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The Celtics are hoping to fill their need for a big man by winning the Mikki Moore sweepstakes.

Moore's agent, Mark Bartelstein, confirmed the team has offered the center a contract, and said several other teams have done the same thing, although he wouldn't divulge their names.

Moore is expected to make his decision today after clearing waivers and becoming an unrestricted free agent. "A lot of teams are very excited about him, so it's a tough decision for Mikki," said Bartelstein.

If Moore opts to go elsewhere, the Celtics would be interested in Oklahoma City center/forward Joe Smith if he is bought out of his contract. Smith is the more talented player, but there is a question whether he will be bought out or whether he even wants to be.

Link: http://www.boston.com/sports/basketball ... _intrigue/

I don`t know if this is true or not, we all know how agents like to make things up...It will be interesting to see who we can get, I would like both Moore and Smith. But if we did offer Moore a contract then I don`t like our chances in Joe Smith sweepstakes...

According to this article we are not waiting to see if Smith gets cut. Moore may be a Celtic in a matter of hours.

Moore is big and has the length Doc is always missing from last year's signing of PJ Brown. We can always sign Smith too, can't we?

Good move IMO

there is uncertainty around Smith, and if Ainge and co have their heart set on him then they can try for him aswell...

Thing that strikes me about the article is that he confirmed that the celtics had offered, but wouldnt divulge the other teams, which to me is a good sign.

I hope we get him, better off dealing with the problem of trying to fit in too many players as opposed to fighting for scraps if we miss out

"Some league executive believe Moore is headed to the Boston Celtics as part of an arrangement tied to the Celtics sending the Kings Sam Cassell and cash in a trade last week."

http://www.cleveland.com/cavs/index.ssf ... ers_a.html


This would make sense after the 2 trades with the Kings last week... Let's bring Moore

Were a few people on here.. and myself that definately thought the timing of Moore's release, after the 2 trades pointed towards a possible, somewhat pre-arranged move to the celtics

though i guess its wait and see now

I'm happy to have him on board, however I caution people to lower their expectations.

He'll play limited minutes so we shouldn't expect him to make us significantly better. He's a decent upgrade, but that's it.

I am happy if it is true though.

We're all expecting Joe Smith and Marbury but it looks more likely to be Moore and B.Russell.

Who knows ... maybe we can get Marbury as well.

I think it's a solid move if the team can bring in Moore. He's got good height and is a great hustle guy. While he's not a great player, I think the defense around him will help him as well. Seems like a guy that knows his role on a team.

The Celtics can't wait for Joe Smith to be bought out. If the team misses both of the guys it could really be bad.

I'm kinda iffy on this move. Of course signing Moore is better then going after a guy like Booth or noone at all. But is Moore really an upgrade over Powe/Baby/Scal? Sure Moore is a 7 footer, but he is a bad low post defender which is what we need to play next to KG. Also he doesn't really block that many shots...Leon blocks more shots and Baby almost blocks as many. I really wanted to get Smith, but Moore will help us out if we end up getting him. Hopefully if we sign Moore, then Smith doesn't end up getting bought out and joining Cleveland.

I agree the Celtics cannot wait on Smith and take a chance on not having a big back up. Hopefully we can also get Shim and Marbury. Moore would be an upgrade over POB for this year.

Well, to this point, the highlight of Mikki's career came in his playoff series against Cleveland. Their pathetic interior defense made him look like a star and earned him a lot of money in free agency. Maybe he can have a repeat performance against them this year.

Hmmm....I like it and I dont like it

Smith would be a better pick, but will he get bought out?

It is true we could go for both of them..then if Marbuty reaches agreement with NY sign him and cut Pruit.

They cannot risk waiting for Smith, so it is necessary.

Eh. Mikki Moore isn't comparable to PJ Brown. This is not a similar pick-up to last years signing of PJ Brown. Joe Smith IMO would be an upgrade over the signing of PJ, but Mikki is simply a safeguard signing to add length and depth.
I'm indifferent about this move if we indeed sign him.

I'm mean it's a good move it jsut doesnt put us over the top. He isn't a big guy who can bang, I know that for sure. Can he shoot? All I know about him is when he played for NJ.

Let LA or Cleveland have him before Joe Smith gets bought out. He is really a NBDL material. Jason Kidd got him a big contract. The case is closed.

The one thing Mikki DOES have is length. He's very long. O and he sorta looks like Spanish from the movie Old School.

If we blew out Sacramento with Moore by 50, I am sure LA would do same. Itworries me.

We tend to forget how we've been in the running for people like McDyess, Lue, Corey Magette and Posey only to come up short for various reasons. I would sign Moore as soon as possible' knowing that Cleveland and others are looking for a big man. Like most people I would rather have Smith over Moore but I'd rather have either of them than anyone else out there.
Don't forget the Cavs are dealing with a little bit of a PR problem by not trading Sczcerbiak's expiring contract, Smith is already familiar with the Cavs system, and the Cavs can throw more money at him if they need to. If they want Smith, even just to keep him away from the Celtics they have more than enough motivation and assets to get it done. It would have been nice if Smith's release had come earlier than Moore's, but it didn't and the Celtics risk coming up empty.
I would not be surprised if this Moore deal was prearranged. They likely have a handshake deal where the Kings agreed to pay Moore a high amount of the money he still had coming to sign for the Celtics. We'll see later today

TheSheriff wrote:They cannot risk waiting for Smith, so it is necessary.

agreed....the worst thing would be to put all your eggs in one basket for Smith and then wind up with no one...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8zJe90AnI4I

So much about Moore guarding Bynum