The real question is, who is the better fit?


I've gone back and forth on whether or not the rumored Ray Allen for Monta Ellis trade would be good for the Celtics.  I can understand each point of view.  At first glance, I was all for the trade. Most would agree that Monta Ellis is the better basketball player right now.  He would also be better for the future as Ray Allen is on the downside of his career. None of us want to go another 20 years without a title and have what happened after the original Big 3 left happen again. However, the more I think about it, the more I realize that this trade is not about who the better player is but rather who is the better fit.

For this reason, I don't think we should do the trade. As spectacular as he can be sometimes, Ellis needs the ball in his hands to be effective.  I think we could all agree that the best thing for the Celtics is having the ball in Rondo's hands as much as possible, and Ellis would take some of that away. 

Monta could spell Rondo for 10-15 minutes a game, but this Celtics offense is based on passing and ball movement. Ellis has played in a free wheeling, rec league type of offensive system for so long that it might be hard for him to adjust. Defensively, even though Ray Allen is not what he used to be, he's probably still better than Ellis. I don't think defense is allowed in Golden State.  Then again who knows if Monta just needed a different team to bring out other aspects of his game.

It's so hard to gauge this trade because there are so many what ifs. We don't know how the Celtics will play with everyone healthy. We don't know if Monta would disrupt the offense or fit in and make it better. This is why I could never be a GM. Ainge has a very difficult decision on his hand. Does he roll the dice and bring in Ellis, which will have a potentially huge positive impact or vice versa? Or does he play it safe and count on the fact that the Celtic's issues have been because of injuries? It's an impossible question to answer, but that is why he gets paid the big bucks.

One final note. People that are for this trade don't dislike Ray Allen. We all love Ray, and he has done amazing things for this franchise since he has been here.  However, at the end of the day the NBA is a business and in any business sometimes you have to part ways with people you like.  I think either way they go here the Celtics will still be title contenders as long as Rondo and KG stay healthy