Well I'm actually really torn on this issue. I love this celtics team and I love this particular core group of players, but at times during the playoffs, watching Ray's shot struggle, watching Pierce disappear for stretches, watching KG disappear for whole games... well it's been tough. When Ray's shot doesn't fall, he really really hurts our offense IMOP. And Ray has become an incredibly streaky shooter at this point in his career. I hate riding streaky shooters, because they can go cold at anytime, including the biggest times (THE NBA FINALS!).
If Danny decides to resign, Ray, and add a piece or two (I would predict Mike Miller); then I'm cool with giving this core unit one more run at a title.
BUT... I do see this offseason as a big opportunity for the Celtics. And if Doc leaves or simply if Danny decides to go another direction (build around RONDO), then here's my plan:
-With Sheed possibly or probably retiring, that is awesome news for our cap situation and gets his next two years off the books.
-Do Not resign Ray
-Tell Pierce that we're rebuilding and that it'd be best for both parties if he opted out and became a FA. If Pierce knew Ray wasn't gonna be resigned, Doc and Sheed were gone and KG was gonna be moved, then he'd definitely opt out.
-Trade KG. I understand some people think this is the most difficult step, but after watching KG play, he definitely still has value to contenders. And next year he'll be a year removed from the surgery and generally players get stronger that year. I know Doc and the Celtics have said they fully expect KG to be healthier next year than he was this year, because he will be further from the surgery. So we trade KG to a contender. A trade to Dallas makes a whole lot of sense to me. Everyone knows Cuban would do anything to get by LA. They could trade us Dampier for KG (as the core parts of the deal, I understand other pieces would be involced), because Dampier's contract for next season isn't guaranteed, so we could trade for him and then cut him and simply get that cap space. Dallas on the other hand, gets KG for free. If they need it, we could throw in a pick or even Perk, but the main idea here is simply to get KG off the books anyway possible. Dallas just seems like the most likely trade partner to me because of Dampier's contract and because of the possibility of a lineup of Kidd, Caron, Marion, Dirk, and KG. If we throw in Perk, I don't see how Dallas would balk at this offer.
-At this point, the ONLY players under contract for next season are Rondo, Big Baby, and Perk (if he's not traded). That sets us up with a ton of cap space. And we can be REAL players in the FA game. Boston is a big market, the Celtics are the most storied franchise in the NBA, and we know Lebron eats that up. After watching these finals, how badly did Lebron want to be in Green going against Kobe in game 7.
- Salary cap is around 56 million I think (not sure on that number)? But then we'd have only about $15-20 mil or so tied up in Rondo, Perk, and Baby. We would have enough to offer two max free agents. And the Celtics would be an attractive place for FA's who want to win and create a legacy. We could get the Bosh-Lebron pairing everyone's been talking about, and convince them to come play with Rondo.
-Lebron and LeBrondo. UNSTOPPABLE in the open court. Imagine a lineup of:
Rondo
FA 2 (Mike Miller? Reddick?)
Lebron
Bosh
Perk
My point is that if Sheed retires, we are really only one KG salary dump away from being big time players in this summer. And that is something Danny definitely knows.
Topic: My Dream Offseason (Read 2811 times)