Paul Pierce is a hell of a player. He's been carrying the Celtics for as long as I know. People around the Boston area cherish him just as you guys(and I ) cherish Ming Bling Bling. The Celtics wouldnt trade Pierce for anybody. You people here in the forum flatter yourselves too much. Its an insult to Pierce for even mentioning Cat & Stevie in the same sentence.
Paul Pierce is a very good player but will probably never be as good as Kobe or Tim Duncan or Tracy McGrady. If the Celtics want to add another banner, they won't get there with Paul Pierce. It all depends on what teams offer. If the Celtics scouts believe Darko is a potential franchise player then why not pull the trigger? If I am the GM, my #1 priority is to put the team in a position to win it all, especially in a place like Boston. Boston fans want championships.
There is probably 8-10 players the Celtics would trade Pierce for: Kobe, Shaq, McGrady, Duncan, Garnett, Nowitzki, Ming, L. James (sheesh! ) Webber, I don't think that Francis for Pierce is to outlandish... not enough to call a whole BBS out for flattering ourselves.
Paul Pierce is a moron who will never win squat. He's just one step above Ricky Davis on the selfish loser scale. Superior talent isn't all there is to basketball. I wouldn't infect Yao with that cancer if you paid me. He can rot in beantown for eternity.
Right now Paul Pierce is a significantly better player than Francis. Now IF Steve works out the whole Point guard thing and IF he learns to play defense under JVG and IF he can maintain his level of production while not being The Man, etc. I feel that he has a naturally higher ceiling than Pierce. That said it's not like he's a decade younger than PP, in fact I think they're pretty close in age, and Francis is getting to that age where you begin to wonder if this is as good as it gets. If this is as good as it gets for Pierce and Francis, Pierce is better, much better. But I don't think Francis is there yet, while I don't see Pierce getting any better than he is right now.
I hope you are just kidding otherwise it just prove that you have no ideas about how to win in this league. If you really think those 3 role players (not to mention the dead long contract of Cato which can't help any salary-dumping action) are worth Paul Pierce, well. A team led by Cato/EG/Cat = 20 win team at best (as evident in the Rockets 01-02 season) A team led by Paul Pierce = 40 win team at least (as evident in so many years in Boston) In this league, you win with stars, not role players. 1 star > a more complete lineup (this must be a joke term), every time.
I went around this merry-go-round with him in the Antonio Davis thread. It became clear that he thinks what he thinks, and more power to him, but what he thinks is that A) Draft picks are not worth anything near as much as others think, compared to established players, even if what they've established is mediocrity, and B) He , IMO, seriously overevaluates the Rockets plaers' trade value. I don't think you can reason him into reconsidering either of these positions, but hey, maybe he's right and we're all wrong. BTW...and this is long overdue...Welcome aboard, and on a personal note, you have probably demonstrated a greater understanding of basketball than any girl I've ever met.
Look you guys, I didn't say Cato/EG/Cat will get you a superstar, nor did I say picks worth nothing! I said what I said because people went to the other extrem! Early in this thread, somebody was asking why anybody believes this trio can get us anything in trade? Come on, these guys will be starting at a lot of teams. Three starters won't get you anything valuable in return? Maybe because some of you just flat out underestimate the value of our players that I took the opposit position to initiate an argument. Same thing with the picks. Some people just think the draft picks are as good as or even better than advertised. If you always take the best senario and talk about their values, I do have a problem with that. I didn't say these rookies are worthless. I just think media hype is systematically upward biased and you should take it at a discount. If you believe everything they tell you, you are a fool! Even Bush overhyped the threat of Iraqi WMD, why wouldn't media do the same on some NBA picks? It is all about getting what they want: oil and reelection for Bush and rating for media.
On this board I have heard numerous posts how worthless Walker is and how Pierce is not a franchise player--yet why has Boston performed so much better in the regular season and the playoffs than the supposedly unflappable Mr. McGrady? Is it the talent of JR Bremer, Tony Battie and Wallta McCardy? I think T-Mac is probably a little better overall, but I think Pierce is a lot closer to McGrady as a complete player than most people here think. Pierce is a clutch guy who makes his teammates better and does a lot positive things on the court. I'd say bye-bye to Francis in a second if Pierce was on the table. Of course while both are BYC players it would be pretty difficult. In short Pierce may not be top 5 (Tmac is at best 4th or 5th), but him along with Dirk, Webber and Kidd certainly round out the top 9. That is as close as you get as being a "franchise player" if you reserve that tag for those top 5 guys. And news flash, Francis is not a top 10 right now, probably top 15 though.
Oh, well, that's different. Ok, really now, I'm curious. What the hell did that mean? I'm not going to hazard a guess, as it might incriminate me as a butt judge. I do think PP does not play well with others. Not even fatty arbuckle or his second tier dreamteam playmates. I'd rather try to work with Francis than that pachinko machine; unless you throw in my catch-all panacea Lamar Odom, of course. No...not even then. Rot in beantown, P.
Fair enough. I see most of your points, and I have been among those who point out that drafts NEVER produce as many stars, superstars, or even statrers as people expect...but i think you carry that thinkinh way too farm until it beomes ridicuoous: 4th overall pick for Mo Taylor, you caled that a fair trade...that's waaaay to far. See what I mean...i am o drunk!
Dumars won't let Brown short sight the team like he did in philly. arry is a good coach, but with the exception of the clipps, it seems his teams do better after they clean up his mess.
1. How good will Tracy McGrady be in 2 years? Much better than Paul Pierce is now. 2. Paul Pierce and Antoine Walker have played on the same team for 5 years. That extra chemistry accounts for the wins. This year, the Celtics got swept in the 2nd round and Orlando lost a close series to Detroit in the 1st round. Big difference? No. 3. Would any GM in the league trade Tracy McGrady for Paul Pierce? How close would it be? I'd say 99% of GMs would take McGrady. That's the difference between a franchise player and a second tier all star.
I hope we don't have to go back to talk about that trade again. Just to clarify, that trade invloving picking up A Davis for $12 mill a year and that compensate for whatever edge 4th pick has over Taylor. Why am I still arguing about this...................?
When you are so fundamentally strong, your personal accessorizing (that you call ball hogging) also has the effect of making your entourage look better.
1. Maybe. Although Carter looked just like going that way 2-3 years back. So nothing is garanteed. I think Pierce can get better, but probably not with Boston. 2. Celtics did better than Magic in last two three years. not a lot, but better. 3. OK. But why would any GM take Darko when Pierce is avaiable? I'd say 99% of GMs would take Pierce. That's the difference between a established all-star and an unknown variable x.
Before last season, would you have traded Yao Ming for Paul Pierce? Yao Ming was a variable x. No? Why?
you ot it right. Lebron didnt prove anything yet. so we haveno idea how good he is except playing against kids my ages(16-18) years of age...
