Tuesday, September 20, 2005
What Lies Beneath
There really hasn’t been anything substantive to discuss in Celtics nation, as evidenced by the increasingly irrelevant postings we’ve seen on many other Celtics sites. Here at CelticsDoom, we subscribe to the notion that personal laziness is a natural defense against blog-irrelevance.
However, it’s always nice to toss out pure speculation.
In that spirit, Shira Springer’s piece on Gerald Green over the weekend seemed to float by without a lot of discussion about the two big glaring bits of news it contained.
1) This idea of Ricky Davis being Gerald’s “mentor” and the subsequent tidbit Gerald drops about other players who are quick to criticize him and don’t offer anything in the way of positive reinforcement. The implication being one of competitiveness and jealousy, etc.
It’s hard not to read Paul Pierce’s name in all of this, whether it is the case or not, simply because it seems reminiscent of the (also under-discussed) anecdote from last year where one of our younger players was surprised that a veteran player from another team acknowledge the presence of his rookie teammate at a restaurant (I think it was Tim Duncan, but I might remember this incorrectly). The Celtics player said something like, “Our veterans wouldn’t do that.”
Obviously, Pierce is not an idiot and understands that the Celtics are at very least hopeful that GG will develop into his replacement over the next few years. Although he didn’t impress in the summer leagues (unlike Al last year), Green is locked, front and center, into the public relations element of Danny’s rebuilding movement. If Danny is going to ship Pierce’s ass out of here before the trading deadline, he’s going to need the “vast untapped potential” of a “Tracy McGrady type” waiting in the wings to make the trade palatable to the Kool-Aid drinkers and season ticket holders. Whether Green develops into anything other than a freakish athlete who doesn’t understand the game is irrelevant at this point. Danny can tell the world that Gerald Green is “a couple years away,” to give him breathing room from angry fans and fickle media types.
Bearing all this in mind, it would be hard to think of PP as being amenable to Green and all he stands for. That Ricky Davis now stands in contrast as the “good teammate” is freaky and weird.
From the Boston Globe, 9/18/05 – Shira Springer
''Ricky Davis, he's cool as a fan," said Green. ''I'm going to try to get on his level. He keeps it real. Most guys, if you do something good, they won't say anything. When you do something bad, they'll be like 'do this, do that.'”
He goes on to say, “off the court he’ll invite you to his crib.”
Now, I love Ricky D and think the trade for him was highway robbery, but this is a bit disconcerting. Sportsguy pointed last season that Celtics brass was still unhappy with how Ricky tended to party too much and stayed out late. That’s his business and he brings it on the court more consistently than anyone else on the team, but the role of a “mentor” seems ill-suited. Frankly, I’d rather see a “Tracy McGrady type” hanging out with bible-quoting Redz West or even the undoubtedly lonely Mark Blount.
2) Gerald and his pit bulls. From the same source as above… said Green. ''I like aggressive, big dogs. My dogs are well-trained, but I want my dogs to be aggressive when it's needed."
There is nothing intrinsically wrong with enjoying the company of pit bulls, rotweilers and mastiffs bred for aggression. Further, I doubt stamp collectors or award-winning guppy-breeders make great basketball players. Nonetheless, who out there didn’t feel a little tinge of “uh-oh” upon reading this?
First of all, the quote reads like classic NBA faux-thug bullshit. Secondly, he named one of the dogs “Joker.” Admit it to yourself, that’s fucked up.
I’m not saying anything other than, this dude slipped far and hard for a reason, and there are enough cautionary examples from the past fifteen years that make GM’s with lottery picks very nervous about off-the-court behavior. Deep down we all knew Tony Allen, with his lack of attention span and general strangeness, was clearly in the running for “Most likely to embarrass the organization” honors. I mean really, was anyone shocked to hear that his posse jacked some dude for disrespecting him? With Gerald Green, I hope I’m wrong, but I’m holding my breath.
However, it’s always nice to toss out pure speculation.
In that spirit, Shira Springer’s piece on Gerald Green over the weekend seemed to float by without a lot of discussion about the two big glaring bits of news it contained.
1) This idea of Ricky Davis being Gerald’s “mentor” and the subsequent tidbit Gerald drops about other players who are quick to criticize him and don’t offer anything in the way of positive reinforcement. The implication being one of competitiveness and jealousy, etc.
It’s hard not to read Paul Pierce’s name in all of this, whether it is the case or not, simply because it seems reminiscent of the (also under-discussed) anecdote from last year where one of our younger players was surprised that a veteran player from another team acknowledge the presence of his rookie teammate at a restaurant (I think it was Tim Duncan, but I might remember this incorrectly). The Celtics player said something like, “Our veterans wouldn’t do that.”
Obviously, Pierce is not an idiot and understands that the Celtics are at very least hopeful that GG will develop into his replacement over the next few years. Although he didn’t impress in the summer leagues (unlike Al last year), Green is locked, front and center, into the public relations element of Danny’s rebuilding movement. If Danny is going to ship Pierce’s ass out of here before the trading deadline, he’s going to need the “vast untapped potential” of a “Tracy McGrady type” waiting in the wings to make the trade palatable to the Kool-Aid drinkers and season ticket holders. Whether Green develops into anything other than a freakish athlete who doesn’t understand the game is irrelevant at this point. Danny can tell the world that Gerald Green is “a couple years away,” to give him breathing room from angry fans and fickle media types.
Bearing all this in mind, it would be hard to think of PP as being amenable to Green and all he stands for. That Ricky Davis now stands in contrast as the “good teammate” is freaky and weird.
From the Boston Globe, 9/18/05 – Shira Springer
''Ricky Davis, he's cool as a fan," said Green. ''I'm going to try to get on his level. He keeps it real. Most guys, if you do something good, they won't say anything. When you do something bad, they'll be like 'do this, do that.'”
He goes on to say, “off the court he’ll invite you to his crib.”
Now, I love Ricky D and think the trade for him was highway robbery, but this is a bit disconcerting. Sportsguy pointed last season that Celtics brass was still unhappy with how Ricky tended to party too much and stayed out late. That’s his business and he brings it on the court more consistently than anyone else on the team, but the role of a “mentor” seems ill-suited. Frankly, I’d rather see a “Tracy McGrady type” hanging out with bible-quoting Redz West or even the undoubtedly lonely Mark Blount.
2) Gerald and his pit bulls. From the same source as above… said Green. ''I like aggressive, big dogs. My dogs are well-trained, but I want my dogs to be aggressive when it's needed."
There is nothing intrinsically wrong with enjoying the company of pit bulls, rotweilers and mastiffs bred for aggression. Further, I doubt stamp collectors or award-winning guppy-breeders make great basketball players. Nonetheless, who out there didn’t feel a little tinge of “uh-oh” upon reading this?
First of all, the quote reads like classic NBA faux-thug bullshit. Secondly, he named one of the dogs “Joker.” Admit it to yourself, that’s fucked up.
I’m not saying anything other than, this dude slipped far and hard for a reason, and there are enough cautionary examples from the past fifteen years that make GM’s with lottery picks very nervous about off-the-court behavior. Deep down we all knew Tony Allen, with his lack of attention span and general strangeness, was clearly in the running for “Most likely to embarrass the organization” honors. I mean really, was anyone shocked to hear that his posse jacked some dude for disrespecting him? With Gerald Green, I hope I’m wrong, but I’m holding my breath.
# posted by Dr. Chestnutt @ 11:34 AM 
