Corey Brewer received a surprising buyout from the New York Knicks, and the Boston Celtics are among the teams who have already expressed interest. (ESPN.com)

Sources say Boston, San Antonio, Oklahoma City and Dallas are among the teams with the most interest in Brewer, who joined the Knicks only last week as part of the Carmelo Anthony deal.

Brewer is known mostly as a defender, but, as Rob Mahoney noted for The New York Times’ Off The Dribble blog, “Brewer’s competent defense comes with a significant offensive trade-off.” In other words, he’s a solid defender who could not put the ball in the basket to save his dog’s life.

Many defenders excel simply by playing defense and leaving the offense to other, more skilled players. Think Thabo Sefolosha, or the cheap-shot artist formerly known as Bruce Bowen. But Brewer is not like those players. He actually, in Mahoney’s words, “fancies himself a more active participant in the offense, and unfortunately for the Wolves and now the Knicks, that mindset results in a lot of errant jumpers.”

Theoretically, playing with a contender could help Brewer see the light. He could look around at Paul Pierce, Ray Allen, Kevin Garnett and Rajon Rondo and think, “Hey, you know what? I should never shoot the ball on this team, not in a million years. Everyone I see is so much better than I am.” Or he could continue to do what he’s done his whole career, which is shooting far too often for a player of his middling (to be kind) offensive caliber.

Offensive putridity aside, Brewer’s a young(-ish) wing with defensive talent, potentially available on the cheap. For a 12th or 13th man, the Celtics could do worse.

Injured, again?

Delonte West sprained his ankle doing skeleton drills yesterday, and will miss tonight’s game. Perfect timing, since it’s not like he played his best game of the season last time out or anything. (Green Street)

During an informal workout Sunday, Celtics guard Delonte West sprained his right ankle when he stepped on another player’s foot and will be out for the Celtics game Monday night against Utah. Doc Ricers told reporters in Utah that West is also questionable for Wednesday’s game with Phoenix when the team returns to the Garden.

Earlier today I wrote, “With Delonte West in tow, the Celtics may not have much need for another point guard.” I neglected to mention, “If West ever injures himself, the C’s backup point guard situation could leave Avery Bradley playing solid minutes.” Not that Bradley playing minutes sucks, because I’m always an advocate of developing young talent. But he’s not ready to play any type of significant role. Mike Bibby has been bought out, for anyone interested, and perhaps Danny Ainge should place a phone call to Mr. Bibby’s agent.

Or the Celtics could play Rajon Rondo 48 minutes, because that’d certainly be terrific for his legs.

Young Shaq.

Getting into shape before the season apparently doesn’t intrigue Shaquille O’Neal. He would rather take a month off during the middle of the season, due to injury, and use that month to begin shedding weight.

“Trust me when I tell you Shaq has been busting it hard for a few weeks now,” wrote Greg Dickerson on Twitter, “and his body is in fantastic shape..dropped 15..look out east!”

As Julian Benbow wrote in a piece for the Boston Globe, “Everything hinges on whether the O’Neals can get healthy and stay healthy.” Which, frankly, sucks. The O’Neals have missed a combined 61 games now. It’s not like their bodies became made of porcelain just this season, either. In the last five seasons, Shaq has played 50 or more (50 or more!) regular season games only twice — 53 last season and 75 in ’08-’09, when the miracle-working Phoenix training staff Mr. Migayi’d his body. Jermaine isn’t a pillar of durability, either. In the last seven seasons, he has played 45 or more (45 or more!) regular season games just three times — 70 games last season, 69 games in ’06-’07, and 51 games in ’05-’06.

Which brings me to the “Danny Ainge knows something about the O’Neals that we don’t, or else he would not have made this trade” argument. Do I believe Ainge knows things about the O’Neals’ rehabilitation that we don’t? Of course. Do I think he can guarantee a healthy postseason from the O’Neals, even with his insider information? How could he? These two big men have been injury problems for years. Their string of injuries this season isn’t just an exception to the rule — it IS the rule. Even last year, when Jermaine made it to the postseason still standing, he was hurting. He shot something like 2-fer-3,948,483 in the first round, against the Celtics… blaming his struggles on — guess what? — an injury. (Jermaine said he got “kicked in the ankle.”) Even if Ainge knows the O’Neals are both progressing well, he couldn’t possibly predict their health come May or June. Their bodies have proven shaky, for years.

Kendrick Perkins also has an injury, right now, and that’s important to point out. But Perkins, despite a rash of minor shoulder injuries in the past, had always been durable before this season. The past four seasons, he played more than 70 games each year. In other words, Perkins played 70 games or more games each of the past four seasons; in the past decade, the O’Neal brothers have combined for five 70-game seasons. The recent knee injuries are troublesome, indeed. But Perkins could normally be trusted to stay on the court. He has been far more durable, during his career, than either of the O’Neals.

“We still have size,” said Celtics coach Doc Rivers. “I’m almost laughing at people that say we don’t have size. Last time I checked, Jermaine O’Neal and Shaq and Krstic, they’re pretty big. It’s almost laughable to me that people keep saying you’ve lost size. I think we may still be the biggest team in the NBA.”

The Celtics still do have size. Plenty of it. But the C’s traded away two seven-foot centers at the trade deadline, receiving only one in return. Left on Boston’s roster are three seven-foot centers (a number down from four last week). Two of those seven-footers have injury histories, both past and present.  The other is Nenad Krstic, who can certainly play effective minutes but lacks the girth to defend real centers. Not that there are many real centers in the league, but still.

It’s now a good time to point out that Glen Davis has finished almost every game as Boston’s center. That’s a valid point, and calming. But the Celtics could use a bigger, bulkier player to gobble up minutes, and to match up with the Dwight Howards and Andrew Bynums — especially in the playoffs, when the pace slows and size becomes more valuable than ever. If the O’Neals aren’t healthy, is Krstic capable of being that guy?

There’s no guarantee Perk would have been healthy for the postseason. But history tells us he has a better chance than either of the O’Neals.

“We want them to get healthy,” Paul Pierce told the Boston Globe, referring to the O’Neals. “They’re everything that we need to make a run at the championship. If they don’t get healthy then it’s going to be tough.”

Isn’t that a scary thought?

Troy Murphy agreed to a buyout yesterday from the Golden St. Warriors, making him a free agent once he clears waivers.

According to multiple reports, Murphy has narrowed his targets to two teams: the Miami Heat and Boston Celtics. The Orlando Magic, who would seem to have more of a need for Murphy than any other team, are reportedly out of the mix (even though their only backup big men are Ryan Anderson, Earl Clark and Malik Allen — three men who make Nenad Krstic look like Wilt Chamberlain).

Though Murphy is still considering the Heat, CSNNE’s A. Sherrod Blakely reports the Celtics have emerged as frontrunners. One factor? The Heat have 15 players, and might not want to waive anybody to open a roster spot for Murphy.

A league source has confirmed that Troy Murphy has come to terms on a buyout with the Golden State Warriors, which will pave the way for the 6-foot-10 inch forward to sign with the Boston Celtics. The buyout is pending league approval, which won’t come about until sometime on Monday.

Tim Kawakami of the San Jose Mercury News was the first to report Murphy’s buyout.

While it’s not a done deal that Murphy will be a Celtic, all indications are pointing in that direction.

The Celtics have also reportedly become the most likely destination for Leon Powe, though he has received interest from multiple other teams (including, most recently, the Hornets). Mike Bibby is another buyout candidate, but — with Delonte West in tow — the Celtics may not have much need for another point guard. The Heat have been rumored to have their eyes on Bibby.

Rasual Butler, another name who has been linked to the Celtics, reportedly plans to sign with the Chicago Bulls once he clears waivers. Butler will help Chicago’s thin shooting guard rotation, but certainly should not change the Eastern Conference hierarchy.

The Nenad Krstic era began with a wispy mustache, a barrage of offensive rebounds, and hustle galore. The Jeff Green era did not begin quite so seamlessly, but judgment on the C’s blockbuster midseason trade — for good or for bad — will not come instantly; it will not come until the Celtics either win the NBA championship or are eliminated trying. That said, a win tonight is a win, and the four mainstays still in Boston’s starting lineup remain talented and unselfish.

Krstic, Krstic, Krstic. He’s not a terrific offensive rebounder (though he’s competent), so don’t expect so many Krstic-related second chances every night. But he worked hard; oh, did he work hard, like a young boy at his first day of basketball tryouts. He battled for each rebound, which — despite tonight’s prolific rebounding, at least on the offensive side — normally is not Krstic’s strength. He hedged each screen-and-roll with his feet quick and his hips on a swivel. He fought, and he clawed, and he won over some members of Celtics nation who did not expect so much from the Serbian seven-footer. He even made moves with smoothness and canned a couple of pretty jumpers, sentiments (I promise) I never once wrote about Kendrick Perkins.

The Celtics will still need to replace part of Perk’s (11th-best in the NBA) 27.3% defensive rebound rate, and his hulking, intimidating presence down low. But the early returns on Krstic were terrific, even if, when Chris Kaman bullied Krstic in the fourth quarter for a far-too-easy lefty lay-in, I briefly worried how Krstic would ever defend Dwight Howard.

That’s a worry for another day,  as tonight was about the two newcomers helping the Celtics to a win. Green wasn’t perfect, as his one “fall flat on his face while trying to penetrate the defense” maneuver evidenced. But you can see why Danny Ainge desired Green, and why Doc Rivers raved about Green’s versatility. Late in the third quarter, Rivers trotted out a lineup of Rondo-West-Pierce-Green-Davis. Speed, everywhere. Size, nowhere. But that’s the versatility Green brings (he can guard threes or fours, but handles the ball like a guard), and Rivers will enjoy his new toy.

Watching Green’s defense closely allowed me to see why he earned a poor defensive reputation in Oklahoma City. It was only one game, but Green’s positional defense seemed good. He was mostly in the right spots, and his rotations — especially considering he was playing in his first game as a Celtic — seemed mostly timely. But when Green’s man penetrated, Green’s hips opened right up and he escorted his opponent to the hoop. Once, after Green allowed an opponent direct passage to the hoop, he even recovered to block his opponent’s shot. It’s weird, but the block was actually a product of bad defense. Green’s impressive athleticism allowed him to recover, but improper technique let his opponent drive by him in the first place.

Green and Krstic made their debuts, but Delonte West impressed in his new role. West was everything I always wished Nate Robinson could have been. Poised. Controlled. Electric. Balanced, between scoring and passing. Taller than 5 feet 9 inches. Unwilling to randomly pull up for contested three-pointers on the fast break. West ran the team, in a way Robinson never learned how, in a way that allowed the Celtics to excel while Rondo sat on the bench for extended periods of time.

Watching Blake Griffin was fun, in ways you don’t realize unless you watch him on a regular basis. The dunks are great, sure, but there have been prolific dunkers before and there will be many more prolific dunkers. It’s Griffin’s feel for the game — his ability to pass and notice things most don’t — that really sets him apart. Griffin’s bounce pass to Randy Foye — the one that precluded Foye’s “welcome to the Celtics” dunk in Green’s face — left me far more awed than any display of Griffin’s mutant athleticism did. He knows how to play like point guards know how to play, and, once his defense catches up (if his defense ever catches up?), Blake Griffin will go down as one of history’s greatest power forwards. And, if tonight’s any indication, Randy Foye will go down as one of history’s greatest combo guards.

The Celtics are supposed to beat the Los Angeles Clippers, and they did. Paul Pierce scored 24 efficient points, the Celtics shot one million free throws, and Kevin Garnett played his normal well-rounded game. This Boston outfit hasn’t completely meshed, and fully breaking Green and Krstic in could take a little while. But you could see what the Celtics saw in each of them. You could see why Danny Ainge made this trade. Even while you still wonder whether Ainge made the right decision.

The Boston Celtics’ first competition against Blake Griffin was always going to provide excitement. Now, Griffin’s initial game against Boston has become a distant second on the entertainment scale. (Unless Griffin “Mozgovs” Nenad Krstic, in which case he instantly retakes the crown.) The story of tonight’s game has become the debuts of Krstic and Jeff Green, two players brought to Boston at midseason, in hopes of furthering Boston’s chances at an 18th title.

I still don’t understand the trade, or the “logic” behind it, but that doesn’t mean the newcomers add nothing. Green offers the C’s bench a much-needed jolt of energy (and skill), and his versatility provides Doc Rivers with lineup options he hasn’t had since James Posey left.

That doesn’t mean Green will have a Posey-an impact, because the two players are very different. Where Posey excelled as a defender and opportunistic three-point shooter, Green offers less specialty and more variety. He’s not a great defender (or, really, even a competent one), but he can guard both threes and fours. He’s not a great shooter, but he can hit shots. He’s not a terrific playmaker, but he can make plays. He’s not a great rebounder (and, actually, he’s not anywhere close), but the Celtics won’t need him to play so many minutes per game as a power forward.

Off the bench, Green could have quite an impact. If the Celtics hadn’t given up heart and size to secure him, while resting a majority of their title hopes on the O’Neal brothers’ health, I would love the Green addition. For a team that needed athleticism, scoring and playmaking off the bench, Jeff Green provides all that. But, again, the Celtics lost a big piece of their calling card — size and toughness.

Which takes me to Krstic, who does have height. He’s seven feet tall, hails from Kraljevo, Serbia, and started all 47 games he played for the Oklahoma City Thunder this season. But height and position are two of the only things Krstic has in common with Kendrick Perkins. Perk was Boston’s enforcer, while Krstic is a fu-fu midrange shooter. Perk was muscle, while Krstic is finesse (and a balding hair line that makes him look far older than his 27 years).

Krstic, I don’t think anyone would argue, is more skilled than Kendrick Perkins. He also won’t provide nearly the impact Perk had. There’s a reason Oklahoma City needed to trade for Perk a couple days ago. When the playoffs roll around, defense and toughness become more valuable than ever, and teams don’t win championships with Nenad Krstic as their starting center. Is Krstic a stiff? No. But he’s soft, in a way that will hurt Boston in the postseason should Krstic need to play any serious minutes.

The hope is that the O’Neals — or at least one of them — will become healthy enough for Perk’s absence to mean very little. The hope is that Jeff Green will turn Boston’s bench — so inconsistent and meek for much of the season — into a weapon. The hope is that Kendrick Perkins will prove to be expendable, Krstic will play a bit role, and Green will positively alter Boston’s dynamic while potentially becoming a cornerstone of sorts for the future.

For better or worse, the Jeff Green era begins tonight. I don’t know much, but I know I’ll be rooting for the Celtics to prove me wrong.