Brandon is the talk of the league

[Celtic4Hire@xxxxxxx]

Ok. Talk of the league. I think that means we are going to sign Hunter as the 
14th guy.... Backup vet point guard is the 15 guy. Maybe we can move Bremer 
and Sundov and leave room for a bargain guy and/or Cooke if they believe he has 
the game...

<C's turn attention from rooks to vets 

by Mark Murphy 
Monday, July 21, 2003








By now you know about Marcus Banks, and want to know more about Brandon 
Hunter.


    
  
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Celtics rookie Kendrick Perkins sprained his right foot one game into the 
Reebok Pro Summer League, which ended yesterday, but that figures to be healed by 
the start of training camp on Sept. 29.

And Danny Ainge's worries have just begun. Forget, for a moment, about the 
excitement of draft night, or the entertainment that comes with a free agent 
summer league, or the fact that everyone seems to love the way Hunter plays 
basketball.

``He's the talk of the league,'' one NBA scout said of the rookie power 
forward.

But enough already. Ainge is already looking ahead to the next stop.

``My priority - the priority of our basketball staff - is that the biggest 
way for this team to improve is for Paul (Pierce), Antoine (Walker) and Vin 
(Baker) to improve,'' the Celtics' director of basketball operations said 
following the Celtics' 82-67 loss to the Nets in their summer league finale.

``I know that Paul and Antoine did not have as good a year as they are 
capable of,'' said Ainge. ``And none of these things now are as important as 
creating an environment that helps these guys get better.''

Ainge said that his reports on Baker, who has worked out with NBA players in 
Miami and Chicago, continue to follow a positive track, with a Celtics 
representative monitoring Baker's progress.

Celtics coach Jim O'Brien plans to visit Baker soon to further assess the 
situation.

Indeed, outreach appears to be the next major step for Ainge and the rest of 
the basketball staff.

``Now that summer league is over, between myself and the coaching staff, over 
the next six weeks we are going to make personal visits with each of our 
players,'' said Ainge.

And as for who the Celtics choose to bring into camp, much may depend on 
further negotiations beyond Banks and Perkins, who have already signed contracts.

Hunter, a 6-foot-7 forward taken in the second round of the draft out of Ohio 
University, remains unsigned.

``I like what I saw this week in (Kedrick) Brown and Hunter,'' said Ainge. 
``We like Brandon, and with what we have now, he would be the 14th guy. I liked 
what I saw, but summer league is a whole different world from NBA ball.''

Though he didn't refer to Hunter specifically when he said it, Ainge was 
clearly bracing for a fresh round of negotiations.

Hunter is reportedly seeking a contract worth $300,000 for his rookie year.

``I know who I want, but getting who I want will be the challenge,'' said 
Ainge, who is also intrigued by a number of free agents on other summer league 
teams. ``So far I've seen just about every summer team in the league play. I've 
got five or six different things that I could do right now - just a lot of 
different things that could happen.

``And I have a feeling that I'll be thinking along these lines for quite some 
time.''