For the past couple years, the Boston Celtics have been scavenging through their pantry, tossing boxes of velveeta shells and cheese aside while furiously looking for bench scoring.

The Cs have long been hungrier than Kobayashi for someone who can fill it up off the bench, but have yet to find anyone capable as their offensive ranking continues to plummet down the NBA’s ranks. Ray Allen would surely help if he does not get successfully wooed by another team, especially if he can recover fully from offseason ankle surgery. Jeff Green could potentially fill that role, though A) he couldn’t do so during his first stint in Boston, and B) he took a long time away from physical activity to recover from heart surgery and might have a thick layer of rust to lose before regaining his basketball feel.

Though it seems as if the Celtics have given up on acquiring O.J. Mayo, another option they are pursuing is Jason Terry — the world’s best bench scorer since assuming that role with the Dallas Mavericks during the 2007-08 season. (Boston Herald)

The Celtics continue to position themselves for a run at Jason Terry, though they will likely sign their own free agents first.

The former Mavericks shooter — the 2009 NBA Sixth Man of the Year — reportedly is open to signing for the full mid-level exception, or approximately $5 million in the first year. The Celtics, who expect to be over the salary cap, which will be set at about $56 million, would qualify.

Terry, who earned more than $11 million last year, has not ruled out playing for the full mid-level, according to a league source.

But for now, anyway, the Celtics are not in the hunt for free agent O.J. Mayo, who has informed teams he’s not interested in a mid-level deal, according to the source.

Would Terry leave the Mavericks for the mid-level exception? The Dallas Morning News has reported that he will allow the Mavericks an opportunity to match any offer he receives, with “a tie” going to the Mavericks. If that report is true, it’s unlikely Terry leaves Dallas. Not for the mid-level exception, at least, as the Mavericks would almost certainly choose to match that. And sadly enough for the Celtics, they are unlikely to have anything more than the mid-level to send Terry’s way.

Is JET a good fit in Boston? Well, he’s old (34), so he would probably enjoy the Celtics’ weekly Bingo games and their times spent reminiscing about the Great Depression, when you could buy a bottle of pop for five cents. Terry’s also a very good basketball fit. As mentioned previously, the Celtics were a miserable offensive team last year. Terry, who scores quite frequently and does so with reasonable efficiency, would help the Celtics improve on their paltry scoring. He also drained more than two threes per games, a level of production which the Celtics (who finished last season tied in 21st with just 5.5 made triples per contest) could surely use.

Several fans out there might prefer that the Celtics chase after a younger player, but the fact of the matter is that Boston has put its rebuilding process on hold for at least another season because this year’s free agency class doesn’t offer as many options as most would have predicted. The Celtics are still in limbo, trying to compete now while setting themselves up for the inevitable day when Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce no longer lace up their basketball sneakers on a daily basis. Terry helps them compete now.