Celtics Blog & CSL Feed Digesthttp://app.feed.informer.com/digest3/C5LCJDOUNX.html Respective post owners and feed distributors http://feed.informer.com/ Hoopsworld has the following rumors: (http://www.hoopsworld.com/Story.asp?story_id=9361) As the holiday weekend opens, there are some decisions to be made. Corey Maggette has told people that he has narrowed his list down to two main suitors – The San Antonio Spurs and the Boston Celtics. Maggette has not made a final decision and will not likely announce a decision until after July 9th, when teams can officially start spending cap money. The Boston Celtics may have tipped their hand too early with James Posey, when news of contact with Corey Maggette surfaced, Posey's camp got on the offensive opening talks with a number of interested teams including the Lakers. Sources close to the situation say if Boston does not come with a full boat (5-year) deal at the Mid Level, James has that from other teams. So there you have it. There's a real chance that Maggette could pick San Antonio (which a few outlets are calling his first choice) and Posey could take a full MLE offer from the Lakers and we'd be stuck without either one. I'm a lead vocalist in the In Danny We Trust gleeclub, but remember that before this year he's had some spotty results in the free agent market (Scalabrine, Googs, Kandiman, and of course... http://www.celticsblog.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=3547&Itemid=255 CelticsBlog http://www.celticsblog.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=3547&Itemid=255? Fri, 04 Jul 2008 04:56 GMT Ed: I asked Fabio Anderle, our friend in Italy, to share his thoughts and experiences of this Championship Season. Fabio has a very unique perspective, he covered the team for us in Rome and was there for the earliest days of Ubuntu. This is a fantastic article, thanks Fabio. - Green17 Every Celtics fan enjoyed the magnitude of the last banner, but I feel even more privileged, having witnessed the “birth of the Ubuntu”. PalaFonte is a small gym nested in the south-eastern Rome suburbia. The first time I reached the bleachers placed in an elevated area which kept the media afar from the court, I instantly stopped in my tracks due to the level of intensity in the scrimmage the Celtics were playing. It was an unusual October even for Rome, with soul soothing temperatures in the seventies, and the off-the-charts toughness the Celtics were showing on the court seemed exaggerated in the smoothness of that environment. But they were not in Italy to chill out and enjoy the pleasures of the “Eternal City”, they were “on a mission from Red.” I know that back in Boston some fans questioned what they perceived as some... http://www.celticsblog.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=3545&Itemid=253 CelticsBlog http://www.celticsblog.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=3545&Itemid=253? Fri, 04 Jul 2008 02:50 GMT Herald C’s work on Posey, work out others (http://www.bostonherald.com/sports/basketball/celtics/view.bg?articleid=1104957 format=text) Green deal slam dunk for Dallas (http://www.bostonherald.com/sports/basketball/other_nba/view.bg?articleid=1104960 format=text) Globe Rivers gives Maggette call (http://www.boston.com/sports/basketball/celtics/articles/2008/07/04/rivers_gives_maggette_call?mode=PF) MetroWest Daily Front-row seat to title run has Celts' rookie Pruitt inspired (http://www.metrowestdailynews.com/sports/x875596397/Souza-Front-row-seat-to-title-run-has-Celts-rookie-Pruitt-inspired) More Links After the Jump (index.php?option=com_content task=view id=3546 Itemid=189) http://www.celticsblog.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=3546&Itemid=254 CelticsBlog http://www.celticsblog.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=3546&Itemid=254? Fri, 04 Jul 2008 02:48 GMT We've known for a while that the Celtics were talking to free agents, but other than Maggette and the Birdman, we didn't get too many names. Marc Spears solves that today. (http://www.boston.com/sports/basketball/celtics/articles/2008/07/04/rivers_gives_maggette_call/?rss_id=Boston.com+--+Boston+Celtics+news) First of all, there's news that Doc Rivers called Corey. A day after talking with Celtics coach Doc Rivers, a longtime family friend, Clippers free agent forward Corey Maggette said he is seriously considering an offer to join the NBA champions. Maggette said he is still in awe about being contacted by the Celtics and has been mulling over their contract offer as well as interest from several other teams. An NBA source said the Celtics offered Magette the full midlevel exception, expected to be worth $5.8 million. I don't want to hold the Celtics up or [general manager] Danny Ainge, said Maggette in a telephone interview. I talked to Doc . . . I'm not going to hold them up. I know they are still looking at James Posey. But I'm still weighing my options. The Herald has a source denying that an offer was made to Magette, so there's conflicting reports here. Notice that Corey doesn't talk about an offer himself. It might just be the semantics of not having something in... http://www.celticsblog.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=3544&Itemid=254 CelticsBlog http://www.celticsblog.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=3544&Itemid=254? Fri, 04 Jul 2008 00:23 GMT A Daily Babble Production The Clippers have been on my mind way too much for the first week of July. Earlier this week, they pushed their way into my largely vacant cranium with the news of their signing of Baron Davis. Today, it's the incumbent Clipper of the team's so-called dream pairing: Elton Brand. As seems to be the case with many of the basketball fans across the league, I'm finding myself rooting very hard for Brand to swiftly turn down the lucrative offer he received from the Golden State Warriors and officially return to the fold in Los Angeles. Undoubtedly, there is a certain moral angle to the Brand issue with regard to how much he led the team to believe that he would be returning to sign with them no matter what offers he received from around the league. There seems to be a national sense that signing with the Clippers with relative quickness would be the 'right' thing for the power forward to do. But there were moral issues with Carlos Boozer's departure from Cleveland. There have been moral and loyalty issues that have pervaded sports and transactions forever, especially since the dawning of the free agency... http://www.celticsblog.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=3543&Itemid=260 CelticsBlog http://www.celticsblog.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=3543&Itemid=260? Thu, 03 Jul 2008 18:27 GMT Washington Times reports: (http://www.washtimes.com/news/2008/jul/04/arenas-agrees-to-deal-with-wizards/) Washington Wizards All-Star point guard Gilbert Arenas informed team president Ernie Grunfeld that he will re-sign with the team, agreeing to a six-year deal worth $111 million. Arenas, who is in China doing a promotional tour with Adidas, had received a max contract offer from the Wizards worth $127 million over six years just after midnight on Tuesday. [The Wizards] offered me the max, and I'm basically giving back $16 million, Arenas said. This is in line with what I've been saying the whole time. You see players take max deals and they financially bind their teams. I don't wanna be one of those players and three years down the road your team is strapped and can't do anything about it. http://www.celticsblog.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=3542&Itemid=261 CelticsBlog http://www.celticsblog.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=3542&Itemid=261? Thu, 03 Jul 2008 13:01 GMT All signs point to PJ Brown retiring from basketball (though there's always a chance he could show up on someone's roster for another late season run). So this is a good chance for me to give him a virtual hug and wish him happy trails. PJ was exactly what the Doc ordered in terms of being that veteran, calming presence in the post. He defended about as well as you could ask someone his age to (maybe better). And who could forget that huge shot he made in the Cleveland series. At times when Perkins was out with foul trouble or injury, he was critical to the team's success. There were games that I'm not sure we would have won without PJ. He was only around for a short time, but he made a real contribution to this team's title. So thank you PJ Brown. More Thank You's: Wyc Grousbeck Owners (index.php?option=com_content task=view id=3465 Itemid=253) | Sam Cassell (index.php?option=com_content task=view id=3474 Itemid=254) | Paul Pierce (index.php?option=com_content task=view id=3444 Itemid=253) | Kobe Bryant (index.php?option=com_content task=view id=3452 Itemid=256) | Doc Rivers (index.php?option=com_content task=view id=3443 Itemid=253) | Assistant Coaches (index.php?option=com_content task=view id=3442 Itemid=253) | James Posey... http://www.celticsblog.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=3541&Itemid=253 CelticsBlog http://www.celticsblog.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=3541&Itemid=253? Thu, 03 Jul 2008 12:12 GMT Herald Celtics deny Corey Maggette offer (http://www.bostonherald.com/sports/basketball/celtics/view.bg?articleid=1104801 format=text) J.R. Giddens on way home (http://www.bostonherald.com/sports/basketball/celtics/view.bg?articleid=1104803 format=text) Globe This year, Davis not one of the babies in camp (http://www.boston.com/sports/basketball/celtics/articles/2008/07/03/this_year_davis_not_one_of_the_babies_in_camp?mode=PF) Police had faced discipline before (http://www.boston.com/sports/basketball/celtics/articles/2008/07/03/police_had_faced_discipline_before?mode=PF) Giddens not at minicamp (http://www.boston.com/sports/basketball/celtics/extras/celtics_blog/2008/07/giddens_not_at.html) Photo gallery from mini camp (http://www.boston.com/sports/basketball/celtics/gallery/07_02_2008_celtics_camp/) MetroWest Daily Giddens a no-show at mini-camp (http://www.metrowestdailynews.com/sports/x875596005/Celtics-Giddens-a-no-show-at-mini-camp) More Links After the Jump http://www.celticsblog.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=3539&Itemid=254 CelticsBlog http://www.celticsblog.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=3539&Itemid=254? Thu, 03 Jul 2008 03:25 GMT So, lets review. With PJ Brown retiring and Scot Pollard on the don't call us, we won't call you list, our low post players consist of Perkins (who just had surgery on his chronically injured shoulder) and a couple of undersized power forwards (Powe Big Baby). Don't get me wrong, I love all three of those guys. I just think that there's a big need for a big man to back up Perkins. The problem is that quality bigs are hard to find and expensive when you do find them. There's a reason people paid huge money to a lot of stiffs over the years (most of which ended up with the Knicks). Being 7 feet in basketball is a bit like being a southpaw pitcher in baseball. There's always room on the roster for you somewhere. Danny won't have a lot of cash to throw at a big man. He's most likely going to use the full MLE on Posey (or perhaps Maggette, but I bet he's a Spur by the end of the week). He'll have to look for less than ideal candidates and hope... http://www.celticsblog.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=3538&Itemid=253 CelticsBlog http://www.celticsblog.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=3538&Itemid=253? Wed, 02 Jul 2008 23:24 GMT A Daily Babble Production Only this much is even close to certain so far as the Celtics' incumbent sixth man and the man they may be pursuing from the West Coast are concerned: If there were some feasible way to have both James Posey and Corey Maggette in green next season, it would be an absolute dream come true for the Celts and the faithful. (Indeed, I'm late to the party with this one, but with several great threads running in the forums, it seemed time for some extended thoughts about the Celts' sixth man situation.) Alas, without getting buried in the logistics, suffice it to say that the possibility of the Celtics ending up with both of these players on the roster come opening day could most kindly be described as 'minimal.' Without some sacrificing made by either of the two players toward taking contracts below market value, it's extremely hard to see it working financially. That sentence comes with this disclaimer that neither player deserves to take any heat in the event that he decides against 'sacrificing.' Both have performed quite admirably in their respective environments and have earned paydays for themselves. But that means that the reality of... http://www.celticsblog.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=3533&Itemid=260 CelticsBlog http://www.celticsblog.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=3533&Itemid=260? Wed, 02 Jul 2008 17:00 GMT