WEEI Interview: Doc Rivers on Nenad Krstic, Jeff Green, Shaq, Glen Davis and “The trade”
In an interview with WEEI, Doc Rivers said he expects Nenad Krstic to re-sign with the Celtics.
“I think we’ll get him back and he’ll help us in the future,” said Rivers.
With the Celtics searching for some way to improve their middling offense (it ranked 17th in efficiency this past season), Krstic could help. Re-signing him might make a lot of sense; though the thought of signing Krstic long-term fails to bring tears of joy to my eyes, Shaq and Jermaine O’Neal are both contemplating retirement (Rivers said he expects Shaq to retire, though Shaq hasn’t said so—wait, didn’t Shaq retire in February?) and Glen Davis seems likely to relocate this summer. Given that the Celtics will have little cap room to sign outside free agents (depending on the new CBA), Krstic might be the best option. And yes, that sound you hear is me gagging.
Moving back to Glen Davis, Rivers believes the impending free agency changed Davis’s mindset and contributed to his poor play of late.
“Scoring was way too important to him, instead of being who he is,” Rivers said. He wouldn’t mind seeing Davis return to Boston, but only if the Celtics can A) get him at the right price and B) return his mind to a happy place.
In his own understated way, Rivers threw Ainge (and his midseason trade) under an 18-wheeler traveling 85 miles per hour. Rivers didn’t think the personnel moves were necessarily bad; he just felt the timing was wrong. Asked whether he would have done the trade again, he said, “I’d wait until after the year is over.” In the middle of the season, adding a slew of new players set the Celtics back like the day we switch from Daylight Savings Time.
Rivers reiterated Danny Ainge’s belief that if Jeff Green returns next season, there’s a possibility he might supplant Paul Pierce in the starting lineup. That plan sounds worse than the time I played an April Fool’s joke on my high school principal. I won’t go into details, but she called me into her office later in the day; two policemen were waiting to speak to me. That was when I realized I might have gone a little too far.
Related posts:
- Kendrick Perkins, Nate Robinson traded for Jeff Green, Nenad Krstic, 2012 first-round pick
- What to do with Jeff Green and Glen Davis?
- Shaq says he’s 85% healthy; Ainge explains the Jeff Green trade
- The refs are out to get Nenad Krstic, according to Nenad Krstic
- Trade Rumor: Glen Davis for D.J. Augustin?
Celtics Blog | Jay King | May 16, 2011
So no ‘trade’ and what bench would the Cs have had? Perk isn’t doing much of anything with OKC that would have me ever admit the trade was bad. He is a mediocre center at best. And NR’s game sucked. So the ‘trade’ looks bad to some because injuries decimated the team not the actual player movement. If Shaq had been healthy no one would be talking about this and we would be playing the Bulls. I think Shaq will come back after getting the rest his injury needs. He isn’t the type to just walk away especially under this scenario and with the core still intact for another run. Shaq wants another ring and in order to get it he has to play. Hopefully, he’ll rehabilitate and he can continue that quest. Go Cs…
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Yeah, I don’t see Rivers stance as understated in a good way. During the season, he wrecked his credibility by shilling for The Trade. Now he finally admits what we all knew all along – that the timing was the worst thing about The Trade – but tries to admit it while not admitting it. For a team that is leading the championship race to reset its season practically to preseason, when just on the verge of the playoffs, and desperately fighting for seeding … that was sheer madness. (That is, if winning a championship really was really our first priority.).
Also, I think Rivers is prevaricating about Baby. That’s a nice way of saying that he’s lying. Baby was obviously confused by The Trade. Anybody in his position would be, and as we all know, Baby has a hard time when he feels confused about his role. Can you blame him for shooting more, after The Trade? He had to be thinking ‘what was I doing wrong that they brought in this SHOOTER to replace me as the sixth man?’.
Doc’s not stupid. He knows that had to have been going through Davis’ mind.
And for Doc to go on to back Ainge to the hilt on Green is just more of that subservience that has become so odious. How crazy is it that the Cs’ brass are talking so harsh against Baby, on one hand, who was a key guy for us most of last year, and talking so soft about Green, on the other hand, who has done nothing for us? I am interested in both those guys, and I look forward to seeing if they can make any strides over the summer, but for the Celtics to treat them so differently, and in a way that is so much at odds with what they have actually shown, is really unspeakable to me.
What truly matters, anyway, is what RONDO does this summer. It’s so important that he heal his body, AND improve his shooting. And, watching Rose last night, the thing that struck me, as a comparison to Rondo, was the brisk way he brings the ball up and gets into the play. To my mind, the lackadaisical way Rondo brings the ball up, then eating up much of the shot clock before even starting the play, is the most harmful aspect of his game. Even though I know that a lot of Rondo’s game has to do with deception and lulling the opposition, I think his game is just too LAX a lot of the time.
I think that part of the reason Ainge and Doc seem to get so much more respect from the media-verse than they deserve is that both seem to be very media-friendly. I think the media need to wake up to the fact that both these guys have shot their credibility (should I even bring up the KG injury, and the way they ‘prevaricated’ about that?), and that the words coming from their mouths are increasingly nonsense.
Nor should anyone be surprised that nepotism has now entered the picture full force.
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Nice work, James. Yes, you are right. Fixing a hole in the bench required making a hole in the starting unit. Yes, Perk is a total scrub and OKC’s season has turned into a disaster because of him. Injuries should be blamed for the Cs falling short, even though the playoff Cs were probably the healthiest they had been all season. Yes, we had every reason to count on Shaq, even though it was obvious that he was done for.
Sheesh!!!
I saw one commentator the other day claiming that Tony Allen was the only ex-Celtic doing anything in the playoffs!!! That’s how crazy the Perkins Hate has become! Of course, statistically, Allen has done next to nothing. His contributions are in the areas of intangibles and defense, LIKE PERKINS!!! And Perk gets a lot more rebounds. But somehow Perkins slipped that Hater’s mind.
It comes down to this: ya can’t defend The Trade without worshipping Green and hating Perkins. To attack The Trade, you don’t need any of that craziness. You don’t need to hate Green. I like the guy, and I think he’s potentially a nice player. You just have to recognize that Perkins was our starting center, the anchor of our defense, and a key component of the ‘ubuntu’ WHICH WAS OUR SECRET WEAPON.
EVery team facing us knew that when we could reach a level of cohesion and intensity that THEY COULD NOT. After The Trade, everyone knew that was no longer true, and only virulent defenders of The Trade pretended that it didn’t matter.
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paul…again, we’re never going to agree but how exactly does Perk’s stats in his latest series EXCITE you to the point of such continued god-worship? He fouled out twice, averaged 4 pts and from a couple of the games I saw was weak defending the paint. The “anchor of our defense” was, is, and always will be KG. Perk played well with KG at his side to help. Maybe you’ll notice that he is struggling to defend with OKC because he doesn’t have an all-defensive team all-star and HOF to help him out??? I don’t hate KP and appreciated his time with the Cs but his game and value did not match the need for a bench and the fact that he wanted insane money. He could have signed to stay but he wanted more money. Well he got it elsewhere because the Cs could not, and I’m glad they didn’t, pay that amount to keep him. So how about blaming Perk and his ‘greed’ for leaving.
As far as the team being “it’s healthiest at the playoffs” what about no Shaq and JO’s wrist injury? And then of course Rondo got hurt. This team was 20-4 with Shaq in the middle and was playing the type of Celtic ball we all expect but also playing it better than when Perk was the starter because Shaq is better offensively and is by far a much better passer thereby giving the Cs more options. You saw it and so did everyone else. That’s why the Cs were favored so early on. Injuries decimated this season and NOTHING else. Read that last sentence again as that is the fact.
I, too, like Green but was also very disappointed in his contribution at times. It’s obvious he has talent. I personally think he deferred too much to the ‘stars’ on the team and that is a problem that will disappear with training camp and more games under his belt with the core 4.
Lastly, “ubuntu” is over-rated otherwise Perk would have signed to enjoy all that that word encompasses. He wanted out and his contract demands said so. So DA moves him and now 4 months later it’s still being debated. How about we move to the future and deal with the players we have and will soon get and focus on next season??? Go CS…
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Doc himself said the trade was poor timing. Of course it was. He had to remove half their playbook before the playoffs started, not a great way of entering post season, with a team that doesn’t even know the plays. They were obviously out of sync, but the team would’ve had problems with or without the trade.
I watched Miami-Chicago yesterday and it was a completely different pace and tone than the Miami-Celtics series. It was faster, played above the rim, players on both sides blocking shots, stealing passes, etc.
While the C’s looked sluggish and old against Miami, the Bulls looked young and bold. In the end, they won the game (and will win the series) b/c they are deeper and they are going to win the inside game (especially with rebounding, something the C’s are horrible at)
The Eastern Conference has evolved to another level. Miami has the best “3″ team combo while the Bulls have the best point guard and are the deepest team in the league. Yesterday their role players totally stepped up to make big plays and key shots, something the C’s did not have in the playoffs.
While I love seeing the Heat lose, it also saddens me to see how poorly we looked against this team that isn’t that great after all. The Bulls exposed their weaknesses, something the C’s couldn’t do.
And I’m tired of people saying that if Rondo hadn’t been hurt, the C’s would have won the series. Rondo was healthy in games 1 and 2 and the C’s lost both games, getting destroyed in the final 6 minutes of game 2 after tying it up.
For the C’s to compete next year, they will have to get the right player combos and role players to help the Big 3 in major ways. Is there anyone out there who can do so? If Big Baby and Krystic are the answers, we are already in major trouble.
I like Krystic at times, but he’s way too timid to compete in a game like the Bulls-Heat last night. He would’ve been lost on the court. MIA. And Big Baby would’ve been getting dunked on or getting his shot blocked, something we saw way too much of.
We need to build an athletic team, one that get on the run with Rondo, guys who can block shots and someone who can knock down outside shots (can we please start playing Wafer more?)
Old and slow is not going to get it done next year.
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Chris H…sorry but Rondo getting hurt killed the Cs chances. If you remember, PP was ejected with 7+ minutes to go in the 4th and had 19 pts and 7 rebs at that point – or in other words having a great game. Game 2 they did not execute in the final minutes but also only had 14 rebounds in the whole half after having 24 in the first half. PP & RA also had weak games with 13 and 7 pts respectfully. So that wasn’t Rondo’s fault. Even the bench played well in that game. Go check the stats if you don’t believe me.
As far as next year we’re not going to have the athletic team that the Bulls or Heat are but that doesn’t matter. Krstic should bulk up this summer and I believe having training camp and knowing he’s getting major minutes will help him become more of the center we expect. The big 3 just take too much money to do anything majority new as they get $50M (KG $22M/PP$20M/RA$10M) and unless they decide to part with say 25% each then no new stud is going to come in to help. We’re not getting an athletic and young team until that money is available which means the core 3 are retired. Go Cs…
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Sorry…meant major instead of majority. Helps to proofread. And rebound!
Go Cs…
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James: I hear ya, and we can argue about games 1 and 2 for weeks, but the C’s failed to win those games with Rondo on the court. Game 1 they were flat and out of sync. Game 2 they got blown away in the closing minutes, just as they did in Game 5. Rondo was healthy in both games, and if Pierce couldn’t control his temper, well, that’s another issue. But up until the point where Pierce was ejected, the C’s never were in control of that game; it was hard to watch. And Rondo wasn’t exactly brilliant in those first two games.
Counting on Krystic to bulk up may be as wishful thinking as Shaq coming back healthy. Maybe they can liposuct some weight off Shaq and put it on Kyrstic.
Is next year considered a rebuilding season? Or trying to win a title? The latter seems unrealistic unless Ainge pulls a rabbit out of the hat in his off season moves.
The Bulls have put all of the pieces in place, built around the best point guard in the NBA. It will be hard to compete with them or Miami, the number 2 team in the East.
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Chris H…I went back and looked at the stats and all for Game 1 and you are correct but the Cs were in the game at the moment PP was ejected because he was talking to Wade, not an official. Game could have gone either way at that point. But you’re right and Rondo had 0 assists at the half and only 7 for the game. But once the Cs started playing better overall, from Game 2 on, they needed Rondo and not having him basically in the last two games at 100% (only 8 assists in total) causing him to really be unable to drive killed them.
Next year is considered another title run with the core 3′s last hurrah. They need to be healthy, need a rebounder, should start DW so RA can be the sixth man and need Green and Davis to play as we expect. Not much we can do to add other than the draft and the ML-EX, which might get us that rebounder. But I contend that if healthy, this group can compete very well vs the Bulls and Heat because of their experience and defensive capabilities. Although, the Bulls will be better with Thibodeau’s teaching. We can still win it all. Go Cs…
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James, I totally hear you, but it simply wasn’t the Celtics year. With all the injuries, the distractions of the trade, Rondo being inconsistent, the Big 3 getting older, etc.
It’s time to pick up the pieces and see if we can add the right pieces to the puzzle.
Can it be done with the salary cap? And who is available?
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Memo to Danny….Good things happened the last time you traded Green far away from Boston
Quick….Do it again!!!!!!
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