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?

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.

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”?

The Italian team Cimbio Varese was *thisclose* to signing E’Twaun Moore for next season — until an opt out clause got in the way.

Moore desired the ability to opt out of his contract for Boston Celtics training camp even if the Celtics had not yet signed him to an offer sheet. Cimbio Varese did not want to take that risk, and negotiations ended. (Sportando)

The two parts initially agreed to a short NBA out when the lockout will end, but Moore asked to put an NBA out to exercise even if he won’t have a written proposal by Celtics, who hold his rights in NBA. Cimberio Varese did not accept the new offer made by Moore and his American agent and decided to give up on the negotiation.

“His request was not logical and was too risky for us. So we decided to break the negotiation” said Cecco Vescovi, president of the Italian team.

Moore’s agent is still in contact about Moore’s services with numerous other overseas clubs. But assume that if Moore inks an overseas contract, it will include an opt out clause to void his contract as soon as the lockout lifts.

The Celtics should appreciate Moore’s unwillingness to cave during the negotiations. He wants the opportunity to play in Boston even if that means turning down some overseas offers.

E’Twaun Moore’s agent, Mark Bartelstein, confirmed that the guard will likely sign overseas in the next day or two. The Celtics second-round draft choice is still mulling over a number of options, according to the agent, though the website Sportando reported that Moore is headed to Cimberio Varese of the Italian League.

One problem for the Celtics? Moore’s contract will not necessarily include an opt out clause, though Sportando reported that it would. (Boston Herald)

Bartelstein didn’t rule out negotiating an escape clause that would allow Moore to return to the Celtics if the lockout ends.

“It’s all part of negotiations right now,” he said. “I couldn’t say how that part would turn out right now.”

Bartelstein noted that the Celtics “like E’Twaun a lot,” and that their interest only piqued after Moore spent a week with the organization post-draft. But he is a second-round draft choice, meaning he does not have a guaranteed contract when the lockout gets lifted.

“I’m sure that if there’s a season they’ll want him in Boston,” Bartelstein told the Herald. “We’ll see what happens.”

According to ESPN’s Chris Forsberg, “early indications from NBA players signing overseas is that the better teams and salaries often come at the expense of an opt out clause.”

Not confident the NBA lockout will end soon, Bartelstein just wants his client to find work.

“Everyone’s first choice is to play in the NBA,” he said, “but who knows when that will be possible?”