The Celtics basically did exactly what I wanted them not to do. They traded their pick for Sebastian Telfair before the draft, and gave up on the slider. The deal itself ended up being a lot better, as they dumped Dan Dickau and Raef LaFrentz on Portland, and picked up Theo Ratliff and his surgical entourage, which is fine by me despite the injury problems. I have reservations about Telfair, but Danny Ainge has yet to be flat-out wrong about young talent. So I trust DA.
I like the Rajon Rondo pickup. I'm not a huge fan of his, but they risked nothing and got the first point guard on the board. Still, with the Telfair pickup, the pick smells like a "well if you think Bassy can't shoot, wait'll you see this guy!" Considering that #2 on his list of responsibilities will be knocking down jumpers off of The Truth's penetration kick-outs, I'm frightened. If I were Doc Rivers (but smarter) I'd tell Bassy and Rajon that they are not allowed to take a shit on team property without hitting three 3's in a row. Doesn't matter when. If they have to interrupt halftime to do it, and take threes over the dance team's heads, then so be it... otherwise, they can hold it in.
However...
I know the Telfair deal isn't a disaster (again, I trust DA) but I really gotta wonder why Ainge would watch Delonte and Orien Greene struggle with the point position due to their lack of experience, say all offseason long that it was time to address the point position, and then hand the reins to... two guys younger than both West and Greene. Doesn't make sense to me; it only looks like it makes sense because the new guys are "true" points. Which is fine, but it only addresses half the question... they need a true point guard who is capable of running the offense without fucking everything up. You think that describes Telfair? I don't. Maybe in a few years, but not now.
And that leads into my true gripe... in order to not answer their needs, the Celtics lost out on Brandon Roy. The best player possible slipped to them, and the Celts gave up the pick. FUCK. I know he went #6, but if the Celts had kept the pick, there's no way Kevin McHale would have passed up on Randy Foye at #6, because the trade wouldn't have been there for him. Then the Celtics would have had Roy, the most polished player in the draft. It's driving me nuts right now that my #2 draft nightmare scenario (#1 was Ty Thomas slipping to us, drafting for someone else) actually happened.
I mean, we've established pretty firmly that Sebastian Telfair isn't a special player. He's closer to Felipe Lopez than Chris Paul. Brandon Roy, meanwhile, has what it takes to be special. Hell, so does Randy Foye. So could someone please remind me why the C's don't need a sharp-shooting 2-guard who plays D and has leadership skills? Are they all set with guys who can defend their position? Do they have so many leaders on the team that they don't need another one? I think not.
Sure, the point guard position, no true points, offense stagnates, no consistency, blah blah blah. Delonte isn't the answer. I know that. But neither is Telfair! You think he's the answer to our ills? No way. I'd have preferred a West/Roy backcourt to Telfair/West. Besides, Telfair is still a project. He may not be ready to do what we need him to do. And to make matters worse, he's now in the hands of Doc Rivers. Think about that. Telfair could end up ruined for life. Did DA not consider this?!? Doc could undermine this whole goddamn enterprise just by being his stupid self and making Orien Greene the starting point ahead of Telfair, West and Rondo... just to make some dumb-ass, ignorant point. GODDAMMIT!!!!!!! (Oh, and thanks to Ratliff and Telfair's arrival, and the selection of Rondo, Doc Rivers now has three more rotation decisions to make. Hooray! When's training camp??? I want to know how long I have to live before I blow my brains out. At least I'm not a Knicks fan.)
But I'm not really that upset, just confused. I'd rather not have to rely on my Belichickian trust in Ainge to keep myself from blowing a gasket. It doesn't affect my optimism for 2006-07, nor for DA's ability to sign up Pierce for an extension, but they still did fine. The Celtics are better now than they were yesterday, so I'm happy.
I like the Rajon Rondo pickup. I'm not a huge fan of his, but they risked nothing and got the first point guard on the board. Still, with the Telfair pickup, the pick smells like a "well if you think Bassy can't shoot, wait'll you see this guy!" Considering that #2 on his list of responsibilities will be knocking down jumpers off of The Truth's penetration kick-outs, I'm frightened. If I were Doc Rivers (but smarter) I'd tell Bassy and Rajon that they are not allowed to take a shit on team property without hitting three 3's in a row. Doesn't matter when. If they have to interrupt halftime to do it, and take threes over the dance team's heads, then so be it... otherwise, they can hold it in.
However...
I know the Telfair deal isn't a disaster (again, I trust DA) but I really gotta wonder why Ainge would watch Delonte and Orien Greene struggle with the point position due to their lack of experience, say all offseason long that it was time to address the point position, and then hand the reins to... two guys younger than both West and Greene. Doesn't make sense to me; it only looks like it makes sense because the new guys are "true" points. Which is fine, but it only addresses half the question... they need a true point guard who is capable of running the offense without fucking everything up. You think that describes Telfair? I don't. Maybe in a few years, but not now.
And that leads into my true gripe... in order to not answer their needs, the Celtics lost out on Brandon Roy. The best player possible slipped to them, and the Celts gave up the pick. FUCK. I know he went #6, but if the Celts had kept the pick, there's no way Kevin McHale would have passed up on Randy Foye at #6, because the trade wouldn't have been there for him. Then the Celtics would have had Roy, the most polished player in the draft. It's driving me nuts right now that my #2 draft nightmare scenario (#1 was Ty Thomas slipping to us, drafting for someone else) actually happened.
I mean, we've established pretty firmly that Sebastian Telfair isn't a special player. He's closer to Felipe Lopez than Chris Paul. Brandon Roy, meanwhile, has what it takes to be special. Hell, so does Randy Foye. So could someone please remind me why the C's don't need a sharp-shooting 2-guard who plays D and has leadership skills? Are they all set with guys who can defend their position? Do they have so many leaders on the team that they don't need another one? I think not.
Sure, the point guard position, no true points, offense stagnates, no consistency, blah blah blah. Delonte isn't the answer. I know that. But neither is Telfair! You think he's the answer to our ills? No way. I'd have preferred a West/Roy backcourt to Telfair/West. Besides, Telfair is still a project. He may not be ready to do what we need him to do. And to make matters worse, he's now in the hands of Doc Rivers. Think about that. Telfair could end up ruined for life. Did DA not consider this?!? Doc could undermine this whole goddamn enterprise just by being his stupid self and making Orien Greene the starting point ahead of Telfair, West and Rondo... just to make some dumb-ass, ignorant point. GODDAMMIT!!!!!!! (Oh, and thanks to Ratliff and Telfair's arrival, and the selection of Rondo, Doc Rivers now has three more rotation decisions to make. Hooray! When's training camp??? I want to know how long I have to live before I blow my brains out. At least I'm not a Knicks fan.)
But I'm not really that upset, just confused. I'd rather not have to rely on my Belichickian trust in Ainge to keep myself from blowing a gasket. It doesn't affect my optimism for 2006-07, nor for DA's ability to sign up Pierce for an extension, but they still did fine. The Celtics are better now than they were yesterday, so I'm happy.
posted by Jeff at
6:18 PM
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