REPORT: CELTICS TO SIGN JASON COLLINS

by **112288** Sun Jul 22, 2012 2:06 pm

WEEI
By: Alex Speier

According to ESPNBoston.com, which cited multiple league sources, the Celtics will sign veteran center Jason Collins to a one-year deal at the veteran minimum. The Celtics will pay approximately $854,359, according to the report, with the league picking up the rest of Collins' $1.35 million salary as a veteran with 10-plus years of NBA experience.

The 33-year-old seven-footer was limited to 30 games with the Hawks last year, scoring 1.3 points while averaging 1.6 rebounds in 10.3 minutes per game. However, he is considered an imposing defensive presence, as the Celtics found out at times in a first-round playoff series against the Hawks.

Collins presumably represents a move to address the void created at center after Greg Stiemsma agreed to an offer sheet with the Timberwolves.

112288

by **Matty** Sun Jul 22, 2012 3:57 pm

last season greg steimsma had 85 blocks for the boston celtics..

since the beginning of the 2006-07 season Jason Colins has blocked 90 shots.

sometimes it aint whether a void is filled, sometimes its what ya fill it with.

by **dboss** Sun Jul 22, 2012 5:18 pm

Thanks Marty...that's incouraging.

Dboss

by **Sam** Sun Jul 22, 2012 5:42 pm

Matty and Dboss,

I think blocks can be misleading. People tended to go ga ga over Stiemsma's blocks, and he even kept the majority in-bounds. The problem was that the other team very often wound up with the ball, and the process of blocking the shot had left Greg out of position to contest the putback.

That was the true genius of Russell. He didn't just block the ball and he didn't just keep the ball in-bounds. He invariably recovered it himself or directed it to a teammate. And, if an opponent did grab the blocked shot, Russ would be on his toes and positioned to contest the putback attempt.

Unless a blocked shot leads to an empty possession for the opponent, the block is just a useless stat. I'll be very happy if Collins can do a satisfactory job of positioning himself to play acceptable deny defense and can do a reasonable job of contesting interior shots.

Sam

by **hawksnestbeach** Sun Jul 22, 2012 6:05 pm

Showing my ignorance here, but why didn't (couldn't) the Celtics offer Steimsma more initially? I think he's going to be a starter in a year or two if healthy.

by **cowens/oldschool** Sun Jul 22, 2012 6:45 pm

hawksnestbeach wrote:Showing my ignorance here, but why didn't (couldn't) the Celtics offer Steimsma more initially? I think he's going to be a starter in a year or two if healthy.

Melo

by **gyso** Sun Jul 22, 2012 7:10 pm

hawksnestbeach wrote:Showing my ignorance here, but why didn't (couldn't) the Celtics offer Steimsma more initially? I think he's going to be a starter in a year or two if healthy.

Since we were over the salary cap, we had to use an exception in order to sign him. The first exception that comes to mind for signing your own free agents is Bird rights. Full Bird rights come after three years, which didn't apply, since Stiemsma only has played in the NBA for one year. The next exception to consider is the non-taxpayers Mid Level Exception (MLE), which is for $5 million and can be split up to sign multiple players. We used the full MLE to sign Jason Terry. The next exception is the Bi-annual Exception (BAE) which is worth just under $2 million for one year, $4.1 million for 2 years, tops.

'Sota offered him 3 million for one year, knowing that we could not find an exception to come up with that kind of number.

Perhaps if we had offered Greg a 2 year contract at full BAE ($4.1mil) Stiemsma might not have gone looking, who knows? His agent needed to see what is out there for offers and if he didn't, he should have been fired. Minny showed interest, right off the bat and that appealed to Greg, playing close to home. I can't blame him for wanting that.

I guess it comes down to the fact that Danny had bigger fish to fry earlier on, with KG, Ray Allen, Bass, Green, Jason Terry, etc. By the time that Stiemsma became important, the money just wasn't there to sign him.

by **mrkleen09** Sun Jul 22, 2012 8:22 pm

hawksnestbeach wrote:I think he's going to be a starter in a year or two if healthy.

Stiemsma wont be a starter in the NBA anytime soon....if ever. Nice kid, hard worker, not worth what he was asking and certainly not a starter.

by **112288** Sun Jul 22, 2012 9:18 pm

Celtics add Collins, Smith
Link|Comments (4)Posted by Staff July 22, 2012 05:55 PM
LAS VEGAS -- Center Jason Collins and guard Jamar Smith have agreed to contracts with the Celtics and will join the team for training camp, according to team sources.

Collins played for Atlanta last season and Smith, who is with the Celtics’ summer league entry, played in the Czech Republic last season after performing for the Maine Red Claws in the D League.

by **112288** Sun Jul 22, 2012 9:54 pm

All in all Danny did well for us this summer. WE NOW HAVE A REAL DEEP BENCH! This takes the pressure off the starters and allows us to be more aggressive with the starters sitting. Although we lost Steamer .....it will be interesting to see if he can grow from his rookie season. Danny is not done yet and I expect him to make some additional moves. It is a nice blend of vet's and rooks and the rooks well benefit from the experience.

I am so impressed with this kid Christmas...he has a nose to be in good position either shooting or for waiting for a rebound and he plays with an aggressive attitude.

Now the long wait until September training camp!!!!!!!!!!!!

112288

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REPORT: CELTICS TO SIGN JASON COLLINS

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