I remember back to a simpler time. A time when visions of Chris Paul didn't dance in my head. A time when I would have been very happy to have signed Jeff Green to a one year make-good deal, sign-and-trade Big Baby for an upgrade at power forward, bring in a couple of younger veterans, and still have $3M to toss at a center.
Oh yeah, that was last week. And as it turned out, that's just what happened today.
Sure, Ainge missed out on the Chris Paul sweepstakes, but that's life. Move on. Danny did.
Bringing Jeff Green back for just the qualifying offer is a bargain and a half. He didn't do much to prove his worth last year, so he'll simply take another (shortened) season to put himself in position to get a big payday next summer. If he does, and if we have cap space for him, we can bring him back on a longer deal. Otherwise, he's gone at the end of the year (or at the trade deadline).
I actually like Glen Davis more than many on this site, but I think a change of scenery was sorely needed for everyone involved. Brandon Bass too must be thanking his lucky stars for a chance to get out of Orlando and into Doc's rotation. He should be perfect for that high screen pick and pop on offense. And the hope here is that he can pick up the defense well enough to be effective off the bench for us. I think this is going to be a very nice upgrade.
Chris Wilcox seems like a great low cost, good upside type of guy. Still don't know much about Keyon Dooling but the Celtics have been after him for a while so they must see something in him - something worth passing on bringing back Delonte West. Marquis Daniels is a known commodity and likely a very good fit for what we need.
We still need to grab a big man with the $3M mini-mid level exception, but that shouldn't be all that hard. The rest of the roster will be filled with rookies unless there's an amnesty player that wants to come here for the minimum.
Oh yeah, and it seems like Rajon Rondo wasn't permanently scarred by the events of the last week. If anything he sounds relieved to be staying in town and playing on a contending team. Can't say that I blame him. Now the next step is to go out there and prove to the world that he's capable of being every bit as good as Chris Paul or Deron Williams or whomever else. That would be a good thing to prove as the Celtics transition into the post Big 3 era.
Update: We also signed a center! Ok, I've never heard of him before, but maybe he's got some upside. From the official press release:
The Boston Celtics today announced that they have signed free agent center Greg Stiemsma. Per team policy, terms of the deals were not disclosed.
Stiemsma, a 6'11 center, last played for the Sioux Fall Sky Force of the NBA Development League. He appeared in four games for the Sky Force averaging 9.0 points, 10.8 rebounds and 4.5 blocks per game. He was named the 2010 NBA Development League Defensive Player of the Year after he averaged 9.1 points, 7.3 rebounds and a league-leading 3.7 blocks per game for Sioux Falls.
I'm guessing that's a non-guaranteed deal, but we'll see.
All in all not a bad Plan B so far. And a good first official day of transactions for Danny Ainge.