GOING TO BE A LONG ROAD BACK IF AT ALL FOR DANIELS

Marquis Daniels will take time on road to recovery

By Mark Murphy
Tuesday, February 8, 2011

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — The next step for Marquis Daniels requires time, and lots of it.

“He’s feeling a lot better. As far as playing I don’t know how fine he’ll be,” Doc Rivers said before last night’s game against the Bobcats. “He’s going to be OK. As far as playing basketball, we don’t know that answer yet. But as far as life, health, yeah, he’ll be OK, and that’s all that matters to me right now.

“His spirits are good,” the coach added. “They are what they are, though. He wants to play.”


Daniels was released from New England Baptist Hospital yesterday. There will be up to two months of observation and rest before the Celtics [team stats] swingman is allowed to play basketball again.

General manager Danny Ainge and the Celtics medical staff had a conference call last night with Daniels and his agent, Mark Bartelstein, though treatment for his malady — a bruised spinal cord — is a process that will have to be developed.

“There needs to be time,” Ainge said. “There has to be rational thinking, and Marquis has to gather himself. I don’t think there’s treatment so much as there’s a lot of rest. It’s sort of like treatment for a concussion.”

Daniels, who suffered a concussion in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference finals last May, was carried off the Garden floor on a stretcher Sunday after he collapsed following a collision with Magic guard Gilbert Arenas. Daniels lay prone for approximately five minutes as his teammates and the crowd looked on.

“He’s frustrated,” Bartelstein said. “He’s been having a great year. He loves playing, and he loves being a part of the Celtics. But I’ll say this, he’s feeling a lot better than when he was carried off the court (Sunday).”

Though Daniels talked of episodes of numbness and tingling in his hands and arms in the past, Bartelstein declined to discuss whether his condition is congenital.

“He’s had some episodes, but it’s really too premature to talk about it,” he said.

Ainge was similarly cautious.

“We’ll know a lot more soon,” he said.

112288

This sounds like something that is symptomatic and has had deeper roots and the basketball injuries have just augmented the situation bringing it to the surface. Marquis has been a good soldier for the C's and it is up to the team to do all it can to rehab him whether it means a retun to the court or not. 'Quis has the fiber to survive this and still have a productive life with or without basketball-MD.

MD, I'm sure the Celtic's will take care of him. But his condition is a roll of the dice for the next 1-2 months and there is $$$$$Millions riding on this as a team. Play-off finals bring in TONS OF CASH$$$$$$to the bottom line of the team. So this is a big problem for Danny to solve.

If in fact, he ('Quis) is on the shelf for the remainder of 2010-'10 season naturally a move needs to be made for a SF. Money is on the line and should be no object for Wyc and Danny to spend what is necessary to keep the C's in the hunt for the title, while tending to the care and rehab of Marquis Daniels. If Daniels isn't coming back this year, it seems that should open a spot on the roster.-MD.

MD,

If Daniels is not coming back this year, Boston would have to release him to open up a roster spot.

Being out for the season does not remove a player from the roster. There is no such thing as injured reserve. Once a player is on a roster, he counts toward the team's maximum of 15 whether or not he's playing or in the NBDL or whatever. They could buy him out, which wouldn't save much money but (I think, subject to the expertise of gyso) would open up a roster spot. But, in some manner, they have to get rid of a player (and it could be through trade) to add a player.

Sam

A buyout is viewed as a negotiated settlement. Those rarely happen in the NBA. A team can release a player at any time. They still pay the full salary but it opens up a roster spot.
I believe Miami is paying 19 salaries this year because of the players they signed and had to release to get to a roster size of 15.

TJ,

I think they had to buy out Sheed for purposes of his retiring, although I'm not 100% certain. If either JON or Daniels decided to retire, I'd assume that's the route they'd go. Releasing would be a possibility with someone like Bradley.

The retirement angle is, in my estimation, a real long shot because a lot of thought and monitoring of recoveries would be required for that to happen.

It seems there's no really good solution for this one, which is obviously a risk they took when they went the veteran route and signed Daniels with knowledge of his medical history.

I have been trying to inject some sense of reality with all the conjecture going around. Bringing someone in is not just a matter of money. It's a matter of roster openings (which the Celtics don't now have). Then it's a matter of finding someone who's good enough to matter among a free agent market that's sparse to say the least. Or it's a matter of trading, and we've discussed the lack of appealing Celtics' trade bait. (I can't believe they'd remotely consider relinquishing a core player at this juncture of the season.)

I'd gladly swap Bradley(through release) for Sims because, while Bradley's athleticism and defense have some value, I think the Celtics are pretty well set for the future at the one position he'd be likely to play in the NBA (PG). And that's not such a certainty at SF. At least Sims went through most of the preseason with them and has been under their wing in Maine. If he's healthy, I'd like to see what he might offer at a position where he only has to fill a role rather than having to assume a multiplicity of responsibilities such as PG has to do. He'd certainly add athleticism up front, and he's got legitimate size for a SF. His DL stats to date:

6' 8" 225 pounds
33.6 MPG
18.1 PPG (shooting 49.2%)
38.1% 3-pointers 64.4% FT
8.1 RPG (2.5 OR, 5.6 DR)
1.28 steals per game
1.3 assists per game

Sam

sam wrote:TJ,

I think they had to buy out Sheed for purposes of his retiring, although I'm not 100% certain. If either JON or Daniels decided to retire, I'd assume that's the route they'd go. Releasing would be a possibility with someone like Bradley.

The retirement angle is, in my estimation, a real long shot because a lot of thought and monitoring of recoveries would be required for that to happen.

It seems there's no really good solution for this one, which is obviously a risk they took when they went the veteran route and signed Daniels with knowledge of his medical history.

I have been trying to inject some sense of reality with all the conjecture going around. Bringing someone in is not just a matter of money. It's a matter of roster openings (which the Celtics don't now have). Then it's a matter of finding someone who's good enough to matter among a free agent market that's sparse to say the least. Or it's a matter of trading, and we've discussed the lack of appealing Celtics' trade bait. (I can't believe they'd remotely consider relinquishing a core player at this juncture of the season.)

I'd gladly swap Bradley(through release) for Sims because, while Bradley's athleticism and defense have some value, I think the Celtics are pretty well set for the future at the one position he'd be likely to play in the NBA (PG). And that's not such a certainty at SF. At least Sims went through most of the preseason with them and has been under their wing in Maine. If he's healthy, I'd like to see what he might offer at a position where he only has to fill a role rather than having to assume a multiplicity of responsibilities such as PG has to do. He'd certainly add athleticism up front, and he's got legitimate size for a SF. His DL stats to date:

6' 8" 225 pounds
33.6 MPG
18.1 PPG (shooting 49.2%)
38.1% 3-pointers 64.4% FT
8.1 RPG (2.5 OR, 5.6 DR)
1.28 steals per game
1.3 assists per game

Sam

sam,

Actually, I think Sims played summer league ball with the Celtics, NOT pre-season. If I'm right, that tells me he didn't get any time with Doc's playbook and the current roster. He played, for one week only in July, for Austin Ainge in summer league and is playing for him now in Maine. Austin Ainge might be a chip off the old block but he's not a chip off of Doc Rivers' block.

Does Austin Ainge run Doc's playbook even though his roster is completely different? I doubt it. He schools players on what Doc wants his players to do and develops their games to they can be NBA players, but does he run the Celtic playbook? We saw it took Von Wafer a while to "get it" and he is no rookie like Sims. We saw Powe get his minutes cut for a while until he got it. Same with Davis. I like Sims, but I'm not sure he'd provide much besides cannon fodder in the season we have left. Unless we can free up a roster spot by trading a player for no player in return (can we even do that?), Sims' opportunity to be called up is limited.

bob

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From what heard about Rasheed is that Boston bought him out at $0.
He 'retired' even if he didn't file retirement papers.

JON and Daniels won't retire even if they are never able to play again.
I didn't realize Sims was having such a good year. He definitely could help Boston.
Not every SF is super athletic so I think BBD would do fine against the larger/slower SF's like Artest, as a back up to Pierce.

I think Boston could be in a bad way at the center position. With the injuries to JON/Shaq/Erden and the propensity of Shaq and Perk to get into foul trouble, Boston could be very thin at center during the playoffs.

I know Boston fans have often said, "wait until we get everyone healthy...", that might not be a reality. If all or most are healthy, Boston is a championship contender. Without improving the team as of today, Boston could struggle as the season wears on.

Bob,

I was just going back to edit the preseason out of my post when you beat me to it. You're right. Sims wasn't with the Celtics in preseason. He opted to go to Greece, got homesick, and had a heck of a time being reinstated so he could go to the D League. I'm not exactly sure what the problem was, but I know it had to do with his opting for Greece.

Sam

TJ,

I thought they paid him a lump sum when they bought him out. But, I'll defer to you on that matter since I am not a student of the financial aspects of the game. I find them boring.

On another thread, I've added some comments about Sims, culled from eight scouting reports (almost universally involving his college experience). I had forgotten that he actually played center in college and loved to mix it up under the boards. Apparently, he could get pushed around by bigger centers, but I consider that sort of a "duh" factor. The Celtics would want him only as a SF.

IF (a big "IF") he joined the Celtics, I believe he'd immediately become their most athletic player other than Rondo (and maybe even including Rondo). He seems to have one of those all-American builds that people predict will adapt readily to gaining strength and poundage.

I'm not quite sure how he wound up with the Celtics' DL club, and I'm not at all certain about which teams have the rights to players on other clubs' DL teams. But I know he's not on the Celtics roster, and I wouldn't be shocked if another NBA team that's going nowhere this season plucked Sims out of relative obscurity to give him an NBA try. I'm sufficiently enthused about his physical potential to hope the Celts give him a try. I know nothing about his basketball smarts, but I distinctly recall that he was Harangody-like in his instincts around the basket.

This should be very interesting. It seems there are very few people who don't agree that the Celtics have to do something. And, frankly, I'm concerned that Bradley is uni-dimensional. While defense is a nice dimension to represent, he has seemed to be light years away from gaining an aptitude for running the point. He's be my choice to go.

Sam

Sam,

I think odd man out with West coming back is Von Wafer. So you trade him for a pick or expand it further to include another body like Luke or Nat.

I like Bradley and his defense...I think he has better smarts the Nat who sometimes goes wild and gets the team into early foul trouble.

112288

112288,

You have to receive a player or players with equal salary value in order to make a trade. I don't believe a pick alone will do the job.

If West is to be the PG for the bench, who's the SG? Right now, I like Wafer at SG over Nate. Better shooter, much better and more aggressive going to the hoop, becoming a really strong drive-and-dish passer, better and taller defender at that position.

I believe Luke is more than a body. I think he has a lot of potential in much the way Glen Davis did when he joined the team. Glen was more agile, and Luke can shoot from farther out. Otherwise, there are a lot of similarities in areas that I think have value.

As far as I'm concerned, I'd keep Nate over Bradley because I believe Bradley hasn't shown nearly enough to make him much more than a future project at a position Rondo will occupy for years. At least Nate, despite his shortcomings (pun intended), combines some offensive strengths (though streaky) with some defensive strengths. Bradley is strictly defensive.

As I've stated elsewhere (maybe above...I'm too lazy to look), my bench would consist of the center of the day, Davis, Sims, Wafer and West, with Nate in reserve.

Sam

Sam

Sam,

If Boston trades for another player, Nate or JON will almost have to be included because of their higher salaries. I agree with Wafer over Nate. He won't score 15 in a quarter like Nate can but he has a more balanced game and can guard bigger players.
If West is healthy at the end of the season, he could get 20+ minutes/game at back up pg and sg while Wafer picks up the remaining 5-10 minutes/game.

I am sure you have heard the old saying that you can't teach height...
To some degree the same is true for athleticism. Bradley has a God-given gift that can't be taught. He might be able to learn to be an NBA point guard. He is only 20 years old. Harangody's are much easier to find.
I respect your opinion about who they should keep and we can differ slightly. I am not trying to change your mind.

Sam,

You do make sense.

112288

TJ,

I happen to think it's easier to find athletic players than players who have the smarts, discipline, and sharing mentality to fit into the Celtics' most typical approach to the game.

For those who would extol the virtues of athleticism, I would have four words:

Gerald Green

Don Nelson

I think Sims would wind up being no lower than #2 or #3 on this Celtics team in terms of sheer athleticism. And the athleticism that he possesses would seem to be in the area of greatest Celtics need at present.

After all this conjecture, probably Danny will trade Perk and KG for Artest and an invite to Phil Jackson's wedding.

Sam

sam wrote:TJ,


After all this conjecture, probably Danny will trade Perk and KG for Artest and an invite to Phil Jackson's wedding.

Sam

Just shoot me now.



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