Phone Calls And The Waiting Game

by Jeff Clark on Jul 2, 2009 8:05 AM EDT in Boston Celtics News & Links

Here's how Ainge described his early free agency moves and his opinion on the market.

"I made some calls,’’ said Ainge, the Celtics’ president of basketball operations. "Rasheed is a guy we have interest in. We made calls with quite a few free agents’ representatives late last night from my office to let them know we have interest. We contacted 10 free agents and tried to get some feedback in what they are looking for and their interest long term. But that’s about it. Mostly for something down the road.’’

Ainge said he did not contact any players directly, nor has he made contract offers. Ainge said he has been on the receiving end of many more inquiries from agents in recent days than he has proferred.

"We’ll just continue to stay in contact with free agents to see if there is something we can do,’’ Ainge said. "That could take some time. Free agents are talking to several teams. I don’t anticipate anything dramatic happening any time soon. We have plenty of time left.

"We have an interest in a lot of free agents, on different levels. We have different needs. I think everybody’s trying to get a feel to where the market is. I think a lot of players start on July 1st with big dollar signs in their eyes, and then some of them get it, and some of them don’t. And some of them come looking for anything later in the summer.

"So, it will be interesting to see how the summer goes. There’s always guys who have big dollar signs who don’t get what they’re hoping for. That’s their agents’ job, to ask for whatever they can, and settle for what’s available.’’

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Bye Bye Leon

We have the need for Sheed, literally.
Banner 18 is there for the taking…
Carpe Diem.

Don't fake the funk on a nasty dunk

by mcpu40 on Jul 2, 2009 8:11 AM EDT reply actions

quite a few words by Danny to essentially say nothing. about what we could expect from him —>I’m talking to agents of the players I like and I’m getting calls from agents of players that have interest in coming here.

No surprises or insight there.

by slamtheking on Jul 2, 2009 8:13 AM EDT reply actions

I wouldn’t say Ainge said nothing. In particular, what he said was that nothing was likely to happen very quickly. And that’s significant, since a lot of fans are working themselves into a lather thinking big things are going to happen at any second.

For the key free agents, it’s a seller’s market. They’re going to shoot for the maximum amount of money and years, and the best shot at a title. I expect most of them will be able take some time in trying to play all the bidders against each other. Sort of like the way Posey did last year.

by no kidding on Jul 2, 2009 8:53 AM EDT up reply actions

it's still pretty much nothing

Danny didn’t provide any new details or hints as to who he’s talking to, who’s his primary targets and his fallback options.

I don’t think many players, if any, have the same luxury as Posey did last year. Last year was a very flimsy crop of FA’s. Posey was one of the prime targets. He wasn’t really a high-dollar player but because of the lack of quality available, he became an MLE-type of FA and could extract 4 years at that rate. If he was available this year, he wouldn’t be getting the MLE nor 4 years (and not because he’s a year older).

Prime FAs will move quickly to get the max money possible and the MLEs that are available with the good teams willing to pay that money. With the 2010 window on the horizon for a prime FA class, the multi-year MLEs will be harder to come by.

I don’t think the best players will string out the negotiation process. They’ll sign fairly quickly to be sure to get as much $ as possible. I’d be surprised if more than a couple of full MLE signings occured after 7/17 this year. After that, it’ll be the small-time FAs —> LLE, partial MLE, vet min signings.

by slamtheking on Jul 2, 2009 10:22 AM EDT up reply actions

is danny making a choice between baby and powe? most of us would agree to that if it is the case. he is active and is a player and i would like to see tony go in a trade for some kind of healthy backup.

by nazzbo on Jul 2, 2009 8:49 AM EDT reply actions

um, this scares me...

“We have an interest in a lot of free agents, on different levels. We have different needs. I think everybody’s trying to get a feel to where the market is. I think a lot of players start on July 1st with big dollar signs in their eyes, and then some of them get it, and some of them don’t. And some of them come looking for anything later in the summer.

“So, it will be interesting to see how the summer goes. There’s always guys who have big dollar signs who don’t get what they’re hoping for. That’s their agents’ job, to ask for whatever they can, and settle for what’s available.’’

I understand we are on a budget, but danny’s words sound a bit too much like last years attitude. I really think we need to take advantage of the market and use the full MLE on a real contributer (sheed anyone), and then find bargains toward the end of free agency when players get a bit more desperate later. With the abundance of SF’s and PG’s, i would think that would be our best bargains, not to mention Marbury’s desire to return.

Sign me up for the Marbury in ’10 bandwagon!

We just cannot afford to play the waiting game and be left sifting through the garbage for upsides and projects to fill our roster.

by cordialb on Jul 2, 2009 8:51 AM EDT reply actions

dominos

they are falling already

Memphis was interested in Big Baby, but now they have Zach Randolph
Detroit now has Charlie V, do they still need McDyess?
Detroit now has no more money to offer guys looking for cash over the MLE, who’s next to run out of cash?
The Rockets probably spent their MLE already on Gortat
Hedo will find a home soon.

"We few, we happy few, we band of brothers" Henry V

by Jeff Clark on Jul 2, 2009 8:58 AM EDT reply actions

Yesterday's Robert "Gingivitis" Swift main-page article ...

was a classic. Sorry I was working yesterday. I almost split a gut today when I read it. That’s one for the “examples of your work” folder. Excellent job!

"People don't understand, if you can't live the rest of your life off one year in the NBA, you can't live off 21." -- Keon Clark

by Eeyore III on Jul 2, 2009 10:16 AM EDT up reply actions

glad you liked it

"We few, we happy few, we band of brothers" Henry V

by Jeff Clark on Jul 2, 2009 10:21 AM EDT up reply actions

getting sick of Danny's grinning mug

Jeff, give us a picture of a field of grass or a meadow of buttercups, if you will…

by mec1 on Jul 2, 2009 9:02 AM EDT reply actions

lol

I’ll do what I can to switch it up

"We few, we happy few, we band of brothers" Henry V

by Jeff Clark on Jul 2, 2009 9:21 AM EDT up reply actions

lol

Is it Soup Yet?

by Master Po on Jul 2, 2009 3:01 PM EDT up reply actions

as stupid as the randolph move was for memphis, it’s good for us because the market for baby has diminished by 1.

by Fan from VT on Jul 2, 2009 9:10 AM EDT reply actions

ZaZa and David Lee also are still available.

by mec1 on Jul 2, 2009 9:11 AM EDT reply actions

The Perfect Summer

And so are Varejao, Artest… etc. etc. Actually, I think that, at the end of the day, David Lee will be traded to the Wolves for the rights to Rubio, especially if the Knicks are unable to sign Kidd.

If Ainge is able to sign Sheed, Anthony Parker and a decent backup pg other than Marbury he will get an “A” from me. Even Tyron Lue would be an improvement over Marbury.

But what I’d really like to see is (1) sign and trade: Celtics send Ray Allen to Detroit for a resigned Sheed plus Rip Hamilton; (2) use the full MLE on Ron Artest, and (3) use the LLE on Ronnie Brewer. Now that would be an A++.

As for the Randolph trade, I like it for Memphis. It’s certainly a win on talent, because QRich has gotten fat and slow. Z-Bo is also a trade asset, because some injury riddled team is always looking for a 20-10 guy at the deadline, even an incredibly selfish 20-10 guy.

by Brickowski on Jul 2, 2009 9:54 AM EDT reply actions

DA is working his magic again.

He has the grin of someone that knows more than most. I see that everyday in the mirror.

"Do you know that nonbelievers create the most positive energy?" Davis said

by Birdbrain on Jul 2, 2009 9:54 AM EDT reply actions

someone once said

“you can have one knucklehead on your team, but don’t add a second because they’ll breed”

Marbury OR Sheed, not both please

"We few, we happy few, we band of brothers" Henry V

by Jeff Clark on Jul 2, 2009 10:16 AM EDT reply actions

jeff did you ever read this:

http://sports.espn.go.com/espnmag/story?id=3336339
there have been other, similar things written about him. He is team guy. As with Perk, the techs come from being very competitive. If we can get him, it will help. Better choices? Sure but we have to count on a guy who still has a thing for Robert Swift. its unreal, really.

by wahz on Jul 2, 2009 10:34 AM EDT up reply actions

never read that

I will now, thanks

"We few, we happy few, we band of brothers" Henry V

by Jeff Clark on Jul 2, 2009 12:38 PM EDT up reply actions

Marbury may have been a knucklehead in the past

but he was anything but during his stint on the Cs

It was so interesting how fearful we were of this guy coming to town, when he was actually a model citizen

In actuality he was unselfish to a fault

Bring in Sheed, neither he nor Marbury can or will deteriorate this lockerroom

Both want to win, so this really shouldn’t be an issue

by OutofServicePervis on Jul 2, 2009 10:21 AM EDT reply actions

because he was the only one

see how that works?

…though I guess you could make the case for Tony Allen being one as well

"We few, we happy few, we band of brothers" Henry V

by Jeff Clark on Jul 2, 2009 10:30 AM EDT up reply actions

The city of Boston...

Is filled with “model citizens” who CAN`T play basketball!

You cannot change who you are….Marbury is who he is.

Anyone can force himself to “behave” for 2 short months…Marbury`s problem is the fact that he is a totally washed-up ’has-been".

by Title 18 on Jul 2, 2009 11:34 AM EDT up reply actions

i don't agree

marbury will be sixth man award this year. he hasn’t really played that much in the last two seasons. he showed some really nice progress. give hime 20 minutes a game play SG, PG then you will see what he can do. he would be really good for backing up rondo and ray. sign marbury.

by NEFOOL on Jul 2, 2009 12:01 PM EDT up reply actions