Gary Washburn, Boston Globe:

“Up and down, he’s getting beat up,’’ Rivers said when asked about Johnson’s progress in practice. “He’s excited when he actually gets the [scrimmage] refs to come on the floor, I’ll tell you that. But he did a couple of good things today. He’s starting to learn who he is. He knows he’s a jump shooter and he’s starting to become comfortable enough to take that shot.’’

“Today was the first day when he picked-and-popped, he caught it and shot it,’’ Rivers said. “The other two days he tried to make another play and got bumped off the spot, so I think he’s starting to simplify his game.’’

When asked if he expected Johnson to generate an interior game, Rivers said, “Nah. I mean, he’ll dunk because he’s athletic as heck, so we’re going to run stuff to get him rolling to the basket and throw it up in the air and he’ll go get it. But as far as post presence? Not really, but that’s fine. We don’t need that. We’ll try to get that somewhere else.’’ Read more »

Second-round draft pick E’Twaun Moore will sign a guaranteed contract with the Boston Celtics tonight, according to his agent. (Purdue Exponent)

Mark Bartelstein, CEO of Priority Sports, said this morning that Moore will “be in training camp with them signing a contract and he’ll be good to go.”

“We’re really excited about it,” he said.

Moore, who was selected in the second round by Boston, said this morning that he is eager to start.

“This is definitely huge – getting a contract and knowing that you’re going to be on the team,” he said.

The roster is starting to take shape.

Rajon Rondo and JaJuan Johnson are reportedly among several players working out at the University of Kentucky, where the Oklahoma City Thunder are holding a a Nazr Mohammed-organized training camp of sorts.

The Celtics haven’t seen much of each other this summer. Paul Pierce has been in Southern California when he wasn’t in China. Kevin Garnett has been in California, too, but not with Paul Pierce. Ray Allen has spent most of his time in Connecticut, Rajon Rondo in Kentucky, JaJuan Johnson God-knows-where, E’Twaun Moore is in Italy with Brian Scalabrine (aka the White Mamba), and Avery Bradley and Jermaine O’Neal are now in Las Vegas to participate in the Impact Basketball Training Series.

But Garnett plans to organize a team gathering soon. (Boston Globe)

“I see that Paul was in China. I’ll probably bump into Ray and Rondo while I’m on the East Coast just to see what’s going on. I’ll probably talk to [Jermaine O’Neal].

I imagine Garnett would like to organize a team-wide workout (not just the starters), but, as we discussed earlier, the Celtics are all around the globe. So he’ll settle for four or five players, and who knows? Maybe the Celtics will even hold a real training camp at some point in the near future.

Derek Fisher reportedly sent a text message to advise players to remain in good shape, the latest in a number of optimistic signs that could (knock on wood) point to progress in the labor discussions. (Sports Illustrated)

On the heels of Roger Mason’s now-infamous tweet in which the NBPA vice president wrote, “Looking like a season. How u,” but later claimed his account was hacked, one league source claims that union president Derek Fisher text-messaged numerous players last week indicating that some progress had been made and imploring them to be physically prepared just in case the season started on time. There was another curious happening on Thursday, when — according to ESPN’s Chris Broussard — NBA deputy commissioner Adam Silver attended the U.S. Open with Wasserman Media Group CEO, Casey Wasserman.

In case you were wondering, Wasserman Media Group is a global sport and entertainment agency that represents a number of NBA players, including Pau Gasol, Derrick Rose, and Kendrick Perkins. The Wasserman Media Group once famously pantsed, kidnapped and then bribed the entire Atlanta Hawks organization. I know that sounds crazy, but how else can you explain “Joe Johnson, $119 million”?

Finally, the Celtics are planning to meet. Finally, the NBA is (hopefully) making progress. If only Shaq didn’t mention Kendrick Perkins yesterday, my mood would be quite swell.

Before NBA team officials were mandated to stop talking to NBA players and draft picks, Danny Ainge and Doc Rivers gave E’Twaun Moore some advice.

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

Presumably, after signing a deal with the Italian team Benneton Treviso and participating in the team’s training camp, Moore is staying in shape. And if his latest exploits in an exhibition game are any indication, Moore’s three-point stroke isn’t looking bad, either. (ESPN Boston)

According to a box score in a game story posted on the team’s official website Monday, Moore dropped 21 points in an exhibition win over a team from Frankfurt, Germany. The best news for Celtics fans: Moore hit 5-of-5 attempts from beyond the arc in the game, an encouraging sign about the progress of his 3-point shot (one that he undoubtedly has attempted to hone with eyes toward making the Celtics roster when NBA hoop returns).

I tried to read the game story about Moore’s 21-point performance, but Google Chrome’s translator left the story too scrambled. Sentences like, “Still, ‘White Mamba’ Scalabrine enhances the capacity audience with a trapping of Panzano-NBA choreography with singing, then Moore supports the 48-41,” are a joy to read, but also quite difficult to decipher. It’s especially tough to figure out what “a trapping of Panzano-NBA choreography with singing” means while still getting over the shock of seeing Scalabrine referred to as White Mamba. So forgive me for not knowing many details about Moore’s big night.

Anyway, Moore’s hot shooting shouldn’t come as a surprise. He shot 40% from behind the arc last season at Purdue and finished his college career with 243 made three-pointers. He can score, he can shoot, and his game is polished. He does have certain drawbacks which kept him on the draft board until the 55th pick; he doesn’t scrape the clouds when he jumps, nor does he stand a chance against Rajon Rondo in a foot race. But Moore was a stud in college, and Danny Ainge normally prefers selecting proven players in the second round.

So far in Italy, so good for Moore. Let’s just hope his game translates back to English a little better than the Benetton Treviso website does.

During an interview at the Indy Pro-Am, JaJuan Johnson said he would not follow E’Twaun Moore overseas. (h/t CelticsBlog)

“I don’t think I’m going to head to Italy or anything like that,” Johnson said. “I’m definitely waiting it out.

“I think my biggest thing is just really working on my body, and just trying to get better from there. This time — we can really take advantage by working on our game. I think, even though we’re going to miss things on the court, we can be smarter, watching film and things like that, and maybe other rookies don’t have to opportunity to do.”

I doubt we’ll see many (any?) first-round picks go overseas. If the CBA stays the same in regards to rookie contracts, first-round picks have millions of guaranteed dollars waiting for them whenever the lockout ends. Signing overseas and risking that guaranteed money just doesn’t make much sense, unless the overseas contract comes equipped with one hell of an insurance policy.

Last, but certainly not least: put on a blindfold and listen to the JaJuan Johnson interview embedded at the top of this post. Am I crazy, or does he sound just like Donny Marshall?