CELTICS GREEN BLOG by and for boston celtics fans: News and Notes on the Davis and Williams Signings

My first reaction when I saw the pictures from the press conference, like most of you, was to notice how much Danny had aged recently. Either he was coloring his hair and decided to go natural, or this off season has really aged him.

As has been noted, Big Baby signed a contract for 2 years at around $3 million per year. Shelden Williams signed for the vet minimum which the Globe reported to be around $1.3 million but which CelticsBlog correctly reports is approximately $850,000 for a player with Williams' experience.

Danny had this to say:

“It’s important to surround the Big Three [Ray Allen, Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce] and Rasheed Wallace with guys who are youthful and enthusiastic,’’ Ainge said. “We have a lot of veterans and we also have a lot of young guys.’

The Celtics do have a nice mix of veterans and young players. In the starting lineup, the veteran Big Three are balanced by the youth of Perk and Rondo. Off the bench we have Sheed as the older vet, and some young players to bring the energy to surround him. We also have Eddie House and Scal somewhere in the middle.

The Globe article has this to say about Williams:

“I still have that competitive drive,’’ Williams said. “This is a situation now, with a great organization, with great tradition, and I’m excited to be part of that.’’

Williams worked out recently for the Celtics and appeared to be in excellent condition, Ainge said.

“Shelden has proven he can defend and rebound,’’ Ainge said. “Offensively, he hasn’t come around as well, but it’s about getting the opportunity in this league.’’

Williams will be wearing #13 recently vacated by Gabe Pruitt. He had this to say about it on Twitter:

yes i have decided on the number 13
every other number is pretty much retired haha but i think it is going to be a good number

Big Baby was on Sports Tonight and they mentioned that he is about 40 lbs lighter than he was at the end of the season. Big Baby mentioned that his girlfriend is a boxer and he has been training with her and that is how he has lost the weight. Speaking of his weight, Yahoo is reporting that Big Baby's contract is for $5 million over two years but includes weight-related bonuses totaling $500K each season.

Another little tidbit hidden in the Globe article is this:

Daniels will likely affect the roster spots for draft choice Lester Hudson and free agent Stephon Marbury. No decisions have been finalized on either player, Ainge said.

So, even though they recently reported that Danny was no longer interested in Marbury, this article says that the Celtics haven't made any decisions on either Marbury or Hudson. I wonder if Danny has heard of or watched any of Starbury's escapades online recently. If he hasn't, he should before making any decisions.

That's about it for now. Next up on the agenda will probably be to complete the deal with Daniels. Then Danny still needs to address the back up point guard position. And there are still rumors about Bruce Bowen possibly in the mix as well. But to do that, Danny will need to find a taker for Tony Allen. If I was him, I'd be ringing Chris Wallace's phone off the hook.

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