The Cs should have signed Powe

[ssspence]

After watching Big Baby horrible rendition of a post game last night, and recently seeing The Cs cut Lester Hudson, I'm reminded how I (like many) felt it was short sighted to shun Leon Powe.

It sounds like his time line remains the All-Star break, which should give him ample time to work back into shape for the playoffs.

We needed roster flexibility, but we had room for Lester and JR Giddens? If we really needed it, we should have just cut JR (having him and Walker on the team is rhetorical anyway). Leon would have been cheap, taken a deal with a team option for next season, and likely stayed with the Cs for the long term.

It was not very strategic to send Leon packing before the summer's moves played themselves out. We sign the guy who likes punching out his buddies on the eve of the season, but spurn the guy who played hurt and further injured himself for the sake of the team? Whatever, that's a little too 'rah rah' -- i just think he would have been a smart sign.....

[dark_lord]

leon has been one of my fav celtics, but i think it was the right move.  he required knee surgery with a history of bad knees in injuries.  as much as i liked him and think his style of play would help the team, it wasnt worth the risk at the time of the signing.  only time will tell if it was a good move bc he has yet to play.

[Roy Hobbs]

Well, the Celtics tried to sign Powe.  Maybe they should have shown him more love, but they offered him the exact same deal Cleveland did:  a year at the minimum, and a team option for a second year.

Powe was miffed that we didn't pick up his qualifying offer.  I can understand Powe's angst, but I also agree with that aspect of Danny's decision.

[nickagneta]

Isn't this rather premature considering Powe hasn't even hit the court yet and we have no idea how the surgery will have effected him?

Just saying that maybe we should see how his reconstructive surgery has effected him before making blanket assumptions regarding exactly what he could have done for this team this year.

Besides, I think Williams has played very well the whole season and Davis has now had two very good games in a row and 3 good games in his last 5 as he rounds into playing shape. I don't see that if all five guys we have at the bigs position are healthy and playing well come February, how Leon signing could have helped this year, especially not knowing what he can contribute given he's coming off major knee surgery.

[ssspence]

Well, the Celtics tried to sign Powe.  Maybe they should have shown him more love, but they offered him the exact same deal Cleveland did:  a year at the minimum, and a team option for a second year.

Powe was miffed that we didn't pick up his qualifying offer.  I can understand Powe's angst, but I also agree with that aspect of Danny's decision.

I don't have the energy to sift through a series of paper articles from last summer, but if I remember correctly, that was the Celtics version and likely came after they told him they needed roster flexibility. Leon's version was he was basically told to Go Fish. Am I right?

[Roy Hobbs]

Well, the Celtics tried to sign Powe.  Maybe they should have shown him more love, but they offered him the exact same deal Cleveland did:  a year at the minimum, and a team option for a second year.

Powe was miffed that we didn't pick up his qualifying offer.  I can understand Powe's angst, but I also agree with that aspect of Danny's decision.

I don't have the energy to sift through a series of paper articles from last summer, but if I remember correctly, that was the Celtics version and likely came after they told him they needed roster flexibility. Leon's version was he was basically told to Go Fish. Am I right?

Here are some relevent quotes:

I told Danny that I would take the one-year deal, but that was it. After (talking to Pagliuca), I didn't call them no more.

Ainge said yesterday that there was considerable discussion within the front office about whether to make Powe a qualifying offer. The executive director of basketball operations also said that he raised the possibility of signing Powe to a veteran's minimum two-year contract with a team option in the second year - the very deal Powe just signed with Cleveland - but that the forward rejected the idea. The Celtics, in turn, weren't interested in bringing back Powe for one year.

``Unfortunately, the way things turned out, Leon took it to mean that we didn't want him back, and that wasn't necessarily the case,'' said Ainge. ``Though we didn't extend him the qualifying offer, we did talk to him about coming back. I told Leon from the beginning that what happened is what I thought would happen - that he'd get a two-year contract with a team option.

In other words, Danny broached the idea of a two-year deal, Leon said he'd take a deal for one year, and the Celtics moved on.  It sounds like both sides could have put a little more effort into this.

[Bankshot]

After watching Big Baby horrible rendition of a post game last night, and recently seeing The Cs cut Lester Hudson, I'm reminded how I (like many) felt it was short sighted to shun Leon Powe.

It sounds like his time line remains the All-Star break, which should give him ample time to work back into shape for the playoffs.

We needed roster flexibility, but we had room for Lester and JR Giddens? If we really needed it, we should have just cut JR (having him and Walker on the team is rhetorical anyway). Leon would have been cheap, taken a deal with a team option for next season, and likely stayed with the Cs for the long term.

It was not very strategic to send Leon packing before the summer's moves played themselves out. We sign the guy who likes punching out his buddies on the eve of the season, but spurn the guy who played hurt and further injured himself for the sake of the team? Whatever, that's a little too 'rah rah' -- i just think he would have been a smart sign.....

Baby actually played well last night and kept the Celtics in the game in the 4th quarter when no one else could do anything.  It was only ONE shot where he got stuffed.  Not sure why you think we need "an injured and can't play" Leon, but Wallace replaces Leon and I don't think you want Leon over Wallace.  Wallace didn't play last night because he was hurt. 

[MBz]

Yeah Ainge ended up making a great move by not signing Powe with the team's injury issues.  We couldn't have wasted a roster spot on him, it's that simple. 

[ssspence]

Isn't this rather premature considering Powe hasn't even hit the court yet and we have no idea how the surgery will have effected him?

Just saying that maybe we should see how his reconstructive surgery has effected him before making blanket assumptions regarding exactly what he could have done for this team this year.

Besides, I think Williams has played very well the whole season and Davis has now had two very good games in a row and 3 good games in his last 5 as he rounds into playing shape. I don't see that if all five guys we have at the bigs position are healthy and playing well come February, how Leon signing could have helped this year, especially not knowing what he can contribute given he's coming off major knee surgery.

I don't think it's premature for 2 reasons:

1) The point of my post is to speculate on Leon's potential value to the team. To say they should have signed him after he starts playing well again is obvious and pointless. What i'm saying is: if you're talking about two guys who can't play (giddens and powe), which would you rather have? I'll take the guy with the potential to play, not the d-league all-star.

2) You mention a lack of need if all 5 of our big are healthy. Well, when was the last time that happened? When was the last time the Cs entire rotation was healthy? In both cases, it was over a year ago. Assuming an old team's health is like assuming Powe can't come back from knee surgery.

Yes, if the 5 big guys we have are totally healthy and fresh, then we won't have a great need for Leon. If not, Leon could be doing for us what he may be doing for one of our likely playoff opponents this spring.

I simply don't understand the ongoing assumption that everyone is going to be fresh come springtime -- like the Cs have a plan for injuries. Haven't we learned anything from last year? Last night I watched 5 tired guys standing around looking at each other with no movement or rhythm throughout the 4th quarter. Didn't it remind you a little bit of last year's failings at the end of the season and in the playoffs?

[Bankshot]

Well, the Celtics tried to sign Powe.  Maybe they should have shown him more love, but they offered him the exact same deal Cleveland did:  a year at the minimum, and a team option for a second year.

Powe was miffed that we didn't pick up his qualifying offer.  I can understand Powe's angst, but I also agree with that aspect of Danny's decision.

I don't have the energy to sift through a series of paper articles from last summer, but if I remember correctly, that was the Celtics version and likely came after they told him they needed roster flexibility. Leon's version was he was basically told to Go Fish. Am I right?

Here are some relevent quotes:

I told Danny that I would take the one-year deal, but that was it. After (talking to Pagliuca), I didn't call them no more.

Ainge said yesterday that there was considerable discussion within the front office about whether to make Powe a qualifying offer. The executive director of basketball operations also said that he raised the possibility of signing Powe to a veteran's minimum two-year contract with a team option in the second year - the very deal Powe just signed with Cleveland - but that the forward rejected the idea. The Celtics, in turn, weren't interested in bringing back Powe for one year.

``Unfortunately, the way things turned out, Leon took it to mean that we didn't want him back, and that wasn't necessarily the case,'' said Ainge. ``Though we didn't extend him the qualifying offer, we did talk to him about coming back. I told Leon from the beginning that what happened is what I thought would happen - that he'd get a two-year contract with a team option.

In other words, Danny broached the idea of a two-year deal, Leon said he'd take a deal for one year, and the Celtics moved on.  It sounds like both sides could have put a little more effort into this.

If I was Ainge, I wouldn't want to pay him for the year he couldn't play either. He's just be paying him to rehab.

[ssspence]

Yeah Ainge ended up making a great move by not signing Powe with the team's injury issues.  We couldn't have wasted a roster spot on him, it's that simple. 

This is a poor argument. We have 3 wasted roster spots -- Lester's (now empty), Giddens' and Walker's. These people do not play for the Celtics ever. You'd rather have Giddens? He's headed to Europe next year...

[BballTim]

After watching Big Baby horrible rendition of a post game last night, and recently seeing The Cs cut Lester Hudson, I'm reminded how I (like many) felt it was short sighted to shun Leon Powe.

It sounds like his time line remains the All-Star break, which should give him ample time to work back into shape for the playoffs.

  If he's like almost every other athlete who injures his knee like that it will be around the 2011 all-star break before his knee fully recovers. He might play before then and "get into shape" but he won't have mobility or explosiveness.

[Bankshot]

Yeah Ainge ended up making a great move by not signing Powe with the team's injury issues.  We couldn't have wasted a roster spot on him, it's that simple. 

This is a poor argument. We have 3 wasted roster spots -- Lester's (now empty), Giddens' and Walker's. These people do not play for the Celtics ever. You'd rather have Giddens? He's headed to Europe next year...

Yes, because Giddens can actually play if needed, Powe can't.

[moiso]

I prefer Leon to Baby and Williams.  I understand Danny not wanting to take the risk, but I agree with sspense that it might be painful if we see Leon performing in the playoffs, while we have Giddens and Walker in uniform.

[nickagneta]

Isn't this rather premature considering Powe hasn't even hit the court yet and we have no idea how the surgery will have effected him?

Just saying that maybe we should see how his reconstructive surgery has effected him before making blanket assumptions regarding exactly what he could have done for this team this year.

Besides, I think Williams has played very well the whole season and Davis has now had two very good games in a row and 3 good games in his last 5 as he rounds into playing shape. I don't see that if all five guys we have at the bigs position are healthy and playing well come February, how Leon signing could have helped this year, especially not knowing what he can contribute given he's coming off major knee surgery.

I don't think it's premature for 2 reasons:

1) The point of my post is to speculate on Leon's potential value to the team. To say they should have signed him after he starts playing well again is obvious and pointless. What i'm saying is: if you're talking about two guys who can't play (giddens and powe), which would you rather have? I'll take the guy with the potential to play, not the d-league all-star.

2) You mention a lack of need if all 5 of our big are healthy. Well, when was the last time that happened? When was the last time the Cs entire rotation was healthy? In both cases, it was over a year ago. Assuming an old team's health is like assuming Powe can't come back from knee surgery.

Yes, if the 5 big guys we have are totally healthy and fresh, then we won't have a great need for Leon. If not, Leon could be doing for us what he may be doing for one of our likely playoff opponents this spring.

I simply don't understand the ongoing assumption that everyone is going to be fresh come springtime -- like the Cs have a plan for injuries. Haven't we learned anything from last year? Last night I watched 5 tired guys standing around looking at each other with no movement or rhythm throughout the 4th quarter. Didn't it remind you a little bit of last year's failings at the end of the season and in the playoffs?

Well, three of the guys are currently playing and playing well, one has a minor toe injury that caused him to miss his first game and will miss just a couple of days. He also is playing well, even if he's not shooting great from three point land. KG was said to have had the ability to be playing if the team really needed him to and is only taking time off to get back to 110% so that he CAN be healthy come year's end.

I happen to think the bigs will all be healthy, not 100% and not having at least some bumps and bruises because those are always going to be there, but healthy come next month.