Friday, June 29, 2007

Celtics trade for Ray Allen

Draft Day Drama: Celtics pick up Ray Allen for Delonte West, Wally Szczerbiak, and the number 5 pick.

I like the move. With so many young players on the team, getting a proven veteran is much better than acquiring another developing talent. They didn't give up much, either. Wally's decent, but the only reason Delonte got the minutes he did is that the Atlantic Division sucks so bad. Poor kid's going to get eaten alive in the West. Provided that he stays healthy, Ray Allen automatically makes the Celtics a playoff contender next season, and, for that reason, the move probably satisfied Pierce.

An intriguing thought is that the Celtics still have Al Jefferson and Theo Ratliff's expiring contract as bait. Now that they've picked up Ray Allen, I wonder if they're trying to deal for another NBA veteran.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

i'm a fan of the trade too. at the very least, its a much better shot at the playoffs next year. and i wouldnt be surprised if a garnett suddenly had a change of heart about coming to boston..

eileen said...

Simmons hates the trade. Whatevs. C's fans have spent the past 5 years watching young players develop, and I'm sick of it. I want to watch a team who will be competitive NOW, not in a few years. That's why I like the Allen trade so much.

I would LOVE to get KG. I still think his best chance to win a championship is coming to the East. He'd be pretty much guaranteed to make it to the finals, whereas the west is so stacked that excellent teams get bounced early in playoffs. No way Phoenix is giving up Amare, either.

KcM said...

I'm not feeling it. It seems like a panic move, to be honest, and I really don't think Ray Allen on the decline (note recent ankle surgeries) will do much more than hamstring them.

Of course, we Knicks fans have our own draft-day trade to contend with...I'm not big on Zach Randolph, but I'm very, very big on the absence of Steve Francis.