The Re-Sign James Posey and Eddie House Thread

[Toine43]

If there was anything that we learned as observers of the game this season, it was that it takes a full 12-man roster to win a title - not just a couple of superstars. The Celtics truly would not be where they are today without James Posey and Eddie House, so if we need to overpay to bring them back, then I say overpay! As the guys on CSN pointed out, Posey is absolutely worth the extra money he'll want. If we let go of James, we'd be losing so many things. A versatile man-to-man defender, a phenomenal team defender and charge-taker, a message-sender (by means of hard fouls and physical play), a clutch three-point shooter, a hussler, an energy guy, a chemistry guy, and the list goes on. It would probably take two or three other additions to equal what Posey gives us, so the cost would most likely end up equaling Posey's cost, as well.

And now for my favorite player, Eddie House. People lately have started to realize what Eddie can do for us, but for the most part I still think people underestimate his value. Usually, when you think of the phrase "three-point shooting specialist," you think of the word one-dimensionsal. But Eddie brings much more to us than shooting. Although he's not a talented defensive player, Eddie ALWAYS plays tough defense. He's very good at fighting through picks, and he actually has the ability at times to bother opposing guards, despite his perceived lack of ability to do anything but shoot. Sure- his ball-handling flat out sucks, but we can work around that. If we sign a Jacques Vaughn type of player as an insurance policy in case Rondo gets hurt then we'll be fine. It may be ugly on paper, but the Finals proved that Eddie can play the backup point even with his ball-handling deficiencies. Of course, we'd start to run into huge problems if Rondo got hurt and Eddie was the only point guard on the team, but we can fix this problem by signing a veteran minimum contract player with good ball-handling skills to be out of the rotation at first. That player could then leap-frog House on the depth chart if Rondo were to injure himself.

It's not going to be easy money-wise (and in Eddie's case personell-wise) to sign these guys, but I believe that it is possible. As Jeff Van Gundy said, if you look at the Celtic and Laker benches, you'll see all you need to know about these two teams. One bench never stands up, and the other bench rarely sits down. In all the seasons of basketball that I've watched, I've never seen a team's "bench" (maybe we should change its name to "guys who aren't currently in the game") stood as much as the Cs bench did this year. And Eddie and James were the leaders of this year's bench.

[Redz]

If there was no cap, I'd say it would be a cinch. Someones gotta go though.

[Donoghus]

For the right price, I definitely want them back.

Just gotta keep the cap and future in mind.

[crownsy]

I'd take pose at almost any price for 3 years, he's just such a glue guy.

eddie i'd take on the cheap in a heartbeat, but i think doc may have burned that bridge with the playoofs/ he gets a better offer.

[NicaraguanFan]

I love what Eddie and James did for us, nonetheless we have to do what it is better for the team.  Both players are not youngters and long contracts are not wise in their case (I think both of them will look for the last long and bog contract of their careers).

If they accept the right money for the right time, so bring them back.

NF.

[Edgar]

No more official threads please...
 

[crownsy]

I love what Eddie and James did for us, nonetheless we have to do what it is better for the team.  Both players are not youngters and long contracts are not wise in their case (I think both of them will look for the last long and bog contract of their careers).

If they accept the right money for the right time, so bring them back.

NF.

for eddie this logic applies, for pose it doesn't, just because he's almost irreplaceable.

there is simply no defensive stopper the caliber of james poesy available this offseason, and players of his caliber are invaluable to a championship team.

i doubt any team will offer him more than we can match, he's still a specialty player after all, i think it would be foolish to have any team offer him a starters paycheck

[P2]

Posey must understand that if he takes less money, we will be able to add better players through the MLE and our team will get better. But obviously, he wants the money and that's why I really don't care if he's back next season or not. If we give Posey the full MLE (if it's more than two guaranteed  years, I'll kill somebody), the most we will have to offer is the LLE, and since teams will also go after House, there is not a good chance to re-sign him, let alone any other good backup players.

[crownsy]

Posey must understand that if he takes less money, we will be able to add better players through the MLE and our team will get better. But obviously, he wants the money and that's why I really don't care if he's back next season or not. If we give Posey the full MLE (if it's more than two guaranteed  years, I'll kill somebody), the most we will have to offer is the LLE, and since teams will also go after House, there is not a good chance to re-sign him, let alone any other good backup players.

i doubt pose will seek 8.6 million, no contender will give him that and i don't think he wants to go play for the bobcats.

6mill -3 is good for me, and if eddie doesn't want something in the 1-1.5 range, then sadly we must part ways.

people need to rember that, according to all reports, the celtics are very impressed with pruitt. i expect them to give him every opportunity to earn the backup PG/SG spot. thats one FA danny probley won't move on.

[Roy Hobbs]

Eddie House's salaries:

2000-01  $316,969
2001-02  $465,850
2002-03  $737,000
2003-04  $775,000
2004-05  $825,000
2005-06  $835,810
2006-07  $1,400,000
2007-08  $1,500,000

We can offer Eddie $1.8 million using the non-Bird exception, or $1.9 million using the bi-annual exception.  That's not really out of line with what Eddie's past salaries have been; teams just don't seem to value his game all that highly.

Posey is a different story.  It makes no sense to expect him to play for a sub-$4 million salary, when the market for his skills (as demonstrated by his own contracts) has been in excess of $5 million+ per season.  I don't expect Posey to take a "home town discount"; he's been here for one season, and has won two championships in his career.  I'm sure he'll take this opportunity to cash in with a deal commensurate with his skill-level, and I don't blame him.

[CoachBo]

I love them both, but Posey is the priority. And Roy's right. It's absolute folly to expect the game's best defensive stopper to sign again for a hometown discount. He's 31, and he's earned the best possible deal he can get his hands on. If we're serious about making another title run, we have to make sure that deal comes from us, and if it requires four years - three guaranteed with a team option, I'm all for it.

The bottom line is this: We either reward Posey for his contributions and use him to make another run, or someone will reward him and use him against us in the playoffs next year. I really don't want to see Posey in a Laker - or any other - uniform doing to the Captain what he did to Kobe. And he will. Posey can stone anyone.

Were I Ainge, I'd call him in, offer him the absolute maximum we can under the cap rules and try to convince him to take it. Admittedly, I rely on you guys for all the cap tricks, but I consider him valuable enough that I wouldn't try to negotiate. I'd put the absolute best deal we've got on the table and use the influence of the other stars to try to keep him.

[Bankshot]

Danny must re-sign Posey, no excuses!  I want House back too.  I think he fits perfectly with this team (Posey too).  I don't think it would cost to much to keep him (House).  We just need another vet point guard in case something happens to Rondo, unless Doc thinks Pruitt can step in.

[BballTim]

Posey is a different story.  It makes no sense to expect him to play for a sub-$4 million salary, when the market for his skills (as demonstrated by his own contracts) has been in excess of $5 million+ per season.  I don't expect Posey to take a "home town discount"; he's been here for one season, and has won two championships in his career.  I'm sure he'll take this opportunity to cash in with a deal commensurate with his skill-level, and I don't blame him.

  I keep hearing that he's going to command this big salary, and I'm not sure I see it. He's never been more than a $6M guy and he was still unsigned at the end of August last year. He's going to be 32 next year, so a full MLE deal would have him making $6-7M when he's 35 or36. That seems like a bad investment.

[Truth Hurts]

Don't kid yourselves. Posey wants to get paid. He was very disappointed that no one offered him a lucrative multi-year deal last summer, and you know he wants to fix that, after his performance in this post-season. He came to Boston to market himself on a winning team that would get post-season exposure. He's going to get paid now. I really hope we are the team paying him. You can't go overboard, with all the money we already have locked up....but I sincerely hope that Danny does everything in his power to make this happen. He is hugely important to this team, and we don't take home the hardware this season without him.

House should be very doable. I actually thought his ball-handling was quite good in the Lakers series. He just couldn't handle Detroit's press. Cassell should be gone, and so should PJ. We need to bring back Eddie and draft a young center to back up Perk, and be there because of his shoulder issues.

[rondofan1255]

I think Posey might not be back, probably 50/50. If he stays, then we could just sign House, and use the draft pick to shore up the Frontcourt.

If he doesn't, then we can use our MLE on other people we think are right for this team, and I don't know what they would do yet. Maybe split the MLE? Or, get Diop, resign TA, house, and draft a wing (s)?

When will we find out if Posey is staying?