Celts Agree to Terms with Posey

From Mark Murphy:

The Celtics just agreed to terms with one of the hottest free agents still on the market – James Posey, a player who should give the Celtics defense a significant upgrade.

This 6-8 forward, known in particular for his role as a defensive stopper on the 2006 Miami team that won the NBA title, averaged 7.7 points, five boards and one steal per game last season.

The deal came together with relative haste. Though Danny Ainge, the Celtics’ director of basketball operations, had been in touch with Posey over the last month, discussions gained momentum yesterday, after Reggie Miller informed the Celtics that he would not come out of retirement to join the team.

Seems like the Celtics didn’t waste any time theoretically replacing Reggie Miller on the roster. Now they need to find a backup point guard and their roster will be ready to go for the season.

No Reggie, Celtics Already Targeting Others

Three new targets:

“The Celtics must now resume their search for bench help, with one looming possibility said to be Ruben Patterson, a defensively-tough free agent swingman who played for the Bucks last season.

The Celtics are also reportedly considering Dahntay Jones, the Memphis swingman who the Celtics originally drafted with the 20th pick of the 2003 draft as part of their eventual deal for Marcus Banks, and Miami swingman James Posey.

Posey is still negotiating to return to the Heat.”

Link

No Miller Time

Looks like Reggie Miller’s comeback was cut short.

Reggie Won’t Return To Court

Indianapolis Star – 08/24 – 0:38 AM EST (AP Photo)
Reggie Miller is not coming back.

After two weeks of pushing his body to see how it might react to the punishment of an NBA season, Miller told The Star late Thursday night he has decided he will not make a comeback with the Boston Celtics or anybody else.

“That’s it,” he said by telephone from his home in Malibu, Calif. “Physically, I know I could have done it. But mentally, when you do something like this, you’ve either got to be all in or all out. And I’ve decided I’m all out.

“Earlier today (Thursday), I was ready to come back. I was going to do it. But then I flew back here, I thought about it, I talked to a lot of people, and honestly, most people told me I should come back. Charles (Barkley), Mark (Jackson), Doug (Collins), they all said I should do it. And when I was back in Indy this week for the Peyton (Manning charity bowling event), people on the streets, they’d tell me to do it.

“But as the day went on, I just realized I wasn’t ready mentally to put myself through the grind again.”

Link

Garnett, Reggie Update

By Greg Lee, Globe Staff
We got the following information from new Globe Boston Celtics reporter Marc Spears, who received updates on Kevin Garnett and Reggie Miller.

Celtics forward Kevin Garnett has been playing pickup ball against current and former NBA players, Los Angeles standouts and college players at UCLA this week. Word is Garnett’s team did not lose one game on Wednesday. Several attendees raved about how he dominated easily. On one play, he caught an offensive rebound on the block and jumped and dunked without taking a step.

Word is Garnett and potential Celtics teammte Reggie Miller have been working out together at Pepperdine. He was there Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday.

http://www.boston.com/sports/basketball/celtics/extras/celtics_blog/

Age of Love: Kittens or Cougars?

Reality television added a new type of “love interest” show to its repertoire this summer television season with “Age of Love”. One bachelor (age 30) got to date multiple gorgeous women. Half of them were in their young 20s (kittens) and the other half were in their 40s (cougars). He then has to decide who he wants to start his life with. If he wants some young, exciting and energetic woman with only a potential life-long relationship, he’s taking a kitten. You want someone that’s ready to settle down right now and make something special immediately, he’ll choose one of the older, yet equally attractive, cougars.

That’s all I want to say about the reality television, but the comparisons to the Celtics are almost alarming. Danny Ainge could be considered that eligible bachelor having to decide whether to stick with the young potential studs he had waited so long to acquire (the kittens) or trade the entire farm for the grizzled veterans yearning for that special someone or something (the cougars). In all honesty, before the draft, and even after the lottery, I was all for keeping the kittens and going full-blown rebuilding by trading Paul Pierce. Even when the Garnett rumors were flying around for the first time, I wasn’t too excited about it because I wasn’t so sure how far that team could go. Then, as many Celtics fans like to say, the first shoe fell…

Draft day trade: Celtics trade Wally, Delonte and their #5 pick for Ray Allen and Glen Davis.

My original reaction: WHYYYYYYY!!!!! Why get rid of both Delonte and essentially Yi for a 32 year old shooting guard coming off two ankle surgeries? I was disgusted not only about acquiring Ray Allen, but then spending the 2nd rounder we got from the Sonics on Glen Davis.

After I cooled down a bit, I took a step back and realized Ray Allen is still an all-star caliber player in the NBA and we got rid of Wally. I guess I could just hope that Yi turns out to be a terrible bust and then this deal is looking pretty good. But still, to this day, I’m not too happy about losing Delonte in the deal.

Then Celtics nation sat around and waited for the other shoe to fall. We were pretty confident it would happen considering you couldn’t trade for Ray Allen and expect him with Pierce and Jefferson to compete for a title. I would have been utterly disgusted if that 2nd shoe didn’t fall. For some time, it looked like Danny was content with going into the season with the current roster as we watched free agent after free agent getting plucked out of the pool by teams looking to better themselves now. Isn’t that what we should have been doing? Wasn’t this the Year of the Cougar in Boston? Wasn’t looking like it. But then, it happened.

Danny Ainge pulled the trigger and traded essentially our entire litter for the hungriest cougar in league. Kevin Garnett is the scariest mutha (SHUT YO MOUTH!) on the court and if there’s one thing that makes him happy, it’s winning. A no-doubt Hall of Famer, Ainge paired Garnett up with Paul Pierce and Ray Allen to form the most dangerous trio in the entire NBA. We still had a couple kittens in house that will tease us with their potential (Rondo, Perkins, Tony Allen), but the three cougars were the talk of the town. But could those three alone carry us to a title? Maybe. Maybe not. Why not add some more veterans?

Celtics, in a swift manor, signed Eddie House as a backup point guard and then Scot Pollard shortly after. Eddie House, although not your prototypical point guard, is a great scoring option for this team off the bench. If he’s on the floor with Pierce, Garnett and Ray Allen, he is going to get so many open three-point shots he’s going to look like an all-star himself. Who knows, he could be this years’ Jason Kapono. Celtic fans could only hope. Then Ainge gives us Pollard as a backup big man. Pollard, perhaps known for his crazy hair lately rather than his play, can be a good offensive rebounder and a big defender on the block. He’s also a great locker room presence and seems like a fun guy to be around. Wow, the Celtics went from perhaps the youngest team in the league to as many veterans they could get their hands on in the span of two months. That was fun. But wait, we’re not done.

Recently reported on ESPN.com, both Doc Rivers and Danny Ainge admit they have cat scratch fever, and the only prescription is another veteran. This time, they want another Hall of Famer. Reggie Miller, who retired two seasons ago, expressed interest in returning to the NBA last season, but confirmed he received calls from Doc and Danny about returning for the Celtics. He’s considering the offer and weighing his options. Also, Troy Hudson is still an option for the Celtics as he has been bought out of his contract by the Timberwolves. Is this seriously the same Celtics team that had the 2nd worst record in the league last year?

This is what makes the circle of life so great. When we have something so young, jubilant and just happy to be in the world, we cherish them and never want to let them go. But when your kittens turn into cougars and you realize that you have something special, you can truly appreciate everything you have been through. Celtic fans have seen their team grow so quickly. We didn’t want to see the youth go, but when you take a step back and look at the scenario, we are going to witness something very special.

Reggie Dawning Celtic Green?

It has been brought up before between Celtics fans, but now it’s a legit possibility. Reggie Miller could be a part of the Celtics team this season. This from ESPN.com:

Reggie Miller says he is contemplating a return to the NBA, this time with the Boston Celtics.
Miller will be 42 at the end of the month and retired with the Pacers in 2005. Danny Ainge and coach Doc Rivers have asked him to think about joining the new-look C’s in a reserve role, playing about 15 minutes per game backing up Ray Allen. Miller is interested, but also nervous about how his body will hold up. However, the lure of a possible championship may override those concerns. If the Celtics were to win it all this year, it would be a storybook ending for first-time champions Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce, Allen and possibly Miller.

I think Reggie Miller, if he can still play a little, could be a great piece of this puzzle. Reggie Miller is the all-time leader in 3-pointers made and assuming he can still stroke it, he could be an assassin with Pierce, Allen and Garnett on the floor at the same time. Reggie would bring a great veteran presence to the Celtics’ bench. Imagine a lineup of Eddie House, Reggie Miller, Ray Allen, Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett on the floor at one time. The prolific shooting on the floor at one time would be enough to scare even the Suns. But, until Reggie decides, this is all just wishful thinking. But the way the offseason has gone, it wouldn’t surprise me if Reggie does sign, there still isn’t one more pickup on the way.

Celtics Add Pollard, Fill Bench

From the Boston Globe:

The Celtics agreed to terms with free agent forward/center Scot Pollard yesterday, according to executive director of basketball operations/general manager Danny Ainge. The 6-foot-11-inch, 265-pound Pollard got a one-year deal believed to be worth the veteran minimum ($1.2 million for 10 years service). He adds a much-needed big man to the Celtics’ frontcourt and raises the number of players under contract to 12, one shy of the league minimum. After signing a one-year deal with Cleveland almost a year ago for about $2 million, Pollard played 24 games with the Cavaliers, averaging 1 point and 1.3 rebounds in 4.5 minutes per game. He has career averages of 4.5 points and 4.8 rebounds.

Although not my first choice for who the Celtics should sign for their backup center, Pollard does bring many intangibles to a team that could use a great role player. He does have a history of back problems, so that could sideline him at any moment. Hopefully his offensive rebounding and low post defense will be a great asset to this team.

Let’s take a look at the Celtics’ bench, compliments of the Boston Herald:

Also interesting is that Danny Ainge says that he has not ruled out adding another player, mainly a point guard.

“I’m still out there looking for another player, possibly at point guard,” he said. “But I’m happy with who we’ve added so far.”

Needless to say, I am excited to see how this gels and plays on the court with all the new faces.

Traded MVP’s Win Titles

I found this stat on CelticsBlog.com which was found somewhere else.

Seven of the 11 former MVPs when switching away from the team they won the MVP award with go on to win the NBA championship. Those mvp’s are:

1. Bob McAdoo
2. Kareem Abdul Jabbar
3. Wilt Chamberlain
4. Oscar Robertson
5. Moses Malone
6. Shaquille O’Neal
7. Bill Walton

The other four MVPs that didn’t win titles after being traded were Cowens, Olajuwon, Iverson and Barkley. Cowen and Olajuwon maybe shouldn’t even be on the list because Cowens effectively retired and Hakeem was much past his prime.

Does this mean Kevin Garnett is destined to bring title #17 to Boston in his tenure? Only time will tell

New Blog!

I am starting up a new blog that I will update regularly (hopefully) that will be a much more broad than this blog. It is called “The Sports Lounge” and will be about baseball, basketball and football throughout the country in both the professional and college ranks. It is in it’s infancy stages now, but within the next week I hope to have it running at full speed especially with the Donaghy, Vick and Bonds’ controversies swirling as well as preseason football starting this weekend. So be sure to be on the lookout for this new blog and don’t be afraid to debate what I think on any of these topics.

The Sports Lounge – thesportslounge.wordpress.com

Gomes Not Coming Back; What About Hudson?

It doesn’t look like Ryan Gomes will be coming back to Boston, so we can put those rumors to rest. But could Troy Hudson be following his longtime teammate Kevin Garnett to Boston?

This from the News Herald (Cleveland):

Speaking of point guards, the Timberwolves are close to completing a buyout with Troy Hudson. But he’s not coming to Cleveland. Sources say he’s headed to Boston

Troy Hudson’s breakout performance was in the 2002-2003 NBA playoffs where he averaged 23.5 points and 5.5 assists per game. Since then he has been often sidelined by injuries. Let’s hope that if he comes to Boston, he can stay healthy and contribute at the point guard position.