Roster spots;Ainge has a plan (I hope)

[chakdaddy]

We all know that getting another big is necessary; I was really disturbed to see what Mutombo wanted to come here but we brushed him off - hopefully that's a sign that Danny has a better plan. I hope he wasn't just banking on PJ.

I feel like where our roster slots come from depend on whether guys step up; O'Bryant has a month or two to make the rotation or get cut; and either we use Cassell in the 2nd half or he gets cut. I think there's a good chance we eat a year of negligible salary on POB, Giddens, or even Walker, if it turns out that Cassell is in our plans.

If Walker always seemed better than Giddens, it's a shame that we didn't acquire them the other way around, giving Walker a guaranteed rookie scale contract rather than Giddens. But if we cut Giddens, wouldn't we just be on the hook for next year, and then the 3rd year option would be automatically declined? The rumor about Giddens/Pruitt for Redick make me think that Ainge is just offering Giddens around before cutting him; having two developmental rookie swingmen on the roster is quite a luxury I don't think we can afford. I wish we had just drafted DeAndre Jordan, given him O'Bryant's spot as a big man project, and picked up another vet. I think the must unheralded blow of this offseason was when Michael Finley turned us down.

Basically, I think Ainge will give POB and Cassell a crack at the rotation, and if they can't help, they or Giddens will be cut. I hope there's more to the plan than that, and that Mourning or Joe Smith really being his ace in the hole - that passing on Mutombo, Juwan Howard, etc, was because there really is a plan in place for someone better.

[stretch]

I think it's very likely that we go into the playoffs lead by a Rondo/Cassell point guard rotation. And that's not a bad thing. cassell is a really good player. He was good for us last year - this fact is overshadowed by some of his missed shots and subsequent play that got overblown. Go back and watch his entire repository with Boston.

Sam Cassell basically won us some games last year, like the one against San Antonio. He knows our system, can play adequate defense.. and we're probably looking at him to lead our bench once again.

[Andrew McCeltic]

It will be interesting to see how Cassell does after half a season on the bench. Will he have enough in the tank to play consistently well into the post-season, or will the time off leave him rusty and out of shape?

[tombattor]

I think it's very likely that we go into the playoffs lead by a Rondo/Cassell point guard rotation. And that's not a bad thing. cassell is a really good player. He was good for us last year - this fact is overshadowed by some of his missed shots and subsequent play that got overblown. Go back and watch his entire repository with Boston.

Sam Cassell basically won us some games last year, like the one against San Antonio. He knows our system, can play adequate defense.. and we're probably looking at him to lead our bench once again.

I hope you are kidding... Have you been watching old the NBA videos again?

Where the hell are you getting this BS? Cassell is a really good player? In the NBA? Then why aren't teams offering us trades for just good NBA players? Maybe even average NBA players? Surely these other teams can make better use of this really good player who's not playing on the Celtics.

Sam can play adequate defense? What the hell are you talking about? He hasn't played D in about 4 years. Even in his prime, he didn't play D, what makes you think he can play adequate defense now?

One thing you got right is that going into the playoffs without adding a PG is not such a bad thing. Rondo proved that we can win with him at the point last year and hopefully Pruitt and House can do a decent job backing him up. So we can do a lot worse than Rondo/Pruitt/House.

[chakdaddy]

Either Cassell or Pruitt.

I think a problem is this - last year our bench was comprised of specialists; after losing a couple of guys now those specialists are becoming "every-down" guys and are struggling. I'm not convinced that Davis, Powe, or maybe even House are really worse than last year - they're just being forced into bigger roles that they don't really fit.

So I think, first off, since we're struggling right now, why not try the young guys and season them more. (maybe do this after winning a few more and regaining confidence.) Trials by fire for Walker and POB especially.

After these 'tryouts', cut the dead weight and find anyone to fill the missing roles - even a parade of 10 day contracts if necessary. Cut Giddens or whoever fails their tryout (POB, Cassell - Walker probably deserves a spot to develop regardless).

So then between the existing options we fill the roles of
1. Big man with length - POB vs Joe Smith vs Alonzo Mourning vs ???
2. Backup 3 - Bill Walker vs ??? (is Linton Johnson booked overseas?)
3. Backup point - Cassell vs Pruitt vs Marbury

Then Big Baby returns to a role as "strong" backup C without offense or athleticism, Powe returns to role as scoring backup PF while benching him against bigger guys; House can be played when he's hot and pulled when he's not...

Seems like a good plan, but of course the trick is finding and getting the new guys to fill in the roles.

BTW, I hate to say it, but has anyone noticed that the REAL slump started when Tony Allen got hurt?