Hours Away from Welcoming a new Celtic


As we get closer to the trade deadline the rumors around the league have increased, notably after the end of the once again sad saga of another player whose ego is bigger than his talent. And yes, you are right, Carmelo Anthony is not that good. And no, he is not going to turn the Knicks into a contender.

The injury on Marquis Daniels is serious. It would be wise to let him take all the precautions necessary to recover from his career dangering injury suffered against the Magic. Marquis may be done for the season: that you know, and of course Danny knows too. This event has changed the mentality of a manager that saw his team as a perfect unit whose only trouble until then was the amount of injuries suffered in a short period of time.

Let's go back to the facts: we need help. Everybody agrees we need a backup for Paul Pierce. The guy is getting no rest and this could be harming us in the long term: overplaying Paul may result in another vital player injured, and not playing him may cost you a Kobe show against the theoretical 12th man, Von Wafer. In the process we may also use some big man help in return for our few trade assets (Nate, Quis, Bradley or Erden). That is why we have also heard the name of Troy Murphy in your radar.

 In fact the first reports we got were not related to the trade deadline but from the buyout possibilities once the deadline passes. Those reports gave us two names, masked in the middle of the Carmelo circus show. Coincidentally, the two players were also shaping in a confusing way in our mind, as if the Carnival celebrations around the world were also contributing to the trade season:



Hamilton is an All Star and has a ring with our hated Detroit Pistons. He would be the perfect candidate to give some punch from the bench and would make us even scarier (and no, no mask pun intended). Murphy would add much offensive talent to our bench, and he has the talent to play ball. No, he can't play D and yes, he is a left handed shooter, which makes him most of the times impossible to be blocked. Both players would be ideal additions and we would need to trade no players at all. Waiving two players in the eve of the team's ride to our 18th trophy wouldn't be so tough (Wafer and Gody would be probably looking for a NBDL chance with Antoine Walker and Antonio Daniels).

Exploring other avenues, the Celtics contacted teams before and during the All Star celebrations to explore the possible players we would be interested in. First we heard about Anthony Parker, a good all around player with much experience in and out of the NBA. Parker is a savvy veteran, whose play in one of the best teams in Europe (Maccabi) made him return to the NBA with Toronto first and then Cleveland. Parker would be a great fit, and not only because of the curious coincidence that he is also related to an ex-Celtic Shelden Williams via Candace Parker. The problem, as you already know, is that Cleveland reportedly wants Semih in return. I am not sure we can have the luxury of trading a center in a season in which we have seen the rest of the big guys in our team lose significant amount of time due to injuries. And no, although Danny is quite close to being a perfect general manager he won't turn the NBA corpse of Jermaine into a trade asset. I am not even sure if it is ethical and viable even to try and trade Marquis in his current physical condition. It would not be very classy if you ask me. Unless he is promised a buyout in his future team and a word that the Celtics will try to get him back in the future.

During the All Star break we also heard about another intriguing individual, Rasual Butler. Butler was already in the Celtics plans last summer and would certainly be a good addition to this team. As Parker, he doesn't do anything exceptionally well but he won't be needed to do anything close that either. Neither did Marquis. Butler is long, has a nice outside touch and can play some D...although he is inferior in that category to Parker or other potential signees. The problem is that, as you very well know Butler plays for the Clippers (remember Sam Cassell's case?). Trading with the Clippers may be a nightmare task, even worse than dealing with the puerile representatives of the Nuggets. I don't even know if Danny has dared to try.

After the James Jones spoiler and the dunk contest circus on Saturday, and the Kobe precooked and expected show on Sunday we are back into business with some interesting names appearing on our net browsers: Josh Howard, Roger Mason and Dahntay Jones. Howard is the most talented, Mason the best shooter and Jones the best defender. It's too bad they can't all be the same player with combined forces. Any of them would be welcome, in particular Josh and Dahntay. I would be glad with Jones since he has already twice been close to be a WTHHT candidate. Drafted by the C's and then a member of the crew in the 2007 preseason in Rome he is athletic and a superb defensive stopper. He just can't shoot and doesn't have much offensive talent (remember Mario West?) but he is meant to add muscle and defense.

In an ideal world, the Celtics would be able to land Shane Battier to this team. Our interest was first reported by known sources and then once again our hopes crushed by another report later in the night. Battier has the IQ, the body and the talent to be the perfect Doc player. We all know that, but only in our dreams he has a chance to become your new Celtic in the next 30+ hours. Then again, dreams come true sometimes and anything is possible...remember?


As we wait for a new rumor and the frenzy around the trade deadline gets closer to our basketball freaky minds, we have even heard another name. The romantic and melancholic minds have been reminded of James Posey and the chances he may arrive here. Dreaming is free...but everyone likes good dreams, right?

Who will be the next Boston Celtic? The answer in some hours (trade) or days (buyout)...


UPDATE:
New names appear in the papers today: Jared Dudley, Grant Hill and Pietrus from the Suns, and the likes of Morris Peterson, Jason Kapono, Rasual Butler and Sasha Pavlovic from possible buyouts. Stay tuned!