C's Targeting Joe Smith

Meh. He won’t put much of a scare into Theo or Perk. He’s a 10-15 mpg backup on a playoff team.

This is probably the worst offseason for Free Agents…

Making wishy washy moves like this isnt what needs to take place right now.

Shame the Celtics dont have scouts that can uncover the Anthony Parker , Oberto’s of this world..

Everyone seems to be chasing the same small piece of the pie..

If this is worth the waiting for “the other shoe to drop” I can’t wait for the other surprises in store for us. Just what we need, a veteran IMPACT player!

I wonder about guys like joe smith , who played on 7 or 8
different teams in 10 years. maybe he isnt a winner or
a positive locker room presence, not that he is a locker
room cancer or anything just maybe he doesnt stand out
and lead the young. teams keep shippping him out, somethings
underlying that.

I really wish someone could find out just what the state of Ratliff’s back is. If Ratliff were healthy, he is a better player who fills more of a need than any of the free agents available. Ratliff keeps saying he is healthy. If places like the Globe and Herald had sports reporters rather than pontificators, we might know something. A reporter cultivates sources and gets information. A pontificator just assumes the facts and pontificates on them. All of the Boston media assumes that Ratliff is done for his career. Maybe that is true, I don’t know. I wish someone would try to find out if it is. Kind of like Ray Allan’s ankles. All of the Boston media just assumes the guy has bad ankles and then pontificates how the Celtics traded for a guy with bad ankles. Again, I would kind of like to know the ground truth on the players the Celtics do have before I start pontificating on the need for this or that free agent.

Its called “underachieving” ..

either way we’ll have given 5 first round draft picks less for him then kevin mchale

Yawn

Yes, finally the missing piece to put us in contention. Great locker room guy, veteran presence to help tutor the young guys, Philly’s really going to miss him, he’s one of the reasons they went on the run after Iverson left, high BB IQ, one of Kevin McHale’s great signings, 32 years old and he’ll select us over all the other teams if we give him a 3-4 year contract. WOW!

Actually, I would prefer him over Scal.

Jeff – there’s a typo in the articles headline.

Regarding Joe Smith – I went to Maryland the Year Joe Smith played for them. He was unbelievable that year and a great guy on campus. Obviously, didn’t have the career he was projected to our of college.

Still, I would be happy to get him in reasonable money.

Wake me up when it’s over!

JohnCK,

A healthy Theo is what we need but It’s hard to get away from recent history (63, 55, 2, games played in the last 3 seasons).

Joe Smith doesn’t fit with the Celtics. It will impede the progress of Powe, Big Baby, Gomes, and Brandon Wallace.

How come nobody has mentioned Brevin Knight in a while. He’s the guy we want.

Smith would not be impeding the progress of Big Baby and Powe. They can get time in the DLeague if need be. We are in the win now mode, so giving lots of developing time to rookies who are not ready to contribute to a winning team is a no no.

Joe Smith is a chump! A big time, busted #1 pick chump! He’s been traded so many times because he’s a chump!

I’m sure he’s a nice individual person, but as a b-ball player, he’s a black hole.

Jeff, Wouldn’t the 76ers much rather let Smith go via free agency than to assume the contracts of two scrubs (Scal and Telfair).

How could anyone possibly even THINK about having a healthy Theo? There is absolutely no chance Theo will be healthy. He’s out of basketball after this contract expires.

I’m all for the win now mode, how does Joe Smith help us with that?

He’s not that big, he doesn’t block shots.

I guess he scores a little and rebounds.

I want someone to scare other players when they come inside.

I’m all for the win now mode, how does Joe Smith help us with that?
He’s not that big, he doesn’t block shots.
I guess he scores a little and rebounds.
I want someone to scare other players when they come inside.

Well that’s what he will do for us, score and rebound. You think San Antonio wins championships without role players who know their role? Think they win without Horry (who contributes little, but just enough?) Veteran role players are needed and Smith fits the bill.

I live in Philly and watched him a fair amount last year. he did a very nice job with the sixers. I think he is underrated. he can hit the outside shot, plays solid D , can rebound a bit and can block some shots. he’s not as big as you might like but he is a solid veteran player and he would help our team

i agree with you chief….can we get someone taller than 7 feet. the whole 6’10 thing is really killing me, its redundant. Theo, AJ, Perk – all 6’10

Master Po,

My opinion on Allan is a guess just like yours. Perhaps if the Globe and Herald had some reporters we wouldn’t have to guess so much would we? My opinion is based on the fact that his surgery is not generally career ending or threatening and the fact that Allan played 40 minutes a game in the 56 games he did play and only agreed to surgery after the season was all but over. Had the Sonics been any good, Allan would have no doubt played through the pain and not had surgery. That combined with the fact that Allan is a comsumate professional who has always been in great shape makes the four years a pretty good guess, but it is only a guess. As far as Theo goes, maybe he is done and his back is gone. No one seems to know. I don’t think that would be a hard thing to find out. Go talk to the guy for God’s sake and watch him work out or if you can’t do that talk to someone who works out with him. It is not like you can hide a bad back. Why the Boston media is incapable of doing that is beyond me.

I love it when people cry “Oh no! If we get [Veteran Player X], he will impede the progress of [Unproven Young Player Y]!”

Uh, if a young guy isn’t good enough to beat out the veteran, why should he be playing???

Because this isnt Randy Moss back we are talking about..

“Because this isnt Randy Moss back we are talking about..”

True enough. It is also interesting that the Patriots trade for a former all-star in his 30s who is known to be a lockerroom cancer and one of the biggest reprobates in professional sports and they are geniuses. The Celtics trade for a former all star in his 30s who played at UCONN and is known to be one of the best guys in the NBA and they are desparate and giving away the future. Odd how it works that way.

Bankshot,
Do you think San Antonio wins without Duncan, Ginobli and Parker? I’m all for roll players like Joe Smith, Horry, Rick Fox types but if Joe Smith is the other shoe to drop, well let’s just say that’s not the guy I was thinking about to get us over the top.

JohnCK ..

Mr Doc Rivers is not Bill Belichick..

Everyone buys into what Bill is selling..

Cant say the same for Doc and Danny boy.

Wow. We should go back to 2001 and look for a guy like him in the draft… :o

Oh Wait… that’s Joe Johnson… forget it.

“Everyone buys into what Bill is selling..”

Three Super Bowls will do that. Of course three straight losses to the Colts and getting desparate and taking a chance on a loser like Moss, might cut down the market for what Bill is selling.

This would be a solid pickup (especially if Philly were to take Scal from us in a sign and trade), but this better not be THE move that the FO is going to make this offseason. Smith would be a great guy to have coming in off the bench, but if hes starting in this teams frontcourt this team remains somewhat of a longshot at the eastern conference finals.

And while it would be naive to think that Ratliff, even if healthy at the start of the season, will be able to play all year as this teams starting center, I wouldnt completely discount the possibility of him playing. While it isnt one of the most likely scenario, stranger things have happened. I still think Ainge needs to be really creative and bring in some sort of a shotblocking presence at the center position (Okafor ;) ) that can also score a little bit.

The question with a guy like Smith is (1) what you have to give up to get him, and (2) how long does his contract have to be? My guess is that the list of teams with “interest” in Smith probably emanated from his agent.

Smith would certainly help on the front line, but at what cost? If he costs you Ratliff, thre goes any chance of catching a bigger fish. If he costs you Gomes and another prospect, is that really such a huge upgrade? If he only costs you Scalabrine and Telfair, well, that’s fine.

Also, this is a very thin free agent class and teams will be overpaying for quite a few of these guys. Next year’s FA class is way, way better, and it might be wise to save some ammo for July, 2008.

The reason everyone thinks the Randy Moss deal is great isn’t because everyone buys whatever Belichick does. It has nothing to do with his credibility or the Patriots history. Everyone likes it because they gave up a 4th round draft choice (essentially nothing) to get him. Its not curious that everyone likes the move for the bad guy Moss and doesnt like the move for the good guy Allen. You gave up your best pick in five years and a fan favoritde for Ray and got Moss for free. How is it strange that people like one better than the other?

The Moss deal is bad because he is subtraction by addition. He is pretty much everything that the Patriots of the Bellcheck claim not to be. I am sorry but a guy who freely admits to smoking dope in the off season, routinely giving up on routs when he is bored and not playing hard when he doesn’t like his team is a loser. I don’t care how many yards and receptions he has.

Yes, the Patriots gave up less for Moss than the Celtics did for Allan and they are different deals. The point is that the Boston media gives the Patiots a free pass never even thinking to question any of their moves, depsite the fact that they have flamed out two years running in the playoffs and wasted two years of Brady’s prime while being cheap on players, and dis on any move the Celtics make regardless.

The Pats didn’t give up a high pick, only a 4th rounder. Moss took a big paycut and is working on a one-year deal, so it isn’t a cap killer.

Moss is a poor example because of value. Moss is a good deal because he was brought in without using a lot of resources and fills a huge need on the team.

I like Allen, but the Celts expended high value to get him (#5 pick and big cap charges for 3 years) and he doesn’t fill the team’s biggest needs.

Night and day.

That said, I’m all for getting Joe Smith at a decent price. They need big bodies and he is a veteran who can help.

TheRev72,

You seem to be a little wet behind the ears.

Do you really think that Joe Smith is going to improve the Celtics considerably? I bet you don’t. So why sign him for a year or two while our young talent doesn’t improve on our bench? It will impede the procees b/c Big Baby or Leon Powe might turn out to be decent in three years, but they won’t improve and gain experience while sitting on the bench.

It all comes down to money, and availability. Tell me where you are going to find a 7’ first, and second, how much are you willing to pay a FA big to come in here? Let’s not forget that the C’s have to resign Big Al soon, along with a couple of other young players. With Ray Allen on the books for 3 years, that $$ has to come from some where, and it’s Theo’s expiring that will provide that. If the C’s pick up anyone via a sign and trade, or thru FA, it will be for shorter money than Theo, and most likely for minimal years. Do the math, look at our cap situation, and tell me how we go after anyone but MLE type money, or aquire someone for large dollars for more than 2 years? We can’t unless we pay the Luxury tax, and we’re not doing that unless his name is KG. Even he would be pushing it.

I like the idea of the Joe Smith if it’s a 1-2 year deal for MLE cash. Why not? He’s a proven banger who plays hard, and does not demand the ball. He can score a little, and is a very servicable player. He’s the type of player we need. I’d prefer Darko at the MLE, but me thinks he’s not taking that. Maybe a Theo for Darko & Arroyo (exp)? Would solve two problems for us.

Can we stop with the Joe Smith’s of the world… this guy has been nothing but a “BUST”

Why are we even discussing this…… “NO”

I can’t believe we are setting our thoughts on someone who is at best an 11th or 12th guy on the bench…

We are better off with our current roster then adding Joe Smith…..

SIMPLY “NO”

I actually think this could be a good rotation guy. Al Jefferson is a better player at the 5 because he is better at defending slower guys. If J.Smith can defend the 4 well he could fit in well. Right now I think Powe, G.Davis and Gomes are too short to be good defenders at the 4.

Real World – have you seen Jamal Magloire – a legit 7ft with defense and some sort of offense. a MAJOR upgrade than a 3 year older 6’10 Joe Smith

“Al Jefferson is a better player at the 5 because he is better at defending slower guys.”

Sorry but the Celtics wont win even the eastern conference if Al is our center. The Celtics desperately need a shotblocking presence at that position, and one who also has some offensive ability (not a Perk type offensive player).

Heyvik, I’ve seen Jamaal Magloire. He’s all of the things you said…..Except he’s a black hole offensively who has never learned to pass out of the post. A turnover machine who is the antithesis of a running offense. I don’t know that he would be an upgrade over Perk. He would help defensively….except we don’t play defense.

Why are we trying to shore up positions that we’re already deep at? We desperately need veteran help at center and PG, concentrate on those positions.

Also, we get teased with these draft picks like Powe and Big Baby, then there are not enough minutes to watch them develop. We’ve got Al, Powe, BB, and Scal already at PF, why bring someone else in? I’d rather Powe and BB get those minutes.

Well everyone has a “pet” player that he or she thinks might help.

If I’m going to relinquish assets, the Sixer I would want is Kevin Ollie, not Smith. Decent veteran backup pg, he’s tall and he’s cheap.

BTW I have no problem with Jefferson at center. It’s his natural position and he creates matchup problems for other teams when he plays center. Al is mobile for a center. He’s not mobile for a power forward.

Magliore is too slow for the way the game is being officiated these days. I’d rather go after a guy like Etan Thomas or Mikki Moore.

I like him. He’ll be good on my NBA Live team. He’s got a good inside scorer rating.

We need an insurance type, rotation big. We don’t need a stud, although a stud would obviously be preferable. We’ve got too many 6’7 forwards, and only two who are dependable 6’9 . Perk and Al is all we have. Big Baby is a 2nd round rookie. Sorry, but if you are planning on being a playoff team, then you’re not going to depend on much from a guy like that, and need players like MaGloire, Smith, Skinner, etc. Proven big men who can fill a role and have experience.

I have to guess that Danny likes Smith because he can play both the 4 and the 5 spot and he’s a shot blocker. I suspect Big Baby will be a NBDL candidate, along with our newest addition, Wallace.

I echo the earlier sentiment, why can’t we find out whether Theo can play or not? I’m sick of carrying these empty contracts. Empty contracts are no fun to watch on game night! If Theo can play that solves the problem of a 6-9 veteran big.

Also, how can we discount Powe because he’s not 6-9? He’s either a power forward or he’s not, meaning either he can guard bigger guys or he can’t. He’s never going to be a 3 so let’s give him backup PF minutes and see how he does.

Little D said:
  "Yes, finally the missing piece to put us in contention. "

Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahah!!!!!!!!! Good one, Little D.

Oh, what’s that? You say you weren’t joking?

I thought that Scalabrine was supposed to be our “insurance” at pf.

Powe is 6’7 at best. Leon is a tenacious player who can play the 4, but has to have a big man at the 5. If he’s going to play the 4, it’s going to be for shorter minutes so as to leave him less exposed. I really like Leon’s game, but he can’t play 35-40 minutes at the 4 with Jefferson at the 5, we’ll get destroyed. That’s why we need some proven bulk up front.

Wow, who thought Joe Smith could get this much attention, based on his agent dropping Boston’s name.

Ainge said he was doing a lot of talking and listening, with an focus on determining pricing, explore sign and trades, etc. I don’t see that there would be anything more to this than window shopping, for the “just in case all else fails.”

He asked AR to stick around for a month, which to me says we’re shipping out bodies to even contract value, and make the so called other shoe fall. So, call me crazy, but this is cannon fodder. The Boston Celtics Acquire Camby and a sign and trade for Blake, with Theo, GG and Telfair, and Minn #1, reducing the body count. AR stays.

Real World, you make as good point but I don’t hear anyone advocating Powe getting 35-40 minutes at PF. I think we’re talking about who gets the 10-20 minutes per game backing up Al. We need toughness and I’d like to see Power get those backup minutes.

If we’re talking about Al getting the bulk of the minutes at center with Perk as his backup, that puts us in a totally different realm. In that case, who is our starting 4? We’re not bringing in Joe Smith for that, are we?

ooh ooh i will play center, just promise not to bench
me every time i post a double double and dont make me
play up top for dickau or telfair either.

i like the ray allen signing , we improved our starting
five, this is important because in a sport that you only
have 5 men in the game and most of the time those 5 are
in the game about 35 of the 48 minutes.
it hurt most of us because we lost delonte and our 1st
round pick once again and passed up on yi to improve
a position that was already decent for us.
but now we arent decent at the 2, were great there.

Barring injury, Danilo Gallinari will be a top 10 pick next year.
But Ray Allen will make our record just good enough to miss out on him, so he’s not worth discussing.

Smith would play a similar role for us that McDyess did for Detroit. 8 pts and 6 boards in 23 minutes. I’ll take that! Exact same stats as McDyess in same minutes.

 one question though… if he is an unrestricted free agent, why are all of you talking about giving up things for him? If he agrees to play for us, then the mid level is just fine. If he wants more than that then adios! We don’t need to give Philly anything!

The more this offseason progresses, the more I think Big Al will be our starting Center this year.

Unlike most, I don’t think he is a defensive liability there. His shot-blocking was vastly improved last year under Coach Ray & Theo’s tutelage and it will no doubt continue to improve. With him at Center, we have a full time backup in Perk.

Signing Joe Smith cheaply gives us another vet role player who will provide the depth we need up front – honestly, what more do you want from a 3rd stringer?

With all the fire power at our 2, 3, & 5 – I have no problem with Gomes/Powe/Davis/Scal holding down the 4 as all are solid role players.

We do really need another pg, though. Rondo is without a doubt the future but you have to expect inconsistency from anyone going into their second year.

  “Barring injury, Danilo Gallinari will be a top 10 pick next year.
But Ray Allen will make our record just good enough to miss out on him, so he’s not worth discussing.”

Maybe the Celtics should tank so they can get a good draft pick. Wow that sounds like a great idea. ;D

If Perk or Al go down, then Powe will be playing 35-40 minutes. With their injury histories so far in their young careers, there’s a very good chance one, or both, will get hurt. That’s why you need some veteran insurance. A vet will provide experience, proven production, and leadership. Plus insurance.

Ainge is just giving the rest of the league a sporting chance. Instead of actually using his lottery picks, he trades them away to get rid of the crappy, gimpy overpaid veterans that he brought in to “help Pierce.” Dumping LaFrentz cost him #7 (and Rudy Gay) and dumping Szczerbiak cost him #5 (and Yi JianLain or Corey Brewer). Meanwhile, he’s given up another good you8ng player along with the pick to get another veteran just coming off ankle surgery. And in two years he’ll trade away another lottery pick to get rid of that big salary after a couple of first round playoff exits.

But never fear. Danny will stock the roster with underafted gems like Alan Ray and Brandon Wallace, or second round picks like Powe, Davis, Pruitt and Gomes. They may not have much talent, but at least they can stay healthy, unlike the crappy veterans that Ainge has brought in.

Brick in two years, Allan will be going into the last year of his contract. If I am not mistaken he has three years left. Ainge will never have to give up a lottery pick, which he will somehow magically get since the Celtics will be loosing in the 1st round of the playoffs, to get rid of an expiring contract. If you are going to whine, at least get your facts right.

Okay, to appease all the Kool Aid drinkers, I will attempt to put a positive spin on this. Joe Smith isn’t quite as big a bag of crap as Brendan Heywood or Etan Thomas. We could do worse. If we really tried real hard, we could do worse.

That’s about the most positive thing I can think to say about him.

Call the spelling police mcpu40. I think we know with Allan or Allen has the large three year contract, that apparently will have to be unloaded by using a lottery pick in two years despite that fact that it will be an expiring contract then.

Let me ask a question for all the Kool Aid drinkers:

If you knew when Ainge was hired that the end result of his 5-year plan to dismantle the team would end up producing … Joe Smith … would you have been excited about that?

If you knew you would endure 4 years of crappy basketball to net a 32-y.o. 2 guard coming off double ankle surgery and a skinny 4-5 bust (Smith is the textbook definition of bust) best known for costing the T-wolves 5 #1 picks … would you have been excited by that?

This 5-year plan is shaping up to be a tremendous let down.

Could it be that Danny’s long-stated vision is a front court of Smith, Ratliff and the redoubtable Veal?

Celticsfan55,

It seems there are only 3 choices. Either 1) yes, that was his vision or 2) he never had a vision or 3) he never had the juice and savvy to pull off his vision.

Either way, the guy has been a tremendous let down, IMO. So anti-climactic.

No thanks, to Joe Smith, Let’s move on to someone who can put fear into the minds of those driveing to the basket. Also, can someone shed some light on this for me. I am new to the site. The Lafrentz/Telfiar trade is always mentioned as a salary dump, but didn’t we have the chance to dump Lafrentz and his salary when the so called Allen Houston rule came about? Why didn’t we do it then?

Allen Houston rule only saved owners from paying luxury taxes. The dumped players’ salaries continued to count against the cap.

In other words, it was a good personal finincial move for owners but did not free up any money for basketball purposed.

Cousin It,

Thanks for clearing that up for me.

NP, Bidder. The bigger question for me is why Ainge turned Walker’s bad contract into Lafrenze’s worse contract (in a sense that it was a longer-term bad contract) and Blount’s bad contract into Wally’s bad contract. He seems to have a pattern. He helps other GMs clear away bad contracts.

dobbs,
Yes, yes, and yes.

Bleedgreen said:

 “I have to guess that Danny likes Smith because he can play both the 4 and the 5 spot and he’s a shot blocker.”

He’s not a shot blocker, for his career he has averaged under 1 block shot per game.

“C’s targeting joe smith” is kinda misleading. he’s on the radar. so are a lot of other dudes.

Cousin It,
That was my attempt at humor.

   It seems like there are a LOT of big men in the NBA, doing journeymen or better work. And MANY of them are not USA born. San Antonio (they won – remember) has a bunch of non-USA. We have none. I wonder what Danny doesn’t see in the overseas peeps? And didn’t San Antonio just put Tiago Splitter in a overseas ‘bank’ to chill for next year? (I think we have an imaginary guy overeas somewhere – cuz I hear occasionally tho can’t remember the mythical name).

We have the rights to Spanish league legend Albert Miralles. Unfortunately he wasn’t good enough to make the Summer league roster.

Danilo Gallinari…is this high BBIQ player with limited raw athleticism the second coming of Scal or a poor man’s Larry Bird? He is a position rebounder with slow feet but QUICK hands who rebound better than he should. He can’t jump but appatently finds other ways to seek daylight for an excellent jump shot. He has 3 point range and shoots a high percentage at the line.

Despite slow feet he has great defensive anticipation which translates into good lateral movement. Since his bio has been constructed by observation against European competition (which is less athletic than NBA basketball) his future NBA potential remains an enigma.

I question whether he will be a top 10 pick next year but if one dismisses his lack of athleticism and focusses instead on his strenght, height (6’9"), wingspan. shooting excellence and remarkable production as an 18 year old player, a case could be made for his selection in the 12-20 draft positions next year.

What is tempting to consider is that he could become a poor man’s Lary Bird.

we still have the rights to ben pepper too lol

joe smith is no great shakes. he is big and if he comes cheap- why not? if you play good d, you can never have enough bigs. they are the interior d that pick up the guys that blow by our chasers, and they can give up fouls.

I wasn’t even aware that Joe Smith was still in the league. Sigh.

If Ainge is truly interested in Smith (vs Camby) one would have to consider that he does so more from a cost perspective than a talent decision.

Little D,

My sincere apologies. I should have paid attention to your previous posts. My bad for missing the joke. It’s just that there are so many people on here who would have posted that … and really meant it.

It was a great joke, and I missed it entirely. Sorry.

If Joe Smith comes cheap, then go for it.
Nice to have a bench guy, but I ain’t thrilled about him.

I’m disappointed that all of you have wasted so many words on Joe Smith. He’s not a bust. He’s given good professional work. Someone else made the mistake of making him a #1. But it’s all agent-speak. How about Marcus Banks going for 42 pts, Bellinelli looking better than any Top 10 picks so far? How about Rondo getting beat by a SA no-name?

This is just not worth the money. Dont sign Smith. Try to make a deal for a veteran big who will actually help us and who does not reproduce the same skill set as Powe and Gomes. Sorry Joe, but you’re a no go.

I actually think Joe Smith might help us, but he doesn’t fall into that 6-7 height limit for Celtic 4’s. For the kind of Money Ainge is going to put out there, who else you gonna get. Of course, right now, our biggest need is probably backup PG, and I doubt Smith leaves Philly when its all said and done.

I don’t get it. Why go after Joe Smith when Eric Williams is available as a free agent? He probably has a year or two left. Then go after Tony Battie and sign J.R. Bremer, who must be floating around Europe or Cleveland somewhere. Then trade Ratliff’s expiring deal for Antoine Walker and the Celtics would be ready to roll.

Wildblue,
Talking about summer league is much more of a waste of words. Come November, Marcus Banks will still suck. None of it means anything.

feckless,
If Theo was healthy, he would be twice the defender Joe Smith is. His rebounding stats aren’t high but that could be because he’s going after almost every shot and that takes him out of the rebound position.

Seriously, if I read one more comment about Allen being “a 32 year old SG coming off double ankle surgery”…well, I dont know what Im gonna do. But in all seriousness:
1) 32 isnt old.
2) The surgery was to remove bone spurs. It was MINOR. His ankles are ****ing fine!

Oh happy day

I wonder if we would be looking to make Smith a starter at the 4 for us?
I am beginning to think that Jefferson will play Center like some others have stated. Joe Smith is a good rebounder and a class act. Ainge’s type of guy in terms of professionalism.

ucn33,
32 is old for a 2 guard. deny it, if you like, but 2 guards go down hill fast. and even minor surgery becomes serious over the age of 30.

the bigger issue, tho, isn’t his age or the surgery. it’s that chamionship are seldom built from wing positions unless one of the wings is named jordan.

Did anyone see Mike Gorman on FSN? The RealGM board is reporting that he said the buzz around Vegas has the C’s attempting to trade for Camby. Any other news? I didn’t see it.

UConn massive !

They should go after Darko. He’s not a rookie, he’s shown ability, he played MUCH better in the playoffs (only one to show up for the Magic), he can shoot, he can rebound, and he can block. It gets us another big, who also is relatively young.

If the team were willing to sign him (and he were willing to accept) to a short contract, say 3 years, he could work with Clifford Ray and get better, then at the age of 25 he can become a free agent again. Provided he does get better, and works his tail off, he can get a really big contract.

It really is a low risk/high reward move.

We need blocking and rebounding from another big guy (perferably not an old guy, and not a rookie.) This guy does that and can score, which is only a bonus.

Failed to mention…from his part, he would definately get playing time. That is if the coaching staff finally wakes from their slumber.

Watson (S.A. PG) outplayed Rondo but that doesn’t necessarily mean that Rondo is not a good player. It could mean that there are other good PGs out there of which Watson may be one of the better ones. He sure impressed me with his defense on Rondo, indicating that he too has “gifted” speed and great defensive anticipation. I’ll try to focus on his performance in SL to see if he sustains that first impression.

If Watson continues to impress we might invite him to training camp for a longer look. We are all in agreement that the Celtic’s need to get LUCKY and this might be an occasion where luck stares us in the face.

"ucn33,
32 is old for a 2 guard. deny it, if you like, but 2 guards go down hill fast. and even minor surgery becomes serious over the age of 30. "

32 is NOT old. Is it young? No, and of course I wish that Allen was still 27. But Im going to continue to deny that 32 is old because is isnt.

And for all this talk about his career going down hill the guy averaged a career high in ppg last season while playing THROUGH the ankle injury. And your little comment about minor surgery for someone over 30 is crap.

I wouldnt say hes old…just not to great of a player overall..personally i could care less about this rumor..no point in gettin him i wouldnt say he would neccesserily help us in any way along with allen ray pp rondo and big al