2-year deal meets mutual need
By Mark Murphy | Thursday, August 5, 2010 | http://www.bostonherald.com | Boston Celtics
The Celtics, after yesterday, aren’t a team constructed with Rajon Rondo’s most explosive abilities in mind.
Until Kendrick Perkins returns from reconstructive knee surgery, probably in January, the Celtics middle is going to be older, slower and softer than a Three Dog Night reunion.
But in agreeing to terms with Shaquille O’Neal on a two-year, veteran minimum contract worth approximately $3 million, general manager Danny Ainge once again demonstrated there is no time but the present when it comes to this team winning another NBA title.
Just don’t measure them by a stop watch. Though the Celtics will likely avoid playing their two aging O’Neals (Shaq and Jermaine) together, the sight of both attempting to run the floor with Rondo may be too gruesome to imagine.
On the other hand, this signing was a case of mutual need.
Shaq was about to run out of options. Forays with other teams - teams with more money to offer than the Celtics - had turned sour. His only option, beyond the Celtics, was reportedly Europe.
No wonder he decided to goose the process Monday night on “Jimmy Kimmel Live” by discussing what a good fit the Celtics would be.
And despite signing Jermaine O’Neal, the C’s still needed one more big man to plug the first half of the season in Perkins’ absence.
Little wonder that when Doc Rivers recently paid Shaq a recruiting visit, the Celtics coach was warmly received.
“We recruited each other,” Rivers said last night via text.
Even at this, though, there were a few bumps along the way, including yesterday morning when both sides attempted to finalize the deal.
The C’s were initially committed to offering O’Neal only one year at the veteran minimum of $1.39 million.
It was more, as O’Neal knew, than just about any other team - at least any other team with a legitimate contending chance - was willing to offer.
Cleveland, in its deteriorating post-LeBron James state, was no longer a realistic spot for a return by the one-year Cavalier.
That considered, O’Neal’s new deal - undoubtedly the last by a 38-year-old who has said he wants to retire at age 41 - marked a significant victory by the center. Talks hit a snag yesterday when the Celtics attempted to limit the deal to one year.
But O’Neal, frustrated by a dwindling field of suiters that included the Celtics and possibly the Hawks, eventually had it his way.
It’s unclear whether O’Neal pushed for a more lucrative sign-and-trade arrangement between the Celtics and Cleveland that would have sent the retiring Rasheed Wallace’s $6 million salary slot to the Cavs.
But that conversation reportedly never took place between the teams.
Not that it ultimately mattered anywhere but in O’Neal’s bank account. Rivers was certainly pleased.
“I am very excited,” Rivers said in a statement released by the team yesterday. “Adding a player, like Shaq, is a major plus and it fills a void for our team. He’s a real nice piece of the puzzle and he will complement us in where we want to go this coming season.”
Nate Robinson, ever active on Twitter, put it a little more emphatically upon hearing the news when he posted, “Wow we got @THE-REAL-SHAQ on the celtics we bout to be kick (expletive) like the movie.welcome to beantown.”
Article URL: http://www.bostonherald.com/sports/basketball/celtics/view.bg?articleid=1272469
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