“Tony’s situation certainly made it more public,” he said. “But not unlike Sebastian, Tony is a product of where he grew up. They have a lot of different things to overcome than a lot of people can understand. Unfortunately our children don’t always listen well, and sometimes they have to learn those lessons through experience.

“When you give some of these young guys money and free time, you’ll find that they don’t always make the right choices. Support from their team, and also from their agents, is one vital thing. That’s why you need seminars, but the fact is that some kids just have to find out for themselves. Sometimes they just can’t hear it.

‘Tony came close. It could have ruined his career, but hopefully parents are clipping out the newspaper articles about these situations and reading them to their children. Like I tell our players, nothing good happens after 10 at night.

“But I really think that Tony has been humbled by all of this. I’ve heard him in conversations with his little brother (Ryan), when he’s trying to get him to make the right choices and help him in things like choosing the right prep school. Tony’s really trying to pass things on in the right way.”

Then again, if the Celtics follow through with their guilty-enough-without-allowed-to-prove-innocence approach, Telfair, 21, will be available for little or nothing in the offseason.

And that means Riley, who will lose Gary Payton to retirement, may yet again revisit that 2004 draft, when he left West, Jameer Nelson, Kevin Martin and Anderson Varejao on the board in favor of Wright.

Before Sebastian Telfair was arrested early on the morning of April 20 for felony possession of a handgun and speeding, the Celtics knew there were a handful of potential trade outlets for the third-year point guard.
The scenarios were one-for-one deals, with the Celtics' 2007 second-round pick (No. 32) usually thrown into the mix. Think about teams like Atlanta, Cleveland, Denver, Golden State, Houston, Indiana, Memphis, Miami, Minnesota, New Jersey, Philadelphia, Sacramento, and the Clippers that might benefit from backcourt help.
But following the arrest and subsequent remarks from Celtics co-owner Wyc Grousbeck that Telfair had played his last game in a Boston uniform, a league source said the one-for-one deals had evaporated, leaving executive director of basketball operations Danny Ainge with little bargaining leverage.
The best deals always dry up when players and teams reach a point of no return. Just ask the 76ers, who had Allen Iverson then Chris Webber dangling, or the Pacers, who knew Ron Artest needed a new home long before he found one.
Ainge basically has two viable options: pursue a multi-player package deal or waive Telfair. The good news for Ainge is that several teams expressed interest in Telfair after Grousbeck's comments sparked false reports that the point guard had been released. See the above list.