Let's not be so quick to run Baby out of town...

[Roy H.]

Baby was atrocious in the playoffs, and he definitely slumped toward the end of the season.  The kid is immature, not very cerebral, has little vertical lift, thinks he's better than he is, and is a poor rebounder.

That said, we said a lot of the same things about Tony Allen (other than the vertical lift thing).  Here we are, ten months later, and there are multiple posts that have lamented the loss of Tony Allen.  Why?  Because we declined to match a reasonable offer, and because we didn't find an adequate replacement.

That's going to be the key with BBD:  if we don't sign him, we need to find somebody at least as good, and hopefully better.  Outside of maybe Carl Landry and Kris Humphreys, there aren't a lot of guys as good as Baby out there.  It doesn't do us any good if we run Baby out of town, but replace him with a guy even worse than he is.

Baby still put up 12/6 this year in the second half, despite having a very poor February and April.  His production, coupled with his above-average defense, makes him a useful player when he plays within his role.

[Change]

Celtics can do a heck a lot better than fat Baby as their backup PF. One who isn't severely undersized, and can actually rebound the ball. Bring in some athletes at every position.

[jimmehx]

Absolutely agree + TP.

That said, even if we find someone with POTENTIAL to be better than BBD, I'd take it. I'm really sick of him... sorry baby!

[PosImpos]

I like what he brings in terms of team defense and charge taking, and when he's on his game I like how he spreads the floor with his mid-range jumper.  In particular I like his ability to score points at a nice rate as long as he isn't dealing with a very unfavorable matchup (though there are a lot of those out there for him). 

I don't think there's any doubt that there is a role that Glen Davis can play on a good team -- he just needs to stay within that role.

The problem I see with Glen Davis on this team is that his problems - lack of speed, size, athleticism, shot blocking, rebounding - are all problems with which the starting unit struggles as well.  Thus playing him 25-30 minutes a night, with long stints alongside the starters, adds to the existing strengths of the lineup we have out there, but doesn't really shore up any of the weaknesses.

To put it more simply, now that the Big 3 are getting older, slower, and have less energy to expend, if we're going to play a guy off the bench, we need a guy who provides us with things we desperately need: energy, rebounding, inside scoring.  Baby doesn't really do that.


Like you said, though, there may simply not be any better options out there right now.  Guys like Kris Humphries, who would be perfect for this team, are almost certainly well out of our price-range.

[xmuscularghandix]

I can't stand Glen's attitude, it's an embarrassment to the uniform.

[Cman]

Roy, you raise good points.

An additional point would be that, because BBD played poorly in the playoffs, we could probably resign him at a bit below what he would otherwise get in the market.

But there are two points on which I want to disagree a bit:

(1) Tony Allen and BBD are very different cases.  Biggest difference in my mind right now: Doc didn't play Tony Allen enough (like he hasn't played J. Green enough, IMHO), whereas he plays BBD way too much....

(2) You are assuming that the owners want to take on additional salary next year.  You write:

key with BBD:  if we don't sign him, we need to find somebody at least as good, and hopefully better.

From the POV of a fan, I couldn't agree more.  From the POV of an owner, it might be:
If BBD is too expensive, we need to find a cheaper, but adequate replacement.

As I've noted in other posts, the main reason I think BBD is gone next year is not because of his poor play of late, but rather because of simple economics. 

[hpantazo]

Baby clearly wants to be a starter in this league without working hard enough to be in as good shape as he should be to start. I would only bring him back if he happily accepts never being a starter on this team and if his contract has incentives for staying in shape.

[BballTim]

Baby was atrocious in the playoffs, and he definitely slumped toward the end of the season.  The kid is immature, not very cerebral, has little vertical lift, thinks he's better than he is, and is a poor rebounder.

   ...and that's on a good day.

  Seriously, whether it's Baby or someone else, we need someone who can soak up a bunch of minutes at the 4-5 spot to keep KG and the other starter from wearing out during the season.

[hpantazo]

Baby was atrocious in the playoffs, and he definitely slumped toward the end of the season.  The kid is immature, not very cerebral, has little vertical lift, thinks he's better than he is, and is a poor rebounder.

   ...and that's on a good day.

  Seriously, whether it's Baby or someone else, we need someone who can soak up a bunch of minutes at the 4-5 spot to keep KG and the other starter from wearing out during the season.

I would prefer that someone to be a player who knows his role, stays in NBA shape, and has at least a normal arm length.

[Celticsfan336]

Glen was not Glen toward the end of the season. If Glen isn't Glen he has NO upside for this team.

He wants to be a starter. Boston will never let him start.
He wants money. Boston won't pay him more than the VM.

[Roy H.]

Outside of Carl Landry, who do people propose we replace him with?  That, to me, is the question.  If it's an upgrade, beautiful.  However, to get rid of a player just for the sake of getting rid of him isn't always a good idea.  Again, see, e.g., Tony Allen.

[PosImpos]

Outside of Carl Landry, who do people propose we replace him with?  That, to me, is the question.  If it's an upgrade, beautiful.  However, to get rid of a player just for the sake of getting rid of him isn't always a good idea.  Again, see, e.g., Tony Allen.

I have a feeling Danny is going to make some sort of trade this summer.  Don't know how, but I think he'll do something to try and rework things a bit.

[hpantazo]

Outside of Carl Landry, who do people propose we replace him with?  That, to me, is the question.  If it's an upgrade, beautiful.  However, to get rid of a player just for the sake of getting rid of him isn't always a good idea.  Again, see, e.g., Tony Allen.

So we should give him a long term deal knowing he wants to start and take a ton of shots, and knowing it will hurt our cap space in 2012, just because there is no one better that we can get? I am also offended at his lack of effort to stay in NBA shape at his age in a contract year.

[Who]

Outside of Carl Landry, who do people propose we replace him with?  That, to me, is the question.  If it's an upgrade, beautiful.  However, to get rid of a player just for the sake of getting rid of him isn't always a good idea.  Again, see, e.g., Tony Allen.

Kenyon Martin, Carl Landry and Kris Humphries look to be the only possible upgrades.

Chuck Hayes is arguably a lateral move. Maybe Wilcox.

Then there are downgrades -- Chris Wilcox, Josh McRoberts, Craig Smith, Josh Powell, Joey Dorsey.

[RJ87]

Outside of Carl Landry, who do people propose we replace him with?  That, to me, is the question.  If it's an upgrade, beautiful.  However, to get rid of a player just for the sake of getting rid of him isn't always a good idea.  Again, see, e.g., Tony Allen.

Kenyon Martin, Carl Landry and Kris Humphries look to be the only possible upgrades.

Chuck Hayes is arguably a lateral move. Maybe Wilcox.

Then there are downgrades -- Chris Wilcox, Josh McRoberts, Craig Smith, Josh Powell, Joey Dorsey.

Kmart would be awesome. And if Kris Humphries has another season like this past one, he'd be a SERIOUS upgrade.