Beefin' With Ainge - Part Two

I would like to briefly revisit the topic of my initial post, so I can wrap up my fanatical rant directed towards the General Manager of the Boston Celtics.  In part one I detailed my opinion of the mid-season Kendrick Perkins trade Mr. Ainge made; breaking up the Cs starting lineup when they were, even by objective accounts, the best team in the NBA.  But the past is the past, and after a very slow start the Celtics have been getting it together, especially on the defensive end; making a habit of holding teams under 90 points.  A pre-season move to acquire Brandon Bass from the Orlando Magic has proven to be greatly beneficial to the team, so credit is given to Danny there.

With that said, I would like to reignite the beef.  After the Celtics started slow in the standings (which was predictable considering their age and the condensed post-lockout season, shortened pre-season etc.) in fact they literally started SLOW (clearly out of shape), Danny Ainge made a public statement that basically amounted to a threat.  He stated that no one's spot on the roster was safe, and that he would be open to trading any of the current starters, even Paul Pierce.  Rajon Rondo was the subject of trade rumors earlier in the season, who is arguably the best pure point guard in a point guard driven league, not to mention the only youthful/athletic element of the Celtic's current starting five.  So the inane quality of that potential decision is quite obvious.  More importantly, after the startling trade of longtime starting center and fan favorite Perkins, Ainge thought it wise to threaten to trade another career Celtic who is not only a future hall-of-famer, but also can still ball by the way... After Pierce got back into shape he has been putting up all star caliber numbers especially in the assist category, filling the temporary play making void while Rondo was injured.  On top of all of that, last night Pierce passed Larry Bird on the all time Celtics scoring list to be comfortably situated at #2 and still climbing.  Why Ainge would publicly threaten his starting players that have poured blood sweat and tears into making the organization the best it can be is puzzling.  But privately, why he would want to trade such talent in the first place is even more cause for concern.  Jeff Greene is the next MJ anyway right Danny?  I would contend that Ainge realizes how badly he fucked up last season, quite possibly costing the Celtics a 2nd championship and a 3rd finals visit in 4 years, and so since he prematurely started to dismantle a great group of competitors, he wants to finish the job and start rebuilding with his boy Greene and whoever else.  Trading Paul Pierce aka Mr. Celtic would be a great way to fully realize your legacy as a GM Dan, as a hyper-reactive trade happy moron.  The problem you have is that the fans won't stand for it.  Show the respect to your players that they deserve.

To invoke an example from a rival sports town, the Yanks kept Jeter after the masses swore he was too old.  'Doesn't have the bat speed anymore' etc.  What happened? He hit .300 once again.  Congrats on passing Larry Legend Paul, I hope you stay in green for the rest of your career.  Fuck Danny Ainge.