HANG TIME NEW JERSEY – Veteran basketball team seeks center and/or power forward for final 20 games of season and playoffs. Relocation necessary.
Desperate times call for desperate measures. And right now, the Boston Celtics are desperate.
Their starting center, Jermaine O’Neal, is out for the season. Their back-up center, Chris Wilcox, is out for the season. Their third-string center is an undrafted rookie you probably hadn’t heard of before December unless you somehow have a tolerance for low-scoring college basketball games. (His name is Greg Stiemsma and he played for Wisconsin. Oh, he also missed shootaround on Monday with a sore foot.)
So yeah, the Celtics could use whatever help they can get from any free agent big man who might be available. And cue Rick Pitino, because Kevin McHale and Robert Parrish aren’t walking through that door.
Ideally, the New Orleans Hornets would waive Chris Kaman, but it seems like they’re keeping him. And if Kaman’s not available, the pickings are pretty darn slim.
J.J. Hickson (waived by the Kings on Monday) is a serious defensive liability (and reportedly going elsewhere). Ronny Turiaf (waived by the Nuggets on Wednesday) is an offensive liability who can’t stay healthy for more than a couple of weeks at a time. Did we mention that the Celtics are desperate?
What’s Mikki Moore doing these days, by the way?
Here’s more from Steve Bulpett of the Boston Herald:
“We have the for sale sign out; we’ve just got to get somebody to buy,” Rivers said. “We’re just going to keep looking, and I think before Friday, we’ll have one or two bigs. Right now, if you’re over 6-7, for us, that constitutes a big.
“But I feel good that we’re going to find a couple of guys. I don’t know who they are, but I just feel like we will.”
As for what he might want specifically, Rivers said, “Well, we’d like one that has a sky-hook and was 7-feet tall, but we’re probably not going to find that. We would actually — it sounds crazy — like a heavy big, just because of some of the bigger bigs. But I doubt we find that, as well.”
rasheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeed!
God Noooo! No room for “stupid” players on this roster. Sure he knows the game and how to play but what an absolute waste of NBA talent his last 5 years were. Won’t stay in shape, selfishly gets techs like they’re going out of style because he’s incapable of controlling himself, and too small/weak to play the post defensively anymore now that he can’t jump (kinda like a Jermaine ONeal clone). I’d bet it’s gonna be someone like Okur, because he’s going to be the only big available. Good thing too, cause this team wouldn’t know what to do with a player who couldn’t shoot jumpers from the perimeter….
They need to break the Big 3 up and start fresh with Rondo, trade for some 1st round picks
My bet is on Juan and Greg “Steam Man” Stiemsma the rest of the way. Another big would split up the minutes nicely for everyone.
The effect 0f Perkins’ trade. Just w0w.
The biggest failure of Boston come to life…the day they trade Perk…now they need who??? maybe Sueng Jin Ha.
Get Alexis Ajinca… He is a Fit for your team and he is a strong guy that protect the rim and ability to catch the wideball strongly…
I agree!!! Or if they could somehow get their hands on Toronto’s Ed Davis. They might try to grab someone through waivers, but whoever it is needs to be strong as an ox. They just get pushed around down low, although I’ve been impressed with Garnett’s game the past month. They really need a physical big if they are going to advance very far in the playoffs–at least one that can alter shots and rebound. If only I was a foot taller!
Kaman please!!!
Oliver Miller
LOL!!,THE BIG O FOR A WHOLE “O”THER REASON!!!
What about those flying Dutchmen, Francisco Elson and Dan Gadzuric! They need a Job.
Trade Perkins bid mistake for Boston
The Curse of the 2 O’neal’s
Sheed and Turiaf theres no better options
It’s bad when KG has to play starting center, which he definatly is not.
They should post a Craigslist add..just sayingg Mindofmattman.blogspot
I’m a Lakers fan but I gotta feel sorry for the Celtics; their string of bad luck recently is almost unbeliebable.
Antwan Walker in D-League
hahaha i think that would surprise a few people
boston celtics are the best overall team they will find someone who can help the destroy any team in the west in the finals GO CELTICS
LOL!
Danny Ainge was praised so much for bringing the big 3 together in a single season. But since then, he’s made a huge mistake letting Perk go which is having more than a single season long effect. Wow!
Antoine Walker??? Could he come back?
Sign Oden. Maybe he wouldn’t get injured in Boston… Yeah, sure. Doc isn’t going to find any suitable C because he doesn’t allow bench players to play enough minutes. That’s not a way to build a stabile team roster…
If Doc gave more minutes to youth this season then they miss the playoffs. Nice call.
is big Z available??
nvm hes not
big Z retired
Please take Glen Davis back… You can have him, we’ll pay for it. Thanks!
The guy who has proposed Oden is no fool, actually I think that if he can stay healthy for the two or three months which are coming, would be a great fit. And who knows?
but… he’s not healthy now, thats why he was waived rather than allowed to stay for the remainder of his one-year contract
Agreed! But he’s not healthy now and won’t be able to come back until after the playoffs. Might be good to grab him now, and sign him for three years to a cheap contract so they can at least have his Bird rights in the event they can rehab him. At the very least they’ll have a real backup center for three years. They need to let go of some of the dead weight they’ve been carrying like Dooling and Daniels. We need to be proactive with at least one roster spot!
Oh, I see what you mean. I thought you were suggesting they sign him as the solution to their problems now, sorry!
i thought Greg Oden waived by Portland also, why cant Celtics take him in?
Oden is injured for at least 3-4 months
Yeah, oden would look good in a suit sitting next to JO
Eddy Curry
Perkins was going to leave anyway?
Ainge had to trade him or get nothing in return which is the same thing we heard all year about Dwight?
As for bad luck, well we got 1 championship from the big 3 plus 1, and were very close to a 2cnd.
It is time to re build, and look to the future they are not going to win any championship this year, they have 2 first round picks, and both the KG, and Allen contracts are at an end. Wilcox, was just starting to play well, Jermaine was not going to help anyway, Jeff Green that hurt! Still they can win the eatern conference, and maybe get through the first round, and that would be an accomplishment Go Celtics I will be in my seats every night pulling for you, win lose, it doesn’t matter I’m Green for life, not Hollywood or South Beach can ever change the colors of a true basketball fan!!!
I agree, I am a celtic for life too. Maybe We cannot win a championship this year but we still can hurt some teams out there. All the teams in NBA are afraid of us because we can always surprise. GO CELTICS
Don’t underestimate our big three, they can still hurt…………..
Wilcox and Green’s contracts will extend to nxt season. idk about Jermaine’s because he said he would retire.
But yeah we got one championship, and twice we could have won it all. 2010 And i do believe last season we could have won it bcuz we had team chemistry.
I wouldnt rlly mind having KG back next season if he would take less money.
Good Luck because you will need it, try Kyrylo Fesenko, Didier Ilunga-Mbenga, Fabricio Oberto
Oberto retired with heart worries… between Wilcox and Green theres enough of that in the C’s locker room already
To the comment about the effect of the Perkins trade: the Celtics traded 3 centers that day. Perkins, and Semih Erden, and Luke Harangody. I didn’t understand it at the time, and it makes less sense now.
Luke harangody was acutually a forward, and he was their 3rd or 4th option for small forward.
While I’m intrigued with Oden as some have suggested, I believe he’s out the rest of the season. I’d love to see the C’s pick up Hickson! He can score and rebound and I think Garnett and the coaching staff can help him with his D. With that said, not sure why our own J.J. hasn’t seen more pt lately.
Me!
how about Earl Barron?
sign me Celtics ! I can get you back to those glory days !
go celtics, they need a big man who can score and most importantly make D, because KG cant do it all, remember, defense win’s championship. i have faith that the C’s can make it the finals if theylll add some beef on the rooster.
get ryan hollins a big men with a low salary cap so u can get a defensive player like jj hickson
It’s time to turn to the D-league anyone playing the four or the five this is a good look for you
Ryan Hollins got waived by the Cavs? Could help
Hollins is a useful option at this point. A combination of length & athleticism makes him the poor man’s JaVale McGee. And with the Big 3 at the helm, he’ll learn how to play D in a flash…
RASHEED!
Get Ryan Hollins or J.J Hickson, and fire Danny Ainge!..
retire J.O. bench KG or retire him, paycut Perkins and Allen if needed for the cap. trade whoever and give up whatever we need to buy HOWARD… build a team around him, Rondo and allen with his off the ball running. perkins out there and we have a real possibility to get there….yeah howard is there for another year, but what is the point of us buying half-arsed bigs that arent going to further the C’s when they get here…We’re getting old and a change has to happen…
Beyond Kaman there may not be a good option this year. Unfortunately it appears the Hornets are interested in keeping him so…? I cant imagine that Hollins or Hickson would be any better than an injured JO, who even when healthy kinda stunk. Idk..looks like Ainge had one major success in bringing KG and J. Shuttlesworth to town followed by 4 seasons of mistakes, mis-steps and downright boneheaded-ness. Boston needs some new idea-men at the decision making level.
the celts can still win games bigtime but when it came down to crunch time it will be very difficult..especially by not having a solid big up-front they must address this issue ASAP..and please can someone please tell to danny ainge to take rasheed wallace back!!! and maybe jj hickson…ryan hollins or someone else
if not then kiss the season goodbye…they have to make it or break it or else…
rasheed pls
Sign me
Michael Olowokandi or DJ MBenga please!
So… Isn’t the D-League for situations like this? Why not pick up someone like Keith Benson. The D-League needs to be tapped into more. Just a thought.
menk bater…lol
Doc need to rotate through his bench a little more and give Johnson more time to play, because the kid can shoot and jump. He is ready. The C’s need to also waive Sasha, Daniels and O’Neal so that they can pursue Kapono, and they need to shop in the D-Leauge for about 2 bigs or 1 ig and 1 power forward.
CELTICS NEED TO GO GET RYAN HOLLINS!!!! that kid can play ball! he’s young and can learn a lot from KG. what are u waiting for celtics! GO GET HIM!
Celtics might get him and Boris Diaw
Here are some good young prospects at center/forward in the D-Leauge
1.) Brian Butch – 6-11, 240lbs, 18.4 ppg, 12.1 rpg, 2.0 apg. His last game 16 pts, 2 ast, 10 rebounds
2.) Jeff Foote – 7-0, 265lbs, 15.2 ppg, 8.7 rpg, 1.2 apg
3.) Hamady N’ Diaye – 7-0, 235lbs, 6.1 ppg, 4.5 rpg
4.) Scott VanderMeer – 7-0, 260lbs, 7.8 ppg, 4.7 rpg
5.) David Harrison – 7-0, 250lbs, 7.0 ppg, 4.0 rpg, 2.0 apg
6.) Keith Benson – 6-11, 230lbs, 15.1 ppg, 7.6 rpg, 0.5 apg. His last game 24pts, 1 stl, 1 blk, 12 rebs
7.) Dan gadzuric – 6-11, 245lbs, 8.6 ppg, 10.8 rpg
8.) Luke Zeller – 6-11, 245lbs, 8.2 ppg, 5.3 rpg
9.) Vernon Macklin – 6-10, 227lbs, 15.5 ppg, 17.0 rpg, 3.5 apg
Danny and Doc need to really take a good look into the D-Leauge and grab some players even if it’s just signing them to ten or twenty week contracts. ‘THEY NEED TO D SOMETHING TO GIVE OUR TEAM A FIGHTING CHANCE’.
Butch is too skinny. Foote, Harrison, and Gadzuric maybe as a backup. The latter two at least have played in the NBA before. As long as it’s someone who can rebound and alter shots from time to time, they’ll be helpful. Throw in Mehmet Okur…he was waived today…
Just go to the European league
hay hay hay!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Calm down jajuan johnson cen be it just like faired he is a amazing under liked palyer. he can make mid range and out range shots. That is the key!
Chris…. the bcelts couldn’t beat any team in the bottom half of the West playoff bracket (in a 7gm series)…..even with a pick-up big— let alone the top 4 teams of the West….. r u kidding?? They are tooooooo old an unathletic(read slow)…. just sayin’
…..PS: Trade deadline is past….
Andrea Bargnani or Dwight Howard!
Boris Diaw is free…get him fast!D-league guys can be considered.Turiaf can help so thus Hollins
what abaout our big guys from puerto rico daniel santiago and peter john ramos
Rasheed Wallace…get tim back in uniform.