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Big Baby’s future is a matter of business 05.17.09 at 11:55 pm ET
By

Glen Davis is one of the most emotional players on the Celtics. But when it comes to his future and free agency this summer,  it’s all about the business.

“I want to be here in Boston but if the opportunity brings me somewhere else, I’ll be there,” Davis said following the Celtics season-ending loss. “I love Boston, I love the coaches, I love the fans, but like I said, if the opportunity’s somewhere else, it’s somewhere else.”

Davis, a restricted free agent, has drawn attention since taking Kevin Garnett’s place in the Celtics starting lineup. He averaged nearly 13 points and six rebounds per game as a starter.

Over the course of the season he improved his game by working on his jumper. It paid off when he hit the game-winning shot over the Magic in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals. One could argue that Davis has proved himself to the Celtics front office.

“You can’t worry about that. That’s out of your hands. You’ve done your part,” Davis said. “You’ve shown you can play. You’ve shown you can do the things to help your team win.  So it’s up to them, what they want to do.”

Davis put free agency out of his mind and focused on the one thing he could control – himself. Playing basketball was always about winning, not making money.

“All I’ve thought about is just helping my team win,” he said. “I never thought about getting paid or what they’re going to do. But it is what it is.”

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  • http://weei.com christopher mehegan

    dear jessica camerato. i hope the celtics do keep big baby in a celtics uniform but as we all know strange things can happen during the interesting offseason i was listening to a segment on celtics rewind with john ryder last night many callers were saying the celtics need more help on the bench like if glen davis were to not be back next year the possibility of the celtics going after free agent antonio mcdyess next year because he could add another veteran presence off the bench because the celitcs starting five is intact for next year i heard mikki moore won’t be back next year the same for stephon marbury what do you think.

  • Nick S

    I’m not as concerned about re-signing Davis as much as I am concerned that we NEED to get Eddie House back, the guy WAS our bench for a number of games.

  • scott

    What the hell is BIG FAT BABY talking about? What the hell did he do?, hit one shot and he feels we owe him something. BEAT IT hit the road. Maybe it showed up in game seven. Let him know there is a 6 foul rule in the game. Good luck I will take Wallace, or Dice. I care about Eddie House give him what he wants, and let him shoooot. He is dam good.

  • Byron

    He hit the game winner in the fourth game of the series!

  • Jon Thompson

    Big baby is alright but powe should be a far greater concern as he is the most important free agent that needs to be signed. Big baby deserves something like a 4 year 8 million dollar deal.

  • Jim

    Davis is a good average NBA player, the Celtics should offer him a contract but no more than 2 million a year, if he leaves, so what it gives them money get a free agent next year.

  • Bluefish

    Big Baby and Leon Powe are an important part of this team’s future. With KG, Allen and Pierce going into the twilight of their careers, guys like Powe and Davis are the stars of the future. What they’ve done as a third and second year player, respectively, shows that they are ready to enter the next phase of their careers as potential starters on an aging Celtics squad. Do I expect them to get what LeBron, Kobe and Chris Paul are getting- no, but I do expect the Celtic’s front office to sit up and pay attention, especially after the dismal signings of Marbury and Moore.

  • Jason

    If Baby ends up becoming money from 15 feet he will develop into a very valuable player in this league. Otherwise, he’ll always just be a decent role player.

  • Adam

    I think we need to keep Davis. He is the core of the team’s youth movement. He has shown he can step and be a frontline player. If he can be a 15 ppg/8 rpg player, and it appears that he can me, then he’s worth the investment.

  • tj

    eddie they signed house for the next 2 years i think…i think that this years draft will be deep enough to find another roll player like baby, dont get me wrong id love to see him back but next year k.g. will be healthy and i think resigning powe is much more important than baby

  • Chris

    From an emotional standpoint (peas n’ carrots w/ Big Baby), I want to sign Davis for short money this offseason. I think we’ve only begun to see his impact here in Boston, but do feel that Powe needs to be a primary concern. Glen has earned the elevated status he carries into these negotiations, and if another team values his services more than Boston, he should take that opportunity. I do hope we can get Eddie back as well. I really think Davis has earned careful consideration looking ahead to a future with diminishing returns from the Big Three.

  • Karen

    I would love to see Big Baby back, but I think that Powe and House are more important to the team

  • Frank

    I feel that Leon Powe is actually more valuable that Big Baby. Before Powe went down with injury, he was averaging 15 PPG and he gives them that inside presence that they desperately need. The C’s need both Big Baby and Leon to be effective next years as we learned throughout these playoffs that you need depth, especaially depth amongst big-men.

  • Ruperto

    Good morning Ms. Camerato, I have a hard time accepting why a player wouldn’t appreciate being on a winning club like the Celtics. After you score a contract with a team for enough money to live comfortably, money shouldn’t be a primary concern. If you are good, you will play big minutes and get paid. Keeping that in mind, the only other concern I would have is playing for a team that is good enough to get you to what it is that really matters, winning an NBA Title. Glen Davis may or may not ever play for a title again but at least with the Celtic’s, he is on a team that will compete.

  • Walter

    For the money he is probably looking for they really should replace him with someone that is bigger, more athletic and can elevate. His shot is coming along but I held my breath every time he set up to shoot.
    I fear that Leon’s surgery will not allow him to return to form . . . again, find an athletic big guy that can shoot and set picks for Eddie and Ray.

  • Jerry

    Hi Jessica,

    I too believe that both Powe and House are more important to sign than Glen Davis. I like Glen Davis and we all appreciated the job that he did
    filling in for KG. However, House and Powe have a lot more to offer
    than Big Baby. So, if Big Baby feels he can and deserves more cash than maybe he is NOT a “Celtic” like we all thought. He should have stopped after he said” I love Boston, I love the coaches and I love the fans….” and maybe ended his statement with “……and I will attempt to renegotiate to stay here”.
    And that would have sounded like someone who WANTS to be a Celtic.

  • Brian

    If he will sign a 5 year/13 mil. Contract then do it if someone offerr more show him the door

  • Chef From the Press

    Hey Jess,

    Thats is the nature of the business. Will we pay top dollar for him, probally not. But will he become a better player with KG mentoring him which has shown thru the playoffs….Of Course. Time will tell ….Great post Jess and hope to see you next year…

    Chef

  • frank

    Hey Scott, you wanna know what the hell Big baby did??? You shouldn’t consider yourself a basketball fan if you need the answer to that.

  • Jason

    Big Baby = 2 years @ 3 million per year. Anything more would be excessive. We do need to deepen the bench. But first clean out the bench. I don’t see bringing back Moore or Marbury. Both were useless. Marbury showed glimpses of his old self; nice moves and turnover happy. Need to sign some bodies. I think Tony Allen and Scalabrine need to go. Let’s develop Gabe Pruitt and Bill Walker. And yes, bring back Eddie House. He is a lightning rod.

  • Jake

    If he goes for bigger money I will certainly miss him. But anybody looking at Glenn Davis has to be impressed with how much he’s grown as a player and elevated his game. He may never make an all-star game but i expect him to get another ring during his career and I’d like it to be us.

  • Jon

    C’mon- all you guys talking about Powe being more important than Davis- this is the THIRD TIME Powe has blown out that knee!!! There might not be anything left. You must just hate fat people to be able to see Powe as better than Davis on a set of crutches and a TOTAL unknown. How many guys have had micro fracture surgery AND blown a knee three times and done ANYTHING in the league?

    Davis needs work for sure. His defensive rebounding numbers need to rise fast. But he is the more talented player between he and Powe- he has a burgeoning inside game and clearly does not even know how to jump right since he lost all his weight. Many times through the season this last year he jumped higher on defense than on offense. So he needs to re-learn / learn how to jump, not just move a guy away but actually get the defensive board himself like his life depended on it and once he’s done that he’s better than 80% of 4′s in the league and that doesn’t fall off the tree every day.

    Look at Tyrus “The Vyrus” Thomas- he was a #5 pick and is an absolute bust but he was “breaking out” this year- Davis proved straight up that he’s much better than Thomas will ever be RIGHT NOW and he was a 2nd round something for nothing pick. Let’s not kick to the curb what was an afterthought in the Ray Allen deal. In case you didn’t notice, Ray’s funeral was just held in this playoffs. He is strictly washed up and just a money drain from here on out. Let’s get something else out of the deal- keep Davis and develop him, keep him away from Doc and right beside Clifford Ray and he’ll end up being just fine.

  • Rick

    Simply, “Gone Baby Gone”……….

  • Duane

    I would have to disagree with y’all (except for Jon) if the C’s have to choose between Baby and Leon. Baby has developed the 15-17 footer that is essential for the PF in Doc’s offense. Leon has not. Leon is an outstanding low post scorer who gets opposing bigs in foul trouble, but Baby has a nice inside game too. He has an uncanny touch around the rim. Baby is definitely the better interior passer and just has a better feel for the overall game. Leon is a unbelievable rebounder. Baby is ok. Better than a guy like Mikey Moore, but not great. Defensively, Leon is a master at drawing the charge but still fails to rotate frequently and we give up easy shots. Baby can also draw the charge, although not quite as well, but rotates much better IMO. Both are undersized height-wise, but Baby has more bulk to keep guys like Superman from backing them down. I don’t think we could have gotten away with asking Leon to guard Howard in spurts like we did Baby. Both guys bring a lot of energy and make a lot of hustle plays for us. They both have great attitudes. You can’t go by what Baby is saying right now. The season is over and this is strictly business talk between the player and the management. Baby proved his character and devotion to his teammates over the past two years. So overall:
    Scoring: even
    Passing: Baby.
    Rebounding: Leon
    Intangibles/Basketball IQ: Baby
    Defense: Baby
    Don’t get me wrong. I love both Leon and Baby. It’s been wonderful to see both of them grow from shrewd Danny Ainge second rounders that into players who can hurt the other team in a variety of ways. But if we have to choose, I think Baby is the better overall player. The number one thing we need from a big off the bench is defense. Neither is great, but there’s less of a dropoff with Baby. Leon just misses too many assignments. Who knows? Maybe we can keep both.
    I’d just like to say one more thing. Has anyone noticed that every single big guy Ainge has drafted has eventually exceeded expectations? Kendrick Perkins, Ryan Gomes, Justin Reed, Big Al, Leon, Baby. With the exception of Al, these were all very late 1st round or 2nd rounders. THis can’t just be luck. Guys like Perk, Big Al, Leon, struggled for a while to fit in with how the coaches wanted them to play but never stopped growing and eventually broke through. Most 2nd rounders don’t end up sticking, but these guys all have. I think we have to give huge props to Clifford Ray, the big guy coach. He’s the one who works with these guys. I don’t know what he does, but every single guy he has worked with has done way better than expected.

  • Duane

    Just one more thing. Just want to thank this team for an awesome year. They did all they could do in the playoffs but in the end they really were overmatched against Orlando. It was painful to watch Pierce in Game 7. He had nothing left in the 4th. You could see all the long minutes over the last 3 months had caught up to him. He couldn’t even bend to get into his defensive stance. This team played its heart out though. If they can stay healthy next year and maybe find a 6’10″ guy who can step in for Perk and KG and provide a a strong inside presence off the bench, and/or a good defender at the 3 spot so Doc doesn’t feel like he can’t take Pierce out of the game (Bill Walker?), I really do think they have one more shot to get another title with this group and knock off whatever imposter wins the title this year! Go C’s!

  • danno

    why is a dumb woman writing about sports anyway?

  • celticsouthpaw

    Hopefully the Celtics learned their lesson last year after not getting the deal done with James Posey. We need all three of our free agents back. If we had Powe for the Orlando series, Cleveland would be facing the Big Green once again. Our needs don’t come in the front court. They are in the back court. Rondo is the PG. But then it falls off for his bench player. House and Allen (
    Tony) are bench players for Ray Allen. Sure House can bring the ball up but his skills at dishing aren’t comparative to Rondo’s.

    It would have been nice to have Cassell for the playoff’s. Marbury was too inconsistent and never found his stride.

    Everyone could see that being out for the playoffs was killing KG. He will be back even stronger next year and that fire will be a blazing!

    I can’t wait for the beginning of November to get here!

    Go Celtics!

  • GM

    why is a dumb woman writing about sports anyway? said Danno, two months ago-

    ————what a brilliant person you are Danno with your witty comment. Any person (asshole) can comment here, but do you actually watch 82 games a year? Any idea on stats? History of franchises?

    I do………..

    Sincerely,

    Another dumb woman writing about basketball

    PS Bet your mother, sister, wife or daughter are sooooooooo proud!

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