Future Power Rankings: Celtics 12th

[BudweiserCeltic]

Since this is just looking into the future until 2012-2013, I think this is pretty accurate.  Unless they decide to completely blow it up, guys like Pierce and Garnett will keep them fighting for playoff spots, even if they fall out of the elite. 

Yet he has the Lakers at 3rd. It's an aging team too.

The Cavs are 4th in Player rankings just because they have LeBron, yet it ignores how crappy the roster will probably look like after this season.

Hollinger keeps harping about our age and injuries, yet he doesn't seem to apply it to other teams as heavy as he does to the Celtics.

Ray, Pierce, and KG keep coming in better shape than the year before... Ray coming off one of his best seasons of his career and Pierce starting this season as good as ever. I think the decline Hollinger is alluding to is highly exaggerated.

Plus, he ignores the acquisition of Sheed in his analysis.

While the Lakers are aging, I think they have a few less miles on them than the C's.  Kobe, Gasol, Odom, and Artest are all a few years younger than the C's key players are. 

I think if the cores stay together for the next 3-4 years, by 2011-2012, the Lakers will be doing much better than the C's, whose stars will likely be well past the top of the hill, while guys like Gasol and Odom are just getting there.

Yet this is not a ranking of the 2012-2013 season. Next year at the very least we should be as competent as we are now, do you really envision us devolving all the way down to 12th ranked the following two years while next year we should be still a very good team.

[youcanthandlethetruth113]

Hogwash!

I'm enjoying "the window" while we're living in it.

I'm not concerned about the future because we have, IMHO, the two best pieces to build around in Rondo and Perk. Neither demands max money, neither is a "superstar", they both play the right way (for the most part) and they both just want to win no matter what. Oh, and they've got a tremendous amount of experience at such young ages.

[CDawg834]

I was actually thinking about this the last night, and I was thinking about posting it on here today.  Where do you think we would be if the ping pong balls had fallen differently and we had gotten Kevin Durant. 

Im assuming Paul would have been traded.  Theo's expiring contract could hopefully turn into a decent free agent. But our core would look something like.

C:Perk,
PF:Big Al,Gomes
SF:Durant,Gomes
SG:Delonte, Wally
PG:Rondo, Bassy

Obviously im missing people and im sure wally and bassy wouldnt still be here, but building around Rondo, Big Al, and Durant, would be the best core of young guys in the league.  And thats not considering what DA could have gotten for Pierce in a trade. 

Saying all this, this Durant lead team would not have won a championship, and right now would probably be like the modern day Hawks, so Im glad it didnt happen, but it is still intriguing to think about.

Also intriguing was the original plan, which would lead to building around Big Al and Chris Paul (actually be an unbelieveable core to build around at this point).  The C's had a deal in place to trade PP to Portland for Nick Van Exel's expiring $$ and the 3rd pick in the draft, which they would have used to select Chris Paul.  Pierce effectively vetoed the deal by saying he wouldn't play in Portland.

[LarBrd33]

what happens to our window if Ainge shocks the world and trades Ray Allen at the deadline for young talent from a financially busted team who doesn't want to pay their young talent...

[wdleehi]

what happens to our window if Ainge shocks the world and trades Ray Allen at the deadline for young talent from a team who doesn't want to pay their young talent...

That young talent better be ready to help this team win this year (and the team better win this year) or we (the Celtics fans along with a lot of media) will be killing Ainge for destorying a title team mid-season.

[LarBrd33]

what happens to our window if Ainge shocks the world and trades Ray Allen at the deadline for young talent from a team who doesn't want to pay their young talent...

That young talent better be ready to help this team win this year (and the team better win this year) or we (the Celtics fans along with a lot of media) will be killing Ainge for destorying a title team mid-season.

Too many unknowns.  It's not like Hollinger can predict what this team would look like with Rudy Gay or something...

A lot of stuff can happen in this league... whose to say Ray doesn't blow out his ankle next week and Ainge decides to cash in his expiring contract... eh?

[wdleehi]

what happens to our window if Ainge shocks the world and trades Ray Allen at the deadline for young talent from a team who doesn't want to pay their young talent...

That young talent better be ready to help this team win this year (and the team better win this year) or we (the Celtics fans along with a lot of media) will be killing Ainge for destorying a title team mid-season.

Too many unknowns.  It's not like Hollinger can predict what this team would look like with Rudy Gay or something...

A lot of stuff can happen in this league... whose to say Ray doesn't blow out his ankle next week and Ainge decides to cash in his expiring contract... eh?

I understand that.


But if Ainge trades away one of the starters to get younger in the middle of this season and the Celtics do not win the title, he will have brought down a ton of heat and venom upon himself.

[RAcker]

what happens to our window if Ainge shocks the world and trades Ray Allen at the deadline for young talent from a team who doesn't want to pay their young talent...

That young talent better be ready to help this team win this year (and the team better win this year) or we (the Celtics fans along with a lot of media) will be killing Ainge for destorying a title team mid-season.

Too many unknowns.  It's not like Hollinger can predict what this team would look like with Rudy Gay or something...

A lot of stuff can happen in this league... whose to say Ray doesn't blow out his ankle next week and Ainge decides to cash in his expiring contract... eh?

I understand that.


But if Ainge trades away one of the starters to get younger in the middle of this season and the Celtics do not win the title, he will have brought down a ton of heat and venom upon himself.

This is exactly why it will never happen.

[LarBrd33]

what happens to our window if Ainge shocks the world and trades Ray Allen at the deadline for young talent from a team who doesn't want to pay their young talent...

That young talent better be ready to help this team win this year (and the team better win this year) or we (the Celtics fans along with a lot of media) will be killing Ainge for destorying a title team mid-season.

Too many unknowns.  It's not like Hollinger can predict what this team would look like with Rudy Gay or something...

A lot of stuff can happen in this league... whose to say Ray doesn't blow out his ankle next week and Ainge decides to cash in his expiring contract... eh?

I understand that.


But if Ainge trades away one of the starters to get younger in the middle of this season and the Celtics do not win the title, he will have brought down a ton of heat and venom upon himself.

That's probably true, but we don't really know what's going to happen.  This league is crazy.

Maybe in a few months it becomes apparent that we are too old, Ray can't keep up... maybe KG doesn't fully heal and has to end his season early.  Maybe next week Ray Allen blows out his ankle and everyone here flips out.

Then lets say that in a month or two the Kings are skidding, losing tons of money... panic... and decide they no longer feel comfortable paying Kevin Martin 45 million over the next 4 years... no longer feel comfortable paying Beno Udrih 28 million over the next 4 years... no longer want to pay Nocioni 28 million over the next 4 years...  no longer want to play Garcia 30 million over the next 5 years...  and decide to blow their mediocre team up by trading the four of them to Boston for the expiring contracts of Ray Allen, Scal, and Tony

I know it's nuts, but you never know when some team will want to save 101 million dollars in their foreseeable future...

Nevah know what will happen in the next few years.  Ainge is definitely ballsy...

Celtic haters have it backwards if they are hoping our most fragile player (Ray Allen) breaks.   If Ray breaks, that will probably just end up opening our window as at least being a solid team for a bit longer (maybe not dominant, though).

[GaBerkowitz]

Hogwash!

I'm enjoying "the window" while we're living in it.

I'm not concerned about the future because we have, IMHO, the two best pieces to build around in Rondo and Perk. Neither demands max money, neither is a "superstar", they both play the right way (for the most part) and they both just want to win no matter what. Oh, and they've got a tremendous amount of experience at such young ages.

Umm Wrong. Rondo and Perk are both great role players, and each know their role well. However if you ask either to be your best 1/2 players you arent sniffing a championship. So how you can say they are the best 2 pieces to build around is just flat wrong.