2011-2012 Finish: 34-32

Season Highlight

The Boston Celtics lost a much loved GM at the start of the season when the sensational Spaniard Amago decided to call it quits. In his tenure with the Celts, he managed to turn the team around from a cellar-dweller into a pretty decent team. Any successor had big shoes to fill and new GM Mavs4Life seems like just the guy. Getting a new GM to complete a whole NLL season is a big feat and it looks like the new guy is here to stay, making the transition in Boston a pretty easy one.

Season Lowlight

Unfortunately, it remains to be seen if Mavs4Life is a good fit as the Celts finished just shy of the playoffs in his debut season. Any team with Kobe Bryant must win now and despite a rash of injuries, the Beantown boys found themselves taking an early vacation this year. Someone must always take the blame and the Boston newspapers were calling for Amago to come back. Will Mavs4Life do better the next guy around? Or will he be the most hated man in Boston since Charles Barkley?

Best Trade

The Boston Celtics send Jason Kidd and Ivan Johnson to the New Orleans Hornets. The New Orleans Hornets send Carlos Delfino, Marreese Speights and Darren Collison to the Boston Celtics. The Boston Celtics send a 2nd-Rounder (Was) to the New Orleans Hornets. The New Orleans Hornets send a 1st-Rounder (NO) to the Boston Celtics.

The Hornets gift the Celtics with a duo of young players, Delfino AND a pick for what? An aging Jason Kidd? This is the way to end the season, cutting loose a vet that won’t help you for a handful of young guys. A great coup here if Speights and Delfino stick around next season.

Worst Trade

The Boston Celtics send Marcus Thornton to the Denver Nuggets. The Denver Nuggets send Carl Landry to the Boston Celtics.

Moving Thornton wasn’t the worst idea, especially with so much money going to Kobe at the same position. However, Landry only chipped in 37 games, despite being good games. As the season is ready to begin, Landry is poised to explore free agency options while Thornton remains comfortably signed for a few more years. Mavs4Life should have gotten a long-term deal out of this transaction, especially if Landry does walk.

Other Notable Trades

The Boston Celtics send Steve Nash to the New Jersey Nets. The Boston Celtics send Chase Budinger to the Philadelphia 76ers. The New Jersey Nets send Grant Hill, Jason Kidd and Kyle Korver to the Boston Celtics. The New Jersey Nets send Landry Fields to the Philadelphia 76ers. The Philadelphia 76ers send Justin Harper to the Boston Celtics. The Philadelphia 76ers send Gerald Wallace to the New Jersey Nets. The Boston Celtics send a 1st-Rounder (Bos) to the Philadelphia 76ers. The Boston Celtics trade -10 GM points.The Philadelphia 76ers receive 10 GM points.

The new GM, riding on the hopes of Ricky Rubio, totally guts his squad right at the onset. That draft would have come in handy and Nash is still a premiere NLL player. They get three players on the decline, a marginal prospect and trade a piece of the future, Chase Budinger, as well as points. Looks like some veteran GMs had their way with the new guy.

The Boston Celtics send Chris Singleton to the Golden State Warriors. The Golden State Warriors send Chandler Parsons to the Boston Celtics.

This trade may look mild, but Celtics picked up what could be their starting small forward of the future in this deal. Both are rookies, but Parsons has the extreme upside. When Grant Hill went down with an injury, Parsons stepped in and manned the three spot. He will only get better!

Best FA Signing

Ivan Johnson- F- This was a great pick-up, especially since it allowed that NO deal to happen. Johnson was solid all season for the Celts but his part in bringing in Collison, Delfino and Speights makes him even more valuable.

Worst FA Signing

Greg Stiemsma- GM Mavs4Life bought the hype and signed the Steamer. He pitched in 3.1ppg and 4.4 rpg. And how many GM points did you spend again on this guy?? Another rookie mistake.

Star

Kobe Bryant- G – No one wanted to face the Celts with Kobe in the lineup. He is still one of the most dominant players in the league and last season didn’t show any slowing down. He averaged a whopping 36.3, scoring at will on 52% shooting. Mavs4Life is stuck with Kobe for better or for worse and with this kind of stat line, what’s not to like?

Surprise

Chandler Parsons- F – I mentioned Parsons before but it’s always great to see a guy come out of the second round and do good things. In 63 games (23 starts), Parsons hit 7.8ppg and hauled in 3.8 rpg. Not a stunning state line, but pretty damned good from a guy who makes less than $1 million per season!

Goat

Craig Brackins- F –Proid convinced the new POR GM that Brackins is a bad luck charm. What happens? He moves him to Boston and the Blazers start to win. Meanwhile, Brackins works his juju on the Celts squad and they start to play horribly. In 10 appearances he averaged 4ppg on 38% shooting. Never fear, Boston fans, Brackins will be playing in Europe next season.

Draft Report Card

The Celtics weren’t players in the draft, selling that Hornets first rounder (probably unwisely) to the Sixers for 20 GM points. So what did they end up with? Baylor small forward Quincy Acy at 44. He will bring energy to the squad and he can grab loose balls but it is doubtful he will make a huge impact.

Looking to the Future

Boston has some holes in the roster that need plugging and with Kobe Bryant making nearly $28 million, they need to do it on the cheap. The backcourt is locked in with Parsons, Kobe and Rubio if healthy. If not, Collison is an adequate substitute. After that, things get a little tricky.


If Andrea Bargnani can stay healthy this season he will be a fine starting C or PF. Convincing Landry to stay would be great but I doubt he will stick around. The Celts have about $7mil to spend and they only have eight guys on the roster. Stiemsma is going to get a raise. He should probably go, and so should Livingston and Korver. Collison is in the last year of his deal and could be decent trade bait too. After that, Mavs4Life needs to make some smart moves, bringing in role players for cheap. But isn’t that what everyone wants in this league?

Upcoming Free Agents

Marreese Speights and Carl Landry- The Celts HAVE to retain one of these two guys but cannot afford both. Since Speights is restricted, he will be the likely candidate. If the Celts can convince Landry to stay, they should probably then use Speights as trade bait. One of them will end up the starting power forward.

Carlos Delfino- Depending how much this guy wants, Delfino would be handy if the Celts can move Korver. However, Delfino will likely join Landry in testing the FA field and will not be back in a green jersey next season.

Grant Hill- It is probably time to let Grant Hill walk, unless he is willing to return for the veteran’s minimum. But with the emergence of Parsons, Hill won’t really be needed unless it’s for cheap work off of the bench.

Craig Brackins and Royal Ivey- These journeymen aren’t even worth a second glance.