The Boston Celtics selected 24-year old shooting guard Lester Hudson with the 58th pick in the NBA Draft. Hudson played in 124 games in four years at SW Tennessee Community College and Tennessee-Martin in which he averaged 21.5 points, 7.1 rebounds, 3.6 assists and 2.4 steals per game. The Celtics really hope that Hudson can handle the gigantic bump in competition.

The Celtics will likely match any deals offered to young forwards Glen Davis and Leon Powe who are both restricted free agents. Davis really stepped up this season when Kevin Garnett when down to injury and the Celtics should reward him for his effort. He played in 76 games (16 starts) for the Celtics last season and he averaged 7.0 points, 4.0 rebounds and 0.9 assists in 21.5 minutes per game. Leon Powe was injured late last season but he also played very well off the bench for the Celtics. Powe played in 70 games (7 starts) for the Celtics last season and he averaged 17.5 minutes, 7.7 points, 4.9 rebounds and 0.7 assists per game. Reserve guard Eddie House has a player option and it will be interesting to see if he takes it or tests the market. House played in 81 games (0 starts) last season for the Celtics and he averaged 18.3 minutes, 8.5 points, 1.9 rebounds and 1.1 assists per game. House is a deadeye shooter as he nailed 44.4% of his shots from three point range. Stephon Marbury was a bust with the Celtics and they should let him walk. He played in 23 games (4 starts) for the Celtics last season and he averaged 18.0 minutes, 3.8 points, 1.2 rebounds and 3.3 assists per game. Marbury shot a lot of bricks for the Celtics last season making only 34.2% of his shots from the floor. Backup forward Mikki Moore did a solid job off the bench for the Celtics late last season. He played in 24 games (0 starts) for the Celtics last season and he averaged 19.0 minutes, 4.8 points, 4.4 rebounds and 1.0 assist per game. The Celtics would probably like Moore back again next season if he agrees to play cheap.

The defending champion Boston Celtics have no playing time available for rookies right now. J.R. Giddens has not played in a game yet and Bill Walker has only played in 2 games. Walker is averaging 2.8 minutes per game and 1.0 point per contest. I have a hard time believing that Giddens or Walker will get much playing time the entire season unless the Celtics get ransacked by injuries.

The Boston Celtics have signed G/F Darius Miles to a non-guaranteed contract. Miles last played in the 2005-06 season with the Trailblazers as he has taken a long time to recover from major knee surgery. But Miles is only 26 years old so the Celtics felt like taking a gamble on him. Miles has played in 412 games (190 starts) in his NBA career and he has averaged 27.7 minutes, 10.6 points, 5.2 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 1.1 blocked shots per game.

The Boston Celtics have signed 22-year old center Patrick O’Bryant to a 2-year contract. O’Bryant has good size at 7′0″, 250 pounds but he never quite lived up to his potential at Golden State. He also got into Don Nelson’s Dog House and never crawled out of it. O’Bryant played in 24 games (0 starts) with the Warriors last season and he averaged 4.1 minutes, 1.5 points, 1.2 rebounds and 0.2 assists per game. Maybe a change of scenery will help O’Bryant revive his NBA career. O’Bryant has now played in 40 games (0 starts) in his NBA career and he averaged 5.5 minutes, 1.7 points, 1.3 rebounds and 0.3 assists per game. It never hurts to add a 7-footer so O’Bryant was worth the gamble.