I wonder if Luigi will get bought out for a center?

With Sully out for the year now, should Ainge cut Luigi so he can sign a big man to a 10 day deal?

Thabeet and B. Mullins are both playing in the D-league now un-affiliated.

I should add the always on the brink C. Iverson to the list, is he can get out of his Euro deal soon.

there  may be other players overseas looking to head back to the states.

kdp59 wrote:With Sully out for the year now, should Ainge cut Luigi so he can sign a big man to a 10 day deal?

Thabeet and B. Mullins are both playing in the D-league now un-affiliated.

I should add the always on the brink C. Iverson to the list, is he can get out of his Euro deal soon.

there  may be other players overseas looking to head back to the states.

kdp,

I liked what I saw from Iverson last summer in Orlando.  I was surprised, especially considering our center situation, that he went back to Europe.  I saw a report that says that the Celtics are NOT going to buy Datome out.

Jay King @ByJayKing 1 hour ago
Datome said the Celtics had interest in him overseas, but never extended a "real" offer.

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Michele Gazzetti @MicheleGazzetti 21 Feb 07:06 ET
Report: Celtics Not Planning To Buy Out Luigi #Datome After Trade #Freegigi go.nesn.com/1vmszu8 via @NESN

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Then again, there's this:


http://loscrossovers.com/2015/02/18/colton-iverson-improving-in-spain-hopes-to-join-boston-celtics-next-year/



Colton Iverson improving in Spain, hopes to join Boston Celtics next year
Iverson, 25, is a 7-foot center the Celtics drafted in 2013
Posted on February 18, 2015 by Austin Green in Features





Colton Iverson dunks against Olympiacos Piraeus on Jan. 23| Photo courtesy of Euroleague.net
Extreme player turnover and an uncertain future have defined the Boston Celtics 2014-15 season.

Danny Ainge gutted the roster this winter, trading away expensive veterans to stockpile draft picks and dive deeper into the rebuilding process. Eighteen different players have seen the floor for the Celtics this year. As of now, only Avery Bradley is officially on the books after next season (h/t HoopsHype.com).

And, thanks to their recent moves, the Celtics could conceivably own 14 draft picks over the next two years (h/t Chris Forsberg, ESPNBoston.com).

With the trade deadline looming (Thursday, Feb. 19 at 3 p.m. ET), Boston may shake up its roster even more.

No one knows what this team will look like tomorrow, let alone next season.

Three-thousand miles away from Boston, in the Spanish city of Vitoria, Colton Iverson hopes to play his way into the Celtics’ murky future.

Iverson, 25, is a bruising 7-foot American center. This season, he is playing for Laboral Kutxa Baskonia, a club with a strong tradition in both the Spanish ACB and the Euroleague.

The Celtics bought a 2nd-round pick in 2013 to draft Iverson, and he played with the team’s Summer League squad each of the last two seasons. However, a crowded Celtics frontcourt led him to sign his first professional contracts overseas — first Turkey, now Spain — while Boston retains his NBA rights.

After a critical Euroleague win over Unicaja Málaga last Friday, Iverson told LosCrossovers he plans to join the Celtics for Summer League again this offseason. He and his agent have stayed in contact with Celtics’ representatives throughout the year, and Iverson said he’s encouraged by the team’s commitment.

“I know they’ve been following me all year, all last year too, and it’s just good to know that they’re still investing in me by watching me and keeping track of me,” Iverson said. “It’s good to know they’re still in it.”
Given Iverson’s recent play, it’s not surprising the Celtics remain interested.

He was named the ACB Player of the Week in January after posting 14 points and 15 rebounds against Obradoiro, and on Sunday, he grabbed a season-high 16 rebounds versus Manresa.

He has been a crucial part of Baskonia’s recent success, helping them go 4-2 in their last six ACB games. Their two losses during that stretch came by a combined three points on the road against 1st-place Málaga and 2nd-place Real Madrid.

Iverson isn’t a prolific shot-blocker or outside shooter, and big men lacking those skills can be a tricky fit in today’s NBA. But he still does many things that are essential for good teams.

He plays solid defense, he attacks rebounds, he sets wide — sometimes devastating — screens, and he’s incredibly strong.

In Baskonia’s recent loss to Real Madrid, Iverson rolled hard to the rim, took one dribble and sent Ioannis Bourousis (7’0″, 270 pounds) sprawling backward before gathering himself and finishing the play.



Prior to this season, the Celtics wanted Iverson to work on defending without fouling.

After picking up quick fouls earlier this year, he has mostly kicked the habit.

“I think I’ve been progressing very well,” Iverson said. “Sometimes it doesn’t show, just (because of) mental lapses in my game. But I think for the most part I’ve really been working on not fouling to keep me in the game, and that’s been huge.”
Later in the matchup against Real Madrid, Iverson played perfect help defense against Sergio Rodriguez and Rudy Fernandez — two of the best guards in Europe. Then he snatched the rebound, threw an outlet pass, and ran straight to the rim to finish the play.



Later, he played strong one-on-one defense against Bourousis on the left block.



And in the second half, he again showed his ability to hedge the pick-and-roll, force a pass, recover, and stop the subsequent drive.



Iverson is diversifying his offensive game as well. Most of his looks are created by dump-offs from his point guards, but he can bust out some clever post moves when necessary.



He is also becoming a not-so-terrible free-throw shooter (65.5 percent in the ACB) and he looks comfortable shooting elbow-jumpers in pre-game warmups.

“I’ve just been trying to work on my all-around game, so if the time comes to use it, I’ll be ready,” Iverson said.
While he may never develop into a great shooter or a starting NBA center, he excels in enough areas to make him a quality backup.

The Celtics’ future roster is uncertain, but the ultimate goal is clear: to win championships. And every title contender needs big men who can come off the bench to clog up space on defense, grab rebounds, deliver hard fouls, set screens, and maybe slam home a few dunks.

There’s no doubt Iverson can do that.

Austin Green runs LosCrossovers.com from Madrid, Spain with the occasional help of his friends and colleagues.



bob



.

Thanks Bob,

I was just trying to process the bad news about Sully today and was kind of thinking out loud with that post.

I think NBA teams can sign players for two year non-guaranteed deals (rest of this year and next) which would fit Iverson nicely. Of course he'd have to be done in Europe or have a buy out I assume.

I doubt Luigi is a long term fit here, though I do remember Ainge wanting him two years ago. He has done nothing in his two years here though.

We still have a 10 man rotation that Stevens can use , that looks solid.

Zeller
Kelly
Bass
Jerebko- In place of Sully
Turner
Crowder
Bradley
Smart
Thomas
Young

Randolph
Wallace
Luigi
Pressey
round out the roster, harder to make a playoff push without Sully, but we should all get to see Jerebko a lot more I guess.

Ainge looks like a genius for getting Jerebko now, but he might have known Sully was going to be gone a while.

kdp59 wrote:Thanks Bob,

I was just trying to process the bad news about Sully today and was kind of thinking out loud with that post.

I think NBA teams can sign players for two year non-guaranteed deals (rest of this year and next) which would fit Iverson nicely. Of course he'd have to be done in Europe or have a buy out I assume.

I doubt Luigi is a long term fit here, though I do remember Ainge wanting him two years ago. He has done nothing in his two years here though.

We still have a 10 man rotation that Stevens can use , that looks solid.

Zeller
Kelly
Bass
Jerebko- In place of Sully
Turner
Crowder
Bradley
Smart
Thomas
Young

Randolph
Wallace
Luigi
Pressey
round out the roster, harder to make a playoff push without Sully, but we should all get to see Jerebko a lot more I guess.

Ainge looks like a genius for getting Jerebko now, but he might have known Sully was going to be gone a while.

kdp,

I've always said that the Celtics, including and maybe especially Danny, have no obligation to tell us the truth about player injuries and recovery times.  Is it possible Danny knew that Sully was experiencing an abnormally severe pain in his foot?  Absolutely.  In fact, I'd be surprised if Celtics trainer Ed LaCerte didn't know about it, since he is in charge of keeping track of stuff like that and doling out treatments for them, and report it immediately to Brad and Danny.

So, genius?  No, but maybe sensing danger and anticipating a need.  Marry that to the desire to trade rental Tayshaun Prince for something by the trade deadline and you have a trade that might save our playoff hopes.


bob


.

A true center has been needed since Perkins was traded for Green. Who to bring in to fill this need has been such a mystery that no one has been brought in.

I am not sure that Iverson is the answer, but Thabeet was a total bust, and I have to admit to not knowing even this Mullins' guy's name.

Iverson rather than Luigi at this point makes sense because Iverson is a center, but I don't know much about Datome either.

wide clyde wrote:A true center has been needed since Perkins was traded for Green.  Who to bring in to fill this need has been such a mystery that no one has been brought in.

I am not sure that Iverson is the answer, but Thabeet was a total bust, and I have to admit to not knowing even this Mullins' guy's name.  

Iverson rather than Luigi at this point makes sense because Iverson is a center, but I don't know much about Datome either.

clyde,

Bryan Mullins is a 7'0" stretch 4. He's a center who is allergic to paint. He is not a defensive anchor. I'd pass.


bob


.

Abby's just saying that Sully's injury is, indeed, a stress fracture and is worse than they had expected.  Definitely out for the season.

Sam

Wide,
I was not suggesting any of those players were anything but deep depth on this roster.

but with Sully out for the year we are down to Zeller, Bass , Kelly , Jerebko and Randolph as our only big men.

With Turner, Crowder, Wallace and Luigi at the SF position, I was wondering if adding another big for a look see was worth it now.

I would have liked to see Iverson slam into a few of the Laker players driving to the hoop last night. Nothing wrong with using a few fouls to protect the lane.

There certainly are such things as "good fouls" in basketball at all levels. With no one protecting the hoop last night, the Lakers kept driving the lane time after time and either scoring, dishing out assists and heading to the free throw line over and over again after little, reach-in type fouls.

Perhaps a couple of good, physical fouls may have made the Lakers think about future ventures into the paint in their half court offense. Not every guy in the league will take it as strongly to the hoop after a good foul.

Since Datome did not get into the game, the fouls by Iverson would have been more valuable even if they may not have changed the outcome of the game.