If Paul Pierce’s recent
offensive outburst hasn’t convinced Celtics
director of basketball operations chief, Danny
Ainge, that he needs to alter his plan to help
the C’s become a more competitive team over
the next three seasons, then I am unequivocally
calling for Ainge’s ouster.
I know that may sound harsh,
but I am getting fed up with Ainge’s inability
to come up with a tangible plan to get the storied
franchise back into contention before the end
of this decade.
To be blunt about it, I think
Ainge has had an up-and-down tenure in his role
with the Celtics that has both, provided the Celtics
with numerous young, talented players but simultaneously,
too many young talented players.
I understand that teams want
young players who can learn and grow and while
that may be fine and well, the Celtics, as currently
composed, won’t be a threat to win anything
other than a handful of games in the eastern conference
over the next half-decade.
Pierce’s recent offensive
outburst – not to mention his overall play
all season – should be enough to convince
Ainge to part ways with one or two of his younger
players and put some kind of package together
to possibly bring some players in who can help
Pierce win now.
I mean it’s not like
the eastern conference is actually bursting with
powerhouse teams. Besides the Detroit Pistons
and possibly the Miami Heat, there isn’t
another team in the conference that I don’t
think the Celtics could surpass in the next two
years with some wise acquisitions.
Ainge, whose tenure has been
marked by inconsistency, had better get this one
right because whatever decisions he makes this
offseason concerning Pierce, is likely to alter
the face of the franchise throughout the end of
this decade and possibly longer.
Despite the fact that Pierce’s
recent offensive outburst has garnered him plenty
of national attention, it doesn’t take a
rocket scientist to figure out that Pierce has
been carrying the Celtics all season long.
No other player can make
the claim that he is leading his team in scoring,
(27.2), rebounding.9), assists (4.6) and steals
(1.4). The Celtics, who are currently almost ten
games under .500, would be contending for the
league’s worst record were it not for Pierce’s
immense efforts.

"We would be thinking
about [Adam] Morrison and J.J. Redick and whoever
else is going to be the first pick in the draft,"
admits coach Doc Rivers.
Besides, what does it say
that no Celtics big man is out-rebounding Pierce?
I’ll tell you what it says. It says they
are either too young or untalented to get the
job done. Really. How many NBA teams have their
shooting guard/small forward as their leading
rebounder? And what does it say about Ainge’s
basketball acumen that he was even considering
trading Pierce? Not much if you ask me.
Why would you trade
your most valuable commodity – and best
player - when your team is clearly in need of
more veteran help and not more young players?
Whatever the Celtics – and more importantly
– Ainge decides to do this offseason, keeping
Paul Pierce and adding some quality frontcourt
help should be at the top of Ainge’s priority
list. If that’s not the agenda, then maybe
Ainge has a plan to give his former teammates,
Larry Bird, Robert Parish and Kevin McHale a call
in the hopes that the “Big Three”
will come riding to the rescue.
Eric Williams
is an award-winning writer for the Philadelphia
Sunday Sun. You can hear him every Wednesday at
3:15pm EST on www.BetUSradio.com. He can be reached
via Eklass33@yahoo.com.
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Posted on Wednesday, March 15, 2006 @ 10:06:11
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