Keyon Dooling Waived -- Will Retire

[ImShakHeIsShaq]

I believe they said it was his choice..he has spent most of his life on basketball and wants to pursue other things.

Yep.

Dooling's representative, Kenge Stevenson, said in a statement: "Keyon has decided that he has given the NBA twelve good years and that it's time to pursue other interests and spend more time with his family. He will never forget his time with the Boston Celtics."

In his only season in a Celtics uniform last year, Dooling emerged as a strong veteran presence in the locker room while overcoming early-season injuries and contributing to Boston's lengthy postseason run. He finished the season with averages of 4.0 points and 1.1 assists in 14.4 minutes. He was re-signed to a one-year veteran's minimum contract late in July.

"We'll miss Keyon's spirit and energy, both on and off the court," Celtics president of basketball operations Danny Ainge said in a statement released by the team. "The whole Celtics family wishes him well as he enters the next phase of his life."

Over the course of his 12-year career, in addition for playing for Boston, Dooling suited up for the Los Angeles Clippers, Miami Heat, Orlando Magic, New Jersey Nets and the Milwaukee Bucks. He finished his career with averages of 7.0 points and 2.2 assists, having shot 34.9 percent from 3-point range.

[badshar]

I think I should stop watching sports. Its almost impossible for me to get over when a player from my favorite gets traded or has to leave in some way.

I have seen a lot of people dislike him for last year. In fact, on CelticsBlog Chat, during the games, I saw almost 80% of the people saying they dislike Keyon Dooling and that he is "a waste of a spot" or "a useless player."

Now its all about how much everyone loved Keyon Dooling. Its really sad that we don't understand the value of a person when they are with us and then we feel bad/pretend to feel bad when they leave us.

Anyways, I am one of those few people that always appreciated the presence of players such as Keyon Dooling, Sasha Pavlovic, Jermaine O'Neal (He was valuable when he wasn't injured) etc. when they were on this team, and it took me some time to get over each and every one of those players. I just hope Keyon is happy and enjoys whatever he does now. God Bless him!

[CelticSooner]

Really liked his role on the team next season. This is a bummer. 

[Clench123]

So does this mean we can sign somebody else in his place?

[Roy H.]

Forsberg:

with some help from @LarryCoon, the Celtics will likely still be on the hook for the $854K that Dooling was set to earn next season.

for a team that’s hard-capped at $74.3 million, that adds a minor layer of difficulty.

Read more: http://hoopshype.com/twitter/media.html#ixzz273Rx3tWR

Retirement rules are more complicated than they should be, but if this is the case, why wouldn't we just buy Dooling out?  If this is really his decision, then it seems like a pretty obvious thing to do.

[hpantazo]

So does this mean we can sign somebody else in his place?

either we keep both Joseph and Dionte Christmas, or we can go after another FA. I hope Danny already has a guy in mind.

[pearljammer10]

Really liked his role on the team next season. This is a bummer. 

I feel the same way.

[gar]

As the closest thing we had to a backup point guard am not wild about loosing Dooling. Has to make Issiah Smith feel pretty good about making the team. As much as I like Christmas. Smith also got raves from Doc and Danny all summer.

[BballTim]

Forsberg:

with some help from @LarryCoon, the Celtics will likely still be on the hook for the $854K that Dooling was set to earn next season.

for a team that’s hard-capped at $74.3 million, that adds a minor layer of difficulty.

Read more: http://hoopshype.com/twitter/media.html#ixzz273Rx3tWR

Retirement rules are more complicated than they should be, but if this is the case, why wouldn't we just buy Dooling out?  If this is really his decision, then it seems like a pretty obvious thing to do.

  Since there's a chance you might know this, how does retirement work? If he decided to "unretire" could he join the Celts, or is he banned from doing so like renounced players (probably) are? If he could re-sign with the Celts, would they be responsible for the $854k plus the value of the new contract?

[Roy H.]

Forsberg:

with some help from @LarryCoon, the Celtics will likely still be on the hook for the $854K that Dooling was set to earn next season.

for a team that’s hard-capped at $74.3 million, that adds a minor layer of difficulty.

Read more: http://hoopshype.com/twitter/media.html#ixzz273Rx3tWR

Retirement rules are more complicated than they should be, but if this is the case, why wouldn't we just buy Dooling out?  If this is really his decision, then it seems like a pretty obvious thing to do.

  Since there's a chance you might know this, how does retirement work? If he decided to "unretire" could he join the Celts, or is he banned from doing so like renounced players (probably) are? If he could re-sign with the Celts, would they be responsible for the $854k plus the value of the new contract?

He's waived, so he can't "unretire".  (The waiver cuts in favor of this being an unreported-as-of-yet buyout, by the way.)  If we waived him without a buyout, we'd be on the hook for the salary against our cap; if we re-signed him, we'd get hit again with an $854k cap hit.

Under normal circumstances, when a player retires by officially filing with the league, he has to sit out the year unless all 30 teams unanimously allow him to come back.

[Celts Fan 92]

As the closest thing we had to a backup point guard am not wild about loosing Dooling. Has to make Issiah Smith feel pretty good about making the team. As much as I like Christmas. Smith also got raves from Doc and Danny all summer.

Jamar Smith aint makin dis team he was a chucker lol

[gar]

And so Jet is our backup PG??

[Birdman]

wouldnt be surprise to see Dooling back at some point in the season

[Gomesfan]

Thank GOD!! Watch Keyon place is like pulling teeth!!!

Yeah he hit a couple of nice shots but the rest of the time.....ROOT CANAL!!!

[Mencius]

Why was he signed? I gotta believe he is hurt and was just gonna be here as a friend to RR and motivator... because if not, what was the point?

I don't know if he's hurt or not, but I'm right there with ya on 'what was the point?'  Especially, since he's still gonna get paid.  Worse than a pointless signing in that case.  Could have pursued another PG when there were more available.