Anyone see TA's comments on being a Celtic?

[indeedproceed]

If you love something let it go..if it is meant to be they'll come back.

Or they'll sign a contract extension and not prove themselves to be as stupid as everyone always says they are.

Tony did what he thought was best for his career, I think he is wrong, but we'll see how he spends his 20 mins per game.

[GreenFaith1819]

Well, I am still baffled as to why he left, but I wish the man success there in MEM. I think he will make them better.

The good thing here is that he will be a thorn in Kobe's side for what 4 games?

Rough Em' up for us a little, TA!!

[BballTim]

If you love something let it go..if it is meant to be they'll come back.

  I could honestly go the rest of my life without seeing that phrase again. Those posters just weren't my thing.

[indeedproceed]

If you love something let it go..if it is meant to be they'll come back.

  I could honestly go the rest of my life without seeing that phrase again. Those posters just weren't my thing.

lol..I hate that quote too. I didn't get it from a poster, I believe actually it is built into facebook's status update code so it posts automatically whenever someone's info goes from "in a relationship" to "single"

[RIPRED]

I agree with a lot of what you're saying, but this is a blatant mis-quote on your part. The "let's not get it twisted" part was followed up by, "I will do whatever I am asked to help my team, even if that is handing out Gatorade, flashing towels on the bench, etc..." (paraphrased).

In other words, you make it seem like he said "don't get it twisted, I'm more than just a defensive stopper." In reality he said "I don't mind the role, but there is more to my game. However, I will do whatever it takes to help my team - hand out Gatorade, swing a towel, etc..."

*The quote above is paraphrased as it is late and I am too lazy to look up the actual quote. Either way, the original poster is not providing an accurate portrayal of what TA actually said.

This is his quote from the Globe: "I don't mind embracing the role [of defensive stopper], but there is more to my game. Let's not get that twisted." The implication is that he seems to want more minutes/offense, because he felt "overshadowed" here.

Fair enough. But apparently someone forgot to tell him the following facts, all of which make Memphis just about the worst possible choice for a player looking to expand his minutes/touches:
1. He just went from a team that was #2 in the league in assists to the team that was DEAD LAST. Not too many touches there.
2. On his new team, the 2/3 slots are manned by two young, healthy players who averaged 38 and 40 minutes per game last year. Not too many minutes either.
3. Finally, just to cap things off here is what Hollinger says about the three primary options on his new team:
    a. Rudy Gay: "Gay also has developed some serious tunnel vision at the offensive end. Three different times he took more than 20 shots without a single assist; for the year he had the worst pure point rating among small forwards. He assisted on only 7.7% of his possessions, a worse rate than Darko Milicic's or Darrell Arthur's..."
    b. OJ Mayo: "As for the rest of his offensive game … did I mention he can really shoot? Mayo is a good dribbler but rarely evaded defenders or set up teammates. He ranked only 58th among shooting guards in pure point rating..."
    c. Zach Randolph: "The reason Randolph gets in trouble is that he equates points with success and will fire any shot that seems halfway reasonable to him. Consequently, he'll also force the action against double-teams."

Hmmmm. Let's see how that works out.

[BballTim]

If you love something let it go..if it is meant to be they'll come back.

  I could honestly go the rest of my life without seeing that phrase again. Those posters just weren't my thing.

lol..I hate that quote too. I didn't get it from a poster, I believe actually it is built into facebook's status update code so it posts automatically whenever someone's info goes from "in a relationship" to "single"

  Yes, facebook. I signed up for it once for some reason or another. Now I get these random emails that people want to be my online friend or something like that. Eventually I'll get bored enough to figure it out.

[Army_of_One_Nation]

He'll be lucky to average 20 mins per game this coming season. He'll also be lucky if he gets more than 6 shots per game.

[twinbree]

What he said left me a little confused. All perfectly understandable reasons for leaving the Celtics. But doesn't make any sense of why he left to the Grizzlies. Their 2 best players happen to play the same position as Paul and Ray but are young enough to play a a great deal more of the wing minutes. Whatever works for him I guess. Hope for his sake he's happy with his choice.

[TradeProposalDude]

Tony could be a better player. But he never really developed a consistent offensive game. His poor decisions on the offensive end often overshadowed his positive contributions defensively.

For that simple reason, I don't think he will ever play a prominent role for an NBA team in his career. But with Tony, nobody can definitely know.I don't know whether to call it lack of basketball IQ, or lack of discipline. Hopefully Memphis does give him a good look because he deserves it nonetheless. He worked hard to rehabilitate after a potentially career ending injury. Many of us thought he would blossom into an all star like player before his torn ACL injury in 2007. He's shown us in the 6 years as a member of the Celtics what he can do to help a team win. I don't think he was going to receive a better opportunity with Boston to develop his game further, so I wish him the best of luck with his new team. Any player who impacts the game defensively - and is generally able to be a difference maker (albeit - happens unpredictably) deserves a spot in this league as more than just a bench warmer.

[guava_wrench]

What he said left me a little confused. All perfectly understandable reasons for leaving the Celtics. But doesn't make any sense of why he left to the Grizzlies. Their 2 best players happen to play the same position as Paul and Ray but are young enough to play a a great deal more of the wing minutes. Whatever works for him I guess. Hope for his sake he's happy with his choice.

Mayo and TA can't play together? It isn't like they have a top PG demanding minutes.

[Boris Badenov]

I agree with a lot of what you're saying, but this is a blatant mis-quote on your part. The "let's not get it twisted" part was followed up by, "I will do whatever I am asked to help my team, even if that is handing out Gatorade, flashing towels on the bench, etc..." (paraphrased).

In other words, you make it seem like he said "don't get it twisted, I'm more than just a defensive stopper." In reality he said "I don't mind the role, but there is more to my game. However, I will do whatever it takes to help my team - hand out Gatorade, swing a towel, etc..."

So you really think that "there is more to my game" means handing out Gatorade or swinging towels?

Perhaps you're right, in which case it probably wasn't competition from Paul and Ray that worried him. He was worried about Scal, the Gatorade-handing, towel-waving league MVP!

[wiley]

Some TA critics act like there is not a single thing that will be missed.  They have the air of purist snobs who cannot tolerate a single imperfection of any kind....

I prefer the critics who at least acknowledge that his defense will be missed....much more genuine.

Would it kill people to recognize that Tony played hard on the court and cheered hard from the bench too?  That he was well-liked by teammates and coaches?

Okay, back to your trashing and bashing...

[nickagneta]

If you love something let it go..if it is meant to be they'll come back.

Or they'll sign a contract extension and not prove themselves to be as stupid as everyone always says they are.

Or people will just start and write threads pining for your return.

What's the over/under on the first "Bring Back Tony" thread? 4 months?

[wiley]

If you love something let it go..if it is meant to be they'll come back.

Or they'll sign a contract extension and not prove themselves to be as stupid as everyone always says they are.

Or people will just start and write threads pining for your return.

What's the over/under on the first "Bring Back Tony" thread? 4 months?

How about 5 minutes?
Marquis D. for TA as soon as technically possible.....

[kozlodoev]

Mayo and TA can't play together? It isn't like they have a top PG demanding minutes.

Tony Allen has a long way to go before he moves Conley from the starting spot. And the Grizzlies are delirious if they think they can run any sort if offense by pairing Mayo with Allen at the guard spots.