Ainge on TA

[Jon]

It could be a minutes thing, though as some already said, it's not like he's gonna see a ton more minutes behind Mayo and Gay. 

Even more concerning, apparently Tony leaving isn't part of Danny's master stroke.  Maybe he doesn't have anything lined up.  Not to say he won't line something up down the road, but the idea that he let Tony go because he had Josh Howard (or someone else lined up) doesn't seem to be the case. 

[bballee]

I agree with Birdbrain, Ainge offered 2 yrs, Memphis 3.  I would have been on board with 2 but agree with declining to offer 3.

[WBrownTrophy]

With more minutes he can be a decent offensive player (14ppg).

From a guard who can't hit the rim from outside 10 feet? Don't hold your breath.

Allen used to shoot the occasional jump shot and three pointer early in his career, and even though the shot was funky it made him a better player. He shot slightly above .300 back then, which is not going to wow you, but compared to the zero makes last season, it's telling.

Tony Allen is strictly an offensive garbage man at this stage of this career, and if the Grizzlies plan to start him, this may end up being a thud of epic proportions... as much as anything in Memphis can be epic in NBA terms.

It could be that Tony thinks that he can be a productive offensive player if given more minutes. Think back to 2006-2007 when PP was hurt and TA took over as one of their primary scorers. He scored 20+ on a couple occasions...before the knee injury....who knows how he would have played out had he not gotten hurt. You can tell how much better he plays when given a little confidence. That said I always cringed whenever TA touched the ball in the finals.

[Change]

A 2 who cannot make a jumper to save his life? Really?

Gotta love that Chris Wallace.

 

A 2 who made Kobe's & Lebron's life hell in the playoffs. A 2 who can play/guard 3 positions. A 2 who was a good soldier for 6 years. Appreciate Tony for what he was, and not for what you wanted him to be. No wonder why he chose to **** here. I would too.

I guarantee you this: Tony will be a double figure scorer in Memphis 10ppg-15ppg. With more freedom & offense with less focus on the big3, Tony will put numbers for Memphis. And solidify their D.

[incoherent]

Mayo’s been saying he wants to be a PG, so i’d do something like this...

STARTERS
PG- Mayo
SG- TA
SF- Gay
PF- Randolph
C - Gasol

BENCH
PG- Conley
 C - Thabeet
 W- Henry
SG- Dominique Jones

I think it’s worth a shot. Neither OJ or TA are PGs but both can handle the ball decently.
 

TA definitely can not handle the ball decently.

Other then that I liked your analysis, their starting line up isn't that bad for being Memphis.

[Bankshot]

A 2 who cannot make a jumper to save his life? Really?

Gotta love that Chris Wallace.

 

A 2 who made Kobe's & Lebron's life hell in the playoffs. A 2 who can play/guard 3 positions. A 2 who was a good soldier for 6 years. Appreciate Tony for what he was, and not for what you wanted him to be. No wonder why he chose to **** here. I would too.

I guarantee you this: Tony will be a double figure scorer in Memphis 10ppg-15ppg. With more freedom & offense with less focus on the big3, Tony will put numbers for Memphis. And solidify their D.

And we'll be sorry that he's gone when we don't get anyone who can defend on his level.

[kozlodoev]

I guarantee you this: Tony will be a double figure scorer in Memphis 10ppg-15ppg. With more freedom & offense with less focus on the big3, Tony will put numbers for Memphis. And solidify their D.

And I guarantee you Memphis will not make the playoffs.

[KCattheStripe]

I guarantee you this: Tony will be a double figure scorer in Memphis 10ppg-15ppg. With more freedom & offense with less focus on the big3, Tony will put numbers for Memphis. And solidify their D.

And I guarantee you Memphis will not make the playoffs.

I guarantee you're wrong.

[Mr October]

It could be a minutes thing, though as some already said, it's not like he's gonna see a ton more minutes behind Mayo and Gay. 

Even more concerning, apparently Tony leaving isn't part of Danny's master stroke.  Maybe he doesn't have anything lined up.  Not to say he won't line something up down the road, but the idea that he let Tony go because he had Josh Howard (or someone else lined up) doesn't seem to be the case. 

Yeah, If something doesn't go down this week with the Sheed contract, I'm abandoning the "something was lined up and its OK to loose Tony" idea.

I still think something will come of the sheed contract though. but it may be unrelated to letting Tony Walk. 

[libermaniac]

And we'll be sorry that he's gone when we don't get anyone who can defend on his level.

Fortunately, Avery Bradley may be that guy.  He's 6-3 with a 6-7 wingspan to Tony Allen's 6-4.  That's not really a size difference.  I don't see Bradley covering Bron, but don't remember that TAdid a ton of that in the playoffs ... did he?  Anyway, Bradley's strength is his one on one defense ... and Tony Allen was a knucklehead on offense, so Bradley couldn't be much worse.  I'll be glad to see the kid get some minutes.

[Mr October]

And we'll be sorry that he's gone when we don't get anyone who can defend on his level.

Fortunately, Avery Bradley may be that guy.  He's 6-3 with a 6-7 wingspan to Tony Allen's 6-4.  That's not really a size difference.  I don't see Bradley covering Bron, but don't remember that TAdid a ton of that in the playoffs ... did he?  Anyway, Bradley's strength is his one on one defense ... and Tony Allen was a knucklehead on offense, so Bradley couldn't be much worse.  I'll be glad to see the kid get some minutes.

Good point about Tony on Lebron. Ray did an adequate job there behind Pierce. I really can't wait to see Bradley play. The scouting reports sound great.

Still I can't image he'll be ready to handle all the tricks that Kobe, Wade, etc have in their arsenal.

[vinnie]

And we'll be sorry that he's gone when we don't get anyone who can defend on his level.

Fortunately, Avery Bradley may be that guy.  He's 6-3 with a 6-7 wingspan to Tony Allen's 6-4.  That's not really a size difference.  I don't see Bradley covering Bron, but don't remember that TAdid a ton of that in the playoffs ... did he?  Anyway, Bradley's strength is his one on one defense ... and Tony Allen was a knucklehead on offense, so Bradley couldn't be much worse.  I'll be glad to see the kid get some minutes.

Avery Bradley will not be able to guard Lebron, will not be able to guard Kobe, and probably will not be able to guard Wade. He is an undersized 2-guard, big wingspan or not.

[Change]

I guarantee you this: Tony will be a double figure scorer in Memphis 10ppg-15ppg. With more freedom & offense with less focus on the big3, Tony will put numbers for Memphis. And solidify their D.

And I guarantee you Memphis will not make the playoffs.

They better make the playoffs or else $82mil on Rudy was wasted. Tony will help them but he is not the $82mil guy. Big Pressure is on Rudy. He needs to propel his team, if he wants to justify his salary.

[Eeyore III]

TA will not have a single boo directed at him by the home-town fans next season.  Mainly because the Grizzlies play to an empty house every night.     Have you seen it?--pathetic.  Plus no one in Memphis gives a hoot about the Grizzlies.  So the theory that TA may be trying to escape criticism may be valid.

All of you who think TA is going to increase his scoring average next year are crazy.  No one on the floor with OJ, Gay, Z-Bo and Gasol could possibly increase his scoring average.  The opposite is more likely the case: that the Grizzlies got him to be their defensive stopper, and have told him never to take a shot unless he has to.

Since they play no team defense, the Grizz probably figured they'd get some good individual defenders.

[mgent]

With more minutes he can be a decent offensive player (14ppg).

From a guard who can't hit the rim from outside 10 feet? Don't hold your breath.

Allen used to shoot the occasional jump shot and three pointer early in his career, and even though the shot was funky it made him a better player. He shot slightly above .300 back then, which is not going to wow you, but compared to the zero makes last season, it's telling.

Tony Allen is strictly an offensive garbage man at this stage of this career, and if the Grizzlies plan to start him, this may end up being a thud of epic proportions... as much as anything in Memphis can be epic in NBA terms.

I know he can't shoot.  He's an above average slasher and a pretty good finisher.  He might have been an "offensive garbage man" on a team as talented as ours, but if he gets the ball he can hold his own on offense.  His main job is still gonna be on the other end of the floor.