Mark Murphy has just posted some extra free agent/workout updates.

The Celtics also continued to look at other free agents yesterday.

In addition to a visit from former Hornets center Chris Andersen, they worked out three vastly different players - center David Harrison, guard Kirk Snyder and forward Darius Miles.

Patrick O’Bryant, the former Golden State center who the Celtics worked out prior to the 2006 draft, is due in for a workout today.

In addition, the team has taken a prolonged look at former Knicks center Randolph Morris and former Bulls guard Eddie Basden during this week’s rookie/free agent minicamp in Waltham.

“A lot of these guys we have just liked, and they’re trying to continue their careers,” said Danny Ainge, the Celtics director of basketball operations. “But there’s a lot of guys in the basketball world and a lot more we’re going to look at.

First off, let me say: Darius Miles? Are you kidding me? Not only does he have questionable work ethic, the reputation of being a “coach killer,” the resume of a classic bust, and is coming off of a major knee injury that kept him sidelined all last season, but he also failed his latest drug test that earned him a 10-game suspension if/when he ever does return to the court. Should we lose James Posey in the free agent market, Miles is the last guy that Celtic Nation wants as a replacement small forward.

Kirk Snyder is certainly a “Danny Ainge kind of guy:” young, athletic, strong wing, has yet to fulfill his potential. Had the C’s not brought in J.R. Giddens and Bill Walker on draft night, Snyder may have been a formidable replacement for Tony Allen. However, with our current roster, it’s unlikely that he or Eddie Basden finds a spot in green.

David Harrison was once a very intriguing center prospect coming out of high school, but at this point in his young NBA career, he is Michael Olowokandi of 2006 on a good day. Simply put, he’s huge. He’s long. He’s strong. But he fouls nearly as frequently as Danny Fortson, and has had a questioned work ethic. Should the C’s get down to the waning moments the summer without a backup center, Harrison might be a solid option to bring in as an insurance 7-footer, similar to what Scot Pollard was before his season-ending injury.

Side note: Mark Murphy also mentioned that the New York Knicks have contacted Eddie House.

From Monique Walker of the Boston Globe:

Free agent center Chris Andersen and his agent, Steve Heumann, arrived in Boston yesterday, had dinner with Ainge, and will meet with Ainge and his staff today. The Hornets are also interested in retaining Andersen. Free agents can begin signing contracts Tuesday.

The Celtics have had an interest in Andersen since he was reinstated by the NBA March 4 after serving a two-year ban for violating the league’s substance abuse policy. The athletic, 6-foot-11-inch, 228-pounder returned to the Hornets and played in five games. Andersen, who has also played for the Nuggets, has averaged 5 points, 4.7 rebounds, and 1.3 blocks over his six-year career.

“He’s a guy we’ve always wanted,” Ainge said. “We just want to sit down and talk to Chris and see where he is at with his desire to play in Boston and to see if we think he is a fit.”

Side note: On last night’s Sports Tonight Late Edition on CSN, Marc Spears was on talking Celtics with Greg Dickerson and Michael Felger. Spears said that there is a really strong chance that Chris Andersen gets a deal done with the Celtics and that Andersen “really wants to be here… bad.” Take that for what it’s worth.

Also, all is quiet in Posey land:

Agent Mark Bartelstein, who represents forward James Posey and guard Eddie House, said yesterday, “Nothing new right now. Just a lot of talk.”

“There is a lot of posturing going on,” said Ainge about free agency in general. “Who knows?”

The Celtics have offered contracts to both Posey and Clippers free agent guard Corey Maggette, who are both getting interest around the league.

Sources indicated Posey was not offered the full midlevel exception (about $5.8 million) by the Celtics, but it wasn’t far from it.

Among the teams expected to be interested in Posey are Washington, Cleveland, New Orleans, and the Los Angeles Lakers.

When asked when he expected to get word from Posey or Maggette, Ainge said, “I don’t know. I just don’t know.”

“Our finished work might not be done until August or September,” Ainge continued. “It’s a long process. We are going to try to sift through a lot of free agents. We are in a good position where a lot of guys want to come and play for us. It makes it good. It doesn’t make us desperate.”

From Chris Forsberg:

The Celtics held the first day of a four-day minicamp in Waltham this morning. The camp, which features 16-20 players, mostly rookies and free agents, runs through Saturday.

Check out our photo gallery from today’s action.

Among the attendees: Second-year players Glen “Big Baby” Davis and Gabe Pruitt, along with first-round draft pick JR Giddens. Stroll through our gallery to see who else is in town for the event.

The Globe’s Marc J. Spears touched on the minicamp in his Sunday notes column:

The Celtics will hold a minicamp for 16-20 players at their Waltham training facility from Wednesday through Saturday. Celtics forward Glen Davis, guard Gabe Pruitt, and first-round draft pick J.R. Giddens are expected to participate, as are ex-NBA players center Jackie Butler, forward Lawrence Roberts, and guards David Noel, Omar Cook, and Mustapha Shakur. Forward Bill Walker, a second-round selection by Washington who was traded to Boston, will not participate. Ainge said Walker will likely undergo minor knee surgery this week.

Update: Contrary to the initial report, Scott Souza notes that J.R. Giddens has not participated in minicamp just yet:

But another draft pick who was expected to be in attendance - first-round pick J.R. Giddens - was also nowhere to be found when Boston brought in 15 players to Waltham yesterday for a double-session of scrimmages.

According to Celtics executive director of basketball operations Danny Ainge, Giddens elected not to attend the camp - on the advice of his agents - because he had not yet signed a contract. While this makes some sense on the surface, it should be noted that there are rookies all across the league participating in workouts this week in advance of next week’s Las Vegas Summer League who have yet to sign deals. Last season, both Glen Davis and Gabe Pruitt played with the Celtics summer league team even though they did not sign deals until later in the summer.

Ainge said he did not know if Giddens would show up at the camp at some point before it ends on Saturday, but given that the contract - which is largely a fixed (and guaranteed) amount - may not get inked within the next day or two, that now appears unlikely.

RealGM reports:

The Boston Celtics announced Wednesday that center Kendrick Perkins and second round draft pick Bill Walker both had successful surgical procedures today at New England Baptist Hospital.

Perkins underwent arthroscopic left shoulder surgery while Walker underwent arthroscopic right knee surgery.

Both surgeries were preformed by team physician Dr. Brian McKeon and was assisted by Dr. Alan Curtis and Dr. John Richmond. No timetable has been set for their returns.

Walker is said to be back on the court in 3-4 weeks. Perkins’ timetable has yet to be clarified.

Marc Spears has some good stuff for us, as usual, today:

On the first day of free agency in the NBA, the world champion Celtics, according to an NBA source, made contract offers to both Posey and Maggette. Since Boston, at most, has a mid-level exception available (expected to be about $5.8 million), it would seem doubtful they could land both players. Boston is also scheduled have New Orleans center Chris Andersen in for a visit today.

“I called [Posey] and just talked to him and told him how much we wanted him back,” Ainge said. “I told his agent and we had a conversation. So we’re still having conversations. After James, yeah, I called a lot of guys just to say that we had interest. But I can’t discuss names.”

Maggette, however, confirmed yesterday he was one of those names.

“I was very surprised they called. They just came off a championship,” said Maggette in a phone interview.

“It’s a great honor to even hear from them,” Maggette said. “Hopefully, I can look at some of the options. That’s a good option playing for those guys.”

“It’s not always about money,” Maggette said. “I’ve been in the league a long time and I’ve made a lot of money. I’m tired of losing. I want to get back to the playoffs and win.”

Maggette to Boston seems more likely than ever now, as the Clippers renounced his rights in order to find enough financial room for Baron Davis. That means that he cannot re-sign with the Clippers (they no longer have the MLE to spend) and they cannot work a sign-and-trade. So, Maggette will either take a big contract from a mediocre team with cap room (Philadelphia?) or take the full MLE with a contender/playoff team. My guess is that he takes a short deal for the full MLE and tests the free agent market again sometime soon, similar to what James Posey just did.

As for Chris Andersen, I’d rather bring in a long seven-footer than an energetic power forward who has had severe off-court issues.

The Celtics hope to sign a veteran backup point guard to a one-year, veteran minimum contract, an NBA source said. Candidates include Eddie House, who would return for a second season with Boston, Dallas’s Tyronn Lue, Orlando’s Keyon Dooling, Miami’s Jason Williams, and Chicago’s Chris Duhon. Lue, a 10-year veteran, played for Rivers in Orlando and is good friends with Celtics forward Kevin Garnett, but he said he hasn’t contacted either since the offer was made to his agent, Andy Miller.

“I just want to play for a winning team,” said Lue in a phone interview. “Boston is definitely a winning team. I’m trying to see what the best fit is for me.”

It is doubtful that there is any chance of signing the point guards listed above for the veterans minimum, except maybe Tyronn Lue. I think Lue might take that, as he wants to win, Doc loves him, and is great friends with Kevin Garnett. I think Lue is probably a better option than Eddie House, honestly. He can shoot nearly as well, can be trusted with the ball in his hands, and he is a much better defender.

Allen became an unrestricted free agent Monday when the Celtics declined to make him a qualifying offer.

Ainge, however, said Boston could still bring him back. When asked if the addition of draft picks J.R. Giddens and Bill Walker would affect Boston’s interest in Allen, Ainge said, “Time will tell. Those guys haven’t done anything yet.”

“I had a good conversation with Tony and I assured Tony that this doesn’t necessarily close the book for him here,” Ainge said. “We like Tony. He’s just moving forward in his career. If things might not work out with James or other free agents, Tony would be a guy that we’d be interested in returning to the Celtics.”

Atta boy, Danny. Let him down easy.

Marc Spears of the Boston Globe reports:

Boston’s draft picks - J.R. Giddens (30th overall), Bill Walker (47th overall, via Washington), and Semih Erden (60th overall) - were introduced in Waltham today. From Boston.com:

The three sat at a table on the practice court with general manager Danny Ainge and were given crisp Celtics jerseys and caps for the photo op. Giddens was handed a No. 4 jersey, Erden a No. 86, and Walker a No. 12.

Giddens and Walker both said they were “blessed” to be here.

“You guys are the defending world champions and coming here is just a dream come true,” Giddens said.

“I worked all my life to be able to have the opportunity to be an NBA player and I got a chance to come and play with one of the best organizations in the business,” Walker said.

Walker will have right knee surgery tomorrow at New England Baptist Hospital and he said he expects rehabilitation to take 3-4 weeks before he can play basketball.

Erden is still under a 1-year contract with Fenerbache Ulker Istanbul in Turkey.

An interpreter spoke for Erden saying, “He definitely wants to come to the NBA, the Boston Celtics. He has one more year on his contract. He doesn’t want to sign a new contract. He wants to see what it his opportunity in here.”

In other news, the Celtics hung their 17th NBA Championship banner inside the practice facility today…Ainge said he has been in touch with free agents but didn’t comment further. He also said the team made an undisclosed contract offer to unrestricted free agent James Posey.

Click here to view pictures from the press conference.

Welcome to Boston, rooks!

Marc Spears of the Boston Globe reports that the Celtics have declined to exercise the option of offering Tony Allen the qualifying offer.

One move was made last night when the franchise failed to make Tony Allen a qualifying offer, thus making the guard an unrestricted free agent, according to his agent, Mike Higgins.

The arrival of draft picks J.R. Giddens and Bill Walker definitely hurt Allen’s chances to return to Boston.

“Obviously they had some tough decisions to make,” Higgins said late last night. “With the number they’re at [player wise] they couldn’t sign everybody. For the past month, he knew they were either going to make him an offer or they weren’t. He understood.”

We all saw this coming, and I’m sure TA did himself after watching the C’s take two wings in last week’s NBA draft. However, business is business. Replacements have been brought in, and for a cheaper price to boot (Allen was due to make roughly $2.7 million off of the qualifying offer next season, which would have cost the organization double due to being in luxury tax territory).

Assuming this means goodbye: good luck, TA, wherever you end up from here.

Spears also makes other notes regarding other free agent Celtics. First off, James Posey:

The Celtics have a number of other free agents, including forward-center P.J. Brown, guards Eddie House and Sam Cassell, and center Scot Pollard. Boston could have interest in outside free agents such as Dallas guard Tyronn Lue and New Orleans center Chris Andersen. But according to general manager Danny Ainge, the Celtics’ immediate focus is on re-signing Posey. While negotiations can begin today, free agents can’t sign until July 8.

“Posey will be a guy we’ll be talking to right away,” Ainge said yesterday. “He’s a top priority for us. Once we start there, we’ll move toward other free agents and go from there.”

As expected, Posey’s agent, Mark Bartelstein, said his client officially became a free agent yesterday after not exercising the second year of his contract with Boston. He was due to make $3.2 million. The 6-8, 217-pounder averaged 7.4 points and 4.4 rebounds in 24.6 minutes per game last season. The Sixth Man candidate also made key plays and shots during the playoffs.

While Bartelstein didn’t mention teams, he did say Posey is expected to get “a lot of interest” and could visit other teams. The Pistons and Lakers could be among the teams interested. The Celtics can offer the mid-level exception, which is expected to be about $5.8 million next season. Bartelstein, however, also noted that Posey would like to return to Boston and has said his client is comfortable with the franchise’s financial limitations. To land Posey, the Celtics might have to offer a multiyear deal.

Next up: P.J. Brown:

Ainge said Brown, 38, seems to be leaning toward retirement, but the Celtics would welcome him back. Brown will determine his future after spending time with his family.

Sam Cassell, Eddie House, and Scot Pollard:

While Cassell has said he expects to return, a source close to the situation said Houston, San Antonio, and Dallas also have interest in his services. Bartelstein said the Celtics seem interested in bringing back another one of his clients, House, but other teams are interested as well. Bartelstein also said Pollard is recovering well from surgeries on both ankles that ended his season prematurely and still wants to play next season.

As for the aforementioned draft picks (J.R. Giddens, Bill Walker, and Semih Erden), they’ll be introduced later today.

From the Boston Globe:

Celtics forward James Posey’s agent, Mark Bartelstein, said his client will opt out of the second and final year of his contract today. The move will make the versatile Posey an unrestricted free agent, but Bartelstein has also said his client wants to return to Boston. When asked about whether Posey, who averaged 7.4 points per game this season, will be re-signed, Celtics general manager Danny Ainge said Saturday: “I’d hate to say whether or not we will be able to. We’ll see what happens.” Free agency begins tomorrow.

ESPN’s Chad Ford ranks the best available free agents and has Posey at No. 7 among this year’s crop of unrestricted free agents. Ford writes: “Posey helped himself with a strong performance against the Lakers in the Finals. He’s another player who should get a three- to four-year midlevel deal somewhere.”

Early offseason rumblings have the Lakers and Hornets among potential suitors for Posey’s services. New Orleans freed up some space when it traded its No. 27 pick in the 2008 NBA Draft to Portland in exchange for $3 million cash.

Make the right decision, Pose. Don’t go anywhere, big fella.

Soon to come: The organization’s decision on Tony Allen.

From Marc Spears of the Boston Globe:

The Celtics will hold a minicamp for 16-20 players at their Waltham training facility from Wednesday through Saturday. Celtics forward Glen Davis, guard Gabe Pruitt, and first-round draft pick J.R. Giddens are expected to participate, as are ex-NBA players center Jackie Butler, forward Lawrence Roberts, and guards David Noel, Omar Cook, and Mustapha Shakur. Forward Bill Walker, a second-round selection by Washington who was traded to Boston, will not participate. Ainge said Walker will likely undergo minor knee surgery this week.

We will likely see some sexier names hop on board for this camp in the coming days, as it is against league rule to have contact with free agents until July 1. The names above consist of former NBA payers looking for another shot.

Former Wisconsin big man Brian Butch is also expected to attend.