Jordan Crawford's biggest moment of the season might have been trash talking Melo, allegedly discussing Anthony's wife

Danny Ainge may be giving the players some time away from basketball, but we are calling every player on the roster into our Celtics Town offices for their exit interviews for the rest of this week. Here’s the sixth in the series: Jordan Crawford.

Jordan,

When you were traded for an aging Jason Collins and an injured Leandro Barbosa it seemed like a no-brainer.  Boston was getting talent for someone who was relegated to the bench for the rest of the season and Jason Collins who at that point was just used for his six fouls.  Barbosa was a spark of the bench, a similar spark you were asked to provide.  You kind of, sort of, did this.

We knew exactly what Danny Ainge was bringing in when Boston brought you here and you proved to be exactly as advertised– best summarized by “Jordan Crawford-y”.  Your offensive craziness was what precisely what the Celtics needed for stretches of time or precisely what the opposing team needed for other stretches.  Your defense was slightly better than advertised which can simply be described as the ‘leaving the Wizards effect’ (which may be a thing of the past with the improved play of John Wall and their post all-star play, but I digress.)  You put any scuffle with KG behind you which was a wise move considering the alternative of being alienated by the entire Celtic team upon your arrival.

Your minutes were inconsistent the entire season, sometimes playing upwards of 25 minutes (such as game 2 against New York) and occasionally receiving the dreaded DNP-Coaches Decision (game 5 against New York.)  That must have been a little frustrating, perhaps that led you to potentially your most remembered action of the year when you most likely yelled some disparaging things about Ms. Lala Vasquez-Anthony after the Celtics game 5 victory.  Perhaps this wasn’t the best idea?  The Knicks were cruising at that point, you know, why wake a sleeping giant?  Seemed unnecessary at the time and you did not exactly have the minutes and play to back up your fighting words.  I appreciate the intention, maybe come back next year with a slightly different approach and much better execution?

Speaking of the future, your team option was picked up and you will be on the Celtic payroll for next year for a hair over two million dollars.  If you could simply expand your repertoire on both ends in the slightest and be open to coaching from the great Celtic coaching staff it would be hugely appreciated.  Put in some work this upcoming summer, a good year in your contract year could yield big financial returns in the future.  Also make sure you take care of your back– dribbling with such a hunch can be dangerous.

Follow Jesse on Twitter: @J_duderanch

Danny Ainge may be giving the players some time away from basketball, but we are calling every player on the roster into our Celtics Town offices for their exit interviews for the rest of this week. Here’s the fifth in the series: Jared Sullinger.

Jared,

As the draft approached I became increasingly certain you would be a Boston Celtic. Your medically flagged back had caused you to fall out of the lottery, and with consecutive picks late in the first round I knew the Celtics could take a chance on you that other teams couldn’t. When you were selected with the 21st pick I quietly fist-pumped to myself, not knowing at the time that the very same back injury that had caused you to drop out of the lottery would be the same one that would end your season. At the time you took it all in stride saying, “If you consider me landing to the Boston Celtics a drop then I’ll do it all over again without a hesitation.”

You could have come to Boston with an ego and a chip on your shoulder, but instead you were defined by your unselfishness. In summer league there were times when you were clearly the best player on the floor, but instead you chose to play within yourself and focus on keeping your teammates involved. That willingness to fulfill a role would become the key to your success in your rookie season.

In training camp you quickly earned the respect of your teammates and the coaching staff with your tireless work ethic and high basketball IQ. Kevin Garnett took you under his wing and you were an eager and attentive pupil. And it paid off, so much so that Doc Rivers was reluctant to start you not because you hadn’t earned it, but because you were being relied upon to anchor the defense and shoulder the rebounding load while Garnett was on the bench. Your skill at the latter is remarkable, you finished the season with the second best rebounding percentage on the Celtics, trailing only Shavlik Randolph but having a significantly bigger sample size. Your approach to the boards encompasses who you are as a player, a perfect marriage of intellect and grit.

You were easily one of my favorite Celtics this season. I spent the first few months of the season alternating between complaining that you weren’t starting and complaining that the refs were out to get you (I’m convinced that only about half of your 6.2 fouls per 36 were legitimate). I was nearly inconsolable when your back, the very same back that was the only reason the Celtics had the opportunity to draft you in the first place, robbed you of the second half of your rookie season just as you had cracked the starting lineup. Part of me thinks that the Celtics could have scraped and clawed their way into the second round if you were still playing. In fact, with all the brick laying the C’s were doing and your nose for the offensive boards you might have lead the team in scoring. The other part of me is happy that you’ll (hopefully) be able to put this injury behind you. That you’ll be able to fully extend your legs when you sit down again. That you’ll be able to play without needing an epidural for the pain.

But all of me is eagerly anticipating your future, and for a player with your work ethic and intelligence the future is bright. The longer the C’s are off the court the more I can’t wait to see you back on it, and I know when I see you grab that first board in the season opener I’ll be quietly fist-pumping once again.

Follow Jordan on Twitter: @HiggsOnHoops

Despite a solid regular season, Randolph found himself out of the playoff rotation.

Danny Ainge may be giving the players some time away from basketball, but we are calling every player on the roster into our Celtics Town offices for their exit interviews for the rest of this week. Here’s the fourth in the series: Shavlik Randolph.

Shavlik,

I have to hand it to you, man, for two things. First, when the Celtics picked you up, I assumed you would just be glued to the bench for the rest of the season like any number of other non-contributors who found their way into Boston mid-way through the year over the past few seasons. But you weren’t. As soon as you entered a game, you began crashing the boards, grabbing rebounds, scoring putbacks. You also committed a TON of fouls (6.9 per 36 minutes), but that was fine. We just needed the rebounds, and you contributed them. That was pretty awesome. So awesome, in fact, Celtics Twitter tried a ton of variations on the phrase “Shavliksanity” to truly express our appreciation.

The second thing I have to hand it to you for? The hair. I mean, look at that picture above. You clearly were playing for several minutes, and knowing you, you weren’t NOT running into people and pushing them out of the way. You even have a bloody nose, for crying out loud. And yet your hair somehow appears to be perfectly swept back away from your face. Real recognize real. I’m impressed.

I’m not sure why you didn’t play more during the playoffs, Shav. Sure, you weren’t about to help the offensive woes (although when you consider how many shots the Celtics missed, you may have helped on the offensive glass), but your rebounding was always useful. You shouldn’t have been starting or anything crazy, but you had to be able to contribute more than Jordan Crawford and Courtney Lee…right? Ah well. Hindsight is 20/20 and all that.

Presumably, the Celtics hold an option on your contract here in the offseason, so, like Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce, nobody is quite sure if you will return or not, and your return would be pretty cheap. Also: Congratulations on being compared to Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce for likely the first time in your entire career.

I wouldn’t be sad to see you return, Shavlik. You clearly care when you are on the floor, and you are very workmanlike. Not much complaining (because really, the foul calls are all good ones), no histrionics, just six fouls and nine rebounds every game. Jared Sullinger will return next year and hopefully help make the rebounding situation a little less desperate. But you’d still be nice to have around coming off the bench.

I’m trying to think if there’s anything I’m forgetting about your 2013, Shav, but I think that’s about it. Rebounds. Fouls. Hair. Yep. That should about cover it.

Follow Tom on Twitter: @Tom_NBA.

Danny Ainge may be giving the players some time away from basketball, but we are calling every player on the roster into our Celtics Town offices for their exit interviews for the rest of this week. Here’s the third in the series: Kevin Garnett

Kevin Maurice Garnett,

I hope this is not our last exit interview, as speaking with you is truly a joy.  Your way with words is truly unmatched and I would be heartbroken if this was the final time we conversed.

Mr. Garnett, Mr. Plus-minus, I do not need to tell you how that statistic can so beautifully but insufficiently sum you up.  Your impact on the court was known by both friend and enemy, and your defensive leadership was the most important thing you brought to this Boston team.  The way you quarterbacked the back row of the defense enabled the rest of the Celtics to see pick and rolls long before they occurred, constantly yelling out defensive rotations to sure up Boston’s defense.  It’s a shame your body had to begin to give out such that manning much smaller guys on switches became such a task.  You deserve another big man to slowly take away some of your minutes and allow you to be fresh during stretches during the playoffs.

Speaking of which, Boston thought we had that in rookie Jared Sullinger.  He has the same grit you have, and the relationship you guys began to form warmed even the coldest of hearts.  Of course he went down for the season with back problems, but your mentor-ship of the young Celtic big man did not go unnoticed.  It would be great if you could stick around for a couple more years– just see your contract out, you know, for the young guys.  Although Sullinger showed great progress and has a phenomenal basketball IQ, teaching him the defensive rotations and lamenting his offensive post game would do wonders for the Boston frontcourt.  If Jared Sullinger could continue to learn even the smallest amounts from you, it would go great lengths into making sure the Celtics are a playoff team down the no-so-distant road.

Your high post offensive skill set is still one of the best in the league.  You were able to bail out the Boston offense when other offensive options were not highly functioning.  Doc and the Celtic coaching staff always had the option to dump it down to you and run the offensive through the high post.  Your passing skills with your back to the basket were very valuable especially when combined with Avery Bradley’s manic cuts to the front rim.  That high release of yours is so sweet, it would be a shame not to run some pick-and-roll or pick-and-pop with Rondo when he returns next year.

You have a really nice thing going here.  You have a coach in Doc Rivers who understands you and respects you as a player and person, but always pushes you to higher levels.  Speaking of which, that playoff stretch showed just how valuable you still are.  It seems like every year people write you off as tired, old, or banged up from the long season.  The first couple of games against New York your patented soft touch was not quite working near the rim and you appeared a step slow, only to put on

Mr. Garnett, you still have the skill and talent to be a starting big man for the Celtics.  Have a sit-down with Doc, and discuss what your minutes next year could look like.  Doc and the coaching staff have been very careful with your minutes all year, starting with a strict 5-5-5 plan, and then unleashing your minutes in the playoffs.  If this worked for you would could repeat this concept so you can stay fresh for the minutes you are on the court.  This could happen, if you so pleased.

Many have said that your fate, whether it be retirement, staying with Boston, or moving to a different team is tied to that of the longtime Celtic Paul Pierce.  I do not blame you for this, you’ve been in the league for 17 years now and playing for a sub par team like you did back in Minnesota is less than appealing at this point in your career.  If you and Paul decided to leave, I would understand.  You have given the Celtics more than I could imagine, you deserve whatever path you choose and have my unconditional blessing.

But let me ask you this– come back as an assistant coach when your playing days are over?  If Doc is still around continue the great relationship you two have and pass down some of your basketball knowledge to the young big men on the C’s.  Who knows, maybe Sully will still be around, check up on his progression and see if you can give him some of your high post shiftiness.

I have made it no secret over the last year how big of a basketball crush I have on you.  Your defensive intensity and trash talking prompted discussions of why you cannot have your own pay-per-listen radio station filled only with only your in-game expletive-riddled conversations.  The passion you have given this Celtics team truly gave them a pulse when others would have called you guys dead, and for that– I thank you.  I would understand if the well has run dry and your playing days are over, but please consider staying around Boston in some sort of capacity, the city and this team love you.

Follow Jesse on Twitter: J_duderanch

Danny Ainge may be giving the players some time away from basketball, but we are calling every player on the roster into our Celtics Town offices for their exit interviews for the rest of this week. Here’s the second in the series: Jason Terry.

Jason,

We’ve come a long way since last summer. If you asked me at the beginning of the summer which Celtic was mostly likely to replace Ryan Hollins as the subject of my heckling I would never have dreamed in a million years it would be you (and for a while Bass gave you a run for your money). Reactions to your signing ranged from cautious optimism to giddy hyperbole bordering on the absurd. I was admittedly in the later camp but I wasn’t alone, you inspired Jay to write things like, “JET isn’t going to knock on the door when he subs into a game. He’s going to huff, he’s going to puff, and he’s going to blow that mother-bleeper down.” “Replacing” Ray Allen carried high expectations from a wounded Celtics fan base, and though you were adamant that you were not Ray you guaranteed a championship and labelled yourself a “game-changer.” You also got this silly tattoo.

Instead of meeting my expectations you put me through something that resembles the five stages of grief. At the beginning of this season I was in denial (“JET will get going, he just needs time to get comfortable get in the offense”), followed by anger (“I can’t believe this guy was supposed to replace Ray Allen”), bargaining (“Maybe if we throw in a pick someone will take Terry off our hands at the trade deadline”), depression (“I can’t believe we’re going to be stuck with this crap for two more seasons”), anger a few more times (every time you stepped on the court really), and finally acceptance. The acceptance came about when I realized that the Jason Terry everyone remembers is the one from the magical run the Mavericks made in the 2011 playoffs that was performing way above his regular season numbers. In fact, aside from numbers affected by your drop in minutes, you performed right around your career regular season averages. I know, I was shocked too. It doesn’t explain your inability to grasp the Celtics’ defense, but I could say that about half the roster and the expectations for you on defense were low to begin with.

Fortunately (for your career and my sanity) you stepped up during the playoffs (though you spent the first three games warming up), including an insanely clutch performance during the overtime of game four. Because I’m easily swayed by recency bias you convinced me that you were alright, instead of the most untradable albatross of a contract since Jeff Green had an untradeable albatross of a contract. I even find myself inexplicably attached to you, probably because with Kevin and Paul’s futures up in the air you might be the only returning vet next season. While I’m fearful of what kind of influence you might have on an already excessively eager shooter like Jordan Crawford, the locker room will need a veteran presence. Rondo could certainly provide some of that (depending on what happens with Paul and Kevin) but I’m sure you’ll do enough talking for both of you.

Ultimately this wasn’t a great season for you JET. I’m not sure how much of this has to do with how the Celtics chose to use you, how much this has to do with tired legs, and how much has to do with impossible expectations. I hope next season will be better, for both of us, and I’ll try not to watch Game 6 of the 2011 Finals too many times between now and then. Through all the ups and downs you’ve been a great teammate, always willing to shoulder the blame and eager to deflect praise. You know how to say the right thing, Jason, even if you say it too much.

Paul Pierce's future with the Celtics is in question.

Danny Ainge may be giving the players some time away from basketball, but we are calling every player on the roster into our Celtics Town offices for their exit interviews for the rest of this week. Here’s the first in the series: Paul Pierce.

Paul,

You’ll have to pardon us (and by “us,” of course, I mean the entire Celtics blogosphere and Twitter) if we are waxing unnecessarily poetic about you. After all of the things Boston has been through in the past year, it’s hard not to see 2013 as the end of the line for the KG/Paul Pierce era in Boston. And that’s tough for us to handle.

After all, even in your 15th season, there was an extended stretch after Rondo went down during which you put the Celtics on your back and carried them. You didn’t always shoot efficiently, but you calmed the troops down often when you were in the game. For a team that committed a hundred terrible turnovers per game, your calming influence was unspeakably important on the floor, even when you were contributing to the turnover problem. Everything just felt a little safer when you were out there.

Of course, your contributions extended beyond the intangible. Inefficient or not, you contributed a ton of much-needed scoring to this team and, perhaps most notably, a heavy bulk of the rebounding after Rondo went down. The Celtics still sucked at rebounding, both defensive and offensive, but in the regular season, you helped make the problem a little less pronounced.

You had a rough postseason, to be sure. That’s due in no small part to the absurd amount of minutes you played. If you return to Boston, you absolutely need fewer minutes. You played over 100 minutes more this season than you did in 2009-’10…a year in which Boston’s postseason run was extended by three whole more rounds of six games or more. You have now played 40,360 minutes in your career. My knees start to get sore after running an hour and a half at the rec center, and I’m twelve years younger than you. Basically, I totally get how you were run down in the playoffs, and how you struggled to find your range and comfort zone against a defensive monster like Iman Shumpert. Long, athletic defenders don’t always give you problems because you have an incredible amount of of offensive savvy, but Shumpert is a talented defender, and he was a nightmare. If you come back next year, you will have to be on a serious minutes limit for EVERYONE’S sake, including your own.

But I’m concerned with this concept. We’ve all heard the “minutes limit” idea before.  KG, for example, was supposed to be on a 20-ish minute limit all season, but he ended up averaging 29.7 minutes during the regular season because he was just so much better, even worn down, than any of the other options.

Therein lies the problem. Even if Doc starts off with the admirable idea of keeping you on the bench to dominate an opponent’s second unit in limited minutes, we all know that you are too talented to stay on the roster as a back-up, especially since your contract (and probably Garnett’s contract, if you stay) would preclude the Celtics from coming up with a serviceable small forward to replace you in the starting lineup. Jeff Green was revelatory this year, but he was best (by far) at a sort of stretch-4 position, which means Boston would have to either go super small and play a shooting guard at your position, or they’ll have to hope they get a solid draft pick…in the middle of the first round.

All of that being said, you deserve what YOU want. We have had the rare honor of seeing you grow up as an athlete in your time in Boston, and I’m not sure there’s another NBA team who can claim the same kind of progression from a superstar. We saw you come in young and talented. Now you have developed into the kind of captain and leader that most rosters can only dream of. I hope it doesn’t sound condescending for me to say this as, once again, someone twelve years your junior, but I think I speak for just about every Celtics’ fan when I say we are incredibly, incredibly proud of you. Not just of your accomplishments (although that too) but also that we get to cheer for you.

I don’t know if you’ll be back next year, Paul. If you aren’t, your next destination will automatically become just about every Celtics fan’s second favorite team. I think I could cheer for any team besides the Lakers if you ended up on them (for the love of everything, Danny, don’t trade Paul to the Lakers. I will find you). But if Danny does decide to let your contract end in Boston, good basketball moves be damned, know that we as fans would be absolutely thrilled.

If he doesn’t? Sincerely, thank you. Thank you for everything.

Follow Tom on Twitter: @Tom_NBA.