This is part four of a six part series reviewing the NBA offseason, taking an individual look at all the title contenders (Lakers, Magic, Cavaliers, Celtics and Spurs) and then the rest of the league as a whole. The first three parts examined the Lakers, Magic and Cavaliers. Today, we examine 2008 NBA champions, the Boston Celtics.
Many people will tell you that if Kevin Garnett had been healthy, the Celtics may have repeated as NBA champions last year (though I doubt how they could have matched up with the Lakers considering the state of their bench). The main concern for the Celtics going into the offseason is making sure that KG is healthy and none of us have any way of knowing whether he is or not until the season starts. With that in mind, what they needed to do was try to retool their bench, especially behind Paul Pierce and Ray Allen (both of them were forced to play almost the entire game in the playoffs and by the end of the Orlando series looked like Donovan McNabb in the Tampa heat). Instead, they have a pretty quiet offseason (except for trying to trade Rajon Rondo) and the one substantial move they do make, Rasheed Wallace, is a well-documented nut case who has been known to quit on his team (he hasn’t showed up for Detroit in the last 3 seasons).
But first I want to address the inactivity to address a backup swingman. The only guy that they have behind Allen and Pierce is Tony Allen. Tony Allen has a basketball IQ comparable to a naked mole rat. Under no circumstances should he be trusted in any kind of important situation. And after that, it gets worse with JR Giddens and Bill Walker. I know, they suck. They have yet to find a replacement for James Posey who played such an integral in their championship run. He gave them such versatility with his ability to shoot and defend, and even allowed them to go small at the end of games in the Finals vs. the Lakers. Without a guy like that, it became impossible to match up with the different looks that Orlando threw at them last year. At the very least, you have to be able to bring something off the bench that won’t have down by 30 when your starters return. Especially given the wear and tear on both Pierce and Allen, they need to have moderately capable backups so they can take a breather at least a couple times a game. Boston could have easily used a guy like Anthony Parker, the free-agent pick up for the Cavs, who can score from the perimeter and isn’t the worse defender in the world. All of this coupled with the glaring hole at backup point guard (because Stephon Marbury had to go). They can’t play Eddie House at point guard, he can barely dribble. My favorite extraterrestrial Sam Cassel can’t play anymore. What are they going to do on that front? They have a lot of holes in their backcourt off the bench and made zero attempts to fill any of them.
Where they made their moves was in the front court, where they got Wallace in free agency and resigned Big Baby (but they let Leon Powe go in one of the classless moves that organizations make. Everyone likes to complain about the players when they hold out or demand some roster security from the organizations, pleading that the player be more committed to the team. How about the team be more committed to the players. Leon Powe played his heart out for the Celtics for his entire career, did everything right for them, but the second he gets hurt he is of no use to them. We all demand some loyalty from the players but how about some loyalty from the teams. I digress). I don’t have a problem with the Big Baby signing because the way he developed in the absence of KG and really made some big plays down the stretch, he’s the kind of guy you want to keep around. But bringing in a guy like Rasheed Wallace is the definition of a crap shoot. One night he could drop 30 and 12 boards, the next night he’ll shoot 14 3-pointers and get ejected in the second quarter. Bringing him off the bench limits some of that unpredictability but still, he’s not a guy you can completely count on when you need him. Especially considering the way guys like Big Baby and Kendrick Perkins played and developed in KG’s absence, it’s not necessarily a risk you needed to take. You already had a solid 3 big-man rotation with the return of KG, which is all you really need in the NBA. Sheed can’t be trusted anymore considering how things disintegrated in Detroit, even if he has an increased respect level for the Big 3 and Doc Rivers. The talent with Sheed is there, but considering his past history of quitting on teams and the Celtics not having a dire need for his services, I don’t see the risk matching the reward.
The Celtics off-season was a case study in ignoring needs and trying to fix something that didn’t need fixing. What they needed was competent bench to give Rondo, Allen and Pierce legit backups and also give Doc Rivers some versatility in lineup tinkering. Instead, they pick up Rasheed Wallace, which fills a need that wasn’t there and limits the different styles that they can play. The Celtics off-season was a case study in misattribution of needs and puts them farther away from a championship than they begun with.
Grade: D+
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