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A trio of leftover notes after Boston Celtics players (Jordan Crawford, Kelly Olynyk, Phil Pressey, MarShon Brooks, and camp invite Chris Babb) and staff (head coach Brad Stevens and assistants Walter McCarty and Ronald Nored) participated in a youth basketball clinic at the Holland Elementary School in Dorchester as part of the Harvard Pilgrim Foundation’s annual community service days:

* CRAWFORD THE LEADER!? Jordan Crawford, whose maturity has been questioned at times during his NBA career, suggested Friday that he's trying to be a leader on a young Celtics team.

"Just trying to build the team, we've got a lot of young guys," said Crawford. "I’m going into my fourth year, I’m actually kinda getting looked upon to lead, you know, in the weight room. Just trying to lead everybody, show them the right way to do it."

Pressed on his leadership qualities, Crawford added, "I kinda got a strong personality, so people kinda gravitate towards me in locker rooms and on the court, so it’s my job to lead them in the right direction."

Crawford, who drew headlines last season for a head-shaking sock choice and for barking at Carmelo Anthony after a postseason win in New York, arrived in Boston early this offseason and hopes that extra time will help a young team bond.

"[There's] a lot of nice guys that like each other, they all want to be around to build chemistry," said Crawford. "It’s important to be here early now so that, when the preseason starts, we’ll be a little ahead of the game."

On a team in need of ball-handling help, the slick-passing Crawford has potential to carve out a role, particularly if Rajon Rondo is not ready for the start of the season. The Celtics brought him in with the goal of adding a wildcard scorer last season at the trade deadline, but they need his full skill set for him to emerge from a crowded 2-guard field during the 2013-14 season.

* FOOT IN FOCUS FOR OLYNYK: A case of plantar fasciitis forced Celtics rookie Kelly Olynyk to skip training with the Canadian men's national team this summer (he did spend time with the group forging chemistry for the future), but he gave another optimistic outlook on the injury as camp nears.

"It's getting a lot better," said Olynyk. "Obviously, we’re still taking precautionary measures to make sure I’m ready to go for training camp; hopefully it doesn’t linger throughout the year."

Pressed on if he expected to be limited at all by the foot ailment, Olynyk added, "Hopefully not, that would be the best thing. And hopefully it doesn’t limit me throughout the year."

* INTERNATIONAL MAN OF MYSTERY: Friday's event was supposed to be the first public event for Brazilian center Vitor Faverani, but he was a late scratch. That didn't stop Olynyk and Stevens from offering positive reviews based on what they've seen from the overseas import recently.

"I think he’s a skilled big, he can shoot the basketball, he can score it on the blocks," said Stevens. "He is a big, long guy. And he’s a really nice kid who wants to learn. He’s still very young, even though he’s been a professional [in Spain] for quite a while. I think he’s going to be a good player."

Added Olynyk: "He’s good. He’s a smart player, pretty skilled actually. There's a little athlete in him as well. He’s solid all-around guy. I think he’s a hard-worker and he’s going to be good for us in the future, even this year, and I'm looking forward to stepping on the floor with him."

BOSTON -- Boston Celtics coach Brad Stevens reaffirmed Friday that there is no timeline for the return of Rajon Rondo and said that he has told the All-Star point guard to return only when he feels comfortable enough to do so.

Rondo underwent surgery to repair a partially torn ACL in February and the team eyed an aggressive timeline that would have had him ready for opening night. No firm timeline was ever established and Stevens stressed Friday that nothing has changed in that regard.

"[Rondo] hasn't put a date on [a return], and we haven’t put a date on it," Stevens said before Celtics players and staff led a basketball clinic at Holland Elementary School in Dorchester as part of the Harvard Pilgrim Foundation’s annual community service days. "I told him, whenever he feels best and he’s ready to come back, we’ll support him and we’ll be happy that he’s back. But it hasn’t been a specific date. Literally, I haven’t even asked that question in the past couple of weeks."

While some of Rondo's teammates -- both past (Paul Pierce) and present (Jared Sullinger) -- have hinted that he might not return until December, Stevens has insisted there is no target date at the moment. The team and player seem content to let Rondo rehab and see where he stands as the start of the season nears. Boston opens training camp on Oct. 1 in Newport, R.I.; its first exhibition game in six days later when Toronto visits TD Garden.

Rondo spent last week in the area, rehabbing at the team's training facility and joining his coaches and teammates on the floor for basketball activities.

"Rondo was here last week, the whole week, and it was great," said Stevens. "I spent a lot of time with him on the court, he’s obviously limited in what he can do on the court, but he’s a worker. That’s the one thing that was very noticeable is his work ethic is very good and it impacts the other guys in the gym. So we spent a lot of time together and he was great."

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Training camp begins at the end of the month for the Boston Celtics and each weekday leading up to the formal start of the 2013-14 campaign, we'll dive into our Celtics Mailbag and tackle a camp-related question:

Q: Sept. 12 is here and I know that date is when the Celtics can include any of the players from this summer's Nets transaction in a subsequent multiplayer deal. Do you see anybody getting shipped out? -- Mike (Newmarket, N.H.)

A: Ever since draft night when the Celtics and Nets first agreed to the blockbuster that sent Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce to Brooklyn, Boston fans have wondered if another shoe might drop. It took another couple of weeks from that point before the two sides could make the eight-player swap official, but the Celtics' ability to make a secondary move really didn't become feasible until today.

Two months removed from the official consummation of the deal, the Celtics can now trade Gerald Wallace, Kris Humphries and/or MarShon Brooks as part of multiplayer deals. The collective bargaining agreement requires those two months to pass before teams over the salary cap can make what is defined as aggregated trades. Stated simpler: Boston could have flipped these former Nets individually at any time over the past two months, but now the team has more options with the ability to combine assets.

One thing to make clear here: The Celtics cannot trade Keith Bogans until Jan. 15 after acquiring him via sign-and-trade as part of the Nets deal. With an inflated $5.1 million price tag this season, it would be tough to move the journeyman anyhow, but he becomes a real asset next offseason as the final two years of his deal are nonguaranteed (meaning a team looking to shed cap space would be mighty intrigued by him in a swap).

That leaves Wallace, Humphries and Brooks in the spotlight with less than three weeks until the start of training camp. Boston still has traffic jams at the shooting guard and power forward spots, but there has been little indication that any additional move is in the offing with those players.

Brooks reported to Boston last month to partake in informal workouts leading up to camp. Humphries, entering a contract year, quietly arrived in town last week and is eager to prove himself after his role and production diminished last season in Brooklyn.

Wallace is a bit of a wild card. It was his contract -- with three years and $30.3 million remaining -- that made Celtics fans cringe a bit as part of the swap that brought back three future first-round picks. Despite the high price tag ($12 million), Humphries has an expiring deal; Brooks is a young player with low-cost, high-reward potential; Bogans got a hefty payday, but can provide leadership and will be an asset down the road. Wallace? He's a former All-Star seemingly on the decline and some wonder if Boston can move his contract without having to include young talent in the process.

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Training camp begins at the end of the month for the Boston Celtics and each weekday leading up to the formal start of the 2013-14 campaign, we'll dive into our Celtics Mailbag and tackle a camp-related question:  

Q: I'm still angry at Doc Rivers. Just so you know. Ruined my summer. -- Roland (Boston)  

A: Sometimes in order to move forward, you have to let go of the past. Maybe no sentiment was stressed more often by former Celtics coach Doc Rivers during his near-decade-long tenure than when -- borrowing from Detroit Pistons coach Chuck Daly -- he'd implore his players to, "Get past mad."

The idea is that no good can come from lamenting what's happened; that you can't change the past, only the future. It goes for fans as well. So much like we did when Celtics fans decried Ray Allen's defection to the rival Miami Heat last summer, we'll stress again: It's best if everyone just moves on ... and as quickly as possible.

Wait, you're wondering, why are we dredging this up now? Rivers returned to his old office building on Wednesday night as part of the third annual Hoops Dream fundraiser for Action for Boston Community Development at TD Garden. For Rivers, it had to be slightly jarring to be an outsider in an arena where he spent countless hours over the past nine years.

Appearing on Boston sports radio 98.5 the SportsHub earlier in the day to promote the event, Rivers did showcase his familiar humor by quipping, "It's fun being back here in Boston. I lost some money on the golf course, so things are back to normal."

Well, not exactly normal. Rivers was a beloved figure in this town, which left some blindsided by his departure. Some fans have seemingly struggled to rationalize his departure and are still hurt by the notion that he didn't follow through on a promise to aid Boston's rebuilding process.

On Wednesday night, the reception for the new Los Angeles Clippers coach was likely cordial. Corporate sponsors anted up $10,000 for their teams to play on the fabled parquet and rub elbows with Rivers, who was scheduled to hold a question-and-answer session with legendary sportswriter Bob Ryan as part of the event.

But there are Celtics fans who are still bitter at Rivers for electing to pursue the Clippers job out west and chase another title rather than see out the five-year, $35 million contract he signed two summers ago. Before the new season starts, it's best for those fans to get past mad.

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With an internet high-5 to our friends at Red's Army for tracking down the interview and MassLive for transcribing the Boston-related portions, here's a couple highlights after Kevin Garnett talked Celtics during his recent media tour while promoting the ANTA shoe brand in China:

On the state of the Celtics: "I think Boston's going to be fine. That team has always been proven, they always succeed, always push the envelope when it comes to winning, and they have good pieces up there -- Jeff Green, Rajon (Rondo), Brandon Bass, guys up there that's really hard-working guys, that will come in and compete every night, are going to put forth a valid effort. So they're not going to be shabby, not at all."

On whether he spoke to the young guys after leaving Boston: "All of them, Avery Bradley, Courtney Lee, I kind of shouted out to all of them and told them that the move was what it was, and that there wasn't any love lost between me and those guys. It's just business. Those guys will be forever with me. If they ever need me then I'm right there. I called (Jared Sullinger) to make sure he was alright, I heard he went through a little difficulty (so I wanted) to make sure he was okay. I've been calling to make sure Rondo's okay, I've been checking on him because I know he's getting back for the season. But those are just things I do to people that I'm close to. I reach out to Courtney Lee and Avery Bradley every now and then to make sure they're okay."

Hop HERE to read more of the transcript on MassLive.

Training camp begins at the end of the month for the Boston Celtics and each weekday leading up to the formal start of the 2013-14 campaign, we'll dive into our Celtics Mailbag and tackle a camp-related question:

Q: With Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce off to Brooklyn, what can we expect from Boston's defense next season? -- Gabriel (Louisville, Ky.)

A: In projecting the NBA's top potential risers and fallers for the upcoming 2013-14 season, ESPN Insider suggested that Boston is projected to have a league-worst defense. That was staggering to me. It's no secret how important Garnett was to Boston's defensive success over the past six seasons, but the idea that Boston would plummet straight to the bottom of the sea -- plunging straight past the Bobcats and Kings along the way -- seemed improbable.

Sure, the Celtics vaulted from No. 20 in points allowed per play to No. 1 during Garnett's first season in Boston, according to defensive data logged by Synergy Sports. But what does Garnett's departure do to a team? For that, we examined what happened in Minnesota. The Timberwolves ranked 18th in the points allowed per play (0.943) during the 2006-07 season despite the fact that Garnett allowed a mere 0.775 points per play individually (let's put it this way: the next best rotation player was Trenton Haskell at 0.893 ppp). After Garnett got traded to Boston, the Wolves slipped to No. 27 during the 2007-08 season at 0.971 points per play. That's bad -- especially when you consider that Antoine Walker was the team's best rotation-caliber defender at 0.877 ppp -- but proved that even a terrible defense wouldn't fall completely off the map without Garnett.

What seems prudent to remember for Boston is that the team returns some very capable defenders, including All-Defensive second-teamer Avery Bradley in the backcourt. Sparked in part by Bradley's return in January last season, Boston surged to fifth in the league in points allowed per play (0.897) for the 2012-13 season.

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The Dallas Mavericks' ongoing search for a bargain big man has led them to invite the recently released Fab Melo to training camp, according to sources close to the situation.

Sources told ESPN.com on Tuesday that the Mavericks have struck a training camp deal with Melo, who was traded from Boston to Memphis after his rookie season with the Celtics and then waived by the Grizzlies in August two weeks after they acquired him.

The Mavericks spent much of July chasing Greg Oden as a minimum-salary backup to new starting center Samuel Dalembert, but Oden opted to sign with the two-time champs from Miami instead. Yet the sudden availability of Melo gave Dallas an opportunity to roll the dice on the No. 22 overall pick from the 2012 NBA Draft, who wound up spending much of his rookie season in the D-League.

Melo averaged 9.8 points, 6.0 rebounds and a league-best 3.1 blocks in 26.2 minutes per game for the D-League's Maine Red Claws last season. The fact that the 7-footer from Brazil went unclaimed on waivers after Memphis let him go late last month, as a former first-round pick barely one year removed from the draft, nonetheless makes it clear that questions about Melo's on-court development and work ethic persist.

The Grizzlies took on Melo in an early August trade with Boston with no real intent to keep him. The payoff for Memphis was creating a trade exception by sending Donte Greene to the Celtics in the deal and receiving nearly $1.7 million in cash from Boston to cover Melo's $1.3 million salary in 2013-14.

Training camp begins at the end of the month for the Boston Celtics and each weekday leading up to the formal start of the 2013-14 campaign, we'll dive into our Celtics Mailbag and tackle a camp-related question:

Q: There's a month until Boston's first exhibition game of the new season. What's the starting lineup going to look like for this new-look team? -- Sherman (Las Vegas, Nev.)

A: ::shrugs shoulders:: If Rajon Rondo's health wasn't such a question mark, this one might not be so difficult. You can easily envision a starting lineup anchored by the Rondo-Avery Bradley backcourt (those two are the longest tenured players on the team now, after all). But recent chatter by Boston players (both current and past) has suggested that Rondo might not be ready for the start of the new season, and that throws everything off.

Without Rondo, Boston has to scramble yet again for someone to run the point. Bradley said recently that he'd be willing to help stomach those chores, but he's clearly uncomfortable when opponents crank up the pressure, which might have contributed to his all-around struggles in the playoffs last season (though two surgically repaired shoulders conspired against him as well). The Celtics are seemingly better served to keep Bradley at the shooting guard spot. Alas, the only other pure ball-handler on the roster at the moment is undrafted rookie Phil Pressey. Would the Celtics throw him right to the wolves? They might have to. What's the other option, an increased dose of Jordan Crawford? Boston can put a 2-guard (Courtney Lee? MarShon Brooks?) at the point, but it's far from ideal.

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Too early for a mock draft? ESPN Insider's Chad Ford takes a super early look at the highly anticipated 2014 pick-a-palooza and, utilizing ESPN's Summer Forecast to predict records and draft spot, he projects the Celtics to snag Duke's Jabari Parker at No. 5:


Hop HERE to read the full Insider analysis.

Grantland’s Bill Simmons had Celtics president of basketball operations Danny Ainge on his B.S. Report podcast earlier this week, talking for more than an hour about a variety of topics.

Here are our top 10 takeaways from the interview (listen to it yourself HERE)

1. Update on Rondo: Ainge was asked by Simmons when fans can expect to see Rondo (rehabbing after an ACL tear) back on the court playing for the Celtics.

"I’m not sure [when Rondo will be back],” Ainge said. “Rondo was working out [Tuesday] with all the guys. He’s not near 100 percent yet, but he’s out doing shooting drills and ball-handling drills. I really don’t have a date yet. We want to be careful with him, obviously. He’s hungry and anxious. I like the communication that’s going on between him and Brad [Stevens]. I think Rondo is looking forward to this stage of his career and, obviously he has to get healthy, but I think he really likes the challenge that’s ahead of him."

2. Rondo rumors: Why there seems to always be so many trade rumors involving Rondo, whom Ainge called a “very special player.”

3. Doc’s departure: Was Ainge disappointed with how Doc Rivers’ exit played out?

"I understand the Clippers have much more to offer right now than we do on the court,” Ainge said. “I just thought that Doc wanted to participate with me and Wyc [Grousbeck] and Pags [Stephen Pagliuca] in continuing to try to rebuild this thing as we had done before. But at the same time understand that that's not fun, and that’s not fun on coaches.

“Once Doc made that clear that that was something he was interested in, I think we had a very rational and reasonable conversation and if there could be a situation that would work for everybody that we would consider doing that. That's when we started that conversation, when he let it be known that that was something he would consider and that he really didn’t have a desire to rebuild."

Ainge also said he didn’t think it was fair to say Rivers quit on the Celtics, adding he would be the first one to give him a standing ovation when he returns as an opposing coach.

4. Departures of KG and Pierce: Ainge discussed how the trade that sent Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce to the Nets went down. He also reflected on what Pierce meant to the Celtics. "I think Paul is one of the best offensive Celtics of all time,” Ainge told Simmons.

5. Ainge’s outlook for this season’s Celtics.

6. Reflections on rebuilding: "Right now there are a lot of teams that are trying to get younger. Half the teams in the league, their main objective is not winning a championship this year but accumulating assets and moving forward. Everybody wants to be that team that's in the hunt for a championship each year. We hope to able to rebuild to be that team."

7. Why he hired Brad Stevens to lead the rebuilding.

8. Reminiscing about the mid-80s Celtics teams he was a part of.

9. Reflections on the six-year run (‘08-’13) of the new Big Three: What’s the toughest “what if”? Ainge: "Losing a double-digit lead in the fourth quarter of Game 7 of an NBA Finals (in 2010) I think was probably the toughest. Even though we weren’t 100 percent -- we didn’t have [Kendrick] Perkins -- I thought that that was the best basketball we played, actually, including 2008 [when they won an NBA title].

“I think the best we played in the six-year stretch was the Cleveland series and the Orlando series and the early part of the Lakers series of 2010.

10. Family matter: What it’s like to work with his son Austin, who is the team's director of player personnel.

Former Celtics coach Doc Rivers continues to defend his departure from Boston.

During an appearance on Boston sports radio WEEI (93.7 FM) on Thursday, Rivers rehashed much of the chatter that swirled after his defection to the Los Angeles Clippers in June, suggesting again that he and Celtics president of basketball operations Danny Ainge disagree on the exact steps that led to Rivers' being freed from his contract in exchange for a future draft pick.

"Listen, guys, this is old stuff. I’m here, and Danny’s in Boston," Rivers said while promoting a Hoop Dreams event at TD Garden to benefit Action for Boston Community Development (ABCD). "You can ask Danny [about] that more, but there were two people in that room, and it was Danny and I, and anyone else who has a comment about what went on doesn’t really know, because they weren’t in that room. It was more than one day. It was several days, and it was an agreement."

Hop HERE for more from WEEI on Rivers defending his departure.

Rivers also offered his thoughts on Kevin Garnett waiving his no-trade clause to allow the blockbuster swap that landed Garnett and Paul Pierce in Brooklyn as Boston accelerated its roster overhaul this summer.

“I just thought it was a tough one for [Garnett]," said Rivers. "You guys don’t know Kevin. If he has one fault -- and there are not a lot of them as a player -- he doesn’t really allow a lot of people to get to know him, and Kevin hates change. Hates it. He's extremely loyal and, at the end of the day, he felt like Paul was gone, I was gone, Jason Terry was leaving -- and that he was [agreeing to the trade] for the right reasons. Not necessarily that he wanted to go, he just thought that this is something that Danny wanted. Danny wanted to rebuild and reload, and he just felt like he was doing the right thing. I don’t know if he necessarily wanted to go, but he went, and now when you talk to him he’s excited. He’s excited about his new team and he really believes they have a chance of knocking Miami off in the East."

Garnett is in China promoting the ANTA shoe brand. During his media tour, Garnett reiterated that he desired to retire a Celtic, but also suggested that, if Pierce had been dealt away on his own, Garnett might have retired rather than endure a rebuild in Boston.

Former Boston Celtics coach Doc Rivers is the latest to offer a non-definitive, yet optimistic outlook on when rehabbing point guard Rajon Rondo will be back on the floor.

Rivers appeared on Boston sports radio WEEI (93.7 FM) on Thursday to promote a Hoop Dreams event at TD Garden to benefit Action for Boston Community Development (ABCD) and was asked if he's communicated with Rondo while he recovers from a torn ACL and whether he knows when he'll be back.

"I have [spoken to him]. I don’t know that answer. I really don’t," said Rivers. "I talked to all the players. [Jared Sullinger] and Jeff Green and Courtney Lee, but with Rondo I don’t know. I know he’s working hard, and that’s one of things he told me: He’s never worked harder in his life. I don’t know if you guys have ever had that injury; I have. You have to work that hard to come back. That’s a hard injury, not to come back from, it’s just a hard injury to do the rehab. When he comes back, he’ll be 100 percent. It’s just going to take time."

Sullinger suggested recently that Rondo might not return until December, echoing what former Celtics captain Paul Pierce had hinted at over the summer. New Celtics coach Brad Stevens said recently he wasn't sure where Sullinger got the December timeline, noting, "I have never heard a timeline from [Rondo] and the latest that I've heard from our medical staff is that he's progressing really well."

Rondo underwent surgery to repair a partially torn ACL in mid-February. The Celtics set an aggressive timeline with hopes that he might be ready for opening night in late October. Rondo was expected back in Boston soon with the start of training camp at the end of the month.

Boston Celtics forward Jared Sullinger said earlier this summer that life often provides the test before it delivers the lesson. After being arrested Tuesday, he must learn from his alleged transgression:

After being arrested on counts of domestic violence, Boston Celtics forward Jared Sullinger offered a public apology via the Celtics' media relations staff.

"I voluntarily reported to the Waltham police this morning to respond to charges against me," Sullinger said in the statement. "The experience was humbling and embarrassing for me. Yet I know that this situation has brought both sorrow and embarrassment to my girlfriend, my family, the Boston Celtics organization, my teammates, and my fans. To all of you, I apologize from the bottom of my heart."

Added Sullinger in the statement: "My lawyers have advised me not to discuss the case at this time. But I wanted to immediately and publicly apologize to everyone affected by this situation."

The Boston Celtics released their own statement following the arrest.

"The Celtics were disappointed to learn of the allegations against Jared and are currently gathering more information on the situation, which we are taking very seriously," read the team statement. "We will reserve further comment until such point that we have sufficient additional information."

Sullinger pleaded not guilty to charges of assault and battery, malicious destruction of property and witness intimidation. He was released on $5,000 bail and is scheduled to appear in Waltham District Court again on Sept. 19.

Boston Celtics forward Jared Sullinger was arrested following a domestic situation over the weekend and is expected in court Tuesday, according to the Waltham Police Department.

Prosecutors said Sullinger has been arrested on domestic violence-related charges and police confirmed Sullinger charges of assault and battery, malicious destruction of property, and witness intimidation. It was not immediately clear who Sullinger's lawyer is.

The incident occurred on Saturday evening, and Sullinger turned himself in on Tuesday morning shortly after 6 a.m., according to police.

The Celtics selected Sullinger with the 21st pick in the 2012 draft. He vaulted into the starting lineup early in his rookie season before a back injury forced him to undergo surgery in early February, ending his season.

Sullinger has spent much of his summer rehabbing in Boston and is projected to be a key contributor on this season's team.

Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.