Celtics will regret not re-signing Tony

[Change]

Whatever the story was behind his departure. Celtics should've done more to keep Tony. They've invested so much in his developments (6years). And to be stingy about not adding they 3rd year at reasonable salary. But Why? The guy had his faults, but he is an incredible talent. Tony was their best man to man defender. That was his niche. Put him against opposing team best player and you forget about it. Tony answered the call every time. Even the greatest Faker himself (KoMe Bryant) sang his praises. Can you expect Pierce & Ray to play effective D and still remain an offensive threat? Guarding Kobe and Lebron took a toll on them in the playoffs last season. And now without Tony, the defensive burden doubles for our stars. That's Why Ron Artest was brought in for that simply fact. To Free KoMe Bryant and divert his energy offensively. Unless if Celtics can find their Ron Artest soon, next season might not be as pleasant even with all the new faces. Celtics will regret letting Tony go.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MSYN4DbituA

[Jon]

I think you're overexaggerating his value.  Here are some numbers for you:

77
51
33
75
46
54

Those are the amount of games that TA has played in each season of his career.  So for all the whining about Marquis being injury-prone, it's not like Tony Allen would've been any less of an injury risk. 

And while he was strong, it wasn't like at 6-4 he was going to solve our problem at small forward. 

And given the addition of Delonte and the possibility that Marquis can have a bounce-back year, it's quite possible that even if TA had come back, he might've lost his rotation spot. 

And if Marquis can sub in for him for the next year or two, what does it really matter?  He's hardly a building block for the future.

I get that the Celtics MAY regret not re-signing him, but it's far from a sure thing.   

[mgent]

I think you're overexaggerating his value.  Here are some numbers for you:

77
51
33
75
46
54

Those are the amount of games that TA has played in each season of his career.  So for all the whining about Marquis being injury-prone, it's not like Tony Allen would've been any less of an injury risk. 

And while he was strong, it wasn't like at 6-4 he was going to solve our problem at small forward. 

And given the addition of Delonte and the possibility that Marquis can have a bounce-back year, it's quite possible that even if TA had come back, he might've lost his rotation spot. 

And if Marquis can sub in for him for the next year or two, what does it really matter?  He's hardly a building block for the future.

I get that the Celtics MAY regret not re-signing him, but it's far from a sure thing.   

He might not be less injury prone than Marquis, but he's definitely better.  I'd say there's about a 50/50 chance he'll make us look stupid for not offering a little more money.

[Change]

@ jon, Give me a 6'4 213lb defensive hawk than 6'6 200lb frail player. I hate to make this Marquis Vs. Tony Thread.

Now that it is. Let me state that Marquis isn't less injury prone. He had his share of injuries every season. And also there were a lot of games Tony received some DNP-Coach's Decision. Tony Allen backcourt would be a lot more disruptive defensively than one that has Marquis Daniels or Delonte West on it.

[CDawg834]

Yeah I can't believe they let Tony Massenburg go either!

[Roy H.]

Eh...  Tony said he was sick of being "overshadowed", or whatever word he used.  He wanted to play in the bright spotlight of Memphis, so more power to him.

I'll mildly miss "Good Tony".  As for "Bad Tony", good riddance.

[j804]

No other gaurds play better man to man D like Tony save for maybe 1 or 2 others ( yeah i said it)

he's feisty we'll definitely miss him id even go as far to say without Tony last year who knows if we even make the finals, he was that huge guarding Lebron Wade etc

i agree fully with the OP see how this year pans out we are not only 1 year older now we got Lebron and D Wade on the same team, im not to thrilled with Ray and Paul covering them alone ( and i dont even want to look at our bench)

[Change]

Eh...  Tony said he was sick of being "overshadowed", or whatever word he used.  He wanted to play in the bright spotlight of Memphis, so more power to him.

I'll mildly miss "Good Tony".  As for "Bad Tony", good riddance.

Is that Perk you speak of? Similar to Tony he was great defender. and BLACKHOLE on the other end. Turnover waiting to happen whenever he touched the ball. That doesn't diminish his impact.

[Who]

It's definitely a possibility ... but so too is Von Wafer regaining the form he showed in Houston or Marquis Daniels getting back to his best basketball.

[Vermont Green]

If not having Tony Allen is our biggest problem this year or even in the discussion of being a problem, then I think that will mean we are having a really good year.

I just don't see a problem.  KG's knee, Rondo's shooting, Pierce getting hurt, Perk's recovery, Shaq being Shaq, ... those could all be problems.  Not having Tony Allen to play 10-15 minutes of inconsistent basketball? I don't see it.

[Celtics17]

Tony Allen will be missed by this team! Not resigning him remings me a lot of the Posey decision. I know you have to think down the road but we also won't have to look too far down the road to see where he would have been valuable to us, like in the game 1 against Miami. There is probably some reason the team didn't resign him that we are unaware of besides talent. A guy who can guard Kobe, Lebron, and DWade would come in real handy though.

[Roy H.]

Eh...  Tony said he was sick of being "overshadowed", or whatever word he used.  He wanted to play in the bright spotlight of Memphis, so more power to him.

I'll mildly miss "Good Tony".  As for "Bad Tony", good riddance.

Is that Perk you speak of? Similar to Tony he was great defender. and BLACKHOLE on the other end. Turnover waiting to happen whenever he touched the ball. That doesn't diminish his impact.

Poor ball-handling, non-shooting centers who play great defense are more valuable than poor ball-handling, non-shooting shooting guards who play great defense.  Tony's lack of any sort of mid-range or outside offensive game really limited the Celtics' offense in there, which is one reason the team gave up as many points as it scored when he was in there.

[Change]

Poor ball-handling, non-shooting centers who play great defense are more valuable than poor ball-handling, non-shooting shooting guards who play great defense.  Tony's lack of any sort of mid-range or outside offensive game really limited the Celtics' offense in there, which is one reason the team gave up as many points as it scored when he was in there.

No, second unit as a whole got outscored a lot last season. Rasheeed was terrible, Baby was terrible, Marquis was terrible............. But back to the topic. For Pierce & Ray sake, Tony should've been re-signed. With his departure, who now guards Wade, JJ, Lebron, Kobe? Sooner than Later Celtics will find, when they run wild against the Celtics.

[KungPoweChicken]

As bad as Tony was on offense, Perkins was twice as bad.

[KungPoweChicken]

Anyway, I agree with the OP that TA's presence will be missed. He was one of the best on ball defenders in the league. He had perfect size for Wade and Kobe. And by all accounts, his teammates like him.

On the other hand, I think it was clear that DA wanted to go in a different direction with the second unit (shooters). I like the idea, and I will be happier if we can get a good defending small forward at the deadline. If West has his head on straight, and the C's can get an adequate small forward with good defensive tools, West's shooting and the size of the hypothetical small forward will negate TA's defense.