Rondo Contract Talks Not Dead Yet

Despite comments to Yahoo! Sports on Monday that would suggest otherwise, Celtics PG Rajon Rondo’s agent, Bill Duffy, said on Tuesday that there was still a possibility that Rondo signs a contract extension before Saturday - a day when the Celtics will otherwise lose negotiation rights, making Rondo a restricted free agent in 2010.

“We’re not going to do an extension right now,” Duffy had told Yahoo! Sports. “The conversation has been cordial. We’ve been talking the last couple of weeks. There is a difference between the perception of him in their eyes and our eyes. With that being said, the focus is on Rajon to have a fantastic season and concentrate on winning a championship.”

However, on Tuesday, Duffy met with the Celtics director of basketball operations, Danny Ainge at Boston’s game in Cleveland, and the Celtics provided a counter-offer that re-opened negotiations.

Duffy is looking to secure a contract for Rondo that would make him one of the highest paid point guards in the NBA, and for good reason. In only his fourth year in the league, Rondo has already been the PG on an NBA championship team, and continues to effectively handle the personalities of Boston’s Big Three while still playing the role of the floor general.

An unnamed source told a Boston radio station that Rondo wanted a contract for five years and somewhere between $55-60 million; the Celtics originally counter-offered with a five-year, $45 million deal that Rondo declined.

Wednesday, October 28, 2009 at 9:33 pm by bryan

Big Baby Has Surgery, Gets Suspended

Celtics F Glen “Big Baby” Davis underwent surgery on his broken thumb Tuesday as the Celtics prepared to take on the Cavaliers later that night.

Davis sustained the injury in a fight he had with his former LSU teammate and “best friend since childhood” on Sunday night; all witnesses to the incident claim the teammate threw the first punch and that Davis was defending himself.

“I am extremely disappointed that this incident occurred and that it will prevent me from starting the season with the rest of my teammates,” Davis said. “My teammates and the entire Celtics organization are extremely important to me and I will do my best to expedite the healing process and be back on the court as soon as possible.”

While his apology was a good first step at getting back in the good graces of the Celtics organization, owner Wys Grousbeck and GM Danny Ainge clearly expressed their displeasure with Davis on Tuesday as they announced his official suspension.

“We’ll suspend Glen for the game [Tuesday] and [Wednesday] night, and we’ll have further discussions on how long that suspension [will last],” Ainge said. “We’ll probably keep it more internal, but we will suspend him.

“It’s very disappointing and very unfortunate. He’s a big part of our plans right now and, in a game like tonight, we’d love to have him. I think he let his team down by making a bad decision.”

Boston coach Doc Rivers had a private conversation with Davis on Monday about the incident, but would not elaborate on the details of their conversation.

“I’m supportive of Baby, but I’m very disappointed, obviously,” Rivers said. “It just puts everybody in a bad way, and the timing of it wasn’t great. I don’t know if there’s a good time for that.

Davis is expected to miss somewhere around six weeks of playing time.

at 9:28 pm by bryan

Boston Globe Calls on Big Baby to Grow Up

After breaking his thumb in a fight on Sunday with his (former?) best friend, Celtics F Glen “Big Baby” Davisis expected to miss upwards of the next six weeks.

The Boston Globe, not pleased with Davis’ behavior, published a scathing article regarding Davis’ maturity, telling him that it was time to grow up.

With Celtics owner, Wys Grousbeck, going on local Boston TV to kill the “Big Baby” nickname once and for all, the Globe decided to run with the nickname/behavior parallels.

“We’ll deal with it,” Grousbeck told WFXT. “I’m not going to call him ‘Big Baby’ anymore. He’s Glen. He needs to act like Glen. We’ll decide what to do once I talk to him, once we talk to him today.”

The Globe responded: “But it’s troubling to the Celtics, because in the back of their minds they’ve probably always worried that Baby would live up to the nickname and get involved in something stupid. Lord knows he’s good-natured and fun to have around. But he’s also out there, you know? On a 1-to-10 maturity scale, the brass has had him pegged at about a 5.”

The negative reaction to Davis’ poor choices was felt everywhere in the Celtics administration.

“I’m very disappointed,’’ said Celtics owner Danny Ainge before the Celts’ game against the Cavs. “He’s a big part of our team, and he made a bad decision. I feel bad for our players, I feel bad for our coaches, and I feel bad for Glen.’’

Davis has been indefinitely suspended from the team while he recovers from the broken thumb, while the Celtics turn to former Duke forward Shelden Williams to fill Davis’ role as an energy guy in the front court off the bench.

As the Globe summed up, upon Davis’ return: “You can be sure the team will be thinking in terms of a ‘Baby’ sitter, if only to keep him from raiding the refrigerator every five minutes.”

at 9:26 pm by bryan

Boston Opens Season With Win Over Cavs

Paul Pierce, Ray Allen, and Kevin Garnett are all back together, and hungry to win another championship for the Celtics.

They made a big first step on Tuesday night, as they opened the regular season with a 95-89 win over the Cleveland Cavaliers, another title favorite, on their home court. This snapped an eight game losing streak for Boston at Cleveland’s Quicken Loans Arena.

Boston got a rounded effort from its Big Three, with Paul Pierce dropping 23 points and 11 rebounds, Ray Allen adding 16 points on some key 3-pointers as usual, and Kevin Garnett returning from knee surgery with 13 points, 10 rebounds and three blocks.

PG Rajon Rondo also got the season started on a positive note, stuffing the scoresheet with eight points, six rebounds, 10 assists, and three steals. Center Rasheed Wallace, added in the offseason as insurance on Garnett, scored an efficient 12, nine of which on three 3-pointers.

Cleveland jumped out to an early double-digit lead, but Boston stormed back to close out the quarter on a 14-7 run, and maintained the momentum well into the second quarter as their bench outscored Cleveland’s by 15 points. By the time Cavs coach Mike Brown put LeBron James back into the game, the Cavs lead had completely disappeared.

Cleveland cut it to 87-83 and had the ball before James missed a three and Pierce took it the other way to give Boston a six-point lead late in the game. Pierce knocked down two jumpers and two free throws in the final 63 seconds of the game to pace the Celtics to a huge opening night win over one of the best teams in the Eastern Conference.

For those curious, LeBron James’ stat line: 38 points, four rebounds, eight assists, two steals, four blocks. Welcome back, MVP.

Tuesday, October 27, 2009 at 10:33 pm by bryan

Celtics won’t give Rondo new deal

After shopping around point guard Rajon Rondo in the offseason, the team has not given him a new contract.

That means that Rondo will hit the free agent market after the 2009-2010 season, which boasts an already incredible class.

Rondo’s agent was seeking a contract that would pay his client money equal to that of the top five point guards in the league.

Boston seems to differ on the value of Rondo and is not willing to pay him that kind of money.

Rondo has until Saturday to work out an extension, but he has already made up his mind that he will become a free agent.

at 9:43 pm by steve

Rondo to Become Restricted Free Agent in 2010

While the Celtics have until Saturday to sign him, all signs are pointing to PG Rajon Rondo not signing an extension and joining the free agent class of 2010 as a restricted free agent, according to Bill Duffy, Rondo’s agent.

“We’re not going to do an extension right now,” Duffy said. “The conversation has been cordial. We’ve been talking the last couple of weeks. There is a difference between the perception of him in their eyes and our eyes. With that being said, the focus is on Rajon to have a fantastic season and concentrate on winning a championship.”

Rondo, who averaged 11.9 points, 8.2 assists and 5.2 rebounds for Boston in the regular season, broke out in the postseason, nearly averaging a triple-double of 16.9 points, 9.8 assists and 9.7 rebounds in 14 games.

Rondo’s transcendent performance had Duffy thinking that Rondo deserved an extension that would make him one of the top five highest paid point guards in the NBA. Duffy was looking in the range of a five-year, $55-60 million extension; the Celtics were looking to offer something along the lines of a five-year, $45 million deal.

With Rondo’s name coming up in trade rumors this summer despite his playoff performance, Duffy believes that Rondo is ready to step his game up to the next level.

“Danny knows Rajon is taking care of business on and off the court,” Duffy said. “Danny Ainge has stated happiness with Rondo’s work ethic and leadership at this point.”

at 7:43 pm by bryan

Big Baby Likely to be Suspended

Celtics forward Glen “Big Baby” Davis will “very likely” be suspended after breaking his thumb in a fight with a former LSU teammate.

Celtics co-owner spoke out about the incident on Boston TV Tuesday, saying that team officials would likely speak with Davis before the Celtics open the regular season against the Cleveland Cavaliers tonight.

“We’ll deal with it,” Grousbeck told the station. “I’m not going to call him ‘Big Baby’ anymore. He’s Glen. He needs to act like Glen. We’ll decide what to do once I talk to him, once we talk to him today.”

“It’s very likely he’ll be suspended. And he’ll have some time to think about it. It’ll be a message, a teachable moment for the rest of the guys on the team.”

The broken thumb that Davis sustained in the altercation has him out for upwards of two months, as Danny Ainge, Celtics’ president of basketball operations, told the Boston Globe, “It looks like he’s going to be out for a while.”

Davis was expected to be a valuable member of the frontcourt rotation, providing depth off the bench for PF Kevin Garnett and C Kendrick Perkins. Davis, Rasheed Wallace, and Marquis Daniels were all expected to be key contributors off the bench; now, the Celtics must hope that they see Davis on the court before 2010.

at 7:41 pm by bryan

The “Big One”? Boston Trounces Cleveland

With two-thirds of the Big Three on the bench, Boston still managed to come up big.

The Celtics, eager to wipe away the disappointment from last season, wrapped up their preseason with a 98-82 win over the Cleveland Cavaliers on Wednesday, despite Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen spending the game on the bench resting.

Celtics coach Doc Rivers reportedly asked Pierce to stay out of the game and rest up as well, but Pierce thought better of it, scoring 11 points in 13 minutes of game time.

“I was just trying to stay sharp,” Pierce said. “We’ve got five, six days before we play again. I thought it was good for me to go out there.”

What Pierce failed to mention is that Boston opens their regular season with the Cavaliers as well.

“I don’t care where it is when you play the Cavs,” Pierce said. “They’re a team that we probably are going to have to go through in the Eastern Conference. They’re going to be right up there at the top if they stay healthy. It’d be great to get a win in that building.”

Without two of their three biggest stars, the auxiliary guys were left to do the damage on the court, and for one night at least, it looks like the Celtics’ active offseason paid off.

Their biggest addition (literally and metaphorically), Rasheed Wallace, started in KG’s spot and scored 10 points for the Celtics. G/F Marquis Daniels, an import from the Pacers, replaced Allen in the lineup and dropped in 17 points in 30 minutes. Guard Eddie House, a pivotal member of the Celtics bench these past two seasons, led all scorers with 21 points.

Friday, October 23, 2009 at 12:17 am by bryan

Celtics Roll Raps in Allen’s UConn Homecoming

The Celtics favored an old tradition Wednesday night, bringing Ray Allen back to his college roots in the Celtics’ 106-90 win over the Toronto Raptors.

The Celtics played at the XL Center in Hartford, Connecticut for the first time since 1995; before that, they played three regular season games a year at the former Civic Center.

Allen, who starred at UConn as he went 26-0 in college, put in a well rounded game of eight points, six rebounds and four assists in front of former coach Jim Calhoun, who was in attendance Wednesday night.

“The whole time I was shooting, I was just thinking about seeing the student section,” said Allen, who went 26-0 in Hartford while playing for UConn. “This is a building in my mind that was always blue and white.”

The other two cogs of Boston’s Big Three held their own, with SF Paul Pierce scoring 17 points and PF Kevin Garnett scoring 16 as he continues to round into shape after coming back from a knee injury. KG laid down a vicious alley-oop dunk in the third quarter, with the assist coming from PG Rajon Rondo.

“That was nice,” Celtics coach Doc Rivers said. “Unexpected, actually, because Kevin got kneed in the calf in the first half so I didn’t think he was running well. And all of a sudden out of nowhere, he becomes the old Kevin.”

The Celts moved to 4-1 in the preseason with the win.

Thursday, October 15, 2009 at 9:27 pm by bryan

Wallace thinks Celtics can set all-time wins record this season

The Connecticut Post’s Thomas Halzack sat down with new Boston Celtic Rasheed Wallace, and during their interview, said he thinks this year’s team can challenge the 1995-1996 Chicago Bulls’ record of 72 regular season wins.

Sure, Wallace has never been known for his modesty or lack of confidence. But a statement like this should make the Celtics brass worry that ‘Sheed has picked up his old marijuana habit again. Who knows what Boston is going to get out of Kevin Garnett this season? Even if he’s back to his regular form, there’s no way head coach Doc Rivers is going to have him playing big minutes for all 82 games. Ray Allen and Rajon Rondo were the subject of heated trade rumors throughout the offseason. And there’s no guarantee of how well new acquisitions Marquis Daniels and Shelden Williams will fit into their new roles. A solid bench is vital for long-term regular season success, and it’s the part of the roster that was shook up the most heading into the season. Who knows how the new pieces will fit? And who knows how incumbents like Kendrick Perkins will embrace new roles and new teammates who will be taking their playing time?

There are countless reasons why the Celtics aren’t going to challenge the record. But the only one you really need to know: It’s damned near impossible. Sorry, ‘Sheed. Not gonna happen.

Monday, October 12, 2009 at 10:15 pm by Raj Sethi