Report: Celtics close to signing...

What? Mikki Moore was not available?

The China Syndrome....let the meltdown begin

Dboss

Hi,
Thanks for info.
I thought that Chinese teams don't allow players to leave?

AK

Done=signed a 10 day contract. Will possibly be in Denver for tomorrow

Does anyone know how to access the NBA channel for that Russell interview. I do not have it in my package?

Rosalie

I think the Terrence Williams signing is insurance in case Boston trades either a SG or SF. Boston's needs are a true point guard or a big man and Williams is not one of those players. Williams won't be much of a factor with this roster but he could be if the roster changes and he gets some time at SG or SF. I like his game even though he is not a good shooter.

REPORT: CELTICS SIGN 'FREAKISH' TERRENCE WILLIAMS

WEEI By Ben Rohrbach

The Celtics and former Louisville star Terrence Williams, the No. 11 overall pick in the 2009 NBA draft, agreed to what's believed to be a 10-day contract, according to The Boston Globe's Gary Washburn.


The 6-foot-6, 220-pound wing averaged 17.9 points (47.9 FG%, 42.3 3P%, 71.7 FT%), 4.1 assists, 3.4 rebounds and 1.2 steals in just 27.0 minutes a night over 29 games in the Chinese Basketball Association for the first-place Guangdong Southern Tigers prior to being unceremoniously replaced by Donald Sloan on Friday two games before the CBA playoffs. Williams averaged 7.6 points (40.4 FG%, 31.5 3P%, 68.2 FT%), 3.9 rebounds and 2.5 assists in 129 games over three seasons for the Nets, Rockets and Kings.

Once dubbed "a freakish athlete" by Louisville coach Rick Pitino, Williams played his prep career in Seattle, where Celtics guards Avery Bradley and Jason Terry have strong ties. T-Will chronicled his basketball journey in a web series titled "Poor Hungry Driven."

The Celtics begin a five-game West Coast road trip on Tuesday against the Nuggets. They had just 10 healthy players on the roster after season-ending injuries to Rajon Rondo, Jared Sullinger and Leandro Barbosa. Williams is expected to join the team in Denver, according to Washburn.

Celtics coach Doc Rivers hinted at such a deal over the past week. He and team president Danny Ainge agreed last week that they would rather sign the best available player than somebody who fills a need at a certain position (i.e., a point guard or a big), and Williams fits that bill. Likewise, Rivers said on Friday the C's were looking at possibilities in the Chinese Basketball Association, and later that day Williams became available. Coincidence?

112288

IF he gets any minutes, this guy could potentially help the transition game. He's a freakishly athletic bruiser and finishes with authority. He's been typed as a bit of a head case in the past, so we'll see about that.

Description and videos:

http://celticshub.com/2013/02/18/celtics-on-verge-of-signing-terrence-williams-to-10-day-contract/

Seems to me the Celtics have decided not to try to replace Rondo with a low-quality point guard. They're apparently entrusting their fortunes to PG by committee and have now added a big guard who has received a lot of praise as a ball distributor. He's not a PG, but he could potentially give them some minutes in the current model whereby the assists can come from anywhere—as can the scoring—with the tight defense and transition game tying the whole thing together.

Sam

Interesting signing. Being with the NJ Nets did not help his career. The Nets organization had no clue in developing young talent. That was a disaster waiting to happen to any young player until they made a change in ownership and management this year. So perhaps this kid possesses something Danny and Doc like.

Red was famous for bring players in...teaching them to play specific roles in "team concept" ball and allow that player to perfect his role. Examples, remember Don Nelson, Don Chaney, Larry Siegfried, Satch Sanders

Positives

1) Remember you cannot teach athletic abilities and this kid has that.
2) He brings NBA experience.
3) Comes cheap

Let's see what Doc has in mind for the role he wants Williams to play. Again, I said this a month ago, I rather see good role players brought in now to finish completing the bench then to trade some of our young assets.

112288

Hey Sam,

I saw the video you posted on Williams. I have a question.

Will Williams insist that his name on the back of his Celtic jersey be both in English and Chinese?

112288

Living in NJ, saw him play and always loved this kids potential. 112288 is right, he came into a bad situation and never developed, but this kid has sick Tony Allen type athleticism and is a few inches taller. Hope our vets can nurture him, he has to know this is a great chance and its time to grow up and make the best of it. I could see him as a BU 2 that once harnessed could help us.


Cow,

Does he make Courtney Lee superfluous?


bob


bob I don't think so, having another athletic wing sized player can only be a good thing, to keep up our up tempo game, a good 4 guard rotation can only be a good thing and as Sam noted he is also a very good ballhandler, hes got speed, hops, shocked a kid with all this talent was waived out of the league...this is worth a shot, if the light goes on could be a great pick up.


.

112288,

I don't know about his language demands, but I heard he has a chopstick clause in his contract.

Sam

in situations involving recently arrived players—especially in the middle of the season—Doc has invariably integrated them by keeping things as simple as possible. Running the floor is the epitome of simple. So it could be that this kid could contribute fairly early on offense. It's a different story on defense, where complexity rules. That could be the acid test. We have learned that athleticism doesn't necessarily guarantee a great defensive performance. I wish him luck.

Sam

RosalieTCeltics wrote:Done=signed a 10 day contract. Will possibly be in Denver for tomorrow

Does anyone know how to access the NBA channel for that Russell interview. I do not have it in my package?

Rosalie

Rosalie

I have NBA.com in No. Attleboro Ma. but its channel number differs from town to town and carrior. Your local TV guide will have the correct channel.
Swish

Watched a few videos.

Big physical guard that should be a good rebounder. He is made for an uptempo game.. If he wants to get minutes he must earn them on the defensive end.

Would love to see him on one wing with JG on

the other.

Low risk 10 day flyer but to pull him from China tells me that Danny and doc like his potential.

Dboss

Doc mentioned in his interview with our local WEEI sports channel that he is on on Thursday mornings that they were looking at players overseas, and he mentioned China. So, that means they may have been watching this kid for a month or more. Another quick player, to take the place of Barbosa? maybe.
I guess he is not a ball handler, so forget backup point. Interesting.

RosalieTCeltics wrote:Done=signed a 10 day contract. Will possibly be in Denver for tomorrow

Does anyone know how to access the NBA channel for that Russell interview. I do not have it in my package?

Rosalie

Rosalie,
I set it to record this show. If you'd like I can send the file to you, so you'll be able to watch it afterwards.

AK

thanks I would appreciate that. I can't get it here, and I won't sign up just to get it!!! You're the best!

Rosalie

Terrence Williams only played in 10 games under Avery Johnson before he was traded to Houston.

Even though he has some talent, no team was interested in signing him to a minimum contract this season. He was in camp with Detroit but they waived him before the season started.

Boston Celtics Report
Rapid Reaction: C's add Williams

By Chris Forsberg | ESPNBoston.com

Rapid reaction after multiple reports indicate the Boston Celtics will sign swingman Terrence Williams to a 10-day contract:

* TALENT OVER POSITION: Celtics coach Doc Rivers said that he and president of basketball operations Danny Ainge agreed last week that the team wouldn't seek a body based solely on positional need and instead would attempt to ink the best available bodies with the idea that pure talent had a better chance to crack the rotation. Rivers had said his wish list included a ball-handler and frontcourt depth. The 6-foot-6 Williams doesn't exactly fill either need, but he can handle the ball and distribute (a 21.7 career assist percentage), while also being a competitive rebounder (20.1 defensive rebound percentage). To put that in perspective, Pierce has a 22.9 assist rate this season (second only to Rajon Rondo on the Celtics), while Jared Sullinger's defensive rebound percentage was 22.2 percent before his season-ending injury. A former first-round pick of the Nets (11th overall), Williams' all-around skill set can potentially help Boston more than what's otherwise available at the positions of need for the Celtics.

* FLEXIBILITY AT SWING SPOT: After losing Leandro Barbosa for the season, the Celtics were down to three pure guards on their roster. That forced Rivers to get creative with lineups and he paired Pierce and Jeff Green at the shooting guard and small forward spots often in Wednesday's first-half finale. Boston can add Williams to that mix, helping eat up the minutes lost when Barbosa went down. Add in Courtney Lee and Boston has a versatile group of swingmen that Rivers can mix and match.

* FLEXIBILITY AT DEADLINE: By adding Williams, the Celtics bring in much-needed depth for a team that was playing with 10 healthy bodies (one of which was rookie Fab Melo on recall from the D-League). Boston maintains deadline flexibility as there's no little risk or cost with a 10-day contract and Williams can be cut loose from his deal if Boston needs his roster spot sooner. Williams, fresh off a stint in China, will get a chance to fill minutes and Boston can evaluate his potential to help long term as it navigates the trade deadline (and the buyout period after that).

* SYNERGY SNAPSHOT: Honing in on his last NBA go-around -- an 18-game stint with the Kings last season -- Williams advanced numbers won't floor you. He averaged a mere 0.837 points per play offensively, ranking in the 36th percentile. He struggled with spot-up shooting, but was actually solid as a pick-and-roll ball-handler and in isolation (in fact, his 1.464 points per play in ISO was easily the best in the league, albeit in a mere 28-play sample). Defensively, he was average overall, but solid against spot-up shooting in a small sample. His career numbers suggest a player that has struggled to stick because of inconsistent production in limited minutes.

* LOW RISK, HIGH REWARD: Some have questioned Williams' focus, but this is a low-risk move for Boston, which simply needs healthy bodies and will hope to hit the free-agent jackpot. Williams averaged 8.8 points and 4.1 rebounds per game over 20.5 minutes per game in Sacramento and the Celtics would be fine if he can produce anywhere near that level in short minutes with Boston.

112288