Celtics Hoping To Re Sign Tony Allen

[Andrew McCeltic]

Bill,

Any sense of what backup centers the team is interested in? Foyle? Lo Wright? Swift?

[billfromBoston]

...no idea Andy...they should have somebody of quality by TC...

[3pt %]

Tony is quality if he can string 25 plus games together. He is an instinct player, so he needs to be playing to be sharp.

I'd like to see him come back, believe the Celtics will bring him back but wouldn't be surprised to see him traded if either of the picks show promise.

[jfs1000d]

Bill has it right. TA isn't an intergral part of the team, and I just don't see a reason he should stay. On the cheap? I will take anyone. Unlkess it is a one year deal, I pass.

But, I don't see why we shouldn't try and develop Giddens over TA. I like Tony Allen, a lot, but I think because of the knee he lost his spot. Ray Allen is here for the next 3 years.

The best thing for both teams is to move on. Yes, he is better than Giddens now, but Giddens is cheaper and on a cost-controlled contract. Can Giddens give the same thing that TA gives? I think he can. If Ray Allen gets hurt, then you are in some trouble. But as long as Ray is healthy they will be ok with Giddens as a backup.

TA is looking for some big money, and I think the best way for him to do that is go to a team in need of a shooting guard and play some defense and score, score, score.

I don't think Walker is headed overseas. He won't fit anywhere overseas to play. I think his game ends up in the D-League this year. That's OK.

Also, we will never see Semi. He and Ben Pepper should play in our summer league.

[armageddon]

Ainge's plan didn't end last year. This isn't a one time shot. He still wants to gather and develop young prospects for either this team or a trade. A year from now he'll have another expiring max salary - Ray's salary is only 2 more years. Also, TA's value is low right now. If he gets back to his top play of past, he could be very tradeable later in the season.
Sending Walker to another country is a high risk, low reward option (and no way he goes). Put him in the D-league where DA can groom him and other teams can see him progress thereby raising his stock. Make him feel wanted and part of the team, develop his psyche also.
I agree that he may not be needed to contribute this year, but he may be able to come mid-season - remember those four over-30 guys who just played a 107 game season.

[GuyClinch]

Bill Walker could make the roster or be like Pruitt going back and forth. I don't see him as automatic D-League kind of guy. It's not like he didn't have some big time college experience.

Pete

[buckner1976]

Tony Allen barely got any playing time last year. And that was because he didn't deserve it. He couldn't get over the mental hurdle and he couldn't recover from those knee injuries. We might as well give those limited minutes to a player liek Giddens who has a guaranteed contract now with the team and can develop to be a helpful roleplayer as well.

This is a business and we can't sign every young player. Good luck to Tony, hopefully he returns as after his next contract can net a 4mil plus one.

Why don't you go back and see how many 30th picks have become decent NBA players. It's natural for fans to get excited and overrate the draft pick of their favorite team, but the history and probability should tell you otherwise.

Let me give you a list to help you out.

2007 - Petteri Koponen
2006 - Joel Freeland
2005 - David Lee
2004 - David Harrison
2003 - Maciej Lampe
2002 - Roger Mason, Jr.
2001 - Trenton Hassell

On that list, only David Lee and Hassell did anything in the league. That's 2 out of 7. Not a very good percentage.

not to nitpick but mason has been in the league since he was drafted. and hes been a solid backup. i remember mason so well because he KILLED us the last time we played wash this year and played major minutes for that team because of the arenas injury and when arenas came back they still didnt want to take mason out.

harrison has not done much in his 4 yrs thus far but he has been a rotational player when healthy and has had a few decent games. koponen wasnt even brought over last year and they didnt need him so you cant count him. try 4 out of the last 6 being solid players. now if you wanna go back any further you definitely have a point.

[buckner1976]

I'm not even worried about grooming Ray and Paul's replacements. I'm interested in squeezing out another championship or two from them before they ride off into the sunset, so I want whoever can contribute the most in the next 2 or so years. I've resigned myself to thinking we'll stink for a brief period after the 3 amigos start to seriously decline. I'm all about maximizing the next 2 or 3 years.

Exactly. This is why we can't put hopes on young prospects. We gotta stick with veteran players who have proven themselves. And even with all his faults, TA has proven that he can be effective and contribute. These rookies haven't done that yet and are most likely much worse than TA, at least for this year.

theres absolutely no reason to assume that right now. none. giddens has an nba ready body and defensively is probably the most polished wing in this draft. the first thing doc said during his interview is that he believed jr could walk into the lockerroom right now and get minutes because of his defense. and danny echoed that as well. giddens is more skilled and more versatile than tony right now and much like rondo is gonna be able to make life miserable for some guards because of his quick feet, quick hands and his long arms.

as for walker hes less polished so he may not play right away and may get the occasional stint in the dleague early but will probably be practicing with the team later on in the season and playing spot minutes like pruitt.

but as a previous poster wisely noted the things that danny and doc wanted to note that while these kids have questions they believe with the right organization, development and mentorship around them that they could become much better players than they were in college. having resources like paul and ray is why you make these 2 picks. theyre gonna be with the club. they ARE certainly not sending them off to europe to play in nomans land. that is a delusion.