Rajon Rondo said it best after Friday night's game when he said, "We are what our record is. Simple as that. As of now, you can't say we're better than what we are. Games we should have won, we've lost and only a couple games vice versa, so we've just got to keep finding a way." The Celtics have certainly shown flashes of being the elite, dominant team many projected them to be before the start of the season. Then, there are times when they look old, lost, and flat out mediocre. Sure, a team is bound to have some ups and downs during the course of an 82-game season. It's just the ebb and flow of the NBA.
But the apparent struggles of the Celtics reflect much deeper issues than just the peaks and pits of the regular season. In each of the five seasons since acquiring Kevin Garnett, the Celtics defense has always been in the top six in points allowed. This season, they're 18th. So far this season, the Celtics have allowed at least 100 points in 11 of the 26 games this season. Last season, they only allowed 100+ in 9 games.
During the offseason, president of basketball operations Danny Ainge decided to take on the ever so difficult challenge of trying to compete at a championship-caliber level while still trying to rebuild the team. It has been acknowledged by many in the basketball world that the Celtics are a team in transition -- the transition of becoming younger and handing the reigns to Rajon Rondo are the key elements in this transition -- but it's clear that the transition has taken longer than expected. Coach Doc Rivers echoed this sentiment on sports radio WEEI on Thursday morning: "I understand the changes we made. We made a lot of them. One of our key guys has not played yet, but Avery [Bradley] is not Bill Russell. With that, plus with all the different changes -- guys buying into different roles -- it does take time. Did I think it would take this much time? I didn't. It also takes time for us as a staff to figure out the right combination. Not just the rotation, but the right group of guys who should play every night and the right group of guys who can stay consistent every night, and I think we're still searching for that."
Also participating in a radio interview on Thursday, Ainge agreed with Rivers' remarks, as he said, "I don't think it's there yet, and I'm not sure if it's going to be there in two weeks, but regardless of that, regardless of whether it's the perfect rotation, or we're missing players with injuries and all that, we've got to be more consistent."
The Celtics are in flux. It's clear that they aren't where they want to be, and with Danny Ainge throwing it out there that they still might not be where they want to be in a few weeks, to me, that's a red flag. That's a cause for concern. Maybe it's time to do something different. 26 games -- not to mention the 8 preseason games, for a total of 34 games -- is not a sliver: it's a decent chunk. And through 34 games, this combination of players is not functioning well together. Maybe it's time to do something drastic.
No one can get a full sense of what this team is going to be until Avery Bradley comes back, and it has been reported by various outlets that Bradley will accompany the team on it's upcoming road trip, but he is targeting January 2 as a possible return. January 2 is a week and a half from today. Danny Ainge threw out the two week comment on December 20, and two weeks from that date is January 3, the day after Bradley is hoping to return. One game of Avery Bradley with this group is not going to tell us anything. And as Doc Rivers has said before, Bradley is not Bill Russell.
With all that being said, it's time for a change. Right. Now. This whole team isn't together yet, so it's not like you're starting from scratch. The Celtics are going to have to go through an adjustment period yet again when Bradley returns, so why not just make it one big adjustment period. Not to mention, Christmas is only two days away. The Celtics deserve a gift just like everyone else, don't they?
What am I getting at? Well, for Christmas this year, my wish for the Celtics is for them to acquire...drum roll please...DeMarcus Cousins. Before you all line up on the Tobin, let me lay out my trade proposal:
The Celtics get: DeMarcus Cousins, Chuck Hayes, cash considerations
The Kings get: Avery Bradley, Fab Melo, and a 2013 first-round pick
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| He may be too big to fit under the Christmas tree, but Demarcus Cousins would fit perfectly in the Celtics frontcourt. |
Here are the positives with DeMarcus Cousins. First, this is only Cousins' third season in the league. He's only 22-years-old. He's pretty cheap -- he's only making $3.8 million this season, and the Kings exercised their option for 2013-2014 at $4.9 million back in October. He has been extremely durable, as he's played in 168 out of a possible 174 over the past three seasons. He's a big man who can score, but most importantly, he's physical in the post and he's a phenomenal rebounder. Last season, Cousins averaged a double-double of 18.1 points and 11.0 rebounds. Of those rebounds, he averaged 4.1 on the offensive glass. The Celtics leading offensive rebounder as of today is Jared Sullinger, who is averaging 1.8. Even more importantly, Cousins is widely-regarded as a great defender. A big, physical defender is exactly what the Celtics need.
There's been a lot of talk about Anderson Varejao being a good fit. There has been speculation that Rondo would have to be included. With regards to the Kings, Rondo does not have to be involved, as they are already stacked in the backcourt with guards such as Isaiah Thomas, Aaron Brooks, Tyreke Evans, and Jimmer Fredette to name a few.
Cousins has had his run-ins with the Kings coaches over the years. But with a coach that is widely-respected as Doc Rivers and with the way that he runs his teams, Doc should have no problems keeping Cousins in line. Doc, along with Paul Pierce, Garnett, Rondo, and even Jason Terry will most certainly do all they can to keep him in check. Put Cousins in the Celtics frontcourt alongside Kevin Garnett for the rest of this season and for the next season, and he could blossom into one of the game's greatest big men. He has never had that kind of leadership before with the Kings, and during his time there, he's always been regarded as the man. In Boston, he won't be looked upon as "the guy," and he'll be guided by the veterans.
I would kill me to have to get rid of Avery Bradley, but we must not forget that this is still a business. I love the guy, and without him, the Celtics would not have gotten as far as they did last season. That being said, he is now a very valuable asset, and I'll mention for the third time, he's not Bill Russell. Is he the best on-ball defender the Celtics have? Sure. Do the Celtics need more help with perimeter defense? Absolutely. But opposing players will be less-inclined to go to the basket when they see Garnett and Cousins waiting to pounce.
Fab Melo is a very intriguing piece if I'm Joe or Galvin Maloof, the owners of the Sacramento Kings. Last night, Melo had his first triple-double with the Maine Red Claws. He had 15 points, 16 rebounds, and an D-League record 14 blocks. In 9 games with Maine, Melo is averaging 8.0 points, 6.4 rebounds, 3.3 blocks, and is shooting 49.3% from the floor. The 22-year-old 7-footer is very raw, and in time, he can turn into something special. The Kings are going to need another big to replace Cousins, and if they can tap into Melo's potential, they would have found lightning in a bottle.
Chuck Hayes is making $4.9 million for the Kings. No disrespect to Hayes, but he is the short end of the stick in this one. His contract is a bit large -- he signed a 4-year, $22.4 million deal before last season, so he has two seasons left-- but it's the kind of bad contract Boston would have to take on in order for this deal to go down. That doesn't mean he doesn't have anything to offer. Hayes is a good rebounder, as he's averaged 5.5 boards a game in nearly 20.0 minutes a game over the course of his eight year career. And let's face it, the Celtics need all the rebounding help they can get at this point.
I'm not saying it's going to happen, but it should. It makes sense for the Celtics, and if Cousins doesn't work out, then let him go; his salary is not going to take a huge hit to the salary cap. This is just a hypothetical proposal that I feel makes sense for both sides. It's just a Christmas wish. We all have the one big thing we want for Christmas, and this should be the one thing the Celtics fans hope to find under their tree.
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