The Boston Celtics took 22-year old, 6’4″, 191 pound shooting guard E’Twaun Moore in the 2nd round of the 2011 NBA Draft (#55 overall).  Moore played in 34 games at Purdue last year and he averaged 33.9 minutes, 18.0 points, 5.1 rebounds, 3.2 assists and 1.7 steals per game.  Moore played in 140 games in his four years in college and he averaged 32.3 minutes, 15.3 points, 4.4 rebounds, 2.9 assists and 1.2 steals per game.  This was another solid pick for the Celtics who will likely give him quite a few minutes behind Ray Allen in 2011-12.

The Celtics initially picked SG Marshon Brooks with the 25th overall pick.  They then dealt him to the Nets for the 27th overall pick (JaJuan Johnson) and a 2nd round pick in 2014.  22-year old 6’10″, 221 pound power forward JaJuan Johnson came to the Celtics with the 27th overall pick.  Johnson played in 34 games at Purdue last year and he averaged 35.4 minutes, 20.5 points, 8.6 rebounds, 1.0 assist and 2.3 blocked shots per game.  Johnson played in 140 games in his four years in college and he averaged 27.5 minutes, 13.7 points, 6.1 rebounds, 0.7 assists and 1.9 blocked shots per game.  Johnson will likely get right on the floor and give the Celtics good minutes off the bench starting in 2011-12.  He could develop into a starter down the road for the Celtics.

The Boston Celtics have the #25 and #55 picks in the 2011 NBA Draft this Thursday Night.  The Celtics really need a center so they will consider taking Jordan Williams out of Maryland at #25.  SFs Marcus Morris and Tyler Honeycutt are also likely on the Celtics’ radar.  PF Trey Tompkins is also a possibility as the Celtics need to start watching the minutes of Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce and Jermaine O’Neal in 2011-12.  The Celtics might also take a big man with the #55 pick in the NBA Draft.

It will be interesting to see how the Celtics handle their own free agents this off-season.  I think they will match any deal offered to SF/PF Jeff Green as they didn’t give up Kendrick Perkins in a deal for him to let him leave.  The biggest decision to come will be with Glen “Big Baby” Davis.  I think the Celtics are starting to grow tired of his act.  His lack of conditioning along with some off the court problems might be enough to let him walk away in the Celtics’ minds.  I think the Celtics will try to bring back guard Delonte West and SG Von Wafer as long as the price doesn’t get out of line.  Carlos Arroyo (PG), Sasha Pavlovic (SG) and Troy Murphy (PF) will all be looking for new jobs in 2011-12 with other teams.

27-year old center Nenad Krstic has signed a 2-year, $8.7 million dollar deal with CSKA Moscow of the Russian League.  He played in 24 games (20 starts) for the Celtics last year and he averaged 23.0 minutes, 9.1 points, 5.3 rebounds and 0.3 assists per game.  Krstic played in 71 games (67 starts) overall last season for the Thunder & Celtics and he averaged 22.1 minutes, 8.1 points, 4.7 rebounds and 0.4 assists per game.  Krstic has played in 419 games (373 starts) in his seven years in the NBA and he is averaging 25.2 minutes, 10.0 points, 5.4 rebounds and 0.8 assists per game.  With Krstic bolting to Russia and Shaquille O’Neal retiring, the Celtics suddenly look pretty thin at center heading into the off-season.

35-year old shooting guard Ray Allen has exercised his player option for the 2011-12 season valued at $10 million bucks.  Allen played in 80 games (all starts) for the Celtics last year and he averaged 36.1 minutes, 16.5 points, 3.4 rebounds, 2.7 assists and 1.0 steal per game.  Allen also shot a remarkable 44.4% from behind the three point line last year for the Celtics!  Allen has now played in 312 games (all starts) in his first four years with the Celtics and he has averaged 35.9 minutes, 17.1 points, 3.4 rebounds and 2.8 assists per game.  Allen is showing no signs of slowing down, so the Celtics are likely very happy that he’s coming back for another year.

39-year old Shaquille O’Neal has decided to retire from the NBA.  O’Neal played in 37 games (36 starts) for the Celtics last year and he averaged 20.3 minutes, 9.2 points, 4.8 rebounds, 0.7 assists and 1.1 blocked shots per game.  He couldn’t stay healthy anymore and that was likely the reason he finally decided to hang up his sneakers.  O’Neal finished his NBA career having played in 1,207 games (1,197 starts) in which he averaged 34.7 minutes, 23.7 points, 10.9 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 2.3 blocked shots per game.  The Celtics need to start getting younger so they probably weren’t going to bring Shaq back anyways.