More on Leon...

[indeedproceed]

The Celtics have paid Tony Allen for more than a year for rehabbing with all his injuries.  He has been on the injured list more than he has played for his entire time here. 

TP, excellent point.

I don't think that our roster spots are as sacred as Danny is making them sound. even our 12th man will probably ride the bench 98% of the time, and there are 3 more spots open. So we should keep Lester Hudson on retainer and let Leon go? Gimme a break, man.

[Bankshot]

The Celtics have paid Tony Allen for more than a year for rehabbing with all his injuries.  He has been on the injured list more than he has played for his entire time here. 

But wasn't he already under contract?

[Fafnir]

The Celtics have paid Tony Allen for more than a year for rehabbing with all his injuries.  He has been on the injured list more than he has played for his entire time here. 

But wasn't he already under contract?

Exactly. I'm all for giving Powe a minimum deal, but only after the impact FAs has shook out.

[rondohondo]

Enough with this. Danny took a chance on Leon coming out of college. The rest of the NBA GM's could have drafted him and gave him a chance, but no one other than Danny did. He has earned close to 2 MIL for his career, much more than any of us fans will likely see in our lifetime . This is not a charity and I am sure Leon can get by on the money he has earned for quite a while. There is much more important things than Leon Powe getting paid hundred of thousands of dollars when it is not even clear he will ever be able to be an effective in the NBA again. This is the guys 3rd ACL injury. come on lets get real and worry about more important cause with our petitions , other than being worried if a millionaire athlete get paid when he is not under contract. If he rehabs and is able to preform at the NBA level again , I am sure he will get another chance with some.

[winsomme]

Enough with this. Danny took a chance on Leon coming out of college. The rest of the NBA GM's could have drafted him and gave him a chance, but no one other than Danny did. He has earned close to 2 MIL for his career, much more than any of us fans will likely see in our lifetime . This is not a charity and I am sure Leon can get by on the money he has earned for quite a while. There is much more important things than Leon Powe getting paid hundred of thousands of dollars when it is not even clear he will ever be able to be an effective in the NBA again. This is the guys 3rd ACL injury. come on lets get real and worry about more important cause with our petitions , other than being worried if a millionaire athlete get paid when he is not under contract. If he rehabs and is able to preform at the NBA level again , I am sure he will get another chance with some.

Powe was drafted by DEN I believe...

and the "he earned more than I ever will" argument just doesn't resonate with me. He earned more than you (or me for that matter) because he is a professional basketball player.

as for the "choose a better cause" angle, I think you should look a little more into what Leon does in terms of working in impoverished communities. This guy gives back big time.

he should be back on this team for a whole host of reasons with one of them being that he is actually a really good player...

[Drucci]

Wow, these quotes from Leon hurt even more. [dang], Danny better give him a spot in this roster before the summer ends.

[johnnyrondo]

Wow, these quotes from Leon hurt even more. [dang], Danny better give him a spot in this roster before the summer ends.

Really makes me doubt Danny. It's not like the 80's where you only had 12 roster spots. We have 15 roster spots. And it's not like Powe doesn't know how to rehab, or that Powe isn't a good influence to have around, or that he wants big bucks. Name me a 15th man on any team that has a better chance than Leon of contributing to the C's in next year's playoffs. weak sauce imo.

[P2]

Leon is definitely a player worth keeping, but management doesn't want to pay him for basically sitting on the sidelines until February. It's just too bad.

[guava_wrench]

The Celtics have paid Tony Allen for more than a year for rehabbing with all his injuries.  He has been on the injured list more than he has played for his entire time here. 

How is this relevant? They didn't sign TA to not play. TA already had a contract.

I keep hearing arguments like this and it makes me wonder how much reason is making it through people's emotions. Talking about past decisions is irrelevant. Our roster is what it is now. We need to fill it wisely.

After the rehab is done, then he can get paid. That is what happens when you are unlucky and get injured at the end of a contract.

[johnnyrondo]

I can't believe the Red Sox signed John Smoltz even though he would be out until June. What a silly signing 

[joeb]

A couple of things:

1. Who's to say that the Celtics will carry 15 players? The tough economy is hitting home in the NBA. Yes, Wyc said he would spend the money to make them a championship contender, but he didn't say he would just give money away. They may spend way into luxury tax territory, but only keep 14 players. If it's the right 14, then it makes sense.

2. They may not want to use up all 15 player slots because they want the flexibility come trading deadline to add a player that gets bought out of his contract. Remember last year they had to clear room for both Marbury and Moore. Maybe they want to save the spot.

Don't get me wrong, I wish Powe was getting a contract. He optimizes what it means to be  Celtic: he's a hard worker, real good kid (check out the charity work he does), and he played a big part in getting us #17 (I still think about that game in the finals where eat ate all the Fakers' lunch - remember him, Phil?). Besides, in a fair world he deserves it. But it's not always a fair world.

Who know, there's a chance he could be player #15 when all said and done. He could be the guy added at the all-start break.

Here's hoping we haven't seen the last of Powe in green and white!!

[guava_wrench]

I can't believe the Red Sox signed John Smoltz even though he would be out until June. What a silly signing 

How much luxury tax did the Sox have to pay? There are so many differences in these situations that it is an inappropriate comparison.

It is also odd to make this comparison since the Red Sox have no qualms cutting bait on players if it is a shrewd financial move.

[guava_wrench]

A couple of things:

1. Who's to say that the Celtics will carry 15 players? The tough economy is hitting home in the NBA. Yes, Wyc said he would spend the money to make them a championship contender, but he didn't say he would just give money away. They may spend way into luxury tax territory, but only keep 14 players. If it's the right 14, then it makes sense.

2. They may not want to use up all 15 player slots because they want the flexibility come trading deadline to add a player that gets bought out of his contract. Remember last year they had to clear room for both Marbury and Moore. Maybe they want to save the spot.

Don't get me wrong, I wish Powe was getting a contract. He optimizes what it means to be  Celtic: he's a hard worker, real good kid (check out the charity work he does), and he played a big part in getting us #17 (I still think about that game in the finals where eat ate all the Fakers' lunch - remember him, Phil?). Besides, in a fair world he deserves it. But it's not always a fair world.

Who know, there's a chance he could be player #15 when all said and done. He could be the guy added at the all-start break.

Here's hoping we haven't seen the last of Powe in green and white!!

Excellent post.

[johnnyrondo]

I can't believe the Red Sox signed John Smoltz even though he would be out until June. What a silly signing 

How much luxury tax did the Sox have to pay? There are so many differences in these situations that it is an inappropriate comparison.

It is also odd to make this comparison since the Red Sox have no qualms cutting bait on players if it is a shrewd financial move.

Smoltz contract and any luxury tax payments will way exceed Powe's contract and luxury tax.

And on your second point, if the Sox, who are all about shrewd financial moves are still smart enough to know that Smoltz won't still be available when he's done rehabbing, so they must sign him ahead of time, you'd hope the C's would be willing to do the same with the 6th star winner. Sox said the signing is about September and October.

[BudweiserCeltic]

I can't believe the Red Sox signed John Smoltz even though he would be out until June. What a silly signing 

How much luxury tax did the Sox have to pay? There are so many differences in these situations that it is an inappropriate comparison.

It is also odd to make this comparison since the Red Sox have no qualms cutting bait on players if it is a shrewd financial move.

Smoltz contract and any luxury tax payments will way exceed Powe's contract and luxury tax.

And on your second point, if the Sox, who are all about shrewd financial moves are still smart enough to know that Smoltz won't still be available when he's done rehabbing, so they must sign him ahead of time, you'd hope the C's would be willing to do the same with the 6th star winner. Sox said the signing is about September and October.

MLB and NBA systems are so different that the comparison between the situations is poor crap. Signing Smoltz is quite irrelevant to roster space. Roster space in MLB is not a valued commodity.

In the NBA, with no farm system and with only 15 roster spots available (wether they play or not), it's a very high commodity.