If no Pargo, I think option #3 is Antoine Walker. He'd provide veteran leadership, outside shooting, and give this team the ability to play small ball from time to time. He's better than Scal in EVERY respect and as we've seen in the last 2 weeks, we've really missed the little that Scal does provide. Imagine if we replaced that with someone who was better than Scal and had that Championship experience? Walker is a fine #3 option if we can't find anything better.
Except, of course, Scal has contributed to an NBA team this season, and Antoine hasn't. That should tell you something about how NBA GMs see Antoine's potential contribution.
I was an Antoine fan, and I'd rather see him here than POB, simply because I like Antoine better. However, in terms of useful contributions, I'm not sure what Antoine has to offer.
Well, that argument works both ways. Scal could have easily been cut in training camp and not been signed by any other team and we could be thinking the same things about him. That said, I'd definitely have to have Antoine in for a workout to make sure he's at least in playing shape, but beyond that he's a no-brainer. Scal would be a rotation-level player if he did one thing consistently--rebound. He never has and that's why he's always been in and out of the lineup over the course of his career. Antoine can rebound and he'd give us a legitimate small ball lineup.
All this argument aside, I don't think Ainge is going to even think of signing Antoine unless there's a major injury in the front court. So, Pargo remains the best, lowest cost option to improve the bench, assuming PJ doesn't want to come back.
Pargo just signed a contract with Oly a couple of weeks ago. They surely aren't releasing him from that contract and I'm fairly certain he's not interested in being released anyway.
Plus, I know you have some peculiar opinions on basketball players, but Pargo would be, IMO, a bad fit. He's another highly unreliable player, who can singlehandedly make you lose a playoffs game. Just ask the Hornets. House is a better version of Pargo. Pargo is more versatile, can create shots and plays better defence, but he's also more mistaken prone and he likes to play heroics. We already have Tony Allen as a player who isn't intelligent enough to understand his limitations. I guess you like that kind of players - to the point you guaranteed that we're better with Tony Allen than we would be with Posey (improved defence, better offence, etc.) - but I personally believe some reliability is a fundamental trait of winning basketball. Players who can be so extremely horrific as Tony Allen and Pargo are often dangerous to their own teams. Anyway, it doesn't matter: Pargo is not a FA and he won't be anytime soon.
TA has had an up-and-down year, spraining the ankle and coming back too soon and then spraining it again. But he's back on the upswing. The real problem with him is that he's playing with Eddie House at point guard. A guy like Posey was better suited to play with Eddie House because you had to guard him on the perimeter. But put a bad-dribbling, no passing short point guard together with a guy whose entire game is premised on getting to the rim...well, we know what happens, you just pressure House, back off TA, clog the lane, and the offense is gummed up. No ball movement, bad possessions, and desperation shots as the shot clock is expiring. TA is a better player than Posey, but put him with a bad point guard and his limitations are exposed. TA's been the Cs best defender (not today perhaps) at least if you go by PER against. And if you want to compare him head-to-head with Posey, remember that TA's got the better PER (13.02 to 12.77). Not that you care about stats 
And most importantly, TA came at a bargain rate and Posey didn't. Never forget about the money component when comparing those two guys. We're severely cramped by what we can do by virtue of the salary of the big 3.
Similarly to TA, Eddie House's limitations are highlighted when you ask him to play point. We really need Gabe back in the lineup or we need Cassell to start playing. The TA/House backcourt is a bad mixture.
Cordobes, you made a good point on Pargo, but I just assumed that if we really wanted him we could buy out his contract. Admittedly, I'm not sure if that works under the salary cap.
I'm also not sure how you can say House is better than Pargo. Maybe it's just me, but I prefer players who can actually play their positions. Pargo is an actual point guard, a better defender, dribbler, penetrator, and scorer. House shoots 3s better, that's about it. Also, don't underrate Pargo's ability to come up big in the playoffs. He's a big game player. House is awesome at hitting 3s after the game's been decided....but throughout his career he's usually come up small in the big games. But the worse thing about House is that you need to prop him up with a point guard (and a big point at that) to make him successful.
Just to clarify definitely Pargo's issue, Olympiacos paid a bigger buyout for him just 15 days ago that the C's could pay them.
Also, people remember when Pargo comes up big in big games. It's a similar phenomenon to the "Kobe is clutch" myth. Anyway, I understand we value the skill-set of basketball players very differently as you don't care at all about reliability. Once again, the last thing we need is another who believes he's much better than he actually is and doesn't have the brains to understand his role.
Don't take it personally, but there's no point in arguing with you about Tony Allen, because you have an extremely radical opinion. Not only you think he's a better player than Posey, but you also believe he's a better defender than, say, KG - who's only one of the best defenders in the history of the game (probably the best p'n'r defender of all times, I think). I like to have conversations about basketball and basketball players, but some common ground is needed, otherwise things just don't make sense. You probably think Thibodeau is a hater because he called out TA on his defence recently... Just an explanation on why I won't bother to refute your POV.
(anyway, I'm amused that now Posey was a better fit next to House. A few months ago Tony Allen was the best one, as he could create his own shot and slash towards the rim, while Posey and House were both catch and shoot type of players..: I'm pretty sure Tony Allen shortcomings will never be of his own responsibility though)
It's funny that you prize reliability in one breath and then in the next one argue that Eddie House is better than Pargo. Who's more unreliable than an undersized, bad dribbling 2 guard? Eddie House is the king of unreliability because he does only ONE thing well, and he needs to play at a position he's physically unsuited for (2-guard) with a taller point guard to even be in a position to do that one thing. You say Pargo's big performances in the playoffs somehow create a myth that he's a big game player but in reality he "believes he's much better than he actually is and doesn't have the brains to understand his role." So, what exactly does Eddie House's resume of sub-par playoff performances show? That he's smart enough to understand his role? Pargo has been in the playoffs and is a proven playoff performer with at least 3 different teams. House? I'm not sure he's ever had a good playoff run in any year he's been in the playoffs. He played a vital role in the game 4 comeback, but otherwise he's been a perennial no-show throughout his entire career. And yet you call Pargo unreliable? I suppose House has been 'reliable' in one sense; reliably bad in the playoffs.
So, while you prize reliability, which you seem to extend magically to the players you 'like,' I prize the ability to play one's natural position. I like point guard-sized players who can play point guard and not kill the ball movement of the entire team. I prize shooting-guard-sized players who can guard their position.
As for TA's defense, he is one of the best individual defenders on the Cs, right up there with KG, Rondo, and Paul. His overall focus issue does get in the way of him reaching his potential, and a good example of that would be the SA game where he was a half-step late on at least 3 steal attempts and got caught on a back door cut as well. So, if Thibs called him out, it was probably because he hasn't been playing to his full potential on the defensive end. I'd never argue he's playing at his potential right now. But what I would argue that even at less than his potential he's one of the best individual defenders on the team.
As for Posey, yes, he was a better fit--marginally--with Eddie House because you had to guard Pose on the perimeter and you couldn't just pack it into the lane. But with TA and House in the backcourt, you just pressure House and back off TA and the offense stagnates.
But my overall point was valid and still stands. We relied way too heavily on our jump shooting last season on the 2nd unit...if House or Pose weren't hitting, we weren't scoring. To be a more efficient offense, I argued it was a good idea to replace Posey (if we couldn't get him back at a reasonable contract) with a combo of Powe and TA because they'd take easier, higher percentage shots and get to the line more. What I didn't appreciate at that point was the fact that we really needed a point guard to run that offense. You can get away with a non-point guard running your offense if all your offense is from the perimeter. But if you're trying to get post ups and penetrations to the rim, you need more ball movement and unfortunately Eddie House fails in the roll of ball movement facilitator. That's why, going forward, we should have either Gabe or Sam playing point, with TA/House filling in at 2 guard depending on matchups and who's got the hot hand. The lack of a real point guard is what is killing the second unit. Eddie House's rise in 'reliability' wasn't a function of TA being out, it was a function of playing with a better point guard. Imagine the effect it would have on TA's game if had the same luxury.
