RealGM article on Ainge statements

[Celtic4Hire@xxxxxxx]

Biggest note is Ainge is looking to make one more change for a guard. I
believe he is looking to get rid of Delk and/or EWill to further force Obie to
change the offense. EWill and Delk plus the exception works for Artest. Could
Bird
work a deal with his little kid brother, Danny? Wouldn't our team be awesome
with Banks at the point, Artest at the two, PP, a lighter Twan and Battie with
a revitalized Baker coming off the bench along with Kedrick,Jones, Walter and
Hunter? That's what I would call a team providing they could all get along
with Artest. Then we could really find out if Obie could coach....I know, too
much optimism for some of you. Steady as she goes. Keep a level keel. Don't
walk
under a ladder. Watch for the boogie man, etc....

DJessen33

<Ainge addresses state of the Celtics

While most of the New England sports world is focused on the Red Sox drive
towards their first post-season appearance in four years, and the start of the
beloved Patriots season, Danny Ainge took some time to discuss some of the
current issues surrounding his team. He recently appeared on Fox Sports Net
New
England and sports radio 850 WEEI.



Here is a synopsis of what was discussed:



On Marcus Banks:



He said he is always reluctant to hype up a rookie too much because they have
(obviously) yet to play in a professional game, so itbs very difficult to
gauge their importance to team success. But he is sure that Banks will cause
some
problems to the team in certain games due to his lack of experience. That is
not a shot at him, itbs just how it is with rookies, and they want him to be
an important player, so he has to learn this way.



On <A HREF="http://www.realgm.com/src_playerfile.php?playerid=203";>Vin
Baker</A>:



He said he doesnbt want to build his expectations too high and hopes he can
contribute to the team in terms of a positive attitude and character
standpoint. He has no idea what to expect in terms of numbers. With Baker,
itbs a daily
thing with him because of his problem. He has not seen him all summer, but has
had a couple of conversations with him. He said that Vinbs attitude was
realistic and that he (Ainge) was encouraged. Finally, he said that he is
hopeful
that he could be a contributor, but at the same time he has been planning
without him. Moreover, he wouldnbt have drafted Brandon Hunter if he knew
that
Baker could be a valuable contributor.



On <A HREF="http://www.realgm.com/src_playerfile.php?playerid=350";>Antoine
Walker</A>:



He has had no talks with him in terms of a contract extension. He feels that
Antoine has every incentive in the world to have the best year of his career
this year and he wants him to do that (obviously). From his (Aingebs)
perspective, he doesnbt think that Walkerbs only options are a maximum
contract
extension, or a trade. But at the same time, he understands that Walker and
his
agent would want a maximum deal. In terms of his game, he would like to see
his
shot attempts be higher quality and have a higher percentage, and also
increase
his rebounding.



He also denied that he ever hated Walker or his game, noting that he could
understand why people would think that, given the comments he made while
broadcasting for TNT. But he feels the biggest reason why his three point
attempts
were so high, and his shooting percentages so low were due to the fact that
they
had no point guard and he had a lot of responsibilities in terms of bringing
the ball up. He also mentioned that it wasnbt just Walker whose conditioning
needed improvement. And hopefully, now, those issues have been resolved.



On Jim ObBrien:



He talks with him all the time and they are both on the same page in terms of
what the team needs to improve. They both want a more uptempo running style,
but therebs still that question at point guard. They want Banks to HAVE to
play in those situations and learn from them.



In terms of their relationship within the organization, he views ObBrien as
his btop assistantb when discussing which players to go after or draft.
But
ultimately he makes the decision himself. (interesting that Chris Wallace is
never mentioned here).



In the same respect, ObBrien views Ainge the same way in terms of how to run
the team on the court. But ultimately he makes the decisions, but they are
both held accountable in both aspects. He also said ObBrien felt that with
the
team he had, he HAD to play the style of game they did to win NOW.



Ainge also said that therebs a time and place for isolation style of play
(giving the ball to either Walker or Pierce and everyone else just waits for
the
defense to react) but it canbt be the be-all, end-all. He said he remembers
plenty of times when they would give the ball to Larry Bird or Kevin McHale
and
watch them do their thing until the defense reacted. But he just doesnbt
want
that to be the main focal point on the offense.



On taking the job:



For him, it was definitely the attraction of it being the <A
HREF="http://celtics.realgm.com/";>Boston </A>Celtics. He
turned down the offer once, but they persisted and asked him to really think
about it. He loves the challenge and says there is no place like Boston to be
in terms of a sports town. He said that there is no better place to win, but
itbs not a good place to be when you lose. To be a part of any sports team
here,
you need to be thick-skinned and have a lot of patience.



That was the gist of his interview on WEEI. I saw a brief video clip on FSNE
last night and he told Tommy Heinsohn that he would like to make one more
trade before the year for another guard. He didnbt mention any names, so
make of
it what you will.>