The Celtics traded Semih Erden (nice young prospect Center) and Luke Harangody to the Cavs for a 2013 2nd round pick. Anybody else baffled by this?! You'd think by trading away Perkins that they'd retain size. Obviously the Celtics have a couple free agent signings to make, but I feel like they could've gotten more for him. I wish we got Erden.
I was pretty shocked by it at first. Semih filled in when all the other centers were down and allowed the Celtics to keep winning. He's a fairly skilled young center, especially considering he was the last pick in the draft a few years ago. (I'm a Celtics fan, and have seen all the games.) After a few days, it makes more sense: They wanted to open up multiple roster spots for buyout guys. I believe they will sign two: a guard and a big man. Their first choice seems to be Murphy. Semih was playing injured. He has a shoulder problem that will require surgery after the season, an an abductor injury in his leg. Maybe the Celtics felt he might have given what he could this year. Another thing was something from Doc Rivers the other day (who likes Semih) from Steve Bulpett in the Boston Herald: "The inclusion of the latter may seem a bit odd in that Erden looked very good at times under the circumstances- a rookie in a new country playing through a left shoulder problem that will require surgery. But he may have fallen out of favor for other issues; Rivers periodically commented that Erden needed to learn NBA preparation standards." Finally it comes down to this: The Celtics think Shaq will be healthy in a few games, and Jermaine will probably be ready in late March. Beyond that they have Krstic, Big Baby, and Murphy if they pick him up. That's plenty of veteran depth for a title run, and Semih wasn't playing with that group available anyway.
I'll add: No, Rasheed is not coming back. and: It probably will be three total new acquisitions. The last one being someone like Chris Johnson who they just brought up from the D League on a 10 day, or Leon Powe.
ainge was never a god GM. he was about to be fired but then his old pal called him about trading kevin garnett. he was ready to trade the entire team sans pierce for him, leaving the celtics gutted of all but two decent players. then KG came to ainge's aide and said the roster would be too depleted and he didnt want to sign an extension there unless they got another guy. so ainge took the advice and traded a high lotto pick for ray allen, and subsequently was able to complete the kg trade. mind you, the whole thing was orchestrated by McHale and Garnett. additionally, not every gm gets lucky enough to find two teams in the same summer that want to move their franchise player. if even one of those teams wanted to wait until the deadline to trade their star, ainge probably would've still been fired. not to mention the luck of having thibs available in the same summer! i mean did the stars align for this guy or what? since then he has received tons of praise as a gm, but i fail to see what exactly he has done that didnt fall into his lap a few summers ago.
I heard Sheed wasn't coming back. I hope Boston don't think Troy Murphy can replace Kendrick Perkins. He may be big in height but he is nowhere near as physical as Perkins.
I disagree. Ainge is a great GM. He's a great drafter, really knows everything about his job, works hard as hell, and is as good a talent evaluator as anyone. The team he inherited was horrible, capped out for years, had no tradable talent (except Pierce), and was led by Antoine Walker. He prudently stockpiled young talent and the Theo Ratliff expiring contract in a year when that was the only big expiring contract. The big deal the off-season he got Garnett wasn't luck- he'd set it up years in advance. If it wasn't Garnett it would have been someone else. He made the Seattle trade with Presti and the Minny trade with McHale. It was the best offer Minnesota got. What was Ainge supposed to do, not talk with his friend to make fans of opposing teams feel better about the deal? Then he used the second round pick from Seattle on Big Baby. He had Rondo targeted as a top 5 pick and got him at 21, when no one else wanted him. He refused to include him in either the Allen or Garnett deals, even if it meant voiding the trades. He took a franchise that was completely screwed up and turned it into a powerhouse in 5 seasons. What more does he have to do?
Shaq replaces Perkins. The team plays better with Shaq than Perk. Murphy is for versatility, stretching the floor when Garnett rests, and a back-up who compliments Big Baby. Yeah, Sheed's a definite No.
Rondo was technically picked by Phoenix, but the deal was in place before that and it was Ainge's choice. Chad Ford had said weeks before the draft that one GM loved Rondo and rated him way higher than everyone else. It turned out to be Ainge.
I know Perk is coming off a serious knee injury but I don't think I would put my hope into Shaq staying healthy if I'm Boston. Some reporter said Shaq was walking with a heavy limp all-star weekend.
I'm inclined to agree with you, but Ainge said two days ago that Shaq's doing really well now, is working out and should play after the road trip. He also said Jermaine's doing fantastic after a procedure on his knee and they hop to have him back late March. You're right. It all rides on Shaq being able to play 20 minutes a game through the playoffs.
this is mostly just different view points of the same events, so we will have to agree to disagree. however, i will admit that he does draft well. so does isaiah thomas. drafting well doesn't make you a good gm by itself. we can't overlook the fact that management wanted to replace him that summer. that says something about his performance prior to those events. its easy to say that "if it wasn't garnett it would've been someone else" but the truth is that stars don't usually get traded. if it wasn't kg, it might not have been anyone else. even if it was someone else that was acquired they may not have had the same results. if thibs wasn't available they may only have been a decent defensive team. its not like ainge worked his gm savvy to get him away from the rockets. you have to admit there was an enormous amount of luck that those 3 key pieces were available at the same time. he was in the hot seat to be fired before that summer, and since then he's just signed veterans who want to try for a ring. not all that impressive before or after that summer.
I'm not sure where you heard ownership wanted to get rid of him. I've watched the team very closely since.... well never mind how long, but a loooong time... and never heard Wyc Grousbeck or Steve Pagluica ever utter anything by praise and support for Ainge. There was never a whisper about it. Some fans hated him, and even many prominent Boston writers, but, IMHO at the time, they were sadly mistaken. Thibs is terrific. The D picked up with his arrival, but that was also the arrival of Garnett, who is the blazing force behind the defense. When Garnett was injured the D wasn't nearly as good even with Thibs there. With Thibs gone and Garnett there, the D is great again. That's not to undermine Thibodeau- Chicago's defense is off the charts since he took over. Yes, I do think there was some luck involved that summer. There is in any turnaround- whether it's drafting Duncan or Durant or lucking into Pau Gasol at the right moment. But then, the Celtics had two decades of bad luck (much of it self-made), so I guess these things balance out. Ainge did target that summer though, knowing that some stars were going to be moved and he assembled the assets to take advantage.
