Tending the House: The Point
The most glaring need of the Celtics is a true point guard. While Delonte West has served admirably, he is better suited as a backup combo guard. He is an adequate point guard however in whichever of Danny's alternate plans Doc Rivers goes with: a half-court offense or a running game, the Celtics need a pure point who can control tempo and be the floor general.
The Current Tenants: Delonte West, Dan Dickau, Orien Greene
Doc Rivers played Tony Allen at the point at the end of the season which is probably not a good sign for Orien Greene's future in green. While the kid is athletic and solid on defense, he has had legal issues and is a project with an apparently low ceiling. While he could blossom in the right situation, I don't see Boston being that situation. Dan Dickau is another player who could be solid on the right team however the Celtics are so pourous defensively that his matador deal will be painfully obvious if and when he ever plays some regular season minutes for us. That leaves West, who is a trooper, a top notch role player, but not a pure point guard. The Free Agents
The Big Ticket Items: Jason Terry, Sam Cassell,
The Mid-Level Luxuries: Marcus Banks, Mike James, Bobby Jackson, Speedy Claxton
The Bargain Bin Tony Delk, Royal Ivey, Janerro Pargo, David Wesley, Gary Payton, Reece Gaines, Anthony Carter, MIke Wilks Terry isn't a pure point guard and Cassell is old and probably not interested in playing his final years in Beantown unless we make a major move for a Jermaine O'Neal type.Speedy Claxton is getting some love from fans but I'd rather not be the team that overinvests in him. A lot of people seem interested in Bobby Jackson, but I think we have our own Bobby Jackson in West right now. What we need is our Mike Bibby and that isn't going to happen in this free agent market. The Trade Bait
Here's where things could get messy. Just like with the power forward slot, Danny could force a deal to bring in a big name point guard in hopes of winning now.
Stephon Marbury: Let's take care of the worst option right away. Forget firing Danny, if he trades for Marbury, Ainge should be shot. And that would be letting him get away easy.
Stevie Francis: Not a pure point no matter how much he likes to think he is, Francis is not going to help this team. He, Pierce, and Wally wouldn't even be better than the Nets fearsome threesome. And to close out with the Knicks, Jamal Crawford is one of the few players that Larry Brown likes on the team so I'd have to imagine he won't be going anywhere.
Baron Davis: The early front-runner for most likely trade target since we went after him last season before he was dealt to Golden St. He and Pierce are both Los Angelenos and apparently are friends so it makes sense chemistry-wise. On the court might be a different story. Baron failed to help the Warriors break their playoff drought and his issues are very much the same that made Ricky Davis expendable; he monopolizes the ball and often slows down the flow of the offense. Add int the fact that he's not the healthiest baller in the league and it might be one of those situations where more is actually less.
Brevin Knight: The consumate professional, Brevin has spent his entire career being the point guard for terrible teams. Besides his rookie season, he's never spent a full year on a team with a winning record. My thoughts are that that trend would continue if we brought him to the Celtics.
Jamaal Tinsley: The oldest 28 year old in the world, Mel Mel the Abuser played 82 games combined in the past two season, and missed 29 games the season prior to those. And even when he was healthy, his defense was not that great (remember him getting abused by Kenny Anderson in 2001?) If we could trade for him and transplant his brain into Orien Greene's body, we might have something. If not, the Pacers can have him.
Mo Williams: One of the more underrated pure point guards in the league, Mo could be the odd man out in Milwaukee who has TJ Ford and Charlie Bell also at that slot. A deal for Magloire and Williams would be VERY intriguing but I don't know that we have anything that interests the Bucks. If anything, they might be interested in a Williams for Kendrick Perkins swap but there's no way I'm giving up a young big like Perkins right now.
Allen Iverson: I just don't see Philly handing us their franchise. We would have to make an offer of Herschel Walker proportions to get them to even consider sending A.I. to a division rival. And if we did get him, we'd probably have to give up so much that it would take a couple of years to build up enough depth in the lineup to truly contend and by that point A.I.'s window would be almost closed.
Sebastian Telfair: Personally, I don't like him. I thought he came off as pompous during his documentary "Through the Fire" and he can't shoot to save his life. Still, he is very much a pure point guard and is most certainly talented. He's fallen out of favor in Portland and while Ainge liked him a couple of years ago during the draft, I can't say that he is a sure thing to click with Doc. It'd be interesting but I think Isiah is going to go after him in a monster deal for Miles and Ratliff.
Luke Ridnour: Seattle is a team we could deal with. Rashard Lewis might be on the outs, Fortson is an expiring contract, Ridnour and Collison could both be available. But would they want Raef or Wally? I'm not a fan of Luke, have no idea how he was invited to try out for team USA, but he is a creator on offense, a true PG, and someone that fits Danny's pattern of moves. He is a definite option, like it or not.
Any names like Bibby, Hinrich, Chris Paul, or even Shaun Livingston should only be mentioned if we are seriously considering dealing Paul Pierce, which it appears we are not. The Draft
While last year was a bumper crop of PG's, this year is nothing but projects. With Ainge looking for immediate help, the only two that come remotely close to meeting that criteria are Mardy Collins and Marcus Williams. Williams has had character issues while Mardy is good but not great. Even still, counting on immediate help from a rookie point guard who's not considered an elite prospect is a bad idea. Hell, even with an elite prospect like Chauncey Billups it didn't work out so well for us in the past. Guys like Rajon Rondo and Spain's Sergio Rodriguez are intriquing but they are long term projects and not at all what the C's are looking for right now. There are also the combo guards like Randy Foye but why add him when we already have Delonte?
Doc Rivers played Tony Allen at the point at the end of the season which is probably not a good sign for Orien Greene's future in green. While the kid is athletic and solid on defense, he has had legal issues and is a project with an apparently low ceiling. While he could blossom in the right situation, I don't see Boston being that situation. Dan Dickau is another player who could be solid on the right team however the Celtics are so pourous defensively that his matador deal will be painfully obvious if and when he ever plays some regular season minutes for us. That leaves West, who is a trooper, a top notch role player, but not a pure point guard. The Free Agents
The Big Ticket Items: Jason Terry, Sam Cassell,
The Mid-Level Luxuries: Marcus Banks, Mike James, Bobby Jackson, Speedy Claxton
The Bargain Bin Tony Delk, Royal Ivey, Janerro Pargo, David Wesley, Gary Payton, Reece Gaines, Anthony Carter, MIke Wilks Terry isn't a pure point guard and Cassell is old and probably not interested in playing his final years in Beantown unless we make a major move for a Jermaine O'Neal type.Speedy Claxton is getting some love from fans but I'd rather not be the team that overinvests in him. A lot of people seem interested in Bobby Jackson, but I think we have our own Bobby Jackson in West right now. What we need is our Mike Bibby and that isn't going to happen in this free agent market. The Trade Bait
Here's where things could get messy. Just like with the power forward slot, Danny could force a deal to bring in a big name point guard in hopes of winning now.
Stephon Marbury: Let's take care of the worst option right away. Forget firing Danny, if he trades for Marbury, Ainge should be shot. And that would be letting him get away easy.
Stevie Francis: Not a pure point no matter how much he likes to think he is, Francis is not going to help this team. He, Pierce, and Wally wouldn't even be better than the Nets fearsome threesome. And to close out with the Knicks, Jamal Crawford is one of the few players that Larry Brown likes on the team so I'd have to imagine he won't be going anywhere.
Baron Davis: The early front-runner for most likely trade target since we went after him last season before he was dealt to Golden St. He and Pierce are both Los Angelenos and apparently are friends so it makes sense chemistry-wise. On the court might be a different story. Baron failed to help the Warriors break their playoff drought and his issues are very much the same that made Ricky Davis expendable; he monopolizes the ball and often slows down the flow of the offense. Add int the fact that he's not the healthiest baller in the league and it might be one of those situations where more is actually less.
Brevin Knight: The consumate professional, Brevin has spent his entire career being the point guard for terrible teams. Besides his rookie season, he's never spent a full year on a team with a winning record. My thoughts are that that trend would continue if we brought him to the Celtics.
Jamaal Tinsley: The oldest 28 year old in the world, Mel Mel the Abuser played 82 games combined in the past two season, and missed 29 games the season prior to those. And even when he was healthy, his defense was not that great (remember him getting abused by Kenny Anderson in 2001?) If we could trade for him and transplant his brain into Orien Greene's body, we might have something. If not, the Pacers can have him.
Mo Williams: One of the more underrated pure point guards in the league, Mo could be the odd man out in Milwaukee who has TJ Ford and Charlie Bell also at that slot. A deal for Magloire and Williams would be VERY intriguing but I don't know that we have anything that interests the Bucks. If anything, they might be interested in a Williams for Kendrick Perkins swap but there's no way I'm giving up a young big like Perkins right now.
Allen Iverson: I just don't see Philly handing us their franchise. We would have to make an offer of Herschel Walker proportions to get them to even consider sending A.I. to a division rival. And if we did get him, we'd probably have to give up so much that it would take a couple of years to build up enough depth in the lineup to truly contend and by that point A.I.'s window would be almost closed.
Sebastian Telfair: Personally, I don't like him. I thought he came off as pompous during his documentary "Through the Fire" and he can't shoot to save his life. Still, he is very much a pure point guard and is most certainly talented. He's fallen out of favor in Portland and while Ainge liked him a couple of years ago during the draft, I can't say that he is a sure thing to click with Doc. It'd be interesting but I think Isiah is going to go after him in a monster deal for Miles and Ratliff.
Luke Ridnour: Seattle is a team we could deal with. Rashard Lewis might be on the outs, Fortson is an expiring contract, Ridnour and Collison could both be available. But would they want Raef or Wally? I'm not a fan of Luke, have no idea how he was invited to try out for team USA, but he is a creator on offense, a true PG, and someone that fits Danny's pattern of moves. He is a definite option, like it or not.
Any names like Bibby, Hinrich, Chris Paul, or even Shaun Livingston should only be mentioned if we are seriously considering dealing Paul Pierce, which it appears we are not. The Draft
While last year was a bumper crop of PG's, this year is nothing but projects. With Ainge looking for immediate help, the only two that come remotely close to meeting that criteria are Mardy Collins and Marcus Williams. Williams has had character issues while Mardy is good but not great. Even still, counting on immediate help from a rookie point guard who's not considered an elite prospect is a bad idea. Hell, even with an elite prospect like Chauncey Billups it didn't work out so well for us in the past. Guys like Rajon Rondo and Spain's Sergio Rodriguez are intriquing but they are long term projects and not at all what the C's are looking for right now. There are also the combo guards like Randy Foye but why add him when we already have Delonte?
