Something we can all agree on... Glad we didn't max out Horford.

[MaceCase]

2 hours ago, macdaddy said:

The thing about it is, and I absolutely hate to admit this, but Al made the right decision.     The Celtics are the better team with the brighter future.   Hopefully that can change.  A Hawks trade and the inevitable emergence of Taurean may make it better but the Celtics are better right now and they have  like 15 1st round picks so.....this sucks.

 

Gotta call you out on your "reality", other Mac.  The Cellery Sticks are the same 48 win team they were last year this year WITH Al.  All Ainge has managed to do is build Hawks north with the same undersized, lack of superstar talent type go getters that will serve as 2nd round fodder to the other Eastern elites.

Having a thousand mid tier picks doesn't help you when you have one of the worst drafters in charge of using them.  Ainge has tried a thousand times to pawn off 30 of his pennies in order to buy a dollar and been rebuffed thus scrambling to own the rights to half of Serie A as a means of stashing his duds while he waits on his current duds to expire, be waived or serve as the mystique of "assets" in another soon to be rebuffed trade proposal.

His ego won't let him use his two actual worthwhile picks because he feels entitled that the league is going to hire one of his old drinking buddies to gift him actual franchise level talent.  Even if he manages to get two #1s you still have to trust him to draft the right guys and tell me how again does that help a 30 year old Al?  Is his idea of a "better future" watching some franchise rookie contract pick blossom into a superstar when he's in the last year of his contract likely averaging 10 and 2?

No, the "brighter future" argument doesn't exactly jive with the shelf life of a guy already nearing the end of his not so illustrious prime.  It be one thing if they'd actually managed to snag Durant or Ainge didn't feel like Butler, 4 unprotected 1sts and Jordan's statue outside the UC was a "fair" deal to build a current contender but Al will have to wait.  Wait on Brown, wait on some free agent when he's the biggest Smell Ticks get since....Rick Fox? Wait on Ainge to move his "assets" or wait on him selecting some Born Ready rook.

[Diesel]

Mace, 

 

I agree with what you said there and the biggest thing is the college system. A college coach is always going to be a great motivator for young guys.  Didn't Pitino coach in Boston?  However, as time goes on and the team lose big games... The vets will lead the way jumping off the ship. 

 

[Guest]

8 minutes ago, MaceCase said:

Gotta call you out on your "reality", other Mac.  The Cellery Sticks are the same 48 win team they were last year this year WITH Al.  All Ainge has managed to do is build Hawks north with the same undersized, lack of superstar talent type go getters that will serve as 2nd round fodder to the other Eastern elites.

Having a thousand mid tier picks doesn't help you when you have one of the worst drafters in charge of using them.  Ainge has tried a thousand times to pawn off 30 of his pennies in order to buy a dollar and been rebuffed thus scrambling to own the rights to half of Serie A as a means of stashing his duds while he waits on his current duds to expire, be waived or serve as the mystique of "assets" in another soon to be rebuffed trade proposal.

His ego won't let him use his two actual worthwhile picks because he feels entitled that the league is going to hire one of his old drinking buddies to gift him actual franchise level talent.  Even if he manages to get two #1s you still have to trust him to draft the right guys and tell me how again does that help a 30 year old Al?  Is his idea of a "better future" watching some franchise rookie contract pick blossom into a superstar when he's in the last year of his contract likely averaging 10 and 2?

No, the "brighter future" argument doesn't exactly jive with the shelf life of a guy already nearing the end of his not so illustrious prime.  It be one thing if they'd actually managed to snag Durant or Ainge didn't feel like Butler, 4 unprotected 1sts and Jordan's statue outside the UC was a "fair" deal to build a current contender but Al will have to wait.  Wait on Brown, wait on some free agent when he's the biggest Smell Ticks get since....Rick Fox? Wait on Ainge to move his "assets" or wait on him selecting some Born Ready rook.

..... boom.

[Bruh, you forgot ta drop tha mic.}

[Guest]

4 minutes ago, Diesel said:

Mace, 

 

I agree with what you said there and the biggest thing is the college system. A college coach is always going to be a great motivator for young guys.  Didn't Pitino coach in Boston?  However, as time goes on and the team lose big games... The vets will lead the way jumping off the ship. 

 

I said last year that this mystique on Mr. Naismith aka Bard Stevens is predicated on him having a star-less team.  He basically has as close to a college-like roster as there can be in the NBA.

There's no one there who's name is big enough to challenge anything he says/does.  In order to win big, he'll have to contend with multiple guys who can look him in the eye and say, "Yeah coach, thas cute but we finna run this play instead."

[macdaddy]

I hope you guys are right.   I felt that way when the season started.   Just watched the end of the Knicks/hawks again and it was good to see our guys have some composure and finish a game out.   Though it was against Melo-less knicks featuring Joakim and Jennings.   

[Guest]

26 minutes ago, kg01 said:

..... boom.

[Bruh, you forgot ta drop tha mic.}

Or walk out robe entact....:-|

[Guest]

8 minutes ago, macdaddy said:

I hope you guys are right.   I felt that way when the season started.   Just watched the end of the Knicks/hawks again and it was good to see our guys have some composure and finish a game out.   Though it was against Melo-less knicks featuring Joakim and Jennings.   

We are.  Boston's future assets and nickles and dimes in a velvet purse they are trying to pass off as gold coins.  Since Ainge made out like a bandit in fleecing Brooklyn, he has a need to 'win' every trade.

He had a boatload of draft picks this past draft and had to use every last one and stash the players because the blockbuster he thought he'd get by combining all the picks to move up,  got him squat.

Crowder, Bradley, Smart etc - role players that wouldn't get the pub if they weren't wearing 'puke green'

 

[Guest]

5 minutes ago, JayBirdHawk said:

We are.  Boston's future assets and nickles and dimes in a velvet purse they are trying to pass off as gold coins.  Since Ainge made out like a bandit in fleecing Brooklyn, he has a need to 'win' every trade.

He had a boatload of draft picks this past draft and had to use every last one and stash the players because the blockbuster he thought he'd get by combining all the picks to move up,  got him squat.

Crowder, Bradley, Smart etc - role players that wouldn't get the pub if they weren't wearing 'puke green'

 

Classic pic! I wouldn't include Bradley though he's a stud in any city IMO.

[Thomas]

Pierce's PR work for the Green is what created the big three and got them two appearances and one ring so we're still waiting on Danny's legacy to manifest itself with his draft picks.

[MaceCase]

5 minutes ago, Spud2Nique said:

Or walk out robe entact....:-|

Oh naw.  I walked out with my robe wide open, flowing in the wind while my nether regions air-dried.

[Guest]

56 minutes ago, Thomas said:

Pierce's PR work for the Green is what created the big three and got them two appearances and one ring so we're still waiting on Danny's legacy to manifest itself with his draft picks.

Pierce did nothing. Danny was looking into trading him before the Bucks trade of Ray Allen happened. Then his buddy McHale gifted him Garnett.

[Thomas]

4 minutes ago, JayBirdHawk said:

Pierce did nothing. Danny was looking into trading him before the Bucks trade of Ray Allen happened. Then his buddy McHale gifted him Garnett.

Pierce and Ray both had to convince KG about the city of Boston in reference to multi culture. KG was uncomfortable with moving there. ESPN had an article on it. I'll start looking for it.

[macdaddy]

3 minutes ago, Thomas said:

Pierce and Ray both had to convince KG about the city of Boston in reference to multi culture. KG was uncomfortable with moving there. ESPN had an article on it. I'll start looking for it.

That seems strange since he was in Minny.   Maybe I'm uneducated.

[Thomas]

3 minutes ago, macdaddy said:

That seems strange since he was in Minny.   Maybe I'm uneducated.

Maybe strange but it was indeed in the news. Haven't found it yet on ESPN or SI. Surely I'm not the only person to follow trades from then.

[Thomas]

Haven't found much but this about Ainge and McHale talking before the trade. On Wiki they included the PR that KG was proud to continue the Celtics tradition. In the news though McHale was going to honor KG's wishes and Ray and Paul were in conversations with KG.    

http://nesn.com/2016/10/how-paul-pierce-almost-joined-kevin-garnett-in-minnesota-not-boston/

This helps with the timeline of Allen being involved.

https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2016/sep/29/kevin-garnett-paul-pierce-modern-nba

It was Garnett and Pierce who helped usher in the current state of the NBA, albeit mostly unintentionally. After a bottoming-out season in 2006-07, followed by a disastrous lottery showing, the Boston Celtics made a bold move by trading for Garnett, then toiling with the increasingly floundering Timberwolves. Garnett only agreed to a contract extension with the Celtics after they had acquired the SuperSonics’ Allen, perhaps reasoning that two superstars alone wouldn’t be enough for them to be considered title favorites. This was a conclusion many teams would come to in the very near future.

[Guest]

30 minutes ago, macdaddy said:

That seems strange since he was in Minny.   Maybe I'm uneducated

Understatement of the year (cmon, you walked into that one).

But yeah, BOS is way more racist than MIL, IIUC.

[Guest]

34 minutes ago, macdaddy said:

That seems strange since he was in Minny.   Maybe I'm uneducated.

 

[Guest]

18 minutes ago, Thomas said:

Haven't found much but this about Ainge and McHale talking before the trade. On Wiki they included the PR that KG was proud to continue the Celtics tradition. In the news though McHale was going to honor KG's wishes and Ray and Paul were in conversations with KG.    

http://nesn.com/2016/10/how-paul-pierce-almost-joined-kevin-garnett-in-minnesota-not-boston/

I'm not sure who is right here Thomas, you or Jaybird, but I do remember the Celtics acquiring Ray BEFORE Garnett considered Boston. If the Sonics wouldn't have traded Allen for the 5th pick (Jeffrey Green) then I doubt Garnett would have joined the Celtics with only Paulette Pierce.

[Thomas]

3 minutes ago, Spud2Nique said:

I'm not sure who is right here Thomas, you or Jaybird, but I do remember the Celtics acquiring Ray BEFORE Garnett considered Boston. If the Sonics wouldn't have traded Allen for the 5th pick (Jeffrey Green) then I doubt Garnett would have joined the Celtics with only Paulette Pierce.

A lot of it really was based on the relationship and respect McHale had with and for KG. It didn't happen overnight and even though McHale became a scapegoat for it he did right by KG.

[Thomas]

OK, this certainly doesn't confirm everything but does show KG didn't like the idea of the trade to Boston.

http://www.espn.com/nba/news/story?id=2954127

The clincher, though, was Garnett's willingness to back off his well-chronicled refusal to play in Boston. Garnett's unwillingness to make a long-term commitment to the Celtics abruptly took this deal off the table in June, but McHale and his Boston counterpart, ex-teammate Danny Ainge, managed to resuscitate the trade and quickly move it to the brink of completion.