">AKIRA Wrote</div><div class="quote_post">whats the depth chart like, im not familiar with the players on the celtics roster?</div> PG - Rajon Rondo / Eddie House / Gabe Pruitt SG - Ray Allen / Tony Allen SF - Paul Pierce / Jackie Manuel PF - Kevin Garnett / Glen Davis / Brian Scalabrine / Brandon Wallace C - Kendrick Perkins / Leon Powe I had to bold it so those annoying text links wouldn't get in the way. They've got two open roster spots and the full $4.5+ million dollar MLE to work with. They likely won't use the full MLE though, because they're already hurting financially as is. There's also talks that they're going to bring in free agent Dikembe Mutombo at the veteran's minimum (which as Iron Shiek pointed out in another thread, should be a hell of a lot for a player who's been in the league as long as Deke).
I actually dont believe this trade makes Boston clear cut contenders, I think it puts them in the mix, but I still cant see them topping the Pistons, Cavs, Bulls, Nets in the playoffs, who have the experience AND depth the Celtics now dont have. These 3 are going to be relied on to play 40 minutes a night pretty much, will they be able to handle the work load? These guys arent ego maniacs, however they are used to being "the man", how they co existant remains to be seen. I'm a bit skeptical on this trade still, I thought that was a hell of alot to give up for Garnett, although the East is still fairly weak, so I can see them making the 4th seed at the highest. I'll say they go 46-36 this season.
knowing garnett i think that he will WILL this team 50 something wins this season, but only as long as they add about three more players. they need some more bodies, doesnt matter who, doesnt matter how good they are, just more bodies because there will be some injuries and there will be a loss of energy from the big three. maybe knight would be a good fit, eddie house plays the wing anyway so he is more of a small SG, so PG spot is weak, very weak. But considering the style of game ray and garnett and peirce have, a playmaker isnt nessesary to win big. just a good ballhandler, someone that can score reasonably well, because ray and garnett and peirce all can pass the ball very well so there will be a need for a another good perimeter shooter, thats eddie house right there. they need a big body to complete this team, mutumbo is old and cannot play many minutes so i dont see him helping too much. perkins will work well with garnett beside him but he will need a rest and the players on the floor will still need that big body so that should be their main need. also peirce hasnt really got much of a back up does he? another SF would help. so a big body, a guard, and a foward. three new players and this team is absolutely set to win big.
<div class="quote_poster">NTC Wrote</div><div class="quote_post">I actually dont believe this trade makes Boston clear cut contenders, I think it puts them in the mix, but I still cant see them topping the Pistons, Cavs, Bulls, Nets in the playoffs, who have the experience AND depth the Celtics now dont have. These 3 are going to be relied on to play 40 minutes a night pretty much, will they be able to handle the work load? These guys arent ego maniacs, however they are used to being "the man", how they co existant remains to be seen. I'm a bit skeptical on this trade still, I thought that was a hell of alot to give up for Garnett, although the East is still fairly weak, so I can see them making the 4th seed at the highest. I'll say they go 46-36 this season.</div> The thing I've been saying about these guys, and I still stick with it, is that while they've each had careers where they've been their team's go-to-guy offensively, they've also been players that have been unselfish and willed their team to more wins than they probably deserved. Garnett and Allen are straight up heart. Like AKIRA said, Garnett will WILL them to 50 wins. I look at it this way. If the Lakers made the playoffs in the West with Kobe Bryant and a bunch of garbage, then why can't the Celtics have similar success with Garnett, Allen, and Pierce? It's not as if their role players are complete scrubs either. Rondo is young, but he's still quick as hell, a great ball handler, and the best rebounding point guard in the game not named Jason Kidd, which is saying a lot for a 21 year old. He came on really strong towards the end of the season too as the Celtics started to give him more playing time (13.0 ppg, 5.8 rpg, 5.5 apg, 2.5 spg for the month of April; 19 points, 4 rebounds, 9 assists, 1 turnover, 6 steals vs. the Pistons in the last game of the season). Perkins is just basically a space eater at this point in his career, but a lot of teams have won titles with guys who were no more than space eaters in the middle (ie: Luc Longley, Rasho Nesterovic, etc.). He just needs to improve his conditioning, because if he's still in the same shape he was at the end of last season, he'll probably be limited to only around 20-25 mpg. If they can sign Dekembe Mutombo, that allays that concern though.
<div class="quote_poster">XSV Wrote</div><div class="quote_post">They gave up two potential all-stars, two potential good role players, an expiring contract and 2 first-rounders for an aging Garnett? Jesus, Ainge is the one throwing Kevin a bone here. Look out for Boston in the next two years, look out for Minny for the next ten years. McHale has redeemed himself on this one.</div> - I'm fine with trading potential for a sure thing. Al Jefferson is the only thing I'm worried about losing. He still hasn't proved himself to be anything more than double double guy (barely) on a horrible team. I think he'll be an all star at some point, but it's more likely he'll end up a second tier star. - Telfailure was gone regardless - Gomes is a nice player but Leon Powe plays a similar style so we could easily afford to lose one or the other. - Green is an excellent offensive player, but I can't see him being an all star ever. You'd think he would have shown some progress by now, but he still looks exactly the same as he did 2 years ago. I'm not saying he won't be a good player, but I'm doubting he'll ever live up to expectaions. One thing's for sure, though, he'll never be able to sucessfully guard an NBA player in his career. - one of the two picks was one that we got from minnesota in the Davis/Wally deal, so essentially we're only giving up one first rounder, and it'll probably be in the 20's. And as we've seen the last few drafts, picks like that can be bought for a pile of cash (See Rajon Rondo).
<div class="quote_poster">Voodoo Child Wrote</div><div class="quote_post">PG - Rajon Rondo / Eddie House / Gabe Pruitt SG - Ray Allen / Tony Allen SF - Paul Pierce / Jackie Manuel PF - Kevin Garnett / Glen Davis / Brian Scalabrine / Brandon Wallace C - Kendrick Perkins / Leon Powe I had to bold it so those annoying text links wouldn't get in the way. They've got two open roster spots and the full $4.5+ million dollar MLE to work with. They likely won't use the full MLE though, because they're already hurting financially as is. There's also talks that they're going to bring in free agent Dikembe Mutombo at the veteran's minimum (which as Iron Shiek pointed out in another thread, should be a hell of a lot for a player who's been in the league as long as Deke).</div> I still am not convinced this team will be able to get by a healthy Detroit/Miami. Look how weak that team is outside of the big 3. Only quality players would be house and rondo.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting Voodoo Child:</div><div class="quote_post">I look at it this way. If the Lakers made the playoffs in the West with Kobe Bryant and a bunch of garbage, then why can't the Celtics have similar success with Garnett, Allen, and Pierce? </div> The one thing that comes to mind with this comparison, is the difference in coaching. That's a major question mark, IMO. The Celtics are going to have to count on the Big 3 not only overcoming the lack of depth, but also a lacklustre head coach. I'm hesitant to make a prediction, but this is a good move. I think they had no choice but to make this trade after they acquired Ray Allen. You can say all you want about how the C's mortgaged the future, but they chose their direction on draft night. Unless they wanted to trade away Pierce and a newly acquired Allen, building for the future made little sense.
<div class="quote_poster">Chutney Wrote</div><div class="quote_post">The one thing that comes to mind with this comparison, is the difference in coaching. That's a major question mark, IMO. The Celtics are going to have to count on the Big 3 not only overcoming the lack of depth, but also a lacklustre head coach. I'm hesitant to make a prediction, but this is a good move. I think they had no choice but to make this trade after they acquired Ray Allen. You can say all you want about how the C's mortgaged the future, but they chose their direction on draft night. Unless they wanted to trade away Pierce and a newly acquired Allen, building for the future made little sense.</div>The only real evidence of Doc's poor coaching was that one playoff series against Indy 3 years back. Other than that, he's worked with some of the worst rosters in NBA history (it was even worse in ORL), so I'm willing to give him a clean slate.
<div class="quote_poster">44Thrilla Wrote</div><div class="quote_post">The only real evidence of Doc's poor coaching was that one playoff series against Indy 3 years back. Other than that, he's worked with some of the worst rosters in NBA history (it was even worse in ORL), so I'm willing to give him a clean slate.</div> Yeah, I wasn't aware Rivers was a bad coach. Didn't he win Coach of the Year not too long ago? Not to knock Jackson, but he's had a lot more to work with than Rivers. I mean, he went from Jordan-Pippen-Grant to Jordan-Pippen-Rodman to Kobe-Shaq-Fox. He hasn't won anything since he's lost those star trios. They made the playoffs this season in spite of the triangle offense, not because of it.
<div class="quote_poster">Voodoo Child Wrote</div><div class="quote_post">Yeah, I wasn't aware Rivers was a bad coach. Didn't he win Coach of the Year not too long ago? Not to knock Jackson, but he's had a lot more to work with than Rivers. I mean, he went from Jordan-Pippen-Grant to Jordan-Pippen-Rodman to Kobe-Shaq-Kobe-Fox. He hasn't won anything since he's lost those star trios. They made the playoffs this season in spite of the triangle offense, not because of it.</div> He won it his first year coaching when he took the Magic's "Heart and Hustle" team to a 41-41 record. That was a year where we had no talent what so ever. He's a decent coach, but I can't see him hoisting up a trophy as a coach.
Ok, so an old cassell and sprewell with garnett gets you to the wcf, but Ray Allen, Paul Pierce, and KG basically all in their primes doesn't make you a favorite for the title? I really think a lot of casual and hardcore fans are really going to realize how amazing KG is this year. I see him averaging 20, 13, and like 6-7 assists realistically. He could average a few more points a one or two less assists.
Here's my post from the Nets forum on topic about Garnett going to Boston...: I agree that the Celts keeping Rondo over Telfair was a GREAT move. Telfair's future is not looking good at all, while Rondo has potential to be an all-star in 3-5 years. Anyway, there really isn't need to panic. The Celtics have obviously improved by leaps and bounds but IMO aren't more than a 50 win team right now (which the Nets can be too). Rondo will be a superb point guard in a few years but right now is too young, undertalented and inexperienced to be the starting point guard for a team that wants to conted for a title. If the Celtics manage to sign Brevin Knight, that'll be huge for them as Rondo can learn from him and fill in the role of backup PG (which is currently a gaping hole in Boston's lineup). Plus, Knight is a proven distributer (anyone remember his incredible season with Charlotte a few years back? Imagine what wonders he can do with 3 all-star scorers to pass to. But the Celtics signing him is unlikely IMO. I can see him signing a backup role with a powerhouse team in the west (sort of like Vaughn signing with the Spurs last offseason). With their current lineup, I don't see Boston winning a title. They have big holes all over their lineup (that's what happens when you trade 5 for 1) and don't have enough money to sign 2-3 decent players. Their biggest fault is that they have no backup point guard for Rondo and obviously such a young guy can't play over 30, max 35 mpg and man such an important position alone. Scalabrine and Glen Davis are miminaly effectual at best, Powe and Perkins are ok but neither is staring material. Tony Allen (if he can get past his mental and off-court troubles and his huge surgery) is a good backup at the 2/3 and plays very good defense on the wing, but if he doesn't play well the Celtics' only other backup at 2/3 is 19 year old 2nd rounder Gabe Pruitt, who probably won't be signed this season anyway. Imagine if Pierce, Allen or Garnett get injured? Even if it's only for 10 games each, the Celtics have nobody who can carry the load off the bench. No backup center (or if KG plays center and Powe starts, a logjam of 3rd string PF's on the bench), no backup point guard, one backup for both guard positions (Tony Allen) and some decent-at-best players (Wallace, Veal and Davis) who play the basically the same positions. I'm not so high on the Celtics right now, but who knows, if KG, Allen and Pierce all stay healthy, Tony Allen plays like he did before he got injured and the Celtics manage to sign at least 2 more decent backups (NBA material), the Celtics may win 55 games this season. If not, maybe they'll surprise everyone and win only 45. Who knows?
