Celtics position themselves for the stretch run

Just before the trade deadline on 1st March, the Celtics have signed free agent Mikki Moore to shore up their front line rotation. Dude's 7 foot tall and they've been looking for somebody that tall to slot into the P.J. Brown role that proved so crucial in their winning the NBA title last year.

Now, Mikki Moore's nowehere near as talented or experienced as P.J. Brown, but other than Joe Smith, there is no other free agent big out there more valuable than him right now. Since Joe Smith had not yet reached a buyout agreement with his club, the Celtics decided that they couldn't wait any longer and grabbed Moore from a clutch of other contending teams.

However, the more interesting name that keeps popping up with the Celtics is Stephon Marbury.

Stephon Marbury - Boston bound ?

A two time All-Star described by J.A. Adande as having a "reputation for being a destructive force on teams, considered so toxic by the Knicks that they paid him most of his $22 million salary just to stay away from the team". Yes, it looks like Danny Ainge is prepared to roll the dice with a player generally acknowledged as the worst locker room influence in the NBA. A player whose last team pretty much said : "Here's your money. Go play far, far away". That's $22 million a year, which is pretty much the maximum that Marbury can be paid under salary cap rules in the NBA.

Danny Ainge - will lightning strike twice ?

I guess that's why Ainge gets paid the big bucks to make the big decisions. He's been right more often than he's been wrong, and he's built a championship winning team so who am I to argue with him ? Besides, with 30 teams in the NBA and only 1 winner a year, it's almost a prerequisite that one must take risks to have a chance to end up on top of the pile. And since the Celtics will be paying Marbury only a few hundred thousand till the end of the season, and can cut him from the squad anytime they want to, downside risks is minimal.

Which brings us to the sociological part of the equation. Will the infamous locker room killer aka Marbury prevail, or will the Celtics renowned team spirit overcome the negativity ? Only time will tell, but if it works, the Celtics would have gotten themselves a very talented player on the cheap to help them in their quest to retain the NBA title.