This past trade deadline will prove to be a watershed moment for this team,,,

[csfansince60s]

As much as the losing out on Oden/Durant was which resulted in Ray and KG and #17....as much as losing out on Duncan and getting Billups and Mercer into the hands of Pitino was (Ugh!).....as much as losing Reggie Lewis and Len Bias was as much as getting LBird in another Auerbach coup was...

And the impact is this year and for at least the next two years until KG expires....and probably beyond....

It was obvious from the prolonged swoon after the Christmas day win over Orlando....THIS TEAM NEEDED A CHANGE... It needed to be shaken up, if for no other reason than to make a statement to players that what's been going on is NOT acceptable. But more importantly than change for changes sake for this year (which so many on this board riled against, but was and is obviously needed, because the status quo is NOT acceptable), if Wyc was willing to let Danny take on salary (e.g Hinrich, Salmons, Thomas {expiring} or Jamison with Butler) it would have kept us as contenders until at least KG's contract was done.

Wyc was not willing to let Danny do this, as evidenced by Danny's (really Wyc's) hardline position that we would only give up Ray for a young player and expirings. Who the hell was gonna give us a young stud without making us take on an unattractive contract? No one. Danny couldn't make a deal because Wyc tied his hands with unrealistic conditions for a deal. Wyc obviously decided he got one championship, that was enough money spent. We'll just ride this crew into the ground and not use our big trade chip (Ray's expiring) and try to get Ray on the cheap next year.

This trade deadline was our chance to infuse new, talented blood into this team for this year and for the next two. Wyc wouldn't let Danny do it. If he won't spend any more money on this team, why should we. This is on Wyc almost as much as it's on the players. He figures the fans will keep coming, no matter what the product. Maybe he's right. There's a lot of blind loyalty out there. But I'm having a hard time respecting this team and caring about them, given that they obviously don't care about giving the only thing that fans can really ask for: effort. They and Wyc need to be sent a message.

[FatjohnReturns]

Great post. I do believe Wyc held up the Ray for Butler and Jamison deal.

[buzz]

Great post. I do believe Wyc held up the Ray for Butler and Jamison deal.

And thankfully so.

That wasn't going to solve the riddle.

The truth is, KG is all done and we need to find a way to get a star, not a bunch of expensive complementary players.

We have $30m in expiring contracts in each of the next two seasons and are in very good shape moving forward in terms of our roster flexibility. But it is going to take a while.

[FatjohnReturns]

Great post. I do believe Wyc held up the Ray for Butler and Jamison deal.

And thankfully so.

That wasn't going to solve the riddle.

The truth is, KG is all done and we need to find a way to get a star, not a bunch of expensive complementary players.

We have $30m in expiring contracts in each of the next two seasons and are in very good shape moving forward in terms of our roster flexibility. But it is going to take a while.

"very good shape moving forward in terms of our roster flexibility"

Yea except at that point KG/Pierce/Ray will be done. So what good does it do to have roster flexibility?

[buzz]

So we should have taken a $24m lux tax hit next year for two guys not good enough to help us win a title?

Jamison turns 34 this June and is on the books for two more seasons at $28.5m total.

Oh... and he totally sucks and has never won anywhere.

KG/Pierce/Ray are done anyways. A trade like that doesn't reverse that. It makes it harder to, actually.

We need to make a major move, but not a bad one.

[PLamb]

I had a similar thought the day of the trade deadline

Here's the link:

http://forums.celticsblog.com/index.php?topic=35497.0

While my train of thought was that it would be a watershed moment, it involved more a look back thinking we should have traded Ray and as much as we could of in expiring salaries for future assets

People questioned who was available that Danny could have gotten

People opined that Danny could have tried but just got shot down

But Danny said all along he like the team he had and wasn't going to make any major moves and didn't

And I, like you, think it will cost the team in the future

Was it Wyc's fault over finances or Danny's fault over loyalty to the players he has and his trust in them?

I guess we might never know

But I think if things go really sour here in the near future we will know that the day something could have be done to stop it was trade deadline 2010 and nothing happened

[FatjohnReturns]

So we should have taken a $24m lux tax hit next year for two guys not good enough to help us win a title?

Jamison turns 34 this June and is on the books for two more seasons at $28.5m total.

Oh... and he totally sucks and has never won anywhere.

KG/Pierce/Ray are done anyways. A trade like that doesn't reverse that. It makes it harder to, actually.

We need to make a major move, but not a bad one.

"Jamison turns 34 this June and is on the books for two more seasons at $28.5m total.

Oh... and he totally sucks and has never won anywhere."

Sorry but this is wrong.
Antawn Jamison
2009-10 Statistics
PPG 19.8 RPG 8.60 APG 1.3 EFF + 18.96  
He has only been a pro for 11 years so he has significantly less wear than most 34 year old players.

The real prize would have been Butler. Also the Wizards bought out Big Z so it would be reasonable to think they might have bought out Ray.

[buzz]

I was begging Ainge to trade Ray all offseason, because his contract was the best way to address what was going to be an old team without much depth. There was probably a moment in time where we could have gotten Monta Ellis and Stephen Jackson for him, IMO.

But the trade deadline was full of junk peddlers. You can keep trash like Jamison, KMart, Hinrich and the like.

Oh well... in that case, my preference is to not saddle ourselves down with bad contracts that only hinder our options.

There will be other opportunities.

[buzz]

"Jamison turns 34 this June and is on the books for two more seasons at $28.5m total.

Oh... and he totally sucks and has never won anywhere."

Sorry but this is wrong.
Antawn Jamison
2009-10 Statistics
PPG 19.8 RPG 8.60 APG 1.3 EFF + 18.96  
He has only been a pro for 11 years so he has significantly less wear than most 34 year old players.

The real prize would have been Butler. Also the Wizards bought out Big Z so it would be reasonable to think they might have bought out Ray.

As a quasi-Warriors fan, I have watched the guy's whole career. He is horrible. If they offered him to us for nothing this offseason, I would decline without hesitation.

[FallGuy]

I was begging Ainge to trade Ray all offseason, because his contract was the best way to address what was going to be an old team without much depth. There was probably a moment in time where we could have gotten Monta Ellis and Stephen Jackson for him, IMO.

But the trade deadline was full of junk peddlers. You can keep trash like Jamison, KMart, Hinrich and the like.

Oh well... in that case, my preference is to not saddle ourselves down with bad contracts that only hinder our options.

There will be other opportunities.

Exactly. Once this team fulfills its 09-10 destiny by going out in the first/second round, Danny can begin the rebuild.

[csfansince60s]

We need to make a major move, but not a bad one.

You're right, but the sad part is we got nothing anybody wants. We had it in ray's expiring. Now we don't even have that. Wyc blew it. Danny has always said he would have broken up the original Big Three. I fully believe he would've done the same here. that stuff about "I like this team" that he and Doc spew is nothing but spin and the party line based on the circumstances which Wyc has created and over which danny and doc have no control. Wyc pays the bills including D and D's salaries. He's the puppet master.

[csfansince60s]

I had a similar thought the day of the trade deadline

Here's the link:

http://forums.celticsblog.com/index.php?topic=35497.0

While my train of thought was that it would be a watershed moment, it involved more a look back thinking we should have traded Ray and as much as we could of in expiring salaries for future assets

People questioned who was available that Danny could have gotten

People opined that Danny could have tried but just got shot down

But Danny said all along he like the team he had and wasn't going to make any major moves and didn't

And I, like you, think it will cost the team in the future

Was it Wyc's fault over finances or Danny's fault over loyalty to the players he has and his trust in them?

I guess we might never know

But I think if things go really sour here in the near future we will know that the day something could have be done to stop it was trade deadline 2010 and nothing happened

TP for that great prophetic post from earlier, P! One thing to especially note about Nate that furthers my argument of it being Wyc and not Danny is that Nate is an expiring. Real coincidence, huh?

[PLamb]

I was begging Ainge to trade Ray all offseason, because his contract was the best way to address what was going to be an old team without much depth. There was probably a moment in time where we could have gotten Monta Ellis and Stephen Jackson for him, IMO.

But the trade deadline was full of junk peddlers. You can keep trash like Jamison, KMart, Hinrich and the like.

Oh well... in that case, my preference is to not saddle ourselves down with bad contracts that only hinder our options.

There will be other opportunities.

Looking back, trading Ray early in the season for a Stephen Jackson and parts package before Curry had his coming out party and the Warriors still thought Monte Ellis was a PG might have been the best trade Danny could have made this year

Capt Jack is a maniac but he's someone who would have added a spark and you never know who else Danny might have been able to pry away from GSW when they were desperate to get rid of Jackson

[FatjohnReturns]

uh huh

"Jamison turns 34 this June and is on the books for two more seasons at $28.5m total.

Oh... and he totally sucks and has never won anywhere."

Sorry but this is wrong.
Antawn Jamison
2009-10 Statistics
PPG 19.8 RPG 8.60 APG 1.3 EFF + 18.96  
He has only been a pro for 11 years so he has significantly less wear than most 34 year old players.

The real prize would have been Butler. Also the Wizards bought out Big Z so it would be reasonable to think they might have bought out Ray.

As a quasi-Warriors fan, I have watched the guy's whole career. He is horrible. If they offered him to us for nothing this offseason, I would decline without hesitation.

Uh huh. His last 3 years in Golden State he didnt miss a game. He played in all 82 games and averaged 20 ppg and 7 rpg 1999 thru 2002 and thats horrible? I am having a hard time understanding what your talking about.

[xmuscularghandix]

Great post. I do believe Wyc held up the Ray for Butler and Jamison deal.

Antawn Jamison would have been a horrible decision, Caron was excellent but that contract is NOT WORTH IT. It's bad business.