Quick thought on character issues (from a man who has some of his own...)

[rickyfan3.0...]

I really like the idea of bringing in a guy on the cheap with great talent and some character flaws. With strong clubhouse personalities to keep a troublesome player in line, it is likely to work out...

I think the problem comes in when you start to cluster these guys together. If we were to bring in Birdman and Miles to put with JR Giddens you have something bad. 25% of your team makeup would now be bad guys. Really bad guys. These guys could become friends and go back to old habits easily if they are there to support each other...

Miles is just a real jerk. Chris Anderson has legit drug and focus problems... Giddens is another real jerk who has had trouble everywhere he has gone. None of these guys have ever won, or seemed to care about winning in the slightest.

I really worry about the Celtics going from what should be in my eyes a 'Aint broke, dont fix' situation to a situation that could hamstring this team quickly and make alot of people look old really quick.

The best part of this team last year was its chemistry and that was why they won.... why tinker with it?

[SShoreFan 2.0]

Based on everything I have read (and my 15 second conversation with him at the airport  ) I am not worried about Andersen.

Miles does nothing for me and based on the interview that was aired on WBZ and posted here, I am impressed with Giddens attitude.

Overall I am more worried about a player who would be added to the mix not accepting their role within the team more than I am worried about the Celts adding a "bad apple".

[rickyfan3.0...]

Not a bad apple... multiple bad apples.

[TripleOT]

On many teams, adding three guys of questionable character would be a mistake.  The core of this team is so strong that taking a chance on one or two guys with questionable pasts won't be a problem.

Andersen was well liked by teammates and management.  He wasn't the first guy to have issues with substance abuse and "partying" too much.  Going back a while, the great Bernard King was facing similar issues before joining the Knicks (although they didn't have the same suspension system then).  The NBA landscape is littered with players who take their money and  fast lifestyle past the limit.

Chris Andersen spent the pst two years training with KG's guy in Las Vegas, with KG a lot of the time.  I'm sure the move to sign him has Garnett's blessing. 

Miles is another story.  Many of the knuckleheads on the "Jail Blazers were able to put in decent stints on other teams, and the guy is only 26 years old, with nothing to show for his talents but a bank load of money and a horrific legacy.  He might have the right motivation to actually play basketball the right way. 

I remember the day the Cs traded Rick Robey for an alleged "cancer" named Dennis Johnson,who became one of the BEST examples of a great teammate in the history of the NBA.  I am in no way comparing Miles to DJ, but merely using DJ as an example of someone who took a questionable reputation and turned it into a revered one. 

[libermaniac]

Giddens is another real jerk who has had trouble everywhere he has gone. None of these guys have ever won, or seemed to care about winning in the slightest.

Um, this indictment of Giddens is based on what exactly?  Steve Alford would beg to differ. And, to say Giddens doesn't care about winning is just plain ignorant. Sorry.

[Jeff]

I understand the hesitation but to me the key point here is having flexibility with knuckleheads

Miles for a minimum one year deal is a whole lot different than Miles for 12M+ for 5 years (or whatever he was making in Portland).

[MattG12]

I really like the idea of bringing in a guy on the cheap with great talent and some character flaws. With strong clubhouse personalities to keep a troublesome player in line, it is likely to work out...

I think the problem comes in when you start to cluster these guys together. If we were to bring in Birdman and Miles to put with JR Giddens you have something bad. 25% of your team makeup would now be bad guys. Really bad guys. These guys could become friends and go back to old habits easily if they are there to support each other...

Miles is just a real jerk. Chris Anderson has legit drug and focus problems... Giddens is another real jerk who has had trouble everywhere he has gone. None of these guys have ever won, or seemed to care about winning in the slightest.

I really worry about the Celtics going from what should be in my eyes a 'Aint broke, dont fix' situation to a situation that could hamstring this team quickly and make alot of people look old really quick.

The best part of this team last year was its chemistry and that was why they won.... why tinker with it?

Giddens hasn't even stepped foot into an NBA game, and you're saying he's a jerk who has trouble everywhere? Harsh words from somebody who is a Ricky Davis fan(I'm guessing). I have no problem with the Celtics taking a risk on a couple guys for cheap money such as Giddens and Andersen. As far as Darius Miles... I wouldn't sign him because I don't like him as a player, his character issues may be in his past however, he is choosing to try to play for the love of the game right now, he could just sit back and collect his checks and buy some more weed but he seems to be trying to straighten himself out. You shouldn't be so quick to judge these people.

[MattG12]

By the way did you change your mind after the first sentence, because at first you said you really liked the idea of bringing in somebody cheap with some character flaws and great talent, but then you go on to bash Giddens, Andersen, and Miles, and ask why the Celtics would change something that won them the Championship. What is your actual stance on the idea?

[Robb]

I think it's a legitimate point (and that's not because I'll always agree with rickyfan due to his avatar).  I understand that character issues can be diffused by the alpha dogs, but even the Bulls were worried that Jordan, Pippen and Phil could keep Rodman in line so they grabbed Jack Haley.

In our case, there are a lot of "ifs" though.  If these guys are as bad as they could be and if they fall back into routines.  But at this point, I think they're fliers.  Darius Miles (I actually met him at the IHSA Basketball tourney where his East St. Louis Flyers came in third in state) had all the talent in the world and he smoked it away in Portland, but maybe he's matured and realized that he needs basketball more than basketball needs him.  Chris Andersen, aside from being out of the league, could very well be dead if his drug problem was that bad.  If these guys have grown up, then I think they could be valuable additions.  If not, we cut them loose and they look into opening laundromats in their hometown.

The only problem I see is Giddens, but that's only because he's a rookie and hasn't made the mistakes that Miles and Andersen have made.  So maybe, if those two have fully realized their past mistakes, having one of them could be a good example for Giddens and he won't make the same decisions and he can get the best of his talent.

[ChainSmokingLikeDino]

Giddens is another real jerk who has had trouble everywhere he has gone. None of these guys have ever won, or seemed to care about winning in the slightest.

http://www.draftexpress.com/profile/J.R.-Giddens-74

Have a read. If you really think Giddens doesn't care about winning and that he's "another real jerk" I'd suggest you do a little research. For some reason I'm taking Steve Alford's word on this one and not yours.

[ChainSmokingLikeDino]

Also, I can't remember exactly when it was but there was a good, I think, Real Sports piece on Chris Andersen about 5 or 6 months ago. From that piece and other articles read I don't have the impression he views his own issues cavalierly at all. That is, he knows its something he will deal with daily and takes seriously. He isn't "just a jerk" but someone who has dealt with and is dealing with his own problems but is very serious about contributing both on and off the court. For the money, don't you want the MLE on Posey?, that won't leave Danny with too much to spend, I think he'd be a very good signing.

Also, this idea of 25% of the team being so called "bad apples": Have you seen the Celtics roster? They aren't signing Giddens, Andersen and Miles. They have neither the space nor the money. So this idea that the team is going to be taken over by "jerks" is unfounded anyways.

[earl]

It's a fine line and you have to be a good judge of character to take risks on guys with these kind of attitude blemishes, you also must have a solid grasp on the core of your team. This is something the Patriots have done well over the years, and I think DA has the same eye.

When asked about about bringing in players with character flaws, Bill Belichick often says things like "he cares about football, winning is important to him," etc. That, to me, is a key difference between guys who have made mistakes off the court (i.e., Birdman) and guys who just can't fit into a team concept (i.e., D. Miles) and are all out for themselves.

I think Birdman would be a cool addition. He has a history of being a popular teammate and being a great energy player and locker room guy, and hard worker. By all accounts, he is really no risk in terms of pure basketball. You obviously have to account for the off the court risk, potential relapse, etc., but if you can minimize his cost and be confident he's shown a commitment to stay clean, he could turn out to be a minor steal.

[clover]

Since Patriots comparisons abound, I'd like to see the Celtics also adopt a 'brains and guts' team identity, and only very selectively take on a character challenge.

[BirdNerd]

I get troubled by how fans think they can be a judge of someone's character from a few media clips or an article.   Would I prefer the guy that wasn't in a barfight, tosses from the team, or transfered.   Of course.   

But to write people off as "real jerks"?   I think we all have friends or know good people who have been involved in a bar fight (their fault or not), smoked the hippy lettuce (or other drugs), or had run ins with authority. 

[rickyfan3.0...]

1. JR Giddens was suspended by Alford... remember? Bad teammate? Now that he has graduated Alford is supporting him. I have never heard a coach PUBLICLY criticize a player with NBA aspirations... it is just indecent. Giddens was a bad egg in high school, then at Kansas. Then he went to a smaller school to get the ball more (didn't want to share in Kansas with players of like talent). He went there and never got along with teammates...

He was thusly suspended, but in a last ditch effort to salvage a career he played nice with teammates. Still won NOTHING...

He is now the only rookie holdout in the NBA. I GUARANTEE this guy ends up going down the Ricky Davis road at some point...

2. Darius is a bad guy. Remember his "GO RUN TO DADDY" quote? Just a bad guy.

3. Anderson is a mediocre talent with a horrible past, no b-ball IQ, and a BAD drug problem. So bad that he was suspended for a year due to multiple failed drug tests and warnings.

4. Just to counter that point of me not being clear where I stand... bringing on 1 of these guys would not be a bad idea because they will be kept in line, but bringing on a cluster of bad guys (yes these are all 'bad' guys in NBA terms thats why they have all slid or are fighting to get a minimum contract) is an AWFUL idea. Why tinker with the chemistry to this degree? Clusters of bad guys undermines star players leadership and coaching authority... think Ricky, Blount, Marcus.

5. I just heard the word 'family' and 'chemistry' over and over as a big reason why this team jelled and won it all, so if chemistry is so important potentially replacing James Posey and Eddie House with these guys could be dangerous.