I have come to the conclusion that Celtics Nation has a split personality. No matter what the subject, you will find some fans fervently for it and an equal number just as fervently against it.
For instance, when you mention the Ray Allen trade, you will find some fans who absolutely love the trade and will tell you that Ray Allen will be the perfect complement to Paul Pierce. He will also be the leader that this team has so badly needed. They will tell you that he is a huge upgrade over Wally Szczerbiak. They will also say that if we had taken Yi in the draft, he probably would take years to be even half as good as Ray Allen is and that Big Baby is going to be better this season than Yi would have been, citing his Summer League performance. We will miss Delonte West, but these fans will tell you that Rondo is much improved with a mid range jumper and with an also much improved Telfair and Gabe Pruitt to back him up, this trade was a winner for the Celtics and put the Celtics into the next tier with 3 legit scorers on the team.
The other half of Celtics fandom will tell you that this was a terrible trade. They will go on about Ray Allen's age and his ankle surgeries and would have you believe that Danny went to the geriatric wing of the hospital to find Ray Allen on his last legs. They will cite the loss of Delonte West as being a huge loss and one that we won't be able to compensate for. They will tell us about how good the draft picks are that we passed up with the fifth pick and they will also mention Big Baby's weight problem every other sentence. They will tell you that the trade for Ray Allen is useless unless we get another big time player and that there is no way we can win this season.
When you mention next season, you will also get a very different perspective from these two camps. The optimists will tell you that we were a much better team than our record last season and only ended up with the second worst record because of all the injuries. They will tell you that with the addition of Ray Allen, one of the top scorers in the league, with all of our playes healthy, and with the added experience from our returning players, 50 wins is not out of the question.
The other camp will tell you that we won 26 games last season and would consider Ray Allen a minor upgrade because of age and coming off ankle surgeries and will cite the loss of Delonte West who added a lot of heart to the team. They will tell you that Tony Allen won't return to his previous form after the knee injury and that we are still too young and too inexperienced. They will also ask you how many basketballs we will be allowed to use because Pierce, Allen and Al won't ever get enough shots to keep them happy. This camp will predict no more than 30 wins for the team this season.
If you ask Celtics fans about our players, you will get just as varied a reaction. Some fans love Paul Pierce and will fight anyone who dares to talk against him and others feel he is a selfish player who is holding the team back. Some fans love Big Al and see him being the top option on this team by the end of the season. They see Al as only having scratched the surface of his talent and headed for the All Star team. Others will tell you he is lazy and doesn't work hard enough. They will cite his ankle injuries to say that he isn't durable enough and don't seem him improving.
Some people love Perk and his work ethic. They will tell you that he is on the verge of breaking out and will be a tough defensive presence for this team. They believe that he will be a quality center in this league. Others feel that he is nothing more than a back up on a good team. Some are enthusiastic about Tony Allen and how he was playing just before the injury. They talk about how hard he is working on his rehab and expect him to be back to where he left off last season. Others will talk about how long it took him to return from his last injury which wasn't near as bad and don't have very much hope for him this season.
On the one hand, people love Rondo and see him being the point guard who can lead this team to the playoffs and they are willing to give Telfair another chance and feel that with all his work this summer he will finally reach some of the potential that people have seen in him. On the other hand some will harp on Rajon's lack of a shot and the fact that he is only in his second season and they will point to Telfair's inconsistency and off the court troubles and say that we are in big trouble at the point.
You will hear some fans talking about how Ratliff is feeling great and will be a good back up center for us in his contract year and others will point to his career full of injuries to say contract year or not, he won't be healthy. A lot of fans just love Leon Powe for his work ethic and for his hard nosed play on the court. Others see him as simply another undersized power forward. Some point to the improvement that they have seen year by year from Ryan Gomes and they feel that he is going to continue to improve and can be a very valuable 6th man for this team. Others see him as a tweener who has pretty much reached his ceiling.
You will even hear the same kind of arguments when it comes to trade rumors. When it comes to Kevin Garnett rumors (which are plentiful, by the way) some will say trade anyone, even Big Al for KG. Others say Big Al should be untouchable and is the future of this league and KG would be great, just not for KG. No matter what the trade scenario, you will find some fervently for it and some adamantly against it.
About the only place that most Celtics fans agree is on the coaching. Very few fans support Doc. Most feel that he is on a very short leash and will be fired this season if he doesn't produce, even though he was given an extension. You don't find a lot of fans who feel that Doc is a great coach and will lead us to the next title.
So, which side is right? Are the optimists right in believing that we are on solid ground and ready to launch into the top tier? Are they right in believing that we have a talented group of players who should take this team to the next level? Or are the pessimists right in believing that we are mired in mediocrity and can't succeed with this current roster. Do we have a group of misfits and undersized players who can't possibly win? I believe that the truth lies somewhere in between. We have some talented players and are on the right track but we need a couple more pieces to round out the roster. Only time will tell which side is closer to the truth. In the meantime, it makes for some very entertaining discussions on the message boards. Which side are you on?
The Herald and Celtics.com both have little announcements that the Celtics have waived Allan Ray. Hoopsworld tells us that he will be playing in Italy. And Parquet Pride takes a look back at the Allan Ray era including that nasty video of his eye incident at Villanova.
I was very disappointed and saddened yesterday when there wasn't a mention of Reggie Lewis in any of the Boston media. I felt it important to post a tribute to him here and today I found another tribute on The Coach's Take. I find the Boston media very lacking.
Celtics Blog takes a look at the remaining free agents and comes to the conclusion that there are no more deals out there for us. The Daily Times has an article on Erik Ainge, Danny's nephew.
Red's Army urges us to be patient with Gerald Green. I believe that Green is going to get it and is going to be an all star one day and if we want him to be a star for the Celtics, I agree that we need to be patient. Having Ray Allen will allow Green to grow out of the spotlight somewhat and be able to take on that star role with Allen goes. Celtics 24/7 talks about Ryan Gomes and his work to bring awareness to sudden cardiac arrest. I have been reading reports of Gomes really tearing it up in summer play in the ABA. I think he may surprise a lot of people when he comes back this season and take his game to another level.
The Washington Post reports that 8 teams have inquired about a trade for Navarro. No mention of the Celtics but we really should be in the mix going after this guy. If we were to make a trade for Navarro and Haywood, that would solve 2 problems with one trade. The Heat, who were one of the suitors for Navarro got their point guard by signing Smush Parker to a 2 year contract.The Wages of Wins takes a look at the undrafted in the NBA. Let's hope that the Celtics undrafted player, Brandon Wallace, will make it big in the NBA.
We have all heard arguments on both sides of the state of the Celtics. The pessimists say that we are floundering around and mired in mediocrity. The koolaid drinkers say that we are on the verge of the next championship. But where exactly do the Celtics lie? My guess is somewhere in between. We aren't there yet but are building toward the goal. We do have some weaknesses and whether or not Danny addresses them is anyone's guess. Let's look at each position and see where we stand.
At the point we have Rajon Rondo who should be our starter. Backing him up is Sebastian Telfair and Gabe Pruitt. From all reports, Telfair is working hard on his game this summer and is more determined than ever to make it in the league. Danny reportedly wants to give Telfair another chance and with his value around the league at the lowest point, he doesn't seem to have much choice. Pruitt showed some signs of being able to play, but he is a rookie and that means inconsistency. The point guard position is one of the areas where we could use help. We could be ok with Rondo, Telfair and Pruitt if Rondo continues to improve and if his shot has improved enough to be a threat from mid range, and if Telfair can learn to be a pass first point guard and can play closer to what expectations have been for him.
At the 2 guard we have Ray Allen , Tony Allen , and Gerald Green. Ray Allen brings a pure shooter and a second all star to play along side Pierce. He is also a very good veteran leader and a good locker room influence. He will be the leader this team has needed. Tony Allen was playing great last season before he was injured. We need him to get back to that level on both offense and defense in order to get to the next level. Gerald was a disappointment in Summer League, but he is still young and did show improvement on defense. With Ray Allen playing ahead of him, he should have the time he needs to develop further.
At the small forward we have Pierce, Gomes, Scal and Brandon Wallace. Pierce missed most of last season with the injuries and should come back this season in great shape and ready to play. He has a veteran all star to play beside him and take on the leadership role that he has been so hesitant to do. Gomes is really tearing it up in summer play in the ABA. I am excited to see what he can do this season. I believe that he is going to step up his play and be big for us this season. Brandon Wallace was signed mostly for his defense. He can defend the bigger 3's and is a shot blocker and rebounder and will be used when we need a lock down defender at the 3. Scal seems to be the odd man out here because even though he played better last year than he did the previous season, he still doesn't bring that much to the table. He is a good locker room guy and we should leave it at that.
At power forward we have Al, Big Baby and Powe (with Gomes being able to play the 4 as well). Al broke out last season and should be even better this season. He will give us an inside offensive presence to balance Ray Allen's outside shooting ability and Pierce's ability to shoot or take it to the hoop. Big Baby showed in Summer League that he can play. But, he is a rookie, so will be inconsistent, but I expect him to be able to contribute this season. Leon Powe was great in summer league and will be a physical presence in the paint. When he gets playing time, he makes good things happen, so let's hope he gets playing time this season.
At the Center position we have Perk and Ratliff. I love Perk and reports are that he is working very, very hard this summer. I expect a break out year from Perk but he needs a back up. All reports say that Ratliff is working hard and is in great shape and expects to play this season. But then again, that is what everyone said about him last season. It is a contract season for him and that has made even the worst players look good (remember Mark Blount?). But no matter how much he wants to play, his body may not cooperate. This is our weakest position right now. Jefferson can play center but he is most effective at the 4, playing alongside Perk at center. Doc loves to play small ball and in those lineups, Powe or Big Baby can play center. But the smart thing to do would be to bring in another center as I just don't have faith in Ratliff making it though the whole season.
We are weak at the point and weak in the center and Danny should try to address those weaknesses this off season. To me, a deal for Navarro and Haywood would address both needs but I haven't heard any talk about Danny going after them. I feel that looking at the talent we have, we should be very close to moving up to the next tier of teams. Last year we were slowed by injuries to just about everyone on the team. Virtually every position was affected. Those injuries did give the younger players more experience and led to Big Al becoming a go to guy and others getting more playing time.
The biggest weakness from the last couple of years has been the in-game coaching. And his biggest weakness was that he he didn't work hard enough on team defense. Maybe he will learn from his mistakes and be better this year. He has already said that he is going to stress defense this season and I really hope this is true. I also hope that he had learned from his mistakes to better handle the rotations and substitutions. I like Doc but just don't have any faith in his coaching abilities. If he continues to flounder, Danny needs to address the coaching position and make a change.
Two very important things in building a championship team are chemistry and continuity. Champions have both. In spite of the injuries and the losing record last year, the team stuck together. They like each other and spend time with each other. That kind of chemistry is more important than most people realize. Bringing in Allan Ray can only help our chemistry as he is a leader and very good locker room guy. He should fit in with the team without a problem. Now we need the continuity of playing with the same guys from training camp and through complete seasons. We have the chemistry and now need to build the continuity. As fans, we need to show just a little more patience. If you look back at most of the stars in this league it took several years for them to break out. Very few players come in and right away become stars. We have players with the athleticism and abilities to become stars and we just need the patience for them to develop. We are better at every position than we were when Danny took over. Plus we have the resources to get better still. We may not win the championship this year, but I believe we are close and getting closer all the time.
Celtics Blog has a lengthy article on how Navarro might fit the needs of the Celtics. In the meantime, Miami is negotiating with Washington to get him. No news or even rumors of the Celtics targeting him. It seems that a trade for Navarro and Haywood or Thomas would kill two birds with one stone for the Celtics, but as I said, I haven't even seen any rumors along those lines.
Paul Pierce and Baron Davis will host their annual charity game on August 5 at USC. Celtics rookie, Gabe Pruitt is scheduled to play in it. Here are more details on what you get with VIP tickets to the game.
He was the quiet Celtic with a smile that was infectious. He was reserved and somewhat shy but his actions, both on and off the basketball court, spoke much louder than any words could ever do. He was the captain of the Boston Celtics and their leading scorer. He was a devoted husband, father and a friend to all who knew him well. He was the hope of a new Celtics generation. Reggie Lewis was only 27 years old when he died of a heart attack on Tuesday, July 27, 1993. We still tearfully remember him today, 14 years later.
Reggie Lewis was born in 1965. He was raised in a modest urban home in Baltimore, Maryland and lived with his mother, Peggy, and brothers, Irvin and Jon. At an early age, Reggie already loved basketball and was often found on a basketball court. Hist footprints appear in the cement outside of the court that he played on as a child.
Lewis enjoyed success and early fame as a key member of a 50-0 Dunbar High School basketball team that also featured future NBA players Reggie Williams, David Wingate and Tyrone "Mugsy" Bogues. His talent led him to Northeastern University, where he exceeded everyone's expectations as a starter for the Huskies. In his freshman year he averaged 17.8 points per game and by his senior year he was averaging 23.3 points per game. Lewis lead his team to 4 National Atlantic Conference Titles and ultimately NCAA Tournaments. The Huskies captain graduated as the team's all-time leading scorer, ninth-best in NCAA history, and in ceremonies on January 21, 1989 had his familiar number 35 retired to the Matthews Arena rafters.
Reggie was drafted by the Celtics with the next to the last pick in the first round of the 1987 draft. Like most rookies in Celtics history, his first year was a learning one and Reggie mostly watched and learned. He observed and learned and pushed himself in year two and appeared in 81 of the 82 regular season games and finished his sophomore season averaging 18.5 points per game. More importantly, he stepped in and comforted Celtics fans' fears and worries, after Larry Bird missed almost the entire season due to surgery.
Celtics fans witnessed true flashes of brilliance in Reggie's game during 1991-92, as he averaged a career-best 20.8 points per game (he averaged the same figure the following season) while playing in all 82 games. He posted a spectacular career-high 28.0 points per game in the 1992 playoffs and was the lone Celtic to be named the NBA Eastern Conference All-Star Team. Reggie was named the team's captain after Bird's retirement in 1992.
On April 29, 1993, the Celtics began a first-round playoff series with the Charlotte Hornets. The setting was the old Boston Garden. The Boston Garden at the time was the only arena in professional sports that did not have air conditioning. Opposing teams would profess that the Celtics intentionally turned up the temperature as a way to create an edge over the unsuspecting and unconditioned. Several opponents throughout the years had fallen victim to dehydration and related nausea. The Garden created perhaps the greatest home edge in all of sports. This night, the Garden was hot and humid as usual. The Celtics were on their way to a blowout victory and it was still early in the first quarter. Their captain, Reggie Lewis, could not miss a shot and had already scored ten points within the first three minutes.
After going to the basket and grabbing a rebound through several defenders, Lewis began to head back down the court. Suddenly, his body slumped forward towards the court. Although the fall was sudden, it did not initially appear to be concerning because Lewis returned to his feet within a few seconds and checked himself out of the game. Complaining of dizziness and a black out, Lewis sat out the remainder of the first half while team doctor Dr. Arnold Scheller attempted to diagnose the cause of the black out. At halftime, Lewis mentioned that he had some grapefruit juice just before the game that tasted too bitter. With the high degree of humidity in the Garden coupled with the possibility of bad juice, Scheller, an orthopedic specialist, recommended that Lewis be allowed to continue to play in the second half. In that half, teammates noticed that Lewis' legs were very wobbly and he came back out of the game almost immediately.
After the game, Lewis was sent to New England Baptist hospital where he underwent a battery of tests that were supervised by a "dream team" team of 12 of the most respected cardiologists in the Boston area. After thorough testing, the team of doctors diagnosed Lewis to be suffering from ventricular tachycardia, the most dangerous form of arrhythmia. They concluded that Lewis was lucky that his first symptom was not sudden cardiac death and merely a fainting episode.
Reggie was frustrated because the diagnosis meant an end to his basketball career, but he became angry with the doctors because they kept pursuing whether cocaine could have been an explanation. Lewis checked himself out of the care at New England Baptist Hospital in the middle of the night and sought out Brigham & Women's Hospital chief of cardiology, Dr. Gilbert Mudge.
Dr. Gilbert Mudge had been following the story and even prior to Reggie's contacting him, Dr Mudge claimed to have been suspicious of the Dream Team diagnosis due to what he believed to be inconsistencies and discrepancies in Lewis' test results. After performing his own battery of tests, Mudge called a press conference in early May of 1993 and stated that Lewis was not suffering from cardiomyopathy but merely from a curable neurocardiogenic fainting disorder. Mudge prescribed beta blockers as treatment and pronounced Reggie physically fit to return to playing professional basketball the following fall.
On July 27, 1993, Lewis entered the Brandeis arena with a friend to prepare for a fullcourt pickup game that night. After about an hour on the court without even working up a sweat, Lewis crumpled near the 3-point line. Nearly two hours after he collapsed at 5:07 p.m. on July 27, 1993, the hospital announced that Reggie Lewis was dead at 27. In the wake of his death, the heart wrenching news came out that earlier in the day, Reggie's wife Donna had just found out that she was pregnant with their second child. She never got to give Reggie the news.
Then, over subsequent months and years, it became very ugly. There were unconfirmed reports that cocaine had been at least partly responsible for the tragedy, and a debate arose among doctors whether the death could have been prevented. "The real tragedy is that right now we should be saying, 'Reggie has a pacemaker and can't play basketball anymore,' " Kevin McHale said after Lewis' death. "Instead we have to mourn him."
After his death, still reeling from the personal loss of their captain as well as the loss the previous year of Len Bias, the Celtics tried to pick up the pieces and go on. They petitioned the league for relief from his salary but were denied. It seemed the franchise was given one blow after another and still have not recovered from this devastating series of events. The Celtics retired #35 in Reggies's honor on March 22, 1995.
Reggie's accomplishments on the court are well documented. He is only player in the history of the Celtics to have registered 100 rebounds, 100 assists, 100 steals and 100 blocked shots in a single season which he did in the 1991/92 season with 394 rebounds, 185 assists, 125 steals and 105 blocks. Reggie once blocked four shots from Michael Jordan in one game.
Reggie Lewis left fans around the nation with memories of his basketball accomplishments. But also memorable was what he did off the court. His contributions to the community were just as consistent as his jumpshots. Reggie began an annual giveaway where he purchased hundreds of turkeys and gave them to underprivileged families in the area, without any media or fanfare surrounding it. He was always seen with a smile and was a genuine caring person. Reggie's widow, Donna Harris-Lewis, has continued her husbands legacy of kindness through the Reggie Lewis Foundation, which still annually sponsors the turkey giveaway that Reggie began.
After his death, The Reggie Lewis Track and Field Center, was opened in Roxbury, Massachusetts. The center was funded partially by Lewis and routinely hosts major track and field competitions as well as home basketball games for Roxbury Community College. Reggie's greatest influence on people occurred off of the basketball court. Reggie had strong morals, humility and compassion. Today, 14 years after his death, we remember Reggie and can only think of what might have been. There will never be a clear method of telling just how good Reggie Lewis would have been. We caught a brief moment. We have many memories. Rest in peace, Reggie. We love you and miss you.
Peter May breaks the news that Al Jefferson will be one of the players who will scrimmage against the USA team in August. I hope they televise some of those scrimmages. Should be good.
Over on Celtics Blog, Jeff was doing the same thing I was doing here on LOY's Place: wondering what if...
To me, this team really does look like a very good team on paper. In theory, if everyone was healthy and played up to their potential, we’d be a playoff team no doubt, and who knows how far they could go from there. I guess the problem is that big “if” at the start of that sentence. Something is bound to go wrong next year, but what if it doesn’t? How good do you think the team could be as it stands now?
I wonder if Danny is thinking the same thing and that is why he hasn't made a deal.
Sports Illustrated has a good article that tells us that even though Red is gone, his gamesmanship lives on.
I know for certain that the Celtics were familiar with the dead spots on the parquet floor, where visiting teams would invariably lose the ball.
I remember watching a game in the Garden when DJ was following the other team's point guard down the floor, almost herding him to one side. On one dribble, the ball didn't come back up and DJ just swooped in and grabbed the ball with a surprised opponent just watching. I never forgot that. I was thinking at the time they should give the Garden and the Parquet floor the sixth man award.
More news on players who are on the move. Berea is likely to return to the Mavs. He might be a nice pick up for the Celtics if they release him. Dajuan Wagner is hoping to return to the NBA this season and is trying to catch on with a team. The Wizards have to do something with Navarro by August 3. His rights may be traded along with one of the bigs Washington wants to dump. This could be a possibility for the Celtics.
The Celtics made a major trade on draft night to bring in Ray Allen and Glen Davis for the 5th pick, Delonte and Wally. Since that time, we have been hearing from Danny and others that they aren't done dealing and that there is more to come. The team needs another center and a veteran point guard. We have seen several free agents signed and a few trades go down. But what can the Celtics do next?
First of all, before signing Big Baby and Pruitt, the Celtics have 14 players on the roster. With the two draft picks that would make 16. Pruitt and Davis are going to be signed because they are already selling their jerseys on Celtics.com. If there was any question about keeping either one of them, I don't think they would be hyping up the jerseys.
So, that puts us at 16 players. Before signing Pruitt and Davis, the salaries are at $63,835,088. The Luxury Tax level is set at 67,865,000 for the coming year. Let's assume that we sign both Davis and Pruitt to a contract similar to the ones that Powe and Gomes signed. That means that they will be getting somewhere around $687,456 each. That puts our payroll at 65,210,000 for 16 players. It is obvious that something has to give. The most obvious would be to cut a player to get us to the 15 player league max. And, the most obvious player to be cut would be Allan Ray who had a very disappointing Summer League and whose contract is not guaranteed. That leaves us with 15 players and a payroll $3,342,456 under the luxury tax.
Now, it is possible to get a free agent for around 3 million (see Scalabrine, Brian), but that still would give us too many players and I am not sure there is a free agent out there who is better than who we already have since Danny has watched while most of the free agents have been signed by other teams. So, the most logical move is for Danny to make a trade. With a roster filled with young players still on their rookie contracts, we would probably have to make a 2 or 3 for 1 trade to get anyone who is very good. We need a PG and a Center and it would be nice to get both in a package with a 3 or 4 for 2 trade. But, Bill Simmons in his July 11 ESPN chat had this to say:
They're not getting Camby. They have no real trade chips other than future picks and Theo Ratliff's contract, and that contract isn't going to have value until February when teams only have to pay a portion of it. They're trying to sell the "we're not done" card and I just don't believe them. If I'm wrong, so be it. But if the Celtics were honestly trying to make a run with Allen-Pierce-Jefferson in 2008, why haven't they been courting any free agents, and what big contracts guys are out there that they can actually get? I love Rondo's potential, but he made about 35 turnovers in the Spurs summer league game - it's going to take him another 2 years to become a consistently good NBA point guard. I just don't get it. It's like two rosters in one roster - three players who can be part of a contender, surrounded by a bunch of young guys who aren't remotely ready to have an impact in the playoffs, and a coach with a .467 winning percentage. it makes me crazy. I can't talk about them.
According to Simmons, what you see is what you get and he doesn't expect any more moves. In that case, Ratliff would be our back up center and Telfair and Pruitt would be our back up PGs. Powe and Davis would back up Jefferson at the 4 along with Scal and Gomes shifting between the 3 and 4 and Brandon Wallace spending some time at the 3. Gerald Green, Tony Allen and Pruitt would come off the bench at the 2. That doesn't seem too bad, they should make the playoffs, but I don't see them going too far into the playoffs. We have players with potential but most reports have them at least a year from reaching that potential. Maybe keeping them isn't all that bad, though. We make the playoffs this season and then possibly be contenders next season as these players we have been growing come into their own.
I have outlined quite a few of the centers and point guards who are available. I can't figure out why Danny isn't making a move to fill those needs unless he is still holding out hope for KG or unless he is happy with the team we have now and doesn't want to give up Jefferson, Gomes or Green, who have to be our main trade chips. Right now, it seems as though KG is either headed for Golden State or staying in Minnesota. In the same Simmons chat, he has this to say about the KG situation.
They [Golden State] make the most sense because they have a gigantic trade exception that could be used to absorb one of Minny's bad contracts (like Mark Blount or Marko Jaric). For instance, they could trade Al Harrington, Saranus's expiring deal, Brandan Wright, Patrick O'Bryant and either Biedrins or Ellis for KG, then make a separate deal in which they absorb the Blount contract for a 2nd round pick. And they'd still have enough left (Davis, Jackson, Ellis or Biedrins, Pietrus, the Italian kid, a FA signing) to contend with KG. The Warriors make the most sense.
As for the other deals out there, most teams want to dump salary and we are very close to the luxury tax threshold and word is that Wyc doesn't want to pay the luxury tax unless we were to get a sure fire all star. There have been a lot of rumors with names like Jarrett Jack and Channing Frye, AK 47, Marcus Camby, and Mike Bibby floating around but mostly, they are internet rumors and I don't really put much stock in them. I have seen a lot more in the media about how Ratliff and Telfair are working hard and are going to be able to play this season. But Danny may have a trade in the works and will pull it off when we least expect it.
If I were to guess what Danny is going to do, I would guess that he is going to pretty much stay with what we have with only a minor deal or two. I think Danny is going to try to stay under the luxury tax. We are going to let Allan Ray walk and that brings us to our limit of 15 players. If Danny is certain that Ratliff can play this season, he may go into the season as is and then try to make a trade around the deadline when Ratliff's contract has the most value. We have a good core of players with Al, Perk, Rondo, Pierce and Allen. If Tony Allen can come back close to where he was last season. If Pierce and Ray Allen can mesh. If Perk breaks out like I expect him to do. If Jefferson can continue his breakout play. If Gomes continues his strong play. If Green can finally get it. If Powe can continue his strong play from summer league. If Pruitt, Wallace, and Davis can contribute this season. If Ratliff can stay healthy (and everyone else for that matter). If Rondo and Telfair can run the point with some proficiency. And the biggest if of all, which is the weakest link, if Doc can actually coach this team. There are a lot of ifs, but there are also a lot of possibilities.
Kind of makes you wonder what the writers would have to write about if it wasn't for the ref scandal. Now on to other basketball news. The Miami Herald reports that the Heat are trying to get a point guard and are offering Doleac for one. Telfair for Doleac anyone? The Suns are clashing with the French team over Diaw. Maybe this is why the Celtics have not gone for any European players. It's a thought since there are always ties to their national teams.
As they watched the game, the ever-curious kids huddled around Jefferson, periodically asking him questions regarding life as an NBA player and his own childhood. They also spent some time comparing their feet to his enormous size 18 shoes wondering out loud whether they could fit both their feet in one of his sneakers. At one point during the game, Gerald Green took a three point shot and a youngster sitting next to Big Al couldn't help but ask, "Do you shoot threes?" Al simply replied, "I'll get in trouble if I shoot those." During the third quarter of the game, the NBA TV announcers gave a shout out to Jefferson and all of the RFK kids back at the practice facility in Waltham. The kids were stunned with excitement because they couldn't believe that the announcers knew they were watching the game with Big Al on the other side of the country.
Good stuff. There are more details coming out about draft night and possible KG trades. I can't help but wonder if Danny is holding out on other trades still hoping that he can get KG. According to Celtics Thug, KG will end up a Warrior after August 6th. I hope KG either goes somehere or they decide for sure he is staying or else the summer will pass us by without another move to address our needs. [Discuss this topic on the Celtics Green Forums!]
Along with a center, the consensus is that the Celtics could use a veteran point guard. Most will agree that Rondo is the point guard of the future for this team but he is just 21 years old and entering his second season. Trading Delonte West left a hole at the point guard position.
Is Telfair going to stay with the team? And, if he does, is he going to be able to help the team? Wyc's reaction to the gun incident hurt his trade value. Ever since, Danny has been trying to mend his reputation and has been saying that there is a real possibility that Telfair will be back this season. He has been working on his conditioning and his game and only time will tell if he will be able to help a team this season. Even if Telfair stays with the Celtics, we could use a veteran PG. For one thing, Doc has made mention of going with a half court game this season and Rondo is best in the running game (as is Telfair) and both would have to learn the half court game. There are a few PGs who have been rumored to be on the Celtics radar and some have already been signed by other teams.
Here is a look at who is still out there that the Celtics may be interested in. First, during the Summer League, Mike Gorman said that Danny really liked Keyon Dooling and was trying to work a trade for him. Dooling has one year to go on his contract at 3.596 million. He is a 6'3" point guard who has been in the league for 7 years. Last season he averaged 7.9 points, 1.3 rebounds, and 1.7 assists. Dooling isn't a great playmaker and often a poor decision maker but reports are that he is a good teammate and locker room guy.
Brevin Knight has been the target of a lot of trade rumors. He has been in the league for 10 years and even though he is only 5'10 has been surprisingly effective. Last season for the Bobcats, he averaged 9.1 points, 2.6 rebounds, 6.6 assists, and 1.5 steals. He makes good decisions and is a good defender. But, the Herald mentioned that he is known as a problem in the locker room and that would explain why he has been on 7 different teams over his career. If this is true, I wouldn't expect him in Boston.
Minnesota is buying out Troy Hudson and there have been rumors of possibly going after him. Hudson is a 6'1" combo guard who is a better scorer than playmaker and has had quite a few injury problems. He averaged 5.9 points, 1.4 rebounds and 2.1 assists this past season.
Earl Boykins is a free agent and although I haven't heard much about him, he is a possibility. He is listed at 5'5" and is the shortest player in the league. He averaged 14.6 points, 2.1 rebounds, and 4.4 assists per game this past season. He has great ball handling skills but isn't very good defensively.
Seattle has made it known that Ridnour and Watson are available. Ridnour is a 6'1" PG who has 3 years left on his contract and will make 6.5 million next season. He averaged 11 points, 2.3 rebounds and 5.2 assists last season. He has an excellent shooting stroke and is a great passer. He excels in the transition game and has a very good attitude. He has been in the league 4 years. Watson is a very quick 6'1" PG who is a good defender and has a decent mid range shot. His playmaking skills could use some work. He is going into his 7th season in the league.
Another possibility is Sarunas Jasikevicius from Golden State. Rumors were swirling around him before he came to the NBA stating that he wanted to come to the Celtics. He is 6'4" who is going into his 3rd season in the league but has international experience as well. He averaged 6.1 points, 1.1 rebounds, 2.7 assists in 15 minutes of play for Golden State last season but wasn't used in the playoffs much at all. He has one year left on his contract with 4 million coming to him this season. He is a good shooter and a good playmaker and is good in the clutch. He needs improvement defensively, however.
Portland has put Jarret Jack on the block. Jack is 6'3" and is going into his 3rd season. He averaged 12 points, 2.6 rebounds, and 5.3 assists last season. Jack has 3 years left on his contract and will make 1.2 million this next season. He is a pure point guard and can find the open man but tends to be turnover prone.
The Suns are trying to get rid of Marcus Banks, but there is no way Boston brings him back so that one isn't even worth discussing. Eric Snow has been rumored to be available also. Snow will be entering his 13th season and averaged 4.2 points, 2.3 rebounds and 4.0 assists last season. Snow has 2 years left on his contract and will make 6.7 million this next season.
Smush Parker is an unrestricted free agent and is going into his 5th season. He averaged 11.1 points, 2.5 rebounds and 2.8 assists last season for the Lakers. Parker is 6'4" tall and is a good shooter and ball handler. He can also play the 2 guard but is turnover prone and needs to work on his playmaking skills.
Lately there have been rumors of Mike Bibby to the Celtics. Bibby has 2 years left on his contract and will make 13.5 million dollars next season. He has been in the league 9 years and averaged 17.1 points, 3.2 rebounds and 4.7 assists last season. Bibby has good knowledge of the game and is an excellent ball handler with one of the best cross overs in the league. He is a good shooter, a clutch player and an adequate defender. He would be good for the Celtics if they can work a deal to get him.
There may be others out there but these are the players that the rumors have been swirling around lately. There is also Gabe Pruitt in the mix as a combo guard, filling the role that Delonte has had. Along with Allan Ray who had a disappointing summer league. The last spot on the roster could come down to Pruitt or Ray with Pruitt having the edge right now. It is hard to tell what Danny will do. He has said he isn't done with the team yet and I expect another deal to go down before too long. Let's just hope it is a good one.
The Celtics need a back up center. We can't go into the season with just Perk at center. Sure, Al can play some center but should be playing power forward. Last season Al and Perk proved that they play very well in tandem. We need a back up center and a back up point guard. But who is out there? Let's look at some possibilities at the center position.
The most obvious choice is becoming Theo Ratliff. He says he is healthy and stronger than ever. He is in a contract year and we all know what a contract year can do for a player (see Blount, Mark). If Ratliff can play and can stay healthy, we have our veteran back up center. But, that is a big if. If Danny doesn't trade him for his contract before the season, we could see what he can give us and then his contract would be worth even more at the trade deadline. Or, if he plays well and stays healthy Danny may decide to keep him for the rest of the year and use his money to extend Jefferson's contract. Also if Perk plays as well as I expect him to, Ratliff won't have to play all that many minutes and may make it through the season. When healthy, Ratliff is one of the best shot blockers in the league.
With Milwaukee signing Jake Voskuhl, they won't be signing free agent Jared Reiner. Reiner is a 6'11 center who is going into his 3rd season and averaged 1.2 points and 2.6 rebounds last season. The key is that he played well against us and Danny seems to go after players who do well against the Celtics. That is one of the reasons we have Scalabrine. He had a very good game against the Celtics and a couple months later, Danny signed him. It wouldn't be a big signing but he would be reasonable to sign and would work as a back up to Perk and Ratliff.
Melvin Ely is another possibility. San Antonio may try and bring him back but he is an unrestricted free agent. He could be our #1 big off the bench. He is a 6'10" PF/Center with 5 years of experience who averaged 3.0 points and 1.8 rebounds in 10 mpg for the Spurs. He has playoff experience and knows how to play on a winning team. As a starter for Charlotte last season, he averaged 11.5 points, 5.9 rebounds, and 1.0 blocks on 50.8 percent field goal shooting. He made 3.3 million dollars last season and we could use the midlevel exception to try to sign him.
Washington has made it known that Brendan Haywood and Etan Thomas are both available. Both have contracts that go though the 2009-2010 season. Haywood is set to make 5 million this year while Thomas will make 6.3 million this season. Haywood is a 7' center who averaged 6.6 points, 6.2 rebounds, and 1.1 blocks per game last season. He is entering his 7th year as a pro but has been inconsistent. Etan Thomas is also entering his 7th season and is a 6'10" center who averaged 6.1 points, 5.8 points, and 1.4 blocks per game last season. Thomas is a hard nosed player and fierce rebounder who plays good defense and would be a good fit for our team.
Marc Jackson is a 6'10" F/C who played for New Orleans last season and is an unrestricted free agent. He has 7 years pro experience and averaged 7.3 points and 3.4 rebounds per game last season in 18 mpg. He made 4.875 million last season so would be in the mid level salary range for us. He has a good midrange shot and good hands and is a banger in the paint.
Jake Tsakalidis is a 7'2" center who played for Houston and Memphis last season. He played only 36 games and averaged 2.3 points and 2.9 rebounds per game in 11 mpg last season. He made 2.9 million last season and is an unrestricted free agent. He has been in the league for 6 season and is an intimidating presence in the paint with a decent hook shot. He is foul prone and lacks mobility but has size.
The Blazers have mentioned Joel Przybilla in some trade talks and may be available for the right player. His contract runs until the 2010-2011 season and he is set to make 5.7 million this season. He is a 7'1" center who has played 7 years in the league. He averaged 2.0 points, 3.9 rebounds and 1.6 blocks in 16 mpg last season. He plays hard in the paint and is a banger, but is also foul prone and is a poor free throw shooter.
Marcus Camby has been a name that has surfaced in several trade rumors. Camby has 3 years left on his contract and will make 8 million dollars this season. He is a 6'11" center who has played 11 years in the NBA and is 33 years old. He averaged 11.2 points, 11.7 rebounds and 3.3 blocks per game last season on his way to the defensive player of the year award. He is an outstanding defensive player, rebounder, and shot blocker. He doesn't have a lot of low post moves and has been injury prone over his career.
Indiana has made it known that Jermaine O'Neal is available. He is a 6'11" PF/C who averaged 19.7 points, 9.6 rebounds, and 2.6 blocks last season. He is athletic and can score, rebound, and play defense. He will make 19.7 million this next season and has 3 years left on his contract. He has been injury prone.
Michael Doleac has one year left on his contract with the Heat at 3.1 million. The Heat need a point guard and may be convinced to trade for Telfair. Doleac is 6'11" and has played in the league 10 seasons. He averaged 3.6 points and 2.8 rebounds last season. He has a big body and an excellent shooting touch but lacks defensive toughness.
There has been a lot of talk about Andrei Kirilenko in trade rumors. Utah has said that he is available and apparently there was some interest from Danny. He is a 6'9" forward and wouldn't solve our need for a center but would add another quality player. He is going into his 7th season and averaged 8.3 points, 4.7 rebounds, 2.9 assists and 2.1 blocks last season. He has 4 years left on his contract and will make 13.7 million this season. He is an outstanding athlete with a big wingspan. he can post up or hit the outside shot and has very good defensive skills. He had an off season in Utah last season and complained because he wasn't involved in the offense enough. With Pierce, Allen and Jefferson, he wouldn't get more touches in Boston.
PJ Brown is a 6'11" F/C and is an unrestricted free agent. He has played 14 seasons in the NBA and is a very tough player. He is a good defender and rebounder and is very good at setting screens. He averaged 8.3 points and 4.7 rebounds per game last season. We could certainly do a lot worse than to sign Brown as a back up center.
While a lot of the top free agents have already been signed, we still can find a good player who can help us as a back up center. As listed above there are quite a few players available who would fill the need. Of course, there also may be others who haven't been mentioned that Danny may be targeting. A trade makes more sense than a free agent because we already have 16 players if we sign our two draft picks. But a sign and trade of a free agent is also possible. And, then again, there are the ever present Garnett rumors, although that is looking less and less likely. [Discuss this topic on the Celtics Green Forums!]
There is a lot of information out there about the scandal that is now rocking the NBA. Perhaps the most disturbing came out in yesterday's NY Daily News:
Federal authorities believe the referee at the center of the betting and game-fixing probe rocking the NBA will cooperate with investigators - and possibly name other officials or players involved in the scandal, law enforcement sources told The News.
Other players and refs involved? This could get really, really ugly if there are other refs or even players involved in this thing. Can you imagine the uproar if players have been involved in points shaving? Or if there is a conspiracy between several refs? Of course, we don't know if anyone else in the NBA was involved but there is that possibility at this point. Covers.com , on this page dedicated to refs and their tendencies, reports that Donaghy ranked third among the NBA’s 60 refs last year for calling the most games where the final score topped the projected over/under line. Home teams also had a dismal 30-41-3 record against the point spread in games he officiated. So, two other refs (Jim Clarke and Orlandis Poole) ranked higher than Donaghy in games that covered the points spread. Are they being investigated? Could Donaghy name either of them as being part of the scandal? Donaghy has hired a lawyer who specializes in representing whistleblowers so next week, we may get more details and more names. Or maybe he will just name his mob connections, leaving the rest of the NBA out of it. Only time will tell how deep this scandal reaches.
The information coming out about Donaghy has been pretty troubling. This guy was unstable with a history of problems on and off the court. Off the court, Donaghy has been sued several times for erratic behavior. In 1995 he was charged with harrassing and stalking a man. In 2002, he was charged with harassing and almost running a postal carrier off the road because the carrier accidently tipped over Donaghy's recycle bin. In 2003 he was again sued for a pattern of public harassment of a neighbor that included yelling obscenities, setting fire to their tractor, and crashing their golf cart into a ravine. He was suspended from his country club for bad behavior in 2004. He was sued again in 2005 by a neighbor for instigating a pattern of public harassment. Setting fire to a tractor? Crashing their golf cart into a ravine? This is a very disturbing pattern. These should have been red flags that something was wrong here. As image conscious as David Stern is on everything else, I find it very strange that he overlooked chronic behavior like this from a referee.
On the court, Donaghy has had a couple of run ins too. One of the more well known instances was an altercation with Rasheed Wallace. In a game between Portland and Memphis, Wallace was called for a foul by official Scott Wall. Wallace tossed the ball toward Wall, who had his back turned. Donaghy called a technical on Rasheed for throwing the ball at Wall. Wallace was angry and argued the call. After the game, as Donaghy walked past Wallace, who was signing autographs at the time, and there was an altercation where Wallace was said to have threatened Donaghy. It is unclear from the reports whether Rasheed was provoked or not, but he was suspended for 7 games for the confrontation. Donaghy wasn't disciplined.
In another incident closer to home, Donaghy called 2 technicals on Doc rivers just 1:41 minutes into a game against New Jersey on April 9, 2005. The Globe had this to say about it:
So, what did coach Doc Rivers say to earn the quickest technical assessed a head coach this season with 10 minutes 19 seconds left in the first quarter? According to Rivers, not much. "I said [to referee Tim Donaghy], `C'mon know the rule. That wasn't a hook,' " said Rivers, who was protesting an offensive foul call against Antoine Walker. Suffice it to say, Rivers uttered the so-called magic words to earn a second technical and ejection during the same stoppage. Since the two have a history of interactions, Rivers believes the referee may have had an agenda. "I think Tim Donaghy has got it in [for me]," said Rivers. "That was a personal tech [the first time]. But I earned the second one. I don't approve of what I did. I hurt the team. We have had run-ins, but you always have run-ins. But the first tech, I never got off the bench and I still got the call. What was that about? I'll call the league office on it, but there's not much you can do. Instead of running up the floor [after the first technical, Donaghy] hung back.
Doc filed a complaint with the league but nothing was done about it. Another well known incident that Donaghy was at the center of includes the 2004 brawl in Detroit that ended with Pacers players fighting with the Pistons fans in the stands. This led to many suspensions and a black mark on the league.
Detroit regained the lead and the ball with just 30 seconds left and Chauncey Billups drove the lane and collided with Brain Cardinal. Crew Chief Dick Bavetta called the play a charge but was overruled by referee Tim Donaghy who called the play a block and awarded Billups two free throws. Upon looking a replay of the events, it was a very close call, but appeared to be a charge which would have given the Warriors ball and a chance.
I found this quote from George Karl about his experience with Donaghy:
"That may have been the worst call of my career," said a dumbfounded Karl afterward. "An important game like this and then to take me off the bench. For what I said? That's a sad commentary on officiating. "That was the cheapest throw-out of my career." Karl got the heave-ho from referee Tim Donaghy with 4:54 left in the first half during a three-point play by Bucks forward Glenn Robinson. Karl received the first technical for telling Donaghy that Indiana's Jalen Rose was riding Robinson on a drive, a call that referee Mike Mathis ended up making. Karl then strolled out to midcourt to ask Donaghy why he had received the technical. "What the hell did I say?" Karl inquired of Donaghy. Donaghy's only response was to whistle-up Karl again, providing him with his walking papers. "That technical was the worst job of officiating that I can remember," said Karl. "Maybe it was something personal from before, but I don't remember anything."
Yet another incident that involved Donaghy is from a Detroit/Warriors game:
Yet, the NBA responded with the chaos that was the finish to the Pistons’ win over the Warriors. Richard Hamilton, late in the third quarter, received a technical foul for arguing a call from referee Tim Donaghy. During their heated discussion, Donaghy was quoted as saying to Hamilton, “You aren’t a captain, don’t say anything to me.” The call was soon followed by a furious Brown, who exclaimed, “You can’t talk to my player like that.”
And here is another incident where a call by Donaghy influenced the end of a game.
It was with 1:28 remaining in the fourth quarter that the game swung back San Antonio's way.Referee Tim Donaghy called Johnson for defensive three seconds with the Pacers leading 86-81. The Pacers bench went ballistic as Manu Ginobili made the free throw. "The illegal-defense call was really a tough call, and I just watched it three times and I think the guy that called it is going to regret calling it," Carlisle said. "In that situation it's a tough thing to call. You can make a case he was out of there."
Here is what Bill Simmons wrote after the third game in the Spurs/Suns series in this year's playoffs.
Congratulations to Greg Willard, Tim Donaghy and Eddie F. Rush for giving us the most atrociously officiated game of the playoffs so far: Game 3 of the Suns-Spurs series. Bennett Salvatore, Tom Washington and Violet Palmer must have been outraged that they weren't involved in this mess. Good golly. Most of the calls favored the Spurs, but I don't even think the refs were biased -- they were so incompetent that there was no rhyme or reason to anything that was happening. Other than the latest call in NBA history (a shooting foul for Manu Ginobili whistled three seconds after the play, when everyone was already running in the other direction), my favorite moment happened near the end, when the game was already over and they called a cheap bump on Bruce Bowen against Nash, so the cameras caught Mike D'Antoni (the most entertaining coach in the league if he's not getting calls) screaming sarcastically, "Why start now? Why bother?" What a travesty. Not since the cocaine era from 1978-1986 has the league faced a bigger ongoing issue than crappy officiating.
Below is a video that was put together to show the horrible calls in this game.
If you put all this together, there appears to be a very disturbing pattern. According to STATS LLC, Donaghy officiated 131 regular-season and 8 postseason games the last two seasons. Donaghy called games involving every N.B.A. team during that period. He saw some teams a handful of times, like the Chicago Bulls (five games), and others a lot more, like the Miami Heat (15). I went back through the Celtics games over the past two seasons and here are the ones officiated by Donaghy.
2005-2006 Season 10/14 Raptors at Celtics W 107-100 11/4 Pistons at Celtics L 82-81 11/20 Sixers at Celtics W 110-103 2/10 Blazers at Celtics W 115-83 4/19 Miami at Celtics W 85-78
2006-2007 Season 10/17 Celtics at Knicks L 116-106 2/2 Clippers at Boston L 100-89 4/11 Sixers at Boston L 102-94
I am not sure what the point spread was and if Donaghy affected the outcome of these games at all, but I doubt the big money was being bet on the Celtics. I would say that more money was swirling around the better teams such as the Spurs/Suns game discussed above. Details are coming out that Donaghy called more technical fouls than any other ref, and some of these led to exchanges like I have detailed for you from Doc and George Karl. Donaghy also ranked fourth in blowing personal fouls; was third in ordering free-throws, and second for fouling-out players for the 2006-2007 season. Again, there are other refs who call more fouls, do these refs match those who are above Donaghy for games that covered the spread? Lots of questions yet to be answered. The league knew in January that Donaghy was being investigated for possible corruption but yet he was allowed to continue to work games until the end of the season. Did Stern think it was just going to go away? Or maybe he didn't want to tip him off while the FBI gathered evidence against him, watching his movements very carefully. But a report in the NY Daily News tells us that an investigator hired by the NBA was asking Donaghy's neighbors questions about his gambling over a year ago. I guess this will all come out eventually. David Stern is going to have a press conference this week and he has a lot to answer for.
The refs can very easily influence the outcome of a game. I have seen refs very obviously calling games for one team or another. I have also seen star players get calls amd role players never get calls even when the situations are identical. But if anyone dares question the refs or call them on their bias or bad calls, they get fined for it. What would stop refs from betting on games and then subtly affecting the outcome of the game by the calls they make?
And this one that seems prophetic now:
I expect the next scandal to come out will be a ref betting on games he officiates. Some of them obviously have agendas for calling the games and this may very well be it.
At the time I was frustrated with the terrible calls I was seeing in games and frustrated that no one could question the officiating. If they complained they would be fined. If they lodged a formal complaint, as Doc did, nothing came of it. At that time I suggested that the League form an oversight committee to investigate complaints from players and coaches of bad calls. If something like this was in place over the past two years, chances are it would not have been so easy for Donaghy to get away with influencing games with his calls.
Only time will tell how deep this goes and how the NBA will recover from this. But if Stern is smart, he will no longer allow the refs to be the absolute unquestioned authority. It is obvious that Stern hasn't been able to adequately oversee the refs and they haven't been able to police themselves. I don't believe that the fans will trust them to do so any more. A committee of owners and former players needs to be put in place to do so. The integrity of the game is at stake.
Now that is out of the way, there is some Celtics news today. The Herald reports that Doc is trying to temper expectations for Big Al.
“I walk around Boston right now, and if I didn’t know any better, I would have thought Al had been on the All-Star team the last five years,” Rivers said. “He’s got a chance to be a great All-Star player, but he ain’t yet. He’s still got a lot of room to improve. That’s where coaches are more realistic than the public sometimes.”
And Danny is just slightly more positive.
“He hasn’t done things at the All-Star level yet and proven that he can do all those things and help us win consistently. But there’s also never been a player at age 22 who has done what he’s done and hasn’t gotten better. Al has room to grow like every 22-year-old. Al will have room to grow until he’s 28. But he’s definitely trending to be a very good NBA player.”
Are they trying to soften up the Boston fans for a trade? Also in this article, Bill Walton discusses his ideas why players don't want to come to Boston:
“Right now the places people want to go are Phoenix, San Antonio and Miami, and that’s Steve Nash, Tim Duncan and Shaquille O’Neal and the chance to win. The challenge for the Celtics is to get a player that everyone wants to play with like those guys. The history of the Celtics has always been that they get these core guys - a Bill Russell, a Larry Bird - and they continually build around them. Right now the Celtics are in a prolonged drought, like the western United States. But with the Celtics it’s a drought of trying to acquire that core superstar that everyone wants to play with.”
Obviously his opinion of Paul Pierce isn't very high. I was under the impression that the Celtics were building around Pierce as their star. Very interesting. Also in the Herald, Ryan Gomes explains his comments from the end of last season that caused some controversy. The Globe has a couple of token mentions of the Celtics in Peter May's column including some thoughts from Gomes and notes on Brandon Wallace's contract.
Scott Souza has always done a good job of keeping us informed over the offseason and today he has a good interview with Sean Grande. Sean doesn't feel that we are through trading but is optimistic about the Celtics for next season. The American Chronicle has an article that puts the Celtics in the playoffs this season, but only because the Atlantic division and Eastern conference are so bad.
