The NBA has decided that Centers will no longer have a special spot in the All-Star game. Instead, the team will be made up of 3 frontcourt players, and two backcourt, rather than two forwards and a center. It comes as no surprise seeing as most teams don’t rely on a traditional center anymore like the old days.
Last week, we took a poll about who you guys think has been the biggest star of the pre-season for newcomers, and I included Jeff Green because he was injured last season. Jared Sullinger won with over 50% of the votes, and Jeff Green was tied for second with Courtney Lee and Jason Terry, all with roughly 12% of the votes. Everyone keeps going on about how good our team is going to be because of our depth but here are some reasons why each player will succeed in our system.
Jared Sullinger: Rookie that fell to us in the draft, should have been a high lottery pick if not for an injured back last season. Not too many rookies get minutes in our system, 
but Jared could be starting some nights. KG and Doc Rivers have both said that he has a very high basketball IQ and does not play like a rookie typically does. He has adapted to the Celtics’ system real quick, and is not timid out on the court. He rebounds consistently and shoots right when he gets the open look, rather than hesitate and up fake 15 times like a lot of smaller big men like himself. And good news for C’s fans: Garnett said he is “giving him the book, teaching him everything I know”.
Next up on the list of starters is Courtney Lee. Although he is a great player, it is expected that when Avery Bradley comes back in late December-early January (hopefully), he will take back his role that he beat Ray Allen out for last season. But you can still expect a lot of minutes off the bench for Lee.
Brandon Bass | Courtney Lee
Courtney was recently ranked as the #117 best player in the league (Bradley was 106). Lee is best known for his tenacious defense which should make the duo of him and Rondo tough to beat. He will be a good match up on Dwayne Wade since we will not have Avery to shut him down like he did last season.
At the bottom I have listed his stats for his 4 years in the NBA since he left Western Kentucky. He averages exactly 10 PPG in his career and can score off the dribble. He needs a little bit of practice distributing the ball, but that should be easy considering he is now on a great looking team, not the Houston Rockets. I think he will score in the double digits again this season and will be a go-to defender in big games. Look for him to be a big factor on this team now that Ray Allen is gone.
| SEASON | TEAM | GP | GS | MIN | 3P% | FT% | OR | DR | REB | AST | BLK | STL | PTS |
| ’08-’09 | ORL | 77 | 42 | 25.2 | 0.404 | 0.83 | 0.2 | 2.1 | 2.3 | 1.2 | 0.2 | 1 | 8.4 |
| ’09-’10 | NJ | 71 | 66 | 33.5 | 0.338 | 0.869 | 0.9 | 2.7 | 3.5 | 1.7 | 0.3 | 1.3 | 12.5 |
| ’10-’11 | HOU | 81 | 1 | 21.3 | 0.408 | 0.792 | 0.6 | 2 | 2.6 | 1.2 | 0.2 | 0.7 | 8.3 |
| ’11-’12 | HOU | 58 | 26 | 30.3 | 0.401 | 0.826 | 0.5 | 2.3 | 2.7 | 1.5 | 0.4 | 1.2 | 11.4 |
The Celtics are finalizing a trade for Courtney Lee sending Jajuan Johnson, E’Twaun Moore, and Sean Williams to the Houston Rockets. E’Twaun and Sean have non-guaranteed contracts so 
they will most likely be cut. Johnson has stated that he will demand a trade from the Rockets immediately. Not sure how its going to work out for him, word is the Rockets are really high on him. Honestly, by the way that he has played during the summer league, he should be happy that someone is still high on him.
This is a tough blow for Moore who had said just earlier today that he expected to play the season with the Celtics and was having a great summer league. Everyone will remember his game last year where he put up 16 points in only 18 minutes against the Magic.
With this trade the Celtics roster is really starting to take shape. Props to Danny Ainge for the work that he has done this summer. I am not sure any other GM in the game could have done a better job than he did. He has balanced Celtics in a place where they are title contenders, while also building for the future.
| Player | Position | Height | Weight | DOB | From | Years |
| Brandon Bass | F | 6’8 | 250 | 4/30/1985 | LSU | 7 |
| Avery Bradley | G | 6’2 | 180 | 11/26/1990 | Texas | 2 |
| Kevin Garnett | F | 6’11 | 253 | 5/19/1976 | Farragut Academy HS (IL) | 17 |
| JaJuan Johnson | F | 6’10 | 221 | 2/8/1989 | Purdue | 1 |
| Kris Joseph | F | 6’7 | 210 | 12/17/1988 | Syracuse | R |
| Fab Melo | C | 7’0 | 255 | 6/20/1990 | Syracuse | R |
| E’Twaun Moore | G | 6’4 | 191 | 2/28/1989 | Purdue | 1 |
| Paul Pierce – (C) | F | 6’7 | 235 | 10/13/1977 | Kansas | 14 |
| Rajon Rondo | G | 6’1 | 171 | 2/22/1986 | Kentucky | 6 |
| Jared Sullinger | F | 6’9 | 260 | 3/4/1992 | Ohio State | R |
| Sean Williams | F-C | 6’10 | 235 | 9/13/1986 | Boston College | 4 |
| Jamar Smith | G | 6’3 | 185 | Illinois |
The Celtics will probably look to add a few more players before training camp. Jamar Smith signed with the Celtics last week but it would likely be a training camp invite and not a full season guarantee. Look for the Celtics to sign a few more players from their summer league squad such as Dionte Christmas. Also previously mentioned are the potential signings of Carlos Delfino or Courtney Lee, but they both do not look promising based on the current cap situation of the Celtics, most likely you are going to see them resign Pietrus and hopefully sign Christmas to a contract. Also they may bring back Keyon Dooling for the veterans minimum as he was a big part of the locker room and gave them a lift in the playoffs.
The Celtics are pursuing options talking to Carlos Delfino. After exhausting all options to doing a sign and trade with the Mavericks for Jason Terry, they ended up using their Mid-Level Exception. This only leaves the Celtics with the bi-annual exception which amounts roughly to $1.9 million per year. Unless Courtney Lee wants to take a contract under his market price, he is likely out of the Celtics price range. So the Celtics have started to look at Delfino.
Here’s a little background on Delfino
Height: 6’6″ Weight: 230 NBA Experience: 7 years, drafted 1st Rd Det 2003
On ESPN.com John Hollinger gives the scouting report of Delfino
+ Mellow, solidly built wing who likes corner 3-point shot. Rebounding tailed off.
+ Good handle and court vision but no burst or explosiveness. Runs floor well.
+ Solid defender. Average mobility but big for position with great hands.
The Celtics GM Danny Ainge announced yesterday that the Celtics were going to sign Jason Terry using the Mid-Level Exception. The signing of Terry is no surprise as he has already been introduced to the Boston media and has said that the is going to do everything that he can to help the Celtics win banner 18.
“If they need me to wash the uniforms or sweep the floors, whatever role Doc [Rivers] wants me to play, I’m here to do it at 100 percent and I’ll give it my all,” Terry said. “That’s what I’ve done my whole career. Whatever it takes to win, whatever puts us in the best position to win these games and win a championship is what I’ll be doing.”
They had tried to maneuver a sign-and-trade with the Mavericks to save the MLE to potentially use on another player such as the Rockets Courtney Lee. The Celtic’s could not find a third team to facilitate the sign-and-trade and the Mavericks signing of O.J. Mayo basically ended the talks. This means that the Celtics would have to offer the Rockets players and picks to acquire Lee as they can only fill out the rest of their roster with minimum contracts.
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