<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">Jiri Welsch has already been with four NBA franchises in two seasons. And while he spends his summer in his native Czech Republic (where he got married), there's a decent chance he'll be dealt to his fifth. If it's not Welsch, it's going to be one of his teammates. Take a look at the Celtics' roster. If you're looking for a championship team, you'd say there isn't enough there. But if you're looking for a building project, it's obvious that there are too many bricks. Right now, the Celtics have 13 players who, for a variety of reasons, should get some playing time this year. They have three point guards (Gary Payton if he shows up, Marcus Banks and Delonte West), four swingmen (Welsch, Paul Pierce, Ricky Davis and Tony Allen) and six big men (Mark Blount, Raef LaFrentz, Walter McCarty, Tom Gugliotta, Kendrick Perkins and Al Jefferson).</div> <div align="center">Full Story</div>
Seems like more supposition than anything really. There's not much, if anything in that story that's should be surprising to anyone paying attention to the C's roster. In fact, there are pools out there among Celtic fans as to who is going to be traded, Jiri or Ricky. The only things we know is that we know enough to not put too much effort into trying to guess what Dannyboy is going to do because the likelyhood of any of us guessing correctly is a long shot. We also know that DA values Jiri alot, which means whatever he gets, should he move Welsh will be something good. DA hung up on a team during the draft when they made an offer that wasn't what he thought Jiri was worth. I think it's October 3 that is when any deal for GP can be made, so I kinda expect that whoever is leaving is going in that deal (assuming GP doesn't come)
I honestly don't think there will be anymore moves before the season starts. From what I hear GP will show up for camp and play for the team this year. The team has some guys that will surely be in the rotation including Pierce, Blount, Payton, Davis, and Welsch. I think all of the other team members will be competing for minutes depending on how well they respond to the system. Lafrentz looks to be the favorite at the four spot, but I don't think his role for this team is etched in stone. You may see Gugliotta, Jefferson, or Perkins work their way into that role if they show that they can get it done. I like Raef Lafrentz but with his knee problems, it might be a better thing for him to be a key bench guy. Walter has no chance at finding his way into this role again this year. He will find himself much further down the bench which I have no problem with. His shortcomings far outweigh his talent. Either Davis or Jiri will start on the wing with Pierce. I would like to see Ricky in that role as long as he can show that he can be a consistant defensive player. Whichever one doesn't start will be the 6th man. You can't go wrong with either one of these guys off the bench. The both bring something special to a game that may be needed in the late first quarter and early second quarter. You also will see either one of these guys taking over Paul Pierce's spot when Pierce is on the bench. Now if Tony Allen or Delonte West start tearing it up, Ricky or Jiri could find themselves traded midseason in order to clear up this logjam. Blount will be the starter at center to nobody's surprise. My best guess at his backup would be Perkins. He has the size to get in there and take care of business when Blount's on the bench. Mark is a very durable player though, so Perkins will have to show that he can hold it down inside before Blount spends more than 10 minutes on the bench. At the point, Payton is the obvious choice as a starter. He still has plenty of gas in the tank, more than enough to play the amount of time that will be required of him here. Banks, West, and Allen are waiting in the wing and one of the three will most likely take over the starting spot by the end of the year. If Payton is still on the roster after the trade deadline, than I will be very surprised.
I do hope Payton comes and plays, given how Banks looked in summerleague. I agree with 44 that there won't be any more trades before the season, and that whatever trade does happen will happen before the mid-season trade deadline. And the trade will most likely involve GP and either Jiri or Ricky. Both Jiri and Ricky are great deals at their respective salaries. Ricky's signed through the 07/08 season, and Boston has the option on Jiri's 05/06. I think Ainge will see how things pan out for the first half of the season, and trade one of them depending on the needs of the team. It's always nice to have a super-athletic player like Davis, but Allen may end up filling in that role. Plus his defense is better than Ricky's (though I've always thought that if he TRIED consistently, he coul be a great defensive player). Jiri is not as talented, but he understands his role and is a smarter player who's capable of running the point in a pinch. When all is said and done, I think that it will be Ricky who's traded along with GP. Once our players start getting consistend minutes, I think we will have enough scoring options w/o Davis. What we will need more are good role players who can play in a system. That spells Jiri. I think Waltah and Googs will be insurance/bench players. Gotta admit though, I'm gonna miss hearing Tommy's chants of "I love Waltaaahhh!!"
