CELTICS GREEN BLOG by and for boston celtics fans: Fiddlin' and Diddlin' on 6/5

More information is surfacing on David Blatt and the possibility of coming to Boston. First, Scott Souza has an article on the MetroWest Daily News on the subject. They start with a very tantalizing question. If Doc gets off to a lousy start next season, who will replace him? And they answer with "How about David Blatt?" This is what most Celtics fans have been fantasizing about since they first heard his name mentioned. The article goes on to say that if Wallace goes to Memphis the Celtics could very well replace him with Blatt. A GM salary would certainly be enough to lure him to the NBA. And I have a feeling that he would move to a head coach salary soon enough.

Blatt was less enthusiastic about becoming an assistant, although the fact that the Celtics are the team he grew up with might change his mind. "The status and financial rewards (in Europe) are too much for me to just get up and leave (to be an NBA assistant)," he said in the alumni magazine.

If the Celtics replace both Brown and Wallace with Blatt they could offer him enough to lure him here, along with the promise of moving into the head coaching job when Doc is canned.

JB posted another article on CelicsBlog that further elaborates on the situation. He adds these comments from a poster on CSL:

Interesting that I just read Meniola(?)in the Metro West paper. Blatt also might be a consideration for Wallace's job? I do know that Blatt will not be returning to Maccabi Tel Aviv. He hAs till Thursday to decide on a few European coaching positions for excellent money. Wallace should know by Tuesday, and Blatt is reticent to decide too quickly and taciturn to speak too much about his situation. He could very well be being groomed as the next head coach, or maybe hired as an assistant period without a clear definition of a role.

Here's what Blatt told the italian press yesterday (I will translate for you): Q: Where are you going next year? Russia? Tel Aviv? Boston Celtics? Blatt: I could stay in Italy, I'd like to stay and go on, It's not a problem. Anyway I have options, I can't tell you, let's say that some options are in Europe (...)You will know in 3/4 days".

We now need to hope that Wallace gets the Grizzlies job. This could be the biggest move this offseason if we can bring this guy into the organization.

Mark Murphy has a very good piece in the Herald with news on our current players. Al is very positive and sees us as a playoff team regardless of what Danny does with the pick. He says something I have been saying all along:

“From my point of view, everyone just has to be healthy, and we’ll end up being a more veteran team. (Kendrick Perkins [stats]) is going into his fifth year. It’s going to be my fourth, and the fourth for Delonte (West) and (Tony Allen) too. We’re becoming veterans ourselves.”

Al has been working out with Perk and the others in Boston, but will be going out to LA to work out with Pierce and that bodes well for both players. There is more good news in this same article about Perk.

There isn’t a more maniacal worker on this team than Perkins.
“We had the last game of the season on a Wednesday, a team meeting that Thursday, he took off that Friday, Saturday and Sunday, and was back in the gym that Monday,” said Walter Norton, one of the Celtics’ two strength and conditioning coaches.
The most encouraging development thus far? The debilitating pain in Perkins’ right foot from plantar fasciitis is gone.

I just love this kid. Mark my words. Perk is going to break out this season and silence a lot of people who are declaring that he is nothing more than a back up center. Perk is going to surprise a lot of people. When he is considered one of the top centers in the east by the end of the season, I will be able to say I told you so.

Along with discussions of Donovan's situation, Lebron's emergence,and Saunders staying in Detroit, the Globe reports this little tidbit:

Al Thornton of Florida State and Corey Brewer of Florida are confirmed for pre-draft workouts with the Celtics Thursday. Other players may come in that day or Friday as schedules are worked out. The Celtics have the fifth pick in the June 28 draft.

There hasn't been much information about the workouts. The Herald article had a little info at the end.

In addition to Corey Brewer and Al Thornton, who will work out for the team in Waltham Thursday, the Celtics are busy lining up workouts next week with Joakim Noah, Brandan Wright and Al Horford. Mike Conley Jr., the Ohio State point guard slotted as high as the third pick with Atlanta, may also receive an invitation. Team boss Danny Ainge said, “We’re evaluating Conley.” . . .
Sean Williams, the expelled BC forward who chose not to show up in Orlando, is also on today’s list but is not expected to attend. His agent, Charles Grantham, and fitness guru John Lucas instead have scheduled workouts for teams on June 11 and 18 in Houston.
“We most likely will go watch him,” Ainge said.

A couple things stand out. The Celtics are evaluating Conley. Didn't Danny just say last week that he wasn't interested in a point guard in this draft? Danny must be interested in Williams with the 32nd pick to travel to Houston to watch his workouts.

Finally, True Hoop asks if the Lottery was rigged. They make the case that if it was they wouldn't choose Portland or Seattle for their top picks to go. But the lottery may have been rigged so that certain teams didn't win, not so that certain ones would win. He further cites a precedent for rigging a lottery.

A comment on Michael McCann's post on this topic on the Sports Law Blog points out a 1999 article about a 1980 Pennsylvania Lottery that was rigged. According to a 1999 Jason Togyer article on Tube City Online, you can manipulate certain balls to be too heavy to get picked up by the air-driven mechanism:

I have been saying this all along. It happened here locally and would have been very easy to do since the balls come in a locked case and no one handles them except the person putting them into the machine. If Stern wants to put this to rest, he will offer the video of the lottery itself to be scrutinized. I don't expect it happening, though.

23 days until the lottery. We should be getting reports out of the workouts soon. The most encouraging reports, though, are of the hard work that our current players are putting in and that Perk's foot is healthy. Whoever we draft will be added to a very solid core of players.

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