Boston Celtics
Boston Celtics - A New Air in New England
Dec 7, 2015 16:52:57 GMT -5
billy, Brown Cobb IV, and 1 more like this
Post by Red Auerbach on Dec 7, 2015 16:52:57 GMT -5
A New Air in New England,
Could Mean Something is Brewing
Boston Globe Writer - Tom Bradey
The offseason started when the Celtics sent their veteran leader Dirk Nowtizki to Toronto for two young guys Tyler Zeller and Aaron Gordon. “This was our first attempt at getting younger”, Auerbach said. “We hate to give up a Hall of Famer like Nowitzki, but feel that it is in the team’s best interest to go in a different direction”. This trade kicked off an offseason full of trades for the Celtics.
The Celtics’ next move was to clean house. They traded away a scoring guard who had lost his scoring ability in Monta Ellis, a small forward who was known to be a reliable player taking the second roll behind Westbrook, the two young guys they had received from the trade with Toronto, and two other young guys who have had a hard time finding playing time. Auerbach went on to say, “The hard part in this trade was giving up on the potential upside, especially from Aaron and Myles”. So, the house cleaning continued. In this trade they received two more players they would eventually trade off and a young shooter who they could pair with Russell Westbrook to hopefully form the back court of the future.
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Boston continued their trading spree where they completed a series of trades with Atlanta which saw them trade away Evan Turner, Brandon Jennings, and Tony Wroten Jr along with 2 2nd rounders for nothing more than a plate of fried chicken and some beignets from world famous Café du Monde in the New Orleans’ French Quarter. Some would call it a salary dump, others might just say that Mr. Auerbach was hungry and wanted something different than the usual clam chowder and cup of tea.
Oklahoma City came calling and wanted to make a trade for salary and Boston’s other 1st rounder Rondae Hollis-Jefferson. The price they were willing to send was the basket filling Isaiah Thomas III. With his addition Thomas rounded out the guards for the team. He can come in and play point while Russ moves to off guard. He can play point with Bradley playing in his normal shooters roll, or Isaiah could come on and play two guard beside Russ. With his addition they created some versatility and hopeful matchup problems for other teams.
Next the Celtics turned their sights on the free agent field. They had three players on the team at the start of free agency and they were all guards. They needed some size to their team. The Celtics were able to bring in two of the more promising young players in the league. The first signing went to Paul Millsap. They knew they wanted him from the get go. They offered him the max and feel confident he can help lead the team to new heights. Paul is a Top 5 power forward in the league. He can stretch his shooting range to the arc, taking 23.2% of his shots from 3-point range. He is very good from the corner and his shooting is important when it comes to stretching out opposing defenses for guard penetration and allowing their other big man free agent Jonas Valanciunas to do his work. Valanciunas can be a consistent force inside where he is capable of averaging a double-double. It will not be a surprise to see him stuff the stat sheet, his individual numbers have improved in each of his first three seasons.
After the signings of Millsap and Valanciunas the Celtics thought they were finished. “We knew we still had a hole in our roster, but we weren’t really sure how we were going to fill it” commented Auerbach. That surprise came in the form of a defensive minded glue guy, DeMarre Carroll. The “Junkyard Dog” has improved his shooting ability and offensive impact, but it is his scrappy, gritty and all-out effort style of play the Celtics were after. Other important aspects of Carroll’s game the Celtics were after were his threat to hit an outside shot and the space he is able to create for his teammates. He will set the tone defensively. “His play will provide the “spirit” and “identity” we are looking for on the defensive end”, Auerbach.
With the addition of Carroll to the starting lineup the bench was completed with both veteran and young players: The Brazilian Blur “Leandro Barbosa”, sharp shooting Ray Allen, Richard Jefferson, Jeff Ayers, who brings championship experience and veteran savvy, and Samuel Dalembert. The young guys will be Elliot Williams, the 2015 NBA D-League All-Star, player on the championship squad, and the Finals MVP. He has elite-level athleticism, and a super leaping ability, Michael Frazier, a three point ace like teammate Bradley Beal from Florida, and Jonathon Holmes a Longhorn from Texas.
These players and each of their individual talents, all coming in as newcomers, join the only hold over from last year’s team to create a dynamic filled with scorers, three point artists, defenders, all around players and both veteran and rookie a like to hopefully push the Celtics into the playoffs and possibly even further. Stay tuned for a fun filled season!
Boston Globe Writer - Tom Bradey
Feeling that his team was not up to the level needed to reach the playoffs Boston Celtics’ General Manager Red Auerbach decided to transform his team into a younger group of guys who could grow together. The one remaining holdover from last year’s team is MVP candidate and team leader at point guard Russell Westbrook.
The offseason started when the Celtics sent their veteran leader Dirk Nowtizki to Toronto for two young guys Tyler Zeller and Aaron Gordon. “This was our first attempt at getting younger”, Auerbach said. “We hate to give up a Hall of Famer like Nowitzki, but feel that it is in the team’s best interest to go in a different direction”. This trade kicked off an offseason full of trades for the Celtics.
The Celtics’ next move was to clean house. They traded away a scoring guard who had lost his scoring ability in Monta Ellis, a small forward who was known to be a reliable player taking the second roll behind Westbrook, the two young guys they had received from the trade with Toronto, and two other young guys who have had a hard time finding playing time. Auerbach went on to say, “The hard part in this trade was giving up on the potential upside, especially from Aaron and Myles”. So, the house cleaning continued. In this trade they received two more players they would eventually trade off and a young shooter who they could pair with Russell Westbrook to hopefully form the back court of the future.
Boston continued their trading spree where they completed a series of trades with Atlanta which saw them trade away Evan Turner, Brandon Jennings, and Tony Wroten Jr along with 2 2nd rounders for nothing more than a plate of fried chicken and some beignets from world famous Café du Monde in the New Orleans’ French Quarter. Some would call it a salary dump, others might just say that Mr. Auerbach was hungry and wanted something different than the usual clam chowder and cup of tea.
Oklahoma City came calling and wanted to make a trade for salary and Boston’s other 1st rounder Rondae Hollis-Jefferson. The price they were willing to send was the basket filling Isaiah Thomas III. With his addition Thomas rounded out the guards for the team. He can come in and play point while Russ moves to off guard. He can play point with Bradley playing in his normal shooters roll, or Isaiah could come on and play two guard beside Russ. With his addition they created some versatility and hopeful matchup problems for other teams.
Next the Celtics turned their sights on the free agent field. They had three players on the team at the start of free agency and they were all guards. They needed some size to their team. The Celtics were able to bring in two of the more promising young players in the league. The first signing went to Paul Millsap. They knew they wanted him from the get go. They offered him the max and feel confident he can help lead the team to new heights. Paul is a Top 5 power forward in the league. He can stretch his shooting range to the arc, taking 23.2% of his shots from 3-point range. He is very good from the corner and his shooting is important when it comes to stretching out opposing defenses for guard penetration and allowing their other big man free agent Jonas Valanciunas to do his work. Valanciunas can be a consistent force inside where he is capable of averaging a double-double. It will not be a surprise to see him stuff the stat sheet, his individual numbers have improved in each of his first three seasons.
After the signings of Millsap and Valanciunas the Celtics thought they were finished. “We knew we still had a hole in our roster, but we weren’t really sure how we were going to fill it” commented Auerbach. That surprise came in the form of a defensive minded glue guy, DeMarre Carroll. The “Junkyard Dog” has improved his shooting ability and offensive impact, but it is his scrappy, gritty and all-out effort style of play the Celtics were after. Other important aspects of Carroll’s game the Celtics were after were his threat to hit an outside shot and the space he is able to create for his teammates. He will set the tone defensively. “His play will provide the “spirit” and “identity” we are looking for on the defensive end”, Auerbach.
With the addition of Carroll to the starting lineup the bench was completed with both veteran and young players: The Brazilian Blur “Leandro Barbosa”, sharp shooting Ray Allen, Richard Jefferson, Jeff Ayers, who brings championship experience and veteran savvy, and Samuel Dalembert. The young guys will be Elliot Williams, the 2015 NBA D-League All-Star, player on the championship squad, and the Finals MVP. He has elite-level athleticism, and a super leaping ability, Michael Frazier, a three point ace like teammate Bradley Beal from Florida, and Jonathon Holmes a Longhorn from Texas.
These players and each of their individual talents, all coming in as newcomers, join the only hold over from last year’s team to create a dynamic filled with scorers, three point artists, defenders, all around players and both veteran and rookie a like to hopefully push the Celtics into the playoffs and possibly even further. Stay tuned for a fun filled season!