"I would've traded Larry Bird"-Danny Ainge
Let me take you back in time to 1991.
The Celtics were led by a different big three, the original big three, Larry Bird, Kevin Mchale, and Robert Parish. Larry Bird had a problematic back and feet that were falling apart, Mchale had lingering effects from a broken foot that he played on throughout the 1987 playoffs, Parish was healthy but, as with the other two, wasn't immune to father time. The front office at the time was faced with the decision of whether to trade Bird, Mchale, and/or Parish to try and bring in youth or allow them all to keep playing until they retired. Management chose to allow them to keep playing, losing Bird in 1992 to retirement, Mchale in 1993 also to retirement, and Parish in 1994 to free agency. When those guys were gone the Celtics were left with nothing and struggled for the next 15 years until Danny Ainge brought in Ray Allen and Kevin Garnett. To be fair, the deaths of Len Bias and Reggie Lewis also helped set the franchise back, but the death of Bias happened in 1986 well before decisions had to be made.
Let's flash forward now to present day.
The Celtics of today are led by a big three of Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce, and Ray Allen. They won the NBA Championship in 2008, but today things are quite different. Garnett has had major knee surgery, Ray Allen had ankle issues before getting to Boston, and Paul Pierce, like Robert Parish, isn't getting any younger. The 1991 and 2011 teams are remarkably similar in that neither team is/was favored to win the championship, but they are/were a good enough team to not get a good draft pick. The major difference between the two teams is that Danny Ainge is the general manager in 2011. I have faith that he's not going to allow history to repeat itself in Boston. I will go on record right now saying that by the end of this season Kevin Garnett, Ray Allen, or Paul Pierce will have been traded.
Out of everyone on the roster right now the only guys I'd like to see kept for next year are Rajon Rondo, Greg Stiemsma, Jajuan Johnson, and Brandon Bass. Selfishly I'd love to see Paul Pierce end his career in Boston as well. Everyone else can go.
In my mind the BIGGEST issue with the Celtics over these first few games has been Kevin Garnett. His athleticism is completely gone. The knee injury he sustained against Utah in the 2008-2009 season took away what little lift he had left and KG is now a shell of a shadow of his former self. Just watch this video from the 2008 finals, it shows you just how far he's fallen in the last three years. It's not just his physical skills either, his aggressiveness is gone. KG doesn't take it to the basket anymore and even his vaunted defense is going down hill. There should never be a basketball game where Kevin Garnett is the 3rd best big man on his own team, and that happened against New Orleans. I don't want to disrespect Kevin, he's a former NBA MVP, NBA Defensive Player of the Year, 14 time all star, 9 time all NBA selection, and 11 time all defensive team player. He's clearly one of the top 30 players of all time and the main reason that I got to feel the elation of watching my team win a championship. Just like watching Shaq last year though, it's very obvious that he's an AVERAGE player now. He can still give you 12 points and 7 rebounds a night while being a solid jump shooter, but he's not an all star or a big time player anymore. To be honest, the Celtics right now are a big 1 with that one being Rajon Rondo. Garnett is a jump shooting big man with above average defense and Ray Allen is a spot up shooter, granted he's the best spot up shooter in the league, but he's not the old Ray Allen. When Paul Pierce gets back we might have a big 2, but it's still up in the air on whether or not he's lost a step.
Father time is the cruelest injury of all. Paul Pierce and Ray Allen are still able to hold it off and keep up good play, but KG is starting to succumb. He's been in the league since 1995 as a kid fresh out of high school, in fact his nickname was "The Kid" back then. Now "The Kid" is 35 years old and slowing down. His contract expires after this year, and it wouldn't shock me if he decided to call it a career. When he does I'll be the first one to write about how amazing Kevin Garnett was to watch in his prime, carrying the Timberwolves, how he transformed my beloved Celtics into champions, and how he was the most intense player I've ever watched. For now though, I simply call for him to be traded, because I'm a Celtics fan and it's for the greater good.
Thanks for reading, leave a comment, go back and read all my other articles, follow me on twitter @joshviola19, and keep watching the Celtics because you never know when you might get to see that moment when a former superstar gets the Garden crowd rocking one more time. Mchale did it in 1993 and I hope KG can do it in 2012.
-Josh
great article. well written with good insight. unfortunately its a true article and its obvious the celtics need to make some moves to be a contender again. good job bud.
ReplyDeleteI've gotten used to not becoming too attached to any player in a Celtics uniform (with the exception of Pierce and now Rondo) so I can definitely see your point about letting the older guys go and at least get something in return. I don't want to end up with another period of time like when we were growing up my favorite player ended up being (gasp) Kobe Bryant instead of anyone on the Celts. The Celts really need to continue to be at least a deep playoff contender...at least for our sanity.
ReplyDelete