Ten Questions: Celtics.com on Garnett Trade

August 1, 2007

Stringer

What a difference a few months have made for the Boston Celtics.

At the beginning of the 2007 offseason, there were widespread reports that superstar Paul Pierce was unhappy with the lack of progress being made by the Celtics after a forgettable 24-58 season. The All-Star swingman appeared on the verge of demanding a trade. On May 22, the news got worse: Despite having the second-poorest record in the NBA in 2006-07, the Celtics fell all the way to fifth in the NBA Draft Lottery, preventing them from picking either Greg Oden or Kevin Durant.

Well, after two blockbuster transactions masterminded by Boston general manager Danny Ainge, the Celtics are clearly now one of the Eastern Conference’s best teams. To get a better pulse on how the Kevin Garnett trade is being received in Beantown, we contacted our friends at Celtics.com. The website’s beat writer, Peter Stringer, took a few minutes during a wild week for the Boston organization to answer 10 of our questions about the new-look Celtics:

Hornets.com: First of all, congratulations on the KG trade. When was the last time Boston was this excited about the Celtics?

Stringer: Most recently, the 2002 Eastern Conference Finals run. Back in those days I was a slightly more objective observer covering the team for NESN’s website (RIP, NESN.com SportsCircuit) and without question, the loudest I’ve ever heard our building was at the apex of the Greatest Fourth Quarter Comeback (21 points) in NBA Playoff History against the New Jersey Nets in Game 3. The (then) FleetCenter was absolutely unglued, we took a 2-1 lead in the series and people were talking about another Celtics-Lakers NBA Finals. Well, it didn’t quite work out that way, but it was a fun ride.

Hornets.com: Now that you have three All-Stars in the fold, are there any tickets left up there?

Stringer: I’d better make sure they haven’t sold my employee tickets already! The phones have been ringing here non-stop since before we even finalized the deal, and Celtics.com is getting absolutely crushed. Causeway Street will be the place to be this winter.

Hornets.com: How about No. 5 Celtics jerseys?

Stringer: We had those up on Celtics.com about an hour after the deal was finalized. Gotta love the Internet. Word around the campfire says they’ve been going like hotcakes already.

(From left) Ray Allen, Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce have Boston Celtics supporters – including uberfan Bill Simmons – anxiously awaiting the 2007-08 season.

Hornets.com: How do you foresee the Celtics’ offense operating? Who’s the first option when you’ve got Garnett, Paul Pierce and Ray Allen all on the floor at the same time?

Stringer: I think we’ve got three first options, although there’s a reason I write about the team rather than coach. I’d say each guy brings something completely different to the table. Paul is such a dynamic scorer because he can beat you in so many ways, and is so effective at getting to the rim and getting fouled. Ray Allen will burn you from downtown, but he’s a better finisher at the basket than for which he gets credit. Meanwhile, KG does it all at both ends of the floor, and he’s a threat pretty much anywhere in the halfcourt set.
But the best part is, and Doc Rivers talked to me about this yesterday, is how these guys operate in end-of-game situations. With such a young team last year, we had problems with fourth quarter and final-play execution. If the play broke down (and it usually does because opponents scout each other so well that they know all of your plays anyway), guys didn’t know how to recover. These three guys all know how to make something happen when you have to deviate from the design.

Hornets.com: Are the C’s now the team to beat in the Eastern Conference?

Stringer: KG wouldn’t say it yesterday, and I certainly don’t want my name showing up on bulletin boards in Cleveland, Detroit, Chicago or elsewhere, but I’d say this move puts us in the mix. And Doc said it best yesterday: These guys haven’t won anything together yet so they have plenty to prove. But based on the scene in the green room before last night’s presser, I’d say they already have the chemistry part down.

Hornets.com: From your first-hand experience of the trio, what kind of talent and potential did Minnesota get by adding Al Jefferson, Gerald Green and Ryan Gomes?

Stringer: Minnesota’s getting some great young talent in this deal. I’ve written extensively about Big Al on our website, and I’ve spent plenty of time watching him work out in the offseason (I spent last Thursday with him in anticipation of a feature story that obviously never made it to Celtics.com) and at practice. This kid is determined to be great, and he’s already one of the best low-post scorers in the NBA. Ryan Gomes is probably one of the nicest pro athletes you’ll meet, and is another guy who works his butt off in the offseason. Green’s got tons of talent, and when he figures out how to harness his powers and improves his ballhandling, he could become a great NBA scorer. I know I’ll be tuning in on NBA League Pass to check on these guys next year.

Hornets.com: Danny Ainge reminded the media Tuesday that he’s not done making moves. What positions or needs have become pressing as a result of this trade?

Stringer: I think our starters are pretty set with the Three Amigos (that’s not any official nickname, but I am not going to call them The Big Three, either), Rondo and Perkins, so the bench is the obvious place to look for upgrades. A backup point guard and another experienced big man are probably the most pressing needs in my opinion, and we still have our two draft picks, Glen “Big Baby” Davis and Gabe Pruitt, who have yet to sign. The Garnett deal was obviously a huge move, but there’s more to come sooner rather than later I’d guess.

Hornets.com: What impact do you anticipate this trade will have on “The Sports Guy” – ESPN.com columnist and noted Celtics superfan Bill Simmons?

Stringer: I sat next to Simmons at the Dunk Contest in Vegas this year, and as much as he’s been extremely tough on our team, when you talk to him you remember that he’s about as pure and as knowledgeable of a fan as you’ll meet, and his encyclopedic knowledge of the league and its recent history, not to mention pop culture, makes him a must-read when it comes to the NBA and the Celtics. I think he’s already come out and thanked Kevin McHale for making the deal, so my only question is, will it be enough for him to make the move back to the East Coast? If he wins that President of Red Sox Nation thing I would say he probably has no choice…

Hornets.com: By making this trade, you guys held up the 2007-08 schedule release for the entire NBA, due to the necessary changes that had to be made to the national TV docket. Do you have anything to say to the other 28 teams that were not involved in this deal?

Stringer: It’s about time the NBA revolved around the Celtics again! Somewhere, Red Auerbach is grinning. I can hear that old NBA on CBS theme in my head already with Brent Musburger’s voiceover about the series shifting back to the Garden…
As a lifelong fan who has a custom-made Nate Driggers (go ahead, Google him…) T-shirt, who was in the room for Pitino’s famous “walking through that door” tirade and has been known to reference David Thirdkill on a regular basis, it’s pretty awesome to be back on the NBA map, front and center. And for everybody who works in our front office, it’s a pretty special feeling. We’re just plain giddy. Can we start the season tomorrow?

Hornets.com: Can you give us a timetable on when you expect Paul Pierce to stop smiling?

Stringer: No time soon. When he first saw KG in the green room last night before the presser, he threw his hands up and asked, “Where you been all my life?” That pretty much says it all.

Opinions expressed are those of the writer only, and do not necessarily represent those of the Boston Celtics.