Celtics sign two

Good signings by Danny…It never hurts to see what you have on a team…. hopefully the competition will be fierce….and Paul, Ray, Kevin, will push everyone else.

There is no fooling around anymore on this team……

The time is now!

Jackie Butler, eh, Roy? That shows you how much play Manuel has gotten around here this summer…didn’t even “Quack” the Duck Tour lineup…Hah!

Bongiorno, tutti!!! Didn’t we draft Jones and trade him to Memphis?

I thought Wallace had a guaranteed contract?

Rich get a bit richer. I like Jones and am intrigued by Batista. Be interesting to see who makes the squad. This offseason has been ridiculous.

The more the merrier. Let them all duke it out in the preseason and keep the best of the bunch.

The time is now!

To play devil’s advocate. Is anyone else worrying that Doc is going to spend too much time in preseason picking between Jones, Wallace, Batista, and Manuel vs. developing chemistry among the first 8-10 guys.

Al, let’s face it. Doc should be a career assistant coach.

I thought Wallace had a guaranteed contract?

It is a partial guarantee. I think he automatically is getting 100,000.

good job

i bet batista makes it for frontcourt insurance

Danny for President!

Great moves.Jones gives Tony Allen some extra time to mend if he needs it.

Great job

Dahntay can actually play ball. We will see what Batista can do in real competition, but I LOVE the signing there too.

Jones makes the team, Wallace is gone, last spot probably goes to Esteban over Manuel because of upside. That and the fact that Manual has never been good. ever.

Ainge has performed true magic this off season. He has had the golden touch. Where are all the nay sayers now?? Ha, the Celtics will have the last laugh!

Batista is quite a good player. In fact, he’s significantly better offensively than either Perkins or Pollard.

Okay, we’re talking about the end of the bench here, but with an eye to upside, I’m hoping Wallace and Batista stay, and Manuel and Jones get wonderful parting gifts.

No doubt Ainge will be able to find Manuel if he’s suddenly needed during the season. As for Jones, where he’s been around long enough to have topped out.

Well, two guys will go to the D-league and two will be cut. It remains to be seen how it shakes out.

I only wish camp was here in Boston — I’d love to be getting the inside scoop on how these practices shake out.

Maybe someone from the real Celticsblog should loan the Globe’s ripoff Celtics Blog and Peter May their spell check feature. Estaban? Guarenteed?

Or maybe the Globe will just steal it.

[/quote]MetroGlobe said:
 Esteban was the FIBA MVP this summer, but he did that against totally craptacular players.
[quote]

I think Luis Scola was named FIBA MVP

…anyways, I think DJones can play. I have not seen EBatista play, but hey, why not….6’10 banger International veteran, just in case SPollard can’t give us mins.

Judging from the Veges tournement Batista can play. I have always liked Jones since he was in college. My question is, why can’t the Celtics just buy out Scal and keep three of the new guys rather than just two.

Esteban Batista has been unjustly criticized for having outplayed “crappy competition” in the America’s games. There were other NBA Bigs in the “cappy competition” so let’s not go down that particular road.

While we have great talent and good role players in our “top 10-12” we should still look to the future particularly when seeking to round out the 15 man roster. The Wallaces’s and Batista’s are intriging talents with size that could one day form the backbone of tomorrow’s Celtics. Good talent with size are always at a premium and I hope BOTH prove themselves in preseason.

Great signings! Let them go to camp and see who wants it bad enough. Manuel is obviously gone. Wallace will have to be extremely impressive to not get booted off by Jones. Pruitt is a 100% D-leaguer this year. Maybe even Big Baby. If Wallace makes it over Jones then he will go there, but I don’t see any way that they don’t turn him loose even if he has potential if Jones can help them win more now.

All of those guys who were whining about not having a bench sure are quiet now!

Where have you been Brick! Did they throw you out of the Toronto blog already?! It has been dry around here without you.

When trying to decide which players make the Celtics’ team roster Danny not only has to judge which players (at specific positions) are most game ready but equally (and perhaps more importantly) which players have the greater UPSIDE.

Gabe Pruit “slipped” to us at #32 much like Gerald Green “slipped” to us at #18.. Pruit was rated as the 22nd best player in the draft and not likely to be around at #32. Thus his selection, like that of Gerald Green, came without the benefit of adequate evaluation by the Celtics’ brain trust (which has proven so reliable in the past).

While Pruit has great potential, so did Gerald Green until we realized that despite his youthful age, Gerald’s game simply was not maturing like that of a superstar. His game simply did not improve at a rate suggestive of future stardom.

Baby Davis has shown great potential (amid equal concern about his weight control). At some point in time decisions need to be made about whether potential is being realized through steady improvement. Gomes is an example of a player maximizing his potential. While Gomes continues to get better, one also sees that his eventual upside is limited to being a special role player.

Such will be the decision making problems facing Ainge. Does one cut a Wallace or a Batista because they lack great potential (for stardom) or because they are not yet as game ready as another player. While we tend to place great emphasis on immediate contributions (because the clock is ticking on our BIG THREE) do we simultaneously denigrate inexperienced players with greater upside?

Very well thought out, Mosqkk. TP for you.

None of these guys are all-stars. I say keep people based on upside, especially after you get passed 8th or 9th on the roster.

if either of these guys were any good, they would have been offered guaranteed contracts…

The question raised concerns the value of UPSIDE versus present team value. Which serves the team’s immediate and future interest better?

Gomes performance in the early part of his first season was pitiful but by midyear he was a different and important part of the Celtics’ future. Potential doesn’t have to take 5 years to manifest istself in on-court performance! Gomes proved it and he had less big game experience than Batista.

Kobe Bryant, to name an extreme, took time to blossom into a premiere player. While none of the present Celtic hopefuls seem to have his upside, we could be looking at a useful back-up center or everyday starter in Esteban Batista. He certainly looked dominant against our Olympic team, a bunch of “crappy scrubs” according to some bloggers.

Esteban, regardless of what he looks like, has shown excellent NBA potential. Optimistically, his game has an upside which will be realized when he gets meaningful PT. That could happen by design or in the case of necessity, as in injury. Jefferson got his chance to shine in those very circumstances.

In the case of our “5” position, by all accounts it’s our weakest position and most vulnerable (if past history repeats). What IF Esteban IS the real deal and we pass on him because of his performance in Atlanta and overlook his potential as seen in the Americ’s games? Why was Kobe so effusive in his praise of Batista?

Brick, how is this guy possibly better than Perk? What are you even talking about? He averaged 1.8 points and 2.5 rebounds for the lowly Hawks. He couldn’t even get on the court for them. How is he better than Kendrick Perkins? That’s a ridiculous statement.

I said he was a better offensive player than Perkins, which isn’t saying much. Perkins has a right handed hook and he can dunk if he dribbles twice before he goes up. Perkins has no left hand, no jumper, no post moves and he can’t shoot free throws. B

Let me add that Batista’s inability to get minutes with the Hawks is no big deal. With Billy Knight running the franchise and Woodson doing the coaching, one can never discount stupidity as the best explanation for what happens in Atlanta.

Every day I feel a little bit better about the “bench”.

Play ball!

Metroglobe, you posted “Scola was the FIBA MVP” and I thought I read “Scal”.

Oh how my eyes betray me.

Yes Brick, but you’d sure rather have Woodson over here than Doc! He is of course the worst coach in the NBA…

This is one Summer for the Ages. Time to give Danny some credit. But on the other hand, Doc is still here. I want my cake and be able to eat it too. It’s just a matter of time before Doc is shown the door.

what makes batista a good pick is 1.need- we need another center. 2. age- he’s not an injured retread whose best years are behind him. 3.clifford ray- clifford can flat out coach and nurture big men and don’t think not that ray being a celtic coach allures bigs to want to be here. welcome back brick.

You don’t have to be a sprinter to play up tempo basketball. In his heart of hearts Doc is not a fast break coach. So the Cs will play at medium speed for most of the game and as the game winds down the closer the score, the slower the team will play. Nothing has changed except an upgrade in the talent. I don’t think
the extra talent will be able to overcome the lousy coaching.

interesting signings. ainge has obviously had his eye on jones since before he drafted him the 1st time. possible TA insurance for this year and beyond if he makes the cut. or posey or he doesnt decide to stay maybe. batista is another big man who can throw his hat into the fray for minues. non-guaranteed so hes worth a look.

Why are people talking about upside? Who cares about upside at this point? The need for upside left town with Jefferson, Gomes and West a few months ago.

If it’s a choice between an okay player who is experienced and can contribute this year and a guy with upside who isn’t ready to contribute yet, why on earth, with KG, PP and RA sitting here in their primes, would you opt for upside?

Do you seriously want to leave off guys who could make that small but significant difference that pushes the team over the top for the remote chance that Brandon Wallace might might might might might someday show that he should have been drafted?

MeteroGlobe – Do you know what offers he may or may not have gotten from Euro teams? Maybe he told his agent he wanted to play in the NBA not the overseas D League! I’m surprised Batista didn’t consult you before he decided to stay in the NBA and get your approval. Secondly… ’’We’re Not that Lucky’’?!?!? What on earth are you smoking?! We have gone from one of the worst teams in the NBA with potential, to a team with 3 Hall of Famers and a solid bench with players wanting to be here. We are talked about as contenders by every expert. What can you possibly need to be considered lucky. What an absolutely ignorant post…

Cousin It – As usual, right on the money!!

It will be interesting to see how Doc blends the big 3 with the role players. If
he can do this the Cs will be fine.

These guys are both going to make the team. They are both upgrades over Wallace/Manuel.