Celtics waive Esteban Batista

[Global Celtic]

Surprisingly, Esteban Batista was the first player to be waived among the group that also include Wallace, Jones and Manuel. I simply don't get it... The guy was doing good and, although he's not a star, he still would be a valid back up for Perk. Pollard is already injured, Powe is good but undersized and Davis is still a question mark at the center. We definitely needed Batista more than the other three guys (i really thought Manuel and Wallace would end up cut).

[cfoo]

To be honest I'm not surprised. He kind of sucked. I think out of the bunch, Jones and Wallace are the 2 best players. I havent seen anything from manual. Batista and Manuel showed me nothing. Manuel didnt get any time though so who knwos about him Batista got time and really was useless. Jones didnt show a whole lot either but I think he's a tough guard who can play. WAllace is a decent player and will be a player in ths league i think. I would probably keep Jones and wallace and send Wallace and possibly pruitt or big baby to the d-league.

[kofanis0880]

I wish we had Batista and would cut Pollard or if necessary scal.

[eja117]

I would definitely send Pruitt to the Dleague for at least a few months and let Tony Allen play 3rd string point or maybe Ray Allen. You need to walk before you can jog and then run. They gotta get Pruitt at least jogging in the dleage before he can walk in the league. He's just too raw and young.

[rockinrondo]

I really am not surprised they cut Batista. The guy could'nt get on the court last year for the hawks, or was it the last two years, and he really has show nothing in the first two games. I said a few weeks ago, putting up good numbers against the Virgin Islands and some of those awful teams in the FIBA, does not translate into playing time in the NBA. I will trust Danny and Doc on this one.

I watched Wallace play for 4 years in college, and the guy extremely athletic, with a good handle and a nice touch out to 15 ft. for a 6'9 rookie who played the 5 in college, but really is a 3. The kid can jump out of the building, and he is a hard worker. IMO, this kid will be a player in the NBA, it might be two or three years down the road, or maybe only 1 or two. Doc and Danny must have seen more in him than Batista, or Batista would still be on the team.

[DERRENMATTS]

Rockin, feel me in about Brandon Wallace. I really don't know much about him, and have only seen him in limited amounts of summer league exposures. From the little I saw, he seemed to be a guy who doesn't quite fill in at three (limited ball handling ability, not a perimeter scorer) but too small to be a 4.

[cfoo]

eja117 said:

I would definitely send Pruitt to the Dleague for at least a few months and let Tony Allen play 3rd string point or maybe Ray Allen. You need to walk before you can jog and then run. They gotta get Pruitt at least jogging in the dleage before he can walk in the league. He's just too raw and young.

I agree EJA. I think pruitt needs the d-league the most. We might get him time here though. But yeah he seems like a perfect fit for the d-league.

[DERRENMATTS]

He certainly does--especially if they want him to play PG.

[Roadrunner]

I wasn't surprised. I am thinking Danny is keeping the last bench players based on potential.

[rockinrondo]

derrenmatts said:

Rockin, feel me in about Brandon Wallace. I really don't know much about him, and have only seen him in limited amounts of summer league exposures. From the little I saw, he seemed to be a guy who doesn't quite fill in at three (limited ball handling ability, not a perimeter scorer) but too small to be a 4.

I will do my best. I grew up in KY and have loved the Wildcats ever since I can remember, it is mandatory in KY. I became a huge SEC fan over the years, so I try to keep up with every team. Brandon Wallace came to S. Carolina in 2004 and showed very quickly that he could guard just about any position on the court, he was rail thin, but quick as a cat and extremely athletic for a kid 6'9. The kid also played as hard as anyone on the court. He tried to block every shot, and played great help (TEAM) D, but the Gamecocks were a very small team, so by the end of his freshman season, he was playing the center position,(at, like 175 pounds) and I think he set the S.C. record for blocks by a freshman. Wallace was also very good at playing the passing lanes, and averaged over a steal a game. His shooting was not any thing to write home about, but he would step out and hit a three every now and then, and played above the rim on both sides of the floor. His callin card was his tough man to man D though.

The next couple years Brandon became known as one of the best defensive stoppers, not only in the SEC, but in the nation. He could guard any one. His offence improved every year, along with his ball handling skills to the point that Wallace, at 6'9 would help break the full court press, that most teams in the SEC are so well known for. He became very reliable shooter out to 15 feet, and started hitting more threes. Wallace was also an above average passer, with great court vision. His coaches and other coaches in the SEC always raved about his work ethic, and it showed in the games, he just out worked guys on the court for every rebound and loose ball, diving on the floor and into the stands, became the norm for him.

I really enjoyed watching him play, (when he played any one but my Cat's) I love a kid who gives 110% every game, and Wallace did.
Wallace averaged 9.9 pts. 9.4 reb. 2.3 ast. 1.3 stl. 2.9 blk. in 36.5 min. a game in his final year at South Carolina. That is stuffing the stat sheet. He also became South Carolina's all time leading shoot blocker, and he is in the top 10 all time in SEC history. He also played in a school record 135 games.

I am not saying Wallace will be a great all around player in the NBA, but IMO, he will be a very solid player because of his hard work, basketball IQ, and athletic ability. I think he will become a great defensive stopper, off the bench in the next couple years.

[rockinrondo]

roadrunner said:

I wasn't surprised. I am thinking Danny is keeping the last bench players based on potential.

I agree, and that is not a bad idea. The Celtic's need to be thinking about the future right now, not when Pierce, KG and R. Allen are on their last leg.

[DERRENMATTS]

It just confuses me cause from what you are saying about Wallace, he's a SF--both in body type and game. But yet he was passed over by every team in the draft because they could not see him as a SF, but as an undersized PF/C.

I look at Shawn Marion the same way. At one point, he played PF for the Suns, but anyone in their right mind wouldn't assume he's a PF and pass him over.

Were scouts pursuaded to think that he was a PF because of his game? I mean, if he outside skills, quickness, dribbling ability, passing ability, court vision, etc., wouldn't they assume that he's really a 3 playing out of position?

Sorry, not at all questioning your assessment, Rockin. I appreciate for giving me your insight. I'm just trying to sort this in my own head. I mean, even Doc wasn't led to think Wallace was a 3 originally. It wasn't till sometime after Wallace was in our practices that Doc "experimented" with Wallace at the 3.

[rockinrondo]

I think your taking it a bit to serious, it's just my opinion that Wallace will play SF. I enjoy discussing my opinion with people who share the same intersts as I do. I will be the first to tell you, that I am not sure what position he will end up playing in the NBA, "if he makes it", and neither does Doc and Danny, as you pointed out ( Doc experimented w/ Wallace at the three). Wallace is harder than say Marion to decide what position he will play in the NBA because he played center in College, ( OBVIOUSLY, he will not play center in the league, so what does that leave, PF, not at 200 pounds, so IMO, that leaves SF as his probable position) and Marion played forward (small & power), in his ONE year of Division 1 basketball at UNLV . Who knows why all teams passed on him ( the 07 draft was deep) , but he would not be the first to prove all teams wrong, either. He has the potential and he has a lot of the tools to succeed in the NBA. I really don't think in terms of what position he'll play, but rather does he have the ability, and is he willing to do all the hard work to succeed on the next level, and from what I have seen, after watching him all the way through his college career, IMO he does. There is and have been a lot of players like Wallace, who really don't have a defined position, some of them make it and some don't. Wallace, more than a position player, he is a basketball player, early in his NBA career, i think he can be a solid defensive player against SF and some PF, maybe even a defensive stopper. He may never be a great offensive player, or even a starter, but that does not mean he can't help a team win . I think every team needs guys off the bench, who like to play D, ( no matter what position they play) and I will guarantee you that Wallace does like to play D. Just look at his defensive stats from S.C.
DERREN, i think, you know as well as I do, a player can have all the talent and athletic ability in the world, and still not make it in the NBA, if they don't have the Heart, Grit, determination, and intelligence, and those are the hardest things to judge (in a player) even for coaches and GM's when they are drafting a player. It's a roll of the dice. Wallace may make it, then again he may not, who knows.

I think G. Davis (who IMO, will be the surprise of the 07 draft) is in a similar situation, he really does not have a defined position, but he had a great college career at LSU, and like Wallace IMO, is just a basketball player. Davis is more of a scorer than Wallace, but not near the defensive player Wallace was in college and they both played in the SEC against each other for the last 3 years.

When you really get down to it, a lot of players have to change positions when they get to the NBA. Centers in college usually become a PF, PF's usually become a SF, a lot of SF's become 2 guards and a lot of point guards become 2 guards. My point is positions are over rated IMO. Give me basketball players.

[birdie]

if PJ Brown retire like he said early, why not Anderson Varejao, when Perk sit KG will play
center and Varejao will be a PF, I think he will be a good back up

[freshnthehouse]

birdie said:

if PJ Brown retire like he said early, why not Anderson Varejao, when Perk sit KG will play
center and Varejao will be a PF, I think he will be a good back up

I think Varejao is looking for big money.