biggest offseason blunder - not offering Delonte a contract because of Bradley

[FatjohnReturns]

No i dont think so. are you sure your not misconstruing?
At first powe was told he wouldnt be back. then cleveland made the qa
and he accepted. then boston came back and matched clevelands offer
simply to save face.

[Chris]

No i dont think so. are you sure your not misconstruing?
At first powe was told he wouldnt be back. then cleveland made the qa
and he accepted. then boston came back and matched clevelands offer
simply to save face.

No, at first they told Powe they would like to see how the injury progresses before giving him a contract.  I believe you are right that the C's offer came after Cleveland's, but why does that matter?

But Powe said he was offended that the C's did not extend a qualifying offer, and after that, he said that he did not want to return to Boston.  And a QO is much different than the minimum offer that Cleveland gave him. 

[FatjohnReturns]

Seriously "why does it matter?"
it matters because the intention was to not offer anything or how you phrased it "to see how the injury progresses."  Boston only offered to match clevelands offer to save face.

[Chris]

Seriously "why does it matter?"
it matters because the intention was to not offer anything or how you phrased it "to see how the injury progresses."  Boston only offered to match clevelands offer to save face.

I don't think it was to save face.  I think they wanted him back.  I just don't think they believed anyone else was willing to offer him a contract until he was closer to returning.

The C's paid for his surgery and recovery, let him use the facility, they just were not willing to bid against themselves to pay him when he was nowhere close to play basketball.

[BudweiserCeltic]

Seriously "why does it matter?"
it matters because the intention was to not offer anything or how you phrased it "to see how the injury progresses."  Boston only offered to match clevelands offer to save face.

I don't think it was to save face.  I think they wanted him back.  I just don't think they believed anyone else was willing to offer him a contract until he was closer to returning.

The C's paid for his surgery and recovery, let him use the facility, they just were not willing to bid against themselves to pay him when he was nowhere close to play basketball.

Thing is that the offer Powe accepted, 1 year deal with a team option, was never something that he allowed the Celtics to pursue. Powe wanted at the very least a one year contract from somewhere, so he could be a free-agent the following year. Celtics were going to wait and see on those conditions, Powe didn't find anyone who wanted to give him that type of contract, he then went to our rivals, and accepted a one year deal with a team option (which I thought was dumb for him to accept) and when the Celtics saw that Powe might actually go for that type of deal, matched it but Powe refused. I'm willing to bet that a two year contract with a team option the Celtics would've done so in a heart beat if it was on the table from Powe's camp from the get go, but Powe didn't want that, and settled when he couldn't find what he wanted.

So the thing in all of this is that Powe was unwilling to level the playing field with the Celtics. The Celtics, and rightfully so, were being cautious about offering him the one year contract particularly when by doing so, they would lose their restricted free-agency status on their dime. Then you add to that that even before the injury, all speculations were that Ainge would have to choose between Baby and Powe in that free-agency year, that keeping them both was not in our best interest. Add to that KG recuperating from his injuries, limited roster spaces, and very thin big men depth.

Now, I can't blame Powe for going elsewhere looking for a contract, particularly since he was injured and needed to make a living. Still, if Powe wanted to be a Celtic he would've been, that's the bottom line regardless of when the offers were made.

[FatjohnReturns]

Paid for the surgery and let him use the facilty wow thats generous.

[Tgro]

But Delonte was a bust last year.  Between suspensions, injuries, and coming up tiny when they needed him most in the playoffs, he did not make a strong argument to stay around.  

This is the sentiment I agree with right there. I liked Delonte last season up until he got hurt, which was only a few games. Then when he came back, he was okay but nothing special. Then in the playoffs, I thought he was a huge disappointment. I was expecting a lot better from him and he just let me down.

Sure, we aren't doing well this year either but I hardly feel like Delonte is the missing ingredient. It would be easier to feel like he was if he had been all he was hyped up to be last season. The dude has lots of potential, but when you needed him the most, I think he was overated. I'm personally not upset that he is gone. 

[greenpride32]

I'm going to say "injury prone" was not a reason, or key reason why Delonte was not brought back.  Marquis Daniels, is all I need to say.

[kozlodoev]

Paid for the surgery and let him use the facilty wow thats generous.

It's more than they were obligated to do, so yes, it is in fact generous.

[birdwatcher]

Bradley has done nothing in the last two years to show me he's got something that most players at his position don't already have. He's fast. cool. He's got the tools to be a good defender. Okay, but that's what you do when you have no other role on a team or your not a good scorer.
All that said, I don't think the Delonte issue is a big deal because you will pay him more money than Bradley to sit on the bench for 20+ games because he's always hurt. He's made of glass. If he wasn't so injury prone I think Danny would have made a run at him.

[youcanthandlethetruth113]

Delonte looked pretty solid last night in the game vs OKC.  I didn't even look at this statline until this morning:

23MIN, 5-10FG, 1-2 3FG, 4-4 FT, 4 REB, 6 AST, 2 STL, 1 TO, +18, 15 PTS

We could have had this or Avery Bradley who is pretty much 0's across the board in every game and looking completely lost out there.  Did DA really think Bradley was ready to step into the role or was the team just being cheap since AB was already under contract?

I agree 100%. Delonte looked like a kid in a candy store playing alongside Dirk. 4 of those 6 assists last night were incredible. Delonte would draw 3 defenders and have his pick of the litter on which wide open teammate to dish to (Dirk wide open on the elbow, Kidd wide open beyond the arc, and Marion in the corner beyond the arc).

[PosImpos]

I disagree that Bradley was the reason we didn't offer Delonte a contract.

[TheTruthFot18]

I disagree that Bradley was the reason we didn't offer Delonte a contract.

It had to be part of the reason though. And while I didn't like this at first, I'm fine with it now. Dooling pushed delonte out, not bradley. Huge upgrade IMO. Coincidentally I traded for dooling in 2k11 when Delonte went down, and soon cut delonte because of the upsides in Dooling.

Video games aside, Dooling brings more veteran presence, maturity, no baggage, improved defensive, equal shooting ans scoring, and a real PG to back up rondo instead of just any guard to walk the ball up the floor.

[xmuscularghandix]

Bradley isn't the sole reason they didn't offer Delonte a contract.

At some point you have to inject youth into other positions. Moore AND Bradley are at the same spot. Dooling provides a similar role.

[nickagneta]

This is wrong. Having Delonte on this team would not have one the Celtics any game they have already lost. Having Delonte would not have made the defense on the wing and down low any better. having Delonte wouldn't have made Paul Pierce's heel any better.

I think long term, the biggest mistake of this off season might be that the Celtics didn't do more to get a true veteran center presence to start in place of O'Neal or play behind him. JerGlass O'Neal and a bunch of power forwards are not going to be enough underneath to win this year....maybe.