Future of the Big 3

[Employee8]

Couple assumptions:

-the full season or 50 games will be played this year
-no major trades involving Pierce, Allen, Garnett and Rondo

What are on each person's minds?  I know that Allen has 1 more year here and wants to remain in Boston.  He will be enticed with juicy offers from other championship-caliber teams after this year.  I'm thinking he would forego these offers if he could get a reasonable deal from the Celtics.  But since we're always talking about unloading Ray and we might go younger, my guess is that this is his last year.

Pierce is here for awhile.  He wants to retire a Celtic and I would think he'd like to stay for individual records (assists, points, games played) and be one of the alltime Celtics greats.

Garnett- I'm not too sure about.  I remember being a little surprised by his postgame comment about his stay right after the game 7 loss to the Lakers.  He said Doc is the only coach he'd play for and if he left the team, Garnett will go elsewhere.  I'm not sure if it was a spur of the moment thing but it's been on my mind.  Now that Doc has signed on for a longer deal, it's possible KG would want to retire with the Celtics.  When will he?  There were rumors that he'd be done this year.  After he plays this year, will he want to sign on for another deal?  My guess is he retires after this year.

I'm starting this thread so I can mentally prepare myself for the end of the era.  Short, fun, crazy and ultimately successful era but it's gotta end sometime.  I definitely think this is the very last year.

[syfy9]

The very last year they will all be playing together, or the very last year they will still be a dominating/powerful force? In an optimal future, I'd have all/some of the big 3 come off the bench and provide scoring/defense/veteran mentality to the future starting line up. Hopefully if Garnett stays healthy and doesn't quit, he'd be our sixth man/role player/Rasheed Wallace when our team evolves. Ray I think might leave or not, but he could play as a 6th man Manu Ginobli in his late 30s if he stays healthy. Same with Pierce.

It think the end of the big 3 era will be when their contracts expire, and we can start adding players with that cap space. The big 3 could still be there, but they will have a limited role(s).

[TheTruthFot18]

retirement, HOF, nice pension?

[greenpride32]

It's going to come down to money as it always does.  Let's say KG's fair market value is somewhere between $5-8m after his contract is up; would the C's even want to allocate those funds towards him?  If they still believe they're contenders then it's possible.  But if they're rebuilding its not very likely.

I get the feeling the ownership wants to keep the team competitive throughout Pierce's stay here.  But at the same time they realize they need a significant capture either through FA or the draft in order to do that; and really no guarantees on either.

[paulcowens]

The primary concern at this point should be rebuilding around Rondo.  I think that can be compatible with the Big Three staying together, if the older guys are willing to fade slowly and hang around as elders for a little while.  Allen seems willing to embrace that transition, but are KG and PP willing to? 

[CelticsFanNC]

The primary concern at this point should be rebuilding around Rondo.  I think that can be compatible with the Big Three staying together, if the older guys are willing to fade slowly and hang around as elders for a little while.  Allen seems willing to embrace that transition, but are KG and PP willing to? 

  Ideally this is how I would like to see it all play out unless one of them is a deal breaker to get another young All-Star caliber guy to pair with Rondo going forward.  Only, if they can be kept around for leadership in a diminished role at a reasonable price though. 

[Employee8]

The primary concern at this point should be rebuilding around Rondo.  I think that can be compatible with the Big Three staying together, if the older guys are willing to fade slowly and hang around as elders for a little while.  Allen seems willing to embrace that transition, but are KG and PP willing to? 

  Ideally this is how I would like to see it all play out unless one of them is a deal breaker to get another young All-Star caliber guy to pair with Rondo going forward.  Only, if they can be kept around for leadership in a diminished role at a reasonable price though. 

Yeah, I can see this happening for all 3.  The way Tim Duncan is going is exactly how I hope it'll go for Kevin Garnett too.  He doesn't play a significant part of the Spurs' success but in a way he does.  He just isn't expected to contribute that much.  Correct me if I'm wrong but Timmy D can get a bigger contract elsewhere if he could be a role player but he chooses to stay with San Antonio because of his loyalty.  I'm hoping KG can do the same and this is somewhat likely because of his loyalty to Doc.  I don't think he's the type of guy to hop around on teams like Karl Malone and try to get that one more ring.

Ray Allen, on the other hand, if enticed enough, might go elsewhere to play for a single year before retiring.  He does this if we botch our rebuilding efforts.  I'm trying to think like him- his family probably would stay in Boston while he takes off for a year to get that extra ring and then he'll finally retire.

[LooseCannon]

If there are no good free agents that the Celtics are able to sign in 2012, rather than commit money to middling players the way Detroit did with Charlie "Cancer Man" Villanueva and Ben Gordon, I'd rather bring back KG and Ray Allen on one-year contracts, effectively pushing back the mucho cap space by one year while retaining them as trade assets for a contending team that may want a veteran presence at the deadline.  I suspect KG will still be playing at a level worth $10-11 million at that point.  With Rondo and Pierce, the team is too good to be successful at tanking unless one of them gets injured.

[Mr October]

If there are no good free agents that the Celtics are able to sign in 2012, rather than commit money to middling players the way Detroit did with Charlie "Cancer Man" Villanueva and Ben Gordon, I'd rather bring back KG and Ray Allen on one-year contracts, effectively pushing back the mucho cap space by one year while retaining them as trade assets for a contending team that may want a veteran presence at the deadline.  I suspect KG will still be playing at a level worth $10-11 million at that point.  With Rondo and Pierce, the team is too good to be successful at tanking unless one of them gets injured.

You are right on. Only chase a superstar with that 2012 money. If there are none to be had, then it is 1 year deals and development of youth/assets time.

I could see Ray playing 2 or 3 more years as a role player after 2012. As long as he is cool with a 1 year at a time approach, and his salary doesn't interfere with getting another all star, I'd gladly welcome him back.

KG is more unpredictable. His mind (like MJ's) will probably want to keep playing forever. But his body is clearly struggling to perform at the level he had been used to. I could only see him staying with Boston and playing if the C's landed a star in 2012 and then KG & RA might saddle up on a low salary to try to get another ring. If a star isn't found, I think KG retires in 2012.

Pierce is obviously under contract, so I expect him to play out those 2 remaining years after 2012 and then retire.

[celtics2]

I hope we trade KG and get a real PF. Not one that camps out on the perimeter. Otherwise I still like Ray and Paul.

[CelticG1]

If there are no good free agents that the Celtics are able to sign in 2012, rather than commit money to middling players the way Detroit did with Charlie "Cancer Man" Villanueva and Ben Gordon, I'd rather bring back KG and Ray Allen on one-year contracts, effectively pushing back the mucho cap space by one year while retaining them as trade assets for a contending team that may want a veteran presence at the deadline.  I suspect KG will still be playing at a level worth $10-11 million at that point.  With Rondo and Pierce, the team is too good to be successful at tanking unless one of them gets injured.

You are right on. Only chase a superstar with that 2012 money. If there are none to be had, then it is 1 year deals and development of youth/assets time.

I could see Ray playing 2 or 3 more years as a role player after 2012. As long as he is cool with a 1 year at a time approach, and his salary doesn't interfere with getting another all star, I'd gladly welcome him back.

KG is more unpredictable. His mind (like MJ's) will probably want to keep playing forever. But his body is clearly struggling to perform at the level he had been used to. I could only see him staying with Boston and playing if the C's landed a star in 2012 and then KG & RA might saddle up on a low salary to try to get another ring. If a star isn't found, I think KG retires in 2012.

Pierce is obviously under contract, so I expect him to play out those 2 remaining years after 2012 and then retire.

I see people write this all the time and I just don't know where it comes from. How many PF's would you have preferred over KG last year? At the most only a handful a presume. He is still the best defender in the league at his position as well as the entire NBA. He also shoots well over 50% and for a guy who is mostly a jumpshooter that is very good. Not to mention he has an unblockable shot.

Unless KG goes from being the 2nd best defender in the league to below average in one year than I think he could easily offer another 3 solid years of ball.

Typically IMO it's when guys start to deteriorate on defense that they really start to break down. He played elite defense last year and as long as he can play above average defense and shoot 50% on his jumpshoots he is still a very valuable commodity.

I just can't see KG (or anyone for that matter) retiring if he has a similar year to last year. Just shows how much he still has to give