Monday, July 6, 2009

Lester Hudson More Than Mr. Irrelevant?

The Orlando Summer League is underway and it makes me long for the days of the Shaws Pro Summer League at Umass Boston where the likes of Kedrick Brown, Brandon Hunter and Donny Marshall (what a Celtics connection!) were ready to put their upside on display. The Celtics crushed their former NBA D-League partner, the Utah Jazz, 87-56 with a few bright spots.

I will admit that I did not watch the games (which are streaming live on the Orlando site), but by all accounts (Click here for David B. Thorpe's live Tweets), so far, and judging on the box score it appears the Celtics might have found yet another 2nd round steal this time in the form of Lester Hudson. The 6-3 guard might be ready to step in and replace Stephon Marbury as Rajon Rondo's backup although reports are surfacing that Danny Ainge is interested in the one and only Tyronn Lue (for the love of God why)?

I was excited to see what former lottery picks Michael Sweetney and Danny Ainge's boyfriend Robert Swift would do but neither put up decent numbers and this picture from Steve Boyle says it all. If the Celtics do land Grant Hill with the bi-annual exception at $1.9 million they would likely be unwilling to match any teams offer for Glen Big Baby Davis, which means the Celtics would be looking in-house to their youngsters or hoping to find a diamond in the rough in the form of a rehab project like a Sweetney/Swift or an aging vet, hello Tyronn Lue.

After all the hype surrounding last year's first round pick, J.R. Giddens offseason workout it seems as if Bill Walker is still ahead of him on the depth chart and Ainge continues to hint that the two of them are competing for one spot. Gabe Pruitt might finally get a chance to earn a spot in the rotation, but he showed flashes last Summer League and last pre-season before his OUI and failure to hit a shot dereailed his season. Hudson seems to be physically and mentally the most mature player on the Summer League roster and I just have a feeling that he's hungry to prove that his Division 1 quadruple-double was no fluke.

My favorite player on the roster is Chris Lofton who will find a spot eventually in the NBA and put up a solid night of shooting tonight, however, it seems unlikely for him to stick with the Celtics since Eddie House opted into his contract for this upcoming season. Former Nevada standout Nick Fazekas also might find a spot in the NBA and if the C's don't re-sign Big Baby then Fazekas could have a shot to catch on here in Boston.

Celtics take on the host Magic tomorrow afternoon.

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