Wednesday, January 19, 2005
Off with his head… Pierce Trade Rumors Heat Up
It’s coming gang, whether you like it or not, PP will soon be out on his ass and we’ll probably be getting cap room and one of those marginal NBA “stars” who always looks better on someone else’s team (Darius Miles) in return. This trade is probably a year late in terms of getting maximum value, but the NBA salary structure and trade rules pretty much ensure that these days you can rarely pull off a classic screw job – the recent “Vince Carter for a boatload of expensive shit” move non-withstanding.
If Portland really is our trading partner, look for this to serve as little more than a salary dump and an excuse to open up PT for Ainge/Rivers favorites Jiri Welsch and Tony Allen. It will be a shame if we can’t ship out that shitty Blount contract in the process, but obviously that’s hoping for a lot.
If it goes down the way I’m describing, Ainge is going to get his ass handed to him by the media and the tattered remnants of CelticsNation, and even the most anti-Pierce among us will have to admit that it puts back the rebuilding effort at least two years. These will be dark times, full of grim moral “victories” along the lines of “we lost by 18 to the Wizards, but at least Kendrick Perkins looked more comfortable in the pick-and-roll.” Tony Allen will face “you’re the new Paul Pierce” pressure that could crush a submarine, and Gary Payton will weep himself to sleep every night while his agent contacts Dynamo Moscow to see if they’ll swing a trade.
On the other hand, we’re painfully mediocre and losing Pierce isn’t going to change that. It’s come time to ship out a guy who doesn’t want to be here, who’s resisting the shift to the running game, and most importantly – who doesn’t hit open shots anymore. The scariest part is that Ricky will be the default go-to-guy, and as much as we all love Buckets, we know he’s going to disintegrate in that role.
So again, it’s a tough move but one that has to be made. #17 is years away, but it would be even worse if we clung to the belief that Paul Pierce was getting us any closer.
If Portland really is our trading partner, look for this to serve as little more than a salary dump and an excuse to open up PT for Ainge/Rivers favorites Jiri Welsch and Tony Allen. It will be a shame if we can’t ship out that shitty Blount contract in the process, but obviously that’s hoping for a lot.
If it goes down the way I’m describing, Ainge is going to get his ass handed to him by the media and the tattered remnants of CelticsNation, and even the most anti-Pierce among us will have to admit that it puts back the rebuilding effort at least two years. These will be dark times, full of grim moral “victories” along the lines of “we lost by 18 to the Wizards, but at least Kendrick Perkins looked more comfortable in the pick-and-roll.” Tony Allen will face “you’re the new Paul Pierce” pressure that could crush a submarine, and Gary Payton will weep himself to sleep every night while his agent contacts Dynamo Moscow to see if they’ll swing a trade.
On the other hand, we’re painfully mediocre and losing Pierce isn’t going to change that. It’s come time to ship out a guy who doesn’t want to be here, who’s resisting the shift to the running game, and most importantly – who doesn’t hit open shots anymore. The scariest part is that Ricky will be the default go-to-guy, and as much as we all love Buckets, we know he’s going to disintegrate in that role.
So again, it’s a tough move but one that has to be made. #17 is years away, but it would be even worse if we clung to the belief that Paul Pierce was getting us any closer.
# posted by Dr. Chestnutt @ 5:10 PM 
