Saturday, June 30, 2007
'We’ll get Paul’s spirit back'
OK, I'll lay off the Celts. BUT ONE LAST RANT. The primary reason I'm so upset at the latest Trader Danny move is that it's all but an acknowledgement that the last four years were a waste. Danny is now switching to an emphasis on 'veterans' -- when he could have done the same damn thing in 2003. Only now, with Paul Pierce entering the final stage of his career, does he desperately change direction to help Paul. I hope the team plays well next year -- and there's a part of me that thinks they will. That assumes Pierce and Allen stay healthy. After the next few seasons, though, I think we'll once again be looking at other teams and saying, 'Man, we passed up (fill in the blank - Noah, Yi, Brewer, Green)?' ... Hub Blog's cynical fear/prediction: At best, the Danny-Doc era will end with the Celts roughly where they were in 2003: Eastern Conference contenders -- except with considerably older players. ... Before getting to Reader No. 1's thoughts, a couple quotes. First up:
And who, pray tell, played a central role in crushing 'Paul's spirit' and that of the entire team? ... And then this:
Frankly, I wish they had gone for Noah or Yi (preferrably Noah), kept Delonte, traded Pierce for another Pierce, landed another veteran, and fired Doc and Danny. ... Now some thoughts from Reader No. 1:
OK, I'll lay off the Celts. BUT ONE LAST RANT. The primary reason I'm so upset at the latest Trader Danny move is that it's all but an acknowledgement that the last four years were a waste. Danny is now switching to an emphasis on 'veterans' -- when he could have done the same damn thing in 2003. Only now, with Paul Pierce entering the final stage of his career, does he desperately change direction to help Paul. I hope the team plays well next year -- and there's a part of me that thinks they will. That assumes Pierce and Allen stay healthy. After the next few seasons, though, I think we'll once again be looking at other teams and saying, 'Man, we passed up (fill in the blank - Noah, Yi, Brewer, Green)?' ... Hub Blog's cynical fear/prediction: At best, the Danny-Doc era will end with the Celts roughly where they were in 2003: Eastern Conference contenders -- except with considerably older players. ... Before getting to Reader No. 1's thoughts, a couple quotes. First up:
We’ll get Paul’s spirit back and add Ray’s spirit, and that’s the sort of thing that can trickle down to some of the other veterans ...
And who, pray tell, played a central role in crushing 'Paul's spirit' and that of the entire team? ... And then this:
Well at least they appeased Mr. Pierce. They went out and got him a peer - another aging All-Star, another guy with creaky joints.
Frankly, I wish they had gone for Noah or Yi (preferrably Noah), kept Delonte, traded Pierce for another Pierce, landed another veteran, and fired Doc and Danny. ... Now some thoughts from Reader No. 1:
I'm more surprised that Seattle got rid of a veteran NBA allstar and quality guy with Durant coming in - that should tell us something.
Seattle GM (and Concord MA native) Sam Presti is coming off a good run as Assistant GM of the San Antonio Spurs - he's no fool.
Seattle doesn't like the deal either.
When Jackie MacMullan writes that Big Book about the Celtics, perhaps she can explain how the NBA got in such a state that a guy with a $12 million contract who played 2 games last year is considered valuable enough to land Kevin Garnett?
