RealGM is reporting that newest Celtic James Posey will be suspended for the 2007-2008 season opener against the Washington Wizards for pleading guilty to reckless driving charges.

While the suspension is unlikely to be lifted, Steve Bulpett of the Boston Herald is reporting that Posey will fight the suspension.

Steve Bulpett of the Boston Herald is reporting that the Celtics have agreed to terms with the #32 overall pick of this year’s draft, Gabe Pruitt. While Pruitt still has a lot to absorb, the Celtics brass believes that the young combo guard has a lot of potential, and I personally can’t say that I disagree. Pruitt isn’t your prototypical playmaker, but he’s extremely athletic and he brings a giant burst of energy that every team needs from their role players. His stroke from the perimeter isn’t too shabby, either. For the time being, it seems as though Rajon Rondo, Ray Allen, and Eddie House will be receiving the bulk of the minutes at the point guard position, it may not be out of the question to predict that Pruitt may earn himself some playing time as the season progresses.

Bulpett also reports that the Celtics have made the Tom Thibodeau signing official.

“Bringing the energy and accepting that challenge every night, that’s what I take pride in. I take pride in trying to stop people,” Posey said. “I like that challenge and if that’s what coach wants I’m all for it.”

“I waited patiently and I landed here in a great situation where we have an opportunity to win a championship,” Posey said. “There [were] other teams out there but I wanted the best chance to win a championship. This is the place to be.”

Click here for more photos from the press conference.

Mark Murphy of the Boston Herald is reporting that the Celtics have agreed to terms with free agent forward James Posey, and will sign him to a 2-year deal worth approximately $7 million, which used up the rest of the Celtics’ mid-level exception. In 71 games with Miami last season, Posey put up 7.7 points and grabbed five rebounds per game. In the playoffs, where Miami was swept in the first round by Chicago, Posey averaged 7.8 points and 7.8 rebounds per contest. Posey was also a key player on Miami’s 2006 championship team.

I absolutely love this pickup. Danny went out and got exactly what this team needed: a defensive presence who can play and defend three positions, and it gives us a valid sixth man until Tony Allen is 100%. Posey will allow Doc to go with either big or small lineups without having to worry about putting a defensive liability out on the floor. Posey can defend swingmen, power forwards, and he can hold his own against some of the bigger point guards in the league. Posey can also shoot the three, and gives this team a certain level of toughness that before, only Kendrick Perkins brought.

Great pickup, Danny. Welcome to Boston, James Posey!

After strenuously working out with NBA players, including Kevin Garnett, and asking family and friends for advice, Reggie Miller has decided not to return to the game of basketball.

“Earlier today (Thursday), I was ready to come back. I was going to do it. But then I flew back here, I thought about it, I talked to a lot of people, and honestly, most people told me I should come back. Charles (Barkley), Mark (Jackson), Doug (Collins), they all said I should do it. And when I was back in Indy this week for the Peyton (Manning charity bowling event), people on the streets, they’d tell me to do it. But as the day went on, I just realized I wasn’t ready mentally to put myself through the grind again.”

It was fun to think about. Miller would have created extra buzz in the city as well as strengthen our bench, but you have to respect his decision and move on. I never thought he would return, to be honest, but I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t hoping for it.

What’s next? We’re not sure, but if we’re going to bring in a cheap swingman, I would give Ruben Patterson (who recently said he would love to join either the Celtics or Heat) and/or James Posey a call.

With all the buzz about the recent acquisition of Kevin Garnett, the possibility of Reggie Miller coming out of retirement to suit up for the C’s, and how the Celtics are legitimate contenders, the biggest wild card for this year’s team has almost been forgotten. Tony Allen is on the road to recovery, and reports that have circulated over the coarse of the summer state that Allen is ahead of schedule. How far ahead? According to Tony himself, who caught up with NECN for an interview with rookie forward Glen “Big Baby” Davis, the knee is at about 65%.

Some may look at that number and feel that it’s low, but I personally am optimistic about it. When the injury occurred back in January, most felt that he wouldn’t be able to step on the court until Christmas time at the earliest. With that in mind, is 65% with over two months to go until the season opener (November 2) really that bad? In my opinion, that’s a great spot to be at. How strong he comes back and how he initially deals with the mental aspect of it remains to be seen, but if Tony Allen can get his feet wet by November, I’m a happy man.

To watch the interview, click this link and scroll down the list of videos in the box underneath the video screen on the left hand side. As of right now, it is the last video on that list, and it is titled “Rookie Glen Davis and Tony Allen have high hopes for Celtics.” Enjoy, and get well soon, TA!

It’s safe to say that in the eyes of most Celtics fans, this should be the make-or-break season for head coach Doc Rivers. A good majority of the fan base was irritated when Rivers received a contract extension earlier this summer, and I was one of them, due to his poor in-game coaching decisions (especially late in games). Though he did not have much to work with last season, the poor decisions were present. The same poor decisions that he has struggled with throughout his entire coaching career: questionable substitution patterns, questionable distribution of playing time, questionable timeout calls (or lack thereof), running a fairly stationary offense, playing favorites, and mismanaging certain young players.

It almost seems like Danny Ainge is hesitant to give Doc the ax because of his relationship with him. Whether you like Doc Rivers as a coach or not, he is undoubtedly a very charismatic man who is very easy to like on a personal level, which is why a lot of players enjoy having him around. He’s a player’s coach and he’s an excellent motivator, but when it comes to x’s and o’s and decision making, he’s in the bottom tier among active NBA coaches.

That leaves fans with one simple question: Is Doc Rivers the guy to coach this team to an NBA championship? The supporters could make a strong case by saying that his player’s coach personality will mesh well with hungry veteran’s, he will be able to let the players freestyle and not have to worry so much about drawing up plays, and they could say that he has never had a group as talented or experienced as this one. The naysayers (meaning the average Celtics fan) could make a case just as strong, if not stronger, by saying that Doc may overplay the trio (especially with this paper-thin bench), wearing them out. They may say that his late-game decisions are still there and that he won’t give construct proper game plans.

This is clearly a better basketball team, but it’s still the same coach. Will Doc Rivers really coach this team to a title? If not this year, does he get a longer leash? If so, how long? My personal stance is that if this team does not make the NBA Finals this season, Doc Rivers should be fired. There is no excuse for this current roster to fail to come out of the Eastern Conference in 2008. They will need time to mesh, but if Shaquille O’Neal, Gary Payton, and Antoine Walker can put their ego’s aside to win a title in year one, why can’t a ego-free and unselfish trio of Ray Allen, Kevin Garnett, and Paul Pierce?

Many believe that defensive specialist Tom Thibodeau is an NBA head coach in the making, and one could theorize that he was only signed to a one-year assistant coaching deal with a plan in place to replace Doc Rivers as head coach after this season. Calling that theory far fetched is not blasphemy, but calling it a possibility isn’t either.

It’s impossible to read the mind of Danny Ainge, but it will be interesting to see what his intentions are with coach Rivers. If this team does not make the 2008 NBA Finals, and Doc Rivers is still coaching this team by 2008-2009 training camp, I will not be a happy camper, nor will I be alone. Will Danny Ainge man up and put their friendship past him for the betterment of the team, or will Doc be handed extra leverage once again? Ainge may have saved his job by making big moves this summer, but the length of Doc’s leash remains to be seen.

Steve Bulpett of the Boston Herald is reporting that the Celtics have finally filled their assistant coach hole by signing defensive guru Tom Thibodeau to a one-year deal. Thibodeau has been in Houston for the past two seasons, and improved their team defense dramatically by leading the team to set franchise records in scoring defense and field goal percentage defense. In 11 of his 14 years in the league, he has coached his team to finish in the top 10 in team defense.

Many believe that Thibodeau is an NBA head coach in the making, and one could speculate that the one-year deal is setting up an opportunity to sign him as the Celtics’ head coach next season if Doc Rivers doesn’t get it done this year. This was a great pickup for the Celtics, even if it does turn out to be just a one-year quick fix. Between Thibodeau and Clifford Ray, the Celtics’ toughness level and team defense should improve beyond belief.

According to J.A. Adande at ESPN.com, Reggie Miller is contemplating an NBA comeback. Danny Ainge and Doc Rivers gave Reggie Miller a call and offered him a position on this Boston Celtics roster, playing roughly 15 minutes per game and giving Miller one last shot at winning a championship. Miller turns 42 years of age in a little over two weeks (August 24, to be exact), and is asking for advice from family and friends.

My take: Miller would be a nice addition off the bench. We could use some scoring/shooting off the bench, and Miller is a guy that would be able to play some 2-guard and small forward. We would likely be able to snatch him up for the veteran’s minimum, and we’d have a savvy group off the bench with the addition of Miller. He may be 42 in two weeks, but I’m sure he can still shoot the ball.

On a mission to fill out the roster with cheap veterans, the Celtics added big man Scot Pollard for a one-year deal worth the veteran’s minimum of $1.2 million, according to Shira Springer of the Boston Globe. The veteran’s minimum does not count against the mid-level exception, so the Celtics still have money to try and lure in guys like P.J. Brown, Dikembe Mutombo, Troy Hudson, etc.

Throughout Pollard’s 10-year NBA career, he has played one year in Detroit, five years in Sacramento, three years in Indiana, and last season with the Cleveland Cavaliers, who appeared in the NBA Finals. Pollard was given just three minutes of playing time in last year’s NBA Finals series, but played a role in playoff runs with both Sacramento and Indiana.

The 10-year veteran big man will not only provide some help defensively and on the boards, he will be one of the guys to light up the locker room, as Pollard is the ultimate goof ball. Another interesting anecdote is that Pollard also played college basketball, at Kansas University, with Celtics captain Paul Pierce for two seasons.

My Take: I don’t mind this acquisition at all. The veteran’s minimum doesn’t count against the MLE (mid-level exception), as stated above, and he can help us defensively in small doses. Even if we aren’t fortunate enough to bring in Brown or Mutombo, Pollard playing 10-12 minutes per game off the bench isn’t necessarily a bad thing.

It’s safe to say that the biggest needs off the bench for this year’s Boston Celtics team are experience, defense, hustle, and versatility. With that in mind, it doesn’t make sense why so many Celtics fans are sour to Brian Scalabrine. Is it because of his contract? If so, let it go. First of all, it’s unfair to judge Scalabrine as a player or person just because he might be slightly overpaid, and it’s not that bad of a contract to begin with. Is five years a bit excessive? Possibly, but $3 million per year for a solid veteran role player is not.

Certainly, the second unit is an unfinished product and is still in dire need of two more veteran pieces, but Brian Scalabrine is surely not a bad option to have in your nine or ten-man rotation. “Scal” is exactly what this team needs off the bench. We have more than enough offensive firepower, we have athletes, we have young energizers, and we have players that are going to crash the boards. Scalabrine is a perfect complement to any lineup head coach Doc Rivers would like to put on the floor.

The six-year veteran forward is able to play small forward, power forward, or even the center position in “small ball” lineups. Is he the most skilled, physically gifted, or quickest player on the team? Not at all, but he brings the necessary intangibles that a contending team needs off the bench.

On the court, he’s a guy that players and coaches learn to love quickly. He is an all-out hustler, he runs the floor, he dives for loose balls, he can hit the open shot all the way out to three-point range, he’s vocal, he sets beautiful screens, and he possesses a sky-high basketball IQ. Not to mention, he’s surely the best defensive big that this team has off the bench, and in the past has done an excellent job for this team defending guys like Chris Bosh, Jermaine O’Neal, and even newest Celtic superstar Kevin Garnett.

Off the court, he’s also an outstanding guy to have on your team, especially in a winning environment. Scalabrine brings nothing but positive energy and encouragement whether it be in a game, in practice, in the locker room, or even outside of basketball altogether. Everybody is talking about how this team looks great on paper, but needs to come together as a unit. Brian Scalabrine will be one of the guys that brings this team together.

As mentioned above, he is a six-year NBA veteran, he’s a great person, and he brings all the necessary intangibles to a basketball team, but there is one unmentioned ingredient that will play a more significant role than the average fan may ponder – he has been there and done that. Brian Scalabrine played on the 2002 New Jersey Nets team that made it all the way to the NBA Finals, and ironically got there by knocking off the Boston Celtics in a six-game Eastern Conference Finals series. The next season, 2002-2003, Scalabrine was a member of yet another NBA Finals team, as the Nets had advanced to that point for the second straight season. In his final two seasons in New Jersey, Scalabrine played in three more playoff series’ with the Nets. He surely has the necessary experience and knows what it’s like to play in a championship level environment.

The “Scal bashing” needs to come to an end. He has a role, and he will thrive with this new team considering the fact that he doesn’t have to go out there and do more than he’s capable of. He has been forced to log major minutes in his two-year tenure with the Celtics, due to injuries and lack of experience with the young group of players. That will no longer be a problem. Scalabrine is now able to go out there, give 110%, and do what he does best. He won’t have to worry about having the ball in his hands more than he’s used to and he won’t be pressured to produce more on the offensive end than he ever has. He will be able to focus on what he does best (hustle, defend, and play smart basketball), and it will be nothing short of a shame if the fan base will let their ignorance get in the way of appreciating his role on this team.

On the night of the 2006 NBA Draft, Danny Ainge decided to ship the rights to the #7 overall pick, Raef LaFrentz, and Dan Dickau to Portland for Sebastian Telfair, Theo Ratliff, and a 2008 second round draft pick. Some Celtics fans were excited about having Telfair and were sold on Ainge’s comments about how he is better and more experienced than any other guard in the draft. In the end, that turned out to be incorrect, as Rajon Rondo (who we acquired rights to on the same night, from Phoenix) quickly earned Telfair’s minutes. But that’s a whole different subject, so we won’t even go there.

As mentioned above, some fans were excited about having Telfair in Boston, but the bulk of the fan base had a sour taste in their mouth, especially after Telfair was demoted from starter to third string in the blink of an eye. Fans didn’t believe that Telfair was worth the seventh pick in the draft, and that Danny Ainge had made another bad trade, even though we managed to shave a year off of Raef LaFrentz’s god awful contract.

Now that we have taken a step backward in time, let’s bring it back to reality. Danny Ainge now looks like a genius for making the Telfair trade, for one simple reason: Kevin Garnett. Without Theo Ratliff’s contract, we don’t have Kevin Garnett right now, and we likely wouldn’t have made the move for Ray Allen either. Even if you keep the base of the deal (Al Jefferson, Gerald Green, Ryan Gomes, and two first round draft picks), this deal doesn’t get done if you replace Ratliff’s contract with Raef LaFrentz. The trade on Draft Night 2006 was not centered around Sebastian Telfair, it was centered around Theo Ratliff’s contract in order to put this team in the position to make a big move sooner rather than later. I’ve got news for the naysayers: it happened, and we are now in position to contend for a championship within the next few seasons.

Will the doubters of the 2006 draft-day trade please stand up? I say we should have a big Sebastian Telfair night at the “Gah-en” after all.

The 2007-2008 NBA schedule has been released. Take a look at the Celtics’ schedule, where we have seven games on ESPN, three games on TNT, and nine games on NBA TV. Compared to last year’s zero, this is great.

Season Opener: Friday, November 2, at home vs. Washington at 8:00 pm ET on ESPN.

The Timberwolves’ press conference was postponed yesterday due to the collapsing bridge, but some ex-Celtics were able to shoot around and get some pictures taken: Al Jefferson, Ryan Gomes, and Sebastian Telfair. Nobody is quite sure why Gerald Green wasn’t there, more updates on Gerald will be given when released. Without any further ado, let’s take a look at some of our old friends, shall we:

We’re all really going to miss Big Al. The 22-year-old stud has a magnificent future ahead of him, and it was very tough to let him go. One of the biggest reasons was not only his talent, but his love for the city of Boston. Al didn’t want to go anywhere, this was a tough one. Hopefully Al can continue his development in his new #25 blue jersey (Al was #25 in high school, in case you’re wondering), I wish him the best of luck.

Ryan Gomes has been nothing short of a class act, a great teammate, a great role player, and most importantly a great person. He is only entering his third year in the league, but he carried himself like a veteran from day one. Gomes was also tough to let go, especially considering the depth we gave up in this deal. I wish Gomes the best of luck.

Ah, the mystery man, wearing his cousin Stephon Marbury’s #3 as a member of the Minnesota Timberwolves. Telfair clearly still possesses a lot of potential, but he has yet to harness it. We have heard nothing but positive reports about “Bassy” this summer, as he has appeared to screw his head on straight and work hard on his game. I have been one of the few Sebastian Telfair supporters, and I’m not backing down. I still believe that Telfair will be a very solid player in this league. Maybe the change of scenery and another new beginning is what he needs. He will get a fair opportunity to play in Minnesota, and he should fit nicely with the athletes they have. Hopefully, they end up having a big Sebastian Telfair night at the Target Center.

There are no pictures of Gerald Green yet, but I can’t leave him out. Gerald has a tremendous upside. He is still raw, but let’s not forget that he’s just 21 years old, entering his third year in the NBA out of high school. Will Gerald turn into Kedrick Brown? Will he turn into Tracy McGrady? Will he find a steady medium? It’s tough for me to believe that a guy with his personality and work ethic will completely flop. I wish Gerald the best, and I’ll be looking forward to seeing him develop (too bad it won’t be in Boston). Hey, we might even see him win back-to-back dunk contests as a member of two different teams.

Mark Murphy of the Boston Herald reports that the Celtics have signed veteran guard Eddie House to a one-year deal worth $1.5 million, leaving the Celtics with roughly $3.8 million left of their MLE (mid-level exception). The sharp-shooting combo guard is entering his eighth year in the NBA, and has previously played with Miami, the Los Angeles Clippers, the Charlotte Hornets, Milwaukee, Sacramento, Phoenix, and most recently New Jersey. Appearing in 56 games for the Nets last season, House scored 8.4 points per game and shot roughly 43% from three-point territory in 16.9 minutes per game. House is now the consensus backup to starting point guard Rajon Rondo, but could also see time off the ball at shooting guard.

Along with House comes 6′5” defensive specialist Jackie Manuel, who helped North Carolina win the 2005 NCAA National Championship. Last season, Manuel appeared in 46 games for the D-League’s Los Angeles D-Fenders, posting averages of 9.6 points, 3.8 rebounds, 1.8 assists, and 1.1 steals per game.

My take: I’m not overly impressed with this signing, but I’m also not mad. It’s a one-year, low-risk deal that got us a veteran shooter off the bench, which we desperately needed. I would have preferred a guy like Brevin Knight or Charlie Bell, but their price tags were probably too high anyway (and Bell is also restricted, meaning Milwaukee can match any offer given to him). House isn’t necessarily a point guard in my book, either. I think he’s an experienced, more consistent version of Allan Ray. We’ll see how it works out, but this isn’t great, nor is it that bad.

With no true veteran point guard to show Rondo the ropes, he may have to pull a Tony Parker and control himself on a contending team. I have confidence in Rondo, and I believe that he will do fine, but I would have liked more of a mentor. This is a big year for Rajon, and he has a lot of weight to carry on those frail shoulders in just his second year in the league.