Celtics Sign C Jason Collins (merged threads)

[ImShakHeIsShaq]

I think Darko and Blatche will each get at least $3 mil.  Neither seems to be the "unselfish" type that just wants to play for a winner.

Darko will earn 5.2M this year regardless.

Lets say he signs with contender for 1M, that means Minnesota will pay 4.2M and his new team 1M. He can't earn more than 5.2M so only thing he cares is to find the best situation for him.

Same thing with Blatche.

Nope what their old teams owe them will be paid no matter what... anything else they take is BONUS (if you say Darko gets 5.2 then it's 5.2+BAE or w/e)

[birdwatcher]

This is a solid signing. It may not be sexy to most, but he gives us an imposing body in the paint who can move guys like Howard and Bynum and is very physical. And he can defend the pick and roll unlike Steamer, which was his biggest flaw on defense last season.

[sofutomygaha]

This is a vet min deal, so awesome. Collins can do 1 thing very well- that makes him easily worth a vet min deal.

Here's a sneaky fun thought- on the practice court Collins will become Jared Sullinger's sparring partner =) You've got to love that.

[European NBA fan]

After sleeping on it, I feel better about this signing. I see it as "insurance" against Howard and Bynum in the playoffs, and also a boost for KG, who doesn't like to wrestle with guys who are 50 lbs heavier than himself.

[cman88]

just a big body to play defense and body up guys like howard etc.

I thought he played decent against us in the playoffs

[jarufu]

Solid signing. Good team guy. Knows his role.

If he's getting significant minutes then we're either playing The Bobcats or there's four other bigs injured . .

[Jon]

Again, I don't understand what's not to like here.  He is a very good defensive center (88th percentile in defensive points per possession), has a tn of playoff experience, and was a rotational player on the Hawks last year. 


For a guy who projects to be our 3rd string center--and potentially not be active some games--this is a very solid move. 

[raynman]

Thus ends the DARKO Era.. Tsk! tsk!  

[letsgoblue86]

I would have preferred Robin Lopez.

[Prof. Clutch]

I think this is a good thing.  We needed some size for those particular match-ups against BIG teams.  Collins does one thing really well; defense.  I think he'll give us a Perk like defender for the big Centers who play the post out there (Bynum/Dwight/Hibbert/Bogut/M. Gasol)

I for one am tired of seeing the Celtics bigs get destroyed by the size of the Pau/Bynum tandem of L.A.

[Roy H.]

I would have preferred Chris Andersen.

Rebounding:

Birdman:  11.9% Offensive Rebound Rate; 23.3% Defensive Rebound Rate; 17.8% Total Rebound Rate
Collins: 4.6% Offensive Rebound Rate; 13.6% Defensive Rebound Rate; 9.1% Total Rebound Rate

Compared to last year's Celtics team, Andersen would have been our best rebounder by a fairly large margin (KG's TRB% was 16.8%).  Andersen would have been our best offensive rebounder, as well, and would have been second only to KG in defensive boards.  Compared to Collins, Andersen is literally twice the rebounder that he is.  Collins' rebound percentage would have been 9th on the Celtics, virtually tied with Paul Pierce.  

In other words, Andersen is an excellent rebounder, and Collins is very, very bad.

Offense:

Birdman:  12.4 points per 36 minutes; 0.4 assists per 36 minutes; 1.3 turnovers per 36 minutes; 54.6% FG%; 61.0% FT%; Offensive Rating:  119 (!!)
Collins:  4.6 points per 36 minutes; 1.2 assists per 36 minutes; 1.2 turnovers per 36 minutes; 40.0% FG%; 46.7% FT%; Offensive Rating:  87 (!!)

There's no comparison on this end of the floor.  Andersen is a much better scorer, and a much more efficient scorer.  Collins does average more assists, but his turnover rate (rather than raw turnovers) is much worse:  17.7% vs. 10.6%.

Defense:

Birdman:  3.4 blocks per 36 minutes; 1.4 steals per 36 minutes; Defensive Rating: 99
Collins:  0.4 blocks per 36 minutes; 0.5 steals per 36 minutes; Defensive Rating: 104

Birdman:  0.74 points allowed per possession (40th overall); 0.79 points allowed per possession allowed on post-ups (103rd overall)
Collins:  0.78 points allowed per possession (75th overall); 0.84 points allowed per possession allowed on post-ups (143rd overall)

Statistically, Birdman's defense was better than Collins.

Intangibles:

Andersen is known to be a great teammate.  He's a high-energy player and a crowd favorite.  On the negative side, he's been injured for parts of the last two seasons, and he was the subject of a criminal investigation involving photographs of an underage girl (while his lawyer says he was the victim of an extortion attempt by that girl -- who claimed she was 21 -- and her mother.)  Andersen also has a history of hardcore drug use, but seems to have kicked the habit.

Collins is also known as a great teammate, and he willingly fills his role.  He's more likely to rack up DNP-CDs than he is to miss games due to injuries.

Overall:

It's hard to argue that Collins is in the same class as Andersen as a player.  Collins is healthier and has fewer question marks, but he's also an inferior player.

[Roy H.]

I would have preferred Robin Lopez.

He's a restricted free agent who will be well outside of our price range.

[the_Bird]

Anderson's the better player, but it's a much bigger risk to take for someone that probably is going to be out of the regular rotation.  Collins also *may* have somewhat of an advantage against the few remaining "bulky" centers, guys like Dwight and Bynum and maybe Hibbert.  There's also the chance that Anderson is holding out for at least the BAE.  Mostly, though, I think they wanted to fill out the bottom end of the roster with low-drama players, guys who can play a specific role (perhaps against specific players) and not grab a lot of unnecessary attention.

[MJohnnyboy]

We only acquired Jason Collins for one reason: Interior defense. That is something Chris Andersen, Andray Blatche, Darko Milicic, and Greg Stiemsma do not provide as well as he does. None of those guys can really stop Dwight Howard or Andrew Bynum. Outside of Blatche, those other three guys definitely bring shot-blocking, but against the bigger centers in the league like Bynum and Howard, they'll just get bowled over. Collins has the muscle and the surprisingly stout pick and roll defense to match up with those two. I really like this addition.

Seriously. This was a smart signing by Danny.

[fairweatherfan]

Collins kinda sucks but he's our 5th big - maybe the 6th if Melo is ready to contribute this season.  Not a terrible guy to have there for spot situations and emergencies.