Practice: T-Will's future and buyout market

By Chris Forsberg | ESPNBoston.com

WALTHAM, Mass. -- A handful of leftover nuggets after the Celtics had pre-practice access at their training facility on Thursday morning. Check out earlier updates on DJ White joining the team, Jordan Crawford still settling in, and Paul Pierce's persistent neck pain:

* WILL T-WILL STICK AROUND?: All indications are that the Celtics plan to keep Terrence Williams around after his 10-day contract expires following Friday's game against the Warriors. Celtics coach Doc Rivers wouldn't commit to what lies ahead, but suggested it was likely Williams would stay. Rivers did note that he wants Williams commit to being a ball-handler. "The first couple games, I thought he played terrific," said Rivers. "The Portland game he tried to do too much and he was thinking way too much scoring, instead of trying to be a point guard. I think he’s a point guard. I didn’t know that before. I’d heard that he could play a point guard, but I actually think he is a point guard and I think he can be that. After the Portland game, I told him, you’ve got to be more consistent, because he went back to trying to score and that’s not what he is. He’s not a scorer."

* NOT EXPECTING BUYOUT HELP: Rivers previously noted the Celtics are in the market for another big man to fill out their roster, but the team isn't expecting that talent to come from the buyout market. Players on other NBA rosters need to be bought out by 11:59 p.m. on Friday in order to be playoff-eligible for another team. "But no one is going to get bought out," said Rivers before cracking, "We were hoping some of the guys who made the All-Star team would get bought out, but none of them will. It’s been really quiet. The trade [deadline] was quiet -- even though there was a lot of chatter about a lot of people -- and I think the buyout [might be the same]. But with buyout, you never know until the last second , when a guy just walks in and says, 'I want out' and the team says, 'Yes.'"

* MAKING MOST OF PRACTICE TIME: After the All-Star break and travel-heavy west-coast trip, the Celtics were savoring a chance to get on the practice floor on Thursday, especially with three new faces on the roster since the last time they were home. "I'm looking forward to it, we had a little bit [of activity] yesterday, where just the young guys came in. It wasn't a practice. Today we’ll be able to go with everybody on the floor, full-court and active, and that will be nice. And then after the game [against Golden State] tomorrow, we’ll have at least two more days of good practice. They need it, we need it; It’s good."

* COACHES CHATTER: Rivers said he hadn't seen Doug Collins' epic postgame rant after a loss to the Magic earlier this week, but admitted it's hard for coaches to harness their frustrations when they reach their breaking point. "I don’t do it often, but I do it at times, too. It’s just such an emotional game, especially for the players and the coaches, obviously. I try to take more time after the game if I feel that way, to have my coaches talk me off the ledge, because we’ve all been there. There’s times when you say it and there’s times when you want to say it, too. And then there’s times you don’t." The conversation then swung to Golden State coach Mark Jackson, who Rivers was traded for during a Clippers-Lakers swap. "I think he's done a terrific job. Last year, too. Last year you could see the markings of what was going to happen this year. They didn't win a lot, they didn't make the playoffs, but you could feel it coming in what he was doing. He adopted a good offensive team, he's made them better. But what I think he's adopted is he's kinda brought into them now a mindset, a toughness, a defense. Being able to score with that, makes them really good." Asked if Jackson fits the "old-school" coaching mold, Rivers quipped that he's just old. "They showed a clip of him yesterday, there's no way he could wear that same uniform. That's all I'm going to say."

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Boston just signed T-Will for the rest of the season with conditionality for 2013-2014, according to Adrian W.

Ok, so now we have a roster spot locked up by someone with more than a 10-day contract. That's 13 now.

Doc Rivers is on record as saying he thinks TWill is a point guard… but he can also play some 3 in small line ups. Kevin Garnett also paid Williams a hell of a compliment by saying he sees plays before they unfold. - This is a quote from a column on redsarmy.com If these statements are true, that's pretty big. Especially the part about "seeing plays before they unfold". He's been with the team a week and a half. Imagine after he actually learns the plays...Set a pick on top fo rhim and let him take a guard, especially a point guard to the iron and he'll be tough to stop with his athleticism.

At the minimum, I think that we should expect to see T-Will in Orlando and Vegas next summer.

I know, I know, we're taking another flyer on a wannabe, but it has to be worth something he was a lottery pick, doesn't it?

bob



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