The
Departed
By RedsArmy.com’s
Matt Geagan
Over the past few years the Celtics
have lost their share of players. Then again, who hasn’t in the NBA? With Danny
Ainge pulling the trigger a lot in past years and Chris Wallace/Rick Pitino making the 90’s a terrible decade for the Celtics,
the casualty list of green uniforms is longer than Vin Baker’s bar tab (ba-ZING). There are many Celtics we miss, and those that we
don’t. So let’s take a trip down memory
lane…
Antoine
Walker
He was The Guy on the Celtics or 7 ¼ years. ‘Toine and Paul Pierce created the greatest Celtic playoff
game that I was alive for. 1986 doesn’t count because I couldn’t make memories
then. The first Celtic jersey I owned was Antoine’s #8. I still had faith in
him when everyone in
Ricky
Davis
Ricky was
always good for an amazing dunk, a few game-winning shots, and even a new
hairstyle. He is putting up the same numbers with Kevin Garnett as he did
Pierce. But his attitude isn’t as subdued as it was here. He was suspended a
game last week for leaving the court after being replaced against the Pistons
in the fourth quarter. Ricky was fun to have around on the Celtics, but now
that he’s gone he isn’t worth watching anymore. Before he came, all I really
knew was he was feuding with Lebron and tried to get
his own rebound. It’s the same now.
Mark
Blount
Mark Blount
was an interesting character. He was a seven footer that could shoot the ball,
but couldn’t rebound well. He had a great contract year, and somehow managed a
five year deal that would pay him over $30 million. After he got all that loot,
Blount disappeared on the court and was basically stealing money. Getting rid
of him and his contract was the only reason trading the fan favorite
Mike
James
I remember
watching the Celtics play the Bucks in during Thanksgiving Break of 2003, and
some guy named Mike James hit seven three pointers. There were five people in
the room and everyone asked the same thing over and over again: “Who is Mike
James?” Mike James may have only played 55 games for
Marcus
Banks
Banks was
Danny Ainge’s first child. He had so much potential
and hype coming into the league but never lived up to any of it. Banks was the
most frustrating young player to watch because he never wanted to learn. Even
when he was teammates with Gary Payton, Banks would never look like he wanted
to listen. He had some flashes, but anyone that plays in 81 games a year
should. I wasn’t surprised when he was traded, either time. He was one guy the
Celtics gave up on that didn’t bother me. The fact that he still isn’t playing
well with Steve Nash to learn from doesn’t surprise me. But he could have a
ring pretty soon too.
Chauncey
Billups
This is the
guy the Celtics gave up on that does bother me. Just too painful to talk
about…
Raef LaFrentz
Raef came
over with Jiri Welsch,
Chris Mills and a first rounder that later turned into Delonte West. Raef was a big guy stuck in a big contract. He never lived
up to being a third overall pick and is now just dead weight that makes over
$33 million over the next three years. Raef is never
100% healthy so there was no surprise when he hurt his calf opening night and
was then out until mid-December for the Blazers. He still hasn’t hit a three
(0-9) and has only played in 13 games this season. In other words, Raef and Theo Ratliff cancel each other out perfectly, only
Raef is leaching off a team for another year (I Love
This Game).
Mikki Moore
Mikki
Moore never played a game with the Celtics. They signed him to a 10 day
contract, and that was it. All I remember about Mikki
is he was scary looking and owned snakes. Huge snakes. I stumbled across this article
while looking for his stats. The only reason he is on this list is the fact he
now plays for the Nets. He sports Latrell Sprewell-like pigtails, and is
Vitaly Potapenko
Vitaly
only makes the list because he had the best name since Dino Radja
(but no Starting Lineup). He had three decent seasons with the Celtics until he
was shipped off in the Vin Baker trade. At that time Potapenko
was making $27 million over three seasons, so I guess he could be thought of as
a poor man’s Raef LaFrentz. Vitaly
barely played in four seasons with the Sonics, and now sits on the bench in
And of course…
Vin Baker
I think I
dislike Vin Baker more than any other player in the NBA. Even more than Ron Artest, Stephen Jackson and Vince Carter combined. During
his second season in
Matt Geagan is a sports
producer at WBZ-TV… which means he’s not just into basketball. You can catch MattyG’s
thoughts on all things sports on his FoxSports.com blog. You can email him at MattyG@RedsArmy.com