Advice for NBA teams to improve their respective teams as the 2007 trade deadline nears, covering all 30 teams, from worst to first. This installment: Boston Celtics
We’ve reached just past the midway point of the 2006-07 NBA schedule, and the winners and losers have certainly stood up and been counted. Ten teams have all but put themselves on the “stick a fork in ‘em” shelf, while ten others play Russian roulette with their playoff chances during any given week. That leaves ten rosters whose play ranges from solid to spectacular, and their efforts have the front offices ready to print post season ducats. So what could all of these 30 NBA franchises have in common with such different directions they are going? The answer is that every one of these teams needs to get better – for the cellar-dwellers, to improve their future; for the bubble teams, to make a successful playoff push; and for the elites, to maximize their chances to take home the O’Brien trophy in June.
For the next three weeks prior to the trade deadline (Feb 22nd), we will examine the needs wants and wishes of every NBA team, from the in-need-of-an-Extreme Makeover Griz and Celtics, to the seemingly lock tight Mavs and Suns. Along the way, it won’t be all about making eight-player deals; at times, the best move might be no move, despite the pressure from management and fan base.
We begin with shooting fish in a barrel, otherwise known as the Boston Celtics. They stand at 12-34 after losing their 14th straight game on Friday 100-89 to the Clippers, one of the afore-mentioned bubble teams. This particular game is perhaps a microcosm of Boston’s deficiencies, as it goes against common sense that an NBA team playing at home can outshoot another by a significant margin, match rebounds, and not have a large turnover deficit yet lose by double-figures.
This smacks of coaching issues, and though Glenn (Doc) Rivers was a class act as a player, he has under whelmed during his two coaching stops to date. The war chants are mounting in Beantown for GM Danny Ainge to do what seems inevitable anyway, but the dysfunction as usual goes deeper. The sub-standard player pool of the Celts has been put together by Ainge’s derring-do, and it would not be a surprise if the axe only stopped at the coach’s chair.
As for the players, there is a small nucleus that I would consider untouchable. Al Jefferson is a stud, Paul Pierce a second-tier superstar, Delonte West is improving (except in the shooting department, a huge negative for him), and Rondo as a rookie has showed significant flashes of something special. Wally Szcerbiak has utility, but doesn’t get enough shots to influence the game. He along with Gerald Green would benefit the most by a coaching change that gives them defined and consistent roles in the rotation. Ryan Gomes would be a hard giveaway also, but he might help tip a deal for needed pieces.
As for the baggage, let’s jettison the entire front court regiment. Theo Ratliff has reached the end of his tether. Brian Scalabrine should be the first dead weight dropped off the sinking ship. How an NBA team would want a sub .400 shooting big man who barely cracks 5 r.p.g. on a 48 minute basis would be a mystery, but his non-contribution can’t be tolerated any longer. Olowakandi is obviously playing himself out of the league, injury or no. Kendrick Perkins would be nice trade bait for a team looking for an experienced backup center, and his production could be replaced by any one of ten bigs available late first round or early second in the June draft
Now for the smalls. Sebastian Telfair MAY have talent, but he’s yet to translate that to the court and his immature attitude is a big negative. Tony Allen can score, but his assists/TO ratio frustrates, and he’s a clone of any one of twenty players available in free agency for the mid-level exception, so he should stay only because it makes financial sense.
The short term prognosis isn’t good for the Greenies. Pierce has been hurt, Allen is out for the year. Their most viable path would be to play West and Rondo together ‘til they drop, to see if they can create enough chemistry that Pierce’s considerable talents won’t be shut down by double-teams when or if he returns this season. The move most talked about that the Celts should definitely not make is a trade with Memphis for Gasol. His game is soft, his cap number is big and Mempho would not let him walk without either Pierce or AJ being in the package. That’s franchise suicide in this writer’s view.
Because of their downward trajectory, and because the Grizzlies are playing much better ball of late, the luck of the Irish may smile upon Boston in the draft lottery, and they should end up with OSU’s Oden or Texas’ Durant (assuming they both declare). Either of these young gentlemen will immediately upgrade the Beanies by 10-15 wins, and a recalibration (gentle term for scuttling) of the roster as suggested above, allied with a more up tempo coaching philosophy will push the team toward bubble status for the 2008 playoffs. This is the moment that Ainge either sees opportunity or danger in the team’s future, and his decisions over the next few months will have a long-reaching effect on his and the team’s destiny.
Next: Singing the Memphis blues
