KG still hits Crawford on the head, just this time in a loving way.

Kevin Garnett and Jordan Crawford previously had a bit of tumultuous history, as they got into a little scuffle during the lockout prior to the 2011-2012 season.  Here is Adrian Wojnarowski’s take on what happened:

His indoctrination has come against old pros like Billups, yes, but with Kevin Garnett(notes) in the gymnasium, too. On this day, everyone was still buzzing over Washington Wizards guard Jordan Crawford’s(notes) mistake of talking too much to Garnett a day earlier. When Boston Celtics teammate Paul Pierce(notes) tried to do Crawford a favor and push him away, Crawford urged Pierce to let K.G. go.

“I thought they were just kidding,” Rubio says, and maybe Crawford did too.

There are hard lessons to be learned in this league, lockout or not lockout. Eventually, Garnett reminded Crawford about that with a smack upside his head, a reminder to Crawford, Rubio and the rest of them: Elders will be respected.

This is generally par for course for KG, as anyone who has yet to put in the necessary work and earned their metaphorical stripes, does not have the right to tussle with the great Kevin Garnett.  This was an old and relatively minor story– until they became teammates and were asked to speak on the incident.  Prompting this statement from Crawford via Ben Rohrbach:

Crawford on KG scuffle during NBA lockout: "You say, 'What up?' after it's over." Called KG the most bizarre player he's every played with.

March 7, 2013 1:56 pm via Twitter for MacReplyRetweetFavorite

@brohrbach

Ben Rohrbach

Crawford went on to gush about KG’s intensity and work ethic in a ploy, whether it is based in reality or not, to assure us their relationship is strong.

This kind of nasty exchange turned into teammates story is not new to the NBA, as the free agent and trade markets are forever hot.  It seems as though most of the players understand that it is a competitive sport and sometimes the hyper-masculinity mixed with drive to win will sometimes result in someones feelings getting hurt.  Most often, this kind of affair is relegated to the court and both players can still maintain respect for the other off the court.  The KG and Crawford scuffle seems to be a prototypical example of that as the Celtics look to expand on their current four game winning streak.

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Team source confirms RealGM report that C's have signed Shavlik Randolph to a 10-day deal.

March 1, 2013 11:11 am via EchofonReplyRetweetFavorite

@ESPNForsberg

Chris Forsberg

I recognized the name from his college years at Duke, but admittedly had to wikipedia this one.

Here is the good:

• He’s tall! (6’10″)
• He was the number six recruit in his high school class after being named a McDonalds All-American and went to Duke
• Randolph earned his way, after being left undrafted on draft night, onto the 76ers roster
• He had a hot 5-game stretch in the NBA where he put up 7+ points and 6+ boards in a little over 18 minutes per game

The not-so-good:

• He, simply put, did not play well at Duke
• He was named the biggest recruiting bust for the 2000′s by Seth Davis
• He was in the NBA last during the 2009-2010 season where he averaged two minutes a game
• He has been playing in China and Puerto Rico for the last year

This would fill the 15 roster for now if Danny Ainge decides to hold onto all of the 10-day contracts (Williams, White, and now Randolph) as the season progresses, but there is still time for tinkering.

The news was first reported by RealGM.

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Despite Jerry Colangelo’s greatest efforts, it appears as though the beloved Mike Krzyzewski will be stepping down from his role as the head coach of the United States basketball team.  While Gregg Popovich is still a likely candidate to take the vacancy, don’t count out the Boston Celtics coach just yet (via CBS sports):

Rivers was in London for the Olympics as a studio analyst for NBC Sports, and he made his presence felt around the team — staying in the team hotel and eating meals with the players. During the Celtics’ run of success during the now-crumbling Big Three era, Rivers forged strong relationships with some of the biggest stars in the game — many of whom will still be with Team USA in Rio. Also, there’s a feeling among some involved in Team USA that Rivers’ personality and skilled handling of star egos would provide a more natural transition.

“With Doc, I think it would keep the same chemistry going,” one person briefed on the matter said. “If Pop comes in, he would want his own way of doing it — kind of the Spurs’ secretive way of doing things — and out of Jerry’s norm.”

Colangelo’s logic is not entirely flawed.  Popovich for my money is the best coach in the league, but he claims that role by doing things his own way.  Doc would potentially be more open to working within the established system, and is known for his abilities to work with superstar personalities, not that Pop cannot, leader of the winning Western Conference All-Stars (yes, that was a joke).

Either coach would probably do an amazing job and coach the most talented basketball team to another gold medal.  That being said it would be cool to have Doc’s accomplishments honored with a nod from the national basketball committee  and get some green representation for the red, white, and blue.

Follow Jesse on Twitter: J_duderanch

I know the name Rick Pitino does not elicit great feelings in the greater Boston area, especially when it comes to the basketball court.  That being said, he is still a hell of a college coach at Louisville, and has had quite a few talented players roll through his coaching system.  So please resist the urge to throw out Pitino’s comments about former Cardinal Terrence Williams, and just imagine it came from the mouths of Tom Izzo, Jim Boeheim, Roy Williams, or the like (via The Boston Herald):

“He’s got a very, very high basketball IQ,” said Pitino. “T-Will’s a very smart basketball player. If Doc (Rivers) tells him to do something, he’ll understand everything about the play and how it sets up. He’s very good in film; he knows what to do. And there aren’t very many athletes I’ve coached in my life as good as him.

“A lot of people just think he’s a freak athlete, but he’s a very, very smart basketball player. He knows how to play the game.

“The reason he was so easy to coach is that he was very, very unselfish. He was always about the team. He liked being in the spotlight, but he didn’t care whether he scored 30 or he scored seven. It was all about winning the game, and whatever you asked him to do, he did it. He was a stat-filler every game — you know, 11 rebounds, 13 points, seven assists, three steals.

Williams’ unselfish nature will likely go a long way in meshing with a team as established as the Celtics.  The Celtics have a strict hierarchy of leaders, and being the well-rounded and heady player that T-Will is should help endear him to the guys in green.

Boston is the utility player’s fifth team in four seasons, including a recent departure from Guangdong Southern Tigers in China.  Something about adjusting to the NBA game didn’t happen for him, as he was a beast in both the D-league (averaged over a 30, 10, and 10) and college.  Hopefully he can rediscover himself in an NBA uniform and help the Celtics by playing winning basketball.

Follow Jesse on Twitter: J_duderanch

D.J. White, per Marc Stein have been linked with D.J. White, a former Thunder and Bobcat player.  He put up 6.8 points and 3.6 rebounds in just under 19 minutes per game with Charlotte last year.  He recently concluded his season for the Shanghai Sharks, and the Celtics are giving a serious look at signing the young power forward.

Hearing that Celtics have former Charlotte big man D.J. White in their sights for 10-day deal now that White's season in China is over

February 22, 2013 10:06 am via UberSocial for BlackBerryReplyRetweetFavorite

@ESPNSteinLine

Marc Stein

White is a bruiser of a power forward, with a decent offensive game and quality rebounder.  Honestly my memory of him was toying with picking him up in my fantasy basketball league a couple of years ago.  I always liked the former Indiana Hoosier’s player, he always seemed to work hard and could be a nice fit in the Celtics system.

That being said– he is definitely a power forward, standing at six feet nine inches.  He is a solid addition to the frontcourt, but a true center would be a nice bow on the recent trade acquisitions by Danny Ainge and co., as a center with some serious size could help protect the rim and defend against the opposing team’s tallest player.

A nice start to the post trade-deadline Celtics, look for them to continue to fill out the roster with some size.

Well, we knew a backcourt of just Jason Terry, Courtney Lee, and Avery Bradley would not last the rest of the season, and sure enough, per Chris Forsberg at ESPN — the Celtics swapped the injured Leandro Barbosa and Jason Collins for Jordan Crawford.

Yes, he is another combo guard with little ball handing skills.  Yes the Celtics need a shooting guard with size or a point guard who can handle, and Crawford is neither.  Yes he looks funny when he dribbles the ball up the court.

He is a guard, and he can score, and Boston picked him up for Barbosa who was out for the rest of the season on a one-year deal, and Jason Collins who scored 8 buckets this year.  I can only complain so much, ya know?

That being said, losing Collins will hurt as the big man rotation is now KG, Bass, Wilcox… and Fab?  PJ Brown still around? I would be surprised if the Celtics don’t search the free agent market for another big body who can deliver 6 fouls.  There are other Collins brothers right? (too soon?)

Unexpected bonus– Crawford was the player responsible for dunking on Lebron James, at Lebron’s skills academy, which prompted Mr. James to throw a hissy-fit trying to confiscate the video footage.  A stretch, but I will take any mental advantage against last year’s MVP and NBA champion (see: Delonte West).