CELTICS GREEN BLOG by and for boston celtics fans: Fiddlin' and Diddlin' on 7/16

Well, now that Summer League is over, we are heading into the part of the offseason where things get very slow. Maybe Danny will make a couple of trades to give us something to talk about. The Herald gives us some notes and thoughts from Summer League. The most interesting part of this article isn't about Summer League, but about the possible Garnett trade.

There have been some quiet denials, but one source close to the situation insists the deal for Kevin Garnett was all set before agent Andy Miller said his client didn’t want to go to Boston.
‘‘I don’t know why Danny (Ainge) didn’t just pull the trigger anyway,’’ the source= said. ‘‘There’s no way Kevin would opt out of that contract and leave $24 million on the table. No way.’’
There is also the belief among some in Minnesota that Celtics [team stats] ownership got cold feet when the initial fan reaction toward dealing Al Jefferson [stats] was so negative.

Did fan reaction have a hand in stopping this trade? I feel very strongly that if a deal for Garnett involves Al or Rondo, we shouldn't do it. We have mortgaged our future before and it didn't end well for the club. Also mentioned in this article is the fact that Doc is still considering Tom Thibodeau as an assistant because of his emphasis on defense. Doc has said that he is taking over the defense this season. I guess he needs all the help he can get. But then there is this disturbing quote:

The Celts may still have interest in him for his defensive knowledge, but as another veteran league staffer pointed out, ‘‘If he’s doing Jeff Van Gundy’s defense, that’s the same thing (former C’s assistant) Tony Brown teaches.’’

The last thing we need is more of the same... There have been a lot of people wanting Brevin Knight here as a veteran PG. He seemed a good fit but this article sheds some light on why the Celtics didn't move to pick him up off waivers. Apparently, he is a disruption in the locker room which would explain why he hasn't stuck with a team.

The Globe is obviously in slow mode already since they don't have any Celtics related articles today. Proving that great minds think alike, Celtics Blog has a recap of Summer League similar to the one I posted below. ESPN Insider tells us that David Stern is still messing with the ball. They used the beloved leather ball in Vegas but the Rocky Mountain Summer League will use a new composite ball as Stern is determined to institute a new ball, whether we need one or not. Stern's motto must be "If it isn't broke, fix it until it is."

Nate Robinson was named MVP in Vegas and not a single Celtic was named to the All Stars. Leon Powe deserved some recognition but maybe I am a bit biased. The Knicks finished undefeated along with the Mavs. Draft Express has a wrap up of Day 10 in Vegas including the Celtics/Mavs game.

In the Sad But True column, the great players of the Celtics 1986 Championship team have been pretty much failures in the front office. While I think they are a little hard on Danny, he definitely has made mistakes in his tenure, the biggest of which has been sticking with Doc way too long. On Philly.com we learn that Mark Blount is good for something. He taught the Sixers not to overpay for free agents based on one good season. Only 10 Things and Celtics 17 are preparing for the mid offseason lull.

Well, now we wait for the next move. I am convinced that there will be one. I would like to make one without having to give up Al or Rondo. We need another big because Perk is our only center. Al can play the 5 as well but he plays better as a power forward next to Perk. We may have Ratliff but we can't depend on him since he has only played close to a whole season 3 times in his 12 year career. I would feel better if we had more depth at the 5. We also need a veteran back up PG. I miss Delonte already. Camby, Dooling, Jasikevicius, Jack, AK47, Garnett, Dalembert and others have all been rumored to be targets for a trade. Now we just play the waiting game for Danny to make his move. Let's just hope he makes a good one.
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