Celtics Central

It appears that Danny Ainge has signed another talented but imperfect player for next to nothing.

Reports are out that the Boston Celtics re-signed former Celtic, 27 year old Delonte West, to a non-guaranteed contract, expected to be around the league veteran minimum (in the $1 million dollar range).

Red’s Army (a popular Celtic blog and fan site) had the first inkling of it posted when they were informed that Delonte West was in a local hospital getting a physical. Actually, days earlier, someone (I think a fan on RealGM)  had reported seeing West at Logan Airport.

The clues led to the correct judgment – West and the Celtics were ‘working on a mystery without any clues’. That mystery is Delonte West himself and how he might fit in with this version of the Boston Celtics.

Delonte is a combo guard who can handle well enough to play spot minutes at the point and bring the ball up under pressure. He slides over to shooting guard and shoots solid enough from the three point line (37.3% career) to have to guard him, thereby creating space for drivers and the rest of the offense to operate.

More important is West’s competitiveness, toughness, playoff experience, and ability to hit some clutch shots and foul shots. He came up big 2 years ago for the Cavaliers when few others on the Cavs’ team were able to support LeBron James with offense that impacted games.

West is fearless on the court, not afraid to play hard in a physical game, and will dive for loose balls. He rebounds well for his size, drives well (to the left mostly), and has a bit of a mid range game. At age 27, he would still be one of the younger players on the team.

If West makes the team, and only something unusual will stop that from happening, in my opinion, it crowds up the guard position making it all the more competitive for minutes. My guess is that Nate Robinson would be most affected, and Von Wafer fades further down the bench and perhaps off it.

The main strength is that it gives Boston a solid defender at the point or shooting guard off the bench. According to 82games.com the Cavs defense was better with West on the floor. That alone could be huge, both over the long season and in the playoffs.

If Delonte has his head on straight, he can do so much more than Von Wafer on a basketball court and be a valuable addition to this Celtic team.

So the main question, one that Minnesota wasn’t going to wait to see the answer to, is if West will be able to concentrate on basketball more this season. He will be suspended for the first 10 games of the season due to an arrest for having multiple loaded guns and a large knife in a three wheel motorcycle when stopped by police for speeding. I’m surprised that no one has tried to change his nickname to Delonte “Wild” West.

West has been diagnosed for bi-polar disorder (formerly known as manic/depressive) and has been receiving ongoing treatment for it, it has been reported.

One of the league’s more interesting personalities, West is a naturally skilled artist and has an off beat sense of humor to go with a versatile NBA caliber game.

West, along with Glen Davis, Shaquille O’Neal, and Nate Robinson will feed debate of the eternal question…’Can a team of characters be a team of character?’

I have always liked Delonte West. I remember his hot shooting streak (over 50% for a long number of games) as a rookie and ability to rebound well for his size from the very beginning. My own humor is considered off beat by many, so it fits that his seems quite acceptable to me.

With Delonte’s ability to play either guard position, I can see West, Glen Davis, Shaq, Marquis Daniels (or Nate Robinson) with either Ray Allen or Paul Pierce making up a solid second unit.

While the signing doesn’t answer the need for a defensive small forward, it does give the Celtics some much needed guard insurance and perhaps extra bodies for a later trade for that small forward.

Now an injury to either Rajon Rondo or Ray Allen won’t be quite as catastrophic. Delonte gets to play for the team where he started his career and among friends from that team in Perkins, Pierce, and Rondo.

It’s good to have friends. It is good to have depth. Delonte gives the Celtics depth and his mind runs deeper than the average happy soul. West, an artist, comedian and on court warrior, will have to win the war with his own unique mind, hidden struggles, motivations and personality. Don’t let the unique style of humor fool you. Delonte is a deep well.

The Celtics just got deeper by adding Delonte West.

Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoosports has it.

Carmelo Anthony’s people have demanded he be traded. The Nuggets have resigned themselves to that fact and are also ready to move sharp shooter JR Smith, and power forward Kenyon Martin.

The New Jersey Nets are a possible destination as are the L.A. Clippers and then Golden State and Houston as far as having a package of draft picks and young players that Denver is said to be looking for.

The New York Knicks would love to get him, but they don’t have a desirable package to offer Adrian reports.

Wow. Another huge star changing teams this off season.

Denver was a 53 win team last season, tying them for the division lead with Utah, but lost to Utah in 6 games in the first round. Coach Karl was absent, dealing with health issues and it affected the team’s play big time.

The previous season they took the Lakers to 6 games in the second round and had high hopes going into last year.

An unusual off season just got a bit more unusual.

I was about to do a semi-serious article on Glen Davis. How can I do that after these?

You can have a field day with headlines, though.

“Glen Davis in training for new roles?”

“Where’s Glen Davis? ‘Pick’ and Role Playing.”

“Doc Rivers Wants Davis to Expand His Game(s)”

“Glen Davis Misunderstands Coach Rivers When Doc says Pick Up Your Game Playing”

Here are some just crazy photos he put up on Twitter.

And King of the Nerds

There are more here.

The man is just crazy.

The Celtics still have one roster spot open. They still need a shooter/defender at the 3 spot.

Rudy Fernandez is still in play according Julian Benbow of the Globe. So is Larry Hughes.

One thing about Danny. Once he fixes a price on something or someone, he usually sticks to it. He knows the market pretty well. Rajon Rondo, who is also strong minded, had to play a little hard ball to get Ainge to move into double digits on his new contract and Danny is looking good even on that decision. He knew Glen Davis’ value. Getting Shaq for the minimum was shocking. Jermaine O’Neal  at the MLE ($5.7 mil)…we’ll see, but even that was understandable.

Trading hasn’t always been his strongest skill, but he works with what he has at any given time. In this case, the Blazers were/are looking for 2 number one draft picks according to many reports. They have also been fishing for a single mid first rounder. Danny will let Rudy ride if it requires 2 first round picks and the Celtics pick will be in the mid 20’s somewhere.

So far, the Fernandez saga has gotten a bit ugly in Portland and he is making noises that he will wait out the 2 years left on his contract and then return to Europe where it is said there will be some big money opportunities for him.

The Blazers have tried to talk to Rudy about giving him a bigger part in their offense. But it appears they are a year too late. And Brandon Roy isn’t going anywhere. Rudy isn’t having it.

He has made it known that the Celtics would be a desired destination. So Danny is waiting to see if Portland will come around. Fernandez is definitely worth a Celtic 1st rounder in the 20’s.

His attitude? They brought in Stephon Marbury, Rasheed Wallace, Sam Cassell, and Nate Robinson. I think they can deal with Rudy. It looks like there should be about 16-18 minutes a game backing up Paul Pierce and perhaps even Ray Allen. He is not James Posey, and he would vie with Marquis Daniels for minutes. Rudy shoots the three and Daniels doesn’t. Daniels can play better defense at this point.

Due to Rudy’s ability to hit long range, a Fernandez acquisition would move newly acquired Von Wafer another seat deeper down the bench. Rudy’s defense would be questioned, but he is young legs, which are needed in my opinion, and besides the three pointer, has major hops. I could envision him getting up and down the court with either unit as part of Doc’s goal of running more. But I’m getting way ahead of things.

Besides Larry Hughes, Greg Payne of Celticsblog has a link in his story on the same subject saying that Delonte West is in town for a try out.

All three are talented players. All three bring some attitude or behavior issues with them. Barring a trade out of the blue (which can happen) it is looking like one of these three players will become a Celtic eventually. The persistent rumors make me think so.

That is what appears to be the case. Julian Benbow of the Globe has the story (thanks to Celticsstufflive) and a few revealing quotes…

“It’s not so much what Rajon has to show, it’s what our team needs,’’ Krzyzewski said. “We’ve found a good lineup, and the international game is so different from the NBA game, you can ask any of these guys. Part of it is to make sure that we try not to have two non-shooters out on the court, and there’s the physicality, too.’’

Rondo wasn’t thrilled initially with joining Team USA anyway according to Danny Ainge in the same article…