By BIJAN C. BAYNE
ProBasketballNews.com
The late Red Auerbach was a wheeler-dealer when he ran the Boston Celtics, re-tooling the franchise each time their stars grew older. It was Auerbach who traded for Bill Russell on draft day, selected John Havlicek from an Ohio State team where he was a supportive player to Jerry Lucas, and took a chance on 6-foot-8 Florida State center Dave Cowens.
Auerbach had the vision to pick Larry Bird a year before Bird actually left Indiana State (and before Bird led his team to an NCAA final), and swap a draft pick for Robert Parish and the right to draft Kevin McHale.
Former Celtic Danny Ainge has been on the hot seat to turn around the NBA’s most storied franchise. Ainge negotiated with his former teammate McHale to acquire 6-11 power forward named Kevin Garnett. In exchange for the 31-year old future Hall of Famer, Boston had to part with young players Al Jefferson, Ryan Gomes and Gerald Green, along with Theo Ratliff and Sebastian Telfair as filler, and two future first-round draft picks. Boston had shipped another young talent, Delonte West, to Seattle on draft day (with former Garnett mate Wally Szczerbiak) to get Ray Allen.
What does this all mean for the fans of the Timberwolves and Celtics, the two GMs in question, and Garnett’s chances of winning a championship ring?
First of all, it will take more than three 20-point-per-game scorers to hoist another title banner to the top of the Fleet Center. Were it that simple, Wilt Chamberlain, Elgin Baylor and Jerry West, or Julius Erving, George McGinnis and World B. Free, or Tim Hardaway, Chris Mullin and Mitch Richmond would have won championships.
To surpass the Cavaliers, Bulls, and Pistons in the Eastern Conference, the Celtics, who now have four open roster spots, will have to add some players who can contribute without scoring. They need to plug in someone along the lines of a Ben Wallace, Dennis Rodman, or Dike Mutombo.
Boston lacks a player who can effectively defend a scoring small forward or shooting guard. Vince Carter, Gilbert Arenas, LeBron James and Dwyane Wade play in the East. If Ray Allen and Paul Pierce, both two guards, are going to occupy the court at the same time (and they will), this club needs a defensive swingman.
This is not to say this was a bad trade for Boston. It will, however, take time for the creative scorer Pierce, the outside threat Allen, and the baseline tower Garnett to learn to play well together. Because there is no choreographer, no Magic Johnson or John Stockton to set them up, the trio will have to adjust to playing with other All-Stars. A savvy playmaker could keep the Big Three happy, as Magic did with Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and James Worthy.
There are other potential problems. Allen is not only injury-prone, he no longer drives to the basket. Fans may not recall the explosive first step he exhibited as a University of Connecticut star, and how he could stop on a dime and rise up for a jumpshot. That version of Allen drew a lot more fouls. This one doesn’t attack or dictate to the defense (see Wade, Dwyane).
And the Pierce-Antoine Walker one-two scoring punch never seemed to work very well.
What about the T-Wolves' end of the bargain? One has to assume they won’t keep all the acquired Celtics. Randy Foye is a talented player. Rashad McCants can be a long distance threat if he stays healthy, and his game is different than that of any of the newcomers. Ricky Davis, should the Wolves keep him, could be an athletic complement to high-flyer Gerald Green. Or he could be used as trade bait to help Minnesota bring in a player who is a better fit.
Jefferson has shown flashes of potential, and Gomes is solid. The Wolves never won it all with Garnett, so this is a gamble they had to take. They are young. They are Charlotte West.
It is always interesting to observe a superstar trying to fit in with a new team, be that player Shaquille O'Neal, Tracy McGrady, Carter, or Jason Kidd. Last season it was “The Answer," Allen Iverson, who was traded to Denver. This season it is “The Big Ticket." The league’s most successful team acquires the best player on its roster since Bird retired. The franchise that lost Len Bias and Reggie Lewis, that missed out on Garnett’s rival Tim Duncan in the 1997 draft, has a big man who is dedicated to winning.
More importantly, for the first time in Garnett’s career, he has offensive support. Szczerbiak was good, Sam Cassell and Latrell Sprewell were effective, but Allen and Pierce draw defenders away from the paint.
To make this equation really work, Ainge has to draw one more ace. This team needs someone with an Emeka Okafor, Tyrus Thomas, or Luol Deng-style game. The Celtics have little else to trade to acquire such a player. The open roster spots help, and athletes will want to join this group.
The fourth, and probably the fifth wheel, have got to be different parts than The Big Three. The steps Ainge makes to assemble these missing parts will determine the final success. When Auerbach was team president, he didn’t simply seek scorers, he tried to look for talent that combined well, which is why Cedric “Cornbread” Maxwell, Dennis Johnson, Ainge, Bill Walton, and Paul Silas were important. Guys named Richard Hamilton, Tayshaun
Prince, Robert Horry, Bruce Bowen and Manu Ginobli win championships. Those are guys who fill roles. This is no time for Ainge to sit back and admire his work.
Bjan C. Bayne is the author of "Sky Kings: Black Pioneers of Professional Basketball," a member of the United States Basketball Writers Association, and the media relations director of the Association for Professional Basketball Research. He is a popular radio talk show host and regular contributor to ProBasketballNews.com.
