By: JessLander, YawkeyTalkies Editor
What do you do when you have a slumping player and need to get them motivated?
Threaten to trade them.
This might seem drastic, but in Boston, it seems to often work.
Back in January/February rumors circled about possibly trading Celtics’ Ray Allen who had been inconsistent all season. His age, along with the rest of his teammates, showed. But then right as the deadline was passing, Allen stepped it up. The deadline was on Feb 19 and for five straight games starting with February 18th, Allen had the high for points, averaging 23 points a game.
Despite denying that was the reason for an improvement in his play, the timing couldn’t seem like less of a coincidence. His numbers are up right around where they were last year and he’s second behind Paul Pierce for points. Especially now, Boston is glad we kept him, as he’s averaging 19 points a game in the playoffs.
Our newest example is good ole’ Mikey Lowell. The Red Sox have discussed trading Lowell since the end of the 2009 season. None of the trades went through, and Lowell humbly took his place on the bench. He’s been a great sport, stating that there’s nothing he [...]