Logo
The Ticker
9 days ago

Paul Pierce’s Contract: Dispelling The Myths and Stating The Facts

The first domino to fall this offseason is Paul Pierce’s contract. Until Danny Ainge figures out what he’s doing there, little else matters. As we wait for this decision, we also must face the rest of the offseason, which means it is also rumor season. With that time of year, comes plenty of information floating [...]

42
9 days ago

Final Grade: Avery Bradley (C+)

In his third year in the league, in which promising players often make brash leaps from benchwarmer to starter, from starter to star, Avery Bradley took a big step back. But his regression might be deceptive. When he returned to the Celtics’ lineup on January the 2nd after two in-season months recovering from offseason shoulder [...]

9
9 days ago

Danny Ainge Expects Doc Rivers & Kevin Garnett To Return, Unsure About Paul Pierce

A long, challenging offseason awaits Danny Ainge this summer. Before he dives in head first, he joined Salk and Holley on WEEI-FM 93.7 to discuss the multitude of decisions facing him this offseason, as well as the progress of Rajon Rondo in his rehab from ACL surgery. A few of the notable highlights from the interview. Ainge [...]

11
9 days ago

Suns Hire Away Celtics’ Assistant GM Ryan McDonough

In one way or another, there will be change this offseason in Boston. That process started in the past couple days, with the first piece moving out coming as a name most C’s fans might not be familiar with. Yet, it was Celtics’ assistant general manager Ryan McDonough, one of Danny Ainge’s top lieutenants, who [...]

0
11 days ago

Doc Rivers Finishes 13th in Coach of the Year Voting

It was a tough season for the Boston Celtics, and that includes for head coach Doc Rivers. The long-time coach battled to find the right fit for a lot of new pieces that were both underperforming and/or failed to pick up his schemes on both ends of the floor. Naturally, an unfortunate plethora of injuries [...]

23
12 days ago

Overconfident Answers To Offseason Questions (Part 1)

It seems like every offseason since 2010 we’ve been through this: a myriad of questions and concerns about the Celtics’ roster that usually involve the possibility of the core of the team being dismantled. As we head into the summer of 2013, we’ve got a whole batch of questions, many of which will be familiar.  [...]

29
Browse Archives by:

Ainge Talks Final Roster Spot

Julian Benbow has the scoop in his article in today’s Boston Globe, getting a interesting quote from Danny Ainge, regarding filling the team’s final hole at the wing:

With reports circling about interest in fiery if disgruntled Portland guard Rudy Fernandez, Ainge acknowledged that he was pursuing trade options, though he wasn’t sure a deal would fall in place.

“We’re just continuing to explore available players and trade possibilities and see what sort of options are there,’’ said the Celtics president. “There are some trade discussions that we’re having. I don’t know the likelihood of those happening, but we’ll continue to not rush into something unless it’s something that we’re really excited about.’’

Can’t ask for anything more than this team doing it’s due diligence in addressing the need, and that’s exactly what Danny seems to be doing here. You would think the trade discussions he is referring to here involve Rudy Fernandez, who did no favors for his trade stock while looking unimpressive against Team USA last weekend.

A closer look for Ainge and all C’s fans will be in order this weekend at the official start of the FIBA Championship in Turkey. So even if the cutting of Rajon Rondo eliminated your interest in watching this tournament next weekend, do your best to catch a glimpse of what Rudy Fernandez can bring to the table.

As far as other trade possibilities though, this is the only one you’d think the C’s would be considering right now. I can’t see any player on their roster right now they’d be willing to move, given pretty much everyone right now is filling a need, or is a inexpensive young prospect (Harangody, Bradley, Erden).

We know a 1st Round pick has been offered for Fernandez, so it’s likely those talks are in a holding pattern right now, as each side waits for the other to blink or sweeten the pot. Could the C’s be willing to offer that 1st Rounder for someone else that could help? Don’t hold your breath.

Also from the same piece, Danny Ainge also looks to be taking seriously Paul Pierce’s request for a new training camp spot

“We haven’t made a confirmation on that yet,’’ Ainge said. “We’re looking into the different possibilities, and Doc and I are discussing where we want to have training camp, what’s best for our team.

“I think he has a point. I’m not so sure that that’s the only way to bond together as a team, but I certainly understand where he’s coming from. There’s always a lot of factors in training camp, and we certainly try to do what’s best.’’ (Globe)

I’m all in on this. Maybe Paul is just sick of Rhode Island, who knows, but there was definitely tension in the young and older guard of the locker room next year. Obviously it wasn’t a big enough issue to hold the team back when the games mattered in May and June, but I have no doubt it certainly didn’t help with the team’s struggles in the final 2/3 of the regular season.

With new personalities coming in, getting everyone fully on board with the team mentality and bonding as much as possible seems like the way to go. So find a city without too many nightclubs and maybe bad cell service to boot. Let’s hear some suggestions. What city is a good idea for camp?

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

*

You may use these HTML tags and attributes: <a href="" title=""> <abbr title=""> <acronym title=""> <b> <blockquote cite=""> <cite> <code> <del datetime=""> <em> <i> <q cite=""> <strike> <strong>