Chris Andersen Intriguing Option for Celtics, Worry Over Paul Pierce Retiring Elsewhere Overblown

NESN by Ben Watanabe on Thu, Aug 16, 2012

Paul Pierce could retire today and he would be a prominent part of Boston sports lore. That may be why fans were a little startled earlier this month when the Celtics star said he would play out his current contract and examine his choices when the time came.

Granted, Pierce did not say he planned to sign with another team, and there is no known contract extension on the table that Pierce is turning down to explore free agency. In an age in which Dwight Howard wants to control his destination well before his contract expires, Pierce's move to honor his contract should elicit applause, not hand-wringing.

Pierce not a Celtic is like Cousy, Russell, Bird or the Redster smoking that cigar not a Celtic. Give me and the rest of the nation a break! -- Kelly Lawrence, Weeki Wachee, Fla.

Pondering the possibility of Pierce leaving the Celtics in last week's podcast was certain to ruffle some feathers. As Kelly emotionally explains, seeing Pierce in another uniform would be tough to take for Celtics fans who have watched "The Truth" grow since 1998.

As we discussed in the podcast, though, the decision is not entirely up to Pierce. The Celtics have shown a willingness to trade anyone at any time and, if that is the case, Pierce is well within his rights to explore other options once his contract is up for renewal. With that said, a lot of the hubbub over Pierce's plan to "test free agency" is overstated. Pierce has another partially guaranteed year left after 2012-13, at which time he will be 36 years old and could be closer to retirement than another multiyear contract. Even if Pierce does not sign an extension, he still stands a solid chance of retiring as a Celtic.

Question! Who is to blame for Ray Allen's departure from the Celtics? Answer! Very simple. Danny Ainge and Doc Rivers! He was never going to be a Celtic this year. He saw the handwriting on the wall, did not want to be traded to a lesser team and knew Miami was interested in him. Now it's the possibility of another ring, end of story! -- Paul Guidi, Indian Wells, Calif.

Well, I wish we could all be as confident as you, Paul. Your opinion has some validity, as Allen did seem to be rubbed the wrong way by Ainge shopping him around next season. Better to go where he felt truly wanted than to sign up for another two years of uncertainty.

Blaming Rivers for Allen's departure may be a little much, however, even though the coach accepted the responsibility. By all accounts, Rivers aggressively courted Allen, short of standing on Allen's lawn holding a boombox over his head. It is also hard to argue with the two-year, $12 million offer Ainge reportedly put on the table for Allen -- that offer was roughly $3 million more than the three-year deal Allen eventually signed with the Heat for the taxpayer's exception of $3 million per year.

I love the intensity and rebounding Birdman brings to the game. I think he would be great off the bench to bring some intensity and excitement to the game when the starters need a rest. Any chance we use that last spot to sign him? -- Matty Ryan, Marlboro, Mass.

For the uninitiated, the "Birdman" to whom Matty is referring is free agent forward Chris Andersen. The 6-foot-10 Blinn College product is colorful -- and we mean that literally, as much of his body is covered in tattoos -- and energetic, averaging 3.2 blocked shots and 10.5 rebounds per 36 minutes in his career. He is believed to be satisfied with signing a contract for the veteran's minimum, which would make him a good fit for the Celtics on a few fronts. For one, it would keep the Celtics below the $74.3 million mark they cannot cross in payroll, due to signing Jason Terry to the midlevel exception. For another, the league pays half of veteran's minimum deals, so there would be some savings there.

The Celtics could use another big body, of course, but Andersen does not come without risks. He has averaged only 48 games per season in his 10-year career due to injuries and suspensions, including missing nearly two full years from 2006 to 2008 for violating the league's anti-drug policy. Andersen has never been anything close to a 30-minute per game guy, either, and at 34 years old his ability to play long stretches on the court is even more doubtful. Would it be worth the potential headaches for a player who only logs about 10 minutes a game, at best?

Andersen increased the potential interest in him considerably by opening himself up to the vet's minimum. Several teams reportedly have inquired about his services, including the Knicks, where he would be reunited with his friends and former Nuggets teammates Carmelo Anthony and J.R. Smith. Andersen also might stand a better chance of cracking the rotation in New York, where Tyson Chandler, Amare Stoudemire and Kurt Thomas are the only true post players on the current roster. In Boston, Andersen would vie for playing time with Kevin Garnett, Chris Wilcox, Brandon Bass and possibly Jared Sullinger, Jason Collins and Fab Melo.

112288

Ok but do not let him babyset the kids.

Dboss

Ya, I am worried about that. We have a clean image..why infect it.


112288

IF one could look past Andersen's personal life (a big "If"), he'd be an ideal final piece to the Celtics' big man roster—an active, defensively-minded, experienced C/PF. By my count, that would ostensibly leave six guys vying for four slots: Collins, Melo, Joseph, Christmas, Dooling and Smith.

Unless he shoots something like 75% in the preseason, I would expect Smith to be a likely candidate to depart. After that, I wouldn't be shocked if Joseph and Christmas were sufficiently impressive and Melo showed sufficient long-term potential in preseason for Doc to keep all three of them around.

That would boil the final cut down to Collins (or perhaps Andersen, if he implodes) and Dooling, depending on whether Doc feels they need more insurance up front or at the guard positions. The ongoing status of Bradley could also play a part in that decision. Between Collins and Andersen, I'd probably prefer Andersen. Yes, he played in only half of his team's games last season, but it's been seven seasons since Collins last played in the great majority of his team's games. Moreover, Anderson averages about double Collins' rebound total per 36 minutes, to say nothing of Andersen's 8-1 advantage over Collins in blocks per 36 minutes.

All of this, of course, is based on the premises that (1) Danny will acquire another big such as Andersen as I hope he will and (2) Danny won't make any trades, which could be a very risky premise.

I assume Comcast will carry the preseason games, which makes me very happy that I'm a subscriber.

Sam

He was also arrested for kiddy porn on the internet!

112288

112288,

That's what I meant when I said, "IF one could look past Andersen's personal life (a big 'If')."

Sam

dboss and 112288,

IMO, we should be careful when we post things like "kiddie porn" and "don't let him babysit your kids" in reference to Chris Anderson. It is all well and good to get caught up in the flashy headlines, but the truth may be far from that:

Chris Andersen’s attorney suggests Nugget being extorted

Kurt Helin May 11, 2012, 4:58 PM EDT

The already strange Chris Andersen case has taken an new turn with the attorney for the Nuggets big man suggesting this is a case of extortion by a spurned female fan.

Yesterday police from the Internet Crimes Against Children division searched Andersen’s Denver area home and took a number of computers and other devices as part of an ongoing investigation that had gone one for a couple months after a tip from California law enforcement. Police are not offering details of the case due to the ongoing investigation.

The Nuggets “excused indefinately” Andersen from his duties with the team until the issue is resolved, he was not on the bench with them for their Game 6 win over the Lakers Thursday nor will he be with them for Game 7 on Saturday.

Andersen’s attorney, Colin Bresee, has released a statement to the Denver Post that starts to tell his side of the story.


“A female fan in 2010 mailed Mr. Andersen multiple letters and included several photos in which she was scantily clad. Chris and this woman communicated with each other and in 2011, this woman, who represented herself as 21 years of age, flew to Colorado, showing her required identification. After leaving Colorado, she became upset at his lack of interest. In 2012, she threatened to retaliate if he did not provide financial remuneration. “

According to the statement, someone purporting to be the woman’s mother wrote in an email that ” ‘i (sic) want him to pay for everything on her Amazon wish list, 5K for her bedding stuff and her victoria secret wish list.”

“Professional athletes are routinely targeted by these types of individuals,” the statement said. “The media has been speculating that he’s a suspect and not a victim in a criminal investigation. Mr. Andersen has been fully cooperative with the authorities. The investigation is expected to take three weeks. We’re confident it will show that Chris did not engage in any criminal conduct.”

Bresee confirmed that story to the Associated Press adding that he expects the negotiation to take about three weeks and that his client would be cleared. Andersen has not been arrested, no charges have been filed and police said there is nothing imminent.

I’m not going to pretend to know what the truth is here, that will be up to the police to sort out.

http://probasketballtalk.nbcsports.com/2012/05/11/chris-andersens-attorney-suggests-nugget-being-extorted/

This article is from May, for crying out loud. This is also been discussed on other boards and now anyone who brings this up at this late date is considered to be trolling. I'm not saying either of you are trolling, I am just asking for you to put down the tar, the feathers and the damn rail and consider the facts before you post.

Just sayin'.

gyso

PS: Here's another link:

http://www.denverpost.com/breakingnews/ci_20603636/nuggets-center-chris-birdman-andersens-legal-team-says

The elaborately tattooed, fan-favorite Andersen, 33, has not been arrested . . .

The headline should read, "Denver Nugget targeted by gold-digging women"

Judge not lest....

I really hate trying people in the court of public opinion without a full airing of the facts, especially on charges of kiddie porn. That's such a serious indictment!

FYI, eight years ago someone broke into my office and the office of the nearby Selby Botanical Gardens. We caught him on July 4th in flagrant delecti, or should I say erecti? What had he been doing? Downloading animal porn onto our computers! You heard me right! The guy had a really sick fetish for animals and apparently there are lots of sites on the web catering to such tastes. I had beaucoup viruses on my computer as a result and spent $600 to clean up the computer venereal disease. Fortunately there was no kiddie porn, or else the cops were going to impound my computer for years! The guy did a few months in County. I have no idea what happened to him. Just hope he's not a dog walker or pet sitter now.

Cow,

Collins' main advantage over Anderson (at least on the court) is obviously his height and bulk. Otherwise, during the past two years, Otherwise:

Number of seasons since playing as many 50 games: Anderson 3, Collins 7

In the past two seasons:
Percentage of games played: Anderson 52%, Collins 53%
Minutes per game: Andersen 15, Collins 11
Points per 36 minutes: Andersen 12, Collins 5
Field goal shooting percentage: Andersen 57%, Collins 44%
Free throw shooting percentage: Andersen 62%, Collins 57%
Rebounds per 36 minutes: Andersen 11, Collins 6
Blocks per 36 minutes: Andersen 3, Collins 0.5

As usual, stats don't begin to tell the whole story. And, as usual, I look for context in virtually any basketball discussion. Between these two, my context would be how each might fit with the second unit. I expect the second unit to be more uptempo this season. I believe Andersen would be a better fit for the bench by (1) running the floor better and (2) triggering the fast break better with his rebounding.

Ideally, of course, it would be nice to keep both around and perhaps activate just one of the two per game, depending on (1) who's more physically able to play and (2) matchups (for example using Collins against Howard and Bynum). But the cuts will have to come from somewhere, and personally I'm hoping Joseph, Christmas and Melo will show enough promise to be possible Celtics mainstays of the future and/or valuable trading chips in the future.

Of course it's all academic unless Danny decides to give Andersen a shot. I continue to believe another big will be added to the roster by training camp, and the pickings are pretty slim. Even Przybilla's out of the mix now.

Sam

Cow,

Of course, those numbers were on a 36 minutes basis, and it could take either Birdman or Collins as many as three games to reach that level. But I'll take a rebound every three minute any time.

I was actually shocked to see that Collins hadn't played more than something like 46 games in each of the last seven seasons. It would be nice if they could pay guys like that by the minute.

The tats don't scare me either. I just close my eyes and listen to the play-by-play.

Sam

Gyso,

I was just pointing out to those who may not be so plugged into the NBA outside of Boston Celtics that this happened. He is innocent until prove guilty where I come from, but you cannot keep it quiet either because it is a dicey subject. Anderson has a checkered past so if something out of left field is made public, it is hard not to dismiss as if this thing happened to say Ray Allen.

112288

GYSO

I was not all that serious about the babysitting the kids comment. So please don't take offense.

Of course he is innocent until proven guilty.

But with the case still open I do not agree that the Celtics should consider adding him to the team. If the investigation was officially closed that would remove some doubt. At the very least his decision making can certainly be questioned. The article you referenced indicates that some chick sent him some nasty photos of her and at some point she ends up in Colorado and I am assuming they spent some time together.

He subsequently shows no interest in her so she and the mom (supposedly) tried to extort money from him. Poor Chris...how could this have happened.

I also do recall him being banned from the NBA due to a banned substance issue.

None of these things make him a bad guy but IMO he is not the type of character that enhances the Celtics.. From a basketball perspective he could help the team.

dboss

To anyone,

If the Celtics were ever to take a character risk on a player, this would be the circumstance for it. Their depth in players who will police the locker room is unprecedented in recent years. They'd be risking only a veteran's minimum contract (and would not even be responsible for paying all of that). Casting him aside, if necessary, would be like flicking an ant off the table. I would look at it as low risk, moderate upside.

On the other hand, if Danny were tempted to go after Chris, he very likely might have done so by now.

Sam