Doc expounds on future, Celtics needs

[j804]

A day after his team was eliminated by the Miami Heat, Celtics coach Doc Rivers called in to the Mike Lupica Show on ESPN Radio 1050 in New York -- from the golf course (where else?) -- to discuss why he made up his mind so early about returning next season, his loyalty to the Celtics and what he learned about his team in the loss to the Heat.

“Danny [Ainge] and I have been talking about it for a while and I’ve been talking about it with my family,” Rivers told Lupica. “Last year, I just wouldn’t even talk about it. This year, I didn’t want to leave the organization out there too long, I just thought that would be bad form. And No. 2, I love working with Danny. Great group of guys I have. We’ve won one title and we’ve yet to be healthy since that one title, which you can’t do anything about.

“It would be tough for me to leave. I don’t know how long I‘ll do it. But I told Danny and ownership that I’m leaning heavily toward doing it and I probably will do it. I haven’t signed anything yet, but it’s basically been decided.”

Could anything happen in the near future that would make him change his mind?

“There could be but I don’t think so,” Rivers said in response to the question. “Honestly, there’s things out there that could be attractive, but I just think every once in a while, to an organization that’s shown you great loyalty, sometimes you have to return it right back.”

Rivers also set the to-do list for a key offseason for the Celtics:

“We’re not going to win it just relying on the Big Three anymore, we just can’t,” Rivers said. “But we can win it with the Big Three. So our job this summer, we have to go out and sign a couple of players. We don’t need any superstars, we need the right pieces to complement those guys so those guys can play less minutes and we can still win games and get to the playoffs healthy.

“We can’t try to do formula we used this year, just going to get a bunch of veterans and try to get through the regular season, because that doesn’t work. In the playoffs now, with all the rule changes, you need athleticism, you need quickness to the ball. And quite honestly we just don’t have that. That stood out to me more than anything in this series.”

http://espn.go.com/blog/boston/celtics/post/_/id/4684018/doc-expounds-on-his-future-loss-to-heat

Via ESPN Boston full interview is after the jump I for one am glad we are gearing for another run, it just wouldn't feel right to blow it up and end the Big Three era on this note

[barefacedmonk]

He is saying all the right things...let's hope we are able to rectify all our short comings this off season.

[kozlodoev]

Great group of guys I have.

Doc doing his best Yoda impersonation.

[Chris]

I love what Doc is saying, both with him coming back, and what they need.  Now, lets see them make it happen.

[kozlodoev]

With respect to this, I thought these poll results at ESPN were interesting:

Celtics At A Crossroads

What would the Celtics be better off doing this offseason?

    Keeping the roster intact, adding a few pieces and making one last run at a title

     62%
    Blowing up this nucleus and getting younger; this core won't contend for a title next season

     38%

    Total Vote Count: 5718

I am all for keeping the nucleus, but I expected people would recommend blowing it up.

[PosImpos]

I'm really, really relieved to hear the Doc and Danny recognize that it's not possible to do the same thing they did this year and expect to win.  Couldn't be more pleased to hear "athleticism," and "quickness to the ball" mentioned as things this team desperately needs to get more of in order to compete in the playoffs.

I'm really not sure how Danny can possibly acquire the kind of impact players Doc is talking about, though, outside of some trades.

On the bench, I'd like to see them hold onto Wafer.  I think, like Green, with some more time with this team under his belt, he could very well contribute (he showed some nice flashes during the season).  Delonte, Wafer, and Jeff Green seems like a nice rotation of guards / wings off the bench.  Avery Bradley should eventually get some time too, I imagine.  He has all of the tools to give us some of the quickness and athleticism we need.

I think Krstic (though not particularly quick or athletic) has good length and size.  He showed that once he becomes comfortable playing here he could be a valuable asset.  I wouldn't want him playing more than 10-15 minutes a night, but I'd be just fine keeping him here as long as he doesn't require too long a deal or too much money.


The biggest change we need, in my opinion, is at starting center and backup power forward.  What the Celtics really need is to get bigger, younger, quicker, and more athletic up front.  Glen Davis should be let go or signed and traded, and the Celtics should look to get a guy who is a legitimate 6' 9'' or taller and very long, with the ability to elevate and finish around the basket.  This might require trading for a guy who's already signed to a contract that goes beyond 2012, but as long as it doesn't totally eat into cap space for that year, I think they need to consider it.  A guy like Tyrus Thomas, Amir Johnson, Jason Thompson, JJ Hickson, Jordan Hill, Kris Humphries, etc.  Humphries in particular would be nice.  Again, not sure how to get one of those guys, but that's the sort of player we need.

[theswitch]

I agree on West/Wafer/Bradley/Green being the wave of the future with their athleticism, and that we need new big men. However, I also think there's another element to these guys in addition to being tall and able to finish - athletic. Doc mentioned quickness to the ball, and I think that also points to how old and slow our bigs were with their rotations, and why the Heat killed us to the lane.

[FrDrake]

Ray Allen needs to move to the bench, accept a reduced role, and win 6th man of the year, a la Cedric Maxwell.

How about a sign and trade sending Baby to PDX for Rudy Fernandez who can start and when coupled with Green could let PP and Ray rest a bit more.

[MBunge]

Boy, it would have been nice if Doc had recognized he couldn't win it with just the Big 3 BEFORE the end of this season.

Mike

[PosImpos]

Boy, it would have been nice if Doc had recognized he couldn't win it with just the Big 3 BEFORE the end of this season.

Mike

wouldn't have done much good unless the team realized they couldn't win with just the Big 3 before the start of this season.

[GreenEnvy]

First off, I'm very happy to hear Doc seems to be on board and both he and Danny are on the same page.

I think they have a goal and will succeed in using their resources (MLE, LLE, S&T BBD, etc.) to reshape the roster.

I haven't began to think about what areas need to be addressed the most, and will probably wait til after the draft to start examining who and what could work.

But... I am not totally convinced this team wasnt good enough as constructed to win the entire thing. I get injuries are a part of the game and we relied (perhaps too heavily) on everyone staying healthy, but still. Shaq and Rondo would have made all the difference in the world. Had JO and DWest not missed nearly the entire season, maybe they not only play better, but the Big Three don't get so worn down from the regular season.


I sincerely hope we have basketball next season. This league can ill-afford to lose a whole season to a lockout. Both sides need to concede some demands for the better of the game. Let's hope we have a summer filled with intrigue like last, and training camp starts on time in September.

[European NBA fan]

Boy, it would have been nice if Doc had recognized he couldn't win it with just the Big 3 BEFORE the end of this season.

Mike

wouldn't have done much good unless the team realized they couldn't win with just the Big 3 before the start of this season.

Actually this is the real reason behind the Perkins trade. Before the season everyone said "We could have won game 7 with a healthy Perk", and the front office acted accordingly. But the first half of the season showed that more athletic teams would be among the front runners this year. There was no way, they could have known that. Actually not very many people around here acknowledged it until the Heat series.

[PosImpos]

Boy, it would have been nice if Doc had recognized he couldn't win it with just the Big 3 BEFORE the end of this season.

Mike

wouldn't have done much good unless the team realized they couldn't win with just the Big 3 before the start of this season.

Actually this is the real reason behind the Perkins trade. Before the season everyone said "We could have won game 7 with a healthy Perk", and the front office acted accordingly. But the first half of the season showed that more athletic teams would be among the front runners this year. There was no way, they could have known that. Actually not very many people around here acknowledged it until the Heat series.

that's a fair point, and i agree -- the trade was an acknowledgement that we couldn't win with the team as currently constructed.

[fairweatherfan06]

We need a starting center neither oneal is that anymore and kg needs a good defensive player beside him to take some of the pressure off of him defensively.  These are FA candidates;

Tyson Chandler...mark cuban will overpay for him no matter what
Deandre jordan
marc Gasol...memphis would be fools to let him go
Samuel Dalembert

one of those would shore up the middle with 1 or both oneals off the bench.

PS Rudy fernandez is not a more viable starter than Ray, he's just not that good.

i think we need to blow up the bench entirely outside of possibly keeping delonte.  There is a lot of wing help out there this summer

kelenna azubuike, Tayshaun prince, Shane Battier, michael redd, jason richardson, Shannon Brown, Grant hill, T-mac, Caron butler, and many others but we need a reliable starter at center whose last name is not oneal.  We get one of those 4 and a few of those names plus delonte or another reliable rondo backup Arroyo/marcus Thornton and i think the Big 3 last's ride will be something special, but  WE NEED A STARTING CENTER.

[barefacedmonk]

Kris Humphries is a FA this off season, right? If yes, how about him as a back up PF. I haven't watched him play other than in the games against us...but he looked decent. He is young and his defense could improve playing here...not a bad rebounder....can finish around the rim as well.