Just don't drive up here too fast

Those of us who have been cynical about the state of the Celtics for the last two years liked to point to how little trade value Ainge's young talent was supposed to have; that is, until we traded most of it for two Hall of Famers. We furrowed our brow about ownership's apparent penny-pinching ways; that is, until they agreed to one of the larger payrolls in the league. Then we pointed to the lack of talent on the roster beyond the Big Three; that is, until the Celtics signed James Posey.

In at least one way, this move was impressive the way the trade for KG was. Since the team was over the luxury tax threshold, it would have been understandable if ownership had filled out the roster with vet minimum bodies (whose contracts are mostly paid by the league) and called it a day. Instead they ponied up an addition ~$7M salary(which will provoke an additional ~$7M in luxury tax penalties) for a starting-quality swingman with tons of playoff experience. The folks running this team had already gone above and beyond expectations by agreeing to pay the luxury tax to bring KG to town. They just did it all over again.

In terms of his on-court play, you could not script a better complement to the Big Three then Posey. He's an eight-year starter in the prime of his career whose ego doesn't care if he starts or comes off the bench, and has been happy to play in the shadows of folks like Shaq and Wade. The NBA is filled with talented players who are used to being the #1 option on every team and then can't adjust to playing a supporting role. Posey is the photo negative of this.

He is the kind of bruising, athletic, intelligent defender who will relieve Pierce and Allen from spending half the game trying to slow down the other team's best perimeter scorer. The Celtics haven't had as good a wing defender since Eric Williams left town, and even in EWill's prime Posey would have been an upgrade. Posey is also an excellent outside and three point shooter (37% last year, 40% the year before), who will make other team pay for doubling down on KG, Pierce or Allen. In addition, since Posey is 6'8" and has always been a strong rebounder (rather like Pierce) the Celtics now have a legimate up-tempo 'small ball' lineup with KG at C, Posey and Pierce at PF/SF, Allen at SG and Rondo running the point.

The following quote from Posey's press conference is an indication of how far things have come since lottery night:

"I waited patiently and I landed here in a great situation where we have an opportunity to win a championship," Posey said. "There [were] other teams out there but I wanted the best chance to win a championship. This is the place to be."

Rumors have been that Posey had offers on hand from Miami and New Jersey-- both of which were likely larger-- and picked Boston instead. He signed for perhaps a third of what he would have made in the open market if he was looking for as much money as possible. For years the Celtics have been starting bench-quality players and racking up regular season loses. This fall we're going to field a team with at least one starting-quality player coming off the bench.

Bring on November.

Here's a little of Posey, showing he would have been right at home in the rough-and-tumble NBA playoffs of the 1980s:



And the reaction of Chicago fans:



See you in the playoffs