Does Ainge deserve criticism for not going after Bismack Biyombo?

[tazzmaniac]

Absolutely not.  Biyombo isn't even starting for the Magic and he's making 17M for the next 4 seasons.  I'd much rather have Noel. 

[PhoSita]

A hugely expensive backup center with no offensive skillset is not what we're missing.

[alldaboston]

Absolutely not.  Biyombo isn't even starting for the Magic and he's making 17M for the next 4 seasons.  I'd much rather have Noel.

heck, i'll take Tyson Chandler or Bogut at this point too. Biyombo might have been good value for us two summers ago, like LarBrd said, but giving him $72 million for 4 years is just a dumb move.

[JSD]

$17 million is nothing this day and age. Especially in a league where everyone has cap space and flexibility. BB could easily be moved as a dump if needed, so I don't see how his contract would really tie up flexibility.

Also, I think it sends a pretty crappy message to other teams that we cut a 1st round pick. That will lessen the value of our other assets.

[alldaboston]

$17 million is nothing this day and age. Especially in a league where everyone has cap space and flexibility. BB could easily be moved as a dump if needed, so I don't see how his contract would really tie up flexibility.

Also, I think it sends a pretty crappy message to other teams that we cut a 1st round pick. That will lessen the value of our other assets.

it's 17 million each year, over the course of four years dude...no one in their right mind would just take him as a "salary dump" for the next 3 years. his contract definitely would have tied up our flexibility.

[Bobshot]

Nope. Biyombo was too expensive.

Yeah. BB was too expensive, which is why Toronto didn't keep him. Ainge would never pay that much for a "Bill Russell" type of player. All D, no O. Instead, he settled for the reverse, all O, no D, in Zeller, for much less, and he's now paying the price. Granted, he didn't foresee Horford getting wacked in the head (by Zeller, of all people).

Who knows what Ainge-Stevens (they work as a tandem on personnel) are thinking right now. They know what the problem is. The defensive rebounding type bigs are all gone except for trades. The best bet is to trade for Noel when he's ready to come back. But we have no idea if they value a player like Noel.

That is a huge insult to Bill Russell

Also, we don't know who hit Horford in the head, saying it's Zeller is just baseless speculation

I read a story that said it was Zeller who elbowed him in the head in practice.

The Russell quote is just a reference to the type of defensive player. Russell was strictly a defensive player. That was his role. I saw him play his first game in Boston. A Sunday afternoon game on TV. Got about 20 rebounds. His scoring was mainly around the basket. Averaged 16.7 ppg lifetime. Not a good foul shooter.

What's surprising is Ainge doesn't go after a Russell type of player, considering the Celtics' history. He should also be using the 6th man concept more. Doc never did, either.

[alldaboston]

Nope. Biyombo was too expensive.

Yeah. BB was too expensive, which is why Toronto didn't keep him. Ainge would never pay that much for a "Bill Russell" type of player. All D, no O. Instead, he settled for the reverse, all O, no D, in Zeller, for much less, and he's now paying the price. Granted, he didn't foresee Horford getting wacked in the head (by Zeller, of all people).

Who knows what Ainge-Stevens (they work as a tandem on personnel) are thinking right now. They know what the problem is. The defensive rebounding type bigs are all gone except for trades. The best bet is to trade for Noel when he's ready to come back. But we have no idea if they value a player like Noel.

That is a huge insult to Bill Russell

Also, we don't know who hit Horford in the head, saying it's Zeller is just baseless speculation

I read a story that said it was Zeller who elbowed him in the head in practice.

The Russell quote is just a reference to the type of defensive player. Russell was strictly a defensive player. That was his role. I saw him play his first game in Boston. A Sunday afternoon game on TV. Got about 20 rebounds. His scoring was mainly around the basket. Averaged 16.7 ppg lifetime. Not a good foul shooter.

What's surprising is Ainge doesn't go after a Russell type of player, considering the Celtics' history. He should also be using the 6th man concept more. Doc never did, either.

You have to link us to the story. I've seen no reports of it being Zeller. It's all been speculation/hate from fans. Correct me if I'm wrong, but unless it's slipped past my eye (not likely as I've been on the computer and twitter and Reddit all day this week), there hasn't been any such reports about Zeller hitting him.

[JSD]

$17 million is nothing this day and age. Especially in a league where everyone has cap space and flexibility. BB could easily be moved as a dump if needed, so I don't see how his contract would really tie up flexibility.

Also, I think it sends a pretty crappy message to other teams that we cut a 1st round pick. That will lessen the value of our other assets.

it's 17 million each year, over the course of four years dude...no one in their right mind would just take him as a "salary dump" for the next 3 years. his contract definitely would have tied up our flexibility.

$17 per year this day and age is roughly equivalent to $8 per a year or two ago. It's not that significant.

[JSD]

A hugely expensive backup center with no offensive skillset is not what we're missing.

Evan Turner is making the same money off the bench. $17 Million is the going rate for a rotation bench player these days.

[moiso]

Would have preferred going after Dwight Howard instead of Horford to solve the defense, rebounding, and all around interior presence issue.  I don't really like the guy, but it seems that most of the centers we end up talking about are also head cases- Cousins, Noel, Cauley-Stein, etc. 

Biyombo would have helped a little bit, but Howard would have completely corrected our issues.

[Moranis]

He should have just kept Sullinger.

[Bobshot]

Ainge has a chance to get Cauley-Stein. Availability just announced on RealGM. Stein may be better than Biyombo eventually, and controllable right now. He's not getting enough PT , and wants to be traded.  Wonder if they would take Rozier for him.

I started a separate thread on this, as the timing is right for Ainge.

[Bobshot]

Would have preferred going after Dwight Howard instead of Horford to solve the defense, rebounding, and all around interior presence issue.  I don't really like the guy, but it seems that most of the centers we end up talking about are also head cases- Cousins, Noel, Cauley-Stein, etc. 

Biyombo would have helped a little bit, but Howard would have completely corrected our issues.

Howard is doing surprisingly well in Atlanta. But you wonder about his durability. They should be managing his minutes.

Howard is an inside big, and it's clear Stevens prefers bigs who can play the perimeter and shoot outside.  That makes for less rebounding, which is their problem right now.

Right now, I would prefer Howard over Horford, too. But it wasn't clear in the FA season. Howard also signed for cheaper.

[LooseCannon]

Howard is an inside big, and it's clear Stevens prefers bigs who can play the perimeter and shoot outside.  That makes for less rebounding, which is their problem right now.

I think you have it a bit wrong.  Stevens wants big men who can defend against the pick and roll and aren't limited to hanging out near the basket on that end of the floor.  Find a solid rebounder who fits that description.

[SHAQATTACK]

Of course he does.

It's his job to catch hate