Minnesota clearly wants Greg Stiemsma, and it sure looks like they’re going to put their money where their mouth is. But there’s a big difference between want and need, and our Boston Celtics need Stiemsma back in the fold, and in a big way. He knows the system, which is huge, but he has also earned the trust of Doc Rivers and Kevin Garnett. Fab Melo is light years away from being able to give us any real production. Stiemsma, for his part, is an active big who can alter shots and give the Celtics some semblance of a rebounding game off the bench. Who knows what we’re going to get from Melo at this point? We’ll certainly find out starting tomorrow in Orlando, but right now he’s clearly behind the curve and has a ways to go before becoming a trusted rotation player.
Danny Ainge will assess his options – he can bring Nenad Krstic back from overseas, and Krstic did fit in nicely during his half season with the Celtics. Chris Wilcox is also in play, but Ainge hasn’t given any indication that he wants to go in that direction. Ryan Hollins should also be on the radar, especially after he seemed to improve during the playoffs.
But barring an unforseen trade, Stiemsma remains our best big man option off the bench. It’s just a shame that the Timberwolves can pay him far more than we can, because it looks like we may be losing a valued rotation player to cap constraints.
I really hoped that Stiemsma was going to be the opposite of Ray (or the same depending on how you look at it). He seemed eager to continue playing for Doc and with the Green Gang. He was going to be the green-through-and-through that eschewed extra bucks to remain with the team that gave him his break and a professional home. I am a bit crushed with the report that he wants to play in Minnesota, guess it is right next to his hometown.
I liked the facets of his game at which we only got a peek–nice midrange jumper with feet set, nice little hook posting with back to basket, running and filling the lane. I thought he bravely played-through foot problems that would have put another on the bench, and they were problems that seemed to be curable with tincture of time. Most of his fouls came when swatting down rather than making his challenge above the release point–something that coaching could address. Call me a fan of this blue-collar late bloomer.