The era of the Big 3 (the original one), formed in 2007 when Danny Ainge traded for Ray Allen and Kevin Garnett to join forces with Paul Pierce, is now over. Ray Allen has chosen to sign with the Miami Heat and the younger version of Big 3 for a better chance of a title.
As betrayed as an Celtics fan should feel, offering Ray Allen 12 million dollars for 2 years seems to
be overpaying for a one-dimensional shooter who will be 40 when his 3-year 9-million contract with the Heat ends. Yes, he may still be the best shooter in the league. But he is a defensive liability now and his defense will only get worse with his age and ankle injury. Furthermore, the Celtics have already signed an insurance policy in Jason Terry for the mid-level exception. Jason Terry may not be the shooter Ray Allen is, but he is able to create shots for himself off the dribble. Though he is not much of an defender either, I would take Terry over Allen at this point of their careers. Furthermore, signing Allen would have created a logjam at the shooting guard position, with Avery Bradley and Terry playing the same position. How are they going to distribute 48 minutes around 3 players? I know Bradley and Terry can both play the point guard position (not well), but having any one of the four (including Rajon Rondo) to play less than 20 minutes a game is a waste to their talent.
Now that Ray Allen has made his Decision to take his talents to South Beach, the Celtics have 2 key rotation players to re-sign, Jeff Green and Greg Stiemsma. Assuming 11 million for Kevin Garnett and 7 million for Brandon Bass, the Celtics have about 58 million dollars on the book next season. They have about 16 million dollars to fill the rest of the roster. Greg Stiemsma will likely command an annual salary of about 3 million dollars or even more. Unless he gets an offer of more than 5 million dollars a year, the Celtics should match that. As for Jeff Green, words came out on Thursday that his contract will be in the range of 40 million dollars over 4 years. I don't buy it. Last year, when Jeff Green is healthy, he only got a one-year 9-million deal. Why does he deserve to get more money and more years after an entire missed season? I hope the final deal will be in the neighborhood of 30 million dollars over 4 years, which is much more reasonable. The Celtics would be smart to front-load the deal to provide more flexibility in the future, as they will not cross the luxury tax this year anyway. Other than the biannual exception of 4 million dollars over 2 years, the rest of the roster will be filled by minimum salaries. The Celtics need another small forward and another point guard to back up Paul Pierce and Rajon Rondo. The backup small forward will probably play more minutes, so I would give the exception to a small foward. I would offer Mickael Pietrus the biannual exception and try to bring Keyon Dooling back for the minimum salary. Other options at small forward include Matt Barnes, Shawne Williams, and Josh Howard. For the point guard, the Celtics can also pursue Ronnie Price or Jonny Flynn.
This team is probably a tad better than last year's team due to the addition of Jeff Green (I will call it a wash between Allen and Terry). However, this team is not close to challenging the Heat, and it should not be the favorite over the Chicago Bulls either. Unless Jeff Green finally delivers on his promise when he was drafted 5th overall in the draft, the Celtics will have difficulty competing for the championship come next June.
As for the Heat, I will put it simple. The Heat adds another shooter around Dwyane Wade and Lebron James to spread the floor. With the possible retirement of Mike Miller, Ray Allen can fill in his role and his minutes. Even in decline, Ray Allen is still a much better shooter than Mike Miller, and this represents an upgrade for the Heat. The Heat, already with an championship, just got even better and more formidable in their title defense.
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