Big Al hopes to be man in the middle of C's resurgence
keltsfan
keltsfan at comcast.net
Wed Apr 11 16:58:55 CDT 2007
I hear ya Mark and I am frightened at the thought that this
ownership/management group honestly believes they can build a team around
Pierce. I fear it may indeed end badly.
Ravi
> -----Original Message-----
> From: celtics-bounces at igtc.com
> [mailto:celtics-bounces at igtc.com] On Behalf Of Berry, Mark S
> Sent: Wednesday, April 11, 2007 1:14 PM
> To: The Boston Celtics Mailing List
> Subject: RE: Big Al hopes to be man in the middle of C's resurgence
>
>
> If they get neither, they probably shop the pick and anyone
> they can to add a veteran next to Pierce. This is the
> worst-case scenario. You can't build a title team around
> Pierce. And if they waste more time trying to do it, it's
> only going to end badly.
>
> Mark
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: celtics-bounces at igtc.com
> [mailto:celtics-bounces at igtc.com] On Behalf Of keltsfan
> Sent: Wednesday, April 11, 2007 3:36 PM
> To: 'The Boston Celtics Mailing List'
> Subject: RE: Big Al hopes to be man in the middle of C's resurgence
>
> Mark,
>
> IMO, if the Celtics land Durant, it is Paul Pierce that is
> expendable, not Al Jefferson and Durant, Jefferson, Rondo,
> Green and the appropriate veterans Pierce would fetch would
> form the foundations of a championship caliber team fairly
> quickly. If the Celtics land Oden, then trading Jefferson
> for Garnett resulting in a front line of Pierce, Oden and
> Garnett makes Boston a contender for the Eastern Conference
> championship next season. Boston may still be a contender
> next season with a Pierce, Jefferson and Oden front line as
> long as Rondo finds an average jump shot.
>
> Personally, I wouldn't deal Jefferson. True low post scoring
> options don't come around very often. I'd much rather they
> trade Pierce. In any event, if Boston lands Oden or Durant,
> Ainge's options for transforming this team into championship
> caliber are so damn good it's frightening.
>
> For example, would Jordan/Charlotte be interested in swapping
> Gerald Wallace and Brevin Knight for Pierce given his
> Airness' desire to find a veteran big
> time scorer?
>
> How about Pierce and Ratliff for Bibby and Brad Miller?
>
> Pierce for Josh Howard and fodder assuming Howard can defend
> shooting guards as well as he defends small forwards?
>
> Pierce for Deng, Tyrus Thomas and the Knicks pick?
>
> Ravi
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: celtics-bounces at igtc.com
> > [mailto:celtics-bounces at igtc.com] On Behalf Of Berry, Mark S
> > Sent: Wednesday, April 11, 2007 11:30 AM
> > To: The Boston Celtics Mailing List
> > Subject: RE: Big Al hopes to be man in the middle of C's resurgence
> >
> > 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/keywo
> > rd/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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