ESPN

The folks at CelticsSpa -- a Spanish language Celtics fan site -- got a chance to interview recently signed center Vitor Faverani. A few highlights from the interview (the whole thing, which is translated to English, can be read HERE):

CS: How were the workouts with the Celtics and what were your impressions while you were doing them?

VF: Of all the teams I worked out for, Boston was the one that convinced me more of the possibility of playing there. And it was because of the way they treated me. I was used of the way people treat you in Spain: they talk to you, they are kind, they are smiling, they make jokes all the time...and in Boston I felt home right away. They greeted me and from the first moment there is someone in the organization, Austin, that talked to me in Spanish. We were talking for a while and then they treated me as if I was already playing for them. We did the medical check up and I started thinking that it wasn't normal that they were treating me so well. It was unbelievable. As for the workout itself it was great. It was very unstressful. There were several coaches watching me practice, but there wasn't any pressure at all in it. I didn't feel like I had to score the ball because they treated me so well that it was impossible to miss a shot, you see? I was joking all the time with one of the coaches about this and they made me feel comfortable and at home all the time.

CS: The Celtics said that you made a very good impression in your workouts and the fact that you convinced them too after that experience. When did you know that you had agreed to play with the Celtics and what was your reaction?

VF: I didn't know about it until right at the last moment. All the rumors that surfaced and everything that was told in the media...at that moment I had nothing with them yet. I had told my agent not to tell me anything about the possibility of signing with a good team unless there was a clear chance to do it because i didn't want to get dissapointed if it finally didn't happen. So I told them to call me when literally there is a contract on the table and I will sign it. So basically I knew about the chance to be a Celtic when they sent me the contract. I had to actually read it to check if it was real or not.

CS: I have to ask you, do you know Fab Melo, the other Brazilian player in the team?

VF: Yes, I had the chance to meet him when i was doing the workout in Boston because he was there. Before that I hadn't met in person. Obviously I had heard of him being a Celtic and playing for them. He is a very young player, very big. We are represented by the same agents. We didn't have the chance to play together in the brief time I spent in Boston but we will have the chance soon to know each other better very soon.

Hop HERE to read the full interview on CelticsSpa.

It's August and that means the usual slowdown in NBA news. Apologies for the lack of updates in this space lately as we're sneaking in a little offseason vacation time (we'll be back later this month with our annual Summer Forecast series as we ramp up to camp and we'll still check in when things bubble up, like the schedule release on Tuesday night). We were starting to feel a little guilty about the lack of news, then this gem landed in our Google Alert for the Celtics from the Lexington Herald Leader on a guinea pig named Rondo:

Meet five pets named for University of Kentucky sports icons because their characteristics and behaviors closely matched up with the players themselves:

'Rondo'

Boston Celtics standout Rajon Rondo is considered one of the quickest point guards in the NBA.

"Rondo," the guinea pig, "is very fast. Hard to catch. Very elusive."

Animal owner: Margaret Chapman, 15, of Raleigh, N.C.

Reason for the animal's name: "Rajon Rondo is one of our favorite Kentucky players," said Dana Chapman, Margaret's mother. "(The guinea pig) is so fast and elusive, 'Rondo' just seemed to fit."

Yep, safe to head back to the beach. Before we go, here's three more links worth your time if you need a blast of Celtics reading:

1) Ryan: Stevens has a tough road ahead: A typically fantastic read as the Boston Globe's Bob Ryan ponders the challenge ahead for new Celtics coach Brad Stevens.

2) Cuban on rebuilding Mavs: A fascinating look at how the Mavericks have approached the past couple seasons, including their own transition process. A great read for Celtics fans as Boston begins to navigate its own rebuild, particularly its decision to move on from Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett, while Cuban won't budge on Dirk Nowitzki.

3) NBA Rooks: The Klynyk: If you need something to take your mind off any concerns about his bout with plantar fasciitis, NBA.com has a fun video recapping Kelly Olynyk's performance at Orlando Summer League.

Your friendly blogger is vacationing here in the Carolinas, where there's a tangible moroseness after local boy Shavlik Randolph was waived by the Boston Celtics (or it might just be a pesky rain that's lingered recently). Here are a few (not-so rapid) thoughts on Boston's decision to part ways with Randolph before his contract became fully guaranteed on Thursday:

* A NUMBERS GAME: The Celtics had a logjam at the power forward position and too many bodies overall. Cutting Randolph helps bring the number of guaranteed contracts down to the regular-season maximum of 15 and reduces the payroll a tiny bit. It seems to indicate that Boston isn't overly confident it can move any of its other big men, or simply needs the space elsewhere on the roster moving forward. With the team on a youth movement, the Celtics might have simply viewed the soon-to-be 30-year-old Randolph as luxury depth, but someone who might have bit into minutes of younger players (guys that better fit the team's future).

* DESERVES A HOME: Randolph is an endearing story given how he resuscitated his NBA career with Boston last season (this after essentially being out of the league for much of the previous six seasons and making just 38 appearances in that span from 2006-2012). Randolph showcased his rebounding abilities late in the regular season (he grabbed 26.3 percent of all available defensive rebounds and 22.4 percent of all caroms overall), but played only three minutes in the playoffs. Randolph deserves to latch on with an NBA team and continue his quest to stick in the league. A mid-summer release won't help his cause as teams have spent much of July filling up their rosters, but a squad with roster space and need for a serviceable big man could do worse than giving Randolph a chance.

* SALARY RESET: By releasing Randolph, the Celtics are now committed to roughly $72.5 million next season with the current 15-man roster (second-round draft pick Colton Iverson remains unsigned and was expected to play in Turkey next season). Boston is still slightly over the luxury tax line ($71.75 million), but comfortably on the apron (the team is hard-capped at $75.75 million overall). With a chance to help ease future tax burdens, Boston would love to get below the tax line at some point this season, but it still has a little more juggling to do to get there.

* MORE MINUTES FOR YOUNGER PLAYERS: The Celtics still have a surplus of big men and this move could indicate that Boston simply plans to lean on its younger talent up front, all while going small (rookie Kelly Olynyk is one of the few pure 7-footers (not named Fab Melo), and even he prefers to play on the perimeter). Olynyk had a great summer (besides the recent bout with plantar fasciitis) and Jared Sullinger is working his way back from back surgery. Boston can lean on that young duo at times, while Kris Humphries still needs minutes while trying to revitalize his own career (and increase his trade value?) after a down season in Brooklyn. Add in familiar starter Brandon Bass and Boston still has a lot of undersized big men on the roster, along with an intriguing rookie in first-year center Vitor Faverani arriving from Spain.

The Boston Celtics have released Shavlik Randolph before his contract was set to become guaranteed, the power forward told ESPN's Jeff Goodman.

Randolph's $1.1 million salary would have been guaranteed if the Celtics did not waive him by the end of the day Thursday.

The Celtics' roster now stands at the regular-season limit of 15 players, all of whom have guaranteed contracts. Those players account for roughly $72.5 million in salary, slightly over the luxury-tax threshold of about $71.75 million.

Second-round draft pick Colton Iverson remains unsigned but appears set to sign in Turkey if Boston can't find space for him.

Imported from China late last season with Boston thin on big men, Randolph revitalized his NBA career by being a relentless rebounder in limited on-court opportunities. Over 16 regular-season appearances, Randolph averaged 4.2 points and 4.4 rebounds over 12.4 minutes. He grabbed 26.3 percent of all available defensive rebounds during his time on the floor and 22.4 percent of all caroms overall, which were the best numbers on the team, albeit in a small sample size of 198 minutes. When the Knicks went small in the playoffs, Randolph appeared for just three minutes in one game but managed to grab three rebounds in that minuscule span.

Chad Ford offers offseason grades for each of the 15 Eastern Conference teams for Insider (follow the link for the full analysis):


We probably won't be able to accurately judge this offseason until about 2022, or a few years after the Celtics finish collecting on their draft picks from the Nets. If Brooklyn goes on to win a title this season with Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce playing key roles, then Boston's grade will look even worse in the interim. Alas, few teams get glitzy grades for ushering in a rebuilding process. It will be whether any of these offseason moves accelerate the transition process -- and don't forget about that $10.3 million trade exception that could aid that process,too -- that will dictate a true grade.

There's also a little bit of Celtics chatter in this 5-on-5 on the East's best/worst moves of the offseason.

Rajon Rondo will almost certainly be the next captain of the Boston Celtics and his ability to help the team navigate this rebuilding process could define him as a leader:

The Canadian men’s basketball team announced its summer training camp roster Monday, but Boston Celtics rookie Kelly Olynyk will not compete due to plantar fasciitis.

Multiple reports indicate Olynyk will attend the camp, but will not participate due to the foot injury.

"He’s so keen about wanting to play, but the Celtics had some concerns," national team head coach Jay Triano told the Toronto Star.

In June, Boston traded up to No. 13 to select the 7-foot Olynyk, who shined at the Orlando Summer League while averaging a team-best 18 points and 7.8 rebounds over 24.3 minutes per game in five appearances. He was voted to the league's all-summer first team.

A native of Toronto who played his high school ball in British Columbia, Olynyk has been a part of Canada's national program in recent years. His father, Ken, coached Canada's junior men's national team for 13 years.

Plantar fasciitis is inflammation of the tissue on the bottom of the foot and can often be a nagging injury -- one with few treatments other than preventative measures, including rest.

While Celtics president of basketball operations Danny Ainge has tempered expectations for Olynyk, his strong summer performance suggested he might be able to immediately help a young Celtics team as it navigates a rebuilding process starting with the 2013-14 season.

The Boston Celtics have hired former Butler guard Ronald Nored in a player development role, a source told ESPN.com's Jeff Goodman.

The 23-year-old Nored, a guard on Butler's two Final Four teams coached by new Celtics coach Brad Stevens, is also expected to have a role with the Maine Red Claws, Boston's D-League affiliate.

Despite his age, Nored is considered a rising star in the coaching ranks and spent his post-Butler days as an assistant at the University of South Alabama and coaching high school ball outside of Indianapolis.

Nored is the latest Butler import for Stevens, who already has already tabbed 23-year-old statistician Drew Cannon for an yet-undetermined analysis role and 36-year-old Micah Shrewsberry as an assistant coach. They join a staff that is also expected to include longtime NBA assistant Ron Adams and two holdovers from the Doc Rivers' regime in Jay Larranaga and Jamie Young.

Earlier this year, USA Today profiled Nored and his high school gig. Stevens told the paper, "I want my kids around him. I want him to be a part of their lives because of the kind of person he is. My advice to him was he can't get caught up in results, or the number of wins and losses. He's just got to get caught up in the growth of his team. When we've talked, he's done a wonderful job of recognizing and being aware of that."

Now, Nored will attempt to help Stevens apply that same philosophy at the NBA level.

Nored told USA Today, "[Coaching] is all I've wanted to do for a very long time, since I was a junior in high school. In college, people would say, `You want to play [professional] basketball after this? No, I don't want to play basketball. When my senior year is over, I want to coach."

ESPN Boston's Chris Forsberg joined Sean Grande and Cedric Maxwell on WEEI's Celtics Summer Cooler on Saturday afternoon. The gang discusses the new-look Celtics, the leadership of Rajon Rondo and whether Ray Allen deserves to have his number in the TD Garden rafters someday.

Hop HERE to listen to the podcast. For the full show, here's Hour 1 and Hour 2, which includes reflections on the 20th anniversary of Reggie Lewis' death.

On the 20th anniversary of Reggie Lewis's death, Comcast SportsNet will debut a 90-minute documentary on Sunday at 8 p.m. reflecting on his life. Director Torey Champagne provides a powerful look at Lewis, tracing a basketball journey from his native Baltimore to Northeastern University and his time with the Celtics.

Here's more on the doc from the network:

Reggie Lewis lived an exceptional life in the limelight as a basketball phenom, from his younger days in Baltimore, Md., to his exemplary college career that put Northeastern University on the basketball map, to his drafting by the Boston Celtics and receiving of the captain’s torch from Larry Bird -- no doubt that Reggie’s was a life of talent and promise. In July 1993, as the young star was quickly becoming the face of the Celtics franchise, Reggie collapsed and died of heart failure during a team practice. For Boston sports fans, Reggie was a touchstone figure in the city’s sports history, but the full story of his life and untimely death on the court has never been told with great depth -- until now.

On Sunday, July 28 at 8 p.m., Comcast SportsNet will debut a 90-minute documentary “Remember Reggie: The Reggie Lewis Story” presented by New England Ford Dealers, recounting the life of Reggie Lewis on the weekend of the 20th anniversary of his death. The program, produced fully by Comcast SportsNet, will be narrated by Boston media personality Glenn Ordway and will feature in-depth interviews with some of the most important and iconic people in Reggie’s life -- family, friends, teammates, coaches, colleagues, doctors and more, including high school classmate and NBA colleague Muggsy Bogues; Northeastern coach Jim Calhoun; Celtics teammate Dee Brown; respected journalists Bob Ryan, Jackie MacMullan and Dan Shaughnessy; Reggie’s mother; his sister, and many more.

“In my office I always had a picture of all my kids -- and Reggie. I’ll miss him forever, he was like a child of mine,” Calhoun said in the documentary. “I remember Reggie hitting game-winners. I remember Reggie being drafted. I remember Reggie being captain of the Celtics. I remember so much positive and great things about Reggie Lewis that nothing in this world can ever take that away from me, until the day I die.”

“You know, people just don’t understand -- life can be taken away from you just that quickly,” former teammate Bogues said in the film. “He reached the highest pinnacle that he had envisioned for himself, which was the NBA. I just miss him.”

Starting the story back in Baltimore where Reggie’s basketball days began and journeying through time to that unforgettable day on July 27, 1993, Comcast SportsNet will tell the story that has never been fully told in this exclusive documentary.

Immediately following the documentary, Comcast SportsNet will feature a special live edition of Sports Sunday that will be Reggie Lewis themed and will feature a cast of panelists talking about Reggie’s life. The panel will include Ordway and Michael Holley, among others, discussing Reggie’s history, his rise to fame and “what could have been”.

The Worcester Telegram & Gazette's Bill Doyle has more on the documentary and director Champagne in this week's Tuning In column.

"I felt it very important to get everybody’s perspective,” Champagne said of the film, “and let them speak for what they knew and what they were involved in, rather than trying to come to a conclusion. I just let it be. I felt it was fair to Reggie, his family and friends and to the people that were inside the situation."

Twenty years after Reggie Lewis's death, it's still painful for Boston to ponder what was lost:

Indispensable salary site ShamSports.com updated Friday with details of Phil Pressey's contract with the Boston Celtics. Of note:

* The first season is fully guaranteed, all but assuring that Pressey will make the opening day roster unless the hard-capped Celtics eat his $490,180 rookie salary (an unlikely scenario). Given the uncertainty of whether Rajon Rondo will be ready for opening night, it makes sense for Boston to have another pure ball-handler on its roster.

* Both years 2 and 3 of the contract are nonguaranteed, becoming fully guaranteed if Pressey is not waived on or before July 15 of each offseason. Boston essentially gives itself until the end of summer league to make a decision on Pressey in future seasons.

That's a quality deal for an undrafted player. While some second-round picks face uncertain futures -- the Celtics' own second-round pick, Colton Iverson, appears headed overseas, while others will ink nonguaranteed deals that will leave them exposed before contracts become guaranteed in early January -- Pressey used a strong pro debut at the Orlando Summer League to earn a tiny bit of first-year security. Now he'll get a chance to prove himself at the NBA level and his role could be big out of the gates if Rondo is not ready at the start of the season.

For the past week, overseas reports have indicated that Turkish squad Besiktas planned to ink Boston Celtics second-round draft pick Colton Iverson and the team announced his signing on its website Friday.

The only hitch: A source close to Iverson has maintained that no deal has been finalized. Now, that might simply be a formality and Iverson, who stressed at summer league that his priority was to stay stateside to help the Celtics, might only be waiting to see if Boston makes any additional roster moves that could free a roster spot for him.

With an overstocked frontcourt, the Celtics and Iverson have discussed the possibility of playing overseas. It could be mutually beneficial to both sides as Iverson gets increased reps during his first season of pro ball and a decent payday, while Boston maintains his rights and keeps a roster spot free.

The Celtics bought the 53rd pick in June's draft from the Indiana Pacers and selected the 7-foot Iverson out of Colorado State. He had a solid pro debut, averaging 5 points and 5.4 rebounds over 16.7 minutes per game in five appearances at the Orlando Summer League. Right now he's simply a victim of numbers as Boston has 16 signed contracts (only one nonguaranteed in fellow big man Shavlik Randolph, whose deal becomes fully guaranteed on Aug. 1).

Besiktas' head coach said on Turkish television Thursday that Iverson's pact is a two-year deal with an ability to return to the NBA after the 2013-14 season. Given that Iverson is already 24 years old, it's likely in Boston's best interest to bring him back next season when they might have additional roster space.

Boston Celtics fans should ignore the predictions and enjoy the unfamiliar ride:

The Brooklyn Nets announced their preseason schedule Thursday, and it includes a visit to TD Garden to play the Celtics on Wednesday, Oct. 23. It's trumpeted in the Nets' press release as "the return of Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce and Jason Terry to Boston."

But, in the interest of a special sports moment, it's hard to imagine that Garnett and Pierce would make the trip to Boston. It's expected to be a wildly emotional moment the first time those two step back into the Garden and -- unless they desire to simply get it out of the way -- it could seemingly be delayed until the first regular-season meeting. (Say, a national TV broadcast for Boston's home opener during opening-week festivities?)

After officially being introduced as a member of the Nets last Thursday, Pierce got emotional just thinking about his first game back in Boston.

“I know it’s going to be really emotional,” said Pierce, his face unable to hide his feelings. “I have already pictured it in my head probably about 100,000 times. And every time I picture it, I shed tears. So I’m trying to ... ” His voice trailed and he collected himself a bit.

“It’s going to be difficult, man," he added. "I don’t know. It’s going to be difficult."

The Celtics will visit the Barclays Center for a preseason tilt on Oct. 15. That could be the first time Pierce and Garnett play against their former team.

The Nets acquired Pierce, Garnett and Terry last month in a blockbuster trade with the Celtics.