The Gatorade Dump Plays GM: Boston Celtics Edition

The Gatorade Dump Plays GM: Atlanta Hawks can be found here.

I purposely saved the Celtics for today because, as you all probably know, today is the 20th anniversary of Len Bias' death. I've always felt some sort of connection to the Len Bias tragedy living here in Maryland. Even today, the Maryland program can see the effects of Bias' death. However, I can't say I ever really felt a connection to Bias because I wasn't even alive when he played. I never witnessed Bias' incredible athleticism or his larger-than-life stature. So when everyone says that he could have been better than MJ, I just have to sit there and nod my head. I really can't tell you how good a player Bias was, but I do know that it severely affected both the Maryland Terrapins and the Boston Celtics. I keep saying that, 50 years from now, Boston fans will still be searching for a Celtics title and we'll coin the phrase "the Curse of the Bias-bino."

But while I may not have much to say on Bias, there are plenty of people that do have a lot to say. CelticsBlog has posted a bunch of Bias links that are worth reading, including a great column by Washington's own Michael Wilbon. Also, be sure to check out the Washington Post's front page story and The Courtmaster's piece on Len Bias and him.

Anyway, on to the 2006 Celtics. For some great Celtics coverage, be sure to check out two outstanding Celtics blogs in CelticsBlog and Celtics 17. And, as usual, this is somewhat of an interactive project, so if you have a better idea, leave it in the comments section. We had a pretty good debate on the Hawks last time and I hope that we can have an even bigger debate on the Celtics.

The history of the Celtics is too great to recount here. Luckily, Sports Matters has a great roundup of Celtics history post-Bias. It sets the stage perfectly for what may prove to be the most difficult offseason the Celtics have been through in a very long time.

As Sports Matters chronicled, this is going to be a difficult offseason for the Celtics. They have a franchise player in Paul Pierce who is set to hit the free agent market after this season. Underneath the radar, Pierce had the best season of his fine career. He averaged a career high 26.8 points per game, 6.7 rebounds a game, and over 4 assists a game. He shot a career-high 47 percent from the field and carried an extremely young team on his back. At age 28, Pierce is certainly in his prime and one of the top players in the game.

Surrounding Pierce is a mix of talented youngsters and overpaid veterans. Rookie Gerald Green took some steps forward in his first season, but the 19 year old wingman still has a ways to go to be a top player in this league. Fellow rookie Ryan Gomes surprised in his first season, but sees his path to the starting lineup blocked by Pierce, Green, and Wally Szczerbiak. 2004 draftees Al Jefferson, Delonte West, and Tony Allen made progress, but showed their inconsistency all season. West was forced to play out of position at point guard and struggled at times, while Jefferson failed to take the step forward many were expecting. In addition, center Kendrick Perkins has finally started to fulfill his potential and prompted the trade of Mark Blount to the Timberwolves.

The three biggest things holding the Celtics back at the moment are the contracts of veterans Szczerbiak, Raef LaFrentz, and Brian Scalabrine. Szczerbiak is a nice perimeter player acquired in the Ricky Davis trade, but he is expendible with Green and Gomes playing behind him. Szczerbiak also carried an 11 million dollar a year contract for the next 2 seasons. LaFrentz, acquired in the first Antoine Walker trade, averaged only 8 points and 5 rebounds while carrying a 10 million dollar contract. Scalabrine only makes around 3 million a year for the next 4 years, but for his production, it's a very bad contract.

The one thing that the Celtics should not even consider doing is trading Paul Pierce. At this point, Pierce is one of the top 10 players in the NBA. No team will possibly be able to give back equal value in return for Pierce. At this point, the last thing Boston needs is more young players and draft picks. Considering the circumstances, the Celtics should focus their attention this offseason on building a perrenial playoff team around Pierce and convince their superstar to sign a new contract in the offseason.

One idea that has tossed around is making a blockbuster trade for a superstar like Kevin Garnett or Jermaine O'Neal. In particular, O'Neal has been a name that I've heard in multiple places. The reasons for acquiring O'Neal are strong, but I wouldn't advise the Celtics to make such a deal. The biggest problem with O'Neal is that his contract is massive. He's set to make over 18 million dollars next year, and down the line, he'll cost the Celtics over 20 million dollars. It's going to be nearly impossible to sign Paul Pierce next season if the Celtics also have to pay that much money for O'Neal. O'Neal's contract is too big for a guy who has struggled with injuries the last 2 years.

There's no reason to panic so quickly and trade the house for O'Neal. Pierce's window isn't wide open, but he is still only 28 and has many good years in front of him. That being said, the Celtics need to do something with Szczerbiak. They aren't likely to get a low-salary guy in return for him, but they can certainly upgrade another position on the roster while clearing the wing away for Pierce, Green, Gomes, and Allen.

So here's what I would do. I would trade Szczerbiak and Orien Greene to the Nuggets for Kenyon Martin. Before you jump down my throat about Martin's salary, take a look at the numbers. Martin is set to make just under 12 million, while is very close to Szczerbiak's 11 million. Throwing Greene in there would even the salaries and rid the Celtics of their wing problems. Al Jefferson is a promising forward, but he is not ready to start at this time. The Celtics could plug K-Mart in at the power forward position, and suddenly the Celtics have some real grit inside. I'm willing to chalk up Martin's problems this season to a severed relationship with George Karl. With a change of scenery, I expect Martin to return to his New Jersey level next season. Denver would make this trade because they have a logjam at power forward and currently lack any semblance of an outside shooter.

Most importantly, while Martin does have a big salary, it is still over 6 million dollars less than Jermaine O'Neal's potential salary. The Celtics already cleared almost 8 million in cap room with the expiring contracts of Michael Olowokandi and Curtis Borchart. Next season, Vin Baker's contract finally comes off the books. This means that the Celtics should have enough money to sign Pierce to a contract extension and possibly give one of their promising rookies an extension if they have a good season.

Other than that, I would stay quiet in the offseason. The Celtics have a need for a pure point guard to complement West. West certainly showed promise last season, but he is best suited to playing off the ball. With the seventh pick in the draft, the Celtics should select Marcus Williams. Williams hasn't worked out well, but the guy proved this season that he can run a basketball team. Other than Williams, there are no pure point guards floating around the lottery. Danny Ainge should make the common sense choice and select Williams with the seventh pick in the draft.

With these moves, I expect the Celtics to be a definite playoff team next season and an Eastern Conference title contender in a couple years.

Here would be my depth chart.

PG: Delonte West
SG: Gerald Green
SF: Paul Pierce
PF: Kenyon Martin
C: Kendrick Perkins
6th Man: Ryan Gomes
Backup PG: Marcus Williams
Backup SG: Tony Allen
Backup SF: Undrafted FA
Backup PF: Al Jefferson
Backup C: Raef LaFrentz
12th Man: Dan Dickau
Token White Guy Cheering on the Bench: Brian Scalabrine


Next Up: Charlotte Bobcats

[EDIT]: NBA GM Fix It Contest tackled the Celtics with these two essays, including one from Celtics 17.