Lowell Sun on Jiri Welsch

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http://www.lowellsun.com/Stories/0,1413,105~4767~1715756,00.html
Boston could be final stop for Welsch
By ROB BRADFORD, Sun Staff
WALTHAM Fate has usually been a pretty good ally to Jiri Welsch. 
Destiny started to join forces with the slender, bushy-haired native of the Czech Republic just nine years into his life. It was then that Welsch's father, an accomplished volleyball player, decided that his family's town of Holice was missing something in their recreational repertoire. 
So Mr. Welsch got 13 kids together, designed a semblance of a basketball court and started integrating images of Larry Bird and Michael Jordan into the new club's eager minds, one of those being Jiri. 
"My daddy started to like basketball, so he decided to start a club. Nobody in the town had even heard of basketball before that," remembered the 23-year-old Welsch. "If it wasn't for him I would never be here." 
	
"Here" was the Boston Celtics training facility, where the second-year NBA player was introduced to technically his fourth team since being drafted in the first round by Philadelphia last year. Since becoming the 16th pick in the 2002 draft, Welsch has been traded from Philadelphia to Golden State, where he spent the entire '02 campaign. 
Then, after toiling through just 234 minutes of playing time with the Warriors, Welsch was dealt again, this time going to Dallas. 
An apartment was bought and piece of mind was seemingly back in place in Texas when Monday's Antoine Walker-induced bombshell brought the 6-foot-7 sharp-shooter to yet another American professional basketball stop. 
But just when it looked like his friendship with fate had dissolved thanks to two years of relocation, along came a sign that maybe Boston was the place to be all along. 
"I wanted No. 22 and I was told it was retired," said Welsch. "And I had No. 4 in Golden State, but here Tony Battie has No. 4 so I just said, 'OK, let's go with double fours, No. 44." 
And there he was, sitting on the sidelines while waiting for medical clearance to play, wearing the only number (except maybe Walker's old No. 8) that would merit a mention. He was the new No. 44, otherwise known as the playing identity of the organization's new Director of Basketball Operations, Danny Ainge. 
"When he came to the locker room he was kind of surprised," said Welsch of Ainge's reaction. "The first thing he said was that whoever wears No. 44 can't pass up an open shot." 
That shouldn't be a problem for the smooth-shooting Welsch. 
Celtics coach Jim O'Brien said yesterday that he is looking for Welsch to play some point guard, a spot he played sporadically after leaving home at the age of 18 to play professionally in Slovenia. Yet, it's his shooting that allowed Ainge to elicit some sort of excitement regarding the trade that shipped off a two-time All-Star in Walker for consistently inconsistent center Raef LaFrentz (5 seasons, 12.2 points per game). 
"We would not have done this deal if Jiri was not included," said Ainge. "He's a very promising 6-foot-7 combo guard. We are very high on him." 
The scary part regarding Welsch is that three teams have welcomed him aboard only to later ship him out. A positive is that, judging by his preseason totals in Dallas (11.8 points per game over six games), the affable, well-spoken Czech might just have started to figure it all out. 
"My rookie season I might have been a little indecisive on the court," said Welsch. "After rookie season it was a little bit disappointing, and I wanted to work hard and improve my confidence. I think that was the biggest reason I've had a good preseason." 
Whether Welsch can carry it over to the regular season, or not, might just determine the legacy of Ainge's first big trade. 
Neither Welsch nor LaFrentz practiced yesterday, with only Welsch attending his new team's workout. The team had to await the results of both players' MRIs and bloodwork before it could clear either to participate.