Great news for the Boston Celtics on Christmas Eve, the day before they kick off the 2011-12 NBA regular season with a visit to Madison Square Garden to face the New York Knicks.
After he was released by the Phoenix Suns on Thursday and cleared waivers, the C's signed veteran swingman Mickael Pietrus today to a 1-year, $1.3 million (league minimum deal). He fills out Boston's roster at 15 players.
With Christmas tomorrow, he won't be able to get a physical until Monday in Boston. This means that he won't be available for tomorrow's game; he could possibly be ready for the second game, at Miami or more likely on Wednesday in New Orleans.
"We are very excited to be able to add Mickael to our team," Celtics president of basketball operations Danny Ainge said in a statement released by the team. "His skills as a perimeter defender and an outside shooter provide great versatility to the roster."
Pietrus also announced his decision to join the Celtics via Twitter. Celtics coach Doc Rivers and former teammate Brandon Bass raved about Pietrus on Friday while talking about his potential addition.
"He would be a good addition for any team," said Rivers. "He would be athletic, he would bring some toughness. He can guard 2's and 3's. He can stretch the floor. Whoever gets him, will be getting a heck of a player, if he's healthy."
Said Bass: "He's a good defender. I think that's the strength of his game. He can guard the best two guards in the league, at least that's what he showed when I was with him in Orlando."
The reason I'm excited about this move, besides its very low risk, is because I've always been a big fan of Pietrus' game. He is the rare European player that is not only tough but he can also defend at a high level.
He was a first-round pick by Golden State (11th overall) in 2003. He played five seasons with the Warriors before spending two seasons in Orlando. He started last season with the Magic but was traded to the Suns.
For his career, he's started 150 of 496 games. He's averaged 8.5 points in 21.5 minutes, .431 field goal percentage, .359 percent on 3-pointers, 67% on free throws and 3.1 rebounds.
Pietrus' best season was 2006-07 in Golden State, the only time when he averaged double-figures in points (11.1). He also started a career-high 38 games out of 72.
At 6-6 and 215 pounds, he gives Doc Rivers a versatile option that can play shooting guard or small forward. There is no doubt in my mind that he's better than Sasha Pavlovic, which means that this move should rightly bury Sasha on the bench where he belongs. Mickael is 29-years-old, he turns 30 in February, so he should have something left in the tank. As far as I know, this isn't Troy Murphy or Carlos Arroyo on their last legs.
With Jeff Green out for the season and Paul Pierce's health shaky to start the season (heel injury), you can never have enough athletic wing players in the NBA. Well done Danny Ainge.
Merry Christmas, don't forget to watch Celtics-Knicks tomorrow afternoon. It tips off at 12 p.m. on TNT.
UPDATE 12/25: Celtics radio announcer Sean Grande just tweeted that Pierce is out today and Pavlovic will start, gulp.
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