"Theo still has life in him,"-Globe

[JB]

http://www.boston.com/sports/basketball/celtics/articles/2006/06/29/ 
celtics_sitting_pretty_after_draft_day_deals?mode=PF


The Boston Globe
ON BASKETBALL
Celtics sitting pretty after draft day deals

By Peter May, Globe Staff  |  June 29, 2006

The Celtics held a draft party last night. They traded their pick,  
acquired a later pick, but the evening was basically an unqualified  
success well before David Stern announced the NBA's first pick  
shortly after 7:30 p.m.

By then, the season ticket holders at the draft party and everyone  
else were aware that the Celtics had traded their only pick, the  
seventh overall, to Portland in a deal in which they also gave up Dan  
Dickau and Raef LaFrentz while welcoming Sebastian Telfair and Theo  
Ratliff, along with a second-round pick in 2008.

Any disappointment the Celtics might have felt at making the deal  
before they knew who would be available at No. 7 was diminished by  
the fact that they were able to unload the presumably unloadable  
contract of LaFrentz. And they also got a point guard in Telfair who,  
according to coach Doc Rivers, would not have been available at No. 7  
had his name been in the draft.

``It worked out for us," Rivers said. ``The things we like most about  
him [Telfair] are his great speed and great decision-making."

The Celtics later traded for the 21st pick from Phoenix in exchange  
for Kentucky speedster Rajon Rondo, generally seen as the second-best  
point guard in the draft (behind Marcus Williams, who went 22d to the  
Nets). The Celtics had Rondo rated very high on their board after two  
impressive workouts and there was some talk they might have taken him  
at No. 7. (Although, as history showed, he was still available in the  
20s.) The Celtics agreed to take Brian Grant ($1.8 million in  
2006-07) from the Suns, although he's not coming here. Boston also  
gave Phoenix a No. 1 pick, the pick from Cleveland in 2007.

``We addressed some needs and we think we got two terrific young  
players and get some cap management at the same time," Danny Ainge said.

The two point guards also mean that Orien Greene's days are over; the  
Celtics have until tomorrow to waive him and not be liable for any  
more payments.

As for Telfair, he ended last season as the third-stringer on the  
league's worst team. ``It didn't work out for me," he admitted in a  
conference call." But he was still deemed to be head and shoulders  
above those in last night's draft.

``No question about that," agreed John Nash, the former Portland  
general manager who drafted Telfair 13th overall in 2004. ``It's not  
even close."

The Celtics also felt, correctly, they needed to improve at that  
position. Delonte West manned the position ably last year, but he is  
not a classic point guard. Telfair is. Rivers talked constantly about  
the kid's vision and work ethic. He also has been overhyped since  
high school in New York City; he already has been the subject of a  
documentary film and a Sports Illustrated cover boy. But he didn't  
make much of an impact in Portland, other than when he brought a  
loaded handgun onto the team plane.

``That was an aberration," Nash said of Gungate, in which Telfair's . 
22 caliber Smith & Wesson handgun was found on the Blazers' plane  
while it was at Hanscom Field in February. He was disciplined by the  
team, but no charges were filed by the Massachusetts State Police.

``He's a good kid, very level headed," Nash said. ``He had a good  
rookie year for us and he had a good second year until he got hurt.  
Then he lost the job to Steve Blake, through no fault of his own.  
He's a real talent and he'll be better served playing an uptempo  
game. But we played a more deliberate style. And he'll generate more  
assists in Boston because the Celtics have players who can make shots."

Most gratifying for the Celtics is getting out from under LaFrentz's  
deal, which has three years and more than $35 million remaining. In  
taking Ratliff, the Celtics will owe the veteran big man more than  
$23 million over the next two years. Admitted Rivers, ``for our team,  
it was very important."

Some of that savings might well be earmarked for Allen Iverson.

Ratliff is 33 and has been known to be a defensive presence  
throughout his career, which includes stops in Detroit, Philadelphia,  
and Atlanta.

He lost his starting job last season to Joel Przybilla, but still  
averaged 5.1 rebounds and 1.6 blocks a game in just 23.7 minutes. He  
will help the Celtics defensively, especially as a shot blocker, but  
he's not a scorer.

``Theo still has life in him," Nash said. ``He can still change a  
game defensively."

Agreed Rivers, ``you put him on the floor at the end of games and no  
one is going to make a layup."

Dickau, coming off an Achilles' tear, is a native of the Pacific  
Northwest -- he was born in Portland -- and played at Gonzaga. He  
played in only 19 games for the Celtics before getting injured.

There still is likely to be ongoing dialogue for Iverson, which could  
extend into next month. For now, the Celtics have to be happy the way  
the day turned out.
© Copyright 2006 The New York Times Company