Thoughts on the Gerald Green signing, plus latest Celtics depth chart and roster breakdown

Green at the 2007 dunk contest.

Things have changed since I posted a potential Celtics depth chart two days ago (refer to that if anything here seems unclear, I didn't want to repeat myself): The C's brought back old friend Gerald Green, re-signed restricted free agent Tyler Zeller and inked second-round pick Demetrius Jackson to a guaranteed contract (Ben Bentil will also get a partially guaranteed deal).

Starters
PG: Isaiah Thomas
SG: Avery Bradley
SF: Jae Crowder
PF: Amir Johnson
C: Al Horford

2nd String
PG: Terry Rozier
SG: Marcus Smart
SF: Jaylen Brown
PF: Jonas Jerebo
C: Kelly Olynyk

Spots 11-13

Gerald Green

Tyler Zeller

Jordan Mickey

Competing for 14 & 15

RJ Hunter

James Young
Demetrius Jackson

Ben Bentil

Abdel Nader (no contract yet)

John Holland (non-guaranteed deal leftover from last year)

Overseas

Guerschon Yabusele

Ante Zizic

Now that Green and Zeller are on board, there is a very good chance that either RJ Hunter or James Young won't make the team (and John Holland reportedly still could, but that would be a shocking development).  With 16.5 contracts (Bentil being the .5) and only 15 available roster spots, my guess is there's a trade of some sort on the horizon.

A few thoughts on Green:
- I can't believe he's still only 30 years old
- He's a solid, but not great, three-point shooter (36 percent from deep for his career)
- My initial reaction to the signing is that it's unnecessary; he'll likely take minutes from Jaylen Brown, Marcus Smart and Terry Rozier, which could slow the growth of all three
- On the other hand, if Brown isn't ready for prime time yet it's good to have another small forward and proven scorer on the roster behind Crowder
- Even though it's minor, the move suggests Boston is doing everything it can to win now, as apposed to developing guys for down the road
- It reminds me of the Evan Turner signing two years ago (which I didn't like at the time), and that worked out spledidly

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Blog No. 2000

The first-ever post on LucidSportsFan.com (actually LucidSportsFan.blogspot.com at the time) went live on Wednesday, March 2, 2011.  The site has come a long way since the beginning.  Earlier this year I noticed I was approaching 2000 blog entries, so I made a mental note to celebrate post No. 2000--but then I forgot.

This is actually No. 2012, but I'm going with the fireworks anyway.

When I first started writing I often published multiple posts per day, and by my calculations this is my 1,970th consecutive day of blogging.  Maybe I should've saved the 2000 hullabaloo for a month from now?  Or I could just do it again, I like seeing more than one fireworks show each summer anyways...


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Celtics roster update and potential 2016-17 depth chart

Starters

PG: Isaiah Thomas
SG: Avery Bradley
SF: Jae Crowder
PF: Amir Johnson
C: Al Horford


2nd String

PG: Terry Rozier
SG: Marcus Smart
SF: Jaylen Brown
PF: Jonas Jerebo
C: Kelly Olynyk


End of Bench

Jordan Mickey
RJ Hunter
James Young


Those 13 players all have guaranteed contracts for next year (once Brown officially signs).


Unsigned 2nd-Round Picks

Demetrius Jackson
Ben Bentil
Abdel Nader


Overseas: Ante Zizic, Guerschon Yabusele

Restricted Free Agent: Tyler Zeller


Notes

- All of this may change considering Danny Ainge keeps saying he's not done making moves (which is why none of the new draft choices have been signed yet--to keep open roster flexibility).
- I wouldn't be surprised to see Olynyk start instead of Johnson.
- The three second-round picks will eventually be signed and spend the majority of the year in the D-League, with occasional call-ups to Boston depending on injuries and roster openings.
- First-round picks Zizic (Croatia) and Yabusele (China) will play abroad next season and likely join the Celtics in 2017.
- Zeller may end up staying on his qualifying offer for one year at $3.7 million.  If he does, he'll grab the 13th active roster spot and push one of the "End of Bench" guys (my guess would be Young) into the inactive/D-League zone with the second-rounders.



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Why do banks have thermometers?

I just devoted roughly five minutes of internet research to this subject and didn't find anything even remotely close to an explanation, so clearly the answer to my question isn't obvious.  What is the connection between banks and large digital clocks/thermometers?  Who started the trend?  For what reason?  Why did it catch on?

I'm guessing it has to do with banks as a source of information, but that's only a half-baked theory and I know I'm missing something.

Also, why did it take me 30-odd years to first wonder about this?



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I just read a great take on Deflategate I'd never heard before (shocking, at this point)

The following quote is from an unbiased NBC Sports writer named Joe Posnanski in a piece entitled TOM BRADY IS INNOCENT: Unequivocally, unambiguously, thoroughly and 100-percent innocent.

I underlined the portion of it that's the great point I hadn't heard before:

"Look, the NFL charged him with breaking a rule NO ONE cared about. The NFL cared so little about air pressure in football that they let teams bring their own footballs, which were barely checked. My guess is if Brady wanted the PSI level of football lowered, he simply could have petitioned the NFL and they would have just lowered it — they just wanted to make footballs comfortable for quarterbacks to throw. 

Then, there is no proof at all that Brady ever wanted footballs deflated BELOW the league minimum. We know only that he liked footballs AT the minimum (especially because, as we know, football naturally deflate in cold weather). Even the famed “Deflator” suggested his job was to make sure footballs were not OVERINFLATED."

Posnanksi is dead on with this.  It was a rule the league paid no attention to that guys broke all the time.  If anybody thought it actually mattered, Brady or another QB probably would've gotten the NFL to change it.  And, just because Brady prefers his footballs on the low side in terms of air pressure does not mean he wanted them below the limit--regardless of whether they actually were or not.

I'd like to see someone ask Roger Goodell point-blank "Do you honestly believe Tom Brady should be suspended 25 percent of a season for that?"  Imagine if Adam Silver suspended LeBron James 20 games, roughly the NBA equivalent, for an equipment violation?  (For the record, LeBron wasn't even fined when he ripped his jersey apart during a nationally televised game.)

Also, one thing that hasn't been widely discussed is that Goodell has the option to simply back down.  He's not obligated to uphold the original and absurdly over-the-top penalty decided upon just because the courts ruled it's within his rights to.


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Bulls beat Timberwolves for Vegas summer league title on play I got called for travelling on in 5th grade

Here's a quick story I remember from my 5th-grade basketball league:

I had the ball in the game's closing seconds, with my team trailing by a bucket.  My handle wasn't that great, but I was a shooter in full-on hero mode.  I picked up my dribble at the top of the key and pivoted around on my left foot, looking for some daylight to get off my hail-mary.  With nothing open, I took one final step with my right foot, jumped in the air and heaved the ball towards the hoop.

It clanged off the side of the rim, but that didn't matter because the referee blew the whistle before the ball even left my hands.  Travelling--because that's automatically the correct call when you lift your pivot foot.

That is, unless you're Denzel Valentine draining a game-winner to take the Las Vegas summer league title:



And for anybody arguing that it's not traveling, look at the screen shot above.  His right foot is still on the ground and his left foot is clearly in the air, just like what I did in 5th grade.


RELATED: Miami Heat duplicate bonehead inbounds play I remember from 5th grade


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Awesome Old Song of the Week: "Tha Crossroads" by Bone Thugs-N-Harmony

It was just over 20 years ago, from mid-May through early July of 1996, that the Tha Crossroads spent eight weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard pop charts.  According to Wikipedia, it was the highest-debut ever for a rap single when it entered the charts at No. 2 on May 11, 1996.

Tha Crossroads was the second hit single for Bone Thugs-N-Harmony, following 1st of the Month, which peaked at No. 14.

The song begins at the 52-second mark of the video:




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