Gino's Jungle

Earlier this week, after I read an article on the Waikato Times website, I reported on this website that the New Zealand national team was after Kendrick Perkins. An assistant coach for the Tall Blacks stated their intentions to speak with Perkins, whose dad lives in New Zealand, in the future.

Well, I'm sorry to inform that assistant coach that Perkins will not be suiting up in the tall black uniform anytime soon. From the Waikato Times:

"He has no intention of playing for the Tall Blacks – not now or ever," Kenny Perkins told the Waikato Times.

 

"They tried this a long time ago when Tab Baldwin was the coach and I would never let him play for Tab Baldwin.

 

"His main goal is to play for the United States."

When it comes down to it I just don't think Perk wants to do this before every game:

Enjoy the day!

(h/t ESPN Boston)

With the 52nd pick in the 2010 NBA Draft the Boston Celtics select... Luke Harangody from Notre Dame. That was the call on June 24th when the Celtics selected the 6-8 forward with their only second round pick. The pick came as a surprise to some, and not as much of a surprise to others.

During his senior season at Notre Dame Harangody averaged a very solid 21.8 points per game. Being at a school like Notre Dame Harangody didn't receive all the attention he would at a school like UNC or Duke but he didn't need it. Harangody quietly proved to all that watched him play that we was one of the hardest working players in college basketball. He now hopes that his hardwork at the college level will help transform him into an instant impact player in the NBA.

 

Today Mike Huttonon of the Post-Tribune caught up with Harangody's coach at Notre Dame, Mike Brey. Even Brey turned out to be surprised about Luke's 16.6ppg in the Orlando Summer League. Here's what he had to say about his former player.

Via Post-Tribune:

Even Notre Dame coach Mike Brey was surprised by the numbers that Luke Harangody posted in the NBA summer league for Boston.

 

Brey believes that Harangody will sign with the team and get some guaranteed money.

 

"I told him before he was drafted that he was going to have to make the team," Brey said.

Brey called Harangody one of the most over analyzed prospects on the board. Scouts have questioned his size, his quickness and his ability to play defense.

 

Brey doesn't believe he'll ever start but that he can carve a niche for himself as instant offense.

"He doesn't need to warm-up or even sweat," he said. "He can come off the bench. I am so thrilled for him. I think Boston is going to love him."

So with all the information I'm hearing recently I think it's pretty safe to say that Harangody will be a member of the 2010-2011 Boston Celtics. He might make a few stops up in Portland, Maine with the Red Claws but if he can prove his worth as a hardworker off the bench we may be seeing him on the TD Garden floor sooner than later.

 

Vaseline, UStream videos, and a foolish star tattoo on his head are all things that come to my mind when I think of Stephon Marbury. Following the end of the 2008-2009 season, a season he ended with our hometown Boston Celtics, Starbury instantly went crazy. He went on 24-hour live UStream marathons, created Starbury TV, and went to extreme measures to avoid being, "put in a box".

At times during that summer I actually had thoughts Marbury was doing good things for the community, but in all reality he was just trying to restore his image (which he never accomplished). Reports that summer stated that Ainge offered a contract to Marbury to return to the team for this past season. Marbury rejected that offer because "he'd rather own, than be owned". Instead of accepting the offer with the Celtics he choose to turn away from the game of basketball and promote his shoe company, "Starbury".

After stepping away from the game Marbury then accepted an offer from the Chinese team "Shanxi Zhongyu" to play in China for $25,000 a month. At the time Marbury saw it as a way to introduce a new audience to his brand of sneakers and followed through with the offer. Needless to say, Marbury dominated over there. He claimed MVP accolades in the league's all-star game by dropping in 30 points.

Following the league's all-star game Marbury's whereabouts where unknown. That was until I stumbled across an article today on People's Daily Online about the Miami Heat being interested in the vaseline-eating headcase. Why they would want him on their team, I don't know, but according to the source they do.

Via People's Daily Online:

Stephon Marbury said Friday he is still looking for a chance to play in China again though the Miami Heat showed interests in signing the point guard.

 

The fomer NBA All-Star guard said the Heat contacted him through the player association of the NBA before LeBron James announced he would join in Miami on a live television show.

 

"I'll wait and see what'll happen," Marbury said during an interview with local media at the tom.com.

 

"They (the Heat) wanted a point guard. But I don't think a point guard would do much in the team as they've already had the Three Guys (Dwyane Wade, LeBron James and Chris Bosh)."

As talented as Marbury is, at this point I wouldn't dare take a chance with him if I were an NBA GM. He's the headcase of all headcase's. And this is coming from a guy who wouldn't mind seeing Iverson or McGrady in green.

Marquis Daniels will get another season to prove himself with the Boston Celtics. Have dealing with multiple injuries and sitting out a good majority of the playoffs Marquis is back for another season. According to AOL Fanhouse, Daniels will return on a one-year deal worth $2.5 million.

Via Fanhouse:

The Boston Celtics have reached an agreement to re-sign swingman Marquis Daniels for $2.5 million on a one-year deal, his agent, Mark Bartelstein, told FanHouse on Thursday.

At this point I guess Daniels was one of the best options remaining for a swingman. If he can stay healthy then I will be more than happy with the deal. If not, the chances of Danels ever getting rid of the label of "injury prone" are very slim.

We know Nate Robinson can dunk. After all, he is a three-time slam dunk champion. We know that Nate can shoot the ball, we saw it during the Celtics playoff run last year. But, can he throw a baseball down the middle of the plate for a strike? We will find out Friday because according to CSNNE's A. Sherrod Blakely, Robinson will be throwing out the first pitch for friday night's Red Sox game against the Seattle Mariners (his hometown).

Via A. Sherrod Blakely's Twitter:

@nate_robinson said he'll throw out the first pitch in Friday's game between the #Red Sox and Seattle #Mariners.

Apparently Nate wants to try and show off his baseball skills (if he has any). I know this guy is a freak of an athlete not only because of what I've seen on the court, but also off the court. Just recently he scored a couple goals in Steve Nash's celebrity soccer game in New York City. If nothing else Nate's first pitch will finally give me a reason to watch a Red Soxs game.

Lately I have been playing close attention to what's going on with the USA national team as they gear up for the 2010 FIBA World Championship. Thanks to Rajon Rondo's decision to finally try out for the team I now have a raised interest in what's going on.

Rondo has been in Vegas for the past two days practicing with the squad in hopes to get one of the 12 roster spots available. He's currently competing with the likes of Kevin Durant, Derrick Rose, Lamar Odom, and Chauncey Billups.

Moving on to the point of this post... as I was making my way around the internet looking for Celtics related stories tonight I came upon an interesting story about Celtics center Kendrick Perkins.

According to Stuff, a New Zealand based news source, Perkins is being targeted by the New Zealand national team, also known as the "Tall Blacks". An assistant coach for the New Zealand national team relayed the information that they have Perkins on their radar.

You may be asking how Perkins might be able to play for the country of New Zealand.

Via Stuff:

Perkins' estranged father Kenny Perkins lives in Christchurch and was a veteran of the New Zealand National Basketball League in the 1980s and 90s.

 

"I believe some contact has been made with his father," Boucher told the Waikato Times.

 

"He's out for about six months now with an injury but we'll probably go down that avenue in the next year or so.

 

"We don't know what his eligibility will be in terms of being able to play for us but it's definitely something worth pursuing."

 

(I don't know if I can picture Perk doing this, though)

I'm 100% sure that Perkins would rather suit up for team USA, but if the opportunity arises and he gets a shot to play Olympic basketball you never know. With Perk recovering from an injury the chances he will play in the 2010 FIBA World Championships are very slim, actually there's a 0% chance.

If he is eligible, and want's to play for the "Tall Blacks", the possibility that he plays global ball sometime in the future is pretty high. From a fans persepective I'm all for it. It would allow him to improve his game and play against tough competition from around the world.

Earlier tonight I created a post outlining what has happened since the end of the 2009-2010 Celtics season and expressed my disappointment in what Danny has done so far. Because I know that many of you would have probably said, "What do you expect him to do with the salary cap situation they are in?" I decided to come up with a list of moves I would make if I was in Danny Ainge's shoes.

First things first, the Celtics need to do something with Rasheed Wallace's contract. There's got to be some teams out there that want the contract it's just a matter of finding a deal that works both ways. There were some mentions of Brad Miller, but that idea's flushed down the toilet with the news that he's going to Houston. So who else could the Celtics trade away Sheed's contract for? For the sake of being realistic let's say Josh Howard.

Howard has had some off court issues in the past but the truth is that this guy can ball. He is an athletic freak and one of the best options out there to back up Paul Pierce off the bench. He has a decent long range game, he can attack the hoop, and his athleticism could pay off on defense if he can adapt to the Celtics defensive system.

Now, assuming the Celtics sign draft pick Luke Harrangody and keep the contracts of Tony Gaffney and Oliver Lafayette, the roster will include a total of thirteen players. Eight of these players are what I would call "impact players". That leaves two or three more players the Celtics need to sign to add depth to the bench. More than likely these players would need to accept the veterans minimum.

The first player I would sign is Eddie House. Call me a homer now and get it over with. But really, I like Eddie House on this team. He knows the team better than anybody else out there, he has good chemistry with the guys, and he is a big game performer. There's no doubt in my mind Eddie would come on board for the veterans minimum to get one more shot with this group of guys.

We have now taken care of Paul Pierce's backup off the bench and added a role player who can give Ray Allen some rest. With the next addition to the team I have to be thinking BIG. The Celtics have Jermaine O'Neal, but outside of that we are without a solid center off the bench. If anything happens to O'Neal before January we are screwed.

Unfortunately there really isn't a lot available at the center position. You have Shaq, who is still a free agent, but he is expected to want more money and playing time. There are a few guys I'd take a good look at to decide which one would be the best option. You have Rasho Nesterovic, Kyrylo Fesenko, and wait for it... wait for it... Tony Battie. Yes, that's it. Those are the best options available at the center position. Now you see why I said Danny should have gotten on the ball a little bit earlier.

Out of all these guys I like Fesenko the most. Last season he started a few playoff games for the Jazz and didn't do too bad. He's young and he seems to have a decent future ahead of him. If he could accept the veterans minimum I wouldn't mind seeing him back up Jermaine O'Neal until Perkins comes back in January or February.

Just for the heck of it I'm going through three more names out there that I would sign to replace Gaffney, Lafayette, and Erden on the roster.

The first one is a long-shot and goes by the name of T-Mac. If McGrady could accept a lesser role and commit to team play he could play a crucial role off the bench and become a winner for the first time in his life. You can't deny the skills this guy has.

Next up would be Sasha Pavlovic. I truly hated this guy when he was in Cleveland, but he would be an excellent 9th or 10th man off the bench. At worst he could end up performing like Marquis Daniels did at the end of last season.

Last but not least, let's bring back Scal. Scal is just as big of part of this group of Celtics as the "Big Three". I can't imagine Scal in another uniform and you know at this point he isn't worried about the money.

So there you have it. Your 2010-2011 Boston Celtics.

Here's a quick recap of what the depth chart would look like:

C: Jermaine O'Neal/Kyrylo Fresenko/Kendrick Perkins (Jan-Feb)

PF: Kevin Garnett/Glen Davis/Brian Scalabrine/ Luke Harangody (Red Claws)

SF: Paul Pierce/Josh Howard/ Sasha Pavlovic

SG: Ray Allen/ Tracy McGrady/ Eddie House

PG: Rajon Rondo/ Nate Robinson/ Avery Bradley (Red Claws)

Now that's what you call a deep basketball team. That bench right there would blow away Miami's bench, no doubt about it. I'm sure someone can find something wrong with what I assembled here and I welcome you to do so. I hope you enjoyed this and feel free to assemble your own roster in the comments below. Go Celtics!!!

Following the ending of the 2010 Boston Celtics season a lot of questions were left up in the air. Was Doc Rivers coming back? Would Paul Pierce opt out of his contract? Would Ray Allen stay in Boston? Is Rasheed Wallace going to retire? For the most part those questions, which were considered the most important ones, have been answered.

Doc Rivers is coming back for the final year of his contract. Paul Pierce did opt out of his contract and make me scared to death he may not return to Boston. The Celtics did throw enough money at Ray Allen to get him back. And Rasheed Wallace is planning on retiring. Well, at least that's what we think at the moment.

Since those questions were answered there really hasn't been a lot happening in Celtics Nation. Aside from the occasional news like Tony Allen leaving or Nate Robinson staying it really has started to get kinda boring from a fans perspective. 

I stated it before on this website and I'll say it again: I was really hoping Danny would have accomplished more by now. I want to see actions, not rumors. I want to see news that someone has signed with the team, not a rumor that Ime Udoka or Kwame Brown is someone the Celtics are looking at. That may be news for some, but not me.

As we currently stand the Boston Celtics have 12 players on their roster. That includes an injured Kendrick Perkins (who won't be back until January or February), Oliver Lafayette, Semih Erden, and Tony Gaffney (who haven't played an important minute in an NBA game), and the only Celtics rookie signed to a contract, Avery Bradley.

 

(I'm waiting for your answers Danny)

If my math is right that brings the amount of impact players on this team down to seven players. The Celtics will have four of their five starters (Rondo, R. Allen, Pierce, and Garnett) from last season's squad ready to go, along with Jermaine O'Neal filling in for Perkins. That's okay, I'm not really worried about that aspect of the team as of today. The part I'm worried about is the bench. Right now, in my opinion, the only two players on this roster that can actually help off the bench are Shrek (Glen Davis) and Donkey (Nate Robinson). That's it.

You'll have the hometown people who will try to argue that UMASS standout Tony Gaffney can help this team, but in all reality, is that really who you want backing up Paul Pierce??? I know I don't and that's what is making me worried, and VERY impatient with Danny Ainge.

Danny has said in recent radio interviews that he is playing the "waiting game". My only question is: What the hell is he waiting for? The only answer I can come up with is that he's waiting for all the good players to be gone so then we can load up on the Brian Scalabrine's, Kwame Brown's, and Adam Morrison's of the world. Talk about a "Big Three". Watch out LeBron, Bosh, and D-Wade.

As we stand today the Celtics have already missed out on grabbing Corey Brewer, J.J Reddick, Tony Allen, and Brad Miller. They are now about to miss out on the likes of Matt Barnes and Shaquille O'Neal, who are both rumored to be more interested in other teams.

So what should the Celtics do with their limited cap space and exceptions? Well, I figure this post is getting too long so I'm going to create a new one later tonight to let you know what I would do to fill out the remaining roster spots if I was in Danny Ainge's shoes. Some of the moves may surprise; some may not. Come back to Gino's Jungle later tonight to see!!!

 

When Nate Robinson was first acquired by the Boston Celtics at the trade deadline a lot of people questioned the move. Some people still do. When Nate first came to the team many people believed he didn't have a set role on this team. They believed he was just a random piece of the puzzle thrown in with no exact spot in the rotation.

For the most part Robinson silenced those critics by having a great run late in the playoffs. Doc Rivers told Nate many times that there would be a time when Nate Robinson won the Celtics a game, and it happened. It actually happened on a few occasions, most memorably Game 4 of the NBA Finals when Glen Davis (Shrek) and Robinson (Donkey) led the team to a 96-89 victory.

With Nate Robinson's contract running out at the end of this past season his career with the Boston Celtics was uncertain. Today that uncertainty disappeared when Marc Spears of Yahoo Sports reported that the Celtics have oficially agreed to a contract with Robinson for the 2010-2011 season and possibly even longer. Details of the contract have not yet been released.

https://twitter.com/SpearsNBAYahoo/status/18694249190" target="_blank">Via Marc Spears:

Nate Robinson will re-sign with Celtics, a league source told Y! Sports. More info coming soon.

I guess all I can say at this point is word app. Nate was probably one of the better free agents remaining on the roster and with TA's departure the Celtics were in need of a talented guard, or two. Now that Nate has been in the system for a few months you can only assume he will be much more comfortable playing under Doc Rivers.

 

There had been a lot of previous speculation that Lawrence Frank would replace Tom Thibodeau as Doc Rivers' top assistant. Frank was seen with both Danny Ainge and Doc at a Summer League game earlier this summer. Now, according to the famous Adrian Wojnarowski from Yahoo Sports, it's official... Lawrence Frank is the newest member of the Celtics coaching staff.

Via Adrian Wojnarowski:

The Celtics have hired ex-Nets coach Lawrence Frank as an assistant on Doc Rivers' staff, league sources say. He replaces Tom Thibodeau.

This move clearly makes Frank one of the top assistants in the league. You have to wonder if Frank will be the replacement for Doc after this season.