Sorry for piling on Ainge, but hes not getting much right lately. Nesmith, Grant Williams, Bane, Carsen Edward's.
Lol. I love conveniently omitting Tatum, Brown, Pritchard, Langford, and Rob Williams in this list. Also, he drafted Rozier only 6 years ago, which at the very least ought to prove he gets it right at a decent clip.
As for the Kemba vs. Rozier debate: Sure, Rozier is younger and costs less. There's a legitimate argument to be made that he would have been a fine PG for the team this year. But I just don't see him moving the needle much at all. He's immature, and he's a ballhog who struggles being the fourth or fifth option on the court. He'd consequently take touches away from Brown and Tatum when their development is the most important aspect of the next two seasons.
This version of Rozier is probably the best he'll ever be. This version of Kemba is probably the worst he'll be during his Celtics tenure. I'm good rolling with Kemba.
I agree with you about Ainge getting more than his share of excellent draft moves, though I'm a bit confused about how Langford made your list (seeing as he seems to be a useless scrub right now). But I digress...
Not sure I agree with your assessment on Rozier though. Not sure I'd call him a ball hog - at least not any more then Kemba is. Both are shoot first PG's and I think they both have "ball hoggy" moments, but both are far from the worst i've seen in that regard. Hell the way Brown, Tatum and Smart have been playing the past couple of months they make Rozier look like John Stockton lol
I also don't agree entirely with the immature argument. For 3 years Rozier put up with limited roles while mostly riding the bench, and he never complained about it. Not once. The only time he started to get visibly (and vocally) frustrated was after he broke out during that big playoff run only to get held back again in his final year with the Celtics - it seemed everything he did out there ultimately meant nothing, and his lack of a major role really held him back from being able to develop and show what he could do - all in a contract year. Then on top of that the team was struggling and there were visible tensions in the locker room as it was. So he got frustrated, said a few things he shouldn't have said. It wasn't especially wise and he copped more then his fair share of slack for it - but I totally understand his position and why he responded the way he did.
One thing people have to remember about Rozier is that much like Marcus Smart, he's the kind of guy who plays with a chip on his shoulder and wears his emotions on his sleeve. He's an extremely passionate guy. That has it's pros and its cons.
The con is that sometimes his play can get a little reckless / out of control because he's so fuelled by his passion for winning that he can struggle to keep a clear and level head. He takes gambles sometimes on defence, takes the occasional questionable shot, etc. These are all things that Marcus Smart is (and always has been) guilty of as well, but somehow he gets a free pass for it while Rozier gets absolutely grilled over it.
The pro is that Rozier plays hard EVERY SINGLE NIGHT, and he does it on both ends of the court. He may not be as versatile defensively as Smart or as talented offensively as Kyrie, but you can never fault him for not giving it everything he has. How many times have we seen Rozier dive for loose balls, jump over 2 or 3 bigs for a rebound, force a turnover with intense full court defensive pressure, hit huge clutch shots that change the outcome of games? And so often hes doing these things in huge games in the playoffs or against major rivals. He has that killer instinct that is rare in players, and that's something that Danny should not have ignored.
And contrary to what you say, I don't think Rozier would have impacted Tatum and Brown's development at all. In fact, I felt he played incredibly well when he was sharing the court with Tatum, Brown and Smart. Those guys seemed to love playing off each other and seemed to really have fun playing together, and I think they all complimented each other very well. Rozier always seemed like the guy who just wanted to win, and as long as he had the key role he deserved / earned (either starter or big minute 6th man) I think he would have been perfectly happy going out there and doing whatever the hell Brad and Danny wanted him to do - because that's just the type of personality he seemed to always have.
Now on to the Rozier vs Kemba argument - this is a tough one. Looking at the player Rozier is right now yes, I would take him over Kemba if given the chance. Rozier gives up experience and a bit of offensive talent to Kemba, but he's bigger, younger, healthier, and a significantly better defensive player. His ability to defend and rebound at a high level (for a PG) means that he can have a positive impact on the game even when the ball isn't in his hands, and that's not really true of Kemba. I also think that this Celtics team is a little short on "attitude" and that having Rozier out there with his passion and fire would help excite the crowd and get the other guys on the team fired up and dialled in. I think it's hard for any team to play lazy when you have Smart and Rozier on the court together.
But in Ainge's defence...
1. There were no guarantee Rozier would become this player - there was signs that it could happen, but it was in no way a sure thing. Kemba on the other hand was a multi-time All-Star and a seemingly proven commodity. He decided to go with the low risk play by signing Kemba and keeping Smart rather than take a high risk/ high reward gamble on Rozier. I would have taken the risk, but I can completely understand why he chose not to.
2. Boston was in a different position as a team at the time. Brown was showing potential but was still relatively green, Tatum looked like could be a star but wasn't yet there. The Celtics looked like a team that needed that consistent, proven, veteran scorer that could be depended on to fill some of the void left by Kyrie. Even if Rozier could step in to a starting role and score 18-20 PPG (as hes doing now) that might not have been enough to move the needle given where the rest of the team was at that time. The situation now is very different. Now Tatum and Brown have emerged as bonafide All-Stars and having a guy like Kemba (who's a big time scorer but compromises in other areas) isn't so fitting. But this is all information we now have in hindsight that Danny was incapable of predicting at that time.
Topic: Kemba over Terry Rozier. Another Ainge blunder (Read 16812 times)