Ainge Working to Keep Celtics On Top

Slowly but surely, Danny Ainge is putting the Celtics on track to be a championship contender next winter. It started with convincing Doc Rivers to return as head coach for at least one more season. The next step was getting Paul Pierce to sign a new contract. He has also drafted Avery Bradley, a young guard who provides needed depth in the back court, and Luke Harangody, who could contribute next season with physical play and a solid jump shot. Ainge also signed 2008 draft pick Semih Erden, a 7-foot center from Turkey who gives the team some much needed height. Ainge now has to make a decision on the future of Ray Allen. Allen is a 35-year-old shooting guard and history shows that aging players at that position usually decline quite rapidly but Ainge knows that he is in excellent shape and fits in perfectly with the current team. The problem will be if he decides to go in another direction - Orlando's J.J. Redick (see below) has been mentioned as a potential target - and it does not work. If Ainge plans on adding any players he has two options. One is to use the Mid-Level Exception (MLE), which is worth roughly $6 million per season, the Bi-Annual Exception, which is valued at just over $2 million for next season, or the Veteran's Minimum contract. The other is to make a trade, most likely with the contract of Rasheed Wallace, who is expected to retire. The MLE is expected to be used on enticing at least one big man to join the C's. Front court depth is a serious issue with Kendrick Perkins out until January at the earliest after knee surgery and Wallace's expected retirement. That leaves Kevin Garnett and Glen Davis as the only two healthy and experienced Celtics big men with rookies Harangody and Erden not expected to play major roles in the team's search for a championship. One name that has been discussed is Brad Miller. Miller is a physical player who would add rebounding and toughness to the C's front line and has the added benefit of being a skilled offensive player. Brendan Haywood could be another option to fill the size void and do not be surprised to see a veteran like Kurt Thomas come to the C's for the Bi-Annual Exception or Veteran's Minimum to add experience and depth. If Ainge does decide to move on from Ray Allen, the MLE may be used on his replacement. The whispers about Ainge's interest in Redick is growing louder and although I hate Duke alums 99.9% of the time, he would be a nice piece for next season and for the future. Redick is one of the NBA's top long distance shooters and he displayed very good defense this past season, especially against Ray Allen in the Conference Finals. Another option if Ainge decides to get younger at shooting guard is Anthony Morrow of the Warriors although it would be difficult to convince Pierce and Garnett that a player like Morrow gives the team a better chance to compete for a championship in 2011 than Ray Allen. As for Wallace's contract, a few trades that work under the salary cap and make sense for the Celtics are with Portland for guard Rudy Fernandez and forward Ryan Gomes, and Indiana for center Jeff Foster. The Portland trade would land Boston an athletic shooting guard in Fernandez who would provide scoring off the bench and a good defensive forward in Gomes. The Indiana trade would give the Celtics a veteran big man known for rebounding and defense in the paint. For all of you loyal readers, it will come as no surprise that I like to make predictions and then provide possible rosters that go along with my predictions. That being stated, I think that the C's will decide to keep Ray Allen for two more years, sign Brad Miller, and trade Wallace's contract to Portland for Fernandez and Gomes creating a team that will look a lot like this: 5: Kendrick Perkins, Brad Miller, Semih Erden 4: Kevin Garnett, Glen Davis, Luke Harangody 3: Paul Pierce, Ryan Gomes, Tony Gaffney 2: Ray Allen, Rudy Fernandez 1: Rajon Rondo, Avery Bradley