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Danny joins Doc in defending KG in Villanueva flap

Danny Ainge joined the Big Show on WEEI this afternoon and set his feet firmly on Kevin Garnett's side in the whole cancer controversy. Although his opponent seems as much to be Twitter as it is Charlie Villanueva:

"Well, there's one thing I know for sure, and that's KG would not offend cancer patients," said Ainge. "That makes no sense, and it makes no sense on a lot of fronts. Not only is he experiencing it in his own family, but that's not something -- in 30 years [in the NBA] -- I've ever heard someone say, in trash talking ... for a player to say to another player 'You have cancer' or 'You are cancer'?"

Fairly definitive. But you can tell this fires up Danny:

"And the other point I'd like to make, before we move on to real basketball, is tweeting is not about an opportunity, tweeting is about self-promotion in most cases. He's [Villanueva] not trying to be a public servant by telling people about it, as a matter of fact he's the one who brings light to this attention, and if anyone is offended it's Charlie Villanueva who has brought that to attention, not KG. Second of all, Charlie would never tweet 'KG said to me I am a cancer' because that's embarrassing to Charlie. So he's tries to discredit KG and tries to bring sympathy to himself. There's self-promotion in tweeting  -- all the time. You are talking about a guy who tweets in the middle of a game. Talk about self-promotion. I just think this is just … we know who KG is. Talk about what you like or don't like about KG this is ludicrous."

Totally. Twitter is lame. (Immediately deletes 2,000+ tweets.)

The interesting part of this comment, though, is how Danny chooses to end it. "We know who KG is." Well, yes. We know him to be a nearly insane person on the court. We know that generally speaking the only words he uses on the court start with an M, F, or N, and usually in some combination. So I don't think the "We know who KG is" defense is particularly strong.

The rest of it, though, is plausible.

Doc was also interviewed today, and backed up the comments he made after it happened. He also, like Danny, deflected the criticism toward the communication of the incident, rather than the incident itself.

KG says he didn't call Charlie V. a cancer patient

Here's Garnett's comment (courtesy of Ken Berger):

“I am aware there was a major miscommunication regarding something I said on the court last night," Garnett said in a statement from his representatives released by the Celtics.

"My comment to Charlie Villanueva was in fact, ‘You are cancerous to your team and our league.’

I would never be insensitive to the brave struggle that cancer patients endure. I have lost loved ones to this deadly disease and have a family member currently undergoing treatment.

I would never say anything that distasteful. The game of life is far bigger than the game of basketball.”

There you have it. A flat out denial.

Guess I should apologize to KG for assuming that Charlie's claim was truthful (But I sure wasn't alone).

KG could have nipped this in the bud by issuing this statement 6 hours ago.

Double Technical that Caused the Trash Talk?

With just under three minutes to play in the Celtics/Pistons game, Kevin Garnett and Charlie Villanueva get double-technicals.  This is the only time during the game when the talking between these two got a little spicy.  Was this the sequence that prompted CV to tell the world that KG called him a "cancer patient?"

It's difficult to tell what the two are saying to each other here for certain.  If KG did say that then it was going over the line but at the same time it's kind of surprising that CV would go to his Twitter account to let the world know.  It's a widely-know dirty little secret that NBA players say things that are just as bad, if not a LOT worse and more offensive on a nightly basis.  It doesn't make it right, but it would be madness if every player tweeted a play-by-play account of what was said to each other over a course of a game.

Watch the video below and judge for yourself.  (Special thanks to ESPNBoston's Chris Forsberg for pointing out the double-techs):

   

Charlie Villanueva: "Get me in a ring with KG, I will expose him"

In the aftermath of the Celtics 109-86 win at Detroit, Pistons forward Charlie Villanueva had some pretty hardcore things to say about Kevin Garnett.  KG's status as trash talking, expletive spouting madman on the court is well documented but I don't think anyone has ever accused him of what Villanueva did last night on his Twitter page.

Here are the tweets:

"KG talks alot of crap, he's prob never been in a fight, I would love to get in a ring with him, I will expose him"

"KG called me a cancer patient, I'm pissed because, u know how many people died from cancer, and he's tossing it like it's a joke,"

"I wouldn't even trip about that, but a cancer patient, I know way 2 many people who passed away from it, and I have a special place 4 those"

That's some pretty serious stuff and if it's true, KG clearly has gone over the line here.  Now I'm all for some trash talking on the court, but calling him a cancer patient is going too far.  Villanueva suffers from a rare disease called alopecia, an autoimmune disease that results in hair loss and baldness.  Take it for what it's worth, but a screen shot of his tweets are posted below.

 

Special thanks to our boy @Andreas24x7 who also noticed the madness.

 

Villanueva, Bosh race to 50K on Twitter

I'll admit it... I'm getting to be a bit of a twitter addict.  I know some of you are too *cough* *cough* KWAPT *cough*.

So I'm thoroughly enjoying Chris Bosh and Charlie Villanueva racing to 50,000 followers.  Here's Charlie to explain things:

How awesome would it be to see Chris Bosh doing that?  Imagine... Bosh doing the "Single Ladies" dance on You Tube... but LeBron not wanting us to see him getting dunked on.  I think Bosh wins... because some self-deprecating humor is endearing.  Hey 'Bron 'Bron... take some notes here before you completely tarnish your star.  Maybe Nike should too... before their meal ticket loses his appeal.

Here's the genius of what these guys are doing.  They're marketing themselves as real human beings.  It's a great insight into the personal lives of these NBA players.  It's access like we've never had as fans... and they can still control their message.  They can interact... and on their own terms.

So if you want to be part of the race, you can follow Charlie Villanueva on Twitter here(44,821 followers at this writing)... and Chris Bosh here (44,718 followers).

You can follow me here... I've got 766 followers... so I'm not winning any races. Chuck basically just got started on Twitter... you can follow him here.

C's pursuing 'Sheed, Anthony Parker

So says Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports.

Sources say Boston Celtics GM Danny Ainge and assistant director of basketball operations Leo Papile showed up on Rasheed Wallace’s doorstep just after midnight Wednesday to make their recruiting push.

“I know he is definitely considering playing for them,” one league source said.

The Celtics also have expressed interest in Toronto Raptors guard Anthony Parker..

They must really want Sheed.  I think Parker would work too.  That same link mentions Marcin Gortat is telling teams he already has a full mid-level offer... which would mean some GM is doing what everyone thought he would do: overpay a big man.  There's also some chatter about Charlie Villanueva and Ben Gordon meeting with Detroit.   

Celtics playing the pick 3

The Celtics essentially have 3 open roster spots to play with this summer.  They've got $5.6 million in mid-level money to play with... assuming they spend the whole thing.  So let's start looking at ways to get 3 guys in here who can fill the voids we have.  I'm trying to use realistic salary expectations.

Stephon Marbury: $2.5 milion
Matt Barnes: $1.5 million
Ike Diogu: $1 million

This scenario keeps Marbury in town to back up Rondo, gives us a back up for Pierce, and gives us a serviceable power forward.  Barnes would be able to score a little... and if both are running with Steph... maybe he'll opening things up for both to perform slightly above their averages.

Charlie Villanueva: $4 million
Royal Ivey: 884,881 (minimum)
James Singleton: 884,881 (minimum)

This is called "desperately trying to get 3 guys while signing Villanueva".  It is admittedly trying to stretch things.  But Ivey could be a decent back up option at the point and Singleton could at least spell Pierce for a few minutes a game.  They'd definitely have to pony up some dough and sign Big Baby in this scenario.

Marcin Gortat: $3 million
Stephon Marbury: 2 million
Leo Lyons (undrafted rookie/Missouri): 457,588 (rookie minimum)

I'm afraid someone is going to overpay Gortat... but I think $3 mil. is a fair price to pay for what he brings to the table.  I'm hoping Steph will stick around for something between $2 or $2.5 million.  In this scenario, we take a flyer on Leo Lyons out of Missouri and hope he can be one of those undrafted rookies that surprises people.

Those are just a few scenarios that I think are possible as the Celtics try to fill their stated needs (back up 3, back up big, back up point).  Go ahead and have some fun with this in the comments and present what you think some good combinations would be.

Charlie Villanueva will be available

The Milwaukee Bucks are not going to make a qualifying offer to Charlie Villanueva.  That means that a 6-11 guy who averaged 16 points and almost 7 boards will be available. 

I think it's a no brainer to pursue him... and hopefully we can afford him.  But I think this is one of those deals where we can make a concerted effort to show him he's wanted.

So I want everyone to go on Twitter... and send a message to him that we want him in Boston.  He's @CV31.  Let's make this happen.

This Is A New One

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="462" caption="Photo by Gary Dineen/NBAE via Getty Images"][/caption]

Charlie Villanueva is apparently a Twitter addict.  So much so, that it seems he snuck back into the locker room before the half ended yesterday to update everyone.

In da locker room, snuck to post my twitt. We're playing the Celtics, tie ball game at da half. Coach wants more toughness. I gotta step up.10:17 AM Mar 15th from TwitterBerry

I gotta admit... this is a new one for me.  Are we at a point where coaches have to ban cell phones once a player is in the locker room?+

(Via Fanhouse)