It is not often that the NBA draft is going to upstage a pitching match-up like Pedro Martinez returning to Fenway Park for the first time since 2004 and facing new ace Josh Beckett. No one had any idea what was going to happen Wednesday night. Most people had no idea what happened after Wednesday night and are still trying to put it all together Thursday morning.
Randy Foye – selected at number seven and traded with PG Dan Dickau and PF Raef LaFrentz to Portland for PG Sebastian Telfair, C Theo Ratliff, and a second round pick. Portland then dealt Foye to Minnesota for number six pick Brandon Roy. The amazing thing was that the Celtics shed the LaFrentz albatross: no not the player, he was a decent big guy who played 20 feet from the basket, but rather his contract (35.4 million over the next three years). With Dickau thrown in and picking up the contracts of Telfair and Ratliff, the Celtics save about $13 million.
The Phoenix Suns, at number twenty-one, picked PG Rajon Rondo, who was clearly the favorite of Boston GM Danny Ainge, and traded him and the contract of Brian Grant to the Celtics with and traded the first round pick the Celtics got from Cleveland for Jiri Welsh (so much talent, so little ability to put it all together). So basically the Celtics bought their preferred point guard in the draft for the $2 it will cost to buy out Brian Grant.
Ainge, even without a pick, could not resist the siren song of the second round, as he traded a future number two for Cal forward Leon Powe. Powe, who I know absolutely nothing about, apparently played college basketball at Cal, who started all their games when I was freaking sleeping anyway. Apparently, Orien Greene, second round pick of much hullabaloo last year, is gone to make room.
Whispers persist of an Allen Iverson trade, though I wonder who the Celtics have to give up to get him. That $13 million in savings looks like it could be earmarked for the Answer about right now. The way I see it, a guard will have to go, one way or another. Likely Wally, although where talk centered on a three or four team trade, teams would be more likely to want a piece of the talented young core of the team. Iverson and Pierce: now that is a championship 1-2 punch!
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Randy Foye – selected at number seven and traded with PG Dan Dickau and PF Raef LaFrentz to Portland for PG Sebastian Telfair, C Theo Ratliff, and a second round pick. Portland then dealt Foye to Minnesota for number six pick Brandon Roy. The amazing thing was that the Celtics shed the LaFrentz albatross: no not the player, he was a decent big guy who played 20 feet from the basket, but rather his contract (35.4 million over the next three years). With Dickau thrown in and picking up the contracts of Telfair and Ratliff, the Celtics save about $13 million.
The Phoenix Suns, at number twenty-one, picked PG Rajon Rondo, who was clearly the favorite of Boston GM Danny Ainge, and traded him and the contract of Brian Grant to the Celtics with and traded the first round pick the Celtics got from Cleveland for Jiri Welsh (so much talent, so little ability to put it all together). So basically the Celtics bought their preferred point guard in the draft for the $2 it will cost to buy out Brian Grant.
Ainge, even without a pick, could not resist the siren song of the second round, as he traded a future number two for Cal forward Leon Powe. Powe, who I know absolutely nothing about, apparently played college basketball at Cal, who started all their games when I was freaking sleeping anyway. Apparently, Orien Greene, second round pick of much hullabaloo last year, is gone to make room.
Whispers persist of an Allen Iverson trade, though I wonder who the Celtics have to give up to get him. That $13 million in savings looks like it could be earmarked for the Answer about right now. The way I see it, a guard will have to go, one way or another. Likely Wally, although where talk centered on a three or four team trade, teams would be more likely to want a piece of the talented young core of the team. Iverson and Pierce: now that is a championship 1-2 punch!
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