I guess we can spend a few more minutes (see above) reveling in the Celtics' successful campaign, before following the paid press' lead in focusing on next season.
I'll give the last word on that to Bob Hohler who wrote in today's Globe:
Rivers and the players who won the biggest prize of their lives could trace the roots of their golden achievement to the streets of Rome, where they began to emerge from the darkness amid the inspiration of the Sistine Chapel and the spirit of ubuntu........the Celtics launched their historic campaign for redemption with a preseason opener in the Eternal City.
OK, we've bowed our heads with humility over the convergence of great forces that helped the team on it's way,
now it's time to move on......towards banner 18.
What's Danny going to do? Will he stand pat like the unsuccessful Heat and Spurs, the prior two champs.... or will Danny be Danny....always looking for the edge, the next rainbow, so to speak? Here's an interesting story reported by Mike Fine in Yesterday's Patriot Ledger that might shed some light on this.
Though this is Ainge’s first go-round as an executive, he has always been a shrewd basketball mind. One story has it that he was sitting at table during the team’s 1988 Christmas party with legendary Celts President Red Auerbach and teammates Larry Bird and Kevin McHale.
“Look at these two guys,” Ainge told Auerbach, out of earshot of the others. “Larry’s got casts on his feet (heel surgeries), Kevin’s got a screw in his foot (stress fracture). You’ve got to trade these guys.”
He wasn’t joking.
The draft is Thursday. Marc Spears in today's Globe gives us this clue as to what Danny is thinking......
According to an NBA source, the Celtics....are strongly considering trading their pick or getting a prospect they can develop overseas. ...Don't be surprised if the Celtics are interested in such international players as French forward Nicolas Batum, Congo forward/center Serge Ibaka, French center Alexis Ajinca, Turkish center Omer Asik, and Montenegro forward/center Nikola Pekovic.
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.... but then throws in this nugget........
On Georgetown center Roy Hibbert's draft stock, one NBA scout said, "Hibbert is going to need a parachute on draft day. The young centers have passed him in the eyes of teams. His stock is just plummeting,...The scout also said the 7-foot-2-inch, 278-pounder....would likely be available when the Celtics pick 30th. Keep in mind that Doc Rivers knows Hibbert very well, since his son, Jeremiah, played at Georgetown the past two seasons before transferring to Indiana.
One of our tonight’s guests, Scott Souza, in today's Metro West, analyzes the team's roster and free agents, with much attention to the James Posey situation......
The big question is Posey. It's a foregone conclusion that he will opt out of his $3.2 million player option...And he will have plenty of suitors. The question for Ainge will be how far to go to retain a player who has never started on a good team and won't start for you next year.
With a luxury tax-pushing $60 million sewn up in Garnett, Pierce and Allen alone for next year, even the midlevel exception will be a tough pill for ownership to swallow on Posey...The guess is that if this team's Mike Lowell - remember the "Re-sign Mikey Lowell!" chants from the Sox parade? - seeks the full mid-level over five or six years, he will move on. If he can accept fewer years (as in three) or a lower starting point that builds over time, he might be back.
......and perhaps is trying to get into Danny's head with this reminder....
If Posey doesn't re-sign, there might be room for one slightly more significant addition - remember, Ryan Gomes is an unrestricted free agent who is a character guy, can shoot the trey and might be more appealing for a long-term contract because of his age.
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Topic: Celtics Stuff Live! Tonight: 8-10 PM, EDT. W/Grande & Souza. (Read 1307 times)