I love his game, his toughness, his tenacity and his story, but (despite the latest reports) there just isn't room on the Celtics for Leon Powe.
Prior to the start of last season, we knew Danny was going to have a difficult time re-signing both Glen Davis and Powe. Both are undersized players who can play only one position - power forward. They could only share minutes off the bench for so long. Eventually, the team would have to invest in one player. Unfortunately for both Powe and Davis, that player was Rasheed Wallace.
Need for 'Sheed
Wallace may be temperamental and 35-years old, but he's better than both of them. He brings extensive playoff experience, shooting range, length, rebounding, etc. Replace BBD with Wallace in the playoff series with the Orlando Magic and the Celtics win Game 7. He's now a key cog in this team.
The Minutes
Let's examine the minutes. Doc needs to fill 48 minutes at the power forward position and 48 minutes at the center position. Here's how I see it:
- Perkins - 30 minutes at center
- KG - 30 minutes at power forward
- Rasheed Wallace - 18 minutes at center, 7 minutes at power forward
That leaves 11 minutes at the power forward position (and I'm being generous because Wallace could easily play another 5 minutes per game). Can you really divide that up among two players?
During the Celtics championship season of 2008 (a better reference since KG did not miss significant time), Leon and BBD each averaged about 14 minutes per game. Bottom line - there wouldn't be enough minutes for both players.
Powe vs Baby
Two different styles. Leon is a bruiser who loves to mix it up in the post. Davis brings more finesse to the court, along with a decent mid-range jumper. Powe is the better rebounder. So who gets the nod? Glen Davis.
You can't overlook Leon's knees. And no matter how great he looks in rehab, I question whether Leon will retain that explosiveness in the paint after having a third major knee surgery.
Big Baby doesn't get enough credit for his work ethic. He's shedded dozens of pounds since his rookie year. The Celtics asked him to work on a mid-range jumper and he did. Now we are hearing that he's adding additional range to that jumper. Yeah his rebounding needs work and so does his game around the basket, but I believe he's a more diverse player than Leon Powe.