Makes it sound like DA wants them both back, but is waiting on them to decide.
But yeah, this doesn't surprise me much. You're looking at a team who really underperformed last season given the level of talent on the roster. Ultimately the only guys who performed at a high level in the Playoffs were KG, Pierce, Green, Terry and Bass.
T-Will well also in limited minutes, but those 5 guys were basically the only ones we could lean on.
I get the feeling that DA has realised two things:
1. We need more size
2. We need more scoring
The first is hinted by the pletora of bigs he signed in the preseason this year (Milicic, Collins, Wilcox, Sullinger, Bass, etc). The second was hinted in an actual statement made by DA, where he acknowledged that the team needed more scoring power.
a) I think Rondo and Terry will stay. Rondo is the future identity of the team, and Terry was a big factor in the playoffs and our 4th best player in the regular season.
b) I think Jeff Green will stay. On a team that clearly needs scoring, Jeff is the guy with the potential to be a legit 20 PPG scorer and has proven he can take over games.
c) I think KG will be brought back, if he doesn't retire. He continues to play hard on this team, and we are already too lacking in size. DA will recognise his important on offense, on defense and on the boards and will recognise the fact that he cannot find someone even nearly as productive in return.
d) Pierce is a question mark. Jeff Green is clearly far better when playing starter's minutes, but the combination of Rondo+Bradley has proven it's dominance in the past. Having Pierce in the lineup complicates things - putting him at SG forces Bradley to the bench and makes us slower. Starting him at SF forces Green to play PF and hurts our rebouding, plus it gives us a jam at the PF spot (with Green, Sully, Bass). Moving Pierce to the bench makes most sense, but would he agree? Pierce is the Captain and the face of this franchise, but buying him out or trading him might make the most sense moving forward.
e) I think DA would like to keep Bass, but he'll be available of the right offer comes up. He really elevated his game in the playoffs, he's not THAT expensive, he's a hard worker, and he tends to accept any role he's given without a complaint. He's the type of glue guy many teams would love to have, but at the same time probably wouldn't bring much back in a trade..probably more valuable on the team than off it. Likely depends on the recovery of Sullinger and whether Pierce returns (potentially moving Green to PF).
f) I think Sullinger will stay. Everyone loves the kid, he's very young, and Doc and DA both love high IQ guys. He's a tough rebounding and inside battler which the team sorely needs, and he's on a cheap vet contract. His draft stock fell specifically because of the risk of back injury, so it's likely to have a similar effect on his trade stock too. Don't think Doc gets much of value for him, better to keep him.
g) I think Lee and Crawford go. These are two youngish guards who can play multiple positions, and who are on trade friendly contracts (i.e. they can some to useful values to match salaries). Both are role players - Crawford useful to a team who desperately needs scoring, Lee useful to a team who needs a solid all-round SG who can play good defense at times. I think they are solid trade chips that will probably be gone by the start of the season.
h) DJ White will, I think, be gone. He's shown us little in his time here but may draw interest from other teams who need a big on the cheap. Randolf has been more effective and if either of these two gets kept I think it would be Shavlik.
i) Wilcox I think is probably gone. He's a top guy but fell out of favour with Doc last season, didn't play much at all. I think he's likely to not get re-signed unless no other bigs are available to fill roster spots.
j) TWilliams I think has a solid chance at staying. He's proven he can play the backup PG spot effectively (something we have not had in years), he's young, he's talented, and he seems to have a new found 'team focus'. Plus he's under contract for next season for cheap, and he's versatile enough to play multiple positions if we get hit by injuries.
Topic: Danny Ainge : It's not as simple as bringing our team back" (Read 8839 times)