Troy Hudson is not worse than Garbage he was able to be a very good player in the playoffs one year for the Wolves as a second option, and had some decent years. Plus he’s got the dreads

oh dear god. The dregs of the NBA. Since we’re not going to get far in the playoffs as long as Doc is coaching, we’d be better off completing the roster with the dance squad than these losers.

Hudson can play when healthy. PJ Brown would be an excellent pick up. Man I’m so excited right now. The C’s are going to be darn good.

What about Chucky Atkins?

Oh, and was that 3 years and $51 million for KG? That’s what. $17 million per? A lot, but way less than the $20-25 he’s making. Sweet!

Brevin Knight will give Rondo a run for the starting job. I like the idea of pressure for Rondo to step up.

Atkins would be a good pickup, definitely. Also, I may be wrong, but aren’t the Nuggets trying to move Reggie Evans to save money? We could use his psychotic intensity to make up for Ray Allen’s general malaise. Send over some second rounder and Big Baby, take on his salary type thing. Malik Rose could be plucked from the Knicks. He’s a pro, only on the books for two more years. And for PG, how about Jarrett Jack? Portland is shopping him. Maybe we could throw some future first rounder at them along with Gabe Pruitt. Haha. That one was a joke. But I think there’s definitely some trades we could make if we’re willing to take on salary, and that’s got to be a better option than the Calvin Booth’s of the world.

Ha! Roy, this is hard for me to believe too, but I actually, for once in my life, wasn’t being critical of Ainge. It’s just a shame that the timing of this has whittled our options down to these bums. But you’re right, there’s nothing they can do. I just hope we don’t end up with some of these turkeys on long term deals, screwing up our opportunity to pick up some quality next season. But again, since we aren’t going to win it all with Doc, maybe this year can just be a sort of test run.

Mutombo played very well in limited minutes last season. Per 40 minutes, he averaged 15.1 rebounds and 2.4 blocks. Brown averaged 9.5 rebounds and 1.4 blocks, but he’s probably a better offensive player. (I think the chair that was defending Yi is a better offensive player than Mutombo.) Then again, Brown shot 41% from the field last season….

I like Brevin Knight, but getting Hudson on the cheap and going for Matt Barnes or Eddie Jones might make more sense.

Agents for legitimate veteran players were actually calling the Celtics yesterday

Brilliant. I love the sarcasm. :)

PJ Brown? The fellow was looking to retire. Mutombo is 100 years old… how good can he be this season? But then again, if the choice is between him and Scott Pollard… :-D

Any of these PG’s would be an upgrade from Telfair.
I think we need to let Danny keep working his magic this summer before people start getting too picky.

Brevin Knight is far from garbage. Brown or Mutombo would be okay considering how many minutes Garnett will be playing. We won’t need the bench to play as much as in years past. If we get two of Knight/Bell and Brown/Mutombo I would consider that optimal given the circumstances. And Roy, I bet Cassell already has his eyes set here as well. It’s fantastic to be able to actually look forward to free agent classes over the nxt few years and not be doomed to the dregs. Even the “old” C’s wouldn’t have gotten anyone as good as Knight to come play for them.

Jeez. worst case scenario (in my mind) is some combination of House or Hudson to go with Booth, Ruffin or Pollard. All of those guys really are the dregs of the NBA. If they are part of a regular rotation, it is a definite sign of weakness.

On the other hand, if they could manage to sign either Knight or Bell (or Darrell Armstrong) and both Motumbo and Brown, they would have a nice complement of vets to backup Perk and Rondo and cover for them in key moments when experience is needed, or in the case of injury.

Hey, let’s not forget, they need to sign (or somehow magically trade for) at least 3 players just to reach the standard 15.

I also think we should go after Knight and Brown. If we could also get either Matt Barnes or Ime Odoka (or both?), I’d be PHYCHED!!!! ;D

And I wouldn’t say 15 players is the standard. A lot of teams carry 14 through the early part of the season and fill out their needs once they come to it. That may be a good option for us, seeing as a some of our players, especially if we get guys like Brown, Mutumbo or Knight, could go down with an injury.

I have no problem with this list at all. Deke can still play. So can Charlie Bell. But Deke is the key. They’re going to need at least one huge elbowy guy.

I would put Jannero Pargo on the point guard list, he’s definitely better then Hudson and House, Knight is a better passer then him. as for bigs, looking at this list of names I personally think that Olowokandy is better then all of those names except for maybe Brown and Dikembe ( assuming we are considering only D’ ability). what about Melvin Ely ? heck, what about Brian Skinner, Mark Jackson and Kelvin Cato,both better then most of the mentioned names, can someone please e-mail Danny the free agent list. and have him get a hold of Ruben Patterson, we need the defensive toughness of the bench.
I also think we should look at these forgotten youngsters for cheap help on the now broken wings on the bench , Jarvis Hayes, Dahntay Jones or even a more seasoned vet Devin Brown.

Another very important thing, which has really helped recent finals teams, is that NBA teams that aren’t great and thus “rebuilding” frequently buy out older, former stars… often around mid-season…

These former stars then sign for next to nothing to play on a contender… you can bet that the Celtics will be the most attractive such place. Think Michael Finley and Chris Webber. While the west is crowded, the Celtics can dominate the East with just a little help.

While Dikembe is ancient, he can still defend, rebound and foul from the center spot. Given Perks’ proneness to getting in foul trouble, we need at least one true center backup. And if you think Dikembe is old, I bet that Charles Barkley, Karl Malone and Scottie Pippen are busting their respective butts to get in shape to try to get the Celtics to take them..

On the backup PG front: as much as I hate him (re: Duke), to the extent that the Bulls will consider a trade to a competitor, Duhon would actually be a really good compliment to this team, not to mention that he is a Steve Pagliuca favorite due to the Duke connection.

How a day can change it all ..

but hey isnt Boston a racist city? this must be a mistake.

First Randy Moss sacrificing big bucks just to play here and now KG taking 30 million less…must be more than Kool Aid that has revolutionized Boston’s lure. Perhaps these guys are sniffing another championship…once touted as “mercenaries” they must be crazy to value ACHIEVEMENT over raw cash? Don’t greedy labels count anymore?

Even Paul Pierce said the improbable….Scoring is important when you’re young, but we’re old now and all we want to do is WIN!

Jeff : some of us old timers are curious , what has traffic been like to the site lately because of this?

The “old timers” being trotted out as Celtic fillers are well past their prime as front line players and could hardly be expected to carry the torch for extended minutes but as a complement to the “big Three” they should be just fine. While the legs and hops are gone their years of experience have eliminated wasted efforts and taught them survival skills.

Our raw youth, surrounded by this much experience and talent, have enough “role” models to help FAST-Forward their development. The BIG THREE as “hen keepers” will tolerate nothing less.

I like Mutumbo as a backup C. He can still play some defense and rebound, and that is what they need there. They will score enough.

The PG options are pretty thin, but I guess I’d take Bell from that list if they could manage it. I’d probably prefer they explore a trade, but I guess they don’t have much left to deal.

None of these names look good on their own. But, they could look great on our team. Here’s an exercise that I just did last night – go through and look at every playoff roster from last year, starting with the top of the Western Conference on down and then repeat for the Eastern conference. Most teams don’t even have a 6th man. The best of the West go about 6 or 7 deep, then you get guys that sound like the guys we’re looking at now.

But, here’s the catch – even the teams with a good 6th man don’t have 3 legitimate All-Stars like we do. The only exception is San Antonio. And that’s a really good sign. Their bench is filled with late-career guys and Euros that you never heard of. Maybe not this summer, but by next summer we can look the same.

It’s time to throw some sugar at management since they’ve endured so many darts over the past couple of years. They made the financial commitment to make this “feeding frenzy” possible.

Never could I have imagined that the Celtic nation could be so polarized in anticipation of something great about to happen. Much less could I have expected that so many players and their agents would be pounding on the doors wanting to get in. Is everyone crazy or am I just being a little slow on the uptake?

Three weeks ago fans voted 90% against the blockbuster trade. Last week the tide had changed to 66% voting in support of such a trade. “Worry warts”, like me and 33% of those not in favor of such a trade, knew that the cost would be substantial and basically empty our pantry of budding talent.

What none of us expected was the windfall that KG brought where superstars were willing to sacrifice salary, subjugate their ego’s, and in so doing generate a windstorm of interest across the league for joining such a MOVEMENT.

What’s not to like? This isn’t the pitiful state that I expected the franchise to be in. At best I thought we’d be able to compete for a division title but this frenzy of hope and player commitment has vastly expanded that horizon.

The swagger, the arrogance, the knowledge that those flags about the rafters once again MEAN something has converted this “doubtful Thomas”….and what of those teams coming to town that sneered at a downtrodden franchise…will this exuberance affect their confidence of success?…Even the “Bricks” of this nation can’t help but understand that much has changed in the last 24 hours…

I have wanted Duhon for a while now. Is he available for free or under contract to the Bulls? PJ would be good as a back up 4/5. Deke ok too depending on the $$. Udoka would be a real solid pick up I think. He is a vastly underated defender but might cost too much.

I like Brevin too, but not if he’s a dick. it is almost not worth it at this point. i would rather get a guard who can shoot a little bit like bell.

Yes to Mutumbo

very well said, moskqq..im just so glad the days of a proud, tradition-rich franchise like the Celtics being LAUGHED at and ridiculed are now OFFICIALLY OVER…in basically the course of a month they’ve turned from a franchise that supposedly NO star players wanted to be on to THE desirable place to go…MUCH credit HAS to go to Ainge for this turnaround…all the Ainge bashers, if you had any fairness, would admit that much..

as far as that list of FAs, it not that bad, especially on this team…all you need are some solid not spectacular guys to hold the fort…i think Mutumbo wouldnt be bad at all, Knight is the best PG of the bunch, but Im weary about the attitude issue….Bell would be my next choice…

How about a little back to the future filler?

Back in the glory days (my fandom goes back to the 60’s), rookies and youngsters were broken in slowly over several years. Havlicek was a 6th man before becoming a HOF regular. A veteran point guard and center (within financial reason) will help. However, with open roster spots, another youngster or too ought to be given tryouts.

Rondo and Perkins will play many minutes. Draftees T. Allen, Powe, Davis and Pruitt have better role playing opportunities with Wally, West, Green, Telfair and Gomes dealt away.

Wallace, as an undrafted free agent, appears to be an under the radar find. With a need for more backups and little to spend, I’m hoping that Ainge noticed that J. R. Reynolds (a slightly undersized tweener as a guard) is still out there for the taking. I’ve seen him in person for 4 years at U. Va. and he is an athletic ACC warrior who can score. He rose to the occasion in the NCAA’s this year through the first half of the second round game against Tennessee before twisting his ankle. He is a quick and gifted scorer who can play defense with enough skills to see some backup minutes as a point guard. He is a hard working good characer guy who is possibly already as good if not better than Allen Ray. Like Wallace, he got his degree after 4 full years in college. He would be a good player to invite to training camp on a make good contract. Here is some information about him:

http://virginiasports.cstv.com/sports/m-baskbl/spec-rel/051807aab.html

http://www.dailyprogress.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=CDP/MGArticle/CDP_BasicArticle&c=MGArticle&cid=1173350276997

Although two experienced veterans will be needed, it can’t hurt to give another youngster with potential opportunity to learn as a backup (the old Celtics way) from proven veterans.

One more evaluative link:

http://www.draftexpress.com/viewprofile.php?p=1081

He was rated as high as a mid to late second rounder at times. He is way better than Celtics Bird buddy Rick Carlisle (another former U.Va. guard).

charlie bell would be awesome

I know he is not a STUD any longer but a line up for 5 to 10 mins a night of

Rondo
T Allen
Wallace
KG
Mutombo

Would be our Defensive stopper! If T Allen can get back to form…watch out. The O side of it could be productive as well!

From the Palm beach post , it says Mutombo is resigning with the heat

knight is steady but he’s undersized and will get abused by guards like Kidd ,Billups, Hughes etc. On that list I like Bell the best because he plays defense. with this group we don’t need a grat penetrator, just someone to give them the ball and hit the outside shot. as for the big men you really are looking at the dregs- most of those guys should be retired. Mutumbo is older than god but I suppose he can give you 10 minutes a night and he can still block shots. I’m leaning toward pj brown myself although the guy I would really like is Varajao but I guess that’s a pipedream. still if wyc and co are willing to pay the luxury tax why not go all out and add a young, energetic player like varahao who doesn’t need the ball , can rebound, block shots and defend? He would be an ideal role player on this team but maybe they already have Powe in mind for that role. I would also like to see another shooter on the roster as there isn’t on on the bench right now. If we keep 14 or 15 guys I like what I saw from Carroll in the summer league. that kid can nail the 3 pointer if left alone. He would come cheap too.

oh, BTW I haven’t researched this but it seems that there are a number of teams with 16-17 guys on their roster ( eg MInny, portland etc) and they will have to cut some guys so there will be more players available other than the guys we’re seeing on the list right now and we could pick up a couple of nice players if we’re willing to wait until right before the season starts

Mutombo played for the Rockets last year. Mourning is who you are talkin bout.

Mutombo is still good for 15 minutes a night, and even more if someone goes down for a short stretch. PJ Brown is a good idea too. I like Brevin Knight, if his attitude is in place.

Key is not to sign anyone for more than 3-4 years, which is when this run ends, and the Celtics could get under the cap.

Since we’re obviously going for it now, and with this core of three we’re not going to be much of a running team, I have to ask: what sort of veteran PG could we get in trade for Rondo?

Charlie bell, James Posey, PJ Brown

These guys can play a few years. Or we might need to replace PJ with a 2008 free agent.

I fear bringing one year fillers to this team. We’ve paid for the potential, but these guys have to all fit, and they all need to get comfortable in their roles. A changing of the “guard” (so to speak) each year because of an austerity program seems contrary to the whole design.

Milwakee has to trade Yi to one of the approved teams, so Boston has some leverage in a Yi, Bell package. Let’s hope we don’t have to give up too much (Rondo) to make it work.

blceltsfan — I think everyone else they sign now should be 2-4 years, no more. They need to be able to raze this thing in 3 years so they are not in cap prison when Pierce’s deal runs out (so they can quickly rebuild around KG one more time — or find a superstar for KG to be a complement to).

Charlie Bell is a 2 guard. He isn’t the answer. We need a PG that can knock down the open 15 footer when teams collapse. I am thinking Brevin Kinght may be a good option but he really isn’t a very good shooter. With the other 3 stars on this team I don’t think he would be a distraction. They won’t allow it. I am starting to warm to the idea of bringing back Gary Payton. Solid player who likes the C’s and would be a great backup for 10-15 min a game. Much better shooter than Knight as well.

Still saying Kandi is a better and cheaper option than Dikembe. Measure his verticle and I bet Deke can’t get 12 inches off the ground anymore. His blocks dropped down to 1 this past year most likely because he can’t move anymore. Not a terrible pickup, but Kandi has some offensive ability and a little more movement.

I’m not convinced taht this team is doing whatever it takes ot win a championship. At this point they’re still not paying luxury tax and until they sign a player (or make a deal with the Delonte exception) that puts them into that catagory I still look at this with some skepticism.

They’re doing a nice job of being relavent, but they need 2-3 quality backups/quasi starters to make this team championship level.

MUTUMBO!!!!!!!!!

Tough part is that GP cannot guard anyone anymore. He is really not a good NBA player anymore. But for 10-15 you can do worse. If you want somebody to push Rondo, you need to be looking more at Jeff McInnis or Brevin Knight. (not that either is a defensive dynamo, but they bring more to the table overall at this point)

Kandi is good for a body. Mutombo is better. PJ Brown trumps either.

Free Agent Prioritys in order: whats your opinion

1. Chris Webber
2. PJ Brown
3. Brevin Knight
4. Dikembe Mutombo
5. Troy Hudson

So whats the deal with Michael Piterus,Anderson Varajo,Sasha Pavolic I would throw something at one of those guys they are solid role players

danny shouldn’t stop with the deals he could bring in someone to fill in at center like gasol, o’neal, or a camby.

by the way i mean jermaine o’neal