reflections
August 7th, 2007 Celtics Sign Scot Pollard

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.

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