MVN - Most Valuable Network

July Coming In Like a Lion

So much for the post-championship doldrums this summer. Today’s Boston Herald and especially Boston Globe articles are littered with with news items that will keep the Celtics fans on the edge of their seats for the next few weeks to months.

Corey Maggette

The 28-year old Corey Maggette entered free agency, opting out of $7M due to him this season in search of upwards of $11M from the LA Clippers, who say they want to resign him (along with the “newly-signed” Baron Davis and Elton Brand, who mysteriously opted out of his contract as well). Despite this, the guard/forward said the Celtics contacted him and that he could be willing to take a pay cut for Boston. All the Celtics could offer would be up to the mid-level exception of $5.8M, but then they also have to resign James Posey.  Something has to give, and I sense a bit of posturing here by the Celtics as part of the Posey negotiations.

Would Corey Maggette fit with the Celtics? He is an excellent shooter and versatile like Posey.  With Brand out for almost the entire season, Maggette was certainly the Clippers MVP last year. 82games.com indicates he put up the best net production at his position and had the best +/- on-court/off-court numbers of any of the starters.  This suggests Maggette’s defense may actually be good while his offensive prowess is great. Ask Paul Pierce and Ray Allen how difficult it is to get recognized for your defense when you are a great offensive player . . .

Maggette would no doubt be an upgrade in talent over Posey, as long as the Celtics are ready to take on the uncertainty the Duke alumnae brings to the squad compared to the test-driven Posey . . . but it appears that since Maggette is considering the Spurs, that he’s okay with the mid-level exception for extended years. The Philadelphia 76ers, Washington Wizards, Orlando Magic and Memphis Grizzlies are also reportedly suitors.

James Posey

Is any team in the NBA NOT interested in signing Posey? Boston wants him and got him at a bargain compared to his previous contract with the Miami Heat. Now Posey is looking for the coin while remaining with Celtics as one of their undisputed glue guys. But here comes the suitors. His agent (Mark Bartelstein) says “a lot of people are interested” in his client. Duh!  The teams mentioned thus far are the Washington Wizards (after they get Arenas settled), his “local” NBA team - the Cleveland Cavaliers, the LA Lakers, the LA Clippers, the NO Hornets, the Detroit Pistons, the Houston Rockets, and on and on . . .

And why not? He’s the consummate bench player (move over Manu Ginobili) and he’s clutch. Especially in the playoffs, as he’s proved in Miami and now in Boston.

By the way, Maggette is ranked No. 3 and Posey No. 7 on Chad Ford’s best available free agent list.

Draft Picks

The three draft selections made their appearance in Boston yesterday: J.R. Giddens (4), Bill Walker (12) and Semih Erden (86).  J.R. Giddens.  Here are some nice post-draft interviews with Ainge and Rivers from Wicked Good Sports.

Billy Walker had the quote of the day when he said, “I just want to make Mr. Ainge look smart” for picking him in the 2nd round. This would be despite Walker’s knee issues, but he was aware of another recent 2nd round pick with knee issues that has performed beyond expectations (that would be Leon Powe).

Tony Allen

Celtics did not even extend a qualifying offer to Tony Allen. However, Danny Ainge said “I had a good conversation with Tony and I assured Tony that this doesn’t necessarily close the book for him here. We like Tony. He’s just moving forward in his career. If things might not work out with James or other free agents, Tony would be a guy that we’d be interested in returning to the Celtics.”

Veteran Point Guard Need

The Globe stated that

“The Celtics hope to sign a veteran backup point guard to a one-year, veteran minimum contract, an NBA source said. Candidates include Eddie House, who would return for a second season with Boston, Dallas’s Tyronn Lue, Orlando’s Keyon Dooling, Miami’s Jason Williams, and Chicago’s Chris Duhon.”

Lue is a 10-year veteran who played for Rivers in Orlando and is good friends with Celtics forward Kevin Garnett. However, Lue hasn’t been contacted by the Celtics, Rivers or Garnett, although it is apparent he would be elated to catch on with the current champs.

And then there is Sam Cassell who is interested in playing one more year and perhaps becoming an assistant coach with the Celtics in 2009-10.

Veteran Big Need

What is to become of forward-center P.J. Brown and center Scot Pollard? P.J. Brown came in for a cameo appearance last spring, and earned his ring as the primary back-up to Kendrick Perkins. Pollard just isn’t healthy enough and Brown may be ready to retire, so the search is on . . .

The big men being bantered about thus far are Chris Anderson, Dikembe Mutomobo and Alonzo Mourning.  The Celtics probably can’t go wrong with any of those guys in a back-up F/C role, although Andersen has the most question marks since he just completed serving a two-year ban for violating the league’s substance abuse policy.

Coaching

Let’s hope the Celtics avoid the coaching carousel. Doc is signed through next season, but obviously doesn’t like being a lame duck, and since he’s earned his stripes, he now stands to improve on his $5M/yr rate.  Ainge is a Doc-guy, so it appears they will get the extension done in due time.

What may be more tumultuous is the fact that Rivers’ entire staff - Armond Hill, Tom Thibodeau, Clifford Ray, Kevin Eastman - have become “free agents”. Everyone will breath a sigh of relief if they can keep Thibodeau on board as he’s been mentioned in head coaching and top assistant positions with other teams.  But you have to like the accomplishments of this entire coaching staff, although having veterans may make coaching look relatively easy compared to the developmental challenges of the 2006-07 season.

With that said, it appears that Danny Ainge certainly has one of the busiest of summers ahead of him.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, July 2nd, 2008 at 9:04 am and is filed under Celtics. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.