Maggette says he could be willing to take pay cut to come to Boston

[BCelts]

Also, for those saying he can't defend... Neither could Paul or Ray and they were more than effective (especially Paul)

That's a myth. Pierce was always a very good defensive player whenever he tried and the team didn't demand too much of him on the offensive side. Same goes to Ray: e.g., he put a defensive clinic in the 2001 ECF, guarding MVP Allen Iverson. AI himself said he was the best defender he faced that year. It wasn't like he suddenly discovered how to guard Rip or Kobe out of nothing. Both of them  have very solid defensive fundamentals, but it's hard to be consistent on defense when you have to carry your team offense on your shoulders. But they are aging and we need a reliable winger stopper.

This is exactly correct.

How do we know Maggette can't play defense when he "tries"? 

Pierce and Allen were, in effect, poor defensive players for several seasons.  Sure, they had the capabilities, but it wasn't until they got into TT's system that they played well consistently on defense (with the exception of Pierce's first two seasons or so).

I see nothing about Maggette that would suggest he couldn't play defense.  He's quick, athletic, and strong.  Perhaps, like Pierce and Allen, all it will take is some motivation (since, like Pierce and Allen, Maggette has been called upon to be his team's offensive spark, as well.)

The scouting report on Maggette (Hollenger, ESPN, for one) is that he lacks the latteral quickness to be a good defender.  I agree that what Maggette could do if he put his mind to it is open to interpretation.  However, there is an opinion out there that he lacks the same capabilities.

[Jon]

I think the defensive question is key.  Maggette is a heck of a scorer and could be really valuable if Allen or Pierce goes down or as Allen's skills decline over the next few years.  I just wonder how valuable he's going to be next year.  I mean it was a lot for Allen, Pierce, and Garnet to sacrifice stats for the greater good.  Now you're asking for that to arguably be sacrificed more with Maggette coming in, plus you're asking Maggette to give up starting, stats, and money? 

Plus, while I'd take Maggette over Posey if I was starting a team from scratch, I think Posey fits in better not only defensively, but offensively too.  Think about Gary Payton when he was on the Lakers.  Because the point guard in the Lakers system was basically a spot up shooter, Payton's many skills were for naught and the Lakers were better with Derek Fisher playing the 1.  Same thing here.  What are we going to ask Maggette to do on offense?  He's not going to get that many plays called for him when he's on the court with two of the Big Three.  And he's going to have to play with them a lot of he's going to get any minutes.  People forget that one of the reasons Ray fit in so well was because he was a great spot up shooter.  Even when the C's were playing the 2 man game with Pierce and Garnet, Allen was always a dangerous weapon as a deadly weakside shooter.  Can Maggette actually fit in that role and be successful?  I'm doubtful. 

Posey can though, he's already done it.  And he's fine sitting on the perimeter, spreading the floor, and knocking down open threes. 

It's great Maggette can do more than that, I just don't think those skills are going to be what the Celtics need of him. 

And it's great that he might look better 3 years from now.  However, who knows where the C's will be in a couple years?  For all we know, KG blows out his ACL and things go to hell.  So what difference will it make if we have Corey Maggette?  He's not going to guide the C's to a title. 

Winning now needs to be paramount.  History has spoiled us into thinking that championships are commonplace.  However, this window might not open again for a while.  Ainge can do his best to rebuild, but it won't matter if a guy like LeBron gets paired with another All Star or two in a couple years. 

[CoachBo]

TP. You raise a lot of very good technical coaching concerns about adding Maggette to this mix. If you believe this issue is as simple as Corey's scoring average, you're only seeing about 10 percent of the issue here.

[Triboy16]

i'am no insider or anything like that but i have a great hunch maggette is a celtic come next week

just via common sense how maggette likes the celtics and how they won it last year, how he has deep connections with doc rivers

Yeah san antonio could give him a extra year or one more million dollar per year but maggette wants to win in the right enviroment

With that i see maggette signing to a max mle for 4 or 5 years meaning posey is out. Actually i see posey now second place to maggette and even if posey will accept a offer he thinks is lower than he believe, ainge and company will let him know they are waiting on something, which is for maggette's answer , this is how i see it

thats too bad cuz posey was a great fit for our celtics team. But maggette could learn to play better team defense and his offense is already very good

Kg, pierce, maggette, allen, rondo <-- anticipate to see that lineup regularly late in the 4th quarter

We will give up 4 to 6 more points per game but i expect to see us scoring at least that much more with magette as our 6th man. It will all equal out

[noelmayo]

dream on guys, there ain't no maggette suiting up for the celts this coming season, besides with all this bloat-headed overpaid/underachieving chums would definitely try to make money instead of leaving a legacy in the league, you guys see...mark my word!!!

[RockinRyA]

i see, thats why hes willing to play for the spurs? 

[Celtic_E]

Maggette is still young enough to be able to get both, get a ring and sign for a larger contract in the near future. With the current scenario that he is in, Maggette has no choice but to play for the MLE with a contender at this time just to be able to raise his market value in the near future like Posey last season. If Maggette were to sign with us, I think he would want a short term contract, maybe in the neighborhood of 2 yrs. for the full MLE. For me, that sounds reasonable enough because at this stage of our window, we don't really need to lock up long term deals. Flexibility is our friend right now and that's the way it should be if we want to hang more banners in the near future.

[steve]

I don't understand  why people would rather have Maggette than James Posey.  We just got through seeing why Posey is an unbelievable asset to a playoff team.  Everybody saw how intangables outwieghed stats.  When Posey hacks someone hard after the whistle is blown he isn't doing it for fun.  He's doing it because he's showing them who the Alpha team is.  Now that we won the title it seems that some fans are dismissing that aspect of Posey's game.  What James does is far more important than what Corey could do.  We have scorers on this team.  We need toughness and heart.  We have a guy on our team that hugs every player before the game.  Who does that in professional sports?  I'd rather "overpay" for a guy like that than  take a chance that another "more talented" guy that might or might not fit into our system. 

Sign him right now.  Don't overthink this Danny.

[Triboy16]

Posey should be signed but he just wants one year too many. And also doc has already called maggette trying to entice him to be a celtic. I think its too late

Posey is prob turned off by all the rumors and specifically doc calling maggette personally and ainge is prob turned off cuz he believes posey doesn't deserve more than a certan amount

i can't disagree with you about the heart and toughness part. Posey is like a glue for all the star guys. Could be a mistake to lose him but i dunno i have faith in danny

[Change]

I love how james posey plays once that whistle blows. but come on guys lets be realistic. it isn't worth paying a guy who AVG 7.4 PPG over $30 mill. Yes he gives this team swagger and confidence on certain occasions, but he is not Corey Maggette. Posey is the opposite of Maggette in ever aspect.

Maggette can dribble, create his own shots, get to the FT line, strong, athletic, decent shooter, good rebounder.

Posey 3 point specialist, above avg defense, and plays with swagger.

Besides this is PP, KG, and Allen's team not James Posey. I hope you remember the first two series where he couldn't guard the athletic Atlanta squad and James "The Hulk" LeBron. And the biggest factor is that he'll turn 32 next season.

If he's this good, why wouldn't he just accept the 3 year deal and if he's worthy sign another 3 year deal. I don't know this whole thing is giving me a headache. either stay and accept the offer, or just go.

[TripleOT]

I love how james posey plays once that whistle blows. but come on guys lets be realistic. it isn't worth paying a guy who AVG 7.4 PPG over $30 mill. Yes he gives this team swagger and confidence on certain occasions, but he is not Corey Maggette. Posey is the opposite of Maggette in ever aspect.

Maggette can dribble, create his own shots, get to the FT line, strong, athletic, decent shooter, good rebounder.

Posey 3 point specialist, above avg defense, and plays with swagger.

Besides this is PP, KG, and Allen's team not James Posey. I hope you remember the first two series where he couldn't guard the athletic Atlanta squad and James "The Hulk" LeBron. And the biggest factor is that he'll turn 32 next season.

If he's this good, why wouldn't he just accept the 3 year deal and if he's worthy sign another 3 year deal. I don't know this whole thing is giving me a headache. either stay and accept the offer, or just go.

Take a look at the MLE deals in the league if you want to be realistic.  Posey would be right at the top of that list as to not being overpaid.

Also, asking someone to take three years of guaranteed money instead of five when his value league-wide is at an all time high is just plain stupid.   

[Change]

I love how james posey plays once that whistle blows. but come on guys lets be realistic. it isn't worth paying a guy who AVG 7.4 PPG over $30 mill. Yes he gives this team swagger and confidence on certain occasions, but he is not Corey Maggette. Posey is the opposite of Maggette in ever aspect.

Maggette can dribble, create his own shots, get to the FT line, strong, athletic, decent shooter, good rebounder.

Posey 3 point specialist, above avg defense, and plays with swagger.

Besides this is PP, KG, and Allen's team not James Posey. I hope you remember the first two series where he couldn't guard the athletic Atlanta squad and James "The Hulk" LeBron. And the biggest factor is that he'll turn 32 next season.

If he's this good, why wouldn't he just accept the 3 year deal and if he's worthy sign another 3 year deal. I don't know this whole thing is giving me a headache. either stay and accept the offer, or just go.

Take a look at the MLE deals in the league if you want to be realistic.  Posey would be right at the top of that list as to not being overpaid.

Also, asking someone to take three years of guaranteed money instead of five when his value league-wide is at an all time high is just plain stupid.   

That convinces me even more that James Posey will not sign with us. Maybe Danny should give him a deadline, before we lose out on other free agents.

[Roy Hobbs]

I hope you remember the first two series where he couldn't guard the athletic Atlanta squad and James "The Hulk" LeBron.

Good luck getting anybody to admit this.  Posey has taken on the role of mythic "Lebron stopper" / "lock down wing", and it's simply not accurate. 

I like Posey.  I'd like to have him back, if the financial numbers work.  However, for equal money, Maggette just offers more.

[timepiece33]

Good luck getting anybody to admit this.  Posey has taken on the role of mythic "Lebron stopper" / "lock down wing", and it's simply not accurate.

He's also taken on the role of "ineffective defensive" player by people trying to make a point and that is about as genuine as the comments using Paul Pierce's defensive ability as a reason to get rid of him a couple years ago.

I agree he struggled against the Hawks and was a very good defender against the Lakers/Pistons.

Against Lebron?  Ummm ... apparently he just started missing shots consistently (BS BTW).  Lebron stopper. Hardly.  The defensive sieve that some want to make him out to be. Hardly.

I like Posey.  I'd like to have him back, if the financial numbers work.  However, for equal money, Maggette just offers more.

Unfortunately, we are asking him to take a paycut and can't offer the starting position or tax advantages/cost of living benefits San Antonio can for the same opportunity. 

If we can get Corey, get him.  Don't view it as likely and the other options mentioned are a downgrade. 

[steve]

Well nobody can guard Lebron.  In that series Pierce guarded Lebron most of the time anyway.  

It's like when Team USA was loading the team with scorers, it just doesn't work.  Maggette sounds good but  to me the prospect of him not fitting into the system isn't worth it.