Would have rather had “The Birdman.” This guy plays way too passively for my liking. Hopefully KG and Perk can toughen him up.

This has to be for the minimum. No way we offered him more…

Wowser. I sure hope Clifford Ray was an active part of working this guy out.

I am glad we get to try him out, knowing Ray, KG, Paul will help him out and probably make him looks pretty good out there.

KG. That’s all I have to say.

Does Don Nelson have much of a track record in developing back-to-the-basket big men?

Disappointing

Before jumping to conclusions about O’Bryant’s playing time, I just want to throw it out there that his coach was Don Nelson. Of course, Nelson is notorious for keeping rookies on the bench. With the NBA D-League at his disposal over the past few years, it allowed him to not even have to THINK about playing these guys. Additionally, Nellieball does not really seem to mesh well with O’Bryant’s skill set.

I could see it if O’Bryant was frustrated with his role on the Warriors. I also want to bring up the fact that Nelson had no input on the 2006 NBA Draft. O’Bryant obviously was not his type of player.

Good low risk, high reward signing by Ainge. I look forward to seeing O’Bryant play next to a guy like KG defensively.

Very interesting; nobody saw this one coming.

O’Bryant is a big body, a legit seven-footer that we desperately have needed off the bench. His work ethic and dedication has been questioned by Don Nelson, however, but he undeniably possesses some upside. In O’Bryant’s defense, he was never meant to succeed in an up-tempo system. Optimistically thinking, he could be a better fit in a limited role within a balanced system like ours. In addition, he now has some veteran mentors to look up to in Kevin Garnett and Kendrick Perkins, which he never had in Golden State. Not to mention, Clifford Ray has worked wonders with each and every one of our young big men over the past couple of years.

I wouldn’t get too excited about this, but we could have done worse. Why not take a flier on a guy like O’Bryant?

I am, however, curious about the financial aspect of this deal. Was is the minimum or the LLE?

Side Note: I came up with a nickname for the big fella in 2006, and I now have the green light to use it – P.O.Box 26. Genius, I know.

The kid just turned 22 a couple of weeks ago. (And was worked out against 25yo’s.) Whaddaya bet Perk takes hm under his wing, gets him working out hard and goes right at him in practice. Between CR, TT, KG and KP this guy will hardly know what hit him. (Till he nuzzles into Scal’s mammaries for comfort.)

This was not only for the minimum, but I bet that only a portion of the deal is guaranteed.

Bah! What would Danny know about evaluating talent? Other then being a player, a coach, a analyst and with xp as a GM, what has he got that all other GM’s havent’ got? Oh, yeh, he did make the major leagues in baseball but who cares? We could have kept Chris Wallace!

You know the last big guy that came to Boston from Golden State worked out pretty well here. As I recall, they thought he too had been a big disappointment at Golden State. And maybe I’m wrong about this, but wasn’t he also mentored by Clifford Ray, who was then at Golden State?

Glad we got our own Bryant (with the O’ in front – a nice Celtic embellishment). Kobe won’t know what hit him. :D

I guarantee that Garnett makes him cry at some point during the season.

Lumbergh!

he’s tall. he’s young. hopefully, he’s cheap. watch out scal-there’s going to be someone next to you on the bench who is vying for position #12.

Hobbs,

We probably hold such ignorant misconceptions about Parish because we had no Internet in those days, and didn’t know anything we didn’t read in the Globe (and we got that wrong too). Besides, we always remember that Golden State traded Parish for the rights to get that colossal waste of talent, Joe Barry Carroll. So therefore, Golden State must have had no appreciation of Parish (we wrongly misconstrue).

A couple of things to consider , first of all , I’m sure he was signed with Clifford Ray’s blessing , secondly, with other big men still available and no apparent sense of urgency , to sign him 48 hrs into the free agent signing period makes me feel as though the Celtics must really like his upside.

Just remember the last time Boston got an " underacheiving " big from the Warriors.

I’m jumping off the bandwagon now. Maybe we will make a little trade with our young guys.

O’Bryant is not Blountesque because he doesn’t have a jump shot. But he does have a skyhook and a 7-5 wingspan.

I don’t remember his hands. If he has good hands and can catch the ball in the post, there’s hope. That’s the first thing I’ll be looking for.

Blount has terrible hands. So did Potapenko, which is one reason why he’s no longer in the league.

It’s not like we need the guy to play backup minutes. He’s filling the Pollard role of being big and allowed to foul Shaq and/or Howard etc. I fully expect either Leon Powe or BBD or both to get the majority of the minutes behind KG and Perk. Beyond that he’s 23. I would have preferred Kwame, but I assume that would have taken some of the MLE, which we are currently holding back for Posey. What other big man alternative is out there? Diop got the full MLE and 5 years – this is a much better move than that.

Great signing by DA. If one of POB, Giddens, or Walker becomes a solid starter someday, Ainge has done well. I think Norton and Doo can work wonders with this guy, like they have done with Perk. If POB wants to get a real contract some day, all he has to do is work hard on getting into tip top shape, and take coaching from Cliff Ray.

If he can get some minutes, with the talent level on this team, he can’t help but put up numbers. Perk just set the all FG% record, mostly by being wide open under the hoop.

Huge, big body, somewhat nimble, and probably cheap. What’s not to like? And for the posters all aghast and upset over this signing, please get over yourself. We’re talking about the 14th or 15th man here on the best team in the league. Why not take a flier on him? I’m guessing he might have only a partial guarantee, with his agent figuring that the Cs might provide the best chance for future exposure and earnings, assuming the guy makes the team.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zm7zNa5aCy4

def looks like he has some potential at least….then again I thought the same thing watching telfair highlights

I’m looking at this as a replacement for Pollard, who gave us nothing. I live in the Bay Area, and have had a chance to see O’Bryant play a bit. This is just a terrible signing. Total waste of payroll because this guy is a stiff.

Maybe there will be more then one big man coming to the Celtics with Perk’s shoulder problems? They will probably go for a older and more experienced big man. We are due for a trade it has been a while.

I GUESS Fox Sports has got the right info, BUT:

Neither ESPN nor CBS Sports has a note about this, nor does Celts.Home have anything. Hope that by tomorrow morn, we have more confirmation and info.

I ALREADY MISS PJ BROWN…

We signed him for chump change at the minimum for a 2 year vet. I bet he doesn’t even make the final 15 man roster.

He could be this year’s Brandon Wallace. A roll of the dice on low risk, high upside prospect. I suspect we’ll sign a somewhat more significant big guy. Maybe Andersen.

I watched him play in college. He has an incredible standing reach and isn’t a bad athlete. (hands are so-so but better than Blounts). He is difficult to defend close to the hoop because of his length and difficult to score over for the same reason. The problem is that despite his size, he can be pushed around easily by strong players. Against tall thin guys, he might be useful with C.Ray coaching him.

He must have the brain type – but does he have basketball IQ. If he does, then Ainge definately made the right move and my bet is that it’s partially guaranteed and the kid’s wanting a chance to play the #2 backup big option on an NBA championship team. From his point, what’s not to like??? He can always get a job in Europe if he can’t cut the NBA but I also give the kid credit because he’s willing to take a minimum deal instead of overinflating his “height can’t be taught”. This move blindsided me a bit but not as much as Pierce’s lobbying for the Knicks to dump marbury. That almost smells like a Cassell replacement. I’d like to see the C’s sign Livingston but I’m sure the kid will get a better offer elsewhere (like GS who just lost BD and Monta is not a true point).

Beautiful signing. I was hopeing originally we could land Diop, he would be perfect for this team with his shotblocking. But O’Bryant was a shotblocker in College, he just didn’t fit in with Nellieball.

KobraKaii said:
  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zm7zNa5aCy4

def looks like he has some potential at least….then again I thought the same thing watching telfair highlights

I’m trying to be optimistic… but watching that video, all I saw was a painfully slow looking big man that got pushed around on the block by everyone. Even his “highlights” were clumsy looking.

You gotta be kidding with the complaining, by NBA standards he was signed for pennies . He just turned 22 and he’s a legitimate 7footer who is agile. Obviously he’s not a franchise player , but considering the possible upside and the minimal risk, the signing should be commended.

The fact that Danny Ainge signed him is good enough for me.

Give Coach Ray a chance to work with him ;)

The Birdman still may come.

Ugh. Hopefully he can be cut.

If you’d ever seen the lazy, disinterested way this guy plays the game, you’d understand. This guy makes Joe Barry Carroll look motivated.

Terrible signing.

Just one thing that’s crucial to remember: Even at the peak of his powers, Perkins was still picking up two fouls quick as lightning. There’s no way he’s taking ANYONE under his wing. Clifford Ray maybe. Perk remains a work in progress.
This is only a terrible signing if he’s P.J.‘s replacement; if it’s to replace Pollard, it’s fine. If we wind up with O’Bryant AND Andersen, we might be in good shape.
And yes, I miss P.J. already.

You know, DeSagana Diop was considered an even bigger bust than O’Bryant before he got to Dallas. I remember watching Diop in summer league in Orlando (I used to cover the NBA) when he was still Cav property and he was fat and useless.

But a seven-footer who isn’t needed to do anything but defend doesn’t need to improve much to be useful. We’re talking about a guy we might need to play ten minutes here and there. He’s big and I’m sure he can clog the lane. Hell, Diop has more career fouls than points and he’s a commodity. I’m all for it. This is a guy we can use to d-up Ilgauskas and Yao and guys like that for a few minutes here and there. We needed a true seven-footer and he’s one. What’s the downside?

Agree with the above and don’t forget Dalembert. KG will have to cover Brand and Perk may have three fouls in 8 minutes. Further thought, Danny had him in for workouts prior to Golden State drafting him.

In his post-playing career, Ray has mentored many NBA big men, most notably Chris Webber and Ben Wallace. He has also worked with Roy Tarpley, Dwight Howard, Jayson Williams, Eric Dampier, P.J. Brown, Adonal Foyle, Etan Thomas, Marc Jackson, DeSagana Diop, Al Jefferson, Mario Kasun, and Michael Bradley. As an Orlando Magic assistant, he was responsible for the quick professional development of Dwight Howard. In May 2006, Ray was signed by the Boston Celtics to work with big men Kendrick Perkins and Al Jefferson.1 During the off-season, Ray and former Celtics great Robert Parish conduct a Big Man Camp in Bradenton, Florida, where they work with many big men improving their game.2

Big_Easy—Perk loves playing big brother and took AlJeff under his wing. And it helped, Al learned that he had to work hard too, and Perk kept pushing him.

Just as I predicted.

Next guys coming are Kirk Snyder and Tyronn Lue.

This will be enough size until March. Then PJ jumps the ship again.

Hey Mahoney, if PJ did EXACTLY what he did last year — chill in Slidell till March and then bring it for the final stretch, I’d be THRILLED! A little PJ goes a long way!
One could argue the Celtics can’t wait to slip into their PJs!
(This coffee is waaay too strong.)