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Post by DERRENMATTS on Dec 19, 2006 1:10:18 GMT -5
Danny Ainge has made some bold moves in the past--some were questionable, some were good--but he's stood by his stance that he won't stop tinkering with the roster until he feels we have the right players in place to make a charge towards a championship.
If we imagine looking through Ainge's eyes, would we see a team who can compete for a title in 3 years, once our young players develop? Will we be able to take on the likes of the Mavericks or the Heat (with a healthy Shaq) or the Spurs?
Or would we see that we can use an upgrade at either the PG spot or at Center?
No doubt that we don't know what we fully have right now because many of our young players have yet to cement their futures. But Ainge is in a critical situation right now because he can't waste 3 years waiting for each and every one of our young players to develop. He'll have to make a decision on some of them, either taking a chance on them or cutting them loose in a trade. But its highly unlikely we keep each one of our young players.
The core young guys who absolutely must stay are Jefferson and Gerald. We all have our favorites beyond these 2, but ultimately, no young player aside from these 2 are safe. Ainge will give up other young players before he'll give up Al or Gerald.
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Post by DERRENMATTS on Dec 19, 2006 1:10:57 GMT -5
What about Pierce? He's playing fantastic basketball right now, and he and Al are forming a nice 1-2 attack. Do we roll the dice with Pierce and hope we can acquire another big time player using a bunch of young players, expiring contracts and draft picks? Or do we have enough pieces heyond Pierce to absorb the blow of losing him?
This draft is looking very deep, with a lot of good big men possibly coming out. Last year, we held the 7th pick in a draft that was not strong. This year, we have picked an unfortunate time to start playing better because we are playing ourselves right out of a high lottery pick--in which we could have selected an impact big man to play next to Jefferson. So ironic.
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Post by The Eye of the Q is upon you! on Dec 19, 2006 12:43:34 GMT -5
What about Pierce? He's playing fantastic basketball right now, and he and Al are forming a nice 1-2 attack. Do we roll the dice with Pierce and hope we can acquire another big time player using a bunch of young players, expiring contracts and draft picks? Or do we have enough pieces heyond Pierce to absorb the blow of losing him? This draft is looking very deep, with a lot of good big men possibly coming out. Last year, we held the 7th pick in a draft that was not strong. This year, we have picked an unfortunate time to start playing better because we are playing ourselves right out of a high lottery pick--in which we could have selected an impact big man to play next to Jefferson. So ironic. Gee I'm going to post this on Perkins and Powes locker See the response you get.
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Post by DERRENMATTS on Dec 19, 2006 17:04:28 GMT -5
I think Powe has more upside than Perk (because he has offensive potential), and I do see him having a chance to be a top 8 PF in the East (he should have been a lottery pick and not a mid 2nd rounder--but his knees were a scare for many teams). If he reaches this level, we'll be in good shape (though I wish he were a bit taller).
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Post by ferbo on Dec 19, 2006 22:27:46 GMT -5
I would be pleased if he is that good. It looks like he does something each time to get in the box. He seems to be a good bit more physical at 6'8" than Gomes does at 6'7". I wonder if h e is a clone of Paul Silas.
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Post by DERRENMATTS on Dec 20, 2006 10:51:23 GMT -5
Powe can make things happen. That's what's encouraging about him, and why I think his upside is greater than Perk's. When Powe has the ball in the post, even though he's giving up inches to the man guarding him, he's still able to spin his way to the front of the rim and get off a shot that most of the time looks like its going to fall in. He's also a guy who can get to the line consistently. And in his limited time, he's already shown to be a very good rebounder and shot blocker.
I want to see Powe play more to get a better assesment of his game, but so far it seems that, if his knees hold up, he could play his way into the starting lineup, edging out Gomes.
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Post by Roadrunner on Dec 23, 2006 13:35:59 GMT -5
I think it was Danny who said "we are going to do it with the 3 "Ds" - draft, development, and deals."
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Post by DERRENMATTS on Dec 23, 2006 14:03:33 GMT -5
He's done a good job in the drafting department. We've been a bit lagging in the developmental department (coaching staff's problem?), and we'll have to wait and see what Ainge will do with future deals.
Yep, he's sticking with the triple D.
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Post by DERRENMATTS on Dec 25, 2006 16:40:04 GMT -5
Here's one observation that I haven't read much about during our 5 game winning streak. Pierce has been getting a lot of open looks because teams are hesitant to crash on him. He's gotten more 1 on 1's lately than he has since his rookie season.
The reason being? Teams are now showing respect to Jefferson by staying much closer to him, and this has given Pierce breathing room to operate. The double teams take longer to get to Pierce and that's why he's been able to get open looks when he touches the ball.
If Jefferson can figure out how to continue scoring, as well as burn teams by passing out of double teams and hitting the open man (Wally, Delonte, Gomes, etc.), we will still be a solid halfcourt team, but we will become less reliant on Paul Pierce.
I feel we should go with the Golden State trade rumor of getting Jason Richardson, Monta Ellis and Mike Dunleavy for Pierce, Delonte and Scalabrine. All three of those guys can hit perimeter shots, but they are much better in the uptempo game than their counterparts. And that's where we are lacking right now.
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Post by Roadrunner on Dec 26, 2006 23:05:20 GMT -5
Most championship teams have the high-low, inside-outside presence. Once AJ becomes a force down-low, the outside game will get even better.
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Post by eja117 on Dec 27, 2006 11:50:43 GMT -5
I would be fine with the GS trade if we weren't sending them picks. Or if we did fine, I want Diogu back. Or at least Patrick O'Bryant. Maybe even swindle a Matt Barnes out of them.
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Post by DERRENMATTS on Dec 27, 2006 12:04:21 GMT -5
No, we absolutely must not give up any draft picks. Not with the talent thats coming out this year (hopefully).
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Post by Deleted on Dec 27, 2006 15:53:21 GMT -5
I would give up the 1st round pick if we're getting a talented young player like Monta Ellis or Biedrins back from GS. As much as i like to have a Durant or Oden on this team i wouldn't lose much sleep if the consoliation prize is having Ellis playing as our PG.
Then you get a Jason Richardson who can score 20 pts per game as well. Who also fits much better with a uptempo offense.
C- Jefferson PF - Powe SF - Green SG - Richardson PG - Ellis
6th man - Gomes 7th Man - Delonte/Rondo 8th Man- Dunleavy
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Post by freshnthehouse on Dec 27, 2006 16:03:18 GMT -5
I would give up the 1st round pick if we're getting a talented young player like Monta Ellis or Biedrins back from GS. As much as i like to have a Durant or Oden on this team i wouldn't lose much sleep if the consoliation prize is having Ellis playing as our PG. Then you get a Jason Richardson who can score 20 pts per game as well. Who also fits much better with a uptempo offense. C- Jefferson PF - Powe SF - Green SG - Richardson PG - Ellis 6th man - Gomes 7th Man - Delonte/Rondo 8th Man- Dunleavy But is Ellis a real PG? From what Ive seen hes played the 2 while BDavis runs the point.
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Post by DERRENMATTS on Dec 27, 2006 16:09:17 GMT -5
JHVOS, if you have a chance to draft big time talent like Oden or Durant, you must go for it. As good as Monta Ellis is becoming, he's not going to impact the game as much as Oden or Durant will.
If you are talking about losing a mid to low 1st round pick for Monta, then yes, your point is well taken. Otherwise, you hold onto your high 1st rounder and pray that we'll land a big time talent.
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