Danny Ainge and the Celtics wasted no time addressing their team’s needs up front.  With the possibility of Kevin Garnett becoming a free agent, as well as Brandon Bass’ decision to opt out of his player option, Boston needed to add some height to its roster.

The Celtics had back-to-back picks at 21 and 22, and they selected Jared Sullinger out of Ohio State and Fab Melo of Syracuse.

Sullinger (6′, 9″) averaged 17 points in each of his two seasons as a Buckeye, with just about 10 rebounds per game for his freshman and sophomore years.  A back injury last year kept him out of the lineup at times, and Ohio State was a completely different team with him on the court than without.

Sullinger, who was projected as a top five pick if he was in last year’s draft, dropped on the board because of the concern surrounding his health problems.  However, Boston decided to take the risk and hope for a high reward.

According to WEEI.com:

“When the day started, I did not think he would be there at 21.  We’re fortunate to get him,” Ainge said.  “We were concerned and we did our research on the back issues and felt comfortable, but there are some issues there.  Our medical staff thinks that short term and long term there may be some maintenance issues with the back.  Doc Rivers played with a herniated disk for 13 years.  So it may need surgery at some point, it may not.”

» Continue reading “Celtics Expect Big Things From Draft Picks”

The NBA Finals are over.  He-who-must-not-be-named won his first championship, but that thought is pushed to the back of my mind.

The Celtics quest for another championship already started after their loss in the Eastern Conference Finals, but with the Miami Heat crowned as the 2011-2012 champions, next season’s title  is officially up for grabs.

This off-season already has many big question marks.  The future of the Big Three is on the top of the list, and the decisions regarding free agents Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen will affect every other move Boston makes.

Garnett becomes a free agent July 1, and while the Celtics hope to sign him before that, Danny Ainge said the Big Ticket is not quite ready to make a decision just yet.

“I think we’ll talk within the next week, but I’m not so sure that’s a decision day for him,” Ainge said.  “He may want to wait and see what sort of team we have.  I’m not sure.  I know that he wants to come back, I know he likes Boston and I konw he loves playing for Doc [Rivers].  He loves everything about the team and the city and so forth.  I think that his decision will be, ‘Do I really want to play?  Or do I not want to play.’”

“I hope he wants to come back.  That’s sort of been the indication that, if he’s going to play, that he would like to come back to Boston.  That’s where we are right now.”

» Continue reading “Boston Celtics: Road To Banner 18 Starts Now”