How many 16th men is too many? The Celtics are hoping there's no correct answer to that question.
Delonte West, inked by Celtics executive Danny Ainge to a one-year contract worth the veteran's minimum of just over $1 million, makes the Celtics' roster officially maxed out with 15 players under contract. And that's not even counting youngsters Oliver Lafayette and Tony Gaffney, each signed back in April to non-guaranteed deals.
And yet the Celtics just can't stop bringing in more bodies. It's a miracle the team's practice facility in Waltham, Mass., is big enough to hold them all.
Four more NBA free agents turned up in Waltham this week to strut their stuff for Ainge and his people with training camp just two weeks away: Adam Morrison, Rashad McCants, Trenton Hassell and Cuttino Mobley. And while all the buzz Wednesday morning was about Morrison, the two-time NBA champion and former No. 3 overall draft pick, it turns out that all four guys have something to offer the Celtics in their quest to craft the perfect 15-man roster.
"Just taking a look before training camp," Ainge told The Boston Globe. "Those guys are all good NBA players. I thought all four guys looked very good, actually."
Why wouldn't they? They're all solid NBA players who could be perfectly serviceable at the end of the Celtics' bench. Morrison's the one that made headlines first, but the other three all have game.
McCants is a former lottery pick and a national championship starter on the 2005 UNC Tar Heels. He's a 6-foot-4 shooting guard with the versatility to knock down jump shots or beat you off the dribble, and he's still got plenty of prime years left at 25. He's just two years removed from averaging 14.9 points per game as a part-time starter for Timberwolves coach Randy Wittman, and it's hard to believe he's faded so fast since 2008 that he can't still bring something to the table.
Hassell is a little older — he turned 31 last season — but he's likewise a solid shooting guard that could help the C's pack a little extra scoring punch off the bench. He was a starter as recently as this past season, albeit for the absolutely dreadful New Jersey Nets. If he can crack the starting five for Kiki Vandeweghe in Jersey, then there's no reason he can't do mop-up work for Doc Rivers in Boston. He's worth a look.
Having just turned 35 this summer, Mobley is the oldest of the four, but he's also the most accomplished. He's got 11,964 career points to his name, which would put him 36th in the NBA among active players, just three points behind Dwyane Wade and well ahead of stars like Amare Stoudemire, Gilbert Arenas and Chris Bosh. The only problem? He's not exactly active. The last time Mobley took the floor in an NBA game was Nov. 19, 2008, for the L.A. Clippers — the veteran shooting guard retired from basketball 21 months ago when a physical turned up a hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, or heart disease. Now he's back and looking for work.
With 17 guys under contract including Lafayette and Gaffney, the Celtics are obviously stacked at every single position. But they've made no secret that the one role they'd like to fill better is the spot-up shooter off the bench. Ever since losing Eddie House last winter in the trade that brought Nate Robinson to Boston, the C's have been hurting for one more veteran that can hit the outside shot.
Morrison, McCants, Hassell and Mobley all have the potential to fill that role. Don't be surprised if a month from now, one of them has played his way into Boston.
Ainge and Rivers have stressed throughout this offseason that no matter who shows up to camp with contracts and who doesn't, the Celtics will decide in the end to keep their best 15 guys. It's not a stretch to think one of the above shooters could crack that top 15.
Nothing is certain when the Celtics open camp later this month — nothing except healthy competition to crack the roster of the NBA's deepest team.
