We could face some challenges draft day

[sns0274]

Pruitt is staying at least one more year. There are a lot of things you can say about Danny, but, one of them is not that he gives up too soon on young guys.

Danny will have to pull another balancing act this season. I think most, if not all of us realize that Posey was essential to this championship run. There just aren't a lot of guys out there that have his size, length and defensive acumen, that also have the ability to drain three's fairly consistantly. (a big plus in floor spacing issues) Danny has to make a run at keeping him, the best we can do is the full mid level at max raises till 2012. (around 4 years 25 mil ?) There really is not a bunch of teams out there that A) can do it and B) are contenders and C) where he would know the situation as well as he does this one. To me, this should be Danny's main priority. Problem is, we wont know before the draft. signing Posey, means we would be after an athletic big, not signing Posey makes us thin and small at the 2/3.

House is actually easy, offer him a 20% increase over the next 3 as not to effect the cap numbers. say 3 years at about 6.5 mil (I am guessing on the actual full amount of contract, but must keep it within the 20% raise frame) this brings our roster to twelve, as I am going on the premise that Pollard and PJ wont be back and also on the premise that we make the qualifying offer to Tony.

Here is where things get tricky, if we are going to offer up the full mid-level, that leaves no money for signing any second rounders (to fill out the roster) but does leave us the vet min. With or without Posey, the lack of athleticism in the front court has to be addressed. As well as the lack of bodies there with no Brown or Pollard. We must draft an athletic big!

Then we see what two vets might take the vet minimum for a ring.

To me this is the way we are almost forced to go

[ucn33]

Agree completely that Posey should be the #1 priority this offseason. As Van Gundy said (probably right after wetting himself), he does all the little things needed to win the close games. He truly is one of those (as much as I hate this word, it applies here) "glue" players that fills in all those missing pieces and holes left by the rest of the roster. Also, he essentially fills in at 3 different positions; primarily the 3, but his insertion into the lineup may allow Pierce to shift over to 2 and he can play the 4 when the C's go small.

On another subject, and I'll say this with neglect since I absolutely love Eddie, I really hope Ainge doesn't re-sign him. As enjoyable as this team was to watch, follow, and root for, it's important not to fall in love with the roster too too much. While Eddie contributed maybe even more than he receives credit for, he isn't a great fit for this team longterm (signing him for 1 more year is the only thing I'd consider).

Here's my two bold predictions:
1) Pruitt will blossom as a backup PG by midseason and become a regular in the rotation.
2) Big Baby will be the starting center for this team fairly early on (assuming he gets himself into even better shape).

[Cman]

I don't think the Posey situation should or will affect how Danny approaches the draft.  Knowing him, he will pick whomever he thinks is the BPA. 

While it would be ideal to re-sign Posey, there are other (admittedly lesser) players out there, who could probably be had cheaper.  The draft is for looking 2-3 years down the line.

[RebusRankin]

I don't want to lose Posey but the name that sticks out to me after him is Quinton Ross.

[jackson_34]

I agree that Posey needs to be re-signed this year, definently our number one priority.

I also think our second priority needs to be finding a replacement for PJ Brown. PJ really got us out of some situations these playoffs he was crucial in the Cleveland, Detroit and Lakers series since most of our trouble in these series came because of height disadvantage (Big Z, McDycess, Sometimes Pau). So whether it's through the draft or free agency, we need some length. 

[guava_wrench]

Agree completely that Posey should be the #1 priority this offseason. As Van Gundy said (probably right after wetting himself), he does all the little things needed to win the close games. He truly is one of those (as much as I hate this word, it applies here) "glue" players that fills in all those missing pieces and holes left by the rest of the roster. Also, he essentially fills in at 3 different positions; primarily the 3, but his insertion into the lineup may allow Pierce to shift over to 2 and he can play the 4 when the C's go small.

On another subject, and I'll say this with neglect since I absolutely love Eddie, I really hope Ainge doesn't re-sign him. As enjoyable as this team was to watch, follow, and root for, it's important not to fall in love with the roster too too much. While Eddie contributed maybe even more than he receives credit for, he isn't a great fit for this team longterm (signing him for 1 more year is the only thing I'd consider).

Here's my two bold predictions:
1) Pruitt will blossom as a backup PG by midseason and become a regular in the rotation.
2) Big Baby will be the starting center for this team fairly early on (assuming he gets himself into even better shape).

Bold prediction on Big Baby. Are you really high on Baby, or just not that sold on Perk? Risky move considering we only have Baby for one more year and considering the defensive job Perk has done.

If Big Baby starts, how many games do you predict he will foul out of next year?

[ucn33]

I have all the respect in the world for Perk after the sacrifice and hard work he put in through the years to become a solid contributor to a championship caliber team. It's hard not to root for this guy.

But I am, and always have been, very high on Big Baby--particularly a Big Baby that is in good shape. He has the skillset and "feel" for the game to really excel in the NBA provided he keeps putting in the effort.

Regardless of who starts, I think the two will receive a similar amount of minutes next season. They also may play together a bit more depending on who else the Celtics sign in the post. It would be extremely fun watching opposing bigmen try and push around a Celtics frontcourt containing two of Perkins, Powe, and Big Baby!