Possible big free agent targets for Boston

[Mr October]

There have been a ton of signings over the past week. I'm strictly interested in who the Celtics could possibly land with the Sheed deal via free agency.

The biggest names on the market are:

Al Harrington
Josh Howard
Brad Miller
Udonis Haslem
Luke Ridnour
Shaq O'Neal
Nate Robinson
Tracy McGrady

(the following names would have to be part of a bigger package since I can't imagine any of them earning more than 3 million per year: Barnes, Brewer, R Butler, D Wright, Raja Bell, Kurt Thomas, Earl Barron, Kwame Brown etc.)

I doubt Chicago wants to be a trade partner with rival Boston, but you never know.

Haslem is either staying in Miami or going to Dallas.

Josh Howard seams to be a target that is very much alive.

How about working out a deal with New York? How about targeting a Harrington/Turiaf/Chandler package? ...or just Turiaf and Chandler? Earl Barron?

Any other big names out there in free agency land that I am missing?

[Mr October]

How about Sheed/Lafayette/Gaffney to Detroit for:

Prince & Kwame Brown (2-3 million per)

[Rashi]

From the list the guys I am interested in are:


Al Harrington
Shaq
T-mac
Nate

(Haslem is staying w/ the heat)


In a package I would love to get Brewer, R Butler, D Wright, Raja Bell, or Rudy F.

[Mr October]

Yup just saw that about Haslem... scratch him off...

I had read that it is believed that nothing would happen between Shaq and Boston. But.... I would love to see something like:

Sheed/Gaffney/Lafayette/Davis/1st round pick to Cleveland for:

Shaq, Moon and Varejao. That would stock the front line nicely and Gilbert could help the Green beast stop the Heat.

[Mr October]

Anyone interested in Harrington? He hasn't received much play so far.

[Rashi]

Yup just saw that about Haslem... scratch him off...

I had read that it is believed that nothing would happen between Shaq and Boston. But.... I would love to see something like:

Sheed/Gaffney/Lafayette/Davis/1st round pick to Cleveland for:

Shaq, Moon and Varejao. That would stock the front line nicely and Gilbert could help the Green beast stop the Heat.

Yeah there was a article that Shaq was interested in coming to Boston, but C's felt he would ruin their chemistry.


Now I know some might not agree with me, but I think Shaq can be very handy againt our top 3 opponents.

Our main opponents are Magic, Heat and Lakers; and Shaq's past beefs with all 3 teams/or their players + his size can be used as a weapon against them (not to mention he is very useful for hard fouling).

[35Lewis]

What about Tim Thomas, Nesterovic, and Joey Graham?

I think Graham might be a good minimum contract player to fill in for PP and would take the spot of TA with a lesser role.

Tim Thomas shot somewhere around 37% from 3pt range last year but had some personal issues in Dallas.  And I haven't heard much about Neserovic although I think he is worth more and that Toronto keeps him. He does have decent d and can hit the 10-15 footer.

[fanofgreen]

I would like to pick-up T-Mac.
He's versatility is and would be such a luxury. He can play 1-3.

No one else on this list can play more than 1 position and excel at each position. (Al Harrington maybe can play 2 positions) But, With the way Doc likes to use his rotation I think T-Mac would be perfect coming off the bench. Offensively you know  he'll be there, and offensively we dont need him to drop 30 anymore, but defenses will have to respect him when he's on the floor.

I like T-Mac because he can play with any unit Doc puts out on the floor, and I think at this point in his career he could become an excellent super-sub.

[celticinorlando]

i would take harrington in a heartbeat. if we end up counting on D leaguers like lafayette and gaffney...we are in trouble

[Gomesfan]

I know no one wants to hear it but Allen Iverson is out there as well

[Celtics17]

At the right price Shaq could be very valuable. He can lean hard (understatement) on Howard and basically be a beast for 15 minutes a game under the basket. The problem with Shaq at this point is most teams will want more then he can give them. If he plays just 15 a game he can still be a good player.

[Jon]

Shaq and Miller at the minimum are no-brainers.  All either would have to be at this point is the 4th big man.  Both would be a huge luxury.  I don't see either coming here for the minimum though when they could likely go elsewhere (Miami) and maybe even start.  

While I have hopes for the likes of Howard and would like to see a role-playing wing like Butler or Bell here, I would take a flier out on McGrady, Harrington, or Iverson (in that order) if any of them would be willing to take the minimum.  

I don't see Harrington taking the minimum unless all else falls through.  McGrady would be nice as others have said.  Unfortunately, Iverson is probably the most likely to take the minimum.  If we don't land Howard and get stuck with two journeymen backups for Pierce and Allen, I'd consider Iverson.  He has the potential to be a game-changer and at the minimum certainly poses no risk.  

[Mr October]

Yup just saw that about Haslem... scratch him off...

I had read that it is believed that nothing would happen between Shaq and Boston. But.... I would love to see something like:

Sheed/Gaffney/Lafayette/Davis/1st round pick to Cleveland for:

Shaq, Moon and Varejao. That would stock the front line nicely and Gilbert could help the Green beast stop the Heat.

Yeah there was a article that Shaq was interested in coming to Boston, but C's felt he would ruin their chemistry.


Now I know some might not agree with me, but I think Shaq can be very handy againt our top 3 opponents.

Our main opponents are Magic, Heat and Lakers; and Shaq's past beefs with all 3 teams/or their players + his size can be used as a weapon against them (not to mention he is very useful for hard fouling).

Yeah I think Shaq could be quite useful for 20 minutes per game (he could probably overlap with Rondo for only 10 minutes per game).

No matter what 3 man rotation of KG, JO and Davis is not going to get it done in the regular season next year. Perk probably wont be fully ready until the all star break (in terms of being fully caught up to his old self).

The Celtics need more lumber at the 5.

[ajgoodman]

[Willing to take a risk with Iverson if it was at the minimum, hands down.  What do we have to lose really?]

[Rashi]

I know no one wants to hear it but Allen Iverson is out there as well

I am all up for getting AI. Honestly getting him and/or t-mac for vet min is no brainer and really not that huge of a risk + if we can actually get them to gel within our system, then they can prove to be very beneficial for the team.