Lock up Powe long term before the playoffs or pay the price.

sarcasma · Post #1 » by **sarcasma** » Sat Mar 29, 2008 8:56 pm

Call it the Jerome James syndrome, a player has a great playoff run and then turns that into a lucrative deal. You can have a terrible season and then go gangbusters in the playoffs and that is like winning the lottery. Leon Powe, is already good, and will be the first big off the bench in the playoffs. He will also make plays and get the national spotlight every game......people dont know who he is but they will. This will make him a commodity, and possibly take him at or close to mid-level money. I want him on this team. My two favorite players to root for are Leon Powe and Rajon Rondo. Rondo obviously is going to be a star, he will be one of those players whose statistics improve every year. Leon I like because he plays defense and unlike Kendrick Perkins, he finishes around the basket in a hurry....KP has to collect himself, and that extra time cause him to miss. Leon for 6'8 has some hops....he tries to dunk it every time, and he gets fouled alot. If Leon got minutes on a bad team he would be putting up around 16 and 8.....alot of those point from the foul line. So lock him up this summer because once he gets confidence and Doc starts posting him up, hes only going to get better.

P2 · Post #2 » by P2 » Sat Mar 29, 2008 9:06 pm

We'll most likely extend him and Tony Allen in the off-season.

Jammer · Post #3 » by **Jammer** » Sat Mar 29, 2008 9:12 pm

Powe is signed thru the 2009 season.

dwestside · Post #4 » by **dwestside** » Sat Mar 29, 2008 9:14 pm

P2 wrote:We'll most likely extend him and Tony Allen in the off-season.

Doesn't TA need to be re-signed?

GregB · Post #5 » by **GregB** » Sat Mar 29, 2008 9:26 pm

I dont really see us locking Powe this offseason. Unless, He wants to take a semi reduced extension in exchange for financial security. Kind of like Perk. Something like 3yr/9 Million.

Honestly, Danny has shown he can find guys like Powe consistently in the draft. So maybe we try and sign and trade him. Then continue to find cheap rotational players through the draft.

keltickings · Post #6 » by **keltickings** » Sat Mar 29, 2008 10:32 pm

sarcasma wrote:Call it the Jerome James syndrome, a player has a great playoff run and then turns that into a lucrative deal. You can have a terrible season and then go gangbusters in the playoffs and that is like winning the lottery. Leon Powe, is already good, and will be the first big off the bench in the playoffs. He will also make plays and get the national spotlight every game......people dont know who he is but they will. This will make him a commodity, and possibly take him at or close to mid-level money. I want him on this team.

He is under contract for next season at next to nothing and I completely agree with the statement above. We shoud extend L-Train as soon as possible. With the playoff national spotlight he could be enticed away two years from now and Davis is in the same boat. Powe doesn't get Jerome James money but he gets at least pollard money $1,219,590 and maybe scalabrine money 3,000,000
but we know he can't get Blount $$$6-7 million 5 year extension. We should extend him for 1-2 more seasons. I want Powe on this team just like Davis so let's keep both around but remember we also have Posey, House, & T Allen to re-sign so money is tight. Cassell as well but he won't ask for much.

Keep the L-Train rolling in Boston. :nod:

billfromBoston · Post #7 » by **billfromBoston** » Sat Mar 29, 2008 10:44 pm

...my guess is that the team is going to want to see what both Powe and Davis bring next TC before they start to choose a direction...its doubtful both are staying because they'll command more on the open market than they're worth playing only 15 minutes a piece..

I'd imagine that one will be traded and the other will be re-signed based off the price the market establishes for them...Powe won't get an early extension unless he signs for a deal highly favorable to the team this offseason-say 2 million a year for 4 years...I doubt his agent will go for that though...

Most likely that Powe gets 3-4 million a year for 3-4 years the following offseason...

P2 · Post #8 » by P2 » Sat Mar 29, 2008 11:01 pm

dwestside wrote:Doesn't TA need to be re-signed?

He's restricted, that's why we can extend him.

Datruth345 · Post #9 » by **Datruth345** » Sat Mar 29, 2008 11:08 pm

nba scouts know who Leon Powe is already

the national spotlight the playoffs bring will show other fans what he can do, but NBA scouts already know

kmgarnett21 · Post #10 » by **kmgarnett21** » Sat Mar 29, 2008 11:23 pm

we need to do all we can to keep both big baby & powe! they are crucial to our teams success, even though they dont see that much playing time night in, night out.

celtsloyalty · Post #11 » by **celtsloyalty** » Sat Mar 29, 2008 11:56 pm

Datruth345 wrote:nba scouts know who Leon Powe is already

the national spotlight the playoffs bring will show other fans what he can do, but NBA scouts already know

exactly

celticfan42487 · Post #12 » by **celticfan42487** » Sun Mar 30, 2008 12:36 am

The price? Watching Baby make open layups and take charges instead of Powe?

This is the NBA, only stars would be locked up.. and they don't want to be locked up early.

It'd be great in a couple of seasons if were able to re-sign Powe for a reduced rate like Perk... a reduced rate for Powe isn't much $$$ at all.

Powe is a nice player but lets not act like he's some great starter here, we can probuly find another Powe in the late first-early second round in a draft without great difficulty.

billfromBoston · Post #13 » by **billfromBoston** » Sun Mar 30, 2008 2:19 am

celticfan42487 wrote:The price? Watching Baby make open layups and take charges instead of Powe?

This is the NBA, only stars would be locked up.. and they don't want to be locked up early.

It'd be great in a couple of seasons if were able to re-sign Powe for a reduced rate like Perk... a reduced rate for Powe isn't much $$$ at all.

Powe is a nice player but lets not act like he's some great starter here, we can probuly find another Powe in the late first-early second round in a draft without great difficulty.

,...I think people have been in rebuilding mode for too long around Celtic Nation...of course you can find other role players in the draft, but when you're trying to build continuity you want to keep guys around, not have a revolving door of personnel.

Plus, It's not that easy to find a Powe-level talent without a first round pick...this team isn't going to have a high first round pick for a while and Powe is quickly showing that he's probably a top 20 player from his draft class...it would be wise of the team to build a core group and stick with them for the next 4-5 years...I think Powe is worthy of that core group...

Rocky5000 · Post #14 » by **Rocky5000** » Sun Mar 30, 2008 2:31 am

Who would you rather have on this team? Powe or Gomes?

P2 · Post #15 » by P2 » Sun Mar 30, 2008 4:43 am

Rocky5000 wrote:Who would you rather have on this team? Powe or Gomes?

Both? However, I doubt Minnesota will let Gomes walk.

GregB · Post #16 » by **GregB** » Sun Mar 30, 2008 11:56 am

billfromBoston wrote:-= original quote snipped =-

,...I think people have been in rebuilding mode for too long around Celtic Nation...of course you can find other role players in the draft, but when you're trying to build continuity you want to keep guys around, not have a revolving door of personnel.

Plus, It's not that easy to find a Powe-level talent without a first round pick...this team isn't going to have a high first round pick for a while and Powe is quickly showing that he's probably a top 20 player from his draft class...it would be wise of the team to build a core group and stick with them for the next 4-5 years...I think Powe is worthy of that core group...

This all true. I am a big fan of continuity too. But In a luxury tax era that is not always possible.

I agree that Powe is top 20 from his draft. But, I dont agree that a player like him will be hard to find in the future. I am pretty confident that DA can find a top 20 player just about every time picking at the end of the first round.

billfromBoston · Post #17 » by **billfromBoston** » Sun Mar 30, 2008 12:17 pm

GregB wrote:-= original quote snipped =-

This all true. I am a big fan of continuity too. But In a luxury tax era that is not always possible.

I agree that Powe is top 20 from his draft. But, I dont agree that a player like him will be hard to find in the future. I am pretty confident that DA can find a top 20 player just about every time picking at the end of the first round.

...I agree that we can get a top 20 pick late in the first round, but the position that value is at is typically at the wings..its rare to find big men of that caliber late in the draft....Powe isn't that easy to replace imo because he's a high level PF...you can get role playing undersized 4's like Millsap and Craig Smith, but getting a guy that can put up 17/10 in 35 minutes of PT isn't all that common...Powe has legit starter potential as a PF and that's not something i'd be assuming the team can easily replace...

TheCelticTruth · Post #18 » by **TheCelticTruth** » Sun Mar 30, 2008 1:11 pm

this season seems to have made people thinks its all really easy. yes things fell into place, but how many years did we have to wait?

no, we cant overpay power, but please... we were lucky that powe had his injuries and fell in the draft, just like we were lucky that davis was considered too overweight and not a hard enough worker

we cant expect to have that luck just because of the shamrock. we need to keep these guys if its reasonable and possible. many other teams would, ironically as it seems considering where we were, trade their bench for ours right now, and just as much love to steal our role players.

elrod enchilada · Post #19 » by **elrod enchilada** » Sun Mar 30, 2008 1:44 pm

Leon Powe needs to be a part of the Celtics for many years to come. The Cs should pay him market rate, because he will be worth it. You simply do not let players like Powe walk.

Besides his obvious talent as a scorer, rebounder and defender (wow, not a bad start for a PF), Leon can get better. He already is someone who I think plays effectively enough to be a legitimate starter; he could even become a very good starter. For the Cs, this is heaven, because it means that for the next four plus seasons KG will be able to play 30-32 mpg, and not carry the weight of the team on his shoulders. We don't get clobbered when KG is on the bench.

There are two areas where Leon can reasonably improve, where he has shown signs of potential growth. First is with his drives to the hoop. He has the quickness ands first step to get by many 4s in the NBA. And he can do so starting 15-18 feet from the rim. Leon has to improve his handle a bit, but that appears do-able. This ability if honed can give him a Pierce like ability to get to the foul line.

Second, and most important, Leon has to become a consistent open 15-18 foot shooter. This is what makes relatively short (not necessarily undersized) 4s in the NBA effective, be they Elton Brand or Carlos Boozer or David West. For Leon this would also open up his drives. If Leon can do this, and he has shown signs of a shot at times, his potentail goes to another level.

I know, all ifs. Maybe Leon never does that. Even so, he has established himself as a quality rotation caliber 4. That stuff above is just icing.

And finally, in the case for Leon Powe: By all accounts he is an extraordinary human being, not unlike Gomes. He is a very classy guy. You want guys like that on your team. He can possible develop into our Paul Silas, and anyone who remembers the 70s teams understand that as exceptionally high praise.

Bottom line: Players like Leon Powe do not grow on trees. Let's thank our lucky stars we have him and lock him up.

Big Baby · Post #20 » by **Big Baby** » Sun Mar 30, 2008 1:45 pm

billfromBoston wrote:-= original quote snipped =-

,...I think people have been in rebuilding mode for too long around Celtic Nation...of course you can find other role players in the draft, but when you're trying to build continuity you want to keep guys around, not have a revolving door of personnel.

Plus, It's not that easy to find a Powe-level talent without a first round pick...this team isn't going to have a high first round pick for a while and Powe is quickly showing that he's probably a top 20 player from his draft class...it would be wise of the team to build a core group and stick with them for the next 4-5 years...I think Powe is worthy of that core group...

What BillfromBoston said. If I may add to that...It's not out of the realm of possibility that Powe could sign with another team for more money and get buried on the bench due to that team already having better PF prospects or established 4s. But Powe is important to us because he's been in the system and is excelling at his role. I'm sure we can find or sign another PF with Powe's upside, but Powe fits our team like a glove. I don't think you can put a price on something so intangible like that. And if we let Powe go, that will break Tommy's heart. Anyone remember how heartbroken Tommy was after Waltah left? Who wants to see Tommy go through that again?