Is Danny totally to blame?

[Sean Giovanello]

I am not so much upset as just frustrated with the lack of expectations for
Danny and this team.  I do not see how a GM can take over a team and people
make excuses over and over while the team gets worse rather than better.  In
the past, I have defended Ainge and still think he does a good job with
finding value in the draft.  Outside of that one component of a GMs job, I
would say he has been at best so so and at worst terrible.

In response to your questions:

> 1.  Which veterans were available that would have helped us and how would
> > you have acquired them?
>
>
In regards to veterans available, there have been any number over the
years.  We never made a play for a quality mid-level player.  Earl Watson,
Juwan Howard, Bob Sura, the list goes on and on for guys that the mid level
could have gotten.  I wont pretend to say this guy or that guy, but the fact
remains that every year there are quality veteran free agents available for
the mid-level or some amount below that.  We fill out our roster with the
Orien Greenes and Justin Reeds of the world rather than veterans who can
both teach the younger players and also provide a steadying influence in the
locker room.

There have also been plenty of veterans available via trade over the years.
There are dozens of deals that could be made each year that while not
dramatically transforming a roster can make a real difference in improving a
team.   We could have traded Pierce and rebuilt from scratch a couple years
ago and likely been seeing the light at the end of the tunnel now.  We could
have traded for some guys who might blossom with a change of scenery.  I
always thought a guy like Carlos Arroyo might have been a nice pickup with
some upside.  A guy like that wont dramatically change the team by himself,
but if you have a philosophy about the type of team you want to build you
will value certain types of players more than others and try to build a
squad of guys who run or play the half-court etc.  Instead, it appears we
have just tried to stockpile young talent (which no one values as much as we
do) via the draft in the hope of packaging them for an established number 1A
or 2.  As the failure to land any of those guys shows, this is not a good
way to build a team.  We havent appeared to place a premium on guys who can
shoot or guys who can run or guys who play well in the half court or
anything like that - instead we simply stockpile guys who maybe we can trade
if they develop.  The veterans we bring in are generally brought in and then
sent packing to fix prior mistakes or with an eye on the budget.  I just
dont see much progress and outside of Oden/Durant much hope for this team.

2. What is "championship driven" other than a tired cliche?  Some have
> pointed to the 10-14 record at the time of Pierce's injury, however others
> point out that the team had reeled off an impressive 5 game winning streak
> and that a  2 key young players (Jefferson and West) were unavailable for
> most of November.  The fully constituted team pulled off the 5 game win
> streak, but couldn't shake the injury bug.  I think that adds weight to the
> argument of those that say the team, when healthy, isn't that bad.


Well, most people when they follow competitive sports place a premium on
wins and try to avoid losses.  Danny came in full of criticisms for the way
things were done here and the type of team that was built and said changes
were needed to make the franchise  championship driven.  If might appear a
tired old cliche at this point, but that just reflects horribly on the
person who said the Celtics would be just that under his  administration.
You point to optimism at 10-14 and I could just as easily say that was the
easiest stretch of schedule during the season and it would have only gotten
harder.  Even if we accept what you say does a season with 30-36 wins really
qualify as a feather in the cap of a GM?

3.  I am not surprised that Wally was hurt and was not a advocate of trading
> for him.  But his injuries are to his ankles, not his knees.  Wally is a
> good player to have off the bench that's about it.  Would you rather have
> Banks, Blount, and Davis back?


I guess the question is here whether  they could have gotten a different
deal down the road.  Blount and Davis both had very tradeable contracts and
Banks was expiring.  They knew Wally, like Raef, had knee problems and still
took on massive deals irregardless.  Again, this is another deal that is
merely digging out from bad drafting/player development (Banks), a bad
signing (Blount) and a bad dude (Davis) and taking on a contract that will
hamstring a financially iffy team for years to come.

4. Who has more trade value Raef or Telfair?  I wouldn't be so hasty as to
> label Telfair a bust.  He's just not being used properly by Doc BrainFreeze.
>  I've said all along that he is more of a SG than a PG.  It's funny too, but
> I remeber the exact same arguments being made about Chauncey Billups, who
> bounced through 4 teams before landing with the Pistons.  Sometimes fans
> aren't as smart as they think they are.


I think the proper way  of framing this is who has more trade value  Telfair
or Roy?  Thats a pretty easy answer.  Ratliff has more trade value than Raef
because his deal expires a year sooner.  Telfair isnt even 6 feet though he
is listed at that.  Given that he cant really shoot and is too short to play
the 2 in the NBA, I dont see how you can make that comparison.  Billups is 3
or 4 inches taller and plays the point.

At some point, this team has to be about winning games, making the playoffs,
and contending for a championship.  Does Ainge need another four years for
that?  Its time for a new start for this team in terms of a coach and GM for
next season.


On 2/8/07, asterix ninetynine <asterix_9_9 at yahoo.com> wrote:
>
> Sean, I can see why you're upset.  But your reasons don't make sense to me
> and although they are passioned, they beg the following questions:
>
>   1.  Which veterans were available that would have helped us and how
> would you have acquired them?
>
>   2. What is "championship driven" other than a tired cliche?  Some have
> pointed to the 10-14 record at the time of Pierce's injury, however others
> point out that the team had reeled off an impressive 5 game winning streak
> and that a  2 key young players (Jefferson and West) were unavailable for
> most of November.  The fully constituted team pulled off the 5 game win
> streak, but couldn't shake the injury bug.  I think that adds weight to the
> argument of those that say the team, when healthy, isn't that bad.
>
>   3.  I am not surprised that Wally was hurt and was not a advocate of
> trading for him.  But his injuries are to his ankles, not his knees.  Wally
> is a good player to have off the bench that's about it.  Would you rather
> have Banks, Blount, and Davis back?
>
>   4. Who has more trade value Raef or Telfair?  I wouldn't be so hasty as
> to label Telfair a bust.  He's just not being used properly by Doc
> BrainFreeze.  I've said all along that he is more of a SG than a PG.  It's
> funny too, but I remeber the exact same arguments being made about Chauncey
> Billups, who bounced through 4 teams before landing with the
> Pistons.  Sometimes fans aren't as smart as they think they are.
>
>   5.  Well, duh.
>
>
>
> Sean Giovanello <giovanello at gmail.com> wrote:
>   I think a lot of blame can be pinned on Ainge for the following reasons:
>
> 1. He assembled a roster loaded with young players and continued a thread
> of choosing young unproven players to fill out his roster instead of
> veterans.
> 2. Even with Pierce playing, this team was not good and did not appear
> "championship driven."
> 3. Are you surprised that Wally has been hurt? The guy has a chronic knee
> condition - he is always going to be hurt. Very few GMs would trade for
> him
> with that knee and that contract and his performance in Boston has likely
> reduced to that 0 GMs.
> 4. Sebastian Telfair is not very good. Danny traded a lottery pick for him
>
> (I know we get out of a year of Raef and that Theo's contract is insured
> which allows the owners to not pay out that money). He appears to be the
> third PG on this team and deservedly so. I do not think he has much, if
> any, trade value.
> 5. If your are well into your rebuilding program and your team is now
> tanking for the lottery in what was supposed to be a season of improvement
> well the sands of time for you are running low.
>
> I think the problem for Danny is that he has had a number of years to turn
> this around and...the team is now a laughingstock. It has set the Celtic
> record for consecutive losses and is being mocked on ESPN for how bad it
> is
> as they countdown 9 more to go until the Celts get the longest losing
> streak
> in league history. Danny took over a marginal team and has not improved
> it. I think that a reasonable person would say that we have generally been
>
> one of the worse teams in the league in his tenure. How long does a GM get
> to turn it around?
>
> On 2/7/07, Ryan Lee wrote:
> >
> > I haven't posted in a while since the celts have not given me much
> > reason to discuss them but as an avid AM sports radio listener, it's
> amusing
> > how a significant amount of callers pin all of this season's woes on
> Danny
> > Ainge. When the franchise player is injured as well as the "#2"(notice
> the
> > quotes) player, Wally, and the rest of the team is entirely made up of 1
> or
> > 2 year players, how can anyone really pin this season on Danny? Put it
> this
> > way, if Cleveland were to lose Lebron to injury all season or the Lakers
> to
> > lose both Kobe and Odom, how would either of those teams fare? I don't
> > care who's the coach, nobody can win with a team of secondary players
> > (except maybe Jerry Sloan). Do I think Danny is the right one for the
> > job? No, not really but I know enough to see it was injuries and bad
> luck
> > that derailed this season and not so much his bizarre managerial moves.
> >
> > I keep hearing about this college kid Kevin Durant being the best
> > college player in the last 10 years and how he should go higher than
> Greg
> > Odin. Anyone ever seen this guy play?
> >
> > R
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
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