We've been hearing for... what... 8 months now for Marquis Daniels to officially sign with the Celtics and go through the obligatory meet-and-greet. Well, I'm sick of waiting. I'm doing the Marquis Daniels introductory news conference... with or with out him.
The air at the Celtics' Waltham training facility is thick with anticipation as the much awaited arrival of Marquis Daniels is finally here. About 200 members of local, national, and international media have assembled. At 11am sharp, everyone walks in: Danny Ainge, Doc Rivers, Marquis Daniels, and the Big Three of Pierce, Garnett and Allen.
Danny Ainge: Ladies and Gentlemen, I'm happy to introduce today, the man you've all been waiting for... literally. So without further ado, let's introduce Marquis Daniels... and open the floor to questions. Yes, you.
Reporter: Hi, John Karalis... RedsArmy.com. Marquis, what's already different for you now that you're here in Boston as opposed to playing in other cities?
Daniels: Well, obviously, the history. I'm so proud to be part of this amazing franchise and to hopefully help raise another banner to the rafters. I'm also very proud to be part of an organization so progressive that it allows a blogger to attend something like this and have the first question.
Ainge: Thanks.. let me just say... we value sites like yours as much... maybe more so... than the mainstream media outlets. You truly have your hands on the pulse of Celtics fans.
Reporter: Chuck McKenney... also of Red's Army... Doc... Marquis seems to be brimming with confidence. How do you think he'll fit in here?
Doc: I'd also first like to echo how awesome you guys are. Ummm... Marquis is a pretty confident guy. I mean... who else would walk into Boston and wear a purple suit?
(Marquis laughs and shows off his suit)
Doc: Seriously... you need to be confident in yourself just to handle yourself around all these personalities. We got a lot of confident guys in that locker room... you gotta be able to hold your own.
Daniels: Hey, I know I can get the job done... but I know my role. I'm just focused on winning a ring.
Garnett: You'd better be... or I'll bite your face off.
(Everyone laughs)
Pierce: You know... he ain't kidding. Why do you think we haven't seen Mikki Moore since the season ended?
(Doc laughs)
Doc: Oh yeah.... wow... you really messed him up. It took two weeks to clean up all the blood.
Daniels: Uhhhh....
Garnett: Just win a ring... and we're cool. (laughs maniacally)
And so it continued for an hour. Afterwards, the newspaper writers crowded around John and Chuck, handed over resumes, and said things like "Please rescue us from this dying medium."
I'm pretty sure that's exactly how it will go. For those of you wondering how a trade for Big Baby will go, check out CelticsBlog's breakdown of why Big Baby is difficult to trade because he's a base year compensation guy. Also out there, the Hornets signed Ike Diogu. Detroit News is praising an unorthodox Rasheed Wallace. Dee Brown is coaching Springfield's D-League team.
