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Re: Unacceptable rebuilding?

I do not feel like I am driven by an agenda. If you look back to when Ainge was hired, I was ecstatic. I knew it meant Antoine would go. I did not like the Antoine deal they made, because I believed it made sense to wait till a better offer came along. I might not be as high on Jiri as some people are on here, but I think he will be a key player on this team for years to come. I have a wait and see attitude on the Davis-Williams trade. Given Eric's contract, it was a certainty he would be traded this year. We might have been able to make a better deal had we waited closer to the deadline. However, Ricky Davis hasnt been the horror he was described as. He has said some things that make me think that there might be some truth to what we heard about him. However, if its just some smack talk from him on occasion, I have no problem with the deal. He can score. He can dunk, giving the Celts a real above the rim type for the first time in a long time. He seems willing to play some defense as well. I like adding Mihm - I traded for him right away in my fantasy league and to be honest thought he was going to have more of an impact here. However, I still have hopes for him. As for OB, I could not stand him. I wanted him gone last year during the season never mind extending him. I think that was a mistake on Danny's part, but its arguable that he had no choice at the time. I do not see how any of this means I have an agenda. I certainly fall into the Antoine was not a cancer and has some real value camp, but I knew he was gone. In fact, the day the Vin Baker trade was made, my brother and I were talking and we both agreed that the trade meant that Antoine would need to be traded down the line and that made an already terrible deal even worse.

I think Ainge can judge talent better than the last two guys here before him. However, thats kind of a backhanded compliment in itself. As for now, he has shown me enough of an eye for talent that I think he will be fine in that department. However, there is more to being a gm than simply judging talent. I think Ainge has done a pretty bad job in terms of the pr/public side of the deal. I did not like his ripping Antoine on his way out of town. He did it on the radio and in the press and then seemed surprised when Antoine fired back. He also keeps saying how he isnt rebuilding. He predicted as many or more wins this year than last. He has not really backed away from that. He said today on EEI that we are only a couple games off of where he thought we would be at this point of the season. He has sown an arrogance that I think will in time be self-defeating. I also thought it was pretty bad that he called up Barkley to plead for mercy in his tv analysis and it was even worse that "his friend" Barkley would make that public. I think he has failed to convince many fans that he has a plan and is implementing it. I also think that we are not a competitive team this year. I do not see how we can be all that much better next year than we were last year. Barring a major deal or a free agent steal with the midlevel exception or MArcus Banks (the most NBA ready of all the pg's in the draft) suddenly getting it, I think we are in a pretty tough bind. On EEI tonite, they were discussing that even if they ditch Baker they do not have the cap flexibility that many people thought they did (I dont know about this - just repeating it). If I had to grade Ainge right now, I would give him a C or a C-. If that means I have an agenda, then I guess I do.
Shawn Niles wrote:

Who said anything about 3 years in the lottery? The way the conference is, they may not go to the lottery at all. If they do, though, it would only be for this year. There are just way too many signs pointing to good things for this team starting next year. I'd list them, but as Mark pointed out, you seem driven by an agenda and would just ignore the facts.


From: Sean Giovanello <sgiovanello@xxxxxxxxxxxx>
To: Steve Ouellette <bosox18@xxxxxxxxxxx>
CC: Celtics <Celtics@xxxxxxxx>
Subject: Re: Unacceptable rebuilding?
Date: Thu, 12 Feb 2004 13:29:10 -0500

I think people bought the tank for Duncan idea. It made sense cause the team was just so bad and, at the time, it seemed the smart and logical way to rebuild. No Duncan and too much Pitino left people perhaps even more down on this team than during the ML Carr era. Attendance was down. I would imagine luxury and season tix were way down. Getting rid of Pitino and turning the team over to Walker/Pierce/OB brought us back to respectability. It certainly was not the last stop on the journey back to the top but for a while it felt like we wereh eaded in the right direction. Going back to 3 years of lottery will really hurt this team. It will kill the new owners who depend so much on a packed house every night.



Steve Ouellette wrote:

I just dont think a team like the Celts can take 3 years or more to implement a program.



I keep hearing this from different people, that you can't rebuild in Boston, it won't be tolerated.

Celtic wins, from the 1993-94 season through 2000-2001:
32, 35, 33, 15, 36, 19 (short season), 35, 36.

That's eight consecutive losing seasons. Now, because we made the Eastern Conference playoffs two years in a row, we can no longer tolerate anything less? The world will end, the Fleet Center will sink into the ground and the team will disband?

Personally, I won't tolerate any more steps that don't seem designed to give us another championship. I think Ainge is doing fine ... every person I've met who has been critical seems to think that it was simply insane to give up a chance for 46 wins and a 10 percent shot at reaching the finals and being swept. Somehow the ultimate goal has been corrupted.

STEVE O


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