Stephane Lasme, the last player cut from the Boston Celtics 15-man roster, will play for the Maine Red Claws–the Boston Celtics NBDL affiliate– this season, according to A. Sherrod Blakely of CSNNE.

Lasme surprised Celtics fans and the Boston Celtics organization, especially coach Doc Rivers, with his play during training camp and the preseason. When the Celtics originally invited Lasme to camp, Rivers admitted that he knew next to nothing about Lasme and it seemed that Lasme had no chance of making the team. Yet, despite the odds, Lasme outlasted another former Umass Minuteman, Tony Gaffney, and, just a few days ago, Rivers said Lasme had an “excellent chance” of making the team. If Von Wafer hadn’t broken out of a prolonged shooting slump over the last three preseason games, Lasme would have likely secured the 15th spot on the Celtics roster.

Lasme is an undersized power forward who can also play some at the small forward position. Lasme is a poor ball-handler and shooter, but he makes up for his skill deficiencies with superior athleticism, defensive ability, court smarts, and hard work.

Lasme could have secured a more lucrative spot overseas, but he must stay in the United States to comply with residency requirements.

Lasme’s partnership with the Maine Red Claws should benefit both Lasme and the Boston Celtics. The partnership allows Lasme to fulfill his residency requirements while living close to his wife and daughter. Meanwhile, the Boston Celtics, always concerned with injuries to their high-mileage veterans, have a player they trust who they can call up at the first sign of injury.

With the way the injuries have piled up so far in the preseason, it won’t be long before Lasme suits up for the Boston Celtics once again.

Mario West spent some time with the Maine Red Claws last season, averaging 13.7 points and 4.1 assists.

I wonder what Danny Ainge is thinking, though. Why hasn’t he worked out Dana Barros, Walter McCarty or Dino Radja?

Can YOU play for the Maine Red Claws? (Photo by Matt Boutwell, Co-host/Producer, Big Jab 96.3)

According to OurSportsCentral, the Maine Red Claws have announced open tryouts for 2010.  For all of you with a dream and a spare $150, the Red Claws will be at UMass-Boston September 11-12.  It is unclear from the announcement if this will be the Claws’ only open tryout in 2010 – last year they also held one in Charlotte, home of their other NBA affiliate.

Red Claws Head Coach Austin Ainge (who is currently barnstorming Maine with youth basketball clinics) will be on hand to evaluate players.  For their inaugural season the Red Claws found three players through the open tryouts: Mike Williams, Stanley Thomas and Abdulai Jalloh all played in the season opener.

Thomas only played with the Claws for two games; Williams and Jalloh lasted eight and nine games before leaving the team.  Jalloh was the only one of the three to stay in the D-League for most of the season, landing with the Springfield Armor just three days after being waived by Maine.  Jalloh did well in Springfield, averaging almost 12PPG for the Armor for the rest of the season.

Maine Red Claws head coach Austin Ainge is coaching the Celtics summer league team.

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Mo Almond, back in his Utah Jazz days. (Photo by Melissa Majchrzak/NBAE via Getty Images)

The Celtics need an influx of young talent.  Watching the creaky bodies Doc Rivers sends on the floor each night, it is clear the C’s will need new, younger players with whom to move into the future.

One route the Celtics haven’t yet chosen to go, when picking up players, is signing a D-Leaguer.  The C’s have assigned their own players to the D-League, but when it comes to signing their own free agents they prefer old, past-their-primers recently bought out of a contract another team no longer desired.

The D-League Digest’s Steve Weinman, who you may know from his fantastic work on CelticsBlog, wrote two callups he’d make if he were Danny Ainge.  One of them, I didn’t agree with: Greg Stiesma.  Stiesma is the big, white goon who played collegiately for Wisconsin and looks like he should be out bailing hay rather than down low swatting shots.  He’s simply too limited for me to see him ever playing minutes in Boston.

But Weinman’s other choice, I would like.  It was the Maine Red Claw most ready for a callup: Morris Almond, D-League scoring machine. I’ll let Weinman take it away:

Enter Almond. The man is a scorer, plain and simple. He can shoot the three (40.1 percent this season, 38.2 percent in 88 career D-League games), get to the rim off the dribble, pull-up in traffic, finish with contact and convert at the foul line (81.1 percent from the stripe this season, 81.9 percent for his D-League career). Almond scores in bunches (24.5 points per game this season) and can play the two and the three. While unspectacular in other aspects of the game, he won’t be a fatal liability either. For a team that ranks 17th in offensive efficiency and second at the defensive end, an added scoring option for the second unit could hardly hurt at this point.

It doesn’t hurt that Almond has spent the last month and a half playing for Austin Ainge (recognize the last name?) for the Celtics’ affiliate in Maine. He managed to get his points rather efficiently while leading the league in scoring for a struggling Springfield team, but playing for the stronger Red Claws has really showcased how sharp Almond can be: Though he plays six fewer minutes and scores five fewer points per game in Maine than he did in Springfield, Almond’s effective field-goal percentage has jumped from 53.9 with the Armor to 59.3 percent with the Claws. When the Celtics’ bench is struggling to generate offense, it might help to have a guy like Almond to toss out on the floor for couple-minute bursts at a time.

Almond can score, in bunches, and do it efficiently. He’s fairly athletic, can shoot from outside, and excels in transition. Plus, he’s not on the wrong side of 30. On the Celtics, that can’t hurt.

He’d be cheap, and he’s talented, so why not? Oh, you mean Doc Rivers never plays youngsters, regardless how talented they may be?

Sorry, I’d almost forgotten.

Ever wondered about the D-League’s quality of play?  You know the players are good — they ARE professional basketball players, after all — but how good, exactly? Read more »