We continue through an odd offseason with no moves to discuss because no one is allowed to really discuss business. However, I can discuss business, so for the sake of this article, I will act as if nothing is wrong and life continues as it always does. The Boston Celtics have a local legend that will be starting at the 3 again, even though Danny Ainge had those 6th man comments about The Truth, Paul Pierce.
The Captain will be around the Boston Celtics organization for the rest of his life. After a stint in the World Series of Poker, Paul Pierce is very likely going to accomplish something rare by playing for one team his whole career. The questions become who backs up Paul now and what do we do for the future?
Jeff Green recently received his qualifying offer from the Celtics, at the last minute. Green is probably the most debated player on this roster because he is so unique and new to the team. The believers think he can become something special with Rondo. Whether that is at an All Star level or not remains to be seen. The naysayers believe that Jeff is a barely a 14-8 guy at most who plays poor defense.
I personally like Jeff Green, I don’t think he will ever be nearly as good as Paul Pierce. He seems to lack that desire. He's an athlete who, at 6 foot 9 and 235lbs, is gifted physically. He has the body to become a very solid defender and he has his youth (the same reasons I cannot write off Greg Oden). Green has a lot of basketball in him to develop into a star. It will be too bad if he can’t have a full season of practice with the Celtics and this lockout affects his ability to build chemistry with the team..
I think the Celtics should go after another veteran wing player. Ultimately we would like to go younger as a team but with Rajon Rondo, Avery Bradley, Jeff Green and the new Boilermakers, Boston will need more veterans to continue their win right now menality. The most obvious choice on everyone’s list should be Grant Hill, but since we already went over this, we will hope and pray.
Behind Grant Hill stands enough veterans for the Celtics to be able to bring one into town. You have guys like Shane Battier, Andrei Kirilenko, Mike Dunleavy (not another old white Pacer!), and Caron Butler. However, the person I see being the closest to a sure thing could be Tayshaun Prince. He would fit nicely into this style of basketball. I don’t see any of the other guys coming over, except maybe AK47.
The Celtics will be fine with Paul Pierce and Jeff Green regardless of who their forward is. This has always been a position that I least worried about throughout my lifetime with Paul Pierce. After losing the WSOP, Paul Pierce will hit the gym and get ready for the short NBA season. Damn it, I lied, I said I was going to act like everything is okay…
…[sigh] this lockout.
Add The Sports Daily to your Google News Feed!
