Every morning, we compile the links of the day and dump them here… highlighting the big storyline. Because there’s nothing quite as satisfying as a good morning dump.
Yahoo’s Adrian Wojnarowski tweeted this just after midnight yesterday:
For now, Celtics content to go w/ the four guards on roster and see how it plays out, league sources say. Barbosa’s minutes likely to rise.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@WojYahooNBA) January 29, 2013
So it looks like Ainge and the Celtics will stand pat with what they have. Expect to see a lot of “The Blur” in the coming games:
Mark Murphy-Boston Herald: Danny Ainge Resists Adding To C’s Roster
“We’re not bringing anybody in yet — we’re not rushing into anything,” said Ainge. “We like the guys that we have now. (Leandro) Barbosa has only played for the last couple of games, and we have to see more of him. If there’s another injury, then we may need to go get someone.
“I don’t think there are any (players) we can get who are better than what we have now,” he said. “We’re not doing anything unless we have another injury. I don’t think we have to do anything. We’ll look into all possibilities as we always do, but anything we can do is going to have an effect on the hard (salary) cap.”
Even before Rondo went down, as the C’s began to struggle over the last few weeks, some fans have called for Danny to “blow it up” and others are preaching patience. It’s clear that Ainge is in favor of the latter-for now anyways.
One of the names that’s been thrown around post and pre Rondo injury is Delonte West. And after the Heat game on Sunday, Keyon Dooling was also tossed into the discussion. He was even asked point blank if a return to the C’s roster was a possibility. But Ainge has his story and he’s sticking to it:
We don’t have anything on the trade cooker. We weren’t going to trade Rondo,” Ainge said flatly. “But I’m not going to bring someone in now who is just going to sit on the bench. We could sign a couple of players to minimum contracts, but that’s all we can do right now. We have to see whether someone becomes available through trade or free agency who can actually crack our rotation.
“Right now, I’m looking to give the guys we have a chance to play,” he said. “Then we’ll see what happens in the next few weeks.”
Delonte West, for example, remains an unlikely addition. The two-time former Celtic, cut loose by Dallas prior to the season due to West’s well-chronicled emotional struggles, is currently playing for the Texas Legends of the NBADL. He has all of the qualities — defensive toughness, above-average playmaking, shooting — a team could want in an emergency point guard replacement. And though the Celtics eventually could make a call, there is no current plan to do so.
Though player liaison Keyon Dooling would consider coming out of retirement, Ainge said yesterday that the former Celtics guard is not an option.
Instead, he wants to see what a rotation devoid of Rondo’s ballhandling can do. Though it’s been suggested Rondo’s domination of the ball has caused teammates to stop moving, Ainge wants to see now if those same players are forced into better movement without the ball.
It’s obvious that this will be an argument Celtics fans will have throughout the season. Some will say Pierce & Garnett are aging vets-we should “get what we can for them now”. Others though, including myself agree with Danny. There’s no point in blowing things up if it’s not going to make the team any better. Besides, there are also financial issues/limitations involved:
Though Ainge has heard all of those suggestions about blowing up the team, the chance of trading Pierce or Kevin Garnett is unlikely. Garnett has a no-trade clause. Although only $5 million of the $15 million Pierce can make for next season is guaranteed, a potential trade partner would have to make a decision on keeping Pierce by June 30.
“You can’t just say, ‘Tear the whole team apart,’ ” said Ainge. “My approach doesn’t change. It’s a matter of what is available, and what can help us. This isn’t baseball. It isn’t like you can just go out there and get a second baseman or a center fielder. I want good players.”
And as Ainge sees it, the greatest available help, for now, is already on the roster.
“We just need the guards we have now to play different,” said Ainge. “We need all of them to share in the point-guard duties, and share them with Paul. That has been effective without Rondo in short spurts.”
We’ll certainly get a good look at how this will all work soon. After two games at home that you would think the C’s should win against Sacramento and Orlando, they enter a tough stretch. A three week span that features games against the Clippers, the Lakers (twice), three back-to-backs and the season’s final visit to the west coast. Thankfully the all-star break is sandwiched in between.
The rest of the links:
Globe: Ainge-Rondo Should Be Back By Training Camp ESPN Boston: Drawing On Doc’s Experience Green Day Limiting Lebron CSNNE: Five Things To Expect Without Rondo Herald: With No Rondo Mates Decide Fate Green’s Best Defense Good Play
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