Nobody was happier than Brad Stevens when Keith Bogans, minutes after officially being introduced as a member of the Boston Celtics, said his main priority for the coming season was to be an extension of his head coach. Stevens, heading into his first year on Boston’s bench, needs all the support he can get in what seems likely to be a challenging season.
Whether Bogans actually gets the opportunity to back his coach is another question. At 33 years old, Bogans admits his days of playing for his future are behind him. The glory days Celtics president of basketball operations Danny Ainge hopes are ahead are unlikely to come before Bogans has passed through, either into retirement or onto the next team in need of a steady locker room presence. Bogans will never rock the boat, but $5.1 million is a lot to pay for a mentor — especially when Bogans is clearly still valuable to a team with bigger aspirations.
When Bogans signed his three-year deal with the Nets to facilitate the trade that sent Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce and Jason Terry to Brooklyn, he agreed to make the final two years of the deal non-guaranteed, according to several reports. But he may also have a limited no-trade clause as a result of the deal, thanks to the NBA’s collective bargaining fine print. Role players on such deals have exercised the no-trade clause in the past — as Chris Wilcox did last season — but Bogans might be more amenable to a move to a better team.
Bogans is a bulldog who should grow into a fan favorite in Boston. Such players often get lost in the shuffle on rebuilding teams, however, even if they refuse to complain about it. Bogans will be the bigger man, no matter how often he gets off the bench. But should the Celtics force him to be the bigger man? Vote in the poll below.
To kick off the official start of the NBA offseason, NESN.com will ask fans whether they think the Celtics should keep or move on from each player. The following day, we will provide the fans’ verdict. Here is the schedule*:
Thursday, July 11: Avery Bradley (Verdict: Keep him, 88 percent)
Friday, July 12: Brandon Bass (Verdict: Keep him, 59 percent)
Monday, July 15: Rajon Rondo (Verdict: Keep him, 67 percent)
Tuesday, July 16: Courtney Lee (Verdict: Move on, 52 percent)
Wednesday, July 17: Shavlik Randolph (Verdict: Keep him, 60 percent)
Thursday, July 18: Jeff Green (Verdict: Keep him, 92 percent)
Friday, July 19: Gerald Wallace (Verdict: Keep him, 51 percent)
Monday, July 22: Kris Humphries (Verdict: Keep him, 53 percent)
Tuesday, July 23: Keith Bogans
Wednesday, July 24: Fab Melo
Thursday, July 25: Jared Sullinger
Friday, July 26: Kris Joseph
Monday, July 29: MarShon Brooks
Tuesday, July 30: Jordan Crawford
Wednesday, July 31: D.J. White Phil Pressey
Thursday, Aug. 1: Colton Iverson
Friday, Aug 2: Kelly Olynyk
*Subject to change pending any moves
