by GloveGuy on Wed Feb 09, 2005 11:38 am
It's been a pleasure to actually have Gary Payton playing in my local broadcasting area, and he's been nothing but stellar for the Celtics this year. He really is their MVP; their offense would crumble without him. Yeah he's old, but there's still very few point guards out there who are able to control the tempo of a game like GP does. Don't look at the stats because it's never been stats that have made this guy a first ballot Hall of Famer.
Having said that, any team would be lucky to have this guy, either as their starter or backup(though I don't actually seem him coming off the bench). This guy would do wonders for the Clippers, and I bet KG would be thrilled to play alongside a point guard like Payton.
Anyways, it's obvious he's not going to stay in Boston -- not as if they wouldn't want to keep him. But management knew coming in that he'd be short term; I just don't think they'd know he'd have such an impact -- his leadership, clutch play, and mentoring of the young point guards has been amazing.
It's been great having you in Boston, Gary -- now go get your ring!