Reaction to the reaction (part 1)

I sympathize with most of M’s initial thoughts on the Wally-Davis trade, especially as pertains to Szczerbiak’s being an improvement to Ricky on the court. I’m not sure this is a big upgrade, but I concede that it looks like an upgrade.

There is one minor point that I will differ on, as it pertains to the team’s reasons for the trade

Which brings us to the next beneficial part of the trade -- more playing time for Jefferson and Perkins. Clearly, the Celtics wanted to be rid of Blount and his contract. But a major part of that, I believe, was their feeling that they had some pretty good young players who were beginning to mature, and that playing Blount was retarding their progress. Given that, two thumbs up to getting rid of Blount.

This has been one of Danny’s main talking points in the last 24 hours and is getting repeated over a lot of Boston. It sounds good, since it suggest the future is so bright we gotta wear shades. I don’t buy it, however. There are 96 minutes a night to be divided between the C and PF positions. If Perkins and Jefferson have been averaging 20 minutes/game this season it’s been because of their consistent foul trouble and erratic (to be charitable) team defense. Let's say they improve both of those and start to play starter's minutes, or ~30 minutes/night. Even then the team would still have ~30 minutes/game during which they’d need to play someone.

Would Blount be a better use of those minutes than Raef or Veal? Their performance this season and Doc's in-game decisions would both suggest yes. Doc's general meritocracy in allocating playing time this year suggests that more minutes for Al and Perk were there to be taken. Indeed, Danny and Doc have been repeating for two years that the worst thing you can do to a young player is to just give them playing time, without earning it. Now they trade away the competition and announce they’re giving the minutes to their youth.

I’m not making an argument for keeping Blount, since I’ve been as loud as anyone in wanting him out of town. The argument that he was limiting the growth or playing time of Perkins and Jefferson, however, doesn’t hold water.

The sad thing is that Blout was playing 30 minutes a night because, for all his flaws, he’s been the best PF/C and the third best offensive player on the team. This trade was about moving someone who was unpopular with his coaches and management, who was perceived as a bad role model and who had a long-term contract the team now regretted. The ‘freeing up playing time for Al and Perk’ line is tactful if dishonest way to avoid talking about that in public.