[The Great JWalk]

I think the Vin Baker trade will help the Celtics immensely. Shammond Williams was one of the better back up PG's in the league and I think he will be a solid starter. Also In the smaller East Vin could have a great year. This trade propels the celtics to the Finals I think.
~Lineup~
Shammond Williams 12 PPG 6-7 APG
Paul Pierce 28 PPG and a strong all around game
Twan Walker Should be moved to the 3 and create mismatches Also I think that less pressure will be on him to "stop screwing around and post up" This will make for a happy Twan and probably a better player.
Vin Baker- Should do about 13-17 and about 8 rebounds plus providing a consistant scorer.
Tony Battie- He can provide gatorade?

 

[RollWithEm]

Are you serious???

First of all, Shandon Anderson still sits the bench behind Allan Houston in New York. Shammond Williams came over in the trade. Second, you have to be joking about his production. He's always proven himself to be a flashier version of Mark Jackson with half the game. He will not contribute for Boston, and Paul Pierce will have to score more than 28 a game for this team to even get into the top four spots in the East (they were third last year).

 

[HAWK23]

Baker in the East will be a much better PF than he was in the West, NO QUESTION

 

[jvanbusk]

Having to get used to their new starting point guard (who?) will take some time to adjust. Vin Baker is not that good...He'll be able to hit a few shots, but I think they lost out in the offseason. I'd rather have Rodney Rogers and a proven starting point guard, Kenny Anderson that Vin and Williams. Plus they lost size with Potapenko. I predict less wins than the year before, roughly a 5 seed for the playoffs.

 

[dirty bruce]

shammond won't start over tony delk. shammond had a solid year 2 years ago, but last season he was booty. yeah baker is a improvement over battie in the middle but he is soft & need to be motivated. plus if celt fans start booing him, he might crack & start going into depression again. it would be interesting to see baker at the 4 & walker at his natural position, small forward. my bet is that walker will lead the team in assist next season.

 

[robyg1974]

The Celtics will be considerably worse...

1) They have no PG now. Tony Delk is NOT a point guard. And Shammond Williams is NOT a starter in this league, period. Kenny Anderson is nothing special, but he's a much better starting NBA point guard than either one of these two dudes. And the team could've gotten a lot more out of him than Vin Baker--there are a lot of teams out there eager to dump longterm salaries, and trading for a guy like Kenny Anderson--who makes $9.2 mil next year, then he's off the books forever--is a GREAT WAY to dump payroll. They could've gotten a much better player in return for Anderson.

2) The team is apparently not going to be able to re-sign THREE key players from last year's run: Rodney Rogers, Erick Strickland, and Mark Blount. WOW.

3) Vin Baker, in case anybody doesn't know, is NOT a good NBA player. He couldn't handle the pressure in Seattle. Uhhhhh... do you honestly think that the pressure in BOSTON won't be about ten times worse than the pressure in SEATTLE? This is a Celtics team that nearly made the NBA Finals last season--so the ONLY WAY that Vin Baker doesn't get in the doghouse IMMEDIATELY--where he will stay FOR FOUR MORE YEARS OH MY GOD THAT IS A LOOOOOOOONG TIME--the ONLY WAY that he avoids the doghouse is if this team makes the NBA Finals BECAUSE Vin Baker becomes a good NBA player again. Which isn't going to happen. So you're talking about a depressive personality here--you think he's going to respond well to the pressure and the booing? WHAT?

4) The team is suddenly counting on bigtime production from two guys who aren't ready to produce in this league, especially for a team interested in making a run at the NBA Finals: Kedrick Brown and JR Bremer. I'm not sure if the team isn't crossing its fingers and hoping Bremer wins the starting PG job! Take a look at the top ten dudes on this team now that Rogers, Blount, and Strickland won't be coming back--and you need nine dudes in this league to be able to play for you--here are the top ten dudes for Boston:

1 Paul Pierce
2 Antoine Walker
3 Vin Baker
4 Tony Battie
5 Tony Delk
6 Eric Williams
7 Walter McCarty
8 Shammond Williams
9 Kedrick Brown
10 JR Bremer

OUCH! Take another look at last year's Eastern Conference Finalist, their top ten dudes:

1 Paul Pierce
2 Antoine Walker
3 Rodney Rogers (let's face it, a better player than Vin Baker)
4 Kenny Anderson
5 Erick Strickland
6 Mark Blount
7 Tony Battie
8 Tony Delk
9 Eric Williams
10 Walter McCarty

Did you notice what I noticed? Last year's #7 dude (Battie) is this year's #4 dude--last year's #8 dude (Delk) is this year's #5 dude--last year's #9 dude (Eric Williams) is this year's #6 dude--last year's #10 dude (McCarty) is this year's #7 dude. In other words, you are replacing the following four dudes--Rodney Rogers, Kenny Anderson, Erick Strickland, and Mark Blount--with THESE four dudes--Vin Baker, Kedrick Brown, Shammond Williams, and JR Bremer. OUCH!

Fellas! The Celtics just got A WHOLE LOT WORSE! Make no mistake about it! A WHOLE LOT WORSE! This team will NOT be back in the Eastern Conference Finals next season--in FACT, they won't even be making it out of the first round!

Revised projected Eastern Conference standings for 2002-03 (win-loss totals based on average Eastern Conference win-loss totals per position in the standings over the past seven seasons--obviously the East was significantly better during the Bulls' dynasty, but I'm just being a statisistical purist here, folks):

1 Nets 60-22
2 Pistons 55-27
3 Hornets 52-30
4 Bucks 49-33
5 Celtics 48-34
6 Magic 47-35
7 76ers 44-38
8 Pacers 43-39
---
9 Heat 41-41
10 Raptors 37-45
11 Bulls 34-48
12 Hawks 31-51
13 Knicks 27-55
14 Wizards 24-58
15 Cavs 16-66

The Celts are still a playoff team as long as Pierce & Walker are around--but, make no mistake about it, peoples--the Celtics have gotten WORSE this summer, not BETTER--they haven't stayed THE SAME, they've gotten WORSE, period! PERIOD!

 

[JoeF]

Originally posted by HAWK23
Baker in the East will be a much better PF than he was in the West, NO QUESTION

True but that ain't saying much. The real question is he good enough to make a difference?

 

[SikHandlez24]

Look for Omar Cook to possibly start for the Celtics. He is a thier best distributer. He may not have the best shot but that won't matter when he gets 7-9apg.

 

[bUlls2322]

antoine walker shouldn't play sf. one of the huge reasons the celtics did so good was that he could drag out the pf to the three point line and get pierce to drive into the lane. and then the pf has to guard walker tight because he will nail the 3 if he slacks off. with walker as sf he could get into the lane more but you wont see him hiting as many 3s. i just say move baker to center and take the risk. either way the celts are going to do bad anyways

 

[MadFace]

did you notice .....

That seattle was 19-8 Without baker in the lineup. He slowed their offense dow...the same way he will in boston. Don't get me wrong baker still has talent. But the celts needed a center. Also I am glad anderson is gone. He really roasted the Pistons last year in the playoffs. The Celts by this one move ( and the subsequent effect Baker now has on the team's salary cap) just got weaker benchwise , chemistry wise and defense-wise , the latter being the real strength of the team.

 

[Hawkeye Pierce]

am the only one who thinks battie should still start even if baker comes off the bench and plays more minutes?? i see battie as kinda how theo ratliff was for philly durinf their final year, only not as good as a shot blocker, but he gets cleanup dunks and he blocks shots when the terrific celtics d brings the opposing player right into him.

i think the celtics will be better, pierce will continue to improve, and cmon kenny anderson could distribute the ball but he couldnt shoot and its not like their offense was reliant on him passing, they can get by with tony delk, cause he can shoot off the pierce and walker double teams.

 

[RollWithEm]

Re: The Celtics will be considerably worse...

Vin Baker, in case anybody doesn't know, is NOT a good NBA player.

Last year's #10 dude (McCarty) is this year's #7 dude.

The Celtics just got A WHOLE LOT WORSE!


WOW... I couldn't agree more. I don't see how Toronto can not make the playoffs with the renewed energy Vince will obviously play with to prove his doubters wrong, but other than that you echo my sentiments exactly.