enough trade talk...the C's season starts july 1st

[Evantime34]

That's all well and good, but why would we want to break up the core to do that when we can just obtain those things on the FA market? 

One reason would be that the owners don't want to go deeper into luxury tax territory.  If Ray Allen gets traded for a serviceable starter and a couple of decent bench players, then the rest of the bench could be filled with vet min contracts. 

I think we are kidding ourselves if we believe that the Cs will resign BBD and use the full MLE to fill out the bench.

Honestly, I'd be OK with letting BBD walk.  The C's true need is someone who can play some backup center; Baby doesn't do that.  Furthermore, I feel like Powe and Baby aren't all that far off talentwise.  If the C's could bring in someone like Dice that could backup Perk, I think we could survive come playoff time with Powe getting the 10-12 mpg backing up KG instead of Davis.  I also don't feel like Davis is ever going to be a starter on a contender.  So I don't think we're going to be looking back 5 years from now kicking ourselves for letting him go. 

Personally, I'd be thrilled if next year come playoff time we had a rotation that looked like this:

C - Perkins/McDyess
PF - Garnett/McDyess (maybe spot minutes for Powe)
SF - Pierce/Hill
SG - Allen/Hill (maybe spot minutes for Walker or House)
PG - Rondo/House

Of course in the regular season we'd expand the rotation more to rest everyone; however, come playoff time, I don't see how a rotation like that would have us miss Baby. 

The real question then becomes whether we could convince Dice and Hill to split the MLE.  I have my doubts, but they might do it if they're truly interested in winning a title. 

The reason we need a back up 5 is because we already have the backup 4 spot set with Powe and BBD. With Powe injured if we let BBD walk then we do have a need at the 4.

[Jon]

That's all well and good, but why would we want to break up the core to do that when we can just obtain those things on the FA market? 

One reason would be that the owners don't want to go deeper into luxury tax territory.  If Ray Allen gets traded for a serviceable starter and a couple of decent bench players, then the rest of the bench could be filled with vet min contracts. 

I think we are kidding ourselves if we believe that the Cs will resign BBD and use the full MLE to fill out the bench.

Honestly, I'd be OK with letting BBD walk.  The C's true need is someone who can play some backup center; Baby doesn't do that.  Furthermore, I feel like Powe and Baby aren't all that far off talentwise.  If the C's could bring in someone like Dice that could backup Perk, I think we could survive come playoff time with Powe getting the 10-12 mpg backing up KG instead of Davis.  I also don't feel like Davis is ever going to be a starter on a contender.  So I don't think we're going to be looking back 5 years from now kicking ourselves for letting him go. 

Personally, I'd be thrilled if next year come playoff time we had a rotation that looked like this:

C - Perkins/McDyess
PF - Garnett/McDyess (maybe spot minutes for Powe)
SF - Pierce/Hill
SG - Allen/Hill (maybe spot minutes for Walker or House)
PG - Rondo/House

Of course in the regular season we'd expand the rotation more to rest everyone; however, come playoff time, I don't see how a rotation like that would have us miss Baby. 

The real question then becomes whether we could convince Dice and Hill to split the MLE.  I have my doubts, but they might do it if they're truly interested in winning a title. 

The reason we need a back up 5 is because we already have the backup 4 spot set with Powe and BBD. With Powe injured if we let BBD walk then we do have a need at the 4.

Not really.  First of all, Perk is fully capable of playing 30-35 mpg at this point.  If Dice is signed, that only leaves him 13-18 mpg to backup the 5 spot.  So he'd have some minutes left to play some backup 4 too.  Plus, Powe should be back for the playoffs.  We can get by with Scalabrine backing up the 4 spot for 15 mpg until Powe gets back.  Heck, we could get by with Mikki Moore backing up KG for 15 mpg and still win 60 games if KG stays healthy. 

People make a big deal about our bench, but really, all we need to do is two things:

1) Not play the Big Three big minutes.  If our bench lacks depth, that just means we lose more games.  If takes a while to get back and Hill can't play 30+ minutes all year to backup Pierce and Allen, then we just go with guys like Scal and Walker and deal with the consequences until playoff time. 

2) Have a good rotation come the playoffs.  As my example above shows, we really only need 8-9 guys come playoff time.  I think we can do that just adding Dice and Hill, re-signing Powe, and keeping House.

Also, concerning House at the point, I wouldn't be concerned.  Rondo is poised for a breakout year and should be playing 35-40 mpg all season.  So the whopping 10 minutes House will be playing a game shouldn't be a major concern.  Plus, if the C's land Hill, he will only be playing the point guard position from a defensive standpoint and the offense will be run by Hill.