The Unofficial Tony Allen Appreciation Thread

[CelticBalla32]

Foodbye Tony Allen. Thanks for the ups, thanks for the downs. Thanks for the defense. Thanks for the towel waving. Thanks for the spurts of impressive play. Thanks for the windmills. Thanks for the enthusiasm and energy.

With that said, I won't miss watching you dribble the ball off your own legs. I won't miss you putting your head down and charging into a double team. I won't forget you messing up 4 out of every 5 fast breaks you were involved in. I won't miss you playing like crap when you know you aren't playing 20+ minutes that night.

I will, however, miss sal-mon and mashed potatoes.

Goodbye, TA! Good luck, wherever you go next season.

Get Giddy For Giddens.

[cordobes]

I hope that at the least we can get a sign and trade with Tony Allen. I'd be disapointed if we let him go for nothing.  Signing Tony Allen in theory should help move Scal's contract in some sort of package.  Looking at our current roster, we might be better served trying to package Tony, Scal, and Baby in a move that hopefully brings us some sort of Center (assuming we go full MLE on Posey). Baby is a free-agent next season, same as Powe... and I think that the team will be forced to keep one or the other, so moving him should be done together with Scal if the opportunity comes along.

That would be nice, but who's the center we could get with that package (Scal+Tony+BBD)? It's a very unattractive package, not easy to sell. I can't see many teams being so high on both TA and BBD. We'd need to take on salaries, for sure; so we're talking about backup centers with long contracts. Guys like Gadzuric ($19M/3 years)... I think Scal's contract is more valuable next year; I'd rather just let TA walk away.

[BudweiserCeltic]

I hope that at the least we can get a sign and trade with Tony Allen. I'd be disapointed if we let him go for nothing.  Signing Tony Allen in theory should help move Scal's contract in some sort of package.  Looking at our current roster, we might be better served trying to package Tony, Scal, and Baby in a move that hopefully brings us some sort of Center (assuming we go full MLE on Posey). Baby is a free-agent next season, same as Powe... and I think that the team will be forced to keep one or the other, so moving him should be done together with Scal if the opportunity comes along.

That would be nice, but who's the center we could get with that package (Scal+Tony+BBD)? It's a very unattractive package, not easy to sell. I can't see many teams being so high on both TA and BBD. We'd need to take on salaries, for sure; so we're talking about backup centers with long contracts. Guys like Gadzuric ($19M/3 years)... I think Scal's contract is more valuable next year; I'd rather just let TA walk away.

I really don't know, obviously personally I'd rather keep Tony, so wether we make a trade or not is inconsequential to me.

But here are some that are worth a look, even though many improbable:

Sacramento with Moore could be interesting to look at especially if Sacramento has plans of trading Artest.

Cleveland maybe looking to move Verajao, and I think Tony can fit their team.

Sign and trade with Seattle for Swift.

Stromile Swift in the Nets.

Maybe some 3-way trade of some kind. Who knows. Danny can be creative.

There should be other opportunities out there, I don't know... and we need not restrict ourselves to that specific package. But if Tony is not part of the deal, it allows the team to lose some other player in order to acquire someone of interest.

How many times did we say last year "we simply don't have anyone to trade", well if you keep Tony, you do. If you restrict your roster to the bare necessities and don't overload it a bit in one position, you won't be able to make trades... effective trades at that.

Not keeping Tony, doesn't improve the team in any way... it seems more like a move to save the owners some bucks. If the interest here is to build the best team possible, then signing Tony is the way to go it simply is. I don't see any way around it because just for the insurance factor he brings to the team.

Tony Allen can't dribble, blah blah... you know who else apparently can't dribble? Giddens (I'm high on Giddens by the way).

[JollyGreen17]

Tony Allen at times can be a liability on offense..and defense at times. Overall, TA is a talent that can develop into a great player in this league. Who knows, a year with Posey on the squad may have rubbed off some of his defensive prowess.

[cordobes]

I hope that at the least we can get a sign and trade with Tony Allen. I'd be disapointed if we let him go for nothing.  Signing Tony Allen in theory should help move Scal's contract in some sort of package.  Looking at our current roster, we might be better served trying to package Tony, Scal, and Baby in a move that hopefully brings us some sort of Center (assuming we go full MLE on Posey). Baby is a free-agent next season, same as Powe... and I think that the team will be forced to keep one or the other, so moving him should be done together with Scal if the opportunity comes along.

That would be nice, but who's the center we could get with that package (Scal+Tony+BBD)? It's a very unattractive package, not easy to sell. I can't see many teams being so high on both TA and BBD. We'd need to take on salaries, for sure; so we're talking about backup centers with long contracts. Guys like Gadzuric ($19M/3 years)... I think Scal's contract is more valuable next year; I'd rather just let TA walk away.

I really don't know, obviously personally I'd rather keep Tony, so wether we make a trade or not is inconsequential to me.

But here are some that are worth a look, even though many improbable:

Sacramento with Moore could be interesting to look at especially if Sacramento has plans of trading Artest.

Cleveland maybe looking to move Verajao, and I think Tony can fit their team.

Sign and trade with Seattle for Swift.

Stromile Swift in the Nets.

Maybe some 3-way trade of some kind. Who knows. Danny can be creative.

There should be other opportunities out there, I don't know... and we need not restrict ourselves to that specific package. But if Tony is not part of the deal, it allows the team to lose some other player in order to acquire someone of interest.

How many times did we say last year "we simply don't have anyone to trade", well if you keep Tony, you do. If you restrict your roster to the bare necessities and don't overload it a bit in one position, you won't be able to make trades... effective trades at that.

Not keeping Tony, doesn't improve the team in any way... it seems more like a move to save the owners some bucks. If the interest here is to build the best team possible, then signing Tony is the way to go it simply is. I don't see any way around it because just for the insurance factor he brings to the team.

Tony Allen can't dribble, blah blah... you know who else apparently can't dribble? Giddens (I'm high on Giddens by the way).

I think you like Allen more than the rest of the league. We'll find out soon, let's see what the market will offer him. I can't see any of those trades happening. Moore, Swift are expirings, they can get better value.

Bill Walker can't dribble; but from the very limited footage I saw of Giddens, he seems to have a nice dribble. Have you read something negative about his dribble?

p.s. - I wouldn't mind to keep Allen, but he's QO is too expensive. I don't think he'll get an offer even close to that as a free agent. If we sign House and a backup PG, we'll have Rondo, backup PG, Pruitt, House, Ray, Giddens. You add Tony Allen, it's half of the roster spots.  $2.7M for a 6th/7th guard is insane, IMO (even more considering the luxury tax).

[BudweiserCeltic]

I hope that at the least we can get a sign and trade with Tony Allen. I'd be disapointed if we let him go for nothing.  Signing Tony Allen in theory should help move Scal's contract in some sort of package.  Looking at our current roster, we might be better served trying to package Tony, Scal, and Baby in a move that hopefully brings us some sort of Center (assuming we go full MLE on Posey). Baby is a free-agent next season, same as Powe... and I think that the team will be forced to keep one or the other, so moving him should be done together with Scal if the opportunity comes along.

That would be nice, but who's the center we could get with that package (Scal+Tony+BBD)? It's a very unattractive package, not easy to sell. I can't see many teams being so high on both TA and BBD. We'd need to take on salaries, for sure; so we're talking about backup centers with long contracts. Guys like Gadzuric ($19M/3 years)... I think Scal's contract is more valuable next year; I'd rather just let TA walk away.

I really don't know, obviously personally I'd rather keep Tony, so wether we make a trade or not is inconsequential to me.

But here are some that are worth a look, even though many improbable:

Sacramento with Moore could be interesting to look at especially if Sacramento has plans of trading Artest.

Cleveland maybe looking to move Verajao, and I think Tony can fit their team.

Sign and trade with Seattle for Swift.

Stromile Swift in the Nets.

Maybe some 3-way trade of some kind. Who knows. Danny can be creative.

There should be other opportunities out there, I don't know... and we need not restrict ourselves to that specific package. But if Tony is not part of the deal, it allows the team to lose some other player in order to acquire someone of interest.

How many times did we say last year "we simply don't have anyone to trade", well if you keep Tony, you do. If you restrict your roster to the bare necessities and don't overload it a bit in one position, you won't be able to make trades... effective trades at that.

Not keeping Tony, doesn't improve the team in any way... it seems more like a move to save the owners some bucks. If the interest here is to build the best team possible, then signing Tony is the way to go it simply is. I don't see any way around it because just for the insurance factor he brings to the team.

Tony Allen can't dribble, blah blah... you know who else apparently can't dribble? Giddens (I'm high on Giddens by the way).

I think you like Allen more than the rest of the league. We'll find out soon, let's see what the market will offer him. I can't see any of those trades happening. Moore, Swift are expirings, they can get better value.

Bill Walker can't dribble; but from the very limited footage I saw of Giddens, he seems to have a nice dribble. Have you read something negative about his dribble?

I'm pretty sure the beat writter of the article you posted mentioned something to that affect in some podcast I listened to.

But, do you think Giddens is capable of playing the point? I don't. Tony is capable. With limitations and some heart attacks while he's doing it, but he's capable. Not that I'm suggesting he'd be our back-up, but one of the back-ups that can play in case of injuries or in some unique circumstances. Do you guys really see zero value in a guy that can play multiple positions for us, has some skills (because he is skilled, maybe not as skilled as we hope, but he has some), plays solid defense (more than you can say about most). I also think he's part of the key to run a very effective small ball line up. You put Rondo in, have Tony at the 2, Giddens at the 3, Posey at the 4, and Garnett at the 5, and you got yourself a highly energetic and atheletic unit that can out run just about anyone while capable of playing defense at a high level.

It's not that I like Allen more than the rest of the league, I just don't believe he's the trash he's made out to be.  Moore and Swift are expiring contracts, but as you said yourself are they more valuable than expiring contracts for next year on the eve of a great free-agent class? And as I said, we need not restrict our package to that specific one. We can add picks, etc. and make the offer more flexible.  The Nets are also shopping Carter, so maybe a Tony Allen 2-year deal would fit into their plans. Who knows.

I'm all up for replacing Tony, if we do replace him. It's not about me wanting to keep Tony because I love him in Celtic green, but I don't believe Giddens should be the one to replace him. Giddens should be here in addition to him. The person to replace him should be some other big guard capable of playing the point and the 2. Once we have that, then we can let go Tony with open arms. But until then, Tony can be quite useful to this team, especially during the season. And who knows, he might surprise them and be useful in the playoffs to, but there's no need to bank on it... him being useful through the season is enough for an end of a roster guy.

[EJPLAYA]

Tony Allen at times can be a liability on offense..and defense at times. Overall, TA is a talent that can develop into a great player in this league. Who knows, a year with Posey on the squad may have rubbed off some of his defensive prowess.

Who knows. If we sign him to a 10 year contract maybe by the time he is in his late thirties he will have enough time to learn how to dribble?! Maybe he will learn how to not turn the ball over most plays?! He's as good as he will ever be. Face it. If he hasn't learned how to dribble and play smart basketball after all these years he isn't going to now...

[hispheekness]

Foodbye Tony Allen. Thanks for the ups, thanks for the downs. Thanks for the defense. Thanks for the towel waving. Thanks for the spurts of impressive play. Thanks for the windmills. Thanks for the enthusiasm and energy.

With that said, I won't miss watching you dribble the ball off your own legs. I won't miss you putting your head down and charging into a double team. I won't forget you messing up 4 out of every 5 fast breaks you were involved in. I won't miss you playing like crap when you know you aren't playing 20+ minutes that night.

I will, however, miss sal-mon and mashed potatoes.

Goodbye, TA! Good luck, wherever you go next season.

Get Giddy For Giddens.

there were several times in the season where our worst player on the fast break was ray allen - i didnt think tony was our worst player in transition. if anything, i think he made some of the better setup passes.

[snowball]

TONY "GUCCI" ALLEN

should still be a Celtic.

DANNY WHAT HAVE YOU DONE ?