From Marc Stein (ESPN), via The Celtics Blog <div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">And that Gary Payton will be in training camp with the Celtics, even though he hasn't officially notified them yet. Which means Boston, if nothing else, will have one of the most interesting teams in the East, with Payton and Ricky Davis flanking Pierce for new coach Doc Rivers. Throw in Mark Blount and a rehabilitated Raef LaFrentz and, again, Boston looks interesting at the very least after several months of Danny Ainge-bashing ...</div> If this is true, then we should be moving up everyone's ladder of expectations for the Atlantic Division crown. :thumbsup:
i totaly agree hagrid. the Celtics are looking nice. and if Payton could talk malone into sighning with bean town then the celts would look even more intriging for this coming up year. I cant wait to see how pierce handles having a team of players. and a pg that can set him up and others on the team. hey who knows maybe ricky davis will be a somewhat sort of a shawn kemp esque alley oop partner for gary payton.
If so, let's just hope it's the young, Seattle, Rain-man, Shawn Kemp and not that fat, drug taking, kid factory we saw at the end of his career.
Isn't it always so sad to see a great player go out like that? Kemp was one of my favorite players when I was a little kid. Seems to happen more with big men as their bodies deterierate. Ewing was the same way. That's why it was so good to see David Robinson go out the way he did, actually contributing to a championship. A class act in my book. Anyways, back to the topic. I read that story too, and got my excited. Stein's usually pretty reliable, doesn't post too many online rumors, so that's great news for the Cs. Now Banks and West have one more year to mature before fully taking over, with a great player to coach them. I still don't see Malone coming to Boston, but either way, we should be a fun team to watch this year. I do wonder if Payton will end up staying around for the whole year or if he will get traded. He most likely won't re-sign with the celtics, but he could be valuable trade bait before the mid season trade deadline to a contender looking for the final piece.
<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">Stein's usually pretty reliable, doesn't post too many online rumors, </div> True. Add to that the fact that he's not exactly a fan of Danny Ainge's, adds some serious substance to his remarks, IMO. I don't see Malone coming here either, but as I mentioned in the thread opening, it was something to talk about, even if fairly unlikely. <div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">Kemp was one of my favorite players when I was a little kid.</div> It was hard not to like that Shawn Kemp. I really enjoyed catching Sonics games because I knew I was going to get a show out of him and GP.
The Celts season seems to be on a uprise themselves. It seems that GP will be a solid contributor for this team. Well it seems, you never know he might just average under double digit points again. But he definately should do better then he did with the Lakers last season since he doesn't have to run a triangle.
Payton Not Good For Boston? <div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">Leaving aside the question of whether he'll report -- and there are approximately 5.4 million reasons why he will -- the more probing query, it seems to me, is whether it's a good idea from the Celtics' standpoint if he does report. Danny Ainge has made his share of head-scratchers since taking over the Celtics -- and the Antoine Walker deal was not one of them -- but the Payton trade may top them all. Outside of perhaps Charlotte, I cannot think of a worse situation or place for (a) a 36-year-old point guard who has lost a step and is in the final year of his contract; ( a player whose sole mission now, other than collecting a check, is to improve his numbers and image; and © a player who wants the ball and could end up being the gray eminence on a team of impressionable kids, one of them being the Payton Lite himself, Ricky Davis.</div> <div align="center"><u>Link</u></div>
In case you aren't familiar, Peter May hates the Celtics. He's the type of writer who will ceaselessly bash the C's all season, no matter how well they play. The Celtics could win the Championship and May will still find a way to say it was the other team that lost the series, not that the C's won it. His thoughts that Payton might be a problem child is somewhat valid, but even Gary Payton knows that this team is Paul Pierce's. GP has absolutley no trade value if he plays the role of the poison pill, plays selfish, etc. IF he wants to be traded somewhere he wants to be more, then he's gotta play nice, get along with others, not be a dilatory influence, and play team ball. There's simply no other way for him to conduct himself if he truly wants to play elsewhere. GP also has the stigma of last seasons playoff performance to overcome. The whispers that he's lost a step and is in serious decline has to be disproven, otherwise, he's got no value to any contender. Tha above reasons are why Gary Payton won't be a problem child in Boston. He has nothing to gain by being that way and everything to lose.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting hagrid:</div><div class="quote_post">His thoughts that Payton might be a problem child is somewhat valid, but even Gary Payton knows that this team is Paul Pierce's. </div> What you are forgetting is that there is a difference between the Lakers and Celtics. The only reason that Payton awknowledged that the Lakers belonged to Kobe and Shaq was because he had a chance of winning a ring there, those two had proven that they could lead a team by themselves. As great as PP is (top 10) he is just like Tmac and AI (after 2001) hasn't lead a team to anything. I do believe that (assuming he reports) Payton will try to take over this team.
You're certainly entitled to that opinion Jurassic. I can't say this it's out of the realm of possibility. GP might try, but it's unlikely that he'd succeed. The insurance policy in this is that no matter how PP handles this, Danny Ainge will never allow it to happen. Dannyboy isn't someone who takes lightly, players who's selfish actions might jeopardize his plans. Antoine Walker learned that lesson very quickly. You could argue that this would be a way for GP to force his way out of town, but again, remember that this is Dannyboy. There are alot worse places in the NBA to be than Boston and I wouldn't put it past DA to send GP to one of those places just to spite GP for his actions. Dannyboy has been respectful of GP in all this, so GP not showing that respect in kind, would make DA a very angry man. Thats' not something GP wants to happen, considering DA has all the leverage, assuming GP has any desire to still play basketball.
I don't believe that Gary Payton is going to be worth anything to this team. His situation is turning into be a very pathetic one. He whined when the Lakers traded away Shaq cause he believed that, by doing that, it took away his best chances of winning a title, and now, he's whining because he's in Boston, who is in the midst of rebuilding, and that's somewhere he doesn't want to be. All the complaining he's doing however, will not help him one damn bit. It's showing that his one and only mind set now is to win, and win as soon as possible. He's become extremely selfish and seemingly refuses to not be apart of a championship calibur team. It's pathetic. He needs to just give it up and play for em. He already tried hopping on a bandwagon once and didn't succeed, and for that matter, he didn't even come near helping the team that he was on, so, what's to make you think that it won't happen again? Payton's a great player, but his best years are behind him, and I don't foresee him winning a title unless he goes over and hops on the TWolve or Spurs bandwagon at this point. Though, he won't even do that cause he believes wherever he goes, he should start. And if he goes to either of those teams, and in my opinion, aside from Detroit, those two have the best chances of winning it all next year, but, if he goes to them, he's going to be back up, and he won't take that. He needs to realize that all the championship calibur teams already have their point guard spot set, and if he wants to win, he might have to take the back up job, and I just don't see him doing that.
I actually think that Payton will really help out this young Celtics team. If you get him with the young players, he may be able to teach them a thing or two. Hopefully he plays the whole season.
See, you're right, he probably could help the young players, but there is a problem here, and that's the fact that he doesn't want to be on a rebuilding team. He wants to win, and win now cause he now his time is just about up. That's why he's mad about this whole Celtics ordeal. They're not set to win yet, and that's what he wants to do, he's sick of waiting. Personally, I could care less one way or the other if he gets a ring or not. Personally, after putting up with him all last season as a Laker fan, I don't want him to win one. He's selfish. That's all he cares about now. It's showed in his actions all off season. His constant whining, trade demands, threatening to retire if he's not traded, it's crap. I hope he doesn't get anything. I may be sounding like a cold hearted individual right now, but that's my current personaly opinion of him.
I think what the main thing to think about is this: why have a player on a team that he doesn't want to play for? I'm assuming he wants to be on a team such as the Spurs, that have a shot at the championship. It's almost the same situation with Vince Carter, and how Shaq seemed to get in his last two years with the Lakers. It was obvious that Shaq didn't wanna play with Kobe and a few others on the team, and therefore, he's on the Heat now. You just don't take a chance with someone like Gary Payton, IMO. He's running the offense, and he's going to want the ball alot, now that he's not playing the triangle. I have a gut feeling that Pierce will find that he's not going to have the ball in his hands as much as he should have it. Come on, Pierce is possibly the only reason the Celtics made the playoffs last year. Without him, they would be the Hawks. Bringing in a vet, especially Payton, would be a great thing...except that Payton is still capable of starting, unlike guys like Pippen and now possibly Drexler, who can come off the bench and help with their leadership. Payton wants to be a go-to guy, wherever he's at, not some role player off the bench. To the Celtics...go with Payton, but if things begin to look bad, trade him off before they get worse. Don't wait around...teams like the Rockets are looking for a PG right now, so it won't be that difficult to get rid of him (that is, unless he continues to act like a sore loser, making his value drop drastically).
Gary Payton is still a great point guard, I'd say still top 10 in the League. He really hasn't lost that much of a step from 2003-03 to 2003-04 as people said. Don't forget, for his whole career, Payton was a tranistion point guard. He likes to push the ball up the floor, and score in the paint. He has never been a 3 point ace. Thats why he was miserible in LA last year, the Triangle requires a point guard who can pass decently, and shoot the 3 with regularity (a la Fisher, Kerr, Paxon, etc). Gary is still a great athlete, and with a team like Boston, that thrives in the half court...with Pierce, and Davis on the Wings, he can be a very great player, maybe even an All-Star if he plays as well as he can.
Payton not a good fit? I cannot think of a worse situation or place for (a) a 36-year-old point guard who has lost a step and is in the final year of his contract; ( a player whose sole mission now, other than collecting a check, is to improve his numbers and image; and © a player who wants the ball and could end up being the gray eminence on a team of impressionable kids, one of them being the Payton Lite himself, Ricky Davis. Link
Will Gary Payton Play? <div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">Most of the Celtics are in Waltham for pre-training camp workouts and scrimmages, but Gary Payton isn't. According to his agent, Payton is working out in Las Vegas and has been in contact with Celtics coach Doc Rivers. But will Payton actually be there when camp officially opens on Oct. 5? Things appear to be up in the air and agent Aaron Goodwin would offer only the following: "We should have a solution in the next week or so." Danny Ainge is hoping for the best saying, "We're optimistic that he'll be there." Asked if he'd heard anything more definitive, Ainge said, "No."</div> Full Story
