The Boston Celtics Get "Marquis" Help with Daniels Signing

It is always assumed that it is the big name NBA free agents that bring championships to a team.  This is not always the case. Pau Gasol was a much maligned star in Memphis and his name was hardly ever mentioned with the greats.  Yet when paired with Kobe Bryant, they were able to bring a championship to the Los Angeles Lakers.

Manu Ginobili was a second round pick, and Tony Parker was a late first rounder.  San Antonio has managed to win three rings with both of them playing major roles.

Boston has its "Big Three," but they would not have been able to bring banner 17 to the Celtics without Rajon Rondo and Kendrick Perkins.

They were unable to repeat due to injuries and an offensively challenged bench.  The enigmatic Eddie House proved to be the one-dimensional player that he is.  When he was on no one could stop him.  His lack of foot speed on the defensive-end kept him off the floor in crucial situations. 

Brian Scalabrine tried but his "try-too-hard' mentality often caused him to commit dumb fouls.

Tony Allen continues to defy logic with his low-basketball acumen.  It seems that after each injury he regresses in his knowledge of how to play the game.

Glen Davis was forced to start due to Kevin Garnett and Leone Powe's injuries.

Youngsters, like Gabe Pruitt, J.R. Giddens, and Bill Walker could not crack the rotation. And the Stephon Marbury Mikki Moore experiment was a complete disaster.

As a result, Paul Pierce and Ray Allen had to score in bunches to give them a chance at winning.

Celtic management knew they had to get offensive help for the the second unit.  First, they signed Rasheed Wallace as a possible backup for KG.  Now they had to address the wing position.

The Boston Celtics wanted an experienced wing man to spell Pierce and Allen during the regular season.  Free agent names like Matt Barnes, Jerry Stackhouse and Jamario Moon were bandied about like hot commodities.  

Jamario Moon was lauded as the front-runner for the job, but ultimately signed with Cleveland. 

Matt Barnes' penchant for shooting three's eliminated him out of the discussion.

Adding Jerry Stackhouse would age the Celtic's roster by a significant margin. 

The Celtics wanted to find a veteran at the median age of 26-28.  They may have possibly found that when they signed Marquis Daniels.

Daniels beat the odds when the Dallas Mavericks picked him up as an undrafted free agent in 2003.  He instantly became a rotation player and has averaged about 17 minutes per game throughout his career. 

Dallas was so enamored with him that in 2004 they gave him a six-year contract worth $38 million.  The Mavericks were trying to find a backup for Nowitzki; in 2006, they traded him to Indiana for Austin Croshere.

Daniels became a free agent after the Pacers thought the final year of his original six-year contract was to expensive. Larry Bird used Marquis as an example for the inconsistent overall play of the team.  They refused to pickup their team option worth $7 million. 

One could argue that it wasn't fair; however, in today's NBA economy it made strong fiscal sense.

Tony Allen and Brian Scalabrine may be part of a sign-and-trade deal, if Indiana wants to go that route.  They do not necessarily have to do it, because Daniels is not a restricted free-agent.  If Indiana agrees to this option, then it would help the Celtics get rid of two players coming off an injury year.

After the deal is done, Indian can simply release both former Celtic players. 

Boston can then look for a low cost big man to bolster the roster.  Robert Swift seems to come to mind.  They took a flyer on Patrick O'Bryant so why not Swift. Ainge has always been enamored with the big man.

If the Celtics sign Daniels out right, then Tony Allen, Brian Scalabrine, Gabe Pruitt, or Lester Hudson will be the odd man out.  Boston will make another minor trade to relieve its roster of all its floatsum and jetsum.

Daniels career average of 13 PPG certainly makes him a better candidate than any of the aforementioned players.  He brings the same slashing and defensive capabilities as Tony Allen. 

At 6'6", he is taller and can bother the shot of taller opponents.  Something Tony Allen was unable or unwilling to do.  He can also be trusted to play defense without going for the same up-fake moves all the the time.

Boston has now added Rasheed Wallace and Marquis Daniels as key cogs to their bench.  The 2008 season has seen upper echelon teams get stronger and in Cleveland's case get bigger with "The Big Witnesss Protection," Shaq. 

Boston has its own power to counteract Shaq and Dwight Howard.  They can play pretty much one-on-one defense with Perk on either man.  Or they can take them out of their comfort zone with Rasheed stretching the floor.

Daniels can match up against Orlando's Vince Carter and Cleveland's Anthony Parker or Jamario Moon.

Dictionary.com states that the word marquis means a nobleman ranking next below a duke and above an earl or count.  Daniels ranked well below the radar of many contending teams and the Celtics were able to get him without giving up any core players.

Boston Celtic management has a strategic plan to preserve the "Big Three"  for the playoffs and win the 2010 Championship. 

They just might have succeeded with Marquis Daniels making his mark on the second unit.