Could Bradley's status entice a top guard?

July, 8, 2012

By Chris Forsberg | ESPNBoston.com

Does Avery Bradley's injury entice the likes of Courtney Lee more?
If you're looking for a silver lining to the possibility that Avery Bradley will miss the start of the regular season, consider this: Boston's sales pitch just got a little bit more intriguing for prospective additions.

The Celtics have only the biannual exception left to offer outside free agents, which amounts to a maximum of a two-year, $4.1 million offer (or a single season at $1.975 million). That's unlikely to attract a frontline player -- unless it came with the potential for that player to be thrust into the spotlight in a talent-loaded starting lineup on a title contender.

Think of it this way: If the Celtics were completely healthy, the guard spot is top heavy with Bradley and Rajon Rondo as starters and Jason Terry as the first guard off the bench. In that case, the Celtics would be offering a meager salary and can't guarantee heavy floor time (though you can make the case that fourth guard Mickael Pietrus averaged a solid 21.9 minutes per game last season).

Now, the Celtics can make the pitch that Bradley's health is in question and they might need a starter that would allow them to keep Terry in his preferred bench role at the start of the year. Is that enough to sway the likes of Courtney Lee, who could seemingly fetch more money elsewhere?

The difficulty with Lee is that he was in line for a solid payday. After earning $2.3 million last season, incentives allowed Lee's qualifying offer from the Rockets to balloon to $4.4 million. Houston initially submitted that offer, then rescinded it in order to pursue other players.

Coming off a season in which he averaged 11.4 points and shot 40.1 percent from beyond the 3-point arc while starting 26 of 58 appearances, the 26-year-old Lee would have to be content to play at least one more season at a minimal payday. If he excelled in Boston, potentially aided by starter minutes at the start of the year, he would be in line to cash in down the road.

It's more likely that a veteran would be willing to take the reduced payday and it will be interesting to see what the interest level of someone like Pietrus is. Remember that Pietrus was in line to be the one that replaced Ray Allen in the starting lineup last season until he suffered a concussion and missed much of the end of the regular season (that allowed Bradley the opportunity to step in and look how much his stock ballooned in limited time).

Pietrus seemingly makes a lot of sense if he could be convinced to take that smaller payday, particularly coming off right knee surgery (and remember that, while he played at the minimum last season, he also received part of his $5.3 million salary as part of a buyout with the Phoenix Suns).

The Celtics, of course, would be more intrigued by the likes of Lee given his age and upside. But remember, Lee's offensive game is enticing, but his defensive numbers aren't so dazzling. According to Synergy Sports data, he allowed 0.879 points per play last season, ranking in the 37th percentile. The Celtics would benefit from a defensive-minded player on the bench, though offense was clearly Boston's biggest bench woe last season.

112288

There are no "top guards" available. Courtney Lee is NOT a top guard.

bob


.

BOB,

I guess it is how you look at the glass...half full or half empty!

He may be the best of the bunch still out there.

112288

112288 wrote:BOB,

I guess it is how you look at the glass...half full or half empty!

He may be the best of the bunch still out there.

112288

112288,

You're right.

Lee is floating, belly up, at the surface of a half-full glass.

Just kidding.

bob

.

Bob,

I looked at Lee's stats....there are not too bad and he is only 26 and 6'5" and can run.

You also have to look at the basketball environment he played under.

112288

Wouldn't it be wiser to spend the MLE on a center?

Houston wants to package Camby in a sign and trade.

The Boston Celtics have emerged as a serious suitor for Courtney Lee after coach Doc Rivers met with the free-agent guard Saturday night, according to sources familiar with Boston’s thinking.

Sources told ESPN.com that the Celtics, in the wake of losing sharpshooter Ray Allen to the Miami Heat, have ratcheted up their pursuit of Lee as a possible replacement.

Lee averaged 11.4 points per game for the Houston Rockets last season and hit 40 percent of his 3-point attempts.

The Celtics don’t have the salary-cap space to sign Lee outright, but sources say the Rockets have let it be known that they’re willing to participate in sign-and-trade deals with both Marcus Camby and Lee amid the increasing likelihood that neither of those coveted free agents will be returning to Houston.





112288

Makes sense to get both of them then. I always liked Marcus, dating back to his UMASS days. He's still an improvement over Hollins.

W,

Agreed!

112288

Hi,
A SG is nice and peachy, especially one that can shoot @40% from 3-pt land. But what about a C (as in center)?
I hope DA has something up his sleeve in that regard. I'm not sure Camby is a back-up.

AK

sinus007 wrote:Hi,
A SG is nice and peachy, especially one that can shoot @40% from 3-pt land. But what about a C (as in center)?
I hope DA has something up his sleeve in that regard. I'm not sure Camby is a back-up.

AK

That's what Camby is at his age - 38. A back-up. He's not gonna give you 36 minutes a night or he'll break down but for 20 or so he'd be terrific. I've watched him a lot over his career and for someone with a slight build for a center, he's an amazing rebounder. The number of 15 and 20 rebound games (in limited minutes) he's had at age 36 and 37 are incredible and he's a great shot blocker. And his free throws aren't that bad although he's gotten worse lately. He's a career 67.2% FT shooter. Better than Perk or Rondo.

I wish we had Camby the last few years instead of the nightmare that was JON, if we had Camby we sure wouldn't be last in rebounding.

cowens/oldschool wrote:I wish we had Camby the last few years instead of the nightmare that was JON, if we had Camby we sure wouldn't be last in rebounding.

We'd probably have one or two more championships too. How many key playoff games did we fall apart by getting killed on the boards in the fourth quarter when our bigs ran out of gas??