I feel like I'm one of the bigger Posey proponents on the site - I am almost irrational in how much I want him to stay on the Cs. So I feel obligated to say that nick's play by play recap was just a bit too biased. Posey fouls Lebron and it's because Lebron forced Posey to do it; Lebron gets to the lane and is fouled by KG, and it's because Lebron is "feeling it" and Pierce is cold? Just lay the facts out if they support you.
And as much of a Posey fan as I am, the facts probably do support you. Over the last few games, I thought Pierce did an excellent job defending Lebron, better than Posey. In fact, in Game 7, I honestly felt like Pierce did a very good job on Lebron - most of Lebron's easier buckets seemed to come against Posey.
On another topic that was raised, I believe that no single player, including Posey, won us the title. However, almost every single player on last year's team was invaluable at some point or another in the playoffs. Posey changed Games 3 (which we ultimately lost) and 4 both by verbally reminding his teammates that defense would win, and by going on the offensive end and attacking the basket. I remember it vividly because it was so out of character for a guy whose role is as a spot up shooter. But he saw that we needed Pierce, Allen and Garnett to attack the basket if we were going to win. He is a leader, and I don't think we would have won last year without him.
Of course, that's not reason to overpay him. If Sam Cassell didn't close out Game 1 against Cleveland, we easily could have lost that series. But that doesn't mean we need to bring him back. We absolutely needed PJ Brown at times, but we can handle it if he retires. Same thing for Eddie House, same thing for Leon Powe. I absolutely agree we can find other guys to fill the roles. So, while I think we needed him last year, I agree, we can find a way to fill the void he leaves if the price he's asking for is way too much.
What it comes down to for me is this. I don't want to resign Posey because I think he's better than Pierce at any aspect of the game, or because I think we can't win another title without him. He's not better than Pierce, and we can win without him. I want to resign Posey because he is a perfect fit and we know that. He is a long and physical defender who can spot minutes at the 2, 3 and 4. 3 is his best position, but he can help you out for a couple of minutes a game at other spots too. He's a good defender, and he hits shots when it matters. He's not a great shooter, but his shots always seemed to go in the closer the game got to the final buzzer. He's a leader. He is a perfect Sixth Man. I want him over some unknown because we know he works here. I will accept if he leaves, but we don't need to disparage his contributions. I don't think anybody's gone that far yet, but it's starting to go in that direction, and I agree with cordobes, let's put the brakes on that a little bit. He has more strengths than weaknesses, let's hope he brings those strengths back next year at a reasonable rate.