Tony Allen - a chain of events

[jbsprinter1]

Earlier, someone had commented on TA's importance to the team, and I absolutely agree. While I wish I knew more about what Tony was actually offered, there's no denying his worth right now. Ainge took a risk and failed miserably. But my problem isn't that he took a risk - it's that he didn't learn from previous mistakes. When we let Posey go, we really struggled to find a new suitable backup for Pierce. Then... TA stepped up for us in the playoffs last year. And what does Ainge do? Fails to resign him.

If he resigns TA, we wouldn't have the backup swingman problem, so we wouldn't have traded Perk. By trading Perk and Nate, we destroyed the chemistry as well.

What Ainge failed to realize is that premium big men, perimeter lock-down defenders, and chemistry are all EXTREMELY rare in this league. I understand Ainge's goal when he decided to do the trade, but if you give up all these pieces one by one, there had better be some quality in return. And what do have to show for this? A Euro center, an under-achieving forward, no lock-down defenders, no quality healthy centers off the bench (Krstic is NOT quality), and weakened chemistry.

Absolutely inexcusable by a general manager. Ainge got caught up in the whole "Original Big 3" era and didn't want 10 years of mediocrity. But it was one bonehead move after another, none of which actually helps us in the short or long-term, in my opinion.

I haven't lost faith in this team yet. We're down 2-0 and we're returning home. But if we lose in 4 or 5 games, someone needs to take responsibility because our Big 3 performed too well this year for "age" to be the excuse. And while everyone (the players, coaches) share part of that blame, I think most of it should be directed at Ainge.

You don't break up the core of a team that's in 1st place at the trade deadline. You just don't.

[BballTim]

Earlier, someone had commented on TA's importance to the team, and I absolutely agree. While I wish I knew more about what Tony was actually offered, there's no denying his worth right now. Ainge took a risk and failed miserably. But my problem isn't that he took a risk - it's that he didn't learn from previous mistakes. When we let Posey go, we really struggled to find a new suitable backup for Pierce. Then... TA stepped up for us in the playoffs last year. And what does Ainge do? Fails to resign him.

If he resigns TA, we wouldn't have the backup swingman problem, so we wouldn't have traded Perk. By trading Perk and Nate, we destroyed the chemistry as well.

What Ainge failed to realize is that premium big men, perimeter lock-down defenders, and chemistry are all EXTREMELY rare in this league. I understand Ainge's goal when he decided to do the trade, but if you give up all these pieces one by one, there had better be some quality in return. And what do have to show for this? A Euro center, an under-achieving forward, no lock-down defenders, no quality healthy centers off the bench (Krstic is NOT quality), and weakened chemistry.

Absolutely inexcusable by a general manager. Ainge got caught up in the whole "Original Big 3" era and didn't want 10 years of mediocrity. But it was one bonehead move after another, none of which actually helps us in the short or long-term, in my opinion.

I haven't lost faith in this team yet. We're down 2-0 and we're returning home. But if we lose in 4 or 5 games, someone needs to take responsibility because our Big 3 performed too well this year for "age" to be the excuse. And while everyone (the players, coaches) share part of that blame, I think most of it should be directed at Ainge.

You don't break up the core of a team that's in 1st place at the trade deadline. You just don't.

  There were a boatload of posts claiming that we needed more length at the backup three spot with TA on the roster the last two years.

[GreenNote]

Good points. I admire what Ainge did to bring the title in 08 but let us not forget that there were no expectations back then. Once you win, you can only be successful if you keep winning and I believe DA took quite a few players for granted.

I'm sure it's not easy to be in his position and you have to be ready to gamble and deal with the results.

I haven't given up on this series, after all there have been teams that have come back from 0-2 after losing the first two games on their home floor.

[BC1996]

Simply put, Tony is an extremely talented defender who plays his heart out.  He took his role as a defender extremely seriously, and it almost seems like he lives for the opportunity to defend the best players in the NBA.  Tony is also overconfident at times and it could sometimes hurt on the offensive end of the court, but I always believed the positives outweighed some of the bonehead players.

At the end of the day, Tony wanted the responsibility of guarding LeBron and Wade.  He held himself accountable and didn't ever back down.  Guys like Tony are great for team chemistry and all of his teammates appreciated what he brought to the table.

[Marcus13]

Shoutout to everyone who hated the trade when it was made and stood by it.  People are just now jumping on the bandwagon now lol

[jbsprinter1]

Earlier, someone had commented on TA's importance to the team, and I absolutely agree. While I wish I knew more about what Tony was actually offered, there's no denying his worth right now. Ainge took a risk and failed miserably. But my problem isn't that he took a risk - it's that he didn't learn from previous mistakes. When we let Posey go, we really struggled to find a new suitable backup for Pierce. Then... TA stepped up for us in the playoffs last year. And what does Ainge do? Fails to resign him.

If he resigns TA, we wouldn't have the backup swingman problem, so we wouldn't have traded Perk. By trading Perk and Nate, we destroyed the chemistry as well.

What Ainge failed to realize is that premium big men, perimeter lock-down defenders, and chemistry are all EXTREMELY rare in this league. I understand Ainge's goal when he decided to do the trade, but if you give up all these pieces one by one, there had better be some quality in return. And what do have to show for this? A Euro center, an under-achieving forward, no lock-down defenders, no quality healthy centers off the bench (Krstic is NOT quality), and weakened chemistry.

Absolutely inexcusable by a general manager. Ainge got caught up in the whole "Original Big 3" era and didn't want 10 years of mediocrity. But it was one bonehead move after another, none of which actually helps us in the short or long-term, in my opinion.

I haven't lost faith in this team yet. We're down 2-0 and we're returning home. But if we lose in 4 or 5 games, someone needs to take responsibility because our Big 3 performed too well this year for "age" to be the excuse. And while everyone (the players, coaches) share part of that blame, I think most of it should be directed at Ainge.

You don't break up the core of a team that's in 1st place at the trade deadline. You just don't.

  There were a boatload of posts claiming that we needed more length at the backup three spot with TA on the roster the last two years.

That's probably because Doc never trusted Tony enough to give him a spot in the rotation, so we never got to see if he was a suitable back-up to Pierce until last year's playoffs. Sure, he's not perfect, but after the playoffs, I'm sure more people on this site would have been okay with our back-up swingman situation.

HOWEVER: if your general manager lets your backup swingman go right after his shining moment, then you're forced to go find another back-up. And that's exactly the type of situation that results in "The Trade."

[KungPoweChicken]

Many of the trades Ainge has made have been very spotty. His drafting resume is pretty solid. His trading resume is not, except for when Ray and KG fell into his lap.

I always liked Tony Allen. I don't understand why he wasn't brought back,especially since DA knew that the Celtics would be going through LBJ and Wade in the playoffs. TA is probably the best defensive match up in the league for Wade. I just don't understand why the Celtics organization would pinch pennies on something so important. He, TA, is actually worth more money than what he is making right now.

The Celtics missed big time by not retaining him.

[BC1996]

Shoutout to everyone who hated the trade when it was made and stood by it.  People are just now jumping on the bandwagon now lol

To give you an idea of how I felt, my stomach was in knots and it felt like game 7 of the Finals.  For a moment that wasn't even a game, I don't remember feeling more demoralized as a fan.

[jbsprinter1]

Shoutout to everyone who hated the trade when it was made and stood by it.  People are just now jumping on the bandwagon now lol

I hope you're not calling me out as someone who just started to hate the trade. I was borderline depressed after that trade because it honestly felt like Ainge decided to shut the window himself.

I hated it from the moment it happened. But what I hated even more was the fact that Ainge let Tony go because that's exactly what led to the trade.

[Marcus13]

Shoutout to everyone who hated the trade when it was made and stood by it.  People are just now jumping on the bandwagon now lol

I hope you're not calling me out as someone who just started to hate the trade. I was borderline depressed after that trade because it honestly felt like Ainge decided to shut the window himself.

I hated it from the moment it happened. But what I hated even more was the fact that Ainge let Tony go because that's exactly what led to the trade.

Wasn't aimed at you at all.  I didn't keep track of who was against and who was for it.  But it's funny now how a majority of the board stood by that awful move even going into the playoffs despite our poor play and now all of a sudden people are realizing what a mistake it was

[Roy H.]

We'd be a significantly better team this year with Perk + Tony than we are with Green + Krstic, in my opinion.

[BC1996]

Shoutout to everyone who hated the trade when it was made and stood by it.  People are just now jumping on the bandwagon now lol

I hope you're not calling me out as someone who just started to hate the trade. I was borderline depressed after that trade because it honestly felt like Ainge decided to shut the window himself.

I hated it from the moment it happened. But what I hated even more was the fact that Ainge let Tony go because that's exactly what led to the trade.

Wasn't aimed at you at all.  I didn't keep track of who was against and who was for it.  But it's funny now how a majority of the board stood by that awful move even going into the playoffs despite our poor play and now all of a sudden people are realizing what a mistake it was

Michael Felger said it best.  Most of us hated the trade at first, but a lot of people wanted to convince themselves that everything would work out.  I wasn't one of them, but a lot of people wanted to be optimistic and tried to find a reason to agree with the trade.

At the end of the day I remained optimistic because I have a lot of faith in the Big 4.  I still believe we can get it done, but that doesn't mean we didn't make the road significantly more difficult.

[Roy H.]

Shoutout to everyone who hated the trade when it was made and stood by it.  People are just now jumping on the bandwagon now lol

I hope you're not calling me out as someone who just started to hate the trade. I was borderline depressed after that trade because it honestly felt like Ainge decided to shut the window himself.

I hated it from the moment it happened. But what I hated even more was the fact that Ainge let Tony go because that's exactly what led to the trade.

Wasn't aimed at you at all.  I didn't keep track of who was against and who was for it.  But it's funny now how a majority of the board stood by that awful move even going into the playoffs despite our poor play and now all of a sudden people are realizing what a mistake it was

Sadly, there's no badge of honor for hating that trade and being proven right (although a lot of folks will still dispute that).  I would have much, much rather been wrong.  If Jeff Green averages 30 points per game the rest of the playoffs and leads this team to victory, I'd be thrilled.

[WedmanIsMyHero]

Completely agree. Would much rather be proven wrong. . .

Shoutout to everyone who hated the trade when it was made and stood by it.  People are just now jumping on the bandwagon now lol

I hope you're not calling me out as someone who just started to hate the trade. I was borderline depressed after that trade because it honestly felt like Ainge decided to shut the window himself.

I hated it from the moment it happened. But what I hated even more was the fact that Ainge let Tony go because that's exactly what led to the trade.

Wasn't aimed at you at all.  I didn't keep track of who was against and who was for it.  But it's funny now how a majority of the board stood by that awful move even going into the playoffs despite our poor play and now all of a sudden people are realizing what a mistake it was

Sadly, there's no badge of honor for hating that trade and being proven right (although a lot of folks will still dispute that).  I would have much, much rather been wrong.  If Jeff Green averages 30 points per game the rest of the playoffs and leads this team to victory, I'd be thrilled.

[BC1996]

We'd be a significantly better team this year with Perk + Tony than we are with Green + Krstic, in my opinion.

Yeah it's a fact, even if we just had Perk.  I hate when people try to argue that we wouldn't have a legit backup for Ray/Pierce if we didn't trade Perk.  It wasn't an all or nothing scenario.  Danny could have pursued another forward to fill the role.

When the rumors about Shane Battier popped up I really thought it was a match made in heaven.  I'm not sure if a deal could have been made, but I would have gladly traded some combo of Nate, Erden, Luke, Bradley, and draft picks for him.  It's all about winning now and I would have sacrificed some talent for a one year rental of Battier.