CELTICS GREEN BLOG by and for boston celtics fans: Patterson, Posey or Jones?

by FLCeltsFan 2:26 PM

The Oregonian had this to say about Ruben Patterson.

Patterson said he would prefer to sign with Boston or Miami, and added he's not concerned about Hardaway signing with the Heat and Miller considering the Celtics.
"It's going to be interesting," Patterson said. "Reggie is what, 41, 42? He's going to be just shooting threes, and he isn't going to be a 30- to 40-minute per night guy.
"You look at those squads (Boston and Miami) -- where's the stopper? The energy guy? The defensive guy? That's me. I'm the only guy they're missing."
Patterson would be thrilled to sign a one-year deal at this stage of the offseason. The veteran forward wants to play basketball, and he's angling to play for a championship contender.
"I'm 32. I'm not old yet, but I'm up there. I'm just trying to win a championship, even if it's a one-year or two-year deal, I'll be happy," Patterson said. "I'm just going to sit back, relax and see what happens."

It still seems like a dream to read the words Celtics and contender together. But, Patterson wants to come to the Celtics because he feels that they are contenders.

He asks where the stopper and energy guy is on our team. Uh... Kevin Garnett? He has been named to the All Defensive Team 8 times, 6 first team and 2 second team. And talk about an energy guy! But we also have Tony Allen, Rajon Rondo, Kendrick Perkins, and Brandon Wallace who are expected to be defensive stoppers. And we have Scal who is an energy guy along with Eddie house.

Mark Murphy in the Herald said that the Celtics are considering Patterson along with Jones and Posey.

The Celtics are also reportedly considering Dahntay Jones, the Memphis swingman who the Celtics originally drafted with the 20th pick of the 2003 draft as part of their eventual deal for Marcus Banks, and Miami swingman James Posey.

Right now, our roster looks like this:
PG: Rondo, Pruitt
SG: Ray Allen, House, Tony Allen, Manuel
SF: Pierce, Scal, Wallace
PF: Garnett, Powe, Davis
C: Perk, Pollard

This is 14 players. We have 15 slots. Manuel isn't guaranteed and the two draft picks aren't signed yet. If we figure that Manuel probably will be cut, that leaves 2 more spots for bench players. It is obvious that the weakest positions are at PG and Center. The players that Murphy says that we are considering are all swingmen, playing the SG and SF positions. I believe that we would be better off looking for a veteran PG and another Center but Danny is going after defensive minded swingmen which may not be all that bad to add to the bench.

Ruben Patterson is a defensive minded guard/forward who averaged 14.7 points, 5.4 rebounds, and 2.9 assists last season. He has averaged 10.9 points, 4.2 rebounds, and 1.2 steals for his career. He is 32 years old and has a history of off court trouble.

In 2001, he pleaded guilty in Washington state to third-degree attempted rape for allegedly forcing his children's 24-year-old nanny to perform a sex act on him. A judge suspended all but 15 days of a one-year sentence, and Patterson served the time in his Cleveland home. He also was suspended for the first five games of the following season by the NBA. After signing with the Bucks last year, he was fined $1,000 for failing to register as a convicted sex offender after he moved into a new neighborhood.

Patterson was also convicted of misdemeanor assault outside a Cleveland night club in 2001 and arrested in 2002 on felony charges of domestic abuse that were later dropped. Patterson has said his struggles with alcoholism were the culprit for his past problems and reiterated to the Bucks staff that he's moved on. Harris agreed. Now, maybe it is just me, but we just got a player who had a drinking problem off the books and I don't feel like spinning the wheel and taking a chance on another.

Another possibility is James Posey. Posey is a 6'8" guard/forward who averaged 7.7 points, 5.0 rebounds, 1.3 assists, and 1.0 steals last season. He has averaged 9.5 points, 4.9 rebounds, 1.8 assists, and 1.2 steals for his career. He has been a starter for the Heat and brings playoff and finals experience. He is also noted for his three point shooting ability. His defense was a big factor in the Heat's championship run in 2006. On April 9, 2007, Posey was arrested on a DUI charge and was taken to a Miami-Dade Count Prison. He is now negotiating with the Heat for a return to the team but he is an unrestricted free agent and if negotiations with the Heat break down, the Celtics may be his second choice.

Dahntay Jones is a new name in the mix. Jones is a 6'6" Guard/Forward who was drafted by the Celtics in the first round (20th overall) of the 2003 NBA Draft, and his rights were later traded, along with the rights to Troy Bell, to the Grizzlies for the rights to Kendrick Perkins and Marcus Banks. So far, Jones has played his entire professional career for the Grizzlies, averaging 7.5 points, 2.0 rebounds, and .9 assists last season. He has averaged 5.1 points, 1.6 rebounds and .6 assist for his career. He is an awesome athlete who can get to the basket. He is a very good offensive rebounder and a good perimeter defender.

It seems as though Danny is looking at swingmen to improve our perimeter defense as all three of these are good defenders. However, the positions we are weak at are center and point guard. We are only 2 deep at center. While I expect Perk to have a break out season and do fine as the starter and Posey may be ok as a back up, we are only 2 deep at that position and an injury to either one of them would be devastating. And I expect Rondo to handle the starting PG spot fine, but who is there to back him up? House is more of a shooting guard than a point guard and the same with Pruitt. Whether we sign any of the above players or not, we really need to sign a back up point guard.

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