No Worries From Ainge (Herald Article)

[Kuberski33]

Can someone please answer me a question.

Is there a guard or big man out there in free agency for the MLE or less that can equal or offer greater impact than James Posey?

That depends on who else Danny brings in.  I think you need to look at the overall picture should Posey leave.  It may well be that no single player replaces Posey's impact -- when compared just to Posey -- but if you factor in things like Rondo's progression, Perk's apparent improvement,  some impact (hopefully) from Pruitt, BBD entering year 2 etc, maybe you can bring in 2 players who improve the overall picture enough to make this a better team than last year.

This team was, after all, lacking a 3 who could score off the bench, and BBD and Powe are a bit undersized.  I think we need to have faith that Danny knows what he's doing.  This current scenario was very much predictable, so I'm sure he has a Plan B and Plan C -- maybe even a Plan D.

[Gomesfan]

Why Dont we pick up Jamaal Magloire as a cheap big?

[JBcat]

3s off kickouts i dont mind. but many times we had a tendency to put up quick jumpshots and we got into trouble with it. i have a problem with our top 2 scorers off the bench being spot up jumpshooters on top of a starting lineup that shoots jumpshots as much as ours.

That was very annoying. I don't like how reliant the C's are on their perimeter game either. It would be beneficial to the team to have someone off the bench who can score another way, either in the low post or off the dribble. Fully agree.

Who is that player? What player in free agency delivers that?


As I look down that free agency listings the best scorer who isn't primarily a jump shooter is ... Tony Allen. The second best is Bonzi Wells. I don't see anyone else that brings any substantial offensive threat.

To make use of that offensive threat whichever one was signed would need to be the primary backup on the wings or else they wouldn't have enough minutes to make a large impact. So they'd effectively be replacing Posey. Both players should earn low money, much lower than MLE, so there would some wiggle room after that.

How do you feel about that scenario?

Or is the another player you had in mind?

I've heard Danny has liked Bonzi before in the past.   I checked his numbers last year and he had 6 games scoring more than 20 points between 2 very good teams who rarely started (averaged 9.1 PPG in 21.5 minutes).  If you want some aggressive scoring off the bench and lose out on Posey he could be someone Ainge might think about.  If Ray or Paul are ever out of the lineup with an injury he can at least score if not give you much else.  Actually a good rebounder too.  

[cordobes]

  So, to summarize, you challenge me to name players better than Cassell and PJ. I say that there are plenty of them out there, but allow that you might disagree with that. You then tell me not to put words in your mouth, you never said that we can't do better than Cassell and PJ. You then proceed to tell me that we can't do any better than Cassell and PJ.

  And, by the way, I didn't say or even imply that you wouldn't think that Shaq would be better than PJ. I said someone would.

  If Sam Cassell is the best FA pg available then I'm going to start sending my 16 year old to rookie/free agent camps. He'll probably rate at least a 10 day contract

Okay, okay. But are you going to name those Free-Agents that are going to be drastic improvements at the PG and C positions or not?

Here are some of them:
Tyrone Lue
Anthony Carter
Carlos Arroyo
Keyon Dooling
Derek Anderson
Jason Williams
Anthony Johnson
Francisco Elson
Jackie Butler
Chris Andersen
Earl Barron
Jake Voskuhl
Adonal Foyle

  I'd start out with Dooling and probably someone like Kurt Thomas. Possibly Theo Ratliff, or maybe offer some money to Swift if you think he's healthy. But how much are you counting on Cassell and PJ when they're both 39?

I can see Dooling and Thomas being an improvement over Cassell and PJ. The problem is that it wouldn't be a big enough improvement to upset the absence of Posey. So Dooling+Thomas+pupu platter at backup sf is, IMO, far worse than House+Posey+Minimum Salary Center.

[Reyquila]

Why should Danny worry when he's got Scals?

[Gomesfan]

Wells and Primo Brezac are out there and I also think Kwame Brown should get a look if he is willing to do a MLE and hope to get more after this up coming year. If he is put on this team with the vets and there high profiles, I think he a may change for at least a year or for as long as he is playin gwith the Big three. I bet Allen, P2, KG and company would woop his fat but into shape!

[Change]

I can see Dooling and Thomas being an improvement over Cassell and PJ. The problem is that it wouldn't be a big enough improvement to upset the absence of Posey. So Dooling+Thomas+pupu platter at backup sf is, IMO, far worse than House+Posey+Minimum Salary Center.

Thomas a lot like PJ no Problem, but why Dooling the guy AVG 1.8 Ast NO! Dooling younger version of Cassell, we need a play maker at PG who can shoot the 3's

[Gomesfan]

Ricky Davis is always out there and he played well here, I am not saying he going to solve losing posey but he is a good player we could get cheap.
 
     In a fantasy world I would love to see Okafor take an MLE for one year just win win a ring and we would if he jumped on the wagon!!

[Chris]

I can see Dooling and Thomas being an improvement over Cassell and PJ. The problem is that it wouldn't be a big enough improvement to upset the absence of Posey. So Dooling+Thomas+pupu platter at backup sf is, IMO, far worse than House+Posey+Minimum Salary Center.

Thomas a lot like PJ no Problem, but why Dooling the guy AVG 1.8 Ast NO! Dooling younger version of Cassell, we need a play maker at PG who can shoot the 3's

Stats can be decieving.  Dooling is not a great playmaker, but he is a good ballhandler, excellent defender, and a good shooter.  He really would be a very good backup PG for us, and his style is nothing like Cassell, who is a classic pounding PG.  Dooling would bring the ball up, start the offense, and get out of the way.

Also, as good as PJ was, Kurt Thomas is absolutely a step up.  He has a lot more in the tank than PJ had this past year, and is a far superior offensive player and better rebounder, without giving up any defense.

[Brickowski]

Why Dont we pick up Jamaal Magloire as a cheap big?

Because rigor mortis has already set in.

[timepiece33]

That's not the point. You seem to think that the level of play we get at center, pf and pg are unimportant, and the play we get at backup sf and sg is life or death. Leaving Posey out of the discussion for a moment, if we can win with good backup play at sf and sg and bad backup play at pg and c, why can't we win with good backup play at pg and c and bad backup play at sf and sg?

You seem to think that the level of play we get from our 6th man is less important than the play that we'd get from guys lower in the rotation.

Who is this good backup SF we are going to sign if we don't pursue Posey?

  Why does the backup big have to have a lower place in the rotation than the backup sf? You seem to think that only the wing player can be the 6th man. Kevin McHale and Bill Walton might disagree. Try it like this, though. If you gave an nba gm a choice between a team with a great sf and a great sg or a team with a great pg and a great pf/c, which would he prefer?

A backup big doesn't have to have a lower place in the rotation than the backup SF, however the current bigs on the FA market should have a lower place in the rotation than James Posey because none are all that good.

[Bankshot]

Why should Danny worry when he's got Scals?

Yup.  Lucky he locked him up long term!

[Who]

I can see Dooling and Thomas being an improvement over Cassell and PJ. The problem is that it wouldn't be a big enough improvement to upset the absence of Posey. So Dooling+Thomas+pupu platter at backup sf is, IMO, far worse than House+Posey+Minimum Salary Center.

Thomas a lot like PJ no Problem, but why Dooling the guy AVG 1.8 Ast NO! Dooling younger version of Cassell, we need a play maker at PG who can shoot the 3's

Stats can be decieving.  Dooling is not a great playmaker, but he is a good ballhandler, excellent defender, and a good shooter.  He really would be a very good backup PG for us, and his style is nothing like Cassell, who is a classic pounding PG.  Dooling would bring the ball up, start the offense, and get out of the way.

Also, as good as PJ was, Kurt Thomas is absolutely a step up.  He has a lot more in the tank than PJ had this past year, and is a far superior offensive player and better rebounder, without giving up any defense.

Dooling is an erratic point guard who can't function offensively at this level (playing for a contender). He destroyed Orlando's offense against Detroit with his overdribbling, poor shot selection, for some unknown reason he stopped passing Dwight the ball in the post, and he took possessions over that should have gone to any of their top three players. He doesn't have the composure or decision making required to execute one's offense against pressure.

Dooling is down my list and the only reason he's on the list at all is his defense.

I expect Orlando will overpay him at 3-4mil per season. They have his bird rights so they can still sign him after spending their midlevel. Their bench is desperate for more bodies. There's no way I'm happy spending that much money on Dooling, if it's more than the minimum I'm unhappy. There's better people out there.

[Truth Hurts]

  im just saying our team had an unhealthy over-reliance on 3pt shooting to get by and it could be problematic in the future.

You do realize that the Celtics won the championship, right?

I guess all the champagne and cigars may have been unhealthy.

[Evantime34]

A reliance on three point shots isn't unhealthy if they are shot at a good percentage. I would be shocked if we didn't sign at least one guy who can stroke it from three.