{Update} The David West sign and trade fell through at the last moment and he signed with the Pacers. This is a huge blow to Boston. I still love Brandon Bass for them and this gives him a lot more playing time.}
NBA free agency started on Friday and The Boston Celtics made some big moves to make one last run at a championship with the current Big 3. While most of the talk about the Celtics has been about what they might do with Rondo, Boston went out and made some big additions on their front line.
David Aldridge has reported that Boston will acquire power forward David West in a sign and trade with New Orleans. The exact details have not been worked out but it sounds like they will be sending Jermaine O’neal to New Orleans along with maybe another player. At 3 years 27 million, West is signing below market value because of an ACL injury he suffered last March. Many teams were worried about his health but for a team like Boston he is well worth the risk. This was Boston’s best chance at signing an all-star caliber player so they had no choice but to make the move.
West is a two time all-star and is coming off his best PER season as a pro. At 20.51, West’s PER ranked ahead of other high profile big men Chris Bosh, Nene, and Al Jefferson. At 31, full recovery from ACL surgery can’t really be expected but if he can get close to his old form he should be a huge help to Boston’s front line.
Kurt Helin of Pro Basketball Talk Brought up a point that the Celtics already have a power forward in Kevin Garnett and that he wasn’t sure if West fit on this team. That couldn’t be a dumber statement. Clearly Mr. Helin hasn’t watched the Celtics much in late game situations over the past few years when they use KG at the center position. Even when Kendrick Perkins was in Boston, KG would play center late in games with Glen Davis at power forward. The Celtics are better with KG at center and the best example of this was last season. Boston used a lineup with KG at center twice as much as any other lineup and it was by far their most effective lineup. Garnett is more than capable of playing center and West should be a perfect fit in Boston's lineup.
While West isn’t the best defender he should become better now that he is playing with KG. Before playing with KG, Ray Allen and Paul Pierce were also not great defenders but are now considered good players on D. While they should expect to be about the same on defense, they should expect get better on the offensive end. West has been a 20 point per game scorer the last 5 years in New Orleans and should see a lot of easy opportunities in the Celtics offense. Boston has not gotten a lot out of their 2nd big man on offense over the years and this should be big improvement for them. West also gets twice as many offensive rebounds per game as Glen Davis did and should get Boston an extra possession or two each game. West is also just as good of a shooter as Davis was and Boston should still be able to spread the floor the same way they did with Davis.
This move isn’t a slam dunk because of the health risk West brings along with him but if he can stay healthy they should have an all but unstoppable starting 5. All 5 players have been all-stars in the past 3 years and should be able to score on teams at will. The move isn't, but it's the best deal Boston could have made this offseason and is the only move that really gave them a shot at another title run.
Boston also made two other moves on Friday. The 1st of which was a sign and trade that sent power forward Glen Davis to Orlando for power forward Brandon Bass. Davis gets a new deal at 4 years and 26 million and he also gets a chance to be a starter like he has been asking for the past 2 years. Bass is only under contract for one more season but at a much cheaper rate of 4 million dollars.
Many people may not be familiar with Brandon Bass but he actually has a very similar style to Glen Davis. Like Davis, Bass has a good mid range shot and should help spread the floor for Boston much like Davis did. The way I see it, Bass is much better player than Davis in every way. While playing 3 less minutes per game than Davis last season, Bass averaged more rebounds and blocks than Davis. Bass also scored about the same amount of points per game, 11.2 for Bass vs. 11.7 for Davis. On top of that Bass had a much better field goal percentage at .515% (.448% for Davis) and better FT% at .815% (.736% for Davis). At the very least these players are equal so I think Boston got the better end of the deal since they got the much cheaper player. At 26, Brandon Bass has also not gotten a lot of playing time in the NBA so far and has not really had a chance to show his true potential.
While Bass isn’t that tall at 6-8, he has a very long reach and has shown the ability to play center when needed. Boston doesn’t have a backup center on the roster and will need him to step up and be able to play both big man positions. With the shortened NBA schedule and teams having to play more back to back games, Bass should get plenty of playing time with veterans like KG and David West needing more rest. Boston should have a starting caliber player coming off the bench in Bass. He should also be able to answer the call and make a spot start whenever one of the veterans needs a night off.
The 3rd and final move for Boston on Friday was resigning Jeff Green. While many Boston fans didn’t like the little bit they saw of Green last year, I still think this is a very good move. In his 4 years in the league, Green has been a good player and should help out this Boston team. Green is a versatile player than can play both the small forward and power forward positions. His flexibility should be a great asset for Boston this year. While his 1st 35 games with Boston didn’t go great, I think Boston fans need to give him some time to get comfortable with the team before they pass judgment. It is hard for a player to swap teams mid season and I think he should be much better in his 2nd year with the team.
Boston came into the day with KG as their only quality big man under contract but ended the day with a solid front line rotation. Their big man situation still isn’t perfect but they look like they are much better off up front than they were last season. Boston now looks like they have the pieces in place to be one of the contenders for the title this year.
While most of the Celtics roster is now in place there is still the question of what they will do with Rajon Rondo. The Rondo situation is still looming over the team and I don’t really know where they will go with this one. Rondo knows they tried to deal him and can’t feel too good about that. Rondo has been a head case at times and this could really get into his head and affect his play this season. Even though Boston may now be out of the Chris Paul race, don’t be surprised if they are rumored to be going after other big name players. Boston may have reached the point of no return with Rondo and might have no other choice but to get the most the can for him in a trade.
{Update} Boston signed two other role players this weekend. Marques Daniels has recovered from the neck injury he suffered last year and should give them some needed 2 guard depth. Boston also signed veteran big man Chris Wilcox. I think signing Wilcox is a very underrated move. Boston needed more some depth up front and Wilcox should be able to step in whenever he is needed. At 29, you know what you are going to get out of Wilcox but that isn't really a bad thing. Boston needed an active rebounding big man and Wilcox should be just that.
Don't forget that Boston still has their full mid level exception left and might not be done making big moves.
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