It is ESSENTIAL that the Celtics replace James Posey

[vanillacoke4234]

I think the only signing we have to do is of a player to replace James Posey. The three names that came up in rumors were Mavericks F Deaven George, Hornets F/G Bonzi Wells and Spurs G Michael Finley. I'm thinking Deaven George is our best bet, Bonzi Wells second but its a pretty close call. We don't want any 'super' vets (i.e. P.J. Brown and Sam Cassell) to come off the bench and be a role player, which is why two prime players such as George (entering his 9th season) and Wells (entering his 10th season) would be the best replacement for Posey. Michael Finley is nice, but he wouldn't replace the defensive mind that Posey has/had. Finley has an amazing offensive game for a man his age, but defense just isn't his forte. We already have plenty of offense in Ray Allen and Paul Pierce, as well as Eddie House coming off the bench. It couldn't hurt to sign Finley along with George or Wells because that way we'd have an even stronger scoring punch coming off the bench in addition to House; that may hurt the minutes of long-time Celtic G Tony Allen or first-year G J.R. Giddens, (who I for one am very excited to see play), which is why this move, if possible, or just signing Finley in general over the other two would be risky. I think Danny Ainge has one more move to make. The Celtics have $2.8 million available on their mid-level exception fund (that should be used for George or Wells), as well as the possibility of signing a player for a 1-year minimum contract (Finley, given his age and acceptance of playing a smaller role on the team these days; also, of course, if the Celtics really want or need him)

Personally, I don't think the Celtics have any legit role players besides House, which is why one more free agent signing must be made. Without a second role player, as much as I love and support the Celtics, and as much faith as I have in them, I just don't think they will be at the same level of title contention that they were at a year ago or even a month ago.

[TheSheriff]

Devan George is not even close to a replacement for James Posey. George's negative impact on offense more than negates anything he does on defense.

[vanillacoke4234]

I'm not saying the Celtics can get an EXACT copy of James Posey in another player's body under another name. I said (or meant to say) Deaven George or Bonzi Wells are the best bets. Plus, George has just about twice as much championship experience as Posey does. Wells doesn't have any (at least to my knowledge) but he is a solid all around role player. Either one of them works, and plus, being on the defending champion's squad's gotta raise your confidence that the team can repeat, and hopefully that's enough for George (if the Celtics land him)

[campybatman]

It's funny how I'd pointed out days ago that the Celtics lack depth at small forward and I get ripped but when someone else says that we need to sign someone. It's different...

[SuperDeluxe]

Of those three, I rather have Bonzi Wells, then Devean George, and then Michael Finley (who looks like he has lost a step or two).

[MVP16]

The wing position is the last position to worry about. We have 2 all stars at the wings in Pierce and Allen. If they play the same minutes as last year(~36), that means there's only 24 minutes left over for the back up wings. TA and whoever wins out of Giddens/Walker should be able to handle that. If the rookies can't cut it, there's always a veteran wing as good as George available midway through the season.

[GuyClinch]

I don't agree. This is a bit of a no win for Ainge because if we don't win a championship it will be "I told you so." But the truth is we might not win it this year if we had Posey. I think TA healthy can more then pick up the slack for Posey. Doc will keep Pierce or RA out there to play the SF spot so size wise I don't really see a problem. Healthy TA plays bigger then he is anyway.

[Truthiracy]

We turned into a jump shooting team when Po$ey came onto the floor, let's never forget this fact. He's now being vastly overrated by everyone, he can have fun losing in Round 2 out west on a year to year basis.

[ParticleMan]

It's funny how I'd pointed out days ago that the Celtics lack depth at small forward and I get ripped but when someone else says that we need to sign someone. It's different...

Nah, this thread should be ripped as well.

Tony Allen is far better than anyone we could sign at this point. Don't mistake "veteran" for "good". Devean George is horrible. Wells wouldn't come here, given the depth we have, and if he did he wouldn't get minutes over TA because he doesn't play D. Forget Finley, he's a terrible fit.

While we don't have a prototypical SF backup, I think it's a pretty minor drawback. The important thing is that we have good players. I'm excited about Allen and Giddens as 3 and 4 on the wing depth chart. I'm not worried at all, but year's end I think it will be a strength.

[Red2]

take a look at the championsjip dvd-we don't win a championship without posey'sD and his timely 3 pointers. I think danny intends for walker and giddens to play minutes this year and pick up some of posey's time

[GuyClinch]

take a look at the championsjip dvd-we don't win a championship without posey'sD and his timely 3 pointers. I think danny intends for walker and giddens to play minutes this year and pick up some of posey's time

So maybe next year we don't win it without a timely Giddens steal. There is more then one way to skin a cat. Posey was great for us and he came through. But there is always an opportunity cost. James brought clutch 3 point shoot and some solid D. But other players could bring other things that are equally valuable.

[vanillacoke4234]

People gotta stop giving Tony Allen all this hype. He's just not the same explosive player he was before he injured his knee. He's a guard, not a forward. He can backup Ray Allen, but he can't replace James Posey. Thinking about it, Bonzi Wells would be a better bet than Deaven George just because I think Wells is more well rounded. I'm sure Giddens and Walker could carry some of the load for Boston this year, but I think another reason the Celtics should sign a vet forward is so he can split minutes with our high-potential rookies. Of course, our rookies should gain plenty of experience from Ray Allen, Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett. So...sign Bonzi Wells to replace Posey and provide a coushion for the rookies.

[vanillacoke4234]

...not to say just because of Tony Allen's knee injury his career is done-for; Tony Allen is an athletic freak who can find more ways to score that just throwing it down and I think he can give the Celtics some valuable minutes. I just think that asking him to cover the 3 spot is a tad bit out of his reach.

[DelMonte West]

It really depends on the size and mobility of the 3 you're asking Tony to cover. Pound for pound he's probably among the strongest wings in the league, and has the quickness and tenacity to stay with his man and fight through picks.

P.S.: If you want to play the "we don't win without Posey" card, make sure you pay your respects to PJ Brown while you're at it. I thought he was even more important than James in the playoffs. That jumper he hit against Cleveland in Game 7 with a minute left was the biggest clutch shot in our postseason.

[GuyClinch]

He can backup Ray Allen, but he can't replace James Posey.

Doc can move Ray Allen to SF when TA is in there.

Pete

[campybatman]

It's funny how I'd pointed out days ago that the Celtics lack depth at small forward and I get ripped but when someone else says that we need to sign someone. It's different...

Nah, this thread should be ripped as well.

Tony Allen is far better than anyone we could sign at this point. Don't mistake "veteran" for "good". Devean George is horrible. Wells wouldn't come here, given the depth we have, and if he did he wouldn't get minutes over TA because he doesn't play D. Forget Finley, he's a terrible fit.

While we don't have a prototypical SF backup, I think it's a pretty minor drawback. The important thing is that we have good players. I'm excited about Allen and Giddens as 3 and 4 on the wing depth chart. I'm not worried at all, but year's end I think it will be a strength.

Well, it's interesting that Ainge has made it a point to say that Pierce was the best perimeter defender this season and/or during the playoffs with Tony Allen second and Posey third. Then he'd said, Tony's a better defender I guess overall to Posey. It sounds as if Ainge is somewhat downplaying the lost of Posey. I don't doubt he made the right decision, financially speaking. But, it'll be a tough sell to convince Boston fans that Tony and House more or less equal (or replaces) Posey. I know that isn't what Ainge is trying to say or do by resigning those two players. But, it's tough not to feel some concern with the lack of a back up small forward and Ainge coming out and saying that he won't look to replace Posey or basically fill-in the vacancy at that position. It'll be a group effort, to say the least. Hence, why I wonder if it'll be Walker who gets minutes next season and not Giddens so much.

[Dave_From_NB]

Well, it's interesting that Ainge has made it a point to say that Pierce was the best perimeter defender this season and/or during the playoffs with Tony Allen second and Posey third. Then he'd said, Tony's a better defender I guess overall to Posey. It sounds as if Ainge is somewhat downplaying the lost of Posey. I don't doubt he made the right decision, financially speaking. But, it'll be a tough sell to convince Boston fans that Tony and House more or less equal (or replaces) Posey. I know that isn't what Ainge is trying to say or do by resigning those two players. But, it's tough not to feel some concern with the lack of a back up small forward and Ainge coming out and saying that he won't look to replace Posey or basically fill-in the vacancy at that position. It'll be a group effort, to say the least. Hence, why I wonder if it'll be Walker who gets minutes next season and not Giddens so much.

I think this season is different than last, the team is different, and a 1-2-1 replacement for Posey isn't needed, which is great because at this point it's not possible.

Posey sucked up a lot of minutes because of small ball, and Perk, Powe, and Davis can certainly consume some of that. Personally, I hate lineups where a bunch of guys are standing around the 3 point line firing up shots. With KG playing just inside the line, we ended up with 3 3 point shooters, 1 long bomb 2 shooter, and Rondo, who didn't want to shoot. If Posey is the end of small ball, thats a small cost to bear in my mind.

A lot is being made of Poseys 3 point shooting. Yes, he hit some timely 3's, but lets not forget that he rarely did anything except shoot a 3, and Powe, House and Tony Allen were all more effective scorers given equal minutes. Posey and Perk played the same minutes, and Posey was only half a point better average than Perk, who I don't think anyone would consider to be much of an offensive threat. And hey, don't you think Rondo will be shooting the J more this year?

I'd like to see more depth at SF, because I think an injury to Pierce would be quite troublesome. Posey would have been nice if affordable, but a different replacement is fine, and he doesn't need to do exactly the same thing as Posey.

Perhaps one reason Ainge hasn't pulled the trigger on a new SF, is because of the inevitable "The Celtics have replaced Posey with xxxxx". That's an unfair comparison for anyone coming in, because I don't think that at this point (with O'Bryant, Giddens, Walker, House, TA being added since JP declined his option) that a James Posey clone is needed. It's a different team, the remaining need isn't necessarily exactly the same IMO.

[cloverleaf]

I agree with your analysis, Dave_from_NB, including that the only real concern is if Pierce goes down. My small quibble would be that I don't think Danny decides on whether to make a move based on how much pressure the fandom would put on a guy brought in to 'replace' Posey.

[ParticleMan]

take a look at the championsjip dvd-we don't win a championship without posey'sD and his timely 3 pointers. I think danny intends for walker and giddens to play minutes this year and pick up some of posey's time

Meh, you can say that about just about any player. even PJ Brown, who was pretty downright bad overall.

I still fail to see what we lost with Posey that is so friggin irreplaceable. Sure he hit some 3's, but he also scored 7 ppg on 42% shooting and had the worst +/- of any rotation player. Defense? He was our 3rd best perimeter defender. Small ball? Frankly, I'd rather see Powe and Davis at PF. Taking charges? How's this: Leon Powe drew more charges last year (30) than Posey (28) in far fewer minutes (Pierce led the team with 31 and even Baby had 19).

I'm not saying Posey wasn't important or wasn't great. But I just don't see him as some kind of giant irreplaceable loss. His offense and defense is replaceable with modest and totally expected improvements from our young players. That may or may not happen, of course the NBA is always unpredictable, but I'm also not sure what you'll get from Posey next season; he has a history of playing great for 1 year and then giving less than stellar effort the next (like in MIA).

[campybatman]

What some NBA players will suffer as they get older from what I'd called, Dan Majerle-itis. Basically, you become a player who remains on the perimeter not doing much but taking three-point shots and rarely if at all going inside. An example of a player who's now stricken with this condition is Michael Finley. Scalabrine is young but even he's beginning to show early warning signs of the condition. Sadly, it's terminal... There's no cure. These players are known to eventually retire.

But, Posey hasn't allowed this debilitating condition lessen his NBA career. In the games this season that the team went without Pierce for whatever the reasons, Posey stepped up his scoring in those games. Or he'd did so when given larger minutes.

But, a point was brought up in past reading that Posey played more this season at power forward than small forward. I think a lot of that was "small ball" and it was his defensive assignment. Still, he'd provided length that Tony Allen can't provide. But, Tony's younger and possesses better foot speed or lateral quickness. I believe Ainge pointed this out.

However, with the absence of a true small forward back up. You'll continue to see the Celtics run some form of a small ball line up. Perhaps, you have an one, a five, a four and two two's for the second unit. Basically, Tony will be trusted to guard the small forward and House, Pruitt or Giddens guards the off guard. That's why it's important that not only is Pierce healthy, but Tony remains healthy for most of the season because he isn't always going to be guarding a back up. There could be times when he's guarding a starting small forward.