Red flag.

Those two words might as well be tattooed onto Jared Sullinger’s forehead.

The red flag gifted Sullinger to the Celtics at a point in the draft where guys like him don’t normally drop.  The red flag was openly mocked (especially by me) as Sullinger slowly became the Celtics best rebounder.  And the red flag smacked us in the face when the Celtics lost him for the season just days after Rajon Rondo went down with a torn ACL.

Now, Sullinger is a 21 year-old recovering from back surgery.  It’s a surgery that may well correct the problem moving forward.  But it’s a surgery on a part of the body that freaks people out.  Back injuries are no joke.  And a chronic back issue can derail a career faster than just about any other injury.

So what do the Celtics do with Jared Sullinger?  There really aren’t that many options.

Trade him

This isn’t a great scenario for a bunch of reasons.

1:  If a team passed on Sullinger in the draft, they’re not going to be begging for him in a trade.  They’ve made their choice, and a half year, regardless of the promise shown, plus back surgery isn’t going to convince most teams that they so royally screwed up that they must now rectify it by bringing him back.

2:  Teams that might consider him will lowball the Celtics because of the back surgery.

3:  His value to the Celtics FAR outweighs his salary.  Sullinger is on the second year of a rookie deal.  His contract this year is worth $1,365,720.  

So Sullinger’s value in a trade scenario is simply as a sweetener to get a much more established player.  If the Celtics find a deal for a veteran big and it takes giving up a rookie like Sullinger as part of a larger deal, they might have to pull the trigger.  But when you consider the three points I just made, I’m not sure that’s something that will happen.

Waive him

Yeah, right.

Keep him 

You’ve got a 22 year-old who supplanted a guy who just got almost $20 million from the team in the starting lineup.  He immediately became your best rebounder, leading the Celtics on offensive rebounding percentage and overall rebounding percentage (before Shavlik Randolph came along).

The Celtics are transitioning to a younger core, and it’s not a secret that Sullinger has worked his way into that group.  And the most he’ll make over the next three seasons is $2,269,260.

When you’re operating under a highly restrictive CBA, a young power forward at that price that can rebound on a team that has largely been allergic doesn’t seem to be someone you give up all too easily.

So to recap…

• They could trade him, most likely as part of a larger deal
• They keep him
• They could waive him, triggering me to lead a search for Danny Ainge that would look exactly like this:

My Take

If you can’t figure it out by now, I’m all about keeping this kid through the duration of his contract, and probably beyond.

He’s a rebounder on a team that needs one desperately.  Not only that, he’s got the right attitude about rebounding:

“As long as you rebound, you’re going to have a job around here.  That my whole goal is to keep my job.”

But he’s more than that.  He’s willing to take charges, making him valuable on defense.  He’s also got a nice touch, which allows the Celtics to play a pick-and-pop game with him.  We saw him score without any plays really being called for him because he has a nose for the ball (code for: he’s smart about getting good position) and he can get you two or three baskets a game just off the offensive boards or finishing off the pick-and-roll/pick-and-pop after a broken play.

Have I mentioned he’s not even 22 yet?  And have I mentioned that the Celtics have him for three more seasons on a rookie deal?

Smart GM’s don’t give up 21 year-olds with veteran games unless it nets them a star player in return.  If the Celtics find themselves in an “offer they can’t refuse situation,” then I guess they have to take it and we’d watch Sullinger grow somewhere else.  But that’s not likely to happen.  Which is fine with me.

I like Sullinger.  I want him around.  I think he’s a big part of this team’s future.

Also check out:

What  do we do with… Jordan Crawford?

What do we do with… Brandon Bass?

What do we do with… Avery Bradley?

What do we do with… Jeff Green?

What do we do with… Courtney Lee?

What do we do with… Jason Terry?

What do we do with… Rajon Rondo?

What do we do with… Kevin Garnett?

What do we do with… Paul Pierce?

Here’s a whopper of a trade rumor, courtesy of New Orleans Pelicans blogger Michael McNamara:

Just heard strange rumor from EC source: Celtics talking about possibility of Pierce and Bradley for Eric Gordon.

Pierce’s contract is only partially guaranteed. Best case scenario: Pelicans can move Pierce for something. Worst case: Buy him out for Five million and have even more cap space this summer plus the young perimeter defender they crave in Bradley. Interesting

Apparently Celtics discussing a handful of scenarios regarding Pierce. Would rather get something as opposed to buying him out

To be clear, if somehow this deal did go down, Pierce would never play for the Pelicans. Would be moved or bought out

About 90% of Celtics fans are disgusted with this idea even being discussed. Cant say I blame them. Pelicans fans about 80% in favor.

My initial reaction to this rumor is… NO.

Eric Gordon may be a young (24), high-scoring (17 ppg) guard, but his injury history is frightening.

Check out this injury outline via Bourbon Street Shots:

2009-10 Season (62 out of 82 games)

• November 2009 (8 games) – Strained groin
• December 2009 (1 game) –  Precautionary (hamstring tightness)
• January 2010 (3 games) –  Sprained left big toe
• March 2010 (5 games) – Groin injury
• April 2010 (3 games) – Viral infection(final 3 games of the season; Clippers tanking?)

2010-11 Season (56 out of 82 games)

• November 2010 (2 games) – Bruised left shoulder
• January 2011 (18 games) – Right wrist bone chip fracture(which he played through for 17 minutes after first suffering the injury)
• March 2011(6 games) – Re-injury to right wrist

2011-12 Season (9 out of 66 games)

• December 2011 (57 games) – Right knee injury

2012-13 Season (18 out of 53 games)

• October 2012 (29 games) – Right knee injury
• January 2013 (5 games) – Rest (back-to-back games)
• February 2013 (1 game) – Sprained right hand (precautionary due to prior wrist injury)

And let’s not forget Gordon’s in-game shouting match with head coach Monty Williams, who happens to be a close friend of Doc Rivers.

Gordon isn’t cheap. He has 3 years and $45 million remaining on his contract.

This is a tough call because Gordon would be fuel-injection for the Celtics offense. Not only can he shoot with range, but he has the ability to get to the rim and draw fouls.

I’m prepared for the Celtics to waive Pierce and get nothing in return. It’s Bradley’s inclusion in this deal that has me torn.

And would Kevin Garnett return if this deal were made?

So many things to consider…

Every morning, we compile the links of the day and dump them here… highlighting the big storyline. Because there’s nothing quite as satisfying as a good morning dump.

Williams, 25, had driven into the parking lot with his son for what was described as a visitation exchange, and was approached by the boy’s mother and her boyfriend. That’s where the story diverges.

According to a probable cause document provided to the Herald, the woman told police she wanted to ask Williams about “disparaging” comments he had made about her other children, but he refused to get out of the vehicle. She started banging on the hood of the vehicle, insisting that they talk.

The woman told police that Williams then pulled out a handgun and pointed it out the driver’s side window at her. She said their son stepped in front of Williams and she backed away as Williams drove off, waving the gun.

Williams, arrested later that night beyond the Kent city limits, admitted to police that he did indeed pull out the gun, but said he didn’t point it at anyone.

He told police that he felt threatened when the woman started kicking the front of his car after approaching with her boyfriend, adding that he sensed a third person approaching from the vehicle’s passenger side. He said he pulled out a handgun and, holding it to his side, briefly stepped out of the vehicle, then eventually got back in the car and drove out of the complex.

According to police spokeswoman Det. Melanie Frazier, police had yet to recover the gun.

Williams’ attorney, Aaron Kiviat, had requested that his client be released on personal recognizance because of his ties to the community, including three children in the area that he supports. He also has a home in nearby Maple Valley.

His mother and several friends attended the hearing. Prosecution had initially requested $50,000 bail.

Celtics president of basketball operations Danny Ainge declined comment yesterday. The Celtics, as always in these situations, are also investigating what took place. Ainge did say that he hadn’t talked to Williams since being informed of the arrest.

Boston Herald – Terrence Williams up on charges

As John pointed out yesterday, this has turned into a classic case of he-said-she-said.  Initially, we heard one side of the story and Mark Murphy of the Herald sheds a little light on T-Will’s side of it.  Murphy also notes that the story does diverge at a key point but there was still a gun involved near his 10-year old son.  This is a horrible situation to be involved in for all parties, especially the child.  Terrence did begin to show a more mature side during his brief stint here in Boston and given his past he needed to be extra careful.

Danny Ainge is smart not to comment right now until he has all of the facts surrounding this case.  With that being said, this could turn out to be one of Ainge’s easier decisions of the summer.  Given the organization’s history with how they’ve responded to their players getting in trouble publicly with guns, things on the professional side don’t look so good with Williams.  We’ll keep you posted with any new information as it gets released.

The rest of the links:

WEEI – Celtics guard Terrence Williams arrested | ESPN – Dwight Howard voiced frustrations

Terrence Williams is in a bit of trouble for allegedly “brandishing a weapon” during a confrontation with the mother of his 10 year-old son.  KIRO reporter Amy Clancy was at Williams’ arraignment today (that is her photo, tweeted earlier), and she has more details, including:

Prosecutor says Terrence Williams’ 10yo son got between him and child’s mother when Williams pulled a gun. @kiro7seattle @celtics

— AMY CLANCY (@Amy_Clancy) May 20, 2013

That image is frightening.  However, there is one thing working in Williams’ favor: 

Terrence Williams will make his first court appearance today, re: threatening mother of his son with firearm in Kent, WA. Gun not recovered.

— Mark Murphy (@Murf56) May 20, 2013

Not having the weapon that was allegedly brandished is a big hole in the prosecution’s case.

Again, we live in a world where people are innocent until proven guilty.  We’ll update you with facts of the case.  I’m sure nothing will stop any of you from speculating or jumping to conclusions in the comments, but I’m asking you guys to be respectful when discussing this.  Let’s please refrain from gross generalizations and leaps of logic.

Thanks.

Leandro Barbosa’s injury was the tipping point for the Celtics this season.  After Rajon Rondo (and Jared Sullinger) went down, they managed to cobble together a nice run with the remaining players.  Barbosa’s added minutes unleashed a little bit of bench offense…… until he too went down with a season-ending ACL injury.

Enter Jordan Crawford, brought to the Celtics to fill that void, and possibly help the Celtics find some sort of offensive flow.  He was a starter earlier this season for the Washington Wizards, and had a stretch of double-digit performances in 17 of 19 games (including nine 20+ point games).   The problem is… he shot 41.5% there.

That bad shooting followed him from Washington, but the scoring numbers did not because he rarely got enough minutes to turn up the volume on his shooting.

So what do the Celtics do with a 24 year-old offense-only player on a his rookie deal? Let’s see…

Trade him

Crawford makes $2,162,419.  That’s certainly not going to make any splashes in the trade market.  He’s a career 40% shooter, which isn’t exactly encouraging.  And his most memorable playoff moment was this:

So what I’m saying is that Crawford alone doesn’t have a whole lot of trade value.

He does, however, have a little value as a cheap “throw-in” guy to make a bigger trade work (even wild scenarios in a desperate attempt for size).  If a team is acquiring someone in a deal from the Celtics that they really want, they can pay Crawford $2.1 million as an end-of-bench guy.   

Waive him

The Celtics can do this with few tricks.  They can put him on waivers, and if a team claims him, then they’re out from under his deal.  If he doesn’t get claimed off waivers, he almost certainly will get signed to a cheaper deal that minimizes the impact of the cap hit.  In a worst-case scenario, the Celtics pay him $2.1 million to go away, and he ends up playing overseas.

Still, the most realistic result under this scenario is him clearing waivers, signing a minimum wage deal with some team willing to take a cheap chance on a young guy, and the C’s being on the hook for somewhere just north for $1 million.

Extend him

Well, they could, technically, extend him.  It’s the exact same scenario as Avery Bradley with slightly different cap numbers.  Crawford’s QO is only $300,000 less than Bradley’s.

But I don’t think the Celtics are going down this road with Crawford.  It makes no sense.

Keep him (without extending him)

He’s still 24.  He’s not making a lot of money.  He theoretically could fill in in a pinch if a guy goes down with a sprained ankle or something.  The Celtics might see him as a cheap option to sit at the end of the bench during a transition year.  If you’re talking about a 9th or 10th man, I suppose you could do worse.  However the Celtics are constructed next season, there’s a good chance Crawford, if kept, would not sniff the floor unless it’s an emergency or a blowout.

After that, there’s no reason to make the qualifying offer.  The Celtics could just pass on that, make Crawford a free agent, and say “it’s not you, it’s us” as they break up for good next summer.

This

This is only if  Ted’s Army’s Aaron Gettings was running the team.  Well, maybe not only him… I’m sure he’s not alone.

So to recap…

My Take

Let’s just forget about the contract extension, ok? 

I’m all for Jordan’s departure from Boston.  If it’s via trade, great.  If he’s waived?  Fine.  I’m happy to make fun of him from afar.

BUT…

If the Celtics are in no mood to eat salary, then I can stomach Crawford as Gino’s dance partner at points in games where his ridiculous shots can be the source of our amusement rather than the source of our ulcers.  Because, honestly, the value of Crawford to the Celtics is more comedic than anything.  Mr. Weed Socks is not someone I want to depend on for anything meaningful in a game.  But the Twitter jokes are easier with him around.

So my preference is for Crawford to be sent packing.  The only justification for keeping him is the “we could do worse in the ‘break glass in case of emergency’ department, and Wyc isn’t spending one cent more than he absolutely has to until we have a legitimate shot at winning it all again” argument.

Also check out:

What do we do with… Brandon Bass?

What do we do with… Avery Bradley?

What do we do with… Jeff Green?

What do we do with… Courtney Lee?

What do we do with… Jason Terry?

What do we do with… Rajon Rondo?

What do we do with… Kevin Garnett?

What do we do with… Paul Pierce?

Greetings my fellow Celtics fans. This past season was definitely one of extreme highs and lows for the Boston Celtics. After losing starting point guard Rajon Rondo to a torn ACL, the team went on an inspiring 7 game winning streak. But the Basketball Gods continued to be unkind to Boston, as rookie Jared Sullinger and key reserve Leandro Barbosa were also lost for the year due to injuries. KG also went through his own battle with staying healthy, and the Celtics limped into the playoffs. It simply was not to be, and Boston fans were treated to their earliest Spring without Celtics basketball in quite some time.

I did my best to put together a photo gallery that chronicles last season’s journey. From Italy to Istanbul, Miami to Memphis, Cleveland to Chicago and everywhere in between. Check out the 2012-13 Boston Celtics in pics & GIFs. As an added bonus, I’ve also included two fan-made “Top 10″ videos. I think together, the vids do a nice job of showing some of the most exciting plays from last year’s regular season. Enjoy….

Old friend Kendrick Perkins made headlines last week for his underwhelming performance in the playoffs. Perk’s playoff impotence revived speculation that OKC would consider the amnesty provision on their center. Thunder GM Sam Presti says such speculation is inaccurate:

“We just haven’t considered using the provision,” Presti said. “I wouldn’t necessarily directly attribute that to any player on our team. Every team looks at the amnesty provision different based on their different circumstances. But it’s not something that we’ve really explored.”

When pressed, Presti went on to praise Perkins.

“We think Perk has a lot of value to our team,” Presti said. “He’s a member of a team that won 60 games and helped us to our third division title in three years. I don’t know that we can discount that. I’m sure he’d like to have had a better postseason. But I’m sure that’s pretty universal for the whole group. And we accept that.”

The Oklahoman’s Darnell Mayberry lays out numerous reasons why it doesn’t make sense for OKC to amnesty Perk. For starters, the Thunder are not a big market team flush with so much cash they can pay a player $18 million to leave town. Plus, Perk’s toughness and defensive ability are still valued in OKC.

But let’s be honest… an NBA GM worth his salt will never talk publicly about amnestying a player unless it’s the last resort. If Presti decides Perkins has to go, he’ll try desperately to trade him first.

Brandon Bass and Courtney Lee for Kendrick Perkins works in the Real GM trade machine. But that’s too steep for my tastes.

Maybe Ainge can get Presti to bite on a Lee, Fab Melo and Jordan Crawford for Perk deal. 

Every morning, we compile the links of the day and dump them here… highlighting the big storyline. Because there’s nothing quite as satisfying as a good morning dump.

At about 1:55 p.m., officers were dispatched to meet the victim who resides in the downtown Kent area.

The victim reported that the father of her 10-year-old son in common, identified as NBA basketball player Terrence D. Williams, arrived to her home for a scheduled visitation exchange of their son. She said during the exchange in the parking lot area an argument ensued. The victim reported that during the argument Williams brandished a firearm and made threats.

Williams left the area prior to police arrival, but was later located and taken into custody.

Kent (Washington) Reporter (via SI)

We have to be sure this is what it sounds like.  Right now it’s “She said… Williams brandished a firearm.”  It’s one half of the very famous “he said, she said” debate… and we don’t know what he said yet.

That said, if true, then Williams may very well be gone.  The Celtics aren’t going to take too kindly to someone making headlines like this.  And if he actually ends up facing weapons charges, then I can’t imagine them keeping him around.

Basketball-wise, this sucks.  I was looking forward to a summer of Williams learning the ropes as a point guard, getting familiar with the system, and fighting to earn a spot as an actual back up point guard…. something we really haven’t seen much of in the Rondo era.   Now we’re looking at the possibility of the C’s cutting Williams over a stupid move, and losing that.

Of course, there’s no guarantee they cut him if this is proven to be true.  They might find another way to discipline him.  I’m not sure what they’d actually do.  And since brandishing a firearm is a lot different from using one, the Celtics might not feel cutting him is necessary.

We’ll have to wait and see what the outcome of this is.  If the story becomes Williams pulled a gun and threatened to shoot someone over whatever argument was going on, then he’s gone.  If the story becomes Williams got into an argument and his kid’s mom called in a fake report to get back at him for something, then this goes away as far as we, or the Celtics are concerned.

I just wish pro athletes were smarter about their guns.  I know these guys say they need to feel protected because they’re now targets… but you’ve got to be smarter about it.  This isn’t a music video or a movie.

Let’s see how this turns out.

Listen to last night’s Celtics Stuff Live podcast with me and Jon Duke (skip the first few minutes of technical difficulties)

The rest of the links

Herald:  Fab review from Ainge on Melo  |  CSNNE:  Thunder GM: We won’t amnesty Perkins  |  Rivers return a key to C’s offseason  |  ESPN Boston:  Report card:  The incompletes

Every morning, we compile the links of the day and dump them here… highlighting the big storyline. Because there’s nothing quite as satisfying as a good morning dump.

The Celtics have the 16th pick in the June draft, their highest since they banked on getting a top-two pick in 2007 but settled for fifth and then dealt the pick for Ray Allen. There is major speculation that the club will trade up or down unless a prospect they desire lands in their laps.

ESPN draft gurus Chad Ford and Fran Fraschilla chimed in on the Celtics’ possibilities in this bizarre draft, which could be a gem or a dud.

“Their scouting staff has traditionally done a very good job in this range,” said Fraschilla, the former coach at New Mexico, St. John’s, and Manhattan. “I think they could go either way — they could go development or a European kid, a big kid that’s hanging around and they could stash overseas. Or I think there’s enough of those guys that we talked about, the senior or the guy that can be a rotation player, that are going to be staring at them at 16, that I tend to think they are going to do what they’ve always done and find the best fit for them.

“They draft basketball players, guys you can stick in Doc Rivers’s system, and they pick things up relatively quickly.”

Ford pointed out a couple of prospects who may fall to Boston, including Georgia sophomore Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, the SEC player of the year, who averaged 18 points and seven rebounds last season. Ford also noted San Diego State swingman Jamaal Franklin, who averaged 17 points and 9.5 rebounds as a junior. Franklin improved throughout his college career, a trait Celtics president of basketball operations Danny Ainge likes.

“I know Danny Ainge’s spiel and he takes players based on how he projects their potential in the future, not necessarily what they’ve just done in college,” Ford said. “Rajon Rondo and Avery Bradley are just great examples of that. Ainge loved them in high school, saw them in college, and felt like in both players’ cases, the systems that they were in did not accentuate the strengths that he saw in them as players. And in both cases, he got a player that was much better than where they drafted them because Ainge has a great ability to see what a player can and can’t do and be able to divorce that from what they did do in college.”

Asked about the potential of the 16th pick, Ainge said, “I don’t think this draft is particularly strong and I think there are some players with potential who are projects and there’s some players who have a chance to blossom into players down the road. There’s not very many that are going to come in and help a team right out of the gate.”

The Celtics are open to moving the pick, something they have done several times in the Ainge era.

“We could trade up, trade down, there are a lot of different scenarios that haven’t even been discussed yet,” he said. “Right now we’re just preparing and evaluating all the players in the draft.

Boston Globe – Draft prospect Shabazz Muhammed out to prove he carries no baggage into the NBA

We should all be a bit careful with our own speculation when it comes to supposed ‘major speculation’ when it comes to discussing possible trade scenarios.  Ainge has does have a history of trading picks and players all over the place during the draft so this shouldn’t come as a major surprise.  In 2006 he traded Randy Foye to Portland with Raef LaFrentz and Dan Dickau to get Sebastian Telfair and the immortal expiring contract of Theo Ratliff.  In the same draft, he worked a deal with Phoenix for them to draft Rajon Rondo and trade him to them for a first round pick in 2007 that they acquired earlier from a trade that sent Jiri Welsch to the Cavs.  Later in that draft, he also swung a deal in the second round with Denver to acquire Leon Powe.

In 2007 we all know what happened after losing one of the top two picks in the lottery.  Ainge drafted Jeff Green with the 5th pick and used that, along with Delonte West and Wally Szczerbiak to Seattle for Ray Allen and Glen Davis.  Things were relatively quiet from 2008-2010 in terms of trading during the draft, but in 2011 there was the highly debated JaJuan Johnson for MarShon Brooks I’ll-pick-for-you-you-pick-for-me trade.  You could even go as far back as his first draft with the Celtics, when he worked a similar deal with Memphis, having them select Kendrick Perkins and Marcus Banks (they selected local product Troy Bell from BC along with Duke’s Dahntay Jones for Memphis).

So this shouldn’t exactly come as a surprise, but it is intriguing considering this offseason has quite the cloudy outlook.   According to Ainge himself, he started to complete the puzzle by saying Doc would return as head coach next year.  This is vital more so in terms of free agency as well as convincing KG and possibly Pierce to return.  Doc also likely knows quite a bit about the draft prospects since they’re all close to the age of his son Austin, as he’s probably seen a lot of them play quite a bit.  I wouldn’t get too excited though mainly because of Ainge’s quote above.  At any rate we know Ainge is always out there making waves and making things interesting.  His overall track record is very good and sometimes you hit a home run, sometimes you strike out.  Ainge is at least not the type of guy to stand there looking with the bat on his shoulder.  It’s a good thing that his track record as GM is a lot better than his career batting average of .220! (although I’m sure many of you will disagree with that)

The rest of the links:

Globe – Dan Shaughnessy’s picked-up pieces | Herald – McDonough: Fun in Suns | He’s still on guard

Every morning, we compile the links of the day and dump them here… highlighting the big storyline. Because there’s nothing quite as satisfying as a good morning dump.

The Celtics still don’t know whether Kevin Garnett will be playing basketball next season, but if he does, the veteran is obviously hoping offseason rest will solve the left foot and ankle problems that dogged him for a part of this past season.

President of basketball operations Danny Ainge reports that Garnett will not go under the knife to deal with bone spurs and other issues.

“I think there was some question whether he was going to have surgery on his foot,” said Ainge. “but the last I heard, which was a few days ago, is that he won’t need surgery.”

Ainge reiterated yesterday, as the workout portion of the NBA combine concluded, that the Celts are giving Garnett time to weigh his career options. This follows the club’s own need for time to see what type of roster it may be able to put around the big man, who turns 37 tomorrow.

Herald – Rest assured, no surgery for KG

Great news.

As for my take on KG’s future, I’m stumped. Last year I was convinced he would retire. His comments prior to the All-Star break generated more retirement speculation.

The thing about Garnett is… he’s still extremely effective in spurts. Play him 20 minutes a game and he might win 6th man of the year. But is he willing to accept such a role on a team that isn’t guaranteed to compete for a championship?

Despite Danny Ainge’s assertion that Doc Rivers would return to coach the Celtics next season, the Stephen A. Smith blowhole continues to spew nonsense:

“According to my sources, Doc Rivers has intimated to people he’s close to that (leaving the Celtics) was something that he thought about, in terms of moving forward. As far as I’m concerned, he’s still thinking about it,” Smith said. “But he is under contract with Boston. Boston would have to let him out of his contract and give him permission to talk to somebody else, and I’m not sure he’s that willing. It would have to be a great, great opportunity.”

“Danny Ainge’s words, in this matter, mean nothing to me. Absolutely nothing.”

Let me rework that last line:

Stephen A. Smith’s words, in this matter, mean nothing to me. Absolutely nothing.

The rest of the links:

Herald – Execs split on C’s chances | ESPN Boston – Satisfaction guaranteed | Brandon Bass report card