Good possibly great trade

[Josh Ozersky]

I have to say, I'm with Tom all the way on this, and am frankly surprised 
that
Mark Berry, Simmons, and so many other Celtics fans are down on the trade.
This draft had two superstars and a consolation prize. I'm especially 
surprised
at Simmons. All of a sudden he'd rather have "the Chinese Brad Lohaus" than
the 2nd best pure off guard in basketball? Are you freaking kidding me? I 
was
disappointed that Swift wasn't included, but I expect that we'll be 
aquriring a
shot-blocker of some kind to start alongside Jefferson. AK47 would be great,
but I'd be happy with some kind of defensive specialist -- maybe a big man 
on
the downside of his career, a la Alonzo Mourning or Dikembe Mutumbo when
they were with Miami and Philadelphia. I could defend this on basketball 
terms,
but for me it comes down to a more personal issue: after twenty years of 
fanatic
devotion to the team, this was the year they almost lost me. Unlike a lot of 
the
people on this list, I still believe in Ainge, but all the deaths and 
departures have
attenuated my devotion, and the combination of the lottery and Doc's failure
to create a running team have basically worn me out. I need the Celtics to 
be
good again now. Any decent team could have been in the finals this past 
year.
If Jefferson gets his touches and Allen and Pierce flourish playing off each 
other,
a roaming rim defender could help us a lot with the new zone rules. Nor do I
expect Jefferson and Perkins to be defensively helpless forever. I have no 
doubt
under a better coaching staff they would already be solid defensively.

Josh

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Tom Murphy" <tfmiii at worldnet.att.net>
To: "Celtic list" <celtics at igtc.com>
Sent: Saturday, June 30, 2007 10:10 AM
Subject: Good possibly great trade


> After giving the matter some thought, I find it hard to believe that 
> picking up a 7 time all-star two-guard in his prime in exchange for a 
> combo guard, a draft pick and a big contract for a player who never fit is 
> somehow a step backwards.
>
> To address the fears of many: 32 is not 35 or even 34. Allen should have 
> several more great years and a few good ones after that left in the tank. 
> And bone spurs are not career threatening - painful, but not mechanically 
> limiting.
>
> Allen is not only a phenomenal player in his own right, but he solidifies 
> our rotation by pushing Pierce back to his natural position at SF. Our 
> offense is instantly diversified. Our defense is improved, as much by 
> subtraction as by addition, as neither Pierce nor Wally couldn't stay in 
> front of two-guards nor Delonte in front of points.
>
> And the gravy to this whole deal is that we have our youth movement still 
> firmly in place, only having sacrificed Delonte. (And if it came down who 
> to pay after this season I think most would agree it would be Al before 
> Delonte).
>
> Now that we are actually players in the East, other potential pieces of 
> the puzzle will no longer view us as a leper colony. Just one more good 
> trade and we could be favorites to head to the finals. Great move, can't 
> wait for the next one to solidify our contender status.
>
> If Denver is serious about dumping salary we may be able to pry Marcus 
> Camby (33 yrs old, three more years on his deal) from them for not much 
> more than Theo's contract - keeping Al while adding Garnett-lite. Camby 
> and Evans (4 year deal) for Theo works straight up. Or possibly Camby and 
> a sign-trade for Steve Blake (Gene would have to smile at that, no?) for 
> Theo. I would imagine in either scenario we would have to part with an 
> addition asset (pick/player or both) but neither deal is pie in the sky. 
> And either deal would make us pre-season contenders for the championship.
>
> I can understand that people are sad to see Delonte go, or to have dreams 
> of UPPPPP-side fizzle with the trading of the #5 pick. Funny, but the one 
> think most people will agree Ainge understands is the draft and in the 
> last two he has basically said that after the first few picks you are as 
> likely to get a star in the second round as in the first. I don't know 
> much about Big Baby, but from the buzz I've heard that may well be correct 
> about this draft. (I already know that Rajon is easily as valuable as any 
> of the top picks from the last draft.) Don't let the lack of national 
> media exposure fool you about the value of the player we just acquired. 
> This is an exciting time to be a Celtics fan.
>
> Cheers - TomM
> _______________________________________________
> The Boston Celtics Mailing List
> celtics at igtc.com
> http://www.igtc.com/mailman/listinfo/celtics