Why James Posey Ditched the Boston Celtics
James Posey's defection from the Celtics was not only due to money but also fueled by his experiences in Miami. When Posey's other former team tried to defend their championship, they imploded and were dismissed with impunity by the Chicago Bulls.
Posey saw similarities in terms of how both teams were constructed:
1. Both teams were veteran-loaded.
2. A big named superstar was brought in to secure a championship.
3. He saw how the Miami team came back fat and lazy and refused to work as hard as they did the previous season.
Posey didn't want to go through that again and decided to jump ship instead of being a bottom-dweller again. He had been to the mountain top twice and he had no desire to give up the sweet ambrosia of success.
Posey saw New Orleans as a younger up and coming team who had a coach with championship experience and already had success in the playoffs. When taken from this perspective, Boston fans have no need to be upset about Posey moving toward what he thought would be an opportunity to remain on top.
The Celtics never begrudged his leaving, as witnessed by the private ceremony they gave him when he returned to town. It was all Posey could do to keep it together on the bench on the verge of tears.
He never shed tears when he received his ring in Miami—because the journey to get there in Boston proved to be more than about basketball.
The ghosts of Celtics past strains through every part of that organization, championship strain at that. As I watched that game at home on TV, the camera caught a glimpse of him wistfully looking up at banner No. 17. I could only guess at what was going on inside of his head at that moment.
Was he thinking how he misjudged the will of the Boston Three Party to add their own names in the annals of Celtic History? Yes, he helped the Celts get back to the glory days, but in the greater footprint of Celtics history he will be a footnote.
Besides Don Nelson and John Havlicek, does anyone ever mention or remember guys like Tom Thacker and Larry Siegfried from the 1967 championship?
Pose could have been our own modern day Cedric "Cornbread" Maxwell, gotten another championship, and been truly regarded as a great Celtic. Now we will never know.
