The Celtics still need to fill a couple of spots on the bench, and I have a couple of ideas starting with the Ukraine Train.
I have never seen anyone who boxed out as unselfishly as the Vitaly Potapenko. He's not muchof a rebounder himself, but he could get Da Kid (yay!) a bunch more rebounds this season and help put him back into the thick of the MVP race. He can't do much on his own, but he could have Garnett fighting two guys for every board instead of three and he knows his role.
I always liked Jalen Rose. He once told this story about how his estranged father tried to contact him after he was famous. His father was also a successful basketball player. As Jalen was pondering what to do, his mother flatly told him he wasn't allowed to have a relation with his father at this point in his life. I love a Momma's boy in the NBA, even if he appears to let his drinking occasionally get in the way of his basketball glory. Also, it would nice to have a former member of one of the most famous college teams of all time, and I never fancied C-Webb as a Celtic. Something to with trying to get street cred by claiming he's from the hard streets of Detroit when his father bought him a car in high school. It was a used car, but no one who had his own car in my school could cry poverty.
Corliss Wiliamson is available. He is a classic Lou Roe type whose skills made him dominant in college, but you knew he could never take over a game at the pro level. I loved watching that Razorback team and I would love a little nostaglia as we watch our suddenly older Celtic team try to make a last couple of pushes to glory.
Gary Payton, we need someone to tutor Rondo and take over for him when he gets overwhelmed, as sophomores are wont to do.
Marc Jackson is a bruiser from Temple who had to play outside the NBA before he got his shot. He's limited in all aspects of the game, but he brings that toughness we will need if we are going to get it done in the playoffs. He could just stand behind Garnett for a while and deck the first guy who gave him a hard foul. A championship team needs an enforcer like this.
Alan Henderson is a guy who worked out with some very good post players over the summers. The George town product was rumored to work out with Zo and Deke each summer. Those two have become locker room leaders and have held on to their on court effectiveness despite failing health and old age. Henderson is much younger. He must have learned something from them.
We could probably get Calvin Booth for bus fare. he had that one decent post season that he parlayed into a megabucks deal and now he has to know he has just about no value and many years of experience.
Obviously, at this point the dynamic scorers are gone but we could use some of the toughness, willingness to accept a decreased role, and experience of any of these players. Especially since early reports are that the Cs have no interest in Deke himself.
Here are the rest of the UFAs as of midnight 8/8:
Malik Allen Chicago
Derek Anderson Charlotte
Rafael Araujo Utah
Devin Brown New Orleans
P.J. Brown (I was convinced he died of old age) Chicago
Kelvin Cato (I think he used to be highly touted) New York
Austin Croshere (rumor had it he was going to play for Nelly in GS) Dallas
Dale Davis (wasn't he old in Indy?) Detroit
Melvin Ely San Antonio
Danny Fortson (over rated for his one dimensional game, even if he's rated low) Seattle
Junior Harrington (Who?) Memphis
DerMarr Johnson (I trust no one coming out of dysfunctional Denver) Denver
Linton Johnson III (again, who?) New Orleans
Jumaine Jones (weren't the Heat good with him? or was that another Jones?) Phoenix
Brevin Knight (we could use a back-up pg) Charlotte
Yaroslav Korolev (How were talented Clippers recordwise?) LA Clippers
Randy Livingston Seattle
Darrick Martin (I liked Toronto with it's international flair, but I don't remember much about Darrick) Toronto
Roger Mason (Isn't this a school's name?) Washington
Jeff McInnis (something tells me we can't afford him even if he takes a discount) Charlotte
Aaron McKie (We could get this guy, in my dreams. A perfect Doc player.) LA Lakers
Stanislav Medvedenko (No team needs ATL's cast offs) Atlanta
Michael Olowokandi (Next!) Boston
Bo Outlaw (Is an energy worth anything when he runs out of speed?) Orlando
Ruben Patterson (The "Kobe stopper" who couldn't) Milwaukee
Michael Ruffin Washington
Jamal Sampson Denver
Jake Tsakalidis (The guy who was bad enough to inspire Deke to have a throwback year) Houston
Ime Udoka Portland
Chris Webber (Hated it) Detroit
Mike Wilks Seattle
Shammond Williams (Maybe if we can't find a back-up shooter for Allen) LA Lakers
Kevin Willis (Bill Walton once referred to this man as the shortest seven footer in league, he has the wingspan of a hummingbird, but he boxes out) Dallas
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