Quote from my friend on FB re. Celtics, Lakers, Heat. Are we just like them?

[celtsfan84]

We're not any different from them except for the laundry.  That might sting but I believe it to be true for the most part.

And I really don't care.  I'd rather be a "Have" than a "Have Not" in the NBA.

Sorry, what do you mean by "the laundry?"

He means we are basically the same as them except we wear green and they wear purple (Lakers) or red (HEAT) or orange (Knicks).

When you form the list of "Haves" and "Have Nots", we are definitely on the list of "Haves".

The Lakers are clearly at the very top of the list of "Haves" but Boston is definitely on that list.

  So before the KG trade when was the last time the Celts were on the "haves" list? 1989?

You can be rich and manage money poorly.  Or have poor ownership.  Reference the Knicks.  As an example, we took on the enormous Vin Baker contract.  Not a lot of teams would've taken on a huge contract given to an alcoholic.  We've always been on the "Haves" list.  Incompetent ownership and incompetent management wreaks havoc on rich and poor teams alike.

I ask again, would we trade away 3 1st Round picks just to cut salary?

Also, are you saying the Knicks haven't been on the "Haves" list since the mid-90s?  Be realistic here.  The Knicks weren't poor for the last decade.  They just made a litany of dumb moves.  If you would like me to list some dumb Chris Wallace / ML Carr / Rick Pitino moves, I'd be glad to.  You really think the Celtics have the same opportunities as the Kings?

  Teams like the Knicks and some of the teams in the south can attract players based on their location. The Celts can't. They aren't the same kind of "haves" as the Knicks and Lakers.

Not on the same level as the Lakers, but they are certainly Haves.

As an example, the Celtics have paid the 5th most in luxury tax in NBA history, behind the Mavericks, Lakers, Knicks, and Blazers.  Three huge markets and one team owned by a Microsoft billionaire.  And the HEAT in '06 is the last team to win the NBA title without paying tax.

Every year about 20-25 teams avoid the tax and 5-10 teams pay it.  Yet practically every year a tax team wins the title.

[ben]

well, the celtics haven't won many titles since the 80's. 

The complaints are valid in certain ways. 
As the league expands to 30 teams, shouldn't all 30 teams have relatively even shots at winning the title?  LA has gotten multiple multiple great trade situations.  The Celtics finally got real lucky with Garnett and Allen.  Some teams are not getting lucky almost ever (Bucks, Toronto, Charlotte). 

LA gets ridiculous trades.  It is out of hand.   

[rocknrollforyoursoul]

Boston isn't the same. Boston got KG and Allen via trades (not free agency) in which the Cs gave up quite a bit: 7 players for 1 in KG's case, and a No. 5 pick for Allen. There was no collusion a la Miami, and no ridiculously one-sided deals a la Gasol. And all this doesn't include the fact that most players WANT to go to L.A. and DON'T want to go to Boston, which makes the Cs' plight even more difficult.

[Celtics18]

Boston isn't the same. Boston got KG and Allen via trades (not free agency) in which the Cs gave up quite a bit: 7 players for 1 in KG's case, and a No. 5 pick for Allen. There was no collusion a la Miami, and no ridiculously one-sided deals a la Gasol. And all this doesn't include the fact that most players WANT to go to L.A. and DON'T want to go to Boston, which makes the Cs' plight even more difficult.

I don't see how the deal that brought Pau Gasol to LA was any more one-sided than the one that brought Kevin Garnett to Boston. 

I think the woe-is-me, nobody wants to come to Boston thing is way overblown by the team's own fans.  Maybe that was true during our twenty year hiatus from contention, but over the past five years, I believe that the Celtics have once again become a very desirable NBA destination. 

[AB_Celtic]

I don't see how the deal that brought Pau Gasol to LA was any more one-sided than the one that brought Kevin Garnett to Boston. 

Yeah, here are the deals...

Pau Gasol, 2010 2nd round pick for...
Kwame Brown, Javaris Crittenton, Aaron McKie, the rights to Marc Gasol, 2008 and 2010 1st round picks

Kevin Garnett for...
Al Jefferson, Ryan Gomes, Sebastian Telfair, Gerald Green, Theo Ratliff, cash considerations, 2009 1st round pick (top 3 protected) and 2009 1st round pick

In my book, Marc Gasol is pretty close to Al Jefferson, and the rest is fillers and picks. Pretty similar deals if you look at them side by side.

[Prof. Clutch]

I don't consider us like them because we didn't use even close to the same tactics to build our team.  Our team was formed by a combination of us sucking for years, Danny's craftiness, and a little bit of luck.  Say what you want but the Celtics Big 3 came together in a way more organic fashion than the other teams mentioned.

The Heat and Magic have been constructed by marquee players deciding they want to form super teams, holding their teams hostage, forcing trades, and/or generally finding ways of dictating where they want to go despite strong resistance from many.

I think that's fine if that's how they want to do it, but I'll take the natural magic that occurred for the Celtics during the summer of 2007 any day of the week.

Also, look at the "big name" free agents who have signed here since we became relevant again.  Sheed & Shaq were a season from retirement, Jason Terry (as good as he is) is 34 years old, etc.  It's not exactly like we're hoarding all of the marquee free agents in the league each year on our team.

[Celtics18]

I don't consider us like them because we didn't use even close to the same tactics to build our team.  Our team was formed by a combination of us sucking for years, Danny's craftiness, and a little bit of luck.  Say what you want but the Celtics Big 3 came together in a way more organic fashion than the other teams mentioned.

The Heat and Magic have been constructed by marquee players deciding they want to form super teams, holding their teams hostage, forcing trades, and/or generally finding ways of dictating where they want to go despite strong resistance from many.

I think that's fine if that's how they want to do it, but I'll take the natural magic that occurred for the Celtics during the summer of 2007 any day of the week.

Also, look at the "big name" free agents who have signed here since we became relevant again.  Sheed & Shaq were a season from retirement, Jason Terry (as good as he is) is 34 years old, etc.  It's not exactly like we're hoarding all of the marquee free agents in the league each year on our team.

Marquee players rarely even reach free agency anymore.  Other than the 38 year old Steve Nash, I can't think of a "marquee" free agent signing with the Lakers since the Celtics became relevant again. 

We haven't signed every good free agent out there, and I'm sure we haven't wanted all of them, but we've done fairly well in that department.  Heck, we signed arguably the best free agent on the market this past off-season in the person of Kevin Garnett. 

[anthony83]

BEAT THE HEAT AND BEAT, I used to hate the Lakers, now with Howard even more .

[Atzar]

Like Donoghus said, the only difference is the name and the colors on the jersey. 

And that's fine with me.  The alternative is being irrelevant.

[Shad0wman]

Hm, ok, I'll bite.

Maybe the difference is KG is KG and LBJ is well, LBJ, the decision, you remember that?
As for DH...wow really, the celtics are just like the Heat and Lakers?

Stupified!