Why can't Boston attract a Tier 1 Free Agent?!

[guava_wrench]

I think a lot of it has to do with BOS having the reputation for being a racist town.  Now I've grown up and lived in suburban Boston my entire life and never really sensed any justification for such a reputation.  But when Brian Scalabrine draws the biggest cheers (by far) it tells you something.

I don't think that it makes the fans racist for cheering for scal. They are actually mocking him and cheering for him at the same time. It's like the guy from the local bar playing for the c's it's just funny to see.

Let's be honest. Scal looks goofy when he walks. Heck, even when he stands still.

[Redz]

How many have the Celtics actually pursued might be the better question.

Dominique Wilkins is probably the biggest I can think of.

But really, the Celts of the 80's brought in Hall of Famers through the draft and trades.  They had no need for tier 1 free agents.

After that they were woefully bad and stuck with Reggie Lewis' contract. 

They spent big money on Antoine and Pierce to keep them here, but I really don't remember even going after that many big names, so it's not like guys were choosing not to come here.

[indeedproceed]

To turn this away from the whole alleged racism, Boston isn't exactly the sexiest town. Think Paul Pierce would've chosen to get picked by the C's? Rondo? Baby?

The winters are harsh, the summers are wet, and the perception is that everyone there is white and Irish. That's the over-generalization. 

If a player comes to Boston willingly, they come because they want to win, and that is a recent thing. History is cool and everything, and every top basketball player says they're a student of the game, but come on. Nobody wants to go to Boston because Bill Russell, Larry Bird, etc have played there.

The best thing the Celtics have going for them regarding FA's is excellence on the court. If you tell a millionaire "You can play for Boston and do mediocrly, or you can play for Miami and do mediocrly, I imagine the queue starts in South Beach.

Minnesota, Toronto, and Detroit have similar problems. Milwaukee's not getting Kevin Durant. If you're a cold city that isn't New York City, you're gonna need another gimmick besides history.

That said, I think Shaq, Sheed, Joe Smith, Jermaine, they're helping to change the paradigm.

You notice that Boston hasn't failed to resign a major free agent in what..20 years? Show them they can win, show them a team that has a locker room that goes about its business, and people want to stay.

[Edgar]

How many have the Celtics actually pursued might be the better question.

Dominique Wilkins is probably the biggest I can think of.

But really, the Celts of the 80's brought in Hall of Famers through the draft and trades.  They had no need for tier 1 free agents.

After that they were woefully bad and stuck with Reggie Lewis' contract. 

They spent big money on Antoine and Pierce to keep them here, but I really don't remember even going after that many big names, so it's not like guys were choosing not to come here.

Rojos is a little late 4 u

lol


Yes thats truew they spend a lot and dont want to get over a dime
so no way to go after a free agent N style, p.s. that doesnt work either

so its tough to define if that was a curse or a bless

[Edgar]

and just for the record

Pierce and toine destroy the paradigm

[indeedproceed]

I think a lot of it has to do with BOS having the reputation for being a racist town.  Now I've grown up and lived in suburban Boston my entire life and never really sensed any justification for such a reputation.  But when Brian Scalabrine draws the biggest cheers (by far) it tells you something.

I don't think that it makes the fans racist for cheering for scal. They are actually mocking him and cheering for him at the same time. It's like the guy from the local bar playing for the c's it's just funny to see.

Let's be honest. Scal looks goofy when he walks. Heck, even when he stands still.

I know I loved him in Boston Public and The War At Home.

[Redz]

Rojos is a little late 4 u

no doubt

buenos noches

[Edgar]

Rojos is a little late 4 u

no doubt

buenos noches

Have good dreams with rings and clovers.
s

[jdub1660]

At 1st I completely agreed with the OP. I still feel we miss out on alot of the free agents b/c they don't like the weather ie. they prefer the big Hollywood cities like LA and NYC.

Where I disagree now is that fact that this team for the past 30 years has been very traditional and loyal to its stars, Pierce, Toine, the original Big 3 and now KG and Ray and Rondo. A true star comes here to win a ring, they're kept here and resigned for years. There's no cap room for the Amare and Melo and LeBrons.

In a fantasy league, or 2k11, you could make it happen. Pick up free agents for Mid lvl exp and trade junk for Lebron etc. It's possible. And in a perfect world, LeBron and free agents of the future like him will understand they make more money on endorsements and coming to a stud team to win rings makes more sense. Come here for MLE and play for a few years. Then cash in. Boston could be just as bad as LAL with the lack of concern for luxury tax. Pay the players w/e and win back to backs

[guava_wrench]

At 1st I completely agreed with the OP. I still feel we miss out on alot of the free agents b/c they don't like the weather ie. they prefer the big Hollywood cities like LA and NYC.

Where I disagree now is that fact that this team for the past 30 years has been very traditional and loyal to its stars, Pierce, Toine, the original Big 3 and now KG and Ray and Rondo. A true star comes here to win a ring, they're kept here and resigned for years. There's no cap room for the Amare and Melo and LeBrons.

In a fantasy league, or 2k11, you could make it happen. Pick up free agents for Mid lvl exp and trade junk for Lebron etc. It's possible. And in a perfect world, LeBron and free agents of the future like him will understand they make more money on endorsements and coming to a stud team to win rings makes more sense. Come here for MLE and play for a few years. Then cash in. Boston could be just as bad as LAL with the lack of concern for luxury tax. Pay the players w/e and win back to backs

Which big FA went to NYC before Amare?

One problem is that most big FA re-sign.

[EJPLAYA]

EJ, why are you always so angry and confrontational? Lol.

I'll do you one better: KG came here. No, he wasn't a free agent at the time, but he had the power to reject the trade. He didn't. And might I add, we signed him to a pretty hefty extension to help the trade to go through showing that if we have the money to spend and the opportunity is there we can attract big players.

He says confrontationally... Insulting someone and putting LOL behind it doesn't quite make personal insults okay. I'm not sure you where you are reading in my post that I insulted someone or was confrontational. I asked a question that if we are putting all our eggs in the "bring in a couple top tier free agents to play with Rondo" basket after these guys are gone, aren't we being a little presumptive since no big free agents have ever come here?

KG first of all turned down coming here and when he got the full court press from Pierce, Ray Allen was signed here, and there weren't any better options out there he decided to. Yes I think he is glad he did after the fact, but that wasn't his #1 option. If he had complete control it's unlikely he would have.

[EJPLAYA]

Also, for whatever it's worth, we've done okay with attracting Tier 2 free agents.  Rasheed was probably the most coveted mid-level free agent last year, and he had his pick of contenders to go to (San Antonio, Orlando, etc.)  He chose Boston.  Jermaine O'Neal did the same thing this past off-season.

At the very least, that shows that we can compete with other cities when it comes to attracting free agents.  When the money is even, guys have chosen to come here.

I don't disagree with this at all. I think we are destined to be a Tier 2 free agent market. I see us getting the same situation Chicago did in the offseason and instead of getting a Lebron and Bosh, getting  Boozer and Kyle Korver.

If we don't get at least 1 superstar level player to play with Rondo and a Tier 2 player or two to go along with them, we aren't going to win anything. Historically speaking I just don't see that happening. I think the best thing that we could do to increase our chances of competing for a title would be to trade Rondo and filler for a low draft pick and a couple Tier 2 guys and hope you draft the superstar. Otherwise I think we return to the 90's again. Pretending that someone of Tier 1 status will come here when history shows otherwise is kind of futile.

[Greenbean]

At 1st I completely agreed with the OP. I still feel we miss out on alot of the free agents b/c they don't like the weather ie. they prefer the big Hollywood cities like LA and NYC.

Where I disagree now is that fact that this team for the past 30 years has been very traditional and loyal to its stars, Pierce, Toine, the original Big 3 and now KG and Ray and Rondo. A true star comes here to win a ring, they're kept here and resigned for years. There's no cap room for the Amare and Melo and LeBrons.

In a fantasy league, or 2k11, you could make it happen. Pick up free agents for Mid lvl exp and trade junk for Lebron etc. It's possible. And in a perfect world, LeBron and free agents of the future like him will understand they make more money on endorsements and coming to a stud team to win rings makes more sense. Come here for MLE and play for a few years. Then cash in. Boston could be just as bad as LAL with the lack of concern for luxury tax. Pay the players w/e and win back to backs

Which big FA went to NYC before Amare?

One problem is that most big FA re-sign.

Exactly.

This summer was an anomally. How many teir 1 guys actually make it to unrestricted free agency? NBA teams are generally built through drafts and trades. This offseason was nuts.

It looks now like we will actually have cap space in 2012. If someone big is out there we will certainly be in the running to get him. I understand the question by the OP and it is a good discussion. It just so happens that the past 30 years we have never been in position to sign anyone big. In the 80's Red wheeled and dealed to build a great roster. In the 90s we were a terribly managed team which took on a lot of bad contracts. And now Danny is wheeling and dealing like Red to build his teams.

[BballTim]

Also, for whatever it's worth, we've done okay with attracting Tier 2 free agents.  Rasheed was probably the most coveted mid-level free agent last year, and he had his pick of contenders to go to (San Antonio, Orlando, etc.)  He chose Boston.  Jermaine O'Neal did the same thing this past off-season.

At the very least, that shows that we can compete with other cities when it comes to attracting free agents.  When the money is even, guys have chosen to come here.

I don't disagree with this at all. I think we are destined to be a Tier 2 free agent market. I see us getting the same situation Chicago did in the offseason and instead of getting a Lebron and Bosh, getting  Boozer and Kyle Korver.

If we don't get at least 1 superstar level player to play with Rondo and a Tier 2 player or two to go along with them, we aren't going to win anything. Historically speaking I just don't see that happening. I think the best thing that we could do to increase our chances of competing for a title would be to trade Rondo and filler for a low draft pick and a couple Tier 2 guys and hope you draft the superstar. Otherwise I think we return to the 90's again. Pretending that someone of Tier 1 status will come here when history shows otherwise is kind of futile.

  I'm not sure we have a tier 1 superstar playing with Rondo right now. We clearly don't have a LeBron or a Wade on the court with him. A couple of all-stars and some really good role players would do the trick.

  Last year we started out 23-5 with a much less than healthy KG and a Ray people were hoping to trade before the deadline and Rondo wasn't playing at the level he is now. We were playing as well as any team in the league.

[StartOrien]

I think Donnie Wahlberg has been too consumed with NKOTB reunion, and hasn't spent enough time recruiting tier 1 talent. You put D Dubs in front of Amare, have him sing a little 'Hangin Tough' and bam, dudes here for 5.9