Reading through the comments here and elsewhere, I think Celtics fans are universally psyched about Marquis Daniels. One of the best parts about the deal is the potential for a sign and trade involving Tony Allen and Brian Scalabrine. Scal makes $3.4 million and TA makes $2.5… which conveniently add up to the mid-level exception type of money Daniels is looking for. The Pacers, in exchange, get 2 serviceable players with expiring deals that they can ditch after one season… but who won't totally embarrass them this year.
So that would be a good deal… but then what? There's still business to be done: bringing back Big Baby, and finding a back up PG.
I'm willing to wait on the Baby thing. And really… he'd be a luxury at this point. But I really don't think he's going to get the money he's looking for. I think his most realistic contract will ultimately be something close to $3 million or so over a couple of years… maybe with a player option for a 3rd year.
But we still need someone that is capable of coming in for 20 minutes and distributing the ball. If Baby comes back, we could have a second unit on the floor of Eddie House, Big Baby, Marquis Daniels, Rasheed Wallace and backup point guard X. That's a lot of scoring out there. We don't need much from the PG spot.
The options are limited. One of the better options, Earl Watson, was available for like 2 seconds after being waived by OKC. But he was immediately signed by Indy. We can look at the list of available free agents… but is there anyone on there that would truly work for us? Should we go into the season with Gabe Pruitt or Lester Hudson in that slot? I might be leaning towards the latter at this point… especially if Baby is back and our bench is stacked at every other spot.
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