The David West Decision Revisited

[MBunge]

West made the right choice.

No, he didn't.  What he did, which is what a lot of fans do too, is value the future over what's right in front of him.  All West could think about is that he might not start and what his future contracts would be like.  Well, he did get his money but if he'd won a ring with Boston, an even bigger contract would have been possible.

Mike

[Roy H.]

It's been three seasons now since David West backed out of a done deal to come to the Celts and sign as a free agent with the Pacers for only slightly more money.

It wasn't a done deal, because New Orleans hadn't signed off on a sign-and-trade.  They would have had to have taken JO back, and rumor has it that that was falling through.

I would have loved to have West here, but in hindsight it's hard for me to question West's decision.  He got more money, a bigger role, and he got to play on a contender, all while not having to deal with the uncertainty of a sign-and-trade that might not have gone through.

[D.o.s.]

It's been three seasons now since David West backed out of a done deal to come to the Celts and sign as a free agent with the Pacers for only slightly more money.

It wasn't a done deal, because New Orleans hadn't signed off on a sign-and-trade.  They would have had to have taken JO back, and rumor has it that that was falling through.

I would have loved to have West here, but in hindsight it's hard for me to question West's decision.  He got more money, a bigger role, and he got to play on a contender, all while not having to deal with the uncertainty of a sign-and-trade that might not have gone through.

Exactly.

[obnoxiousmime]

West made the right choice.

No, he didn't.  What he did, which is what a lot of fans do too, is value the future over what's right in front of him.  All West could think about is that he might not start and what his future contracts would be like.  Well, he did get his money but if he'd won a ring with Boston, an even bigger contract would have been possible.

Mike

As some have confirmed the sign-and-trade fell through when nobody would take Jermaine o'Neal so it was never a situation where the Celtics and Pacers had dueling offers that were close. The celts probably could only then offer the mid-level at most which was significantly less than the Pacers' 2 years/20 million.

Also, how is he supposed to be raising his value if he's not even guaranteed a starting job? He couldn't have done any better than what he got last offseason and he got to stay in one place. On the Celtics he knew the team probably wasn't going to be together past his two-year deal. Then he'd have to be on the move again.

And again there was no guarantee the Celts necessarily had a great shot at the title that year with West. We all like to think that but of course we're biased as Celts fans. It's not like he went to the Charlotte Bobcats for slightly more money or something. He went to a team everybody knew was rising and was also offering the best deal and a guaranteed role. What's so wrong about that?

[BudweiserCeltic]

It's been three seasons now since David West backed out of a done deal to come to the Celts and sign as a free agent with the Pacers for only slightly more money.

It wasn't a done deal, because New Orleans hadn't signed off on a sign-and-trade.  They would have had to have taken JO back, and rumor has it that that was falling through.

I would have loved to have West here, but in hindsight it's hard for me to question West's decision.  He got more money, a bigger role, and he got to play on a contender, all while not having to deal with the uncertainty of a sign-and-trade that might not have gone through.

So... /thread ?

[get_banners]

Two thoughts: if West picked Indy b/c they could offer more money, he won. Simple. If he chose Indy b/c he thought they had a better chance at a title, he lost. Badly. Throw West on our squad 2 years back that took Miami to a Game 7...think we don't win? Anyone? That's his best shot at a title, period. The Pacers were somewhat risky at the time, and have proven to be nothing more than a good regular season team. Miami owns them. Miami beat us...but we had debilitating injuries in all those series, yet still pushed them hard. And...nobody could ever say Miami owned us. We were all they ever thought of. If not for some terrible injuries (and some of the worst refereeing in the "clothesline Rondo, no foul; kick off KG to create space, foul on KG" game), I don't see them beating us. But...again, on dollars, he made the right move. On everything else, no dice.

[freshinthehouse]

As some have confirmed the sign-and-trade fell through when nobody would take Jermaine o'Neal so it was never a situation where the Celtics and Pacers had dueling offers that were close. The celts probably could only then offer the mid-level at most which was significantly less than the Pacers' 2 years/20 million.

Yeah, if I remember correctly, even if we could've made the S'n'T work with New Orleans, the most we could've offered was around 8 mill a year (I could've sworn the offer rumored at the time was 2/16).  So he would've been taking less money to go to a team with a much smaller window.  He made the right choice.

[SparzWizard]

Look where CP3 and David West are at now after their decision.

CP3 bolts to LA, still cannot make it to the conference finals. We don't need divas like him. We got a better playoff PG than this fool.

David West? Poor decision going to Indiana and failing to beat Miami three times. He'd have a better chance with Boston and that veteran leadership in Pierce and KG.

[quidinqui33]

West made the right choice.

No, he didn't.  What he did, which is what a lot of fans do too, is value the future over what's right in front of him.  All West could think about is that he might not start and what his future contracts would be like.  Well, he did get his money but if he'd won a ring with Boston, an even bigger contract would have been possible.

Mike

As some have confirmed the sign-and-trade fell through when nobody would take Jermaine o'Neal so it was never a situation where the Celtics and Pacers had dueling offers that were close. The celts probably could only then offer the mid-level at most which was significantly less than the Pacers' 2 years/20 million.

Also, how is he supposed to be raising his value if he's not even guaranteed a starting job? He couldn't have done any better than what he got last offseason and he got to stay in one place. On the Celtics he knew the team probably wasn't going to be together past his two-year deal. Then he'd have to be on the move again.

I specifically remember an interview with Doc after a pre-season practice where he joked about West coming to Boston (as if it was done), and talking about how they felt like an athletic power forward could play center in the league at the time.  As I recall, we were offering west 3 years at 27 mill, and he would start as our Center with KG as the PF.  If my memory serves me right, West would have been starting and the length of the contract was actually longer than what Indy offered, though Indy was paying slightly more per year but for only two years.

This is the closest thing I could find that matches what I have etched in my mind:
http://espn.go.com/blog/boston/celtics/post/_/id/4686844/did-doc-hint-at-adding-david-west

As a completely un-biased Celtics fan , he made the wrong decision.  But hey, how do you say no to the Legend right?

[Moranis]

He made the right decision. I really don't think it is debatable.

[BudweiserCeltic]

West made the right choice.

No, he didn't.  What he did, which is what a lot of fans do too, is value the future over what's right in front of him.  All West could think about is that he might not start and what his future contracts would be like.  Well, he did get his money but if he'd won a ring with Boston, an even bigger contract would have been possible.

Mike

As some have confirmed the sign-and-trade fell through when nobody would take Jermaine o'Neal so it was never a situation where the Celtics and Pacers had dueling offers that were close. The celts probably could only then offer the mid-level at most which was significantly less than the Pacers' 2 years/20 million.

Also, how is he supposed to be raising his value if he's not even guaranteed a starting job? He couldn't have done any better than what he got last offseason and he got to stay in one place. On the Celtics he knew the team probably wasn't going to be together past his two-year deal. Then he'd have to be on the move again.

I specifically remember an interview with Doc after a pre-season practice where he joked about West coming to Boston (as if it was done), and talking about how they felt like an athletic power forward could play center in the league at the time.  As I recall, we were offering west 3 years at 27 mill, and he would start as our Center with KG as the PF.  If my memory serves me right, West would have been starting and the length of the contract was actually longer than what Indy offered, though Indy was paying slightly more per year but for only two years.

This is the closest thing I could find that matches what I have etched in my mind:
http://espn.go.com/blog/boston/celtics/post/_/id/4686844/did-doc-hint-at-adding-david-west

As a completely un-biased Celtics fan , he made the wrong decision.  But hey, how do you say no to the Legend right?

Which was completely premature... after that "slip", there were reports that the Celtics/Hornets were still looking for a taker for Jermaine O'neal a couple of days later.

It's understandable. For all intents and purposes the Celtics and Hornets had the deal in place, but for the remaining issue of finding a 3rd team who could take on JO's contract. And that didn't materialize.

[slamtheking]

hard to blame him for taking a look at long-term potential for contending over a 1-year window.  would have helped that first year but I'm sure he'd be regretting it afterwards.  I really don't think he's looking back with regret now.

[Evantime34]

That was the year we lost to the Heat in the Eastern finals right? I think we win the title that year if we had gotten West. I remember how excited I was when I heard he was coming here.

[JSD]

It's been three seasons now since David West backed out of a done deal to come to the Celts and sign as a free agent with the Pacers for only slightly more money.

After last season, it seemed as if he had potentially made the right decision to become the veteran presence and heart of a young up and coming Pacers team as the Celtics started to show their age.

However, with three years removed, the Pacers at a cross roads, and West being three years older, did he actually make the right decision if winning was the main thing?

That first year West would have been here, the Celts took a team with Jeff Green out with heart surgery, Jermaine out with a bad wrist, Avery out with two bad shoulders, and Ray playing on bone spurs to Game 6 of the conference finals with two chances to knock out the Heat.

I can not help but think West could have made a huge difference that year and the Celts would have had a good shot at beating the Thunder after beating the Heat, effectively impacting the story arc of Lebron's career as the heat would have had many questions to answer after that.

It's crazy to think that one player's career, when taken at face value, will be relatively inconsequential to the history of the NBA actually may directly have impacted the championship count for the Celtics (and for Pierce, KG, and Ray), impacted the trajectory of Lebron's career, and the Heat's place as one of the better teams this league has seen.

TP, great subject.

I agree that West would have made a mahjor difference in that 2012 Conference Finals and likely would have put us over the edge.

[Al91]

To those who have posted on Page 1 addressing the fact that the Celtics did not make playoffs this season and the Pacers went to the ECF as an answer to whether or not West made the right decision.....uh, what?

Hypotheticals are hypotheticals but I can argue that had West been with us, instead of Brandon Bass, we would've knocked off the Heat in the ECF a couple years ago and possibly have beaten the Thunder.

What's so different about the Pacers when West signed compared to the Celtics now? Am I right in assuming only the Celtics have a player that's actually won an NBA championship on their roster? The Pacers had "young talent" when West signed years ago. The Celtics have "young talent" now. So he decided to go with "young talent" that ended up being Lance and PG and thinking he would actually win a title over a team with Pierce, KG, Ray, Rondo, etc.

I guess West said something to the effect of "look at the Celtics now without those guys (Ray, etc)" in that Grantland article.

Yes, David. You're right. When you didn't sign with us you helped Ray ease out the door and win a championship that year and possibly another one this year. You saw KG and Paul in playoffs back-to-back years, albeit on the Celtics and now Nets. SO. What in the hell makes West think a team of him, KG, Ray, Rondo, Pierce would've have gone to the finals??