Fix the Celtics
After reading Harvey Araton's article on the demise of the Celtics over the past two decades, I have to admit...
The Celtics deserve it...Their troubles stemming from the deaths of Len Bias and Reggie Lewis and the lotto miss on Tim Duncan may not be their fault, but the organization's performance over the past decade has been pitiful.
I have to admit that I thought hiring Rick Pitino was a soild move. Yet, whoever is going to rule a storied and stellar historic franchise has to know that his super-ego will neither surpass the legacy of the franchise nor legends. I don't think Pitino could ever stomach that one.
As for now, they haven't done anything with their new line-up.
Paul Pierce may be a good face on the court, but he's a overpaid shooting guard, who is dead weight and unappealing as their star. They have Sebastian Telfair...'Bassy'!...running their offense. Not one player knows his role on that team. Not one...
Al Jefferson!...Al Jefferson is their most valuable asset out of all the moves that were made to push them into the future. Lastly, Doc Rivers is a moron as a coach, who doesn't have a clue about running a team-oriented offense.
What they have left are a bunch of slash-and-dash players, who really don't have a position. Not one player has a role. Right now, they probably couldn't win the Rucker League...I'm serious.
Their only hope is to re-build the team like the Kings did in the late '90s, or like how GM Bryan Colangelo has built the Raptors in the present.
The Raptors have mixed European passing big men who know the game and move the ball. Euro pick-ups from Jose Calderon and Jorge Garbajosa to first pick Andrea Barganani have blended beautifully with Chris Bosh and T.J. Ford.
The Celtics should take the same formula.
First, ship Paul Pierce or a package deal for Pau Gasol. Gasol would be a perfect fit for them. He's still young, and he could be a fresher Vlade Divac for the club. They could run a lot of their offense through him like the Kings did with Divac.
Second, pick up either Greg Oden, Kevin Durant, or Brandan Wright through the draft. Either one of them would be fine there.
Durant could be a lot like Luol Deng. A slasher, who could be a superstar by his third year. Then again, with his weight, he could be thrown into the third row every night. (By the way, I'm torn on Durant. Is he Reggie Williams, or is he Luol Deng?...Discuss.)
Third, they need an under-30 designated team-oriented shooter. And yes, Wally Szczerbiak is not it. Find someway or somehow to pry away Andres Nocioni, Mike Dunleavy, Mike Miller, or just keep Delonte West. Give the guy a ton of confidence, and maybe you could develop a stalwart gun like Peja Stojakovic. Then, start piecing together veterans who can play team ball.
They currently have the 20th ranked payroll right now, and they could pick-up a veteran or two on the cheap to mentor a few of their young guys like Delonte West or even if they were to keep an Al Jefferson. One move may be to pick-up an aging Grant Hill for a year. Let him run the point to just to re-set the tempo and tutor a couple of guys on how to run a team-oriented offense.
A lot of people love Jefferson. Yet, I think the only reason why he has emerged is because they have no one else to go to. Kind of like how Gerald Wallace appeared to be the Bobcats superstar. They have no one else. So, of course Jefferson is going to look good.
If he is good, hell think about shipping him to the Warriors or to the Grizzlies. Although they would take a major hit on a contract of over 9M, maybe, they can pry Jason Richardson away from the Warriors, or for Miller and Hakim Warrick of the Grizzlies.
Fourth, hire a veteran coach, who knows how to rebuild. A great hire would be to Rick Adleman and Pete Carrill to construct the NBA-oriented Princeton offense that Eddie Jordan runs. He did a great job of re-building the Kings. Let him do it again.
If they can't make that move. Then, hire away Geoff Petrie from the Kings to run the show. Hell, the Kings are booty right now. He has to be hungry to build a new team from scratch. Just find someway to re-hire Carrill to tinker with that offense. Look at what the Kings and Wizards did.
Most importantly, dump and trade all of that mediocre youth that they have through a garbage sale. Keep only Delonte West. And, maybe...they can salvage some semblance of a pick-up through a mid first-rounder this season to pick up Aaron Brooks of Oregon, who is a lot more than Telfair or Rajon Rondo.
The move to replace the black shoes with white ones may have been right on...Their guys don't deserve to wear the storied blacks....
The franchise right now is not just ridiculous...But shameful.
Re-Structure,
IronDog
The Celtics deserve it...Their troubles stemming from the deaths of Len Bias and Reggie Lewis and the lotto miss on Tim Duncan may not be their fault, but the organization's performance over the past decade has been pitiful.
I have to admit that I thought hiring Rick Pitino was a soild move. Yet, whoever is going to rule a storied and stellar historic franchise has to know that his super-ego will neither surpass the legacy of the franchise nor legends. I don't think Pitino could ever stomach that one.
As for now, they haven't done anything with their new line-up.
Paul Pierce may be a good face on the court, but he's a overpaid shooting guard, who is dead weight and unappealing as their star. They have Sebastian Telfair...'Bassy'!...running their offense. Not one player knows his role on that team. Not one...
Al Jefferson!...Al Jefferson is their most valuable asset out of all the moves that were made to push them into the future. Lastly, Doc Rivers is a moron as a coach, who doesn't have a clue about running a team-oriented offense.
What they have left are a bunch of slash-and-dash players, who really don't have a position. Not one player has a role. Right now, they probably couldn't win the Rucker League...I'm serious.
Their only hope is to re-build the team like the Kings did in the late '90s, or like how GM Bryan Colangelo has built the Raptors in the present.
The Raptors have mixed European passing big men who know the game and move the ball. Euro pick-ups from Jose Calderon and Jorge Garbajosa to first pick Andrea Barganani have blended beautifully with Chris Bosh and T.J. Ford.
The Celtics should take the same formula.
First, ship Paul Pierce or a package deal for Pau Gasol. Gasol would be a perfect fit for them. He's still young, and he could be a fresher Vlade Divac for the club. They could run a lot of their offense through him like the Kings did with Divac.
Second, pick up either Greg Oden, Kevin Durant, or Brandan Wright through the draft. Either one of them would be fine there.
Durant could be a lot like Luol Deng. A slasher, who could be a superstar by his third year. Then again, with his weight, he could be thrown into the third row every night. (By the way, I'm torn on Durant. Is he Reggie Williams, or is he Luol Deng?...Discuss.)
Third, they need an under-30 designated team-oriented shooter. And yes, Wally Szczerbiak is not it. Find someway or somehow to pry away Andres Nocioni, Mike Dunleavy, Mike Miller, or just keep Delonte West. Give the guy a ton of confidence, and maybe you could develop a stalwart gun like Peja Stojakovic. Then, start piecing together veterans who can play team ball.
They currently have the 20th ranked payroll right now, and they could pick-up a veteran or two on the cheap to mentor a few of their young guys like Delonte West or even if they were to keep an Al Jefferson. One move may be to pick-up an aging Grant Hill for a year. Let him run the point to just to re-set the tempo and tutor a couple of guys on how to run a team-oriented offense.
A lot of people love Jefferson. Yet, I think the only reason why he has emerged is because they have no one else to go to. Kind of like how Gerald Wallace appeared to be the Bobcats superstar. They have no one else. So, of course Jefferson is going to look good.
If he is good, hell think about shipping him to the Warriors or to the Grizzlies. Although they would take a major hit on a contract of over 9M, maybe, they can pry Jason Richardson away from the Warriors, or for Miller and Hakim Warrick of the Grizzlies.
Fourth, hire a veteran coach, who knows how to rebuild. A great hire would be to Rick Adleman and Pete Carrill to construct the NBA-oriented Princeton offense that Eddie Jordan runs. He did a great job of re-building the Kings. Let him do it again.
If they can't make that move. Then, hire away Geoff Petrie from the Kings to run the show. Hell, the Kings are booty right now. He has to be hungry to build a new team from scratch. Just find someway to re-hire Carrill to tinker with that offense. Look at what the Kings and Wizards did.
Most importantly, dump and trade all of that mediocre youth that they have through a garbage sale. Keep only Delonte West. And, maybe...they can salvage some semblance of a pick-up through a mid first-rounder this season to pick up Aaron Brooks of Oregon, who is a lot more than Telfair or Rajon Rondo.
The move to replace the black shoes with white ones may have been right on...Their guys don't deserve to wear the storied blacks....
The franchise right now is not just ridiculous...But shameful.
Re-Structure,
IronDog
Labels: BostonCeltics TorontoRaptors
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