KoriEllis
09-09-2004, 05:21 PM
Karl Malone to the Celtics?
By Philip Maymin
for HOOPSWORLD.com
Sep 9, 2004, 13:36
www.hoopsworld.com/article_9596.shtml (http://www.hoopsworld.com/article_9596.shtml)
Karl Malone has decided to play again this upcoming season, and he has decided where. He's just not ready to announce it yet.
Frontrunners for his services include the Lakers, Spurs, Timberwolves, and Heat.
But the Celtics are the dark horse in the race.
We all remember that Danny Ainge was the first GM to knock on the Mailman's door last offseason in the first seconds when he became a free agent and was eligible to talk to people. There were two things stopping him at the time:
(1) The Celtics were not in a position to win a championship.
(2) The Celtics could not let him wear his preferred number, 32, since it was Kevin McHale's retired number.
He chose the Lakers because they were in a position to win a championship and Magic Johnson offered to let him wear his retired 32.
Malone instead chose to wear number 11, out of respect for Magic.
The Celtics have retired more numbers than any other franchise and more than could even fit on a single roster, including the injured list.
Yet lucky #11 is still available. #10 was JoJo White and #14 was Bob Cousy, but #11 is just sitting there, waiting for a Hall of Famer to don it.
There is one player on the Celtics currently wearing #11, and his name is Marcus Banks. The same point guard who was heralded as the future point guard of the franchise yet will continue to come off the bench in his second year. The same point guard who was traded to the Lakers for Gary Payton then yanked back when Payton failed to report. Would the much-shuffled Banks be willing to choose a different number and grant Malone the smallest double-digit palindrome?
He can't take #3, his number from college days, because Dennis Johnson immortalized it. He can't take #33 for obvious reasons. He can't even take #22 because of "Easy" Ed MacAuley.
But if that's the only stumbling block, surely Banks will pick some other number. Or perhaps Malone would prefer something other than 11. In any case, if that's the only issue, there will be some kind of solution, one way or another.
The bigger stumbling block, of course, is that the Celtics do not have tremendous chances at winning a championship. That's where the speculation gets interesting.
Let's postpone it for a little while longer, though, drawing out the suspense. Could there be other reasons, however seemingly minor, for Malone to consider Boston over the more obvious contender choices above?
There are four things working in Boston's favor:
(1) They have let Malone know that they want him and would love to have him.
(2) He would be able to play as many or as few minutes as he wants.
(3) They can still pay him the MLE of about $5 million.
(4) They have Gary Payton.
The Spurs can only offer him the veteran minimum salary of about $1 million. The Heat are in approximately the same situation.
(I ought to note that there is a slight discrepancy. Some sources reported such a monstrous salary for Tom Gugliotta, north of $3 million per year, that it would have had to come from the MLE. But I just can't fathom Danny Ainge losing his MLE this year. I think he still has it and he will use it on Malone if necessary. Am I wrong? Am I right? Feel free to email me.)
Payton may not be the biggest positive in Malone's decision but he certainly would like to play with an up-tempo guard who can get the ball to him on the wing to finish on the break, and few do that as well as Payton does when he is not chained to a half-court offense.
This is idle (or idol?) speculation. Malone reportedly committed to Rudy Tomjanovich to play for the Lakers if he plays for anybody. Now that he says he will play, we will see where he lands.
Does he really want another shot at a championship where his presence is more of a tag-along than key player? If he plays for the Spurs or the Wolves, they immediately become the favorites, but they are already among the contenders. If he plays for the Heat, reuniting with Shaq, he is essentially just riding Shaq's coattails again. Is that how Malone wants to finish his career?
If he plays for the Celtics, then all they need to do (ha!) is get over the hump of Detroit and Indiana and Miami, before facing either the Spurs or the Wolves.
In a series against the Spurs or the Wolves, it would be Malone's defense of an MVP, either Tim Duncan or Kevin Garnett, that would give the Celtics a shot, and give Malone a ring he has truly earned.
Malone wants to go out on his terms. What terms could be better than bringing a championship to a legendary team that but for him wouldn't have a shot, and even with him is far from being a favorite? What about the mentoring he could give Al Jefferson, who under Malone's tutelage could eclipse even Dwight Howard? Wouldn't that be a tremendous transition to go from Hall of Fame player to future coach?
Malone will announce his decision soon. In the meantime, here comes the sigh of wishful thinking: aaaaaaaaaaaah...
By Philip Maymin
for HOOPSWORLD.com
Sep 9, 2004, 13:36
www.hoopsworld.com/article_9596.shtml (http://www.hoopsworld.com/article_9596.shtml)
Karl Malone has decided to play again this upcoming season, and he has decided where. He's just not ready to announce it yet.
Frontrunners for his services include the Lakers, Spurs, Timberwolves, and Heat.
But the Celtics are the dark horse in the race.
We all remember that Danny Ainge was the first GM to knock on the Mailman's door last offseason in the first seconds when he became a free agent and was eligible to talk to people. There were two things stopping him at the time:
(1) The Celtics were not in a position to win a championship.
(2) The Celtics could not let him wear his preferred number, 32, since it was Kevin McHale's retired number.
He chose the Lakers because they were in a position to win a championship and Magic Johnson offered to let him wear his retired 32.
Malone instead chose to wear number 11, out of respect for Magic.
The Celtics have retired more numbers than any other franchise and more than could even fit on a single roster, including the injured list.
Yet lucky #11 is still available. #10 was JoJo White and #14 was Bob Cousy, but #11 is just sitting there, waiting for a Hall of Famer to don it.
There is one player on the Celtics currently wearing #11, and his name is Marcus Banks. The same point guard who was heralded as the future point guard of the franchise yet will continue to come off the bench in his second year. The same point guard who was traded to the Lakers for Gary Payton then yanked back when Payton failed to report. Would the much-shuffled Banks be willing to choose a different number and grant Malone the smallest double-digit palindrome?
He can't take #3, his number from college days, because Dennis Johnson immortalized it. He can't take #33 for obvious reasons. He can't even take #22 because of "Easy" Ed MacAuley.
But if that's the only stumbling block, surely Banks will pick some other number. Or perhaps Malone would prefer something other than 11. In any case, if that's the only issue, there will be some kind of solution, one way or another.
The bigger stumbling block, of course, is that the Celtics do not have tremendous chances at winning a championship. That's where the speculation gets interesting.
Let's postpone it for a little while longer, though, drawing out the suspense. Could there be other reasons, however seemingly minor, for Malone to consider Boston over the more obvious contender choices above?
There are four things working in Boston's favor:
(1) They have let Malone know that they want him and would love to have him.
(2) He would be able to play as many or as few minutes as he wants.
(3) They can still pay him the MLE of about $5 million.
(4) They have Gary Payton.
The Spurs can only offer him the veteran minimum salary of about $1 million. The Heat are in approximately the same situation.
(I ought to note that there is a slight discrepancy. Some sources reported such a monstrous salary for Tom Gugliotta, north of $3 million per year, that it would have had to come from the MLE. But I just can't fathom Danny Ainge losing his MLE this year. I think he still has it and he will use it on Malone if necessary. Am I wrong? Am I right? Feel free to email me.)
Payton may not be the biggest positive in Malone's decision but he certainly would like to play with an up-tempo guard who can get the ball to him on the wing to finish on the break, and few do that as well as Payton does when he is not chained to a half-court offense.
This is idle (or idol?) speculation. Malone reportedly committed to Rudy Tomjanovich to play for the Lakers if he plays for anybody. Now that he says he will play, we will see where he lands.
Does he really want another shot at a championship where his presence is more of a tag-along than key player? If he plays for the Spurs or the Wolves, they immediately become the favorites, but they are already among the contenders. If he plays for the Heat, reuniting with Shaq, he is essentially just riding Shaq's coattails again. Is that how Malone wants to finish his career?
If he plays for the Celtics, then all they need to do (ha!) is get over the hump of Detroit and Indiana and Miami, before facing either the Spurs or the Wolves.
In a series against the Spurs or the Wolves, it would be Malone's defense of an MVP, either Tim Duncan or Kevin Garnett, that would give the Celtics a shot, and give Malone a ring he has truly earned.
Malone wants to go out on his terms. What terms could be better than bringing a championship to a legendary team that but for him wouldn't have a shot, and even with him is far from being a favorite? What about the mentoring he could give Al Jefferson, who under Malone's tutelage could eclipse even Dwight Howard? Wouldn't that be a tremendous transition to go from Hall of Fame player to future coach?
Malone will announce his decision soon. In the meantime, here comes the sigh of wishful thinking: aaaaaaaaaaaah...