So our current/future roster

[Chris]

OK, here's another question:

Let's say we re-sign Posey, House, TAllen and PJ/other backup center. Bill Walker makes the team. That puts us at the 15 player max.

So what if we want to add another player? Tyrone Lue? whoever......

Can we just outright cut Scalabrine, even though he is under contract? I understand that he would still count against the cap, but how would that affect our ability to use his expiring contract in 09/10?

If you cut him (or buy him out), then you can no longer use his contract in a trade.

I think if the C's do find them in that position, then they would cut Pruitt.  If Pruitt is not ready to be the third string PG this year, I don't think they will keep him around.

[Vermont Green]

Others have said this but we clearly need a servicable veteran big man to shore up the team for a championship run next year.  Drafting a big man would not help at this position next year.  At the "wing" positions, these rookies might help.  I like the picks.  If Walker's knee is like Leon's, we have a steal, if it is more like Tony Allen's, we have wasted some pocket change.  I think Giddens is very far along and pretty likely to help some next year although lower upside than you get with the earlier picks.

I am not expecting or hoping for Cassell, Pollard, or PJ to come back.  I would like to think we can do better with FA's.  We need a big back up center.  I am sure that will be priority 1 (I am assuming that we in fact sign Posey).  I am hopeful that Pruitt and improve enough to be able to replace Cassell so we can get younger at that position.  If he doesn't develop enough, we may need to bring Sam back or dip into the FA PG pool.  Under tha scenario, I think there would still be room for T.Allen.

In summary, what I would like to see is sign Posey, House, and T.Allen, have Pruitt crack the rotation as back-up PG, have Giddens and Walker make the team, sign a FA back-up Center who is better than either Pollard or PJ, and then let Pollard, PJ, and Cassell ride off into the sunset with their 2008 rings.  We end up a little better than this year because of a better back up big man and some improvement from BBD, Pruitt, etc, and we get younger.  That is about all you can ask for.

[paintitgreen]

Tend to agree with Chris. Pruitt will have to be seriously evaluated. We have a glut in the backcourt and on the wing, and a shortage at center, but I still like the fact that we took what we/Danny perceived as the two best players available in getting Giddens and Walker. I agree, I don't think you can draft specifically for position, you have to draft for players you like. If you don't like DeAndre Jordan or Devon Hardin, don't pick him just because he's a center. Pick a guy you want and find a way to get another guy you want.

My hope is Danny can work out a trade involving Scal, Powe or Baby and maybe TA if you need it. Maybe Przybilla would work though I don't know how much roster space Portland has. Right now, they have Oden, Aldridge, Raef, Diogu, Frye and Przybilla up front and Roy, Bayless, Rodriguez, Outlaw, Webster, Blake and Wafer in the backcourt. Maybe they'd do it. They have 13 for next year, a 3-for-1 would give them 15. Davis or Powe could be a great young reserve to put behind Oden and Aldridge, TA could get some minutes as a defensive backup for Roy and Scal would be the same thing for them as for us.

Not that Przybilla is the only or my top choice (hadn't thought about who might be available), but a trade like that is my real hope for dealing with the shortage at center, excess at PF (especially since one will likely go in free agency next year) and wing (TA's complete surplusage now I think) while getting rid of Scal's roster spot. Then giving the MLE to Posey isn't a huge deal. If we could do a 3-for-1, we'd have two centers (Perk and trade target), two power forwards (KG and Powe or Baby), three small forwards (Pierce, Posey, Walker), two shooting guards (Ray and Giddens), two point guards (Rondo and Pruitt), leaving four roster spots to get after House at guard (if he takes a deal starting at 1.8 mil), another center (even Pollard would do the trick if you have two), another power forward (anyone available on the cheap?) and save a roster space for a veteran midseason.

[jbhdva]

I agree with you on Pruitt, he will have to be much better than last year. If he isn't then why keep him. Hopefully he'll be developed well enough to come off the bench and be PG, leaving House (if he re-signs) free to be a SG. Looking at Giddens size, he could play both SG/SF.

While I agree with you that we need another big man, I respectfully disagree with the trade involving Scal/Big Baby/Powe. Okay, probably Scal, but not Big Baby or Powe. As a matter of fact, after Game 2 of the Finals, It's pretty safe to say that Powe will be here for a little while longer, in fact he could be a potential 6th man later on. Posey will be back and I'm going to bank on that.

Here are some potential let go's: Cassell (top of the list) Pollard, Scalabrine, Pruitt (if he hasn't gotten better) and P.J. Brown--not that he's not worthy. I love P.J. and we couldn't have won #17 without him I believe, but this man will probably retire now that he's got his ring. I don't want to let Tony Allen go, but if it means keeping Posey, Powe and Big Baby, then it must happen. If we can keep him though, definitely. Ditto for House.

I think after last year's deals, we learned something and I especially learned something. He brought Ray Allen and Kevin Garnett, hoping for a title run which between the both of them and Pierce, they had no titles to there name. Now they have one. I thought they would win a lot more games than last year, but never thought of the title. I was wrong and a lot of us were wrong too. What I learned is that Danny must know what he's doing and Doc knows what he's doing. Do we know??? Not in the slightest.

I just hope they keep and bring in players who play great and work together and play the great defense they're known for. That's all. As for J.R. Giddens and Bill Walker, it's great they're Celtics now, I always like it when someone new puts on the green.

[paintitgreen]

I agree, I think Powe and Davis both rate very highly and would love to keep both, but unless Davis can be our backup center next year, I don't see how we can keep both.

They fill almost the same role, and both have contracts expiring at the end of this year. Both will want pretty substantial and merited raises. At this rate, Powe's gonna be looking at $4-6 mil a year. He was a key contributor on the NBA champs. Davis less, but you never know who's gonna throw money at a young big man who proved he can play in the NBA on a good team. You can't pay $3-4 mil a year for your third string power forward (wait, we pay our 4th string power forward over $3 mil...) The biggest problem will be Davis. Since he only signed a 2 year deal as a rookie, we will have to use exception money to sign him. We have a bit more freedom with Powe, because he'll have three years of service when his contract expires.

If we had a good backup center, I wouldn't care, I'd let them play out the season and make a decision at the end. But that is a need we really have to fill. Nobody's gonna trade us a center of any quality for just Scalabrine. Davis is a guy who has to be used, along with Scal for salary purposes, to get a higher quality center in here.

Of course, maybe the plan is to get Davis to the level where he can be a backup center. Davis has some promise as a player, but it's his size that's a concern. His height, though, doesn't bother me as much as his wingspan. Perk is probably what, 6'9", 6'10"? But he has really long arms so he can defend in the post. Davis is 6'8" or 6'9" but looks to me like he has pretty short arms. Maybe I'm wrong, but that's what it looks like. That will give him a tough time defending centers. But if he can do it, I'm all on board for just signing someone like Pollard or Ratliff as another reserve center and going with what we got. Is Davis ready to be a backup center on a championship level team? I think that's a key question for this season.