Hoping to find Von Wafer a basketball home for the coming season, Wafer’s agent made “insistent” overtures to the Spanish team Real Madrid. (via WEEI)

Instead, the team signed Jaycee Carroll, who starred alongside Luke Harangody for the Celtics summer league entry last year, and Martynas Pocius, who I despised when he played for my beloved Duke Blue Devils.

Wafer did not find a suitor in Real Madrid, but he is obviously looking to find an overseas home. Earlier today, FIBA ruled to allow any NBA players to play overseas until the lockout ends. Because of Wafer’s status as a free agent, he would have been able to seek overseas employment regardless of FIBA’s ruling.

The last time Wafer played overseas, his 2009 tenure on the Greek team Olympiakos ended in a sea of flames. The team waived Wafer midseason and head coach Panagiotis Giannakis did not send any praise Wafer’s way.

“He had a playing philosophy that didn’t allow him to make the adjustments needed,” the coach said. “If somebody is not eager to try to change himself, then it is better for him and the club to part ways.”

Theoretically, Wafer might have learned how to become a professional under the tutelage of Doc Rivers and Boston’s veterans. Then again, maybe not.

Even if Wafer decides not to travel overseas for next season, the Celtics might remain uninterested when the lockout ceases. Though Wafer improved in bits and pieces last season, he never quite found the map leading him to Boston’s rotation. If he does leave, I doubt I will shed a tear.

The NBA lockout has caused a strange disconnect between players and their teams. Players who are friends with coaches, owners, or team employees cannot even call their buddies, and vice versa. Players and their NBA-affiliated friends cannot go to the mall together, compete against each other in laser tag or paintball, or take long walks on the beach while holding hands. Heck, I’m pretty sure Mark Cuban lost 99% of his social life the day the NBA locked out.

For draft picks, though, the lack of discussion between players and teams hits hardest.  The Celtics cannot contact E’Twaun Moore or JaJuan Johnson in any fashion. Rather than beginning their NBA careers with a support system in place and a Grade-A coaching staff to work with, Moore and Johnson are on their own — unable to pick Doc Rivers’s mind, unable to use the team’s Waltham training facilities, unable to work out with Brian Doo (the strength and conditioning coach), and, though Ray Allen and others have stated a desire to coordinate team-wide workouts during the lockout, incapable of working out with their veteran teammates daily.

Before the lockout, Moore and Johnson met with Danny Ainge and the Celtics brass for just a week.

“Everyone (with the Celtics) was very straight up with me while I was there for that week,” Moore told the Boston Herald. “They were very straight in telling me what they thought.”

What was that?

“Danny and Doc told me to stay in shape, and to be able to shoot the NBA three,” said Moore.

And then Moore was on his own.

It’s probably a good thing he signed in Europe with the Italian team Benetton Treviso. There, Moore can stay in shape, continue the process of becoming the best basketball player he can, learn how to play a role on a professional team, and do it all in a coordinated fashion, with practices and coach-led workouts and even games. Moore says he is already hitting many of his NBA three-pointers, a shot he has been practicing “with a lot of repetition lately.” Barring an injury overseas, he should return to Celtics training camp (whenever that occurs) an improved player. Which makes sense, considering that he improved during each of his four seasons at Purdue and should gain valuable experience playing in Italy’s top professional league, widely regarded as the third-best domestic league in the world (behind the NBA and the Spanish ACB).

Young players have used overseas basketball as a learning experience before, and the results are divergent. Brandon Jennings got his ass kicked in Rome, but returned to the NBA a candidate for Rookie of the Year. Jeremy Tyler got his ass kicked in Isreal and Japan, and I assume he will also get his ass kicked in the NBA. Would those players have been better off going to college? Who knows. But that wasn’t an option for Moore. He was either going to work out by himself, play in pro-ams, and maybe find some barnstorming games here and there, or he was going to join a professional team overseas. Signing in Italy made sense, especially since Moore can return to the States whenever the lockout ends.

But JaJuan Johnson won’t follow suit and sign in Italy and or anywhere else overseas. At least, that’s what the Boston Herald hinted at today. Hopefully, Johnson will spend his days lifting, eating and smacking himself with steel crowbars instead, to prepare himself for life in the NBA paint. All of that would have been easy if he were listening to Bryan Doo, chatting with Doc Rivers and playing pickup with Kevin Garnett. But when left alone, it’s more difficult to keep up with workouts and stay on task. Boston’s top-flight organization, a valuable resource to all young players, can’t make a difference for the rookies until the lockout finally ends.

Benetton Treviso should provide a similar support system for Moore. But Johnson will need to fend for himself. Hopefully, they’ll both return to training camp (again, whenever that occurs) ready for their first extended NBA lessons.

I care that Jeff Green traveled to the White House to meet with a crew of wounded veterans called the Wounded Warriors. It’s a kind gesture from Green and obviously a wonderful cause. Green should be commended for his work in the community, and especially because he offered his time to soldiers who risked their lives for our country, soldiers who now need wheelchairs to play basketball.

But when it comes to rooting for basketball players (programming note: I’m going to sound quite cold-hearted in three… two… one…), I root for their athletic prowess and on-court mentality, not the extent of their community service. Hell, sometimes I don’t even need a reason to root for one player or root against another one. Cheering for sports teams and players can become confusing.

Producing on the court or on the field is the best way to earn praise. That’s why Albert Haynesworth has a chance to become a Gillette fan favorite, even though the former Pro Bowl defensive lineman is, by all accounts, a king-sized dunce. Judging by my Facebook feed, Chad Ochocinco has already become a fan favorite, the oversized personality with a smile as quick as his first step, even though he comes to Foxboro with a reputation as a locker room distraction. Manny Ramirez was a king in Boston until his oddities began to outweigh his fierce bat, Rajon Rondo’s a king although the Celtics once nearly traded him for behavioral issues, and fans could always overlook Glen Davis’s quirkiness until his production started to dwindle.

Then there’s Kevin Garnett, who could commit five or six murders and still be on my A-list of players to root for. I would even root for Garnett if he possessed all the talent of Mikki Moore, because Garnett plays the game like a lion would — you know, if lions could play basketball. Hell, he plays the game like Nicky Santoro.

Santoro was the muscle man in Casino. Watching that movie last night for the first time (I fell asleep in the middle of it, so don’t spoil anything — yes, I feel a little bit like my father when I pass out during the middle of a movie, and no, that’s never a good thing), I was taken aback when Santoro stabbed someone to death (or close to it) with a pen (I think), all because the person had called Santoro’s friend Ace Rothstein an asshole. I can’t quite envision Garnett stabbing someone to death with a pen (he prefers the ball-tap method of violence), but when Rothstein began to describe Santoro, I kept thinking of Number Five.

“You beat Nicky with fists, he comes back with a bat,” said Rothstein. “You beat him with a knife, he comes back with a gun. And if you beat him with a gun, you better kill him, because he’ll keep coming back and back until one of you is dead.”

Delonte West lives by the Nicky Santoro rules, too, and I don’t say that to open a discussion about his gun charges. I meant to say that West plays basketball by the Nicky Santoro rules. Celtics fans immediately forgave the lefty for his crimes, for allegedly meeting Lebron James’s mother for entertainment purposes (how’s that for a euphemism?), and for missing three quarters of the season due to injury. We forgave Delonte for all his past digressions because we knew that when Dwyane Wade beat Delonte with his fists during the playoffs, Delonte would come back with a bat. The bat might not always connect, but if Delonte goes down, he goes down swinging (pun intended). He’s no J.D. Drew.

As you already knew, choosing players to root for can be a complicated process. I liked Scal because he was goofy and I disliked Andrew DeClerq for the same reason. I liked Stephon Marbury because he was interesting and outspoken, but Sam Cassell’s personality bothered me to no end. I disliked Nate Robinson for his “whenever and wherever” shot selection, but I still hold a soft spot in my heart for Antoine Walker. I loathed Tony Allen because he took too many chances and I was lukewarm on Marquis Daniels because he didn’t take enough.

Maybe I should like Jeff Green because he helps wounded soldiers, and I definitely admire what he did. But when it comes to rooting for sports figures, I prefer Nicky Santoro to Mother Teresa. Or sometimes, I just prefer Scal.

When Rajon Rondo last spoke publicly, his return to the court was still being postponed by the (disgusting) dislocated elbow he suffered (so disgustingly) against the Miami Heat. But the elbow must be progressing: Rondo is one of several NBA players who will play in an exhibition game at the University of Kentucky on August 15. (Hoopsworld)

Calipari is coaching the Dominican Republic national team and will call upon some familiar faces to prepare his squad for the tournament, which begins on August 30.

On August 15, Calipari’s two teams will collide at Rupp Arena, according to tweets from the head coach. Team Dominican Republic will face Team Kentucky, which will be made up of eight of the program’s former stars. Calipari will coach the national team while Sam Bowie and Joe B. Hall will lead the Kentucky alum.

Team Dominican Republic will include NBA players Al Horford, Charlie Villanueva and Francisco Garcia.

Team Kentucky will include John Wall, Rajon Rondo, Tayshaun Prince, DeMarcus Cousins, Jodie Meeks, Nazr Mohammed, Eric Bledsoe and Keith Bogans.

I never thought Rondo’s elbow would haunt him through next season (whenever that may come), but it’s comforting to know he’s beginning to feel better.

P.S. – Sam Bowie is coaching the Kentucky alum. Insert your “he got drafted ahead of Jordan” joke here.

After E’Twaun Moore’s negotiations stopped with one Italian team, it didn’t take long for Moore to find another.

Boston’s second-round draft pick (have I really spent this much time writing about a second-round draft pick?) will sign with Benetton Treviso just one day after voiding negotiations with Cimbio Varese. (Ridiculous Upside, via Celtics Blog)

Moore has flirted with multiple teams in Europe over the last couple of weeks, but Benetton in Treviso is the team that finally netted him. There’s no mention of an NBA out clause in the team’s official release, but reports said that was something Moore was trying to get if he was going to take his talents to Europe so he could compete for a roster spot whenever the lockout is complete.

I would imagine the contract contains an opt out clause, mostly because Moore’s negotiations with Cimbio Varese stalled because the team would not offer an opt out. But perhaps not.

UPDATE: According to Sportando, Benetton Treviso acquiesced to all of Moore’s original contract demands, meaning he can leave whenever the lockout ends.

Can that please happen soon so we can discuss real rumors, such as “Celtics watch Adam Morrison work out, consider offering summer league invite”?

I bought a web cam yesterday. Since I’m mostly 100% broke, I probably should have saved my money for something more important, such as “food” or “finally moving out of my parents’ basement.”

But I thought beginning a Boston Celtics video show of sorts would be enjoyable, so I splurged. Then I filmed the show, which I will call “All The Answers.” In the first episode, I discuss Jeff Green (a lot), Delonte West, Glen Davis, Rajon Rondo, free agency in general, the possibility of a Marquis Daniels return, and Dwight Howard saving babies off the top of the backboard.

I don’t know whether the show is enjoyable. You can be the judge of that. But below is me, answering peoples’ Boston Celtics questions and trying to make my newest purchase useful.

Let me know what you think, and tweet any questions for Episode 2 to @CelticsTown.