Random ramblings of a rabid Celtics fan, starring Tyronn Lue

With the preseason over and the regular season only three days (three days!) away, news is supposed to be slower than Michael Sweetney with six broken toes and a 100-lb backpack on his back. Instead, there have been a few rumblings from Celtics camp. Here are my thoughts on each of them…

Michael Sweetney gets cut

Nothing else made sense. Why would the Celtics cut somebody else when everybody else has guaranteed contracts? Why would they pay Sweetney double his salary (luxury tax) and pay somebody else who they cut? If they were going to keep Sweetney around, it would have had to be after a 2-for-1 trade opened up a roster spot. But the Celtics are far better off keeping their expiring contracts and hoping to use them closer to the trade deadline, on a player who will help their rotation.

Sweetney is well past his playing weight, he would have been (at best) the fifth big man on the roster, and the Celtics just didn’t have the roster flexibility to keep him around. Had Sweetney been the C’s 15th man under contract, he would have been a nice project to keep around. But he was their 16th man, and he was the odd man out from day one. If he ever sheds his weight, Sweetney will be a hell of a player. And a hell of a Jenny Craig spokesman. But it just didn’t make sense to keep him around… no matter what way you look at it.

Tyronn Lue signs as assistant coach

What the hell? Tyronn Lue, whose name was kicked around a lot all summer for the backup point guard position, is now an assistant coach. Last year, Sam Cassell was the old, washed-up point guard who had an assistant coach’s role. Now, it’s Lue.

Some people will say the C’s are only keeping Lue around as insurance in case they need a 3rd-string point guard when midseason rolls around. I just can’t see it. Lue is washed up, ladies and gentlemen. He has only played 44 games over the past two seasons. He can’t get off the bench, and I couldn’t see him taking any minutes from Rondo, House, Daniels or even Hudson at PG.

Maybe I’m wrong. Maybe signing Lue as an assistant is the Celtics’ way of stashing him around until he signs as a player late in the season. But if the C’s are relying on Tyronn Lue to play any minutes at all, they will be in bad shape.

Big Baby whining about minutes… already

The Celts haven’t even played a single regular season game, and already Big Baby is whining about minutes. I just don’t see how he can. The Celtics haven’t even played a goddamn game yet!

In fact, I see Big Baby getting a solid amount of minutes. Of the three guys in front of him in the rotation, two (Garnett and Wallace) are getting older and Doc will likely keep their minutes down in an attempt to battle age. I envision Davis playing somewhere around 20 minutes per game, and having a far bigger role then he anticipates. And if he can’t be happy with 20 minutes per game on a championship contender, Big Baby’s in the wrong place.

Rajon Rondo has not been given an extension

If you’ve read my work for awhile, you know how I feel about Rajon Rondo’s contract situation; make a deal with him, quick, before he earns max money in free agency. Think about it; teams are all saving up money to throw at the big names like Lebron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh. But what happens if those guys stay put? Now, all of a sudden teams will be throwing money at second-tier players like, uh-oh, Rondo.

In the NBA, one thing is for certain: Teams rarely keep cap room and wait for the right player to spend it on, For some reason, GMs feel compelled to use cap room the second the get it, whether the money is being spent to make the team a lot better or not. It’s why Detroit spent $90 million on Charlie Villanueva and Ben Gordon, and it’s why the Blazers spent on Andre Miller (who, just like Gordon, will be coming off the bench). So teams will be throwing max money at guys who probably don’t deserve it. And Rondo will be one of the headliners in the second-tier of free agents.

So the C’s should wrap him up now, before a big season and a wild free agent market net Rondo a max deal the C’s likely won’t be able, or willing, to match. No matter how you want to look at it, Rondo is the Celtics’ future. He has improved leaps and bounds in each of his first three seasons, and came back this year in great shape with a new and improved shooting stroke. Just sign him, Danny Ainge, or you’ll probably regret it.

I’m worried about this Rondo situation. I think the C’s are playing their hand wrong right now. After alienating Rondo all offseason, they should have shown huge interest in making an extension work. Now, they risk further alienation of Rondo by failing to extend his contract. While he's still a restricted free agent, will the Celtics match the deal if Rajon signs a max contract with another team? I'm not so sure.

The curious case of Michael Sweetney

The skills that made him a lottery pick are still there. The soft hands, the great touch, and the impressive post footwork. But in just one glance you can see why Michael Sweetney has never fulfilled his promise; at 6'8", Sweetney is listed at 270 pounds but looks to be well north of 300.

It's sad, really. Sweetney is obviously still a talented player. Even playing at such an unhealthy weight, Sweetney has impressed many Celtics fans. On message boards and forums, live chats and even blog posts, Celtics fans have clamored for Sweetney to make the team. Never mind that every other player has a guaranteed contract (according to Chris Sheridan of espn.com, Lester Hudson's is guaranteed too), or that Sweetney can barely get up and down the court without instantly needing an oxygen machine; he's flashed enough offensive talent in limited minutes that everyone can see Sweetney's potential.

Unfortunately, Sweetney's number sixteen on a roster of fifteen. The only way the Celtics could keep him is if they decide to cut a player with a guaranteed contract (which would mean paying for the full contract of a cut player), or if they execute a trade in which they give away more players than they receive. Beyond the obvious barriers to signing Sweetney, there's the question of where he would fit into such a deep Celtics' frontcourt. At best, he'd be the fifth big man on the depth chart. One could argue Sweetney is better than Shelden Williams, but not even the mostly (entirely?) insane Skip Bayless could make an argument that Sweetney is better than Big Baby, Rasheed, KG, or Perk. So even if he somehow found his way onto the regular season roster, Sweetney would probably never find his way onto the court.

But for Sweetney to even make it this far without getting cut, he's impressed a lot of people within the Celtics' organization. He was invited to summer league without a guarantee of being invited to training camp. He was then invited to training camp without a guarantee of being on the preseason roster. Now, he's made it through five preseason games and counting. For a guy who took the last two years off, tackling a "family issue" and battling weight problems, its good to see he's still got skills. In fact, as big as Sweetney looks now, he says he has lost 40 pounds trying to get back into playing shape. If he can keep losing weight, and finally get into good shape, Sweetney will undoubtedly make a name for himself in the NBA; he is too talented not to. But it's a big if, for a guy who has never been able to keep weight off, and I don't think the Celtics will keep him around long enough to find out.

Still, Sweetney's game is intriguing. Even 40 or 50 pounds over his ideal playing weight, the man can score the basketball. I'd imagine he'd be able to score even if he was in a wheelchair and blind; that's how skilled this guy is offensively. But if he never gets his weight under control, he'll never be able to stay on the court because his defensive mobility will not be good enough and his stamina won't be what it needs to be.

Regardless of the shape Sweetney's in, he has such rare offensive skills. There are some guys that were born with certain talents: John Stockton was born to pass, Ray Allen was born to shoot, and Will Hunting was born to do math. Thirty years from now, Stockton will still have his great court vision, Allen will still have his perfect stroke, and Will Hunting will still have his unrivaled brain. And thirty years from now, I imagine Mike Sweetney will still be able to score the basketball. Just like Stockton was born to pass and Allen was born to shoot, Sweetney was born with innate scoring ability. You can't teach his soft hands, and you can't teach his touch. I'm not saying he's nearly as good as Stockton or Allen; nobody would ever make that claim. But just like those guys, Sweetney has talent visible to everybody who watches him play.

When I see Sweetney play, I wonder how good he could be if he was in good shape. I wonder how devastating he could be offensively with 40 more pounds cut off his frame and newfound explosiveness complimenting his already-refined post game. I could imagine him becoming an All-Star, a more skilled version of Paul Millsap. Then again, I can imagine him being cut by the Celtics before the regular season and I can imagine him being out of the NBA, maybe for good.

With Sweetney, it all comes down to his weight. If he dedicates himself to getting in shape, there will be a place in the NBA for Sweetney. But if he doesn't lose that weight, Sweetney will always be a basketball vagabond. He'll always fall short of reaching his potential, and he'll always leave people wondering, "What if?"

I still don't think Sweetney will make the Boston Celtics. It just doesn't seem plausible. But if he ever does cut some weight, the Celtics will probably regret getting rid of him.