Kevin Garnett is returning to the Celtics but is this team just another year older or do they have a chance at one last championship run?
Free agent Prize -
Boston
Celtics General Manager Danny Ainge knew his team was much better with Kevin
Garnett than without him. He couldn't
let KG walk away just because he was another year older even though the Green
is desperately trying to get younger. The simple fact is that Garnett was the one of the biggest free agent
prizes in the pool this year and whatever money Ainge had to spend, he could
not have spent it more wisely than on a future Hall of Famer who had a career
renaissance at the center position. There are few centers with the ability to hit from the perimeter and
have the strength to play a power game in the paint. That's why the Big Ticket is so special and that's
why Danny Ainge convinced him to postpone retirement and take a pay cut from
his $21.2 million salary.
Garnett is
36-years-old and will be entering his 18th season as a
professional. He was a high school prodigy
but he is now an NBA elder statesman. If
the rumors are true, Garnett agreed to a diminished salary in favor of a
multi-year deal. Reportedly, the team
and KG are discussing a 3-year pact which would virtually guarantee that
Garnett retire as a member of the Boston Celtics. In order for KG to make it to the end of his
contract, head coach Doc Rivers is going to have to use him much more
sparingly. Rivers has had a tendency to
give extreme minutes to his veterans while making the kids watch...and
hopefully learn.
Ray too?
When Ray
Allen went down with an injury this season and Avery Bradley stepped into the
phone booth and emerged from it in his Superman costume, it was almost a
foregone conclusion that Allen had spent his last season in Boston. Bradley actually supplanted Allen in the
starting lineup until he too went down with injury and Ray was back to sniping
from the perimeter. But it appears
there's been a change of heart regarding the soon to be 37-year-old shooting
guard. The Celtics are interested in
signing Allen as a valuable 6th man just as long as he is willing,
like Garnett, to take a pay cut as well from his $10 million salary.
It is
unlikely Ray Allen will get any team to pay him the same as last season, but the
Miami Heat are optimistic that money is not his main concern. The Heat are hoping he takes their mini-mid-level
exception of $3 million and assumes a supporting role in the All-Star cast that
is LeBron and company. The future Hall
of Famer will have a decision to make and the Celtics hope he chooses loyalty
over opportunity. Maybe in Boston,
there's room for both next season.
Rookies must shine
Most pundits
considered Boston's draft a smashing success when they chose Jared Sullinger
and Fab Melo at numbers 21 and 22 respectively of the first round. The consensus opinion is that Sullinger would
have been a top 5 selection if he chose to come out last year but he slid to
Boston at 21 when whispers about his ailing back began to frighten teams away
from drafting the talented power forward from Ohio State. In Boston, Sullinger will have access to
world class trainers and rehab facilities. He is a two-time first team All-American who could provide Boston with
the infusion of youthful spirit they have been missing from their frontcourt
since their championship season in 2008.
Fab Melo is
a big body and the Big East Defensive Player of the Year. He will provide much needed rebounding for a
team who constantly got waxed on the boards. He is still a raw talent having only played basketball for a handful of
years but he could add another dimension to a tough defensive squad and make
them even more dynamic.
But the
aftermath of draft day is always filled with the upside of every draft
pick. Potential is always there but
whether that potential will be fulfilled is another question entirely. Sullinger looks like a player to be sure but
will his back withstand the rigors of a full NBA season? If not, the Celtics will have a rookie on and
off the DL which could spell doom and gloom for the rest of his short
career.
Fab Melo may
be the prototypical Celtic, a force in the middle who recognizes defense is
every bit as important as offense but what about his inability to become
academically eligible for the postseason tournament for Syracuse last
year? Seriously, let's never confuse a
basketball player's core curriculum with that of an actual student. That's no slight to Syracuse, just the
reality of a big-time college basketball program. It was not only an indictment of his learning
capacity but also questions his commitment to his team.
Without Melo, Syracuse was going nowhere but
with him they could have won a national championship. They were a number one seed and made it all
the way to the Elite Eight before bowing 77-70 to ironically Jared Sullinger's
Ohio State Buckeyes. Was there no extra
academic help for Melo? Of course it was
available but did he take advantage of it? Can we envision a scenario where Melo was staying in, studying
diligently just to get the requisite GPA to be able to lead his school to a
national championship? It sounds
preposterous that Melo could have been hitting the books, tutor in tow, and
still unable get the bare minimum grades.
Either way the Celtics need to be aware that
this kid is either thicker than a California redwood or does not possess the
mental toughness to overcome obstacles. Either way, it certainly brings to the fore potential problems with
their newest draft pick.
Doc has to change
Celtics head coach Doc Rivers has always had a
proclivity towards giving a heavy dose of minutes to the starters and burying
the end of his bench. This season things
have got to change because the Big Three (if Allen stays) are another year
older. They need to be fresh and injury
free in the postseason if this team is to contend once again. Let's not forget that the Heat dispatched the
young guns from the West with greater alacrity than they did the old
battle-axes from the East. If the
Celtics are to get to the Eastern Conference finals again, then the young blood
will have to contribute from the opening tip of the opening game. The Who had a song many years ago, "The
Kids are Alright"; the Celtics had better hope their kids are much better
than that.
Current NBA odds list the Boston Celtics at +2500 for a shot at the NBA Title.