Ainge to address the media at 9:30 AM

[CoachBo]

From common sense, knowing the C's cap situation, and talent on the team and he actually said it.

What did he actually say?

"The free agent mid-level talent pool is fairly deep, but based on our needs it may not be that deep."

How does that translate to the following?:

If someone is going to make the C's better at MLE or below we'll sign him.  If not be happy you have a team that if healthy will represent the Eastern Conference in the finals. 

Where does Danny say to expect us to use the full MLE if it will make the team better?  In fact, Danny seems to be dampening expectations by saying that those MLE players might not be a good fit for us.

Sounds to me like he's rounding up dumpster addresses.

Again.

Prepare for another early playoff exit if he does ...

[Cman]

If someone is going to make the C's better at MLE or below we'll sign him.  If not be happy you have a team that if healthy will represent the Eastern Conference in the finals. 

Where does Danny say to expect us to use the full MLE if it will make the team better?  In fact, Danny seems to be dampening expectations by saying that those MLE players might not be a good fit for us.

Assuming that Cs are financially constrained and will not add via MLE, it means trades and vet mins are how the team will add depth.  One would think the expiring contracts of TA+Scal could bring back some depth, but then the rest of the depth will be through vet min contracts.  Alternately, trading Ray for a serviceable - albeit not great - starting SG along with bench depth might be another strategy.

[wdleehi]

Celtics are one resigning and two good FA away from having a strong bench.


Resign Davis.

Get a good backup C/PF
Get a good backup swingman.



Bench is set.  Use TA and or Scali to find an upgrade for the back up PG situation during the season.

[CoachBo]

If someone is going to make the C's better at MLE or below we'll sign him.  If not be happy you have a team that if healthy will represent the Eastern Conference in the finals. 

Where does Danny say to expect us to use the full MLE if it will make the team better?  In fact, Danny seems to be dampening expectations by saying that those MLE players might not be a good fit for us.

Assuming that Cs are financially constrained and will not add via MLE, it means trades and vet mins are how the team will add depth.  One would think the expiring contracts of TA+Scal could bring back some depth, but then the rest of the depth will be through vet min contracts.  Alternately, trading Ray for a serviceable - albeit not great - starting SG along with bench depth might be another strategy.

Before we start assuming financial constraints, let's recall that Grousbeck has said publicly the money was there to resign Posey last summer. The decision not to was made by the "basketball people."

[Jon]

From common sense, knowing the C's cap situation, and talent on the team and he actually said it.

What did he actually say?

"The free agent mid-level talent pool is fairly deep, but based on our needs it may not be that deep."

How does that translate to the following?:

If someone is going to make the C's better at MLE or below we'll sign him.  If not be happy you have a team that if healthy will represent the Eastern Conference in the finals. 

Where does Danny say to expect us to use the full MLE if it will make the team better?  In fact, Danny seems to be dampening expectations by saying that those MLE players might not be a good fit for us.

Sounds to me like he's rounding up dumpster addresses.

Again.

Prepare for another early playoff exit if he does ...

While I really hope they add depth via the MLE, I don't think not doing so precludes an early playoff exit.  First of all, depth or no depth, the Big Three don't have to play big minutes.  If we don't have the depth to let them rest, we're just going to have to let them rest and deal with the consequences.  No matter how bad their bench is, even if the C's only play the Big Three 30 minutes a night each, they're still probably good enough to win 55-60 games and get a 3 seed.  If the Big Three are well rested enough to play big minutes in the playoffs, I still think they can win it all even with a weak bench, because quite frankly, a bench isn't going to matter all that much if all the starters are ready to play 40 mpg in the playoffs.  

Second, while I certainly am not banking on it, it's quite possible that guys like Bill Walker or J.R. Giddens could be ready to take the next step next year and become valuable bench players.  Furthermore, like the past two years, we don't know what could come our way from buyouts midway through the season.

So, yes, I really hope Danny uses the MLE, but I wouldn't throw in the towel quite yet if he doesn't.  

[winsomme]

It is kinda sad that he has to address the media.  Lots of erroneous reports out there.  I know it is a business, but it can impact kids like Rondo AND Jefferson. 

which is probley why he did it.

I don't believe for a minute that discussions haven't happened with teams regarding trading for rondo. That's just kicking the tires, and that's good business. Maybe something giant shakes loose that you move on, more likely nothing happens.

By laughing off the rumors here though, he props up rondo's feeling that the team trusts him and the media is just making news. Good move by ainge.

but is that what he did? did he laugh off the rumors or the reason behind the rumors?

I was watching Chad Ford report this DET rumor this morning, I find it hard to believe that the whole thing was made up.

the thing that i think the media is wrong about is the idea that they are looking to move Rondo because he is too "mouthy" and difficult to handle. that part of this whole thing is absurd. If anything, Doc is the perfect guy to deal with a headstrong player like Rajon and the proof is the great results he has gotten with him so far.

what is far more likely being a reason for shopping Rondo is that his value is at its highest and he is up for a new contact soon. It's much plausible that Danny is thinking he could sell high on Rajon and then have the money that would go to Rondo in a contract extension to use in the 2010 FA market....

that doesn't mean he's trying to run Rondo out of town or wouldn't be perfectly happy with him as our  PG next year. it's just that, as we know, Danny is ALWAYS looking to make moves. That's why we call him Trader Danny.

yes, in this interview, ainge did laugh off the rondo trade rumors. he denied any trade talk involving rondo, and flat out said they love him and wouldn't trade him.

sorry that i missed it, but I still find it hard to believe. he wouldn't be doing his job if he wasn't trying to see what he could get for Rondo with a big extension due very soon.

plus, one response that front office people always use is "I don't know where these guys get this stuff from..."

that's not really a denial.

also you get "we not close on anything happening.." that also is not a denial.

maybe Danny went further today and said Rondo will not be traded under any circumstance....there are a lot of fire burning on this issue so maybe he is just trying to do damage control figuring the likelihood of a trade is small even if Rondo's name had come up.

[Jon]

Celtics are one resigning and two good FA away from having a strong bench.


Resign Davis.

Get a good backup C/PF
Get a good backup swingman.



Bench is set.  Use TA and or Scali to find an upgrade for the back up PG situation during the season.

That would be great and I think we could even live without Davis if we land someone like McDyess.  Come playoff time, we'd probably just go with 4/5 rotation of Perk/KG/Dice anyway, and any extra minutes Leon Powe and Brian Scalabrine could handle. 

[wdleehi]

Celtics are one resigning and two good FA away from having a strong bench.


Resign Davis.

Get a good backup C/PF
Get a good backup swingman.



Bench is set.  Use TA and or Scali to find an upgrade for the back up PG situation during the season.

That would be great and I think we could even live without Davis if we land someone like McDyess.  Come playoff time, we'd probably just go with 4/5 rotation of Perk/KG/Dice anyway, and any extra minutes Leon Powe and Brian Scalabrine could handle. 

I think Davis is a key piece to the bench.  Protect the Celtics against one injury to a big man.  And I think his price will be right.

[crownsy]

From common sense, knowing the C's cap situation, and talent on the team and he actually said it.

What did he actually say?

"The free agent mid-level talent pool is fairly deep, but based on our needs it may not be that deep."

How does that translate to the following?:

If someone is going to make the C's better at MLE or below we'll sign him.  If not be happy you have a team that if healthy will represent the Eastern Conference in the finals. 

Where does Danny say to expect us to use the full MLE if it will make the team better?  In fact, Danny seems to be dampening expectations by saying that those MLE players might not be a good fit for us.

Sounds to me like he's rounding up dumpster addresses.

Again.

Prepare for another early playoff exit if he does ...

While I really hope they add depth via the MLE, I don't think not doing so precludes an early playoff exit.  First of all, depth or no depth, the Big Three don't have to play big minutes.  If we don't have the depth to let them rest, we're just going to have to let them rest and deal with the consequences.  No matter how bad their bench is, even if the C's only play the Big Three 30 minutes a night each, they're still probably good enough to win 55-60 games and get a 3 seed.  If the Big Three are well rested enough to play big minutes in the playoffs, I still think they can win it all even with a weak bench, because quite frankly, a bench isn't going to matter all that much if all the starters are ready to play 40 mpg in the playoffs.  

Second, while I certainly am not banking on it, it's quite possible that guys like Bill Walker or J.R. Giddens could be ready to take the next step next year and become valuable bench players.  Furthermore, like the past two years, we don't know what could come our way from buyouts midway through the season.

So, yes, I really hope Danny uses the MLE, but I wouldn't throw in the towel quite yet if he doesn't.  

minutes are so incredibly overrated as a way to excuse poor depth on the bench.

Lets say we don't add any depth at all except resignings and projects, like we did last year.

now, all 3 of them play 20 minutes a game. what happens with our current bench if paul pierce gets hurt in a freak injury, which happen all the time regardless of some minutes cap.

Does TA start now? Does ray move over to the 3 and we start house at the 2, becoming undersized?


Look, we all know our starting 5 is great. our bench is awful, espically as it is currently built. assuming that house opt's out for more money and davis getting an offer, we could very easily have:

scal
TA
pruitt
walker
giddeons

as our bench.

Don't tell me that

"The free agent mid-level talent pool is fairly deep, but based on our needs it may not be that deep."

with regards to that group. only one of them is a useful bench player, and one other has potential to be a 3rd string contributor this year.

the bottom line is, if we don't seriously upgrade our depth, we will be watching the ECF and the finals again this year.

[Cman]

Celtics are one resigning and two good FA away from having a strong bench.


Resign Davis.

Get a good backup C/PF
Get a good backup swingman.



Bench is set.  Use TA and or Scali to find an upgrade for the back up PG situation during the season.

Agreed.  But how much will Davis, good backup C/PF, good backup swingman cost?  Assume $3M/yr for the first and split MLE between the second two, and together for all three that is >$8M/yr, and because of the luxury tax, we are really talking about >$16M/yr.

Before we start assuming financial constraints, let's recall that Grousbeck has said publicly the money was there to resign Posey last summer. The decision not to was made by the "basketball people."

I'll believe it when I see it.  Right now, I think the safe assumption is that the Cs are operating under financial constraints.  

[winsomme]

If someone is going to make the C's better at MLE or below we'll sign him.  If not be happy you have a team that if healthy will represent the Eastern Conference in the finals. 

Where does Danny say to expect us to use the full MLE if it will make the team better?  In fact, Danny seems to be dampening expectations by saying that those MLE players might not be a good fit for us.

Assuming that Cs are financially constrained and will not add via MLE, it means trades and vet mins are how the team will add depth.  One would think the expiring contracts of TA+Scal could bring back some depth, but then the rest of the depth will be through vet min contracts.  Alternately, trading Ray for a serviceable - albeit not great - starting SG along with bench depth might be another strategy.

Before we start assuming financial constraints, let's recall that Grousbeck has said publicly the money was there to resign Posey last summer. The decision not to was made by the "basketball people."

the biggest financial constraint on this team is not making it past the second round of the playoffs.

certainly the owners saw all that lost revenue this past season.

[Birdbrain]

From common sense, knowing the C's cap situation, and talent on the team and he actually said it.

What did he actually say?

"The free agent mid-level talent pool is fairly deep, but based on our needs it may not be that deep."

How does that translate to the following?:

If someone is going to make the C's better at MLE or below we'll sign him.  If not be happy you have a team that if healthy will represent the Eastern Conference in the finals. 

Where does Danny say to expect us to use the full MLE if it will make the team better?  In fact, Danny seems to be dampening expectations by saying that those MLE players might not be a good fit for us.

Sounds to me like he's rounding up dumpster addresses.

Again.

Prepare for another early playoff exit if he does ...

What?

Early playoff exit.  Common sense tells me that was more to do with injuries but, I guess we disagree.  Maybe a backup for KG would have decreased his chances of knee injury...

I'm all about common sense today.

[Cman]

the biggest financial constraint on this team is not making it past the second round of the playoffs.

certainly the owners saw all that lost revenue this past season.

But spending more money doesn't guarantee post season success.  Teams with the top 5 salaries in 08-09: Knicks, Mavs, Cavs, Celtics, Blazers.

[crownsy]

It is kinda sad that he has to address the media.  Lots of erroneous reports out there.  I know it is a business, but it can impact kids like Rondo AND Jefferson. 

which is probley why he did it.

I don't believe for a minute that discussions haven't happened with teams regarding trading for rondo. That's just kicking the tires, and that's good business. Maybe something giant shakes loose that you move on, more likely nothing happens.

By laughing off the rumors here though, he props up rondo's feeling that the team trusts him and the media is just making news. Good move by ainge.

but is that what he did? did he laugh off the rumors or the reason behind the rumors?

I was watching Chad Ford report this DET rumor this morning, I find it hard to believe that the whole thing was made up.

the thing that i think the media is wrong about is the idea that they are looking to move Rondo because he is too "mouthy" and difficult to handle. that part of this whole thing is absurd. If anything, Doc is the perfect guy to deal with a headstrong player like Rajon and the proof is the great results he has gotten with him so far.

what is far more likely being a reason for shopping Rondo is that his value is at its highest and he is up for a new contact soon. It's much plausible that Danny is thinking he could sell high on Rajon and then have the money that would go to Rondo in a contract extension to use in the 2010 FA market....

that doesn't mean he's trying to run Rondo out of town or wouldn't be perfectly happy with him as our  PG next year. it's just that, as we know, Danny is ALWAYS looking to make moves. That's why we call him Trader Danny.

yes, in this interview, ainge did laugh off the rondo trade rumors. he denied any trade talk involving rondo, and flat out said they love him and wouldn't trade him.

sorry that i missed it, but I still find it hard to believe. he wouldn't be doing his job if he wasn't trying to see what he could get for Rondo with a big extension due very soon.

plus, one response that front office people always use is "I don't know where these guys get this stuff from..."

that's not really a denial.

also you get "we not close on anything happening.." that also is not a denial.

maybe Danny went further today and said Rondo will not be traded under any circumstance....there are a lot of fire burning on this issue so maybe he is just trying to do damage control figuring the likelihood of a trade is small even if Rondo's name had come up.

yes win, we agree on that. they obviously made inquires to teams about what rondo would net them. That's good basketball, and i have no problem with it.

My point in the original post was as ainge you call this presser and act like the rondo rumors are unfounded to assure rondo that the team trusts him to be the PG of the future and wasn't trying to trade him, weather that's true or not, to bolster his confidence going into next year and cut any feelings of resentment over being shopped off at the knees.

[wdleehi]

Most of the players in the first round I wouldn't trade for J.R. Giddens or Bill Walker..

Someone tell me this isn't trying to up the value of these two in the trade market.