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On The Cutting Edge

by Gabe Kahn

As of this minute, the Celtics have 18 players signed to their roster, three more than the 15 allowed under the brand new Collective Bargaining Agreement. Barring a trade between now and November 2, when the Celtics open their season against Larry Brown and the New York Knicks, Danny Ainge and Doc Rivers are going to have to make some tough decisions regarding who will make it, and who will not.

The Celtics’ overflowing roster is an issue because they drafted three players, Gerald Green, Ryan Gomes and Orien Greene and then took back two players, Curtis Borchardt and Quyntel Woods in the Antoine Walker deal last month. Following that, point guard Will Bynum was signed in free agency and the C’s traded for the offensively talented yet defensively challenged Dan Dickau. Woods, if he is not included in any trade for the sake of making salaries match, will be waived. That leaves two more players than available roster spots and it’s anyone’s guess who will still be around on opening night.

Of the 17 remaining players, the following 10 are certain to make the team: Paul Pierce, Ricky Davis, Raef LaFrentz, Al Jefferson, Brian Scalabrine, Delonte West, Green, Gomes, Dickau, and, sorry fans, Mark Blount. Others, such as Kendrick Perkins, Justin Reed and Greene (once his contract becomes official; though reports differ, it appears that his deal is all but done) might not be locks to be employed much after Halloween, but they shouldn’t get too worried, either. Those who might consider hiring a real estate agent in the next few weeks are Marcus Banks, Tony Allen, Bynum and Borchardt.

Allen is the newest and most shocking addition to this list and his inclusion has very little if anything to do with basketball. The Oklahoma State product may have been involved in an incident in Chicago last week where someone Allen reportedly had been arguing with earlier in the day was shot and injured. If it turns out that Allen was more than peripherally involved, the Celtics may consider cutting ties with the gravity defying second-year player, upsetting as it would be to them. Unless there is any evidence pointing to Allen blatantly enough that any jail time is discussed and, given that Chicago police have stated that Allen is not even a suspect, one would have to believe that the chances of something like that happening are extremely unlikely.

No one is entirely sure what the Celtics’ intentions are when it comes to Borchardt. The oft-injured center has not yet been waived, and the Green would like to hold onto him as insurance in case LaFrentz’s right knee acts up or if Blount goes all, well, Blount on them again in ’05-’06. Borchardt is a bit of a wild card and could turn out to be a viable backup. Remember, he will turn 25 this month and has only been in the league for three seasons, playing only during the last two because of a stress fracture that kept him out his entire rookie year. He may have some untapped potential in his brittle body and the fact that he is a 7-footer means that he’ll probably have a shelf life in the NBA, but because of the overcrowded roster, he would be the most logical one to get the axe.

If it weren’t for the fact that Bynum was signed to a guaranteed contract just weeks ago, he would be on the top of everyone’s list of players not expected to make it through training camp. Though the rookie point guard out of Georgia Tech performed moderately well while playing with the Celtics squad in the Reebok Vegas Summer League back in July, Bynum would seem to be the odd man out when it comes to the five point guards on the Celtics’ roster. Though a good scorer, Rivers’ would much prefer to have a playmaker as his floor general, as he already has plenty of guys capable of putting the ball in the bucket and he already has Dickau and Banks who think shoot first. Minor conspiracy theorists believe that Bynum was brought aboard simply to push Banks to work harder in October, not because he has any real shot of making it onto the roster himself. By the way, for all you who are still stuck on why Ainge would sign a guy only to drop him before he ever played a game, remember that they did something very similar with Ernest Brown last season (though Brown did not have a guaranteed contract). With the $3 million the Celtics received from Miami in the Walker trade, they could cut Bynum and not even notice.

All this leads us, of course, to the mercurial and controversial Banks. Some think he is the Anti-Christ. Some think he is the Messiah, or at least the second coming of Chauncey Billups. Would Ainge sign Bynum simply to motivate young Marcus? From everything coming out of the Celtics’ organization, the answer is a resounding “yes.” Banks has been mentioned in trade rumors many times this summer, and many times more than anyone else on the current roster. His play as well as his attitude last season clearly frustrated Rivers on numerous occasions and his behavior behind closed doors has irked the Celtics ever since he was drafted. And for all the comparisons to Billups, recall that Chauncey averaged over 11 points in his rookie season and just under 14 points in year two. Marcus averaged 5.9 and 4.6 points in his first and second seasons, respectively.

The Celtics’ have taken issue with Banks because they are under the impression that he has enough talent to make him a first class NBA point guard but refuses to listen to those who want him to reach that point. Having exasperated his coaches and his teammates, Ainge may be hoping that the last resort to getting his message through to Banks is by taking away his job security. If anything can get Banks to change his ways, making him sweat out a roster spot will and if it doesn’t, what’s the point of even trying? It’s unlikely that it would come to that, but sources have indicated that it is a course that the Celtics are considering taking.

But the fact remains, that whether it be because of injuries, talent, trouble with the law or simply a lack of motivation, two must go. If these four want to be members of the Boston Celtics in 2006, it’s time to start making their case. Let the competition begin.

Little Chief

There is one line from an article that ran last week about Al Jefferson that I must have just glazed over, but it was pointed out to me by reader EZ. Here it is.

Jefferson also plans to visit Robert Parish in Florida and learn from the Hall of Famer.

When I stop and think about that statement, my mind wanders back to the days of the Big 3, my head tilts back and I start drooling like Homer Simpson.

Think about it. Both guys are the strong silent type (with a goofy side). Parish was a fierce rebounder and defender with some great touch around the hoop. Jefferson has the rebounding and touch and you can tell he wants to be a defender too. The Chief had the luxury of deferring to Larry and had Kevin’s back on the blocks. For now, Jefferson can walk in Paul’s shadow and has a great relationship with Kendrick Perkins down low.

Now, let me be clear. I’m not signing up the kid for Springfield just yet. I don’t even want to say that Al is going to play like Robert. My point is that if anyone could be a good mentor or tutor for Al, it would be double-zero himself. I recall that sometime last year, Danny ran into Parish and made it clear that he wanted him around. I emphatically second that.

I’m very impressed with this kid every time I hear something new about him. The fact that he wants to learn from one of my alltime favorite players is even more of an indication of where his heart is at. Its going to be a joy watching him grow.

Shira Talks To Doc

Shira has a nice interview with Doc Rivers on the upcoming season. However, oddly enough, the Tony Allen incident was not brought up and it still has not appeared in the Globe online edition (to my knowledge). Odd.

One interesting exchange was about the starting linup. It sounds like Doc wants to move Paul to the 2 some more this year and use that “power 3” that we hear so much about.

Q. What might the starting lineup look like? What combinations are you considering?

A. ”There’s a lot of combinations that we can play. I can’t wait to get that on the floor and see how those different combinations look and what works and what doesn’t work. We can go big. We can go small. [Brian] Scalabrine could be at the 3, Paul at the 2, is a huge lineup. Ryan Gomes is another guy you can play at small forward with Paul at shooting guard and we can force some matchups. That’s something I like. I would love Paul to be at the 2 and one of these guys [Scalabrine or Gomes] can step forward and play and be comfortable at the small forward that helps us with our size, our rebounding. But I’m concerned about that lineup defensively.”

Mike Kahn Likes Lists

He ranks the small forwards and puts Paul Pierce at #6 (behind Shawn Marion and Richard Jefferson).
(as far as I know, Mike Kahn is of no relation to Gabe Kahn)

Despite his obviously immense talent, a lot of people are split on what Pierce’s value is because of his moody, erratic play that always affects his play and his teammates. He could play at a superstar level again, but most people doubt it.

Carnival #15

The Carnival is up at SacKingsBlog.com

the highlight:

“Ron at Hornets247 puts everything in perspective. Basketball hardly seems important right now.”

Pictures are worth a 1,000 words and as a result, leave us speachless.

Shooting Victim Points To Allen

Chicago Sun Times article

Now things are starting to look worse for Tony Allen. The victim and his lawyer are claiming that the shooter was part of Allen’s party and blame Allen for the shooting in relation to the arguement they had earlier.

Johnson said he didn’t know the shooter but would be able to recognize him again. The shooter was part of a large entourage that accompanied Allen into the restaurant, said Johnson’s lawyer, Rahsaan A. Gordon.

…

Johnson “is inside the restaurant, standing at a counter waiting to be seated,” Gordon said, adding Johnson was with several others.

“A short time later [around 3:30 a.m.], Tony Allen comes in with a large group of 10 to 15 people. Immediately when he comes in, he spots Marktwain Johnson and he begins to go into his tirade.”

“F— him up,” Allen told the shooter, according to Gordon.

That could not be confirmed with police, who interviewed Johnson at the hospital.

The Herald states that the original confrontation may have been about the money Allen makes as an NBA player.

To me, the best case senario here is that Johnson and his lawyer are looking to make some money off of a rich NBA player. Worst case, of course, is that he’s telling the truth. This likely isn’t going to be the sort of thing that just goes away quietly. Expect more information (true or not) to come out in the next few days and a distracting trial somewhere down the road.

Trivial Pursuit

Celtics Trivia (yup, another slow-day filler) – how’d you do?

Police Want To Question Tony Allen

It seems as though Tony Allen and Will Bynum were in a restaurant in Chicago (celebrating Will’s contract with the C’s) and a shooting occured there that night. Police want to question Allen because, as the article states:

A Hinsdale man — who sources said may have been in an earlier dispute with Allen — was wounded in the shooting.

However, the article also states:

Police are not calling Allen a suspect, and he has not been accused of any wrongdoing.

So hopefully this is nothing.