How are Wyc & Co. escaping the majority of the blame here?

[csfansince60s]

Yah, I know, the players have been playing like dogs since Xmas. Doc's coaching abilities outside of the realm of (over-respecting? or is it fearing? or is it pandering to his veterans?) being a player's coach and the occasional good play call out of time-outs (which have become fewer and farther between, especially with those stupid, ineffective Pierce or Rondo iso's at the end of quarters) stink, especially regarding rotations and in-game strategies and adjustments. And Danny didn't make any significant moves at the trade deadline (I still like the Nate move, but only as a complimentary one and not the only one) to cash in on Ray's contract. While all these things on the surface seem to be the causes of our team's current sad state now and into the future, I think they are actually the result of Wyc & Co.'s posture and business decisions about this team. Let me explain.

How many times from Doc's from Danny's and from Wyc's mouth have the words "I Like This Team!!!!" spewed? From whence do these words come? WYC. Doc has been saying them since Christmas because he has to. Not because Wyc literally tells him to say them, but because he knew that the team that he had at Christmas was most likely the team he was going to war in the playoffs with, so what else could he say?

Danny said those words many times prior to the trade deadline and subsequent to his inaction at the deadline. Again, Why? Some will say it was GM-speak for "No, we're not desperate" so as to not be dealing from a position of weakness before the deadline and covering his butt after the deadline for not making a deal. Danny's position (really Wyc's)before the deadline was that they wanted a young player and expirings for Ray's expiring contract and that they were not interested in taking on any even mildly offensive contracts, and they held to that stance.  In no blankin' universe that I know of, not even in pre-2008 Chris Wallace land, could they have gotten a deal like that. So Wyc sent Danny to war with blanks in his gun "hoping" someone would give up the store. The result: no Butler, no Haywood, no Jamison, no Ty Thomas, no Hinrich, no Salmons, no Hakeem Warrick, no nothing, and this team needed something.

The something it needed was a message to the team, the veteran's especially, that no one was safe: if you play like a chump with a lack of effort, you're gonna get treated like a chump.

This lack of effort has been going on since after the Xmas game in Orlando. A change needed to be made and new blood needed to be infused into our team to shake it up. And by not doing this, this sent the message loud and clear to all, especially those dogging it and who infected others with the same lack of urgency, that the status quo was OK. Great blankin' move, Wyc, because the status quo is not OK.

But it is OK for you Wyc, despite your disgusted look and protestations to the contrary now. You created this situation because you "Like our team" because it was and still is financially expedient to spew that rhetoric, or so you thought. The fans may be angry now, but you kept the pink hats happy by keeping This 3 together, and those who bought season's for this year have already paid for them and their playoff strips. Hopefully for our sake, not yours, you won't be reimbursing those patrons for their tix for the second round and beyond.

And, by the way, Wyc, I hope that you don't still "Like this team" so much that you won't spend the full MLE on reinforcements. Your message of "I Like This Team" forced upon Danny and Doc has further eroded the credibility of the team and their public postures that, I thought reached their lowpoint during the KG injury reports last season. But, I understand. It's all about the bottom line. Keep the public thinking KG is coming back, and there is still hope and they will still spend money. If Doc and Danny spew your party line of "I Like This Team", some people will keep spending the money.....because they want to believe...... and hope is all fans really have.......

[Kiorrik]

On paper, our team looks brilliant.

We're not though.

Wyc & co can only affect the Paper, imo.

I think they do a great job.

[housecall]

I never bought into this statement of the team looking good on paper this season.It looked partially good on paper(imo),the bench never impressed me on/off paper from the start.

[PosImpos]

The team only looks good on paper because of the reputation of the Big 3.  If you look at the roster only in terms of production and efficiency it looks like a solid, perhaps even pretty good team, but nowhere close to a great one.

[Tai]

The something it needed was a message to the team, the veteran's especially, that no one was safe: if you play like a chump with a lack of effort, you're gonna get treated like a chump.

This lack of effort has been going on since after the Xmas game in Orlando. A change needed to be made and new blood needed to be infused into our team to shake it up. And by not doing this, this sent the message loud and clear to all, especially those dogging it and who infected others with the same lack of urgency, that the status quo was OK. Great blankin' move, Wyc, because the status quo is not OK.

I thought a trade was supposed to make the team better.

I don't know if getting a player simply to modify the chemistry was ever gonna work.

Truth is, the best deal out there was probably Butler + Jamison for Ray; better in the present and possibly the "foreseeable" future, and that didn't happen. Oh well. What are you gonna do?

Ray Allen himself has done well. Considering he was the guy who was probably gonna be traded, I can live with that. It's hard for me to say that everyone else would've done better if we had Butler and Jamison instead. I mean, yeah, we'd win more games, but I dunno if I can say we'd have hustled more, or not.

[CelticHooligan3]

The main gripe I have with management is the fact that I beleive KG's injury was A LOT worse then was reported. I still don't think they have fully disclosed all of the meat & potatoes behind it. I think the fans have every right to know what exactly is ailing our superstar & what we can expect of him. I think that minimum amount of info should be the very least we can expect. It's our butts who fill the seats. At least tell us what's going on with our best player. That way we can know what to expect. And better base our opinions & ideas of the expectations of this team.

[csfansince60s]

Ray Allen himself has done well. Considering he was the guy who was probably gonna be traded, I can live with that. It's hard for me to say that everyone else would've done better if we had Butler and Jamison instead. I mean, yeah, we'd win more games, but I dunno if I can say we'd have hustled more, or not.

Tai, I agree with you that Ray has done well. Actually so well that you could call him the best performing of This 3. However, Butler AND Jamison or even Butler and Haywood could have at least given us what Ray has this year and their addition would have kept our window open till KG's contract was up. In adition, the Wizards bought out Z, why not Ray? So potentially, we could have had all three. Wyc did not want to spend the money. His team, his $$, his prerogative, as it is ours to criticize his moves.....or lack thereof

[clover]

Yah, I know, the players have been playing like dogs since Xmas. Doc's coaching abilities outside of the realm of (over-respecting? or is it fearing? or is it pandering to his veterans?) being a player's coach and the occasional good play call out of time-outs (which have become fewer and farther between, especially with those stupid, ineffective Pierce or Rondo iso's at the end of quarters) stink, especially regarding rotations and in-game strategies and adjustments. And Danny didn't make any significant moves at the trade deadline (I still like the Nate move, but only as a complimentary one and not the only one) to cash in on Ray's contract. While all these things on the surface seem to be the causes of our team's current sad state now and into the future, I think they are actually the result of Wyc & Co.'s posture and business decisions about this team. Let me explain.

How many times from Doc's from Danny's and from Wyc's mouth have the words "I Like This Team!!!!" spewed? From whence do these words come? WYC. Doc has been saying them since Christmas because he has to. Not because Wyc literally tells him to say them, but because he knew that the team that he had at Christmas was most likely the team he was going to war in the playoffs with, so what else could he say?

Danny said those words many times prior to the trade deadline and subsequent to his inaction at the deadline. Again, Why? Some will say it was GM-speak for "No, we're not desperate" so as to not be dealing from a position of weakness before the deadline and covering his butt after the deadline for not making a deal. Danny's position (really Wyc's)before the deadline was that they wanted a young player and expirings for Ray's expiring contract and that they were not interested in taking on any even mildly offensive contracts, and they held to that stance.  In no blankin' universe that I know of, not even in pre-2008 Chris Wallace land, could they have gotten a deal like that. So Wyc sent Danny to war with blanks in his gun "hoping" someone would give up the store. The result: no Butler, no Haywood, no Jamison, no Ty Thomas, no Hinrich, no Salmons, no Hakeem Warrick, no nothing, and this team needed something.

The something it needed was a message to the team, the veteran's especially, that no one was safe: if you play like a chump with a lack of effort, you're gonna get treated like a chump.

This lack of effort has been going on since after the Xmas game in Orlando. A change needed to be made and new blood needed to be infused into our team to shake it up. And by not doing this, this sent the message loud and clear to all, especially those dogging it and who infected others with the same lack of urgency, that the status quo was OK. Great blankin' move, Wyc, because the status quo is not OK.

But it is OK for you Wyc, despite your disgusted look and protestations to the contrary now. You created this situation because you "Like our team" because it was and still is financially expedient to spew that rhetoric, or so you thought. The fans may be angry now, but you kept the pink hats happy by keeping This 3 together, and those who bought season's for this year have already paid for them and their playoff strips. Hopefully for our sake, not yours, you won't be reimbursing those patrons for their tix for the second round and beyond.

And, by the way, Wyc, I hope that you don't still "Like this team" so much that you won't spend the full MLE on reinforcements. Your message of "I Like This Team" forced upon Danny and Doc has further eroded the credibility of the team and their public postures that, I thought reached their lowpoint during the KG injury reports last season. But, I understand. It's all about the bottom line. Keep the public thinking KG is coming back, and there is still hope and they will still spend money. If Doc and Danny spew your party line of "I Like This Team", some people will keep spending the money.....because they want to believe...... and hope is all fans really have.......

I don't like the Nate move: Bill Walker would have been the perfect Pierce backup and possible eventual replacement to be grooming for next year.  I'd rather have seen Ray moved for a full-sized player with a future.

[csfansince60s]

I don't like the Nate move: Bill Walker would have been the perfect Pierce backup and possible eventual replacement to be grooming for next year.  I'd rather have seen Ray moved for a full-sized player with a future.

Not cashing Ray's expiring in brought back too many "what could have been "  and missed opportunity bad memories of the past 25 years: the Oden/Durant draft (although I wouldn't trade 17 for both Oden and Durant), the Pitino jinxed Duncan draft (Billups/ Mercer who?) and Reggie and Lenny.

[FallGuy]

I don't like the Nate move: Bill Walker would have been the perfect Pierce backup and possible eventual replacement to be grooming for next year.  I'd rather have seen Ray moved for a full-sized player with a future.

Not cashing Ray's expiring in brought back too many "what could have been "  and missed opportunity bad memories of the past 25 years: the Oden/Durant draft (although I wouldn't trade 17 for both Oden and Durant), the Pitino jinxed Duncan draft (Billups/ Mercer who?) and Reggie and Lenny.

We've been over this again and again.

What are these mythical deals for Ray we should have made?

I wanted him moved too but clearly he didn't have the market value we all assumed.

[guava_wrench]

Why look for someone to blame?

Sometimes things don't work out. Face reality. Even the best efforts can fall flat. I'm not a fan of our blame culture, especially in situations where the owners actually tried. Save that for situations like NJ or the Clippers of past years where management chooses to lose.

No matter what ownership does, there is a chance that it won't work out. When this happens, certain fans will try to cast blame and say why didn't we do X. This faulty reasoning ignores the fact that we can't do all possibilities. Since not all possibilities can be pursued, there will always be an alternative reality from which armchair quarterbacks can launch critiques. In the fan's imagination, they can always second guess because they aren't accountable for any of their opinions.

Opinions like "The result: no Butler, no Haywood, no Jamison, no Ty Thomas, no Hinrich, no Salmons, no Hakeem Warrick, no nothing, and this team needed something" are empty. Why? Because we traded for Nate and it hasn't really helped. There will always be moves that we didn't do, but there is no reason to assume that they would have improved the team.

Just as we see fans conveniently complain that we would be better with Walker than with Nate, we would likely see fans crying a similar message if we traded Ray.

[Cman]

Wyc & Co are the last people on my list of people to blame.
They have gone over and above to pay for quality players.

Frankly, this summer, because of the luxury tax, I didn't expect them to spend anything except money on BBD and then fill out the roster with minimum contract types.  Instead, they spent the full MLE on Sheed and spent the full LLE on Daniels, plus reupped BBD, Allen and House.  They went deep into the luxury tax and deserve nothing but praise for that.

You might disagree with the Sheed and Daniels signings, but (a) that is a separate issue and (b) you have to do more than disagree.  You have to suggest a reasonable alternative that could be wooed to Boston with the same money.

I am a little sick of all the moping and whining here on cblog.  Everyone needs to buck up and deal with what we have here -- a playoff team that will likely get bounced in the second, if not the first round.  What did you expect when Danny traded for a bunch of old dudes, anyway?  We got one championship, and there is still a sliver of a window for us to do it again this year, and probably a sliver of a window for it again next year.  Again... buck up.

[GroverTheClover]

I am a little sick of all the moping and whining here on cblog.  Everyone needs to buck up and deal with what we have here -- a playoff team that will likely get bounced in the second, if not the first round.  What did you expect when Danny traded for a bunch of old dudes, anyway?  We got one championship, and there is still a sliver of a window for us to do it again this year, and probably a sliver of a window for it again next year.  Again... buck up.

Can we sticky this?

[Roy Hobbs]

The team only looks good on paper because of the reputation of the Big 3.  If you look at the roster only in terms of production and efficiency it looks like a solid, perhaps even pretty good team, but nowhere close to a great one.

In hindsight, perhaps.  But coming into the season, you had a team returning that had won 62 games (despite KG missing a large chunk of the season).  You had a blossoming BBD that was coming into his own, and it was expected that Perk and Rondo would continue to improve.  You added Rasheed Wallace and Marquis Daniels, both players who were starters on other teams.

When we wrote articles / did polls on the strength of the team in the off-season, the overwhelming majority of fans were very pleased with the off-season.  On paper, this team looked like the best team in the NBA, and they were playing like it for the first quarter of the season.

Ultimately, that's why I give Wyc a pass.  He spent the money to upgrade the team, and is paying over $10 million in luxury tax.  He relies upon the professionals beneath him (from Danny to Doc to the training staff to the players) to do their jobs to the best of their abilities.  Those under Wyc have failed him thus far, and I can't point the finger upward at him.

Sure, it would feel good to see the owner voice some of the fans' displeasure once in awhile, just to show that he gets it.  However, ultimately his decision not to do so is not something that I'll criticize him for (so long as he isn't endorsing the team's play).

[colincb]

I don't get this blame Wyc angle at all.