KG’s Guarantees

From Boston.com:

Kevin Garnett’s recovery from right knee surgery apparently is going well. Garnett expressed optimism in a recent conversation with team owner Wyc Grousbeck, who spoke yesterday at a corporate sponsorship event at the Boston Harbor Hotel.

“I talked to [Garnett] and he guaranteed the championship in 2010 and in 2011,” Grousbeck said. “He was as fired up as he’s ever been.”

Is it late October yet? I am ready for the Celtics to tip off their season right now, but I will anxiously wait. I think KG will have the Celtics focused more than they were in 2007-2008 and I don’t think the league will have an answer for us again.

Deal or No Deal: Ray Allen

You have a 34-year old (at the beginning of the season) shooting guard who has 13 years of NBA experience. He’s slowing down and this could be the year where he turns into just a specialist. He’s arguably the best three-point shooter of all time, still hits clutch bucket after clutch bucket, but doesn’t have the ability to take over a game on a consistent basis and is getting paid like it. A player like that, with an expiring contract worth $19.7 million, would almost be immediately shopped around in order to get some sort of return for a championship caliber team looking to keep the window open just a little longer.

But when you find out that the player described above is Ray Allen, a member of the Big Three that brought the Boston Celtics back to the promise land after 20 years of mediocrity, we hesitate to fathom that we would trade him away.

After the deal that brough Kevin Garnett to Boston, it was assumed that Ray Allen would be the #3 option behind the other two. The thought of Ray Allen being the third option on the floor outside of an All-Star game was enough to make Celtics fans giddy. There were games where Ray exploded and lead the team in scoring while there were plenty where he scored his 13-16 points and just played the 3-point specialist role he could easily settle into.

Late this past season, with Kevin Garnett out with a knee injury, it did a toll on Pierce and Allen’s legs and, subsequently, their performances. Going into his 14th NBA season on ankles that have been surgically reconstructed and with yet another season of wear and tear, would it be better for the franchise to deal him in an effort to keep this run going another season or two? If this was NBA 2k9 or fantasy basketball, then it’s probably a decision that takes just the click of a button to make. But since this is reality, it’s a bit more complicated.

Ray Allen forever has a place in our hearts and in Boston Celtics history. Looking at just numbers such as age and salary, the Celtics should pull the trigger on any deal that brings back remotely the same talent with less mileage. But when you bring emotion and human feelings into play, it’s hard to trade such a cog in the Big Green Machine known as the current Boston Celtics. He has done everything the fans and front office could have ever expected and more, and to ship him out would almost be like a slap in the face to Ray.

So what do you think? Should we trade Ray Allen and get something in return for his expiring deal? Or are you on the other end of the spectrum and let his deal ride out and hope to re-sign him to a deal worth a fraction of his price tag this season? Let me know what you think!