OT: Celtics Acquire Courtney Lee

[DogMania]

The Celts had Brooks though. Giving up on your first rounder in one year--a shortened strike season--is questionable. Celtics have done this too often in the last 15 years. How many other teams have shuffled off a Chauncey Billups or Joe Johnson and gotten nothing in return so early in their careers? I'm not saying JuJuan is that, but this is no way to run a team.

You have to keep in mind that some of the traded players that have been mentioned such Johnson might not have developed into very good players while in a C's uniform due to stars talking up big time minutes at their position. Johnson was showing potential but Pierce would have taken so many minutes away from him that he would probably played out his contract and gone elsewhere any ways. With that said, I'm assuming we didn't get much value from trading him. It was so long ago I don't even remember who was in that deal and if some of those pieces we got helped get some of the players we have now.

Keep in mind that the KG and Pierce window is closing fast and adding a Lee who is ready to contribute at a high level off the bench now is valued more than what JJ might be capable of doing down the road. He's unlikely a future all-star and the Cs will probably be able to pick up a player of his abilities and ceiling down the road via trade or FA. Now if he turns out to be a future All-star and Lee's contribution is minimal, then the deal will turn out to be a bad one. Since DA doesn't have a crystal balls, I'd say he's making moves that makes sense based on what the franchise needs now but with some sort of eye on the future

As already pointed out by others, DA has added a few nice young players this off season and the prior one. Green was a nice pick-up, that simply hasn't worked out due to unforeseen problems. One could make an argument that they might have done better this past season if they had kept Perk. Maybe, but based on what they needed to beat the Heat, IMO a healthy Green would helped more than a healthy Perkins. Green could have really helped slow James down a tad and given Paul some needed rest, not to mention the offensive boost Green would have provided off the bench as a 3/4 combo. Lee and Terry not only replace what Ray gave us, but provide depth and better defense.

To Ray's credit, he defended amazingly well for a guy his age who was clearly playing injured and often against much younger and bigger Heat players. Ray went from a bad defender to a pretty good one. He worked his ass off on D during the post season. I realize he's nowhere close to the lock-down-defender Bradley was when healthy, but he certainly improved his D compared to what he was like when he first entered the league, or maybe better put, before he joined the Cs. Having younger and more healthy players at the 2 & 3 will make up for the daggers that Ray can deliver. I think the +/- impact of those who will be taking up the PT that Ray would have earned will equal if not be better. The one kicker to this is, Ray's skill set should flourish in Miami and based on the latest trend of ex-Boston athletes flat out killing our teams (particularly the Red Sox returnees - Youk, Crisp, Reddick, etc.) don't be surprised to see Ray drop down some daggers that could determine the outcome of a Cs-Heat Conference Final this coming season. As much as I'm a Ray fan, I hope that doesn't happen if the two teams face each other again.

 

[JaYnYcE]

The Knicks are better than that - I'd put them anywhere in the 3-5 range (especially since the Bulls appear to be giving up on this season already). Still, the thought of relying on Amare playing like an All-Star would scare the bejeezus outta me as a Knicks fan.

We never know how these things will play out, but on paper it's 1) Miami, 2) Celtics, then everyone else.

Now that the Knicks have a proven PG who, averaged 17 and 9 when he played with Amar'e 2 years ago, will open up the floor for Melo and Chandler. I just saw Amar'e yesterday in an interview during the Knicks summer league game and he looks skinny. He's down to 245 from 260 a year ago. He and Tyson are also set to work with Hakeem this August so it will be very interesting to see any new post moves that they will bring to Woodson's training camp. For the crap that STAT and Melo get for not being able to play together, this will be their first full training camp together. After finishing 18-6, I'm excited to see what these boys can do next season. It will be rough for the first few months without the defensive prowess of Shumpert, but I'm sure we'll be ok.

Also, don't count out the Nets. Between Boston-NY-Philly, the atlantic division will be the toughest in the NBA.

Sorry to hijack your thread. But I saw a Knick mention so I had to respond.


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[UConn990411]

No apologies necessary - I love a good NBA back and forth (something that is rare for this board).

I like the Knicks roster on paper, but there are a lot of question marks. Amare feels like a ticking time bomb right now, Jason Kidd is 39 years old, Shumpert will take awhile before he regains form, and Marcus Camby is a fossil. And while I think Felton is more than passable as a starting PG, he will not replicate those 17-9 averages, which came when he was playing under D'Antoni (and you guys know my thoughts on point guards playing under D'Antoni...).

In terms of depth and talent, I think this is the best Knicks roster, top to bottom, in quite some time - the talent is there for them to finish top 3 in the East IF everything breaks right.

But the downside is also there for them to finish 7th again.

 

[JaYnYcE]

I just think Woodson won't allow this team to finish outside of the top four. I saw him jawing at STAT for not playing defense one time and sat him in favor of Jared Jeffries for a long period.


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[nomar]

To Ray's credit, he defended amazingly well for a guy his age who was clearly playing injured and often against much younger and bigger Heat players. Ray went from a bad defender to a pretty good one. He worked his ass off on D during the post season. I realize he's nowhere close to the lock-down-defender Bradley was when healthy, but he certainly improved his D compared to what he was like when he first entered the league, or maybe better put, before he joined the Cs.

I agree with most of your comments but as to this one, while you're right that Ray's D improved when he joined the Celtics, it really regressed over the last couple seasons. He had bone spurs, which might be partially responsible, but he's just not as quick as he was a couple of years ago. I wanted to re-sign him, because I like him and because I don't want him taking wide-open 3's for the Heat against the Celtics, but I won't miss his defense.

 

[RS9999X]

In the NBA East the Celts are the big losers and Heat the big winners and it has nothing to do with Ray Allen.

The Atlantic has 3 solid teams this year---the Knicks and Nets aren't mailing it in this year. . Even Philly has enough talent to be a PIA on the road. Not good for the Celts and home advantage and easy title.

The Heat in the Southeast will clean up. Orlando and Atlanta are shadows of their former selves. One or the other might cop a playoff spot (Atlanta) but won't be relevant.

Chicago in the Central lost a bit dealing with the salary cap. The bench of talented players aged into free agency and is weaker. Indiana managed the off season as usual--good enough to be surprising and take advantage of the Bulls if there are injuries.

 

[nomar]

I will take better talent over home-court advantage any day of the week and twice on Sunday. I get your point, but calling the Celtics "losers" of the off-season is totally ridiculous. They got much, much better.

 

[johnhuskies95]

The Celtics have not matched up well at all with the Bulls the last two seasons, but that may change. The Bulls bench should be weaker and Rose might not be close to full strength until March.

The Celtics should be the #2 seed in the East, but they can't start out at 25-22 again.