There’s one important difference between Glen Davis and Kendrick Perkins: Big Baby left on his own terms.

Davis didn’t profess his love for Boston in his postgame press conference the way Perk did. He wanted a change in scenery and an upgraded role, and Orlando offered that opportunity. Or so he thought.

“I’m in the same situation I was here — coming off the bench,” said a dejected Davis after losing to his former team, 87-56. “The only thing I know is that I got paid a little bit more money. Like I said, it’s a process and a system that I’ve got to get used to. I don’t know. I know what I’m supposed to do, but I don’t know yet. I’m still searching.”

As they did for fellow members of the 2007-08 NBA championship team Eddie House and Perkins before him, the Celtics gave Big Baby the video montage treatment. When the Garden crowd responded with a standing ovation, Davis flashed his signature smile and acknowledged the fans with a wave before returning to the Magic bench.

“It was good to remember all the memories that you had,” he said. “I looked really big, like really fat. I was like, ‘Wow, chubby.’ I look a little more leander now. But it was good. It’s always good to see things like that, memories I can never forget. The fans showed love, and I appreciate that.”

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Just as they did a week ago for Kendrick Perkins, the Celtics honored Glen “Big Baby” Davis with a tribute video during the first timeout of Monday night’s game against the Magic. A member of the 2007-08 NBA championship team and a key contributor in the 2010 NBA Finals run, Davis was traded along with Von Wafer to Orlando in exchange for Brandon Bass after the lockout.

Considering the Garden was far from filled (Patriots hangover, anyone?), the montage didn’t have quite the emotional impact Perk’s did. Prior to the game, Dwight Howard guessed that his new teammate might shed a tear during the video, but the opposite turned out to be true. Big Baby was all smiles as he waived to the cheering crowd. There were dry eyes pretty much everywhere in the house.

For the second time in five games, the Celtics welcome a member of the 2007-08 NBA championship team in an opposing uniform. Kendrick Perkins got a hero’s welcome when the Thunder visited Boston last week, so will Glen Davis get the same treatment when the Magic visit Monday night?

Davis had his share of moments, good and bad, during his four years in a Celtics uniform (remember how he broke his thumb?), culminating in a 32 percent shooting performance in last season’s five-game Eastern Conference semifinals loss to the Heat. In one last contribution to the Celtics, he agreed to a four-year, $26 million sign-and-trade deal after the NBA lockout that shipped him and Von Wafer to Orlando for Brandon Bass.

So far, at least, the Celtics got the best of that deal, as Bass only makes $4 million this season, although Wafer’s production on the Magic makes it closer than one might think. Take a look at their numbers through 15 games.

Bass: 11.5 PTS (48.1 FG%, 72.7 FT%), 6.4 REB, 0.7 BLK, 0.6 AST, 0.3 STL, 0.9 TO

Davis: 7.9 PTS (37.5 FG%, 73.3 FT%), 5.1 REB, 0.7 AST, 0.4 STL, 0.2 BLK, 1.3 TO
Wafer: 6.2 PTS (47.8 FG%, 46.7 3P%, 84.6 FT%), 1.3 REB, 0.8 AST, 0.2 STL, 1.1 TO

Regardless, Davis gave the Celtics more than they could have hoped for when they selected him with the 35th overall pick in the 2007 NBA draft, developing into one of the game’s top three Sixth Man Award contenders last season. If Eddie House got a tribute montage video, why shouldn’t Big Baby?

“We just have to let it play out,” Magic teammate Dwight Howard told the Orlando Sentinel. “He’s emotional. He might cry. We’ll make sure we bring a big pacifier.” It wouldn’t be the first time.

Without further ado, I give you the top five Glen “Big Baby” Davis moments in a Celtics uniform. Read the rest of this entry »

When babies don’t agree with something, they cry. When Big Baby doesn’t agree with something, he pulls his pants down (he’s already tried the crying route, and it didn’t go over too well). Former Celtics forward Glen Davis pulled a Psycho Steve Lyons and dropped trou in the midst of a game — protesting an admittedly bad call during the Magic’s 85-83 overtime loss to the Spurs. Watch carefully. It happens about five seconds in. As Celtics head coach Doc Rivers said Thursday morning on WEEI, thank God this didn’t happen in the jock strap era.

Please indulge me, whilst a tell you an NBA conspiracy theory. It involves a Mormon, a camel, two giants and an insurance salesman. None of them walked into a bar.

On July 31, 2007, Celtics president of basketball operations Danny Ainge convinced former C’s teammate, good friend and Timberwolves general manager Kevin McHale to ship Kevin Garnett to Boston in return for Al Jefferson and a cup of poop soup over a deal with the Lakers involving Andrew Bynum and Lamar Odom. And the road to a 17th NBA championship was paved.

On Feb. 1, 2008, Lakers GM Mitch Kupchak dangled the immortal Kwame Brown and his 5.7 points/5.7 rebounds per game as the centerpiece of a trade for Grizzlies All-Star Pau Gasol and his 18.9 points/8.8 rebounds per game. And former C’s general manager Chris Wallace delivered the 2009 and 2010 NBA titles to L.A.

On June 25, 2009, Dan Gilbert and the Cavaliers brass traded $20 million worth of Sasha Pavlovic and a washed up Ben Wallace for four-time NBA champion Shaquille O’Neal.

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With half the roster still to be filled, expect a whole lot of Celtics rumors to fly around the interwebs between now and Christmas Day — and here’s the first, courtesy of Sporting News NBA writer Sean Deveney’s Twitter account: “From what I’m told, the Celts are happy about the whole sign-and-trade issue for tax teams, because that’s the plan with Big Baby [Glen] Davis.”

At some point during the haze that was the NBA lockout, we discussed the realistic sign-and-trade options for Davis at length. Options included old friend Tony Allen, Warriors forward Dorell Wright, Kings center Jason Thompson and Bucks swingman Carlos Delfino, among others.

In an interview with the Boston Herald, Davis said he’ll have “a pen and pad and two phones up to my ears” as he listens to offers elsewhere, preferably for a starting position. He also expressed his interest (once again) in returning to the Celtics.

“I’ve been in the playoffs every year on that team — twice in the Finals,” Davis told the Herald. “I think of the legacies that Kevin [Garnett] and Ray [Allen] have built here, and that’s the path you want to take. I’ll take a look at them first to see what we can do here, and then if I have to, I’ll look into where else I can go.”

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Now that the NBA lockout is all but over, we can talk actual basketball again. No more exhibition games. No more Paul Pierce sightings at the World Series of Poker. No more overseas discussions. Should lawyers on both sides approve the tentative agreement as expected in the next three days to a week, both training camp and free agency are scheduled to begin on Dec. 9, leading up to a Celtics at Knicks season opener on Christmas Day.

Celtics president of basketball operations Danny Ainge, head coach Doc Rivers and the rest of the C’s brass face a ton of questions over the next month. Here are 10 of the biggest ones they’ll have to answer.

10. How will the Celtics fill out the remainder of the roster?

The C’s currently have just six players under contract: The Big Four of Rajon Rondo, Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen as well as center Jermaine O’Neal and second-year guard Avery Bradley. That leaves nine open spots on the 15-man roster.

Jeff Green has received a $5.9 million qualifying offer that makes him a restricted free agent, and the remaining eight players from the team that lost a five-game Eastern Conference semifinal series to the Heat are free agents. Only Nenad Krstic, who signed a two-year deal with CSKA Moscow that did not include an NBA out clause for this season, is off limits.

First-round draft pick JaJuan Johnson is a lock to land one of those nine open slots, while second-round selection E’Twaun Moore is a strong candidate to make the roster. Johnson has been working out in his hometown of Indianapolis during the offseason, and Moore has averaged 9.5 points in six appearances for Italy’s Benetton Treviso over the past two months.

Prior to the lockout, undrafted Pitt swingman Gilbert Brown was on the team’s radar, so he has a chance to join the Purdue pair on the bench as well.

Assuming Green remains in Boston, Ainge will at the very least have to find veteran players capable of playing significant backup minutes at center, power forward and the two guard positions. Re-signing combo guard Delonte West would go a long way in cementing the latter, and we’ll be examining the free-agent options at each position throughout this week.

9. Is the annual mid-level exception still available to the Celtics? Read the rest of this entry »