BradyManny
Pro Bowl Player
- Joined
- Mar 13, 2006
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HoopsHype - NBA Salaries - Boston Celtics
Looking at the salaries, here's how I break down this current team...
PG - Rondo - After an MVP caliber start to the season, he really struggled down the stretch for a variety of well-documented reasons. The reality is, until - and it may never happen - he cures his shooting and FT woes, he will not take that next step. He's my favorite player on this team, and I think he is capable of being - by far - the best player on this team. Unfortunately, he's also capable of being a huge liability on any given night, and that feast or famine aspect is maddening. He needs to get his head right. His inability to be aggressive and use his speed to penetrate and create offense in the 2nd half of the season cost us a shot at the title.
At about $10 milli a year, Rondo is a potential bargain again. It was a good signing by Danny. He is capable of playing like a max player. It's worth the nites where he disappears.
SG - Ray - Ray shows no signs of decline anytime soon. He's in amazing shape, he has a ridiculous work ethic, and what he's asked to do is limited. We need to limit his minutes more b/c he has gone through tough spells late in the season the last few years. He happened to be hot this postseason, but unfortunately, we couldn't ride it since Rondo was not penetrating and forcing the defense to leave Ray open.
SF - Paul - I really wish Pierce had signed for less $$. He's making about what Lebron/Wade/Bosh are, and he's really not going to contribute the production those guys are (well, save for Bosh, I would take Pierce over him in a heartbeat). And if this team wanted to be competitive going forward, it needed Pierce to take a home-town discount. That said, he still had a great season, and like Ray, I really don't see him suddenly declining. He has already lost a step - but he's made up for it by improving his 3-point shooting. He's not a top-scorer due to athleticism, like a lot of players, but technique & moves. He'll be effective late into his career.
PF - KF - Had a resurgence this year. He disappeared at times in the playoffs and cost us dearly, but overall had a great season and a mostly great postseason. Of all the players on the team, he needs a legit backup and needs his minutes limited going forward. He has one year left, we know he is retiring after that. It's unfortunate he is overpaid at this point in his career. He should not be the 2nd highest paid player in the league. Much like with Pierce, it really limits what we can do this offseason.
C - JO - I'm actually perfectly OK with bringing JO back. I think he had a bit of a resurgence this year postseason, and played like the JO of 5 years ago. I have no doubt that he cannot stay healthy for a full year - but the reality is, with their labor situation, it's unlikely we get a full year. At $6 million, he's a good deal if he plays like he did in the postseason. But his health is a serious issue - it requires having another starting caliber C on the roster. Too bad those don't grow on trees.
BENCH - Because of overpaid guys like KG and Pierce, we really can't do a whole lot.
- I'd love to have Delonte back. I think Delonte would love to be back as well. He's an ideal backup to Rondo since he offers a different skillset.
- Jeff Green was maddening in teasing the potential of what could be - then revealing what is. I am a little ambivalent to whether they bring him back. He is a subpar defender and rebounder, and is not a great shooter. OKC fans were right about him, and there is a reason the team jettisoned him. That said, I think he does have value over the course of a regular season in that he can spell different players. That really means something. He has good chemistry with Rondo and is a great fast break player, as well as a better post player than I thought.
- Troy Murphy was worthless. I had a lot of hopes for him, but he is not the player he was a few years back. I still believe that he could have value as a bench player who can stretch the floor. With his value at an all time low, why not sign him for cheap if you can - and see if he can work his health back into shape. I imagine Murphy will be looking elsewhere, though.
- Nenad Krstic is in the same boat as Murphy - though he contributed more. If you can sign him for cheap, sure, he's a decent bench piece - if there are better players out there available, then we move on. Krstic actually offers something which is of some value - a big off the bench who can hit a jumper. His defense - until Game 5 of the playoffs - was subpar.
- Shaq will probably be back, if for no other reason than he wants to keep making money - and the team will make money off of him. For vet min, I really don't have a problem with it. He's a corpse at this point, but to be quite honest, for $1 million a year, you can't do much better than a corpse in the NBA these days.
- Big Baby needs to go. He's another maddening player. I love what he can contribute, but his shooting is streaky, he's too small, and Doc often has no choice but to play him at the 5 - which just destroys us.
The team as a whole - Taking a step back, it's not an overly optimistic view. The team still has an iffy 5 in JO due to his health concerns. The bench, as it is now, looks bleak. West is the only player I really think we have to resign, Green would be a nice versatile piece over the longhaul of the season. Shaq makes sense from a marketing standpoint. I'd like to see if Murphy has anything to offer once healthy.
But the bottom line is - we need, even if resign West and Green, three pieces: a legitimate starting caliber center (due to JO's health); a borderline starting caliber swingman (like Green, but more of a 2/3 than a 3/4); a borderline starting caliber big, who can play the 4 and 5 (an upgrade over Baby).
Unfortunately, our cap situation makes that look bleak.
Looking at the salaries, here's how I break down this current team...
PG - Rondo - After an MVP caliber start to the season, he really struggled down the stretch for a variety of well-documented reasons. The reality is, until - and it may never happen - he cures his shooting and FT woes, he will not take that next step. He's my favorite player on this team, and I think he is capable of being - by far - the best player on this team. Unfortunately, he's also capable of being a huge liability on any given night, and that feast or famine aspect is maddening. He needs to get his head right. His inability to be aggressive and use his speed to penetrate and create offense in the 2nd half of the season cost us a shot at the title.
At about $10 milli a year, Rondo is a potential bargain again. It was a good signing by Danny. He is capable of playing like a max player. It's worth the nites where he disappears.
SG - Ray - Ray shows no signs of decline anytime soon. He's in amazing shape, he has a ridiculous work ethic, and what he's asked to do is limited. We need to limit his minutes more b/c he has gone through tough spells late in the season the last few years. He happened to be hot this postseason, but unfortunately, we couldn't ride it since Rondo was not penetrating and forcing the defense to leave Ray open.
SF - Paul - I really wish Pierce had signed for less $$. He's making about what Lebron/Wade/Bosh are, and he's really not going to contribute the production those guys are (well, save for Bosh, I would take Pierce over him in a heartbeat). And if this team wanted to be competitive going forward, it needed Pierce to take a home-town discount. That said, he still had a great season, and like Ray, I really don't see him suddenly declining. He has already lost a step - but he's made up for it by improving his 3-point shooting. He's not a top-scorer due to athleticism, like a lot of players, but technique & moves. He'll be effective late into his career.
PF - KF - Had a resurgence this year. He disappeared at times in the playoffs and cost us dearly, but overall had a great season and a mostly great postseason. Of all the players on the team, he needs a legit backup and needs his minutes limited going forward. He has one year left, we know he is retiring after that. It's unfortunate he is overpaid at this point in his career. He should not be the 2nd highest paid player in the league. Much like with Pierce, it really limits what we can do this offseason.
C - JO - I'm actually perfectly OK with bringing JO back. I think he had a bit of a resurgence this year postseason, and played like the JO of 5 years ago. I have no doubt that he cannot stay healthy for a full year - but the reality is, with their labor situation, it's unlikely we get a full year. At $6 million, he's a good deal if he plays like he did in the postseason. But his health is a serious issue - it requires having another starting caliber C on the roster. Too bad those don't grow on trees.
BENCH - Because of overpaid guys like KG and Pierce, we really can't do a whole lot.
- I'd love to have Delonte back. I think Delonte would love to be back as well. He's an ideal backup to Rondo since he offers a different skillset.
- Jeff Green was maddening in teasing the potential of what could be - then revealing what is. I am a little ambivalent to whether they bring him back. He is a subpar defender and rebounder, and is not a great shooter. OKC fans were right about him, and there is a reason the team jettisoned him. That said, I think he does have value over the course of a regular season in that he can spell different players. That really means something. He has good chemistry with Rondo and is a great fast break player, as well as a better post player than I thought.
- Troy Murphy was worthless. I had a lot of hopes for him, but he is not the player he was a few years back. I still believe that he could have value as a bench player who can stretch the floor. With his value at an all time low, why not sign him for cheap if you can - and see if he can work his health back into shape. I imagine Murphy will be looking elsewhere, though.
- Nenad Krstic is in the same boat as Murphy - though he contributed more. If you can sign him for cheap, sure, he's a decent bench piece - if there are better players out there available, then we move on. Krstic actually offers something which is of some value - a big off the bench who can hit a jumper. His defense - until Game 5 of the playoffs - was subpar.
- Shaq will probably be back, if for no other reason than he wants to keep making money - and the team will make money off of him. For vet min, I really don't have a problem with it. He's a corpse at this point, but to be quite honest, for $1 million a year, you can't do much better than a corpse in the NBA these days.
- Big Baby needs to go. He's another maddening player. I love what he can contribute, but his shooting is streaky, he's too small, and Doc often has no choice but to play him at the 5 - which just destroys us.
The team as a whole - Taking a step back, it's not an overly optimistic view. The team still has an iffy 5 in JO due to his health concerns. The bench, as it is now, looks bleak. West is the only player I really think we have to resign, Green would be a nice versatile piece over the longhaul of the season. Shaq makes sense from a marketing standpoint. I'd like to see if Murphy has anything to offer once healthy.
But the bottom line is - we need, even if resign West and Green, three pieces: a legitimate starting caliber center (due to JO's health); a borderline starting caliber swingman (like Green, but more of a 2/3 than a 3/4); a borderline starting caliber big, who can play the 4 and 5 (an upgrade over Baby).
Unfortunately, our cap situation makes that look bleak.
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