2009-2010 Finish: 40-42

What went bad

2009-10 signaled a new era for GM Amago and his Boston Celtics. Gone were the bloated contracts that haunted his team for years, like those of Eddy Curry, Jamaal Tinsley and Raja Bell. With the fat trimmed, Amago now had more flexibility to make some moves, even if Jason Richardson’s monster deal weighed them down. But the acquisition of J-Rich was smart one, giving the team a legit two guard.

However, the Celtics did very little change things up before the season started. Veteran and fan favorite Bruce Bowen decided to retire, Mikki Moore and Keith Bogans decided to play elsewhere and the only free agents brought in were Kevin Ollie, Rasho Nesterovic and Adonal Foyle. To his credit, Amago did have a good young core and both Steve Novak and star Danny Granger decided to re-up before the season began. As expected, top draft pick Ricky Rubio decided to stay in Europe, perhaps confirming those churlish rumors that the Celtics wasted a 4th pick overall, especially since they needed players who would make an immediate impact.

As the season began, the Celtics play mirrored that of the team that finished with one of the worst records the season before. J-Rich played admirably, scoring close to 19ppg, but his 43% shooting was some of the worst of his career. Another serious issue was the Tayshaun Prince/Danny Granger logjam at small forward. Although Prince did miss the first 20 games of the season with an injury, the Celtics were still spending too much on the position. But rather than address that problem, GM Amago tried J-Rich, along with a first rounder, to the Miami Heat for Steve Nash, DeSagana Diop and two second rounders.

What went worse

The acquisition of Nash, easily still one of the best point guards in the league energized the Celtics, sparking a winning streak that pushed them up towards the 8th seed. Even though the team received another onerous contract in Diop and the pick turned into Ekpe Udoh, Nash inspired in the Celtics we haven’t seen for years. But then GM Amago did something that had Celtics fans calling for his head right at the end of the season.

Upset at a rule change that extended the qualification for the deadline for injured players, Amago protested, sitting his starters for the final few games of the season. Even though the Celts had a long shot of making the playoffs, they were not technically out of the picture. However, Amago’s fiery Spanish temper sealed the Celtics’ doom and once again they went home early.

Stars

- Danny Granger, SF -

Granger played 72 games this season and started 71 of them, averaging 19.3 points per game which is the same as last year and had about the same amount of firepower around him as last year. His field goal percentage dropped but he still produced well. If not for a benching to miss the playoffs on what seemed to be on purpose, Granger could have done damage in the playoffs. Maybe next year.

- Tayshaun Prince, SF –

Prince provided this team with some much needed defense this season. He also became that 2nd scorer that the Celtics desperately craved. At 16.3 points per game he was right behind Granger and was the best non-Center rebounder on the team. Prince has one more season to be effective in Boston and he should do well there as long as Granger is getting double teamed.

Goats

- DeSagana Diop, C –

Diop made 6 million this year and played all of 16 games for the Celtics. On a team where big men are so desperately needed, he should have done great. What did he do instead? He scored 1.7 points per game and got a whopping 2.1 rebounds per game. With his big body he should be able to get in the way of rebounds more often than not. Very disappointing.




Looking to the future

Though the Celtics played better this past season, they more or less in the same shape and place they were in last season. They have no money to spend (that extra cap is going to Andrea Bargnani and Nash) and they have two starting-caliber forwards and no starting shooting guard to speak of. Once again, the Insider is calling for the Celtics to trade either Prince or Granger for a legit starting SG. We’ll see what happens.

The team also does not have any rookies coming in this season, trading away all its picks before or directly after the draft. This is problematic because if the Celtics retain Bargnani and Nash, they will be over the salary cap with only 10 players on signed to the roster. Sure, Amago has his MLE to spend, but turning Prince or Granger into two really good players is really his best option right now.

The bench is also another problem. While Chase Budinger should some promise during his rookie year, duds like Diop and Jason Smith are eating up precious cap. The team did acquire Delonte West and Ryan Gomes for peanuts before the league on break, but West is erratic and has already been in trouble with the law this summer and Gomes, while being good, is one of those forwards that isn’t quite big enough to be a power forward and doesn’t have the shooting chops to play the three well. Amago has always been a GM known to throw big money around without thinking of the long-term ramifications. Will he use up his GM point supply to get the team he wants or did the Bell and Curry fiascos teach him some temperance?