Every morning, we compile the links of the day and dump them here... highlighting the big storyline. Because there's nothing quite as satisfying as a good morning dump.
Did Ainge do the right thing? If the Celtics can make another deep run or two, he probably chose wisely. But if we saw the last gasp of the Celtics this past spring or if the Heat just steamroll everyone this season, then Ainge and the Celtics missed a critical chance to rebuild while they had the cap space to do it.
Grade: B-
1: The Celtics didn't really have the cap space to rebuild... not unless they renounced Ray Allen, Paul Pierce, Tony Allen, Marquis Daniels, Nate Robinson.. et al. Anyone that held any sort of cap hold on the C's books... which was a lot of people... would have had to go.
So when judging the Celtics this offseason, you have to take into account what their situations was. If the Celtics REALLY were going to rebuild... they would have had to blow up the ENTIRE team to try to bring in a big free agent this summer... and then try to fill in a LOT more blanks than before. Which leads me to...
2: The Celtics had very little to work with. Think of it this way: Which is more impressive: The chef who creates a 5 course meal with a huge budget... or the chef who comes up with a great dinner with $20 in his pocket and some leftovers in the fridge?
Danny pretty much HAD to bring back Paul Pierce and Ray Allen. Once he did, he found decent pieces to fill in the holes at decent prices. Back to the dinner analogy... ever go to the meat section and find a great steak that's a day or 2 from expiration so its marked down to almost nothing? That's what Danny did. As long as you cook that steak tonight, you're good. As long as the C's are trying to make a run right now... they're good.
It's not a perfect offseason. But it's about as well as you can do with what you've got. I'd add one little line to Chad's grade and give Danny a B+... at least.
By the way, if you want a few other takes on the upcoming C's season, here are a few more C's blogger previews:
SBN Boston | Celtics Life | Celtics 24/7 | Gino's Jungle | Celtics Town | Celtics Hub
On Page 2: The NBA Jam Western Conference Rosters
Los Angeles Lakers
Players: Kobe Bryant, Pau Gasol, Ron Artest and Lamar Odom
Legends: Magic Johnson and James Worthy
Kobe and Magic on the same team? Four current players instead of three so Artest and Odom both make the squad? Artest playing in a virtual world where it's not just permissible but encouraged to knock opponents over … with no fear of David Stern reprisal? I suppose Lakerland dwellars could bemoan the absence of Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's skyhook and goggles, but I know what most of you are thinking: The rich get richer. Again.
ESPN: NBA Jam: Introducing the West Rosters.
I repeat... I'm GIDDY over this game. I want this more than I want 2K11 (by the way, the 2K11 demo has dropped on PS and XBox). You want a wicked 2-on-2 with Larry Bird and Paul Pierce vs. Kobe and Magic? You got it.
Process that for a second. LB and Truth vs. Mamba and Magic. I'd shed tears if that matchup could actually happen.
Game drops October 5.
The rest of the links: