West may have some issues, but the man can play.

The names just keep coming. This time it’s Delonte West. Danny Ainge wants to make the Celtics bench the deepest, most talented bench in the league. By the time this offseason is all said and done, he might do just that. (Sam Amico)

Delonte West officially waived by Wolves. Early word is he could end up with Celtics, Bulls or Mavs.

I’d bet my left kidney the Celtics end up with either West or Rudy Fernandez. One or the other. West is a more complete player, but Rudy doesn’t have as many issues. Then they’ll still have Sheed’s contract to play with, but the bench will already be so stacked at every position I don’t even know what they’ll use it for. Probably a small forward in case Marquis shits the bed again and/or Vonilla Wafer and Rudy Fernandez/Delonte West can’t defend bigger small forwards. Either way, no matter what way you look at it, the thought of next season’s bench is making me leap for joy. Only problem with leaping for joy is, I can barely leap over a credit card.

(“He said ‘Take this Mr. Smith.’ Yow, in your face.”)

The Celtics are in the market for another long-range shooter. Delonte West is a long-range shooter. Now, he’s also on the market. West has already been rumored as a possible target for the Celtics.

The Minnesota Timberwolves announced the team has waived guard Delonte West. West was acquired from the Cleveland Cavaliers along with Sebastian Telfair in exchange for Ryan Hollins and Ramon Sessions on July 26.

Some people might not want to hear it, but Delonte West is a better basketball player than Rudy Fernandez. (Why don’t people want to hear it? Offseason beer goggles have made Rudy a type of cult figure in Boston. In the eyes of the best NBA fans in the universe, Rudy might as well be First Team All-NBA.) But West plays defense, accepts his role off the bench and can create his own shot. Three things Fernandez might as well be allergic to.

On the other hand, there’s also a whole lot of baggage. Is West worth it? Without knowing him, it’s tough to tell. All I know about his personal life is that he is bothered by depression, once carried three guns while riding a three-wheeled motorcycle and is rumored to have slept with the mother of the most famous (and now hated) player in basketball. But he also always seems to get along with his teammates and never fails to play his ass off whenever he steps on the court.

So as a player, yes. As a person, maybe not. But maybe the risks are worth the potential reward.

The Celtics picked up Vonilla Wafer off the scrap heap and I almost thought they’d be done adding bench wings. Apparently, I was wrong. (Boston Globe)

The Celtics will start the regular season without defensive-minded center Kendrick Perkins, who is recovering from surgery to repair a torn anterior cruciate ligament. The club is seeking another long-range shooter as well as a big man to complete its roster.

“I rode the bench for two years. Thought I wasn’t being played because of my color, I got filled up with a lotta attitude. So I quit. Still not a week goes by I don’t regret it. And I guarantee a week won’t go by in your life you won’t regret walking out, letting them get the best of ya. You hear me clear enough?”

Rudy. (Slow clap). Rudy. (Slow clap). Rudy. (Slow clap). Rudy.

Sorry guys, I’m addicted to the Rudy jokes.

You're You're a Ruettiger. There's nothing wrong with that. You can have a damn nice Iife.

This tidbit was tucked way into David Aldridge’s latest mailbag. (NBA.com, h/t mrtrpledouble10)

11) Portland: Blazers stlll likely to deal Rudy Fernandez to either Celtics or Bulls.

I can only say one thing: Yes, please. I’m not sold on Von Wafer being the answer. He’s too volatile. But a bench that has Rudy, Nate, Big Baby and Von-illa Wafer (not to mention Jermaine O’Neal, when Perk comes back) is ridiculously explosive.

So trade for Rudy, convince Rasheed to come back for one last run (and hire him a personal trainer and chef) and then the Celtics will have the following bench:

PG - Nate Robinson, Avery Bradley, Oliver Lafayette
SG – Rudy Fernandez, Von Wafer, Marquis Daniels
SF – Marquis Daniels, Tony Gaffney
PF – Big Baby, Luke Harangody
C – Jermaine O’Neal, Rasheed Wallace

Scary to the rest of the league. But to me, that’d be nothing less than a wet dream.

(I don’t know if even Rick Pitino can score 5 points that quickly.)

Does the signing of Von Wafer mean the Celtics are out of the running for Rudy Fernandez? Hell if I know. So for now, I’ll assume the C’s are still interested until I hear otherwise. Von Wafer isn’t exactly a slam dunk, ya know? He’s not the panacea to all the Celtics problems. Neither is Rudy, but still, the Celtics might still be looking to upgrade their bench wings.

Anyway, before I continue my babble-athon, there was another rumor today that the Blazers may keep Rudy after all. (Arlington Daily Herald)

The Oregonian mentioned the Bulls as a potential destination for Portland shooting guard Rudy Fernandez. League insiders wonder if the Blazers are really serious about moving Fernandez. The Bulls’ inquiries earlier this summer were rebuffed.

At this point, if Fernandez is unhappy with his limited role in Portland, the Bulls may not be his best option, considering they’ve already added Kyle Korver and Ronnie Brewer at two guard.

According to reports, the Blazers are willing to accommodate Fernandez’trade request and are looking for a first-round draft pick in return.

I’ve seen rumors of the Bulls offering Taj Gibson for Fernandez, but cannot imagine that happening. You don’t trade a competent big man for an unproven guard.

Why would the Blazers ever keep Rudy? They already had Brandon Roy, Jerryd Bayless and Nicolas Batum, then they picked up Wes Matthews in free agency and Luke Babbit and Elliot Williams in the draft. They’re pretty loaded on the wing, Rudy wants to get the hell out of Portland, and if you can fetch a first-round draft pick for a guy who will have a tough time cracking the rotation you’ve got to do it. Got to.

Just two Europeans cheesin'.

Rudy Fernandez wants out of Portland. The Blazers realize he is very disgruntled and are speaking to teams about getting him out of there. But the talks have likely been put on hold until Sunday. (Jason Quick, Oregonian)

Rudy trade talks likely on back burner until Sunday. GM Cho tells agent Andy Miller he will meet w/coach McMillan in Vegas on Sun to discuss.

In another new update, the Blazers reportedly may not be against keeping Fernandez on the team and forcing him to honor his contract in Portland. (The Columbian)

Sources also said it is highly unlikely that Fernandez will be waived or that the situation will dissolve to the point that he is placed on the NBA’s suspended list. And while Portland will not hesitate to trade him in either a one-for-one or package deal if a promising proposal is made, the Blazers are also going through the process with the knowledge that Fernandez could be on the roster for the foreseeable future as the team explores a multitude of options.

Before that report, it had seemed inevitable the Blazers would trade Fernandez away. It still seems almost a given that they will. Even in the report that discussed the potential of Fernandez staying in Portland, a source was quoted as saying that both sides know it’s “time for a divorce” and are on the same page.

Meanwhile, the report revealed that there has been little progress in talks for Fernandez and that “there has not been a significant change in ongoing negotiations between the sides during the past week.” That contradicts CelticsBlog’s report yesterday, which claimed the Celtics were in the “lead position” in the trade talks and had been in serious discussions with Portland since Tuesday.

In other news, one of the three teams who had reportedly showed interest in Fernandez does not seem to have the assets to make a deal happen. While the Blazers likely are looking for a first round pick in the trade, the New York Knicks can’t trade next year’s pick (thanks Isiah) because of a rule keeping teams from trading first round picks in successive years. The Knicks traded their 2010 pick all the way back in 2004, and thus can’t trade their 2011 draft choice. That doesn’t necessarily mean the Knicks are out of the running, it just means they are limited in what they can offer.

So while there is really no news in the Portland talks as they have been put on the backburner until Sunday, the Celtics seem to be jockeying with the Bulls for top position. By the way, I can’t even begin to describe how miserable writing about the offseason is. I’ve probably written 15,000 words on Rudy Fernandez and another 20,000 on Matt Barnes. I can’t wait until I can write about legitimately good players again.