Report: Boston Celtics Closing in on Signing Jason Terry

According to Marc Spears of Yahoo! Sports, the Boston Celtics are "in final discussions on terms of a multi-year deal with Mavericks free agent guard Jason Terry."

Terry, who has played the majority of his career in Dallas, has been possibly the best sixth man in the league.

He came up big in the 2011 NBA Finals and won his first ring when the Mavericks stunned the Heat in six games.

However, tensions have been rising between Terry and Mavericks management, as owner Mark Cuban looked to explore options to sign big-name free agents like Dwight Howard and Deron Williams.

With the potential signing of Terry, the Celtics will likely withdraw from the Ray Allen sweepstakes, because both players were being considered for the same position.

In addition, this signals that Avery Bradley will be the starter for the Celtics in 2012, considering that Terry has been most effective coming off the bench.

This move also takes Boston out of the running to sign OJ Mayo, making a Brandon Bass signing much more plausible.

At the end of the day, the Celtics might have made the most prudent move because they can keep the "band together" for the most part, while also giving young players like Bass and Bradley the playing time to grow into their roles.

Look for Boston to contend next season for an NBA Championship in Jeff Green and Bass are re-signed.