Ex-Celtics point guard Gary Payton watched on television from his Las Vegas home Wednesday night as his former team lost to the Pistons. And once Chauncey Billups hit the winning free throws with a tenth of a second remaining, Payton called his agent.
"He called me and said, 'Hey, I'm reminding you that the Celtics are a team I feel like I can help,' " said agent Aaron Goodwin.
The Celtics have two open roster spots. Ainge said Wednesday he wasn't looking to fill one unless it was with an impact player. So, that begs the question of whether Payton could be that impact player.
Goodwin said he last talked to Ainge about Payton and another client, free agent forward Chris Webber, about two weeks ago. Webber appears close to signing with the Pistons.
As I mentioned before, I get the feeling that Gary isn't that popular with some in the Celtics front office from his last stay, but Doc did go on record in this article with nothing but positive comments. I think at this point he knows he would be willing to play the backup-mentor role to Rondo, and you would think that he could at least get the ball over half court under pressure. So I wouldn't rule it out.