Celtics need to heed caution in dealing for Iverson

[Josh Ozersky]

I don't know who wrote this, but if s/he thinks that West
makes Telfair superflous, he's not watching closely.  Rondo
on the other hand....the fact is, though, that if we trade for
AI there's not point having any true point guards on the roster.
It's also unnatural.  The guy has been a sixer his whole career.
I don't see how he can become a Celtic.  It's just not right.

Josh

----- Original Message ----- 
From: <BDodgers at aol.com>
To: <celtics at igtc.com>; <Celticsstuffgroup at yahoogroups.com>
Sent: Monday, July 17, 2006 1:46 PM
Subject: Celtics need to heed caution in dealing for Iverson


>
>
> Safety dance
> Celtics need to heed caution in dealing for Iverson
>
>
>
> Before we begin to rant, rail and remonstrate, let's go over what should 
> be
> common knowledge regarding the Boston Celtics' rumored pursuit of Allen
> Iverson:
> • For all intents and purposes, Iverson and Celtics superstar Paul  Pierce
> should be able to co-exist. Both are determined offensive players who 
> show a
> keen interest in winning above all else, but they've also proven willing 
> to
> give up the ball in late-game situations to lesser players if it meant a 
> better
> chance at winning. It's hard to imagine Pierce balking at sharing the 
> ball
> with AI, and vice versa (which is more likely), with the game on the 
> line.
> • Rumors that would send Iverson to Denver (for Marcus Camby and  Andre
> Miller) or Los Angeles (for Clippers Corey Maggette and  Shaun Livingston) 
> could
> only have come out of the Sixers organization, as  they try to set an 
> outrageous
> tone for trade offers.
> • Philadelphia's best trade for Iverson, as Chris Mannix _pointed out_
> (http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2006/writers/chris_mannix/07/13/iverson/index.html)
>  last week, is with the  Boston Celtics. Yes, they're 40-year divisional
> rivals, but Sixers GM Billy  King can't let that cloud his vision when 
> trying to
> dump a 31-year old whom  he owes $60 million.
> Given all of the above, the only issue left to sort out, involves how many
> assets Celtics GM Danny Ainge is willing to part with for the seven-time 
> All
> Star.
> Our advice: not much.
> Wally Szczerbiak, he of the hefty contract and established scoring  touch,
> would no doubt have to be involved. Sebastian Telfair, the 21-year  old 
> point
> guard pointedly sought out by Ainge from the Trail Blazers at the  expense 
> of
> drafting Randy Foye with the seventh pick in last month's  draft, would 
> also
> seem to be a natural fit once he is eligible to be traded on  Aug. 28.
> From there, things get iffy. The Celtics stole high-school phenom Gerald
> Green with the 18th pick in last year's draft, and although he 
> disappointed  by
> showing up to the Las Vegas Summer League out of shape this year, he has 
> the
> potential for greatness. (Of course, potential greatness at the shooting 
> guard
> spot doesn't always drive a team to the Finals, in spite of what we saw in
> Miami  in June.) It is also doubtful Ainge wants to give up on do-it-all 
> forward
> Ryan Gomes, which would be wise, and the promising Delonte  West is 
> probably
> off limits, too.
> On the flip side, we can't see Philly wanting anything to do with Theo
> Ratliff or Brian Scalabrine. Kendrick Perkins is already a  solid 
> pivotman, so
> Ainge likely won't trade him -- and after breaking the bank  to sign 
> Samuel
> Dalembert, King won't have much interest in him  either.
> That leaves third-year big forward Al Jefferson, who disappointed in 
> 2005-06
> after a series of ankle injuries derailed his season, as a potential
> throw-in.
> And if that's the price, it's too high. Jefferson is only 21, can  score 
> all
> over the paint and held his own rebounding last year in spite of two 
> dodgy
> ankles that left him afraid to leave the ground. The Celtics can't give up 
> on
> him this early, not as enticement for a Sixers team -- already backed up
> against the proverbial wall -- to send them a 31-year old waterbug.
> It doesn't matter that Gomes continues to develop, because Gomes is three
> years older than Jefferson, and whether you go by height or statistics 
> (most
> tend to use both), he doesn't measure up to Big Al. The Celtics can't 
> worry
> about pairing two stationary low-post players like Jefferson and Perkins,
> either, not without giving them a chance to work things out (according to
> _82games.com_ (http://www.82games.com/) , they only played 61 minutes 
> together last
> year); because it was that sort of thinking that led Jerry Krause to dump 
> Elton
> Brand on the Clippers some five years ago.
> But Boston has to be careful. To paraphrase Miles Davis while deleting  a
> string of hilarious but wildly inappropriate blue words -- they can't give 
> too
> much away. Nobody is breaking down Billy King's door to get Iverson at 
> this
> point, and as training camp approaches, the Sixers GM can only get more 
> and more
> uneasy at the notion of welcoming such a publicized piece of trade bait 
> back
> into the fold. Ainge has to wait King out, make him sweat and only send 
> the
> Wally/ Green/ Telfair troika (which works, cap-wise) to the Sixers for AI.
> Don't read too much into AI's pronouncements of wanting to remain in 
> Philly.
> Pro athletes take offense at being served the wrong color Gatorade or a
> too-slow  wave from the blankety-blank in the truck they just let merge, 
> and
> Iverson (even  after 10 seasons) is one of the more emotional types this 
> league
> boasts. So  we can't imagine that having to address trade rumors hasn't 
> given him
> pause  about returning to Philly for an 11th season.
> And what happens if he does return? The 76ers will pay close to $90 
> million
> for the right to win about 36 games, and we'll go through all this again 
> next
> summer. Better that Philly's should get what they can for AI from the
> Celtics,  eschew defense altogether and run the offense through Chris 
> Webber for as
> many times as he's able to suit up. With his ever-limited range of 
> movement
> and  exorbitant contract, C-Webb isn't going anywhere, and you can still 
> run an
> exciting high or low post offense through his mitts -- especially with a
> runner  like Szczerbiak and a slasher like Green on board.
> For the Celtics, a pairing of Iverson and Pierce could do some damage and
> provide the must-see buzz the Celtics so desperately crave. AI, in and of
> himself, won't bring the team down. He's not some cancer, on or off court 
> that
> will prevent a team from winning.
> Still, the C's have to realize that dealing for Iverson signals the end of
> three years of rebuilding, of smartly acquiring lottery-level prospects 
> with
> mid-to-low first round picks.
> Don't get cute and try to snag Sam "Goaltending? What?" Dalembert or move
> Jefferson along, and keep in mind that this trade is potentially the 
> product of
> three years of rebuilding, of three years of smartly acquiring 
> lottery-level
> prospects with mid-to-low first round picks. If they give up too much for 
> AI,
> they won't have enough offensive firepower to force AI into giving up the
> rock  for long stretches. They want to turn Allen into an efficient 
> offensive
> fireplug, a 1A to Pierce's "1" -- not a second option, but close. If this 
> trade
> decimates the Celtic roster, then the dream scenario is lost. Szczerbiak 
> and
> Telfair, with Pierce and Delonte West already on board, are superfluous on
> this  Celtic roster. Jefferson is not.
> Ainge has shown himself to be one of the more astute GMs in the league, 
> even
> if the Celtics record (an average of 38 wins a year during his reign) 
> doesn't
> attest to that. The worst mistake he could make is giving too much to a
> beleaguered GM that has nowhere else to turn. His legacy as head of the 
> Celtics
> is riding on this deal.
>
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