Kendrick Perkins chimes in on Tacko Fall: The Celtics 'better keep my boy'

https://www.yahoo.com/sports/kendrick-perkins-chimes-tacko-fall-213453988.html



Kendrick Perkins chimes in on Tacko Fall: The Celtics 'better keep my boy'



Michael DePrisco, NBC Sports Boston

15 hours ago




Kendrick Perkins got a glimpse of TackoMania Sunday night and is all-in on the Celtics keeping the rookie big man by any means necessary.


Tacko Fall got eight minutes of playing time in Boston's preseason opener even though the crowd was demanding him to sub in as soon as the second quarter. Fall finished with five points, three rebounds and two blocks to go along with a few highlight plays as well.

If Perkins knows anything, it's a good big man. Fall may have a long way to go, but he at least has the endorsement of a fan favorite.

And Perkins has a very good point about Fall becoming one of the most popular players in the league. The TD Garden erupted when Brad Stevens inserted Fall into the lineup during the second half, and every time he touched the ball you could feel the anticipation from the crowd even if you weren't at the game.

Fall's path to a roster spot isn't clear-cut. The Celtics have 14 guaranteed contracts on the team already, both two-way contracts occupied by Tremont Waters and Max Strus, and Javonte Green seems like the likely choice for the last spot because of his contract and strong performance Sunday night.

If Boston wants to keep Fall, one course of action could be to waive Strus, sign Green to the 15th spot and give Fall the second two-way contract. This gives the Celtics a chance to let the big man develop in Maine while not risking another team poaching him after the preseason.

The situation will become clearer as the last three preseason games wrap up, so in the meantime, enjoy the spectacle.



bob




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I don’t know why Danny was so keen on signing Strus, he’s redundant, and I like Waters, but we have to keep Tacko and Green over those 2 IMHO.

As a side note only 13 players can be active at any one time so a guy at 14 or 15 will still get a chance to play in ME.

Justin Hayes is the agent for Tacko.  He represents a lot of undrafted no name FA's and G-League level players.

https://basketball.realgm.com/info/agent_clients/Justin-Haynes/206

Hayes is putting pressure on the Celtics and has indicated several times that Fall will sign with another NBA team if he is not offered a contract with Boston.  Maybe he is bluffing a bit but this is really about the G-league vs. the 2 way path.

In any event a 2-way deal provides a good compromise for both parties.  I can see where we could use Waters at the 15th guy as I am less than thrilled by Wannamaker.  I can see where Smart gets hurt again like he does every year and Green gets to play.  

I really like Fall but I do not see how he gets any meaningful opportunities to play since we have 4 other centers on the roster.

Therefore, and this is my final answer, I would put Waters on the 15 man roster, cut Max Strus and put both Fall and Green on 2-way deals for this year.  Keeping Fall may seem like a reach to some, but we do not have anyone other than Williams on long term deals at center.  If Poirier doesn't get the minutes that he expects, he may not stay but one year.  If Kanter adds a new twist to his game, while playing for  Brad Stevens, he will opt out and go get paid.  Former Celtics have done well in free agency as the Celtics tend enhance a player's value.

After the smoke clears we are down one Max Strus.

Wannamaker provides a veteran presence at PG and he is a good solid and physical defender.  Waters however plays with more pace and we need that at times when Kemba sits.  Edward is NOT a PG and he would be wasted if you task him with running the team.  He is a flat out shooter and Brad should run a ton of screens for him to launch his shots.