Wyc's interview with Felger

[Roy Hobbs]

Wyc was on Sports Sunday with Michael Felger.  Link.  For anybody who missed it, here's a recap:

1) Wyc seems to suggest that the team *didn't* play "valiantly" in Game 7.  He noted that it was a "regrettable way to end the season"; Game 7 "didn't make [Wyc] happy.

2) There was additional money to offer to Posey, but the "basketball people" didn't think it was a wise decision.  In other words, the money was there for Danny, but he chose not to spend it.

3) The team was "probably going to win 70 games" before KG's knee injury.

4)  The team will continue to be in the luxury tax, "don't worry about it".

5) The team was "out of gas" at the end, and needed a "couple of more players".

Personally, I would have liked to see Felger ask some more in-depth questions / follow up, but there's only so much you can get out of a 5 minute segment. 

The part about there being more money available for Posey than was offered was interesting; apparently, it wasn't ownership that limited the deal to three years.  I like hearing Wyc say that the team will continue to pay the luxury tax, although I have a concern when he says the team was good enough to win 70 games.  It wasn't, and if Wyc uses that justification to bring back the same team next season, I think we could be in trouble.

I'm not sure what to make of the initial comments about Game 7, where he suggests that the team didn't play as hard as it could have.  I know where Felger is coming from on that argument, but I expected Wyc to really fight him on it.   He didn't.

I'd love to hear more about Wyc's vision for the off-season.  It's clear that Doc wants the team to invest heavily in upgrades, and Wyc seems to suggest that the money was there last off-season.  Let's hope he opens the check book this season, as well.

[CoachBo]

Ah, so now we know exactly who's responsible for the Posey mistake.

My apologies, Wyc. I will direct the blame for that mistake totally toward Ainge in the future.

One request, though: Can we rectify it this summer and get a quality backup 3 on the roster?


Roy, couldn't agree more on the 70 game canard Wyc floats. A team as thin as we were pre-injury wasn't going to win 70, period. It's an excuse, a dangerous one as we try to retool for next season.

[nickagneta]

I thought it interesting that Wyc said that he thought the fan based was more connected to this team, that they liked last year's team but loved this one. I've been saying a similar thing for the last 3 weeks or so. Also, as much as it sounded as if Wyc was throwing Danny under the bus, he did go on to say that 2 years yes, 4 years no for Posey which lead me to believe that the decision wasn't completely Danny's.

[BudweiserCeltic]

Ah, so now we know exactly who's responsible for the Posey mistake.

My apologies, Wyc. I will direct the blame for that mistake totally toward Ainge in the future.

Yet we went to 7-games against the team that looks to make it to the finals with a thinner team than the one we had at the beginning of the season. And without KG, our defensive anchor.

Sorry, but the team as constructed would've gone all the way. At least to the finals.

[Roy Hobbs]

Sorry, but the team as constructed would've gone all the way. At least to the finals.

I don't think so.  A healthy KG wouldn't have helped much with Pierce's and Ray's fatigue.  At the very least, Danny should have found a competent body to play SF. 

[Jon]

Ah, so now we know exactly who's responsible for the Posey mistake.

My apologies, Wyc. I will direct the blame for that mistake totally toward Ainge in the future.

One request, though: Can we rectify it this summer and get a quality backup 3 on the roster?


Roy, couldn't agree more on the 70 game canard Wyc floats. A team as thin as we were pre-injury wasn't going to win 70, period. It's an excuse, a dangerous one as we try to retool for next season.

TP.

Beat me to it.  Danny clearly made a blunder.  Screw financial flexibility in 3 years.  We want to win now. 

[BudweiserCeltic]

Sorry, but the team as constructed would've gone all the way. At least to the finals.

I don't think so.  A healthy KG wouldn't have helped much with Pierce's and Ray's fatigue.  At the very least, Danny should have found a competent body to play SF. 

Of course it would've. An easier win against Chicago for one would've helped TONS. More dominant wins with much better defense would've helped TONS. And again, even with Ray and Pierce's fatigue, the point still stands that went to 7 games (in a series I thought we should've won) againt the team that looks to reach the championship. Improved defense on Rashard Lewis would've broken the Magic.

Also, with KG in there he could've taken more risks with the bench.

[elcotte]

Ah, so now we know exactly who's responsible for the Posey mistake.

My apologies, Wyc. I will direct the blame for that mistake totally toward Ainge in the future.

One request, though: Can we rectify it this summer and get a quality backup 3 on the roster?


Roy, couldn't agree more on the 70 game canard Wyc floats. A team as thin as we were pre-injury wasn't going to win 70, period. It's an excuse, a dangerous one as we try to retool for next season.

I'd go with Ainge's vision any day.

[TrueGreen]

As to not signing Posey

1.  I would have loved to have him back, but I think Danny did the right thing. With the way things happened, with KG going down, Posey wouldn't have had the impact he had last year. (hindsight, I know)
2.  TA failed us as a bench player (partially due to injury, but really not effective. And Scals came thru when called upon).
3.  I think Danny did the right thing in thinking of the future even if there is a short window.
4.  It makes me appreciate Wyc and the Owners more in letting Danny make basketball decisions.

[WeMadeIt17]

Well I think this interview puts the pressure on danny to put the go ahead on some moves because of the quote we needed a couple more players. I really do expect the Celts to make a big not huge not a major change but a big change to the bench. I am just hoping its someone like Shawn Marion!

[Jon]

As to not signing Posey

1.  I would have loved to have him back, but I think Danny did the right thing. With the way things happened, with KG going down, Posey wouldn't have had the impact he had last year. (hindsight, I know)
2.  TA failed us as a bench player (partially due to injury, but really not effective. And Scals came thru when called upon).
3.  I think Danny did the right thing in thinking of the future even if there is a short window.
4.  It makes me appreciate Wyc and the Owners more in letting Danny make basketball decisions.

Posey would still help next year. 

Again, as I said before, screw three years from now if we don't take full advantage of this window.  The C's have the potential to be epically good over the next couple of years.  Wyc said it himself, had KG stayed healthy they probably would've won 70 games this year.  With another year together and a better bench, they could beat the Bulls' record next year. 

You don't worry about three years from now when you have a team with the potential to be that good.

Again, screw financial flexibility three years from now. 

[BballTim]

Sorry, but the team as constructed would've gone all the way. At least to the finals.

I don't think so.  A healthy KG wouldn't have helped much with Pierce's and Ray's fatigue.  At the very least, Danny should have found a competent body to play SF. 

  A healthy KG would have meant that Doc would have been able to rest Paul and Ray more. The team struggled without them playing and would be in big trouble without at least one of them on the court. Having KG would have made all the difference in the world.

[Roy Hobbs]

Having KG would have made all the difference in the world.

It still wouldn't have made up for the fact that there was only one small forward on the roster.  There's a reason that Doc has said that adding a backup small forward is the #2 priority this off-season (after getting a center).

[BballTim]

Ah, so now we know exactly who's responsible for the Posey mistake.

My apologies, Wyc. I will direct the blame for that mistake totally toward Ainge in the future.

One request, though: Can we rectify it this summer and get a quality backup 3 on the roster?


Roy, couldn't agree more on the 70 game canard Wyc floats. A team as thin as we were pre-injury wasn't going to win 70, period. It's an excuse, a dangerous one as we try to retool for next season.

  Aside from the fact that not signing Posey wasn't a mistake Ainge said all along that he thought Posey would be worth the money for two years, was willing to give him a 3rd year even though Posey wouldn't be worth the money by then but wasn't going to go 4 years when he only wanted to go two years. And the team wasn't going to win 70 games. What do you think? 66? 68? Wyc saying 70 was a bit enthusiastic, but it wasn't exactly delusional.

[CoachBo]

Ah, so now we know exactly who's responsible for the Posey mistake.

My apologies, Wyc. I will direct the blame for that mistake totally toward Ainge in the future.

One request, though: Can we rectify it this summer and get a quality backup 3 on the roster?


Roy, couldn't agree more on the 70 game canard Wyc floats. A team as thin as we were pre-injury wasn't going to win 70, period. It's an excuse, a dangerous one as we try to retool for next season.

  Aside from the fact that not signing Posey wasn't a mistake Ainge said all along that he thought Posey would be worth the money for two years, was willing to give him a 3rd year even though Posey wouldn't be worth the money by then but wasn't going to go 4 years when he only wanted to go two years. And the team wasn't going to win 70 games. What do you think? 66? 68? Wyc saying 70 was a bit enthusiastic, but it wasn't exactly delusional.

Sigh.

One more time: The "Posey mistake" is failing to resign a competent small forward to back up Pierce, as Roy has articulated in this thread - and I have articulated on this board time and again. The facts are unmistakable: The failure to get Pierce competent bench help hurt this team immeasurably. It is one of the most glaring front office mistakes in recent NBA memory.

And as we've seen from Cleveland, regular season wins are rather meaningless against a balanced and deep basketball team, something the 08-09 Celtics never were.

The anthusiasm for Ainge is admirable, if factually unsupported.