Post by Boston Celtics on Oct 27, 2008 21:52:17 GMT
BOSTON LINEUP 'SET'
Boston, Feb 22nd - "Our lineup is ready, we have the pieces in place now, and for the future" says Celtics GM, Ian Noble, in an open press interview within bowels of the TD Banknorth Garden. The Celtics, this week, overhauled their backcourt in one of the biggest trades of the season so far in a partly controversial move which has broken-up the original big-3 of Boston.
"We had to... we had to." speaks Noble of the big-3-breakup. "This was the deal we had on the table, we'd be selling ourselves short if we took any of the others that could've been, and we can't take any chances with all those teams coming up behind us."
The initially heralded arrival of much improving guard, Monta Ellis, in Boston a few months ago, subsided into waves of uncertainty as fans and the team administration alike kept a nervous eye on the tiny length of Ellis's contract. League re-signing rules prevent any team exceeding the salary cap in a re-signing, and Boston would have been well over the $65m cap this Off Season and therefore unable to re-sign the valuable addition. "It was the only way, we had to include Ray [Allen] in the deal to get this thing working. But now we know where we're headed and who we're going to do it with, and I'm confident that Manu and TJ will learn our system quickly."
The Boston Celtics have reportedly invested 50 reward points in training Ginobili so far, a reflection of the importance this team is placing on winning the Championship.
2007 MVP - Tim Duncan
