Powe-tition

[paintitgreen]

I agree fully with the sentiment of this post. I love Leon Powe, I think most fans do, he's just a great guy and somebody who played a critical role in winning at least one game in the Finals. If it's true that Ainge won't sign him "at least" until he recovers from knee surgery, then I consider it unacceptable. There's no reason to be that cold about a player who has helped you win a championship, especially one who has only been in the league three years on minimum salaries.

However, if Danny is simply waiting until the end of the summer, after we've made all our moves, to make a decision, I frankly understand it. It's sort of like the Sam Cassell situation last year. He wasn't a priority because it doesn't make sense to give guaranteed money to a guy if you don't know whether you'll have a roster spot for him. Ultimately, we signed Cassell at the very end of the offseason when it was apparent there was nobody else we were going to acquire, and we had a roster spot. If that's Ainge's rationale in the case of Powe, I get it 100%.

I understand there's an argument about giving him a contract now and if we don't have a roster spot later, well, we can waive Leon, and still give him that money to show our appreciation. If all the money would just go to Leon, I'd be fine with that. But since we'd have to give an equivalent amount to the league - well, why should the league's dregs get to share any money that we were just giving out of good will for Leon? The team can just donate that money to his charitable foundations (if that is within the rules of the CBA).

I also understand the sentiment that a guy like Gabe Pruitt or JR Giddens has no business getting a roster spot over Leon. I agree. (I would also include Tony Allen in that group, but the fact is he has utility as a $2.5 mil expiring deal; waiving him would cost the team $5 mil and a trade chip so I'd have to put him ahead of Powe even though I really really hate Tony Allen and really really like Leon Powe.) But I'll wait to see the 15 men who made the roster over Leon before passing judgment on the decision.

And I fully understand, and even support, the decision not to extend a qualifying offer. There was no utility to a QO. First, as I said above, we may be forced to waive him anyway. Second, the QO would likely be for more than we could get Powe for. Third, the QO is only for one year. If we sign Powe, it would have to include a team option for a second year, where we support him and help him with his recovery, but get a benefit from that - a potentially fully healthy Leon Powe on a low money contract in 2010-11. No reason to give a one year deal at more money than you need to pay for at least a half year of recovery from surgery and no guarantee that you keep him for another year if he comes back strong.

For that reason, I will reserve judgment on demanding an immediate signing of Powe until I see what else we do. If there are 15 guys I don't want to let go of, I will have to respect Danny's decision. If, though, Gabe Pruitt or JR Giddens is on that roster and Leon isn't, I'll be supremely disappointed.

[guava_wrench]

I just saw the front page and the comments attributed to Danny, and I'm completely bummed.  With flotsam like Hudson, Giddens, Tony, etc., on the roster, it's disappointing that we can't find any sort of place for Powe.

Uh, doesn't one follow from the other? The more guaranteed contracts you give to non contributers, the less charity cases you can support.

Considering Powe might end up flotsam, I'm not losing any sleep about not giving him payroll money. If we want to be charitable, give him a job that doesn't eat up a roster spot.

It is also obvious that the only way signing him makes sense is if it is a minimum deal at this point, not a qualifying offer.

[RayRay4MVP]

I agree fully with the sentiment of this post. I love Leon Powe, I think most fans do, he's just a great guy and somebody who played a critical role in winning at least one game in the Finals. If it's true that Ainge won't sign him "at least" until he recovers from knee surgery, then I consider it unacceptable. There's no reason to be that cold about a player who has helped you win a championship, especially one who has only been in the league three years on minimum salaries.

However, if Danny is simply waiting until the end of the summer, after we've made all our moves, to make a decision, I frankly understand it. It's sort of like the Sam Cassell situation last year. He wasn't a priority because it doesn't make sense to give guaranteed money to a guy if you don't know whether you'll have a roster spot for him. Ultimately, we signed Cassell at the very end of the offseason when it was apparent there was nobody else we were going to acquire, and we had a roster spot. If that's Ainge's rationale in the case of Powe, I get it 100%.

I understand there's an argument about giving him a contract now and if we don't have a roster spot later, well, we can waive Leon, and still give him that money to show our appreciation. If all the money would just go to Leon, I'd be fine with that. But since we'd have to give an equivalent amount to the league - well, why should the league's dregs get to share any money that we were just giving out of good will for Leon? The team can just donate that money to his charitable foundations (if that is within the rules of the CBA).

I also understand the sentiment that a guy like Gabe Pruitt or JR Giddens has no business getting a roster spot over Leon. I agree. (I would also include Tony Allen in that group, but the fact is he has utility as a $2.5 mil expiring deal; waiving him would cost the team $5 mil and a trade chip so I'd have to put him ahead of Powe even though I really really hate Tony Allen and really really like Leon Powe.) But I'll wait to see the 15 men who made the roster over Leon before passing judgment on the decision.

And I fully understand, and even support, the decision not to extend a qualifying offer. There was no utility to a QO. First, as I said above, we may be forced to waive him anyway. Second, the QO would likely be for more than we could get Powe for. Third, the QO is only for one year. If we sign Powe, it would have to include a team option for a second year, where we support him and help him with his recovery, but get a benefit from that - a potentially fully healthy Leon Powe on a low money contract in 2010-11. No reason to give a one year deal at more money than you need to pay for at least a half year of recovery from surgery and no guarantee that you keep him for another year if he comes back strong.

For that reason, I will reserve judgment on demanding an immediate signing of Powe until I see what else we do. If there are 15 guys I don't want to let go of, I will have to respect Danny's decision. If, though, Gabe Pruitt or JR Giddens is on that roster and Leon isn't, I'll be supremely disappointed.

TP. We need more quality posts like this.

[expobear]

guys, just because they didnt offer him a qualifying offer, doesnt mean that they arent going to bring him back at some point.

people need to relax.  If they offered him the QO (which would be overpaying) and he played in 10 total games this year, everyone would freak out that they didnt do enough in the offseason to build the bench.  RELAX.  let them build the best team that they can.  If leon offers them more than a FA can, they will sign him.

DA has a responsibility to his bosses and Celts fans to make sure Powe can physically play basketball at a reasonable level before he offers him an NBA contract. If just liking a guy was a reason to be on a roster than Larry would still be with the team, but it can't be that way. Look at what happened after TA snapped his ACL. Powe has done this, what, three times now?
This is the risk any athlete takes. Look at Yao. They aren't going to resign him if he can't play.
I'm willing to play hard too, but that doesn't mean I'm owed an NBA contract if I can't play at an NBA level

In life, whether it's business or personal, you try to do what is right. Sure, maybe Ainge did what he thought was right from a business standpoint and half the posters on this blog will agree with him. But for some reason, the other half of the posters on this blog don't agree with Ainge.....this is unsettling enough to them to even send out a petition to management calling for bringing Powe back.  Signing Powe to a one year contract with an club option for 2 more years is not really charity but a down payment for a true and loyal Celtic's future.  If Powe isn't able to come back and retires, then just call this payment to Powe a gesture of goodwill, really much, much less than it's going to cost the Celtics in negative publicity to defend their decision to all the disgruntled Celtic fans who are unhappy with this treatment of Powe. 

I don't care if Yao isn't resigned due to his injury....he's already made many more millions in his short career and in China, he'll be able to live like a king for years to come. Like I've said, this is chump change for the Celtics and to do a disservice to a fine young man like Powe is really being pennywise and pound foolish, IMHO.  The Celtics should have done the right thing, not from a business perspective, but from a human perspective.  Here's wishing Mr Powe all the best in his future endeavors.

[Eja117]

guys, just because they didnt offer him a qualifying offer, doesnt mean that they arent going to bring him back at some point.

people need to relax.  If they offered him the QO (which would be overpaying) and he played in 10 total games this year, everyone would freak out that they didnt do enough in the offseason to build the bench.  RELAX.  let them build the best team that they can.  If leon offers them more than a FA can, they will sign him.

DA has a responsibility to his bosses and Celts fans to make sure Powe can physically play basketball at a reasonable level before he offers him an NBA contract. If just liking a guy was a reason to be on a roster than Larry would still be with the team, but it can't be that way. Look at what happened after TA snapped his ACL. Powe has done this, what, three times now?
This is the risk any athlete takes. Look at Yao. They aren't going to resign him if he can't play.
I'm willing to play hard too, but that doesn't mean I'm owed an NBA contract if I can't play at an NBA level

In life, whether it's business or personal, you try to do what is right. Sure, maybe Ainge did what he thought was right from a business standpoint and half the posters on this blog will agree with him. But for some reason, the other half of the posters on this blog don't agree with Ainge.....this is unsettling enough to them to even send out a petition to management calling for bringing Powe back.  Signing Powe to a one year contract with an club option for 2 more years is not really charity but a down payment for a true and loyal Celtic's future.  If Powe isn't able to come back and retires, then just call this payment to Powe a gesture of goodwill, really much, much less than it's going to cost the Celtics in negative publicity to defend their decision to all the disgruntled Celtic fans who are unhappy with this treatment of Powe. 

I don't care if Yao isn't resigned due to his injury....he's already made many more millions in his short career and in China, he'll be able to live like a king for years to come. Like I've said, this is chump change for the Celtics and to do a disservice to a fine young man like Powe is really being pennywise and pound foolish, IMHO.  The Celtics should have done the right thing, not from a business perspective, but from a human perspective.  Here's wishing Mr Powe all the best in his future endeavors.

I don't believe in "right" in pro sports. If Powe had outperformed his salary range he wouldn't have given a huge discount to the Celts out of loyalty. He would have done what BBD is doing.
Second it's not "right" to say to other players like Hudson "even though you can play and this other person can't you won't get a shot despite how hard you have worked".

What if we get into the playoffs and it's a 7 game series with the Cavs and we sorely need inside scoring, rebounding, and defense and we don't have it because Powe is taking up a roster spot but can't play? Is it "right" to sacrifice the rest of the team's achievement because Powe needed a roster spot because people liked him?

And last Celts fans liked him because he was good. If he had worked just as hard, but produced as much as say Pruitt fans would be fine with his release.  I'm happy he was good. I liked him. But I want the team to win. Not at all costs. I don't want them to give out steroids or sledge hammer Kobe's knee, but I want roster spots based on ability, not likeablity. It's not a popularity contest.

[tommym96]

absolutely add my name

[BASS_THUMPER]

powe pimpin deserves his spot

he earned it

[rondofan9]

Add My Name Too Love the Dude..

[Roy Hobbs]

I just saw the front page and the comments attributed to Danny, and I'm completely bummed.  With flotsam like Hudson, Giddens, Tony, etc., on the roster, it's disappointing that we can't find any sort of place for Powe.

Uh, doesn't one follow from the other? The more guaranteed contracts you give to non contributers, the less charity cases you can support.

Considering Powe might end up flotsam, I'm not losing any sleep about not giving him payroll money. If we want to be charitable, give him a job that doesn't eat up a roster spot.

It is also obvious that the only way signing him makes sense is if it is a minimum deal at this point, not a qualifying offer.

Hudson isn't a guaranteed contract, and Pruitt isn't, either.  Tony and Giddens are expiring (if the team elects not to pick up Giddens' option), so they should be moveable.

[Tnerb02]

Add my name to the list. Powe is my hero.

[BrickJames]

Dear Celtics ownership and management:
  As a Celtics season ticket holder, I whole-heartedly stand by your decision to not re-sign Mr Powe.  While a great guy on and off the court, your decision to not resign a one-dimensional undersized forward with 3 ACL surgeries in the past 6 years is only common sense for building a successful team for 2009-10 and beyond.

[celts34pats55]

I really hope this is just similar to what happened with TA last year, where we ultimately brought him back. Either way, count me in on this petition. As others have said, he's not just a class act, but he's a very solid, underrated player. Yes, he's a little inconsistent, but he always had those games where all of a sudden he put others on his back and really helped lead us to victory (see 2008 NBA Finals, game 2). BRING BACK LEON!!!

[winsomme]

I agree fully with the sentiment of this post. I love Leon Powe, I think most fans do, he's just a great guy and somebody who played a critical role in winning at least one game in the Finals. If it's true that Ainge won't sign him "at least" until he recovers from knee surgery, then I consider it unacceptable. There's no reason to be that cold about a player who has helped you win a championship, especially one who has only been in the league three years on minimum salaries.

However, if Danny is simply waiting until the end of the summer, after we've made all our moves, to make a decision, I frankly understand it. It's sort of like the Sam Cassell situation last year. He wasn't a priority because it doesn't make sense to give guaranteed money to a guy if you don't know whether you'll have a roster spot for him. Ultimately, we signed Cassell at the very end of the offseason when it was apparent there was nobody else we were going to acquire, and we had a roster spot. If that's Ainge's rationale in the case of Powe, I get it 100%.

I understand there's an argument about giving him a contract now and if we don't have a roster spot later, well, we can waive Leon, and still give him that money to show our appreciation. If all the money would just go to Leon, I'd be fine with that. But since we'd have to give an equivalent amount to the league - well, why should the league's dregs get to share any money that we were just giving out of good will for Leon? The team can just donate that money to his charitable foundations (if that is within the rules of the CBA).

I also understand the sentiment that a guy like Gabe Pruitt or JR Giddens has no business getting a roster spot over Leon. I agree. (I would also include Tony Allen in that group, but the fact is he has utility as a $2.5 mil expiring deal; waiving him would cost the team $5 mil and a trade chip so I'd have to put him ahead of Powe even though I really really hate Tony Allen and really really like Leon Powe.) But I'll wait to see the 15 men who made the roster over Leon before passing judgment on the decision.

And I fully understand, and even support, the decision not to extend a qualifying offer. There was no utility to a QO. First, as I said above, we may be forced to waive him anyway. Second, the QO would likely be for more than we could get Powe for. Third, the QO is only for one year. If we sign Powe, it would have to include a team option for a second year, where we support him and help him with his recovery, but get a benefit from that - a potentially fully healthy Leon Powe on a low money contract in 2010-11. No reason to give a one year deal at more money than you need to pay for at least a half year of recovery from surgery and no guarantee that you keep him for another year if he comes back strong.

For that reason, I will reserve judgment on demanding an immediate signing of Powe until I see what else we do. If there are 15 guys I don't want to let go of, I will have to respect Danny's decision. If, though, Gabe Pruitt or JR Giddens is on that roster and Leon isn't, I'll be supremely disappointed.

TP. We need more quality posts like this.

Let's add signing Robert Swift to a contract instead of Leon to the list of disappointing potential moves.

not that i have ANYTHING against Swift, but you can't tell me that he is any less of a risk (or a less dicey use of a roster spot) than signing Leon in the hopes that he comes back the second half of the season.

[celts34pats55]

I agree fully with the sentiment of this post. I love Leon Powe, I think most fans do, he's just a great guy and somebody who played a critical role in winning at least one game in the Finals. If it's true that Ainge won't sign him "at least" until he recovers from knee surgery, then I consider it unacceptable. There's no reason to be that cold about a player who has helped you win a championship, especially one who has only been in the league three years on minimum salaries.

However, if Danny is simply waiting until the end of the summer, after we've made all our moves, to make a decision, I frankly understand it. It's sort of like the Sam Cassell situation last year. He wasn't a priority because it doesn't make sense to give guaranteed money to a guy if you don't know whether you'll have a roster spot for him. Ultimately, we signed Cassell at the very end of the offseason when it was apparent there was nobody else we were going to acquire, and we had a roster spot. If that's Ainge's rationale in the case of Powe, I get it 100%.

I understand there's an argument about giving him a contract now and if we don't have a roster spot later, well, we can waive Leon, and still give him that money to show our appreciation. If all the money would just go to Leon, I'd be fine with that. But since we'd have to give an equivalent amount to the league - well, why should the league's dregs get to share any money that we were just giving out of good will for Leon? The team can just donate that money to his charitable foundations (if that is within the rules of the CBA).

I also understand the sentiment that a guy like Gabe Pruitt or JR Giddens has no business getting a roster spot over Leon. I agree. (I would also include Tony Allen in that group, but the fact is he has utility as a $2.5 mil expiring deal; waiving him would cost the team $5 mil and a trade chip so I'd have to put him ahead of Powe even though I really really hate Tony Allen and really really like Leon Powe.) But I'll wait to see the 15 men who made the roster over Leon before passing judgment on the decision.

And I fully understand, and even support, the decision not to extend a qualifying offer. There was no utility to a QO. First, as I said above, we may be forced to waive him anyway. Second, the QO would likely be for more than we could get Powe for. Third, the QO is only for one year. If we sign Powe, it would have to include a team option for a second year, where we support him and help him with his recovery, but get a benefit from that - a potentially fully healthy Leon Powe on a low money contract in 2010-11. No reason to give a one year deal at more money than you need to pay for at least a half year of recovery from surgery and no guarantee that you keep him for another year if he comes back strong.

For that reason, I will reserve judgment on demanding an immediate signing of Powe until I see what else we do. If there are 15 guys I don't want to let go of, I will have to respect Danny's decision. If, though, Gabe Pruitt or JR Giddens is on that roster and Leon isn't, I'll be supremely disappointed.

Great post, and I felt this way this morning as well. But then I heard the interview Powe gave, where he supposedly said Ainge told him "good luck with another team." That's what really got to me.

[guava_wrench]

Another thing to remember, if Baby is coming back, we don't need to continue the undersized frontcourt that we have had coming off the bench. Let's get a real backup center.

If Powe hadn't been injured, we still might have let him walk. Why are we now forced to sign him when he can't even perform?