Ainge on board

["Thomas Murphy" <tfmiii@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

This is the best news for the Celts since Pitino failed to make the return
trip from Miami.

I have some faith now that things will be done with an eye on the long-term
goal of a championship. Ainge has been on record making many of the same
observations as folks on this list concerning this teams deficiencies. The
offense needs movement and a true point guard (he's stated that Delk should
be instant offense off the bench), the team needs rebounds - and no, it is
NOT a good thing that your SG leads the team in this category - and Walker
is not the cornerstone of an NBA championship team. (I can just hear it now:
"Why does Ainge hate the Celts so?") As good as Pierce is, can you imagine
how much better he can be if he didn't have to move heaven and earth for
every scoring opportunity?

I can understand why the Cs would keep Wallace and Papile around, at least
for the short term. They constitute a large chunk of the scouting staff (for
what it is worth) and keeping them at least until the draft cannot hurt as
long as they are not pulling the trigger. Plus, as long as we have them on
the payroll they cannot tip our (scouting) hand to opponents. Thirdly,
continuity is not a bad thing and there things they can do (scouting,
contract numbers, capology) that won't threaten the future of the franchise.
I imagine they'll be let go over time once Ainge is comfortable that he has
his own folks on board.

As for O'B, I think MacMullin makes a great point in today's (Sat) paper
regarding the loyalty that O'B has built up with the players granting him a
certain degree of immunity. Ditching O'B right now could lead to a
Pitino-type situation in the locker-room. So once again, Ainge will likely
opt to maintain continuity while at the same time making it clear that
changes have to be made. Ainge may truly values certain aspects of the job
O'B has done - he does get a great deal of effort out of the troops, even if
a good deal is just wasted motion (or lack thereof) on offense. Perhaps
Ainge will hire a true "offensive coordinator" to "help" O'B in that
department... and also to be ready to take over in a year or two. Certainly
over the long term Ainge will provide a better roster and even in the short
term Ainge can make it clear to O'B that he has management's support in
requiring Walker to earn his PF minutes.

The Kedrick situation should be interesting. I've heard it mentioned that
Ainge views Kedrick not as a McGrady (like Papile) but as a potential Shawn
Marion. If this is correct then Ainge would view Kedrick's proper role as
one of rebounding, shot-blocking and energy/hustle/quickness close to the
hoop rather than standing out at the 3-point line and chasing SGs through
screens. It would be an interesting experiment, given that rebounding and
shotblocking are two of our key weaknesses (not to mention speed in the
frontcourt), particularly to see how well Kedrick could adjust to guarding
physically larger opponents. Of course Kedrick can't do too much worse on D
with such minutes than Antoine, Eric W and Waltah, the very people whose
playing time he would cut into - yet another plus.

As for potentially dealing Antoine, it seems clear from his own statements
that Ainge would be open to it, but not at any price. Given the change-over
in GMs in Portland and Chicago there may be some appetizing deals out there.
Time will tell, but I think the days of Antoine essentially running the team
with a few concessions to the coach concerning defense should be drawing to
a close. It will be interesting to see which way O'B goes - does he try and
bridge the eras and honestly implement an actual, disciplined offense or
does he stubbornly stick with trying to please Antoine despite Ainge's
priorities? The more O'B sticks to the latter the quicker he is gone.

The biggest winner in all this?

Although he doesn't realize it yet, it has to be Pierce.

I've never seen another player's efforts and obvious talents employed so
poorly. This guy is a transcendent talent who is basically told to do it
alone on offense play after play, night after night. And he does it! He
nearly kills himself and it's not always pretty but he does it. Not only
does he score, he leads the team in virtually every category. The less
energy Pierce has to expend getting shots, the more he'll have to do all
those other things he *already* does better than anyone else on the team.

A disciplined, structured team offense that uses the fast break and
generates some easy buckets will both prolong and enhance Pierce's career. I
believe we've yet to see what he is truly capable of because of the way the
team is structured. "How can Pierce get any better?" you may ask. I think
that he can become even more consistent, more efficient and make his
teammates even better given the right situation.

And with Ainge I finally have some faith that someone in power is going to
try and make that situation come to pass.