Do you guys think about the future of Boston Celtics ??

[DieselCeltic]

In a very few, short years the big 3 will move on and retire. This will leave us without KG, Jesus Shutlesworth, and The-Truth. How do we make sure not to fall down in the same pit like we did with Rick Pitino and just having a no star on our team. ? I don't want us to be where we were 4-5 yrs ago. Never on nationally televised game, never being mentioned about anything. And just losing games left and right.

[greenbeans]

I'd hope Danny wouldn't just let an elite team fall apart like that. Sure, faces will change, but that's not always a bad thing.
oh ya, and que the Ray trade ideas.

[Willie Beamen]

hmm sould like your suggesting we make a trade for a younger super-star that could take over when the big three fall off. But for that to happen we would have to trade one of the big three. My vote would be for Ray Allen but what type of value would he bring??????????????? This is the price you pay for winning. I just hope the Cs get one more championship out of the big three.

[Prophet_C]

Yep another Ray Allen thread. Joy.

[BillessuR6]

Don`t worry Danny has a plan!

[tombattor]

Not another trash thread... We're the defending champs with the best record in the conference and you're talking about breaking up the team?

[Willie Beamen]

I'm not trying to make this a Ray Allen thread. All I'm saying is if the Cs was going to make a move to land a youn all-star type player I would start with Ray Allen first. Then I would actually move to KG and then Paul Pierce if it came right down to it. But it all depends on position. You never trade a Big to get a small unless were talking CP3. But it's clear to me the Cs should make some type of major move during next off-season. I think the best GM in the NBA is Joe Dumars. He makes smart moves at the right time and look the Piston have young talent ready to take over once Rip, Wallace and AI are gone. Also they would have enough cash and talent to make a run at LeBron James and or DWade in 2010.

[MyInsatiableOne]

Gee what a surprise...a subtly hidden "trade Ray" thread...in the middle of a 10-2 title-defense season...

[Celtics_Champs]

Trade ID #4824228

it works!!

[MyInsatiableOne]

I think I speak for most of the posters on this board when I say:

"OMG CAN I HAZZ TRADE RAY TO NICKZ 4 QRICH N CURRY WE WILL BE TEH WINNERZ!"

[Celtsfan1980]

I don't mind 3 or 4 bad seasons. I'd prefer Boston draft their own players rather than constantly resorting to free agency and trades. Hopefully they'll have better luck with the draft lottery this time, but if Rondo and Perkins start making a price along the lines they're worthy of, it'd be much harder to fill out a whole roster and make them contenders. Either they have a Championship team or they rebuild, but I'd prefer not to see them in mediocrity for several seasons.

[Celtics_Champs]

I think I speak for most of the posters on this board when I say:

"OMG CAN I HAZZ TRADE RAY TO NICKZ 4 QRICH N CURRY WE WILL BE TEH WINNERZ!"

you speak for me.

then we can trade kg for gerald wallace

[greenbeans]

I think the best GM in the NBA is Joe Dumars.

May I direct your attention at this little piece of information:
http://www.nba.com/draft2003/

I know it's only one move, but damn, what a colossal screw up. that team has multiple rings by now if he doesn't blow that one.

[MVP16]

There's not much you can do. You can't sacrifice too much of the present for the future and end up hurting the team's chances of winning a ring right now (for example, trading Ray for a pick or a really young player who won't be that good for some time). The best thing you can do is make sure that after the big 3 are done, you don't have any leftover big contracts weighing you down. So when the big 3 leave, we'll have our starting 1 and 5 in Rondo and Perk and a bunch of cap space. Hopefully we can use that money to land a superstar, but if not we'll have a down year or two, get some nice picks and hopefully do a quick rebuild.

Right now we have a rare situation where we have 3 potential hall of fame players and some very good role players in Rondo and Perk. We can't think about the future too much and waste an opportunity to win as many rings as possible right now. You never know when you can assemble a team this good again. It's unrealistic to think that after the big 3 (mainly Pierce/KG) leave, that we can still be a top team in the league. There's no way you can replace KG/Pierce by trading Ray Allen or picking late in the draft. The only way is getting lucky in free agency or sucking for a year or two and getting high lottery picks.

[MyInsatiableOne]

I think I speak for most of the posters on this board when I say:

"OMG CAN I HAZZ TRADE RAY TO NICKZ 4 QRICH N CURRY WE WILL BE TEH WINNERZ!"

you speak for me.

then we can trade kg for gerald wallace

These are the same people who think we should dump Brady RIGHT NOW for Cassel...no joke!

[ParticleMan]

What you can do is continue to build up young talent and stockpile draft picks. Then these old vets decline and turn into massive expiring contracts that you can flip (together with talent and picks) for the next KG or Ray.

As long as we can continue to draft well and develop young talent, we will have a place at the table when the next big superstar wants out from wherever they are.

[campybatman]

I think about Rondo being a legitimate All-Star player. I wonder if these young players on the roster are all just chips. When is one or two going to turn into a fixture? I see Rondo as a fixture but everyone else as players included in a possible trade. Even Perkins could be moved before long due to his reasonable contract.

I believe Ainge is thinking that he doesn't want an immediate drop-off to occur. He wants to find the next star player to replace the ones we've now so the transition won't be so rough as it could be if you aren't thinking longterm like a serious GM. The challenge is how to go about doing so without that significant of a decline in wins and rebuilding process. You do so in part by retaining your current stars and developing those to replace them. Through solid drafting and a bit of good fortune. It could work. Maybe you luck out and trade for a young disgruntle player on the rise or a somewhat older young player still with a ceiling to reach. Taking a chance on a Patrick O'Bryant isn't a bad option. As long as you temper expectations. Because if he pans out... The contract will be reasonable since his stock is probably low.

[return2glory]

You have to be focused on winning now. Therefor you can't trade any of the PGA. I believe in 2010, we are going to be under the salary cap and will be able to sign a big time free agent.

[canman1971]

It is actually really simple. Just don't hire Rick Pitino and they'll be fine.

[ParticleMan]

You have to be focused on winning now. Therefor you can't trade any of the PGA. I believe in 2010, we are going to be under the salary cap and will be able to sign a big time free agent.

Ainge has never gone after big-name FAs in the past and it's unlikely he will in the future. That's simply not a smart financial way to run a team. You trade or develop stars, and you use FA to plug specific roles at low cost, like a Posey or (gulp) Scal.

We can an will explore trading Ray in his expriing year. Package him with some solid young players, and we could fetch an allstar player who wants out of his situation. That's much better than overpaying for some marginal all-star just because he's a FA.