COMMENTARY | Before Ray Allen and Kevin Garnett were traded to the Boston Celtics, the team was in a pretty lonely place. Boston fans can now look back and laugh at some of the players that played a significant role on the team at one point or another. This isn't to say that every team is supposed to be loaded with quality players, it's simply to say that there were a lot of pretty bad players who never did very much in Boston.
One of these players is Sebastian Telfair, who played for the Celtics during the 2006-2007 season. Expectations were high for him when he entered the NBA, but he's never really made much of an impact in the league during his nine years of service. In his one year with the Celtics, Telfair averaged a staggering 6.1 points and 2.8 assists per game on 37.1% shooting from the field. Hard to believe the team never brought him back, right?
I probably shouldn't joke about that. Because now, reportedly, the Celtics do have some interest in perhaps bringing back Sebastian Telfair.
First and foremost, this could be a sign that they aren't expecting Rajon Rondo to play early in the season. Of course, Rondo is recovering from an ACL injury, and the team should be in absolutely no hurry to rush him back. His health is a priority, and this season figures to be a pretty rough one anyway. Danny Ainge might be looking for a cheap veteran ball handler to help out at point guard until Rondo gets back. This would indirectly be a move to help out Avery Bradley, who clearly struggled to run the point in Rondo's absence last season.
Having a pure point guard behind Rondo has been an issue for a while. It has seemingly never been much of a priority for the team, as they have gone with the likes of Keyon Dooling, Eddie House, Nate Robinson, and Delonte West in recent memory. All four were serviceable players, but did not have the ability to play point for an extended period if something happened to Rondo.
The team entered last season with plans of backing up Rondo with a variety of shooting guards. This backfired when Rondo got hurt, and they struggled to find much of a rhythm in the postseason with Avery Bradley, Jordan Crawford, and Jason Terry running the offense.
If Telfair is brought back to Boston, it would appear to simply help the team a little until Rondo returns. Still, it's pretty funny to think Ainge would bring him back.
Mark lives in the Boston area and has been covering the Celtics for 3 years. He has been featured on Fox Sports Yardbarker, Fox Sports, and Sports Illustrated "Hot Clicks", and has been published on Celtics 24/7, Bleacher Report, and Sports-Kings.
