A New Day, A New Era - Curse of the Celtics - Darko to Celts

As you could probably tell from my pick by pick draft blog, I am estatic about the Knicks landing Z-Bo (Zach Randolph). The Knicks traded Channing Frye and Stevie Franchise for him, which equates to nothing. The offensive low post is dominant, and Isaiah gets an A for his draft day dealings. The Knicks have a young nucleus now, with Crawford, Curry, Randolph, Lee, etc. (average age 25.9 years old). And a roster that can grow together. So enough gushing about Isaiah, and let's start piling on the GM's who have no balls.

There are three GMs who are former Celtics that I want to go after. Danny Ainge, Kevin McHale, and Larry Bird. The reason I do this is because some writers, commentators, etc. do not go after these guys for the crap that they put together year after year. First up, Danny Ainge. Out of the three GMs, he is the one that is in a big market, and he's heard the critics. The only thing I can say about Ainge is that there is something about his personality that players don't like. Robert Horry threw a towel in his face, when Ainge was coaching the Suns. Shawn Marion doesn't want to play for Ainge (nobody in the league wants to goto Boston). Garnett vetoed his trade to Boston. Ainge reminds me of Bobby Valentine. He's got a great mind for his sport, but the other intangibles that he lacks make players not want to play for him. That will be the reason why Ainge leaves this job, or any other jobs he may have. (I do like the Allen trade, only if he gets a power forward/center thats established, without giving up Al Jefferson...otherwise, I hate it).

P.S. - It is becoming more evident that Darko Milicic is going to command 7+ million dollars a year. He shouldn't get it, but will...Ainge will explore a sign and trade for Darko, in a gamble. I don't think is worth it, but this has Danny Ainge written all over it.

Next on the chopping block, Kevin McHale. There was recently a poll, or some statistical bullshit, that said McHale one of the best GMs in sports. He is the worst, period. I was a big supporter of what he was doing when he had Garnett and Marbury. He made two (easy) decisions to draft them, and then Stephon asked for a trade. McHale had his hand forced, and proved he wasn't shrewd with handling trades, signings, etc. He now needs to trade his all world power forward to make things right. But, this is a guy who gets pennies on the dollar for his trades. Then there is the Joe Smith debacle, where the Wolves lost a bunch of picks, for making an illegal agreement. So here is my statistical bullshit to prove my point:

Picks since 98:
1998 Radoslav Neseterovic (17th Pick)
1999 Wally Szczerbiak (6th Pick)
2005 Rashad McCants (14th Pick)
2006 Randy Foye (7th Pick)
2007 Corey Brewer (7th Pick)

I don't like the Brewer pick, because Joakim Noah would have a bigger impact, and is more unique, as a player.

Signings by McHale
-2002: Wally Szczerbiak gets 6 years and $63 million
-2003: Michael Olowokandi gets 3 years and $16.2 million
-2004: Troy Hudson gets 6 years and $37 million
-2004: Trenton Hassell gets 6 years and $26.1 million
-2005: Mark Madsen gets 5 years and $10 million

Gross. Nuff Said.

Next. Larry Legend.

I know he had to trade Ron Artest, for Peja Stojakavic, who left as a free agent. I know the city of Indianapolis, didn't like Jax, but to trade a guy like Al Harrington with Stephen Jackson is ludicrous (he traded a draft pick to get Al Harrington). These two moves have totally removed the legitimacy from the Pacers franchise. He basically traded Ron Artest, Al Harrington, a lottery pick, Sarunas Jasikeivicius, and Stephen Jackson for Troy Murphy, Ike Diogu, and Mike Dunleavy Jr. As Bill Walton would say, "That is HOOOOOOOOOOOOOORRRIBLE." I like the fact the Pacers are down on their luck, and thats probably why I wrote this article.

Now to the GM's that rolled aces on Thursday:

Michael Jordan (Bobcats) - Got Jason Richardson and Jared Dudley
Kevin PritchaRd (Blazers) - Got the 2006 McDonalds All-American Team
Isaiah Thomas (Knicks) - Ensured an eastern conference crown for the next 4 years.

Enough N.B.A., for now.