Big Al hopes to be man in the middle of C's resurgence

Wed Apr 11 15:13:57 CDT 2007

Three years ago if we had Tony Parker would you have traded him for Steve Nash?
How about in hindsight?

Phil

On 4/11/07, Berry, Mark  S <berrym at battelle.org> wrote:
> It's not even close. Not when you consider their ages. We'd be
> regretting it in two years. No way.
>
> Mark
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: celtics-bounces at igtc.com [mailto:celtics-bounces at igtc.com] On
> Behalf Of Phil Maymin
> Sent: Wednesday, April 11, 2007 2:57 PM
> To: The Boston Celtics Mailing List
> Subject: Re: Big Al hopes to be man in the middle of C's resurgence
>
> You may be right but you gotta admit Garnett would be a very close
> call, far from a no-brainer.
>
> Phil
>
> On 4/11/07, Berry, Mark  S <berrym at battelle.org> wrote:
> > I'm terrified of what Ainge might do this summer. The list of guys I'd
> > trade Al for can be counted on one hand ... and none of them would be
> > made available. The list does not include Garnett or Gasol.
> >
> > Thoughts?
> >
> > Mark
> >
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: celtics-bounces at igtc.com [mailto:celtics-bounces at igtc.com] On
> > Behalf Of BDodgers at aol.com
> > Sent: Wednesday, April 11, 2007 2:26 PM
> > To: celtics at igtc.com; Celticsstuffgroup at yahoogroups.com
> > Subject: Big Al hopes to be man in the middle of C's resurgence
> >
> > Big Al hopes to be man in the middle of C's resurgence
> >
> >
> >
> (http://x.go.com/cgi/x.pl?goto=http://search.espn.go.com/keyword/search?
> > searchString=jackie_macmullan&name=SEARCH_m_archive&srvc=sz)
> > By Jackie MacMullan
> > Special to ESPN.com
> >
> >
> >
> > BOSTON -- _Al Jefferson_
> > (http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/players/profile?statsId=3832)
> positioned
> > himself on the block, asking for the ball. That didn't
> > mean he was expecting to get it. The Celtics were down two points to
> the
> > Knicks
> > and five-time All-Star _Paul Pierce_
> > (http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/players/profile?statsId=3253) , who has
> > been the go-to guy in these situations for the
> > past eight years, was maneuvering toward the basket with the rock in
> his
> > hands.
> >
> > Jefferson was mildly surprised when Pierce threw it to him in the
> post.
> > As
> > the double team converged, a common strategy since Jefferson began
> > racking up
> > double-doubles (he had 30 in the team's first 52 games), Jefferson did
> > what he
> > thought Pierce wanted him to do.
> > He passed it back.
> > "Next thing I know, Paul is yelling at me,'' Jefferson said. "He's
> > screaming,
> > 'C'mon man, keep it!' That's when I realized, 'Wow, I guess I really
> do
> > finally have his respect.'"
> > But does Pierce have Jefferson's back? After another lost Celtics
> season
> > in
> > which the team will fail to make the playoffs for the second year in a
> > row,
> > Boston's superstar recently expressed his frustration over his team's
> > abysmal
> > track record, lamenting, "I'm the classic great player on a bad team,
> > and it
> > stinks.''
> > Pierce continues to lobby for Boston to bring a proven veteran to the
> > Celtics. He recognizes the price could be steep. The team's bargaining
> > chips include
> > the lottery pick that will be coming the team's way in the June draft,
> > _Theo
> > Ratliff_ (http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/players/profile?statsId=3020)
> ,
> > whose
> > expiring contract is worth $11.66 million and is attractive to teams
> > looking to
> > carve out salary cap space, and a collection of young, unrefined
> talent
> > that
> > Danny Ainge, the Celtics' head of basketball operations, has been
> > stockpiling.
> >
> > It's no great mystery which of the youngsters will draw the most
> > interest --
> > Jefferson -- and while Pierce prefers to rebuild with Big Al in tow,
> he
> > acknowledged the price of acquiring a high level talent like _Kevin
> > Garnett_
> > (http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/players/profile?statsId=3007)  or _Pau
> > Gasol_
> > (http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/players/profile?statsId=3513)  might
> > require parting
> > with the young forward.
> > Team sources confirmed that if the Celtics end up with either the No.
> 1
> > or 2
> > pick (which would land them either Ohio State's Greg Oden or Texas'
> > Kevin
> > Durant, in that preferred order), they will not trade it. That would
> > leave
> > Jefferson, who was averaging 15.8 points and 10.9 rebounds a game
> before
> > being
> > sidelined with a bruised knee, as the major bait for a major veteran.
> > Big Al, meanwhile, consistently has chafed at the incessant talk of
> Oden
> > in
> > Celtics green.
> > "We don't need a big man," he sniffed recently. "We already have one.
> > "I just hope and pray Danny believes that me and Paul are the ones who
> > can
> > get us to the playoffs."
> > Ainge acknowledges this is the most critical offseason of his tenure
> in
> > Boston. Although impatient fans are clamoring for a change, both in
> the
> > front
> > office and the coaching ranks, owner Wyc Grousbeck insisted Tuesday
> his
> > intent is
> > to stay the course with Ainge and coach Doc Rivers.
> > "I'm confident both guys will be back next year,'' he said.
> > Rivers, who next season will be in the final year of a contract that
> > pays him
> > $4 million annually, has lobbied publicly for an extension. Grousbeck
> > said
> > that determination won't be made until the end of the season, and when
> > it is, it
> > will be Ainge's call. Team and league sources said if Rivers persists
> in
> >
> > pursuing the extension, it could cost him his job.
> > "My personal opinion is that Doc has done a very good job given what
> > he's had
> > to work with this season, in terms of youth and catastrophic
> injuries,''
> >
> > Grousbeck said. "He coaches his heart out on every play. He goes for
> all
> > 48
> > minutes. If people are happy with the progress of a player like Al
> > Jefferson, they
> > should pay attention to the guy that has been coaching him the past
> > three
> > years.''
> > While Jefferson's third year certainly has been the charm, his
> sophomore
> >
> > campaign in 2005-06 was a calamity. He reported to training camp out
> of
> > shape and
> > injured his ankle partway through the year. What was originally
> > diagnosed as a
> > sprain kept Jefferson sidelined for weeks. When he did return, he was
> > ineffective and favoring his foot. Whispers began emanating out of his
> > own lockerroom
> > that he was too soft to play through the pain. Teammates privately
> > questioned
> > whether Big Al was tough enough.
> > "I took a lot of crap,'' Jefferson said. "It was really frustrating.
> The
> >
> > people who were doubting me were the same people who said I was the
> > future of the
> > team the year before. I don't know if any of my teammates were
> included
> > in
> > that. I kind of doubt it. But if they were, they aren't doubting me
> > now.''
> > "Al didn't handle playing injured well,'' Rivers said. "If you are
> hurt
> > but
> > you're playing, you still have to find ways to help your team win. Can
> > you
> > still make a shot if you are a shooter? Can you still rebound the ball
> > if you are
> > a rebounder? Al thought because he was still out there he could still
> do
> > the
> > stuff he was doing before he got hurt. When he couldn't do those
> things,
> > he was
> > at a loss. He didn't know how to help the team.''
> > Jefferson said the only person who remained solidly in his corner
> during
> > his
> > struggles was Ainge, who eventually decided to shut down his young big
> > man for
> > the remainder of the season. Subsequent tests determined Big Al needed
> > surgery. In a peculiar twist, it was good news, because it validated
> the
> > concerns
> > Jefferson had been communicating to his team.
> > "I had seen Al play a lot, so I knew he wasn't right,'' Ainge said.
> "He
> > was
> > getting discouraged, and I don't think discouragement is a good germ
> to
> > have if
> > you want to get better.
> > "He's matured so much since he got here. His work ethic has changed
> > dramatically. I used to joke with him, 'Al, you were born tired and
> > lazy.'"
> > Last summer Jefferson committed to staying in Boston for the team's
> > conditioning program. He began seriously lifting weights for the first
> > time in his
> > career and spent most mornings doing agility drills and floor work
> with
> > teammate
> > _Ryan Gomes_
> > (http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/players/profile?statsId=3976) . He
> > lost 30 pounds, changed his diet dramatically and almost immediately
> > noticed
> > the benefits, particularly in terms of stamina. Jefferson said he will
> > participate in the same program again this summer and will avoid
> > retreating to his
> > home state of Mississippi, where bad habits await.
> > "I've got to stay away,'' he said. "If I was home in Mississippi, I'd
> be
> >
> > eating my mom's fried chicken, and my grandmother's collard greens,
> > cornbread and
> > sweet potato pie. If you don't eat her food, it's like a slap in the
> > face.''
> > Rivers said Jefferson's defense remains a work in progress, which is
> not
> > a
> > surprise since all he ever played was zone defense in high school. Big
> > Al still
> > struggles on some of the team's defensive rotations, although he's
> done
> > a much
> > better job this season of identifying the difference between a good
> foul
> > and
> > a bad one.
> > Offensively, his skills continue to improve dramatically. In
> Jefferson's
> >
> > rookie season, the Celtics lost to the _Indiana Pacers_
> > (http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/clubhouse?team=ind)  in the playoffs,
> in
> > part because coach Rick Carlisle
> > came at Jefferson with a host of trapping double teams. A flustered
> > Jefferson
> > simply did not know how to handle the pressure. He's far more adept
> now
> > at
> > either staying one pass ahead of the double team, or splitting the
> > defenders
> > with an array of post-up moves he's picked up from watching film of
> > Moses Malone
> > and Hakeem Olajuwon.
> > "The bone of contention I have with Al is getting him to catch the
> ball
> > in
> > better spots," Rivers said. "Al sometimes runs to the open gap instead
> > of
> > establishing position and posting up.
> > "But his scoring has to impress you. Single coverage is the thing of
> the
> > past
> > with him.''
> > Jefferson said he believes Ainge will hang onto him and allow him to
> be
> > part
> > of the nucleus that brings the Celtics back to respectability,
> something
> >
> > Jefferson promises will happen as soon as next season.
> > "I just feel like we've got something going here," Jefferson said.
> "But
> > I
> > understand it's a business. I don't want to go anywhere. But getting
> > traded for
> > Kevin Garnett? Hey, that would be big."
> > "It would be really, really hard to trade Al,'' Ainge said. "I say
> that
> > because of what I see, what he can be, and who he is right now. It's
> > always hard to
> > trade players you like, but I would do it if it made the team better.
> > "But what I'd say right now is not only would it be hard, it would be
> > unlikely, too.''
> > The team will know more when the draft lottery order is decided in
> May.
> > The
> > Celtics need to land either Oden or Durant. Plan B is decidedly less
> > palatable.
> >
> > Of course, they have been down this road before. In 1997, Rick Pitino
> > accepted the job as president and head coach of the Celtics with the
> > belief he would
> > land _Tim Duncan_
> > (http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/players/profile?statsId=3173)
> >  in the draft lottery because Boston had the worst record in the
> league.
> >
> > "And we all know how that turned out,'' Rivers said. "That's why no
> team
> > in
> > their right mind loses games on purpose. The basketball gods will get
> > you."
> > The _Boston Celtics_
> (http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/clubhouse?team=bos)
> > know
> > all about that. It's been 21 years since they hoisted a championship
> > banner,
> > and 20 years since they've been to the NBA Finals.
> > "I can get us there,'' said Al Jefferson. "Me and Paul. Just give us
> the
> >
> > chance."
> > Jackie MacMullan of The Boston Globe is an NBA columnist for ESPN.com.
> >
> >
> >
> > ************************************** See what's free at
> > http://www.aol.com.
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