HoopsHype.com Columns

Caught in a gold rush
by Tim O'Sullivan / July 29, 2003

Unfortunately for Boston, the Nets seem to be using an elaborate mining operation while the Celtics are knee deep in an icy river with a leaky gold pan. Yet Danny Ainge can't be blamed here. The Celtics' new ownership group (headed by Wyc Grousbeck) was supposed to come with deep pockets. Instead, they've been biting their nails about the luxury tax and bottom line, just like the previous owner, notorious miser Paul Gaston.

So here's what Ainge has been able to extract from the free agent stream with his leaky pan while listening to the rumbling machinery at work in not-too-distant New Jersey.

The Celtics resigned Walter McCarty. The Nets resigned Jason Kidd. McCarty is fan-favorite in Boston. He fits in with his teammates and the system. He hustles. It was nice that he stayed in Boston, it creates continuity. Kidd is the system in New Jersey. He makes his teammates much, much better. He is the definition of hustle and without him, there wouldn't even be any fans in New Jersey. It was paramount and monumental he stayed in New Jersey, it creates the foundation for an Eastern dynasty.

Both teams plucked players from Miami. The Celtics tabbed Mike James. The Nets swiped Alonzo Mourning. James is a progressing guard who can score and plays tough defense. But he is also a dreaded "tweener," too small to be a legit shooting guard but lacking true point guard skills. Mourning -- albeit in questionable health -- is a warrior, a leader, a dominating, game-changing presence.

While he may not match Mourning, Boston did also re-sign Mark Blount. Blount is not what you'd call a dominant center, but in the pivot-starved East, he is also more than just adequate.

If you're keeping score at home, the scorecard looks like this: New Jersey 2, Boston 1/2.

However, the 5 o'clock whistle seems to have blown in New Jersey and the Nets' luxurious machinery has, for now, shut down. But Ainge, like a grizzled prospector working for his very survival, is still working that stream. The Celtics and Cavaliers have just completed a three-player trade that sends Jumaine Jones to Boston in exchange for Bruno Sundov and JR Bremer.

That trade is a brilliant move by Ainge. Jones is player who appeared to be a rising star as a rookie when he started in the 2001 playoffs for the Eastern Conference champion 76ers. But after getting traded to Cleveland, he lost the path to stardom. Hey, who didn't get lost in Cleveland the last two years?

Bremer was an unexpected surprise for the Celtics last year, but figured to be lost in the rotation this year with the addition of James and first-round pick Marcus Banks. Sundov would have resumed his spot on the end of the
bench / top of the injured list. Jones, on the other hand, could fight for a starting position and will certainly see plenty of playing time. He also adds some toughness and rebounding, two weak areas for the Celtics. Trading
two players who wouldn't play for one player who could be a significant factor equals brilliant in my book.

Of course, the assessment of Ainge's prospecting haul must include the draft, the biggest treasure hunt of them all. Ainge had a plan going into the draft and he stuck with it. He wanted Marcus Banks and he got Marcus Banks, even if it meant dealing with Jerry West, a reincarnation of a never-losing card shark out of the Old West.

Banks' speed, strength, passing, ball-handling and scoring ability make him look an NBA player, and he will probably succeed in Boston. But you never know until the curtain actually rises on the regular season. Banks, though, wasn't the only piece of glittering rock Ainge plucked from the draft. There was also Kendrick Perkins, the 6-foot-10, 280-pound high school center with pterodactyl wingspan. He may be a few years way from truly contributing, but considering he was Boston's second first-round pick and No. 27 overall, he was absolutely worth the risk.

Second-round pick Brandon Hunter may be Celtic's best bargain, and another product of Ainge's persistence in the stream. He was the nation's leading rebounder as a senior at Ohio University and, like Jones, has the ruggedness and love for all things caroming that Boston so sorely needs. Hunter, who averaged 16.3 points per game, 8.2 rebounds per game and was named to the first-team in Boston's summer league, signed a two-year contract Monday. How many second-round picks ever sign for guaranteed money? Very few, of course, which is a good sign for Hunter.

So what, exactly, is the Celtics bottom line? Are they richer, poorer or in the same tax bracket after all of Ainge's prospecting?

With the recent trade for Jones, the Celtics may have gained some ground on the New Jerseys and Los Angeleses (is that a word?) of the league. Still, when compared to the big movers, the Celtics lost ground because they didn't move.

As for the rookies, well, they're rookies, and while you can say this one will fail and that one will thrive, we all know it's a guessing game. But you have to like the talent Ainge pulled from the draft, and while he may not be able to cash in those chunks of gold for immediate cash, the Celtics' portfolio is looking stronger.

In the end, Ainge has made the most of what he had. But the shiny rocks better turn out to be the real deal and not fool's gold, or the Celtics might be stuck in that icy stream with leaky pan until Ainge's knees turn blue.

Tim O'Sullivan is a staff writer at the Concord (NH) Monitor and a regular contributor to HoopsHype.com

Tell us what you think about this column. E-mail us at HoopsHype@HoopsHype.com