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Each weekday for a three-week span, our summer panel of prognosticators -- a motley crew featuring our friends in the Celtics blogging community -- will join forces to tell you how the 2013-14 season will play out for Boston. We'll gaze into our crystal balls and attempt to answer all your questions before this season's team even hits the floor together for the first time.

Today's Celtics Summer Forecast topic: Who will be the biggest underachiever?

Here's a sign of just how unpredictable the Celtics will be next season: One day after our panel picked 10 different potential overachievers for Boston next season, our prognosticators pegged 12 different potential underachievers. Yep, no one has really any idea what to expect from this team in transition or the players that will comprise the roster.

In voting from our panel, Jeff Green collected a team-high 20 percent of the vote, while Brandon Bass, Jared Sullinger, Courtney Lee, and MarShon Brooks each got 10 percent of the tally for underachiever.

The guess here? Green is the most likely to underachieve. Before the Jeff Green Fan Club jumps to his defense, let's keep in mind one thing here: Very few members of the Celtics have expectations this season, so it's going to be hard for guys to underperform. Even All-Star point guard Rajon Rondo will have the bar set a little lower as he works his way back from ACL surgery.

But Green finished the 2013-14 season strong, thriving in the playoffs against the New York Knicks, and -- fair or not -- some are setting that as the starting point for expectations next season. While a young roster thin on proven talent will give Green the opportunity to thrive and take the next step in his development, there is also a lot of pressure on him to start as strong as he finished.

So the guess here is that our panel isn't necessarily suggesting that Green will underachieve, just that he's the most likely to. A crowded field at the shooting guard and power forward positions will make it tough on others as well, but Green will be under the microscope more than any other player next season.

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SALEM, N.H. -- Boston Celtics rookie Kelly Olynyk said Friday that his plantar fasciitis is improving and he's working with team doctors to ensure he's on the floor for the start of training camp next month.

Olynyk joined forces with the Celtics Shamrock Foundation to host 30 children from the MSPCC for their Friday Fun Field Trip Day at Canobie Lake Park, where Olynyk rode the rides (getting soaked on the flume and Boston Tea Party with team co-owner Steve Pagliuca) and toured the park.

Before the event, he downplayed the foot ailment that prevented him from working out with the Canadian national team this summer and suggested keeping him out of action was merely precautionary.

"[The plantar fasciitis] is improving," said Olynyk. "I just have to keep working to get it better every day, doing things I can do. The [team] doctors here have been great. I just need to keep working to be ready for season."

Olynyk said the plantar fasciitis had been lingering and likely flared after the Orlando Summer League. He still spent a week around the Canadian national team hoping to bond with a young core it has put together.

"They had me in there week or so, just to be and feel a part of it and to have that chemistry and bond," said Olynyk, who noted he hopes to be part of the national team after being in the program in recent years. "I would love to [compete for Canada]. It's a real sense of pride and passion to play for your country and have your country across chest. It's something I want to do in the future."

Olynyk returned to the Boston area on Thursday and his more immediate itinerary calls for him to spend much of the next month working out here while ramping up to training camp in late September. There's also the matter of getting settled, including finding a place to live in the region.

For one day, those rookie chores took a backseat to the amusement park.

Olynyk admitted it has been a whirlwind summer, but said it peaked early when the Celtics moved up to snag him at No. 13 in June's draft. He said the draft and hosting a basketball camp where he grew up in Kamloops, British Columbia, have been the two biggest thrills of the summer.

WALTHAM, Mass. -- The way Walter McCarty recalls it, he first met Brad Stevens a few years back during a recruiting trip to the LeBron James Skills Academy in Ohio. McCarty was an assistant coach at Louisville under former Celtics coach Rick Pitino when Stevens -- his Bulldogs fresh off a national title game appearance -- approached the Cardinals' delegation about setting up a game.

"He wanted to get a game against Louisville. That’s what I liked about him, he approached us, he was very considerate, very nice, and approached Coach P about doing a game," said McCarty. "Coach [Pitino] said, ‘Yeah, let’s do it.’ They put it together, and, actually, Butler opened up the [KFC] Yum Center [in Louisville in 2010]."

Three years later, Stevens approached McCarty about a desire to add a former player to his first-year coaching staff in Boston. For McCarty, it was an easy decision when the formal offer to become an assistant was extended earlier this month.

"I’ve always been asked if I would get back into coaching, and I always said it would have to be the right situation," said McCarty, who spent one NBA season with former Celtics coach Jim O'Brien in Indiana. McCarty worked last season for the Celtics in community endeavors. "It couldn’t be any better than this. My family and I were already back living here, I was also already doing things for the Celtics anyway. I think it was just an awesome opportunity and it just made perfect sense."

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WALTHAM, Mass. -- MarShon Brooks' Celtics experience began in earnest this week.

After a summer spent isolated with a personal trainer in Cleveland, Brooks arrived in the Boston area on Wednesday and, with help from his mother, Darlyn, and sister, Naya, quickly found a new place to live ("Guys are easy," Darlyn joked, noting the most important requirements are typically where to place the big-screen TV and xBox). Thursday morning featured his first Celtics workout since being acquired from the Brooklyn Nets in a summer blockbuster that ushered in a transition process. Before a community event at the team's training facility on Thursday afternoon, Brooks gushed about what lies ahead for him here.

"I'm just excited," said Brooks, suggesting he's still as giddy as his brief July cameo when the team introduced him alongside Kris Humphries and Keith Bogans. The Providence College product believes there's a great opportunity back in New England, trying to carve out a spot on the team that drafted him two summers ago. "I feel the same exact way [as at July's introductions], just excited for the opportunity to get out there and show my talents and compete for a position."

Brooks planned to return to New York this weekend to pack up his belongings, but said he'd be back here early next week and essentially begin preparations for the 2013-14 season by engaging in informal workouts at Boston's facility in advance of training camp in late September.

"I’m one of the younger guys on the team, I just want to be around," said Brooks. "Just to have a relationship with the players that are here and to know exactly what coach Brad Stevens wants."

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Each weekday for a three-week span, our summer panel of prognosticators -- a motley crew featuring our friends in the Celtics blogging community -- will join forces to tell you how the 2013-14 season will play out for Boston. We'll gaze into our crystal balls and attempt to answer all your questions before this season's team even hits the floor together for the first time.

Today's Celtics Summer Forecast topic: Who will be the biggest overachiever?

For the first time in seven years, expectations will be lowered in Boston, and not just from the team perspective. After trading away two future Hall-of-Famers, Boston has removed its security blanket at each end of the floor and no one quite knows how members of Boston's young core will respond. Even All-Star point guard Rajon Rondo has diminished expectations while returning from ACL surgery.

A whopping 10 players received votes from our panel (including one for Fab Melo, which would have been stricken from the record even before he was dealt to Memphis). Gerald Wallace tops the overachiever vote at 21.1 percent, while Kris Humphries and Courtney Lee each landed at 15.8 percent.

One thing all three of those players have to overcome on the road to overachieving this season is their contracts. More money leads to loftier expectations, even if all three are coming off down years. Humphries will be the highest paid player on the team ($12 million), but that will be overlooked if he returns to the double-double form he showed previously with the Nets (and jacks his trade value up). Lee's contract is less than half of Humphries' ($5.2 million), but Lee plummeted from Doc Rivers' rotation last season and played sparingly in the postseason, a disappointment after Boston believed it had pulled off a summer coup by landing the young guard via offseason sign-and-trade.

The guess here? Both Humphries and Lee will have a chance to overachieve by getting back on track, but it's Wallace that will surprise most observers. Maybe it's simply the fact that he was absent when Boston introduced the players acquired from the Nets last month, but Wallace seems to be an afterthought given how we haven't heard from him this offseason. What's easy to forget after Wallace's forgettable season in Brooklyn last year is that "Crash" is a hard-nosed player who will give premium effort each second he's on the floor and, if his offensive game doesn't rebound, he's still a positive defensive influence.

Remember that Wallace was feisty enough to get under Kevin Garnett's skin last season. You hate that player when he's on the other team, but Boston loves an instigator in green. Wallace, with help from those intangibles, should be Boston's biggest overachiever this season.

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The Boston Celtics formally announced the addition of assistant coaches Ron Adams, Micah Shrewsberry and Walter McCarty on Wednesday. They join the staff of first-year coach Brad Stevens, which includes Jay Larranaga and Jamie Young, holdovers from Doc Rivers' tenure.

"I am really excited about our assistant coaching staff that we have here in Boston,” Stevens said. "In this group, we have successfully assembled a passionate, intelligent, hard-working and humble staff with a diverse set of experiences in coaching. We are all eager to get to work with this year's team, and take great pride in being a part of the Boston Celtics organization."

Check out the team-issued bios on Adams, Shrewsberry and McCarty after the jump.

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Uni Watch is ranking all the jerseys in pro sports and debuted its NBA list earlier this week. It's no rebuilding year for the classic-look Celtics:


Boston fans will also revel in being one spot ahead of the Lakers.

Each weekday for a three-week span, our summer panel of prognosticators -- a motley crew featuring our friends in the Celtics blogging community -- will join forces to tell you how the 2013-14 season will play out for Boston. We'll gaze into our crystal balls and attempt to answer all your questions before this season's team even hits the floor together for the first time.

Today's Celtics Summer Forecast topic: When will Rajon Rondo return?

For the purposes of this exercise, we asked our panel when will Rondo return, but it might as well have been when should Rondo return. After all, those are two distinct questions as Rondo and the Celtics set an aggressive opening night timeline for his return and Rondo is insanely motivated to show how fast he can bounce back.

But should he? For a team in transition, and one with an absolutely brutal November schedule that's heavy on back-to-backs, is there any reason to rush Rondo back to the floor?

Our panel doesn't think Rondo will be held down very long. In our poll, 35.3 percent of voters thought Rondo would be on the floor for opening night, while 52.9 percent believe he'll be back before Christmas. Only 11.8 percent believe Rondo will wait until after Christmas to return to action.

But back to that should part. When the Celtics visit the Toronto Raptors on Oct. 30 to open the 2013-14 season, Rondo will be roughly nine months removed from partially tearing his ACL in Atlanta, and a little more than eight months beyond the February surgery to repair the injury.

History tells us that anything less than nine months is still an aggressive timeline and, as Derrick Rose showed last season, there are simply no guarantees on length of recovery. It often revolves around when the player feels comfortable enough to dive back in, and you have to factor in the position Rondo plays.

Beyond the pride of a fast recovery, what's the value in rushing Rondo back if you're the Celtics? Boston plays a whopping 19 games in a 33-day span to start the season, including those six back-to-backs, all of which close on the road. If Boston were hoping for a fast start in order to remain competitive, it makes it a little bit more understandable why they'd accelerate Rondo.

But a team in transition? One with a new coach, new playbook, and a whole lot of new faces. There's little reason to slam the gas pedal. Take this slow, make sure Rondo is OK. Throw him back into the fray whenever it feels right and don't let the calendar dictate that decision.

The biggest hurdle in that: Rondo's pride. We all know that Rondo operates with a chip on his shoulder, and the ability to bounce back faster than most is clearly a goal. But even as soon-to-be captain of this organization, Rondo can lead this team in street clothes while working his way back to the floor.

The guess here? Rondo returns before Christmas. It wouldn't surprise us to see Rondo navigating the final stages of his rehab when training camp opens in late September. But Boston ought to follow the model it used with the likes of Avery Bradley last season (who was coming off double shoulder surgery). The team didn't allow lofty goals or aggressive timelines cause them to rush Bradley and risk re-aggravation (or confidence loss while not playing at 100 percent, which still might have occurred anyway given the lingering aftereffects).

For the Celtics, slower is better with Rondo's return.

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Walter McCarty, who spent nearly eight seasons with the Boston Celtics during a 10-year playing career, confirmed to ESPN.com's Jeff Goodman on Tuesday that he will be an assistant coach on Brad Stevens' staff.

The 39-year-old McCarty landed in Boston in October 1997 after being traded by the Knicks before his sophomore season. He emerged a fan favorite here and "I love Walter!" became a familiar catchphrase for television broadcaster Tommy Heinsohn. McCarty helped Boston to three playoff appearances from 2002-04 before being traded to Phoenix for a second-round pick midway through the 2004-05 season.

James Posey, another beloved former Celtic, and McCarty were believed to be the two top candidates to round out Stevens' staff as it appeared he was seeking a former player. Comcast SportsNet first reported McCarty's hiring.

McCarty joins the staff of the 36-year-old Stevens, who had previously brought on Ron Adams, a longtime NBA assistant, and Micah Shrewsberry, one of Stevens' former assistants at Butler. Assistants Jay Larranaga and Jamie Young were carried over from Doc Rivers' staff.

Boston ties have served McCarty well as he immersed himself in coaching. He served as an assistant under former Celtics coach Rick Pitino at the University of Louisville in 2007. McCarty moved on to be an NBA assistant under former Celtics coach Jim O'Brien in Indiana during the 2010-11 season, but was let go a season later when the Pacers hired Frank Vogel.

McCarty has been a familiar presence in Boston, often sitting courtside during games the past two seasons.

The Boston Celtics are in search of their next radio partner after Entercom Communications announced Tuesday that it's WEEI will no longer broadcast the team's games.

From Entercom vice president/market manager Jeff Brown (via Boston.com):

WEEI has had an incredible run with the Boston Celtics, from being a part of their 17th championship banner to the end of the Big 3 era. Unfortunately we were unable to come to terms on a new contract moving forward. We thank the entire Celtics organization for our tremendous time together and wish them the best of luck in the future.

The moves temporarily leaves the Celtics without a radio home. Exhibition play for the 2013-14 season opens on Oct. 7 when the Celtics host Toronto.

Each weekday for a three-week span, our summer panel of prognosticators -- a motley crew featuring our friends in the Celtics blogging community -- will join forces to tell you how the 2013-14 season will play out for Boston. We'll gaze into our crystal balls and attempt to answer all your questions before this season's team even hits the floor together for the first time.

Today's Celtics Summer Forecast topic: What are your expectations for Kelly Olynyk?

Boston shuffled up three spots and snagged Olynyk at No. 13 in June's draft. Celtics president of basketball operations Danny Ainge promptly diminished expectations, going out of his way to suggest that he did not view Olynyk as a starter, but more of a complementary role player. What's more, Ainge suggested that 7-foot Olynyk probably couldn't play the center position at the NBA level.

Well, none of the bloggers in our summer panel seem to care what Ainge thinks. One day after Olynyk was pegged the favorite to emerge as the starting center for the Celtics this season, our panel overwhelming voted that Olynyk will earn All-Rookie team honors during the 2013-14 campaign. Given four options for Olynyk's potential contributions next season, a whopping 56.3 percent picked All-Rookie, while another 37.5 percent elected for a Jared Sullinger-like first-year impact (you'll remember Sullinger played big minutes, looked comfortable on the floor, and had ascended to a starter role before a back injury ended his season in February). In fact, only 6.3 percent of respondents picked Olynyk for either of the final two lesser options (Limited impact or D-League).

So much for tempering expectations.

Olynyk showcased some slick offensive skills at summer league and left some Celtics fans breathlessly making Kevin McHale comparisons. Are we putting too much stock in a five-game summer glimpse? Of course. But it's understandable that observers are intrigued by a 7-footer with the offensive repertoire that Olynyk displayed.

So what are more reasonable expectations? The guess here is that Olynyk carves out a consistent role off the bench, getting something like 25-28 minutes per game and seeing his numbers slowly climb as the season progresses (particularly if Boston unclogs the frontcourt with additional moves). If he proves he can carry over that summer success, there's a chance for those minutes to spike, maybe sharing the frontcourt at times with Sullinger (in that pairing, Sullinger is more likely the 5).

Olynyk is so smooth offensively that it's probably not out of the realm of possibility that, on a team that needs scoring, he could be a double-digit scorer by season's end (something that Boston's bench has desperately needed in recent seasons). Go ahead and put him on the McHale path and see if he can emerge as a starter down the road as Boston navigates this rebuilding process. We still have to see if he can play consistent NBA defense and improve his rebounding numbers. He'll get a bit more rope than he might have seen on Doc Rivers' veteran teams.

While this writer won't rule out the All-Rookie squad (the potential lack of competition for those 10 available spots will help his cause), we'll take the Ainge approach and suggest that if Olynyk can show the same sort of comfort level and basketball IQ that Sullinger did in his abbreviated glance last season, then Olynyk will have had an excellent rookie campaign.

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Each weekday for a three-week span, our summer panel of prognosticators -- a motley crew featuring our friends in the Celtics blogging community -- will join forces to tell you how the 2013-14 season will play out for Boston. We'll gaze into our crystal balls and attempt to answer all your questions before this season's team even hits the floor together for the first time.

Today's Celtics Summer Forecast topic: Who starts at center?

The Celtics have no shortage of big men on their roster. The trouble is that nearly all of them project more at the power forward spot than at NBA center. Fortunately for Boston, the league has been shifting to smaller lineups and there are few dominant centers any more in this league (especially in the East), allowing the Celtics to sort of mix and match at the 4 and 5 spots. This is nothing new after Boston moved Kevin Garnett to center duties in each of the past two seasons.

In our panel vote, rookie Kelly Olynyk landed a team-best 40 percent of the vote to start at center, while Kris Humphries was next at 33.3 percent. Brandon Bass, Vitor Faverani, and Jared Sullinger all landed votes as well, but were distant finishers.

With all the new faces, it's likely that the center position won't be determined until training camp when coach Brad Stevens can mix and match his personnel and get a sense of who fits best together (remember, Stevens puts a high value on lineup combos that work well together). Boston's versatility will allow it to go small at times and put a Jeff Green/Gerald Wallace combo at the 3-4 spots, leaving a need for just one big (in that situation, maybe Humphries makes most sense given his rebounding talents).

While Celtics president of basketball operations Danny Ainge has tempered expectations on rookie Olynyk by suggesting that he's pegged as a complementary role player, his scorching summer league debut could eventually help him earn consideration at center in lineups where Bass or Sullinger play the 4. That allows Boston to mask Olynyk's rebounding deficiencies, while also giving them some intriguing options on the offensive end.

And don't count out Faverani, who has center size (6-foot-11, 260 pounds). The question is whether he's ready to handle the physical nature of NBA frontcourts and that will be pretty obvious early in camp or exhibition play.

Olynyk or Faverani may very well ascend to that starting role during the season, but the guess here is that Humphries is the starting center on opening night. You don't pay a player $12 million to sit on the bench. Boston would be well served if Humphries reestablished his value after a down year in Brooklyn, giving the Celtics a potential trade chip later in the season (contenders would be intrigued by a consistent double-double presence if Humphries can regain his form). Obviously, Boston's best interest is to give minutes to the younger players that will comprise its future core (Sullinger, Olynyk, Faverani), but spotlighting Humphries early could help the long-term future as well.

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James Posey, a beloved member of the Boston Celtics' 2008 championship team, is a candidate fill out Brad Stevens' coaching staff, a source told ESPN.com's Jeff Goodman.

Stevens built his staff initially by bringing in Ron Adams, a longtime NBA assistant, and Micah Shrewsberry, one of his former assistants at Butler. With a potential desire to add an ex-player to his staff, the 36-year-old Posey is an intriguing option given his ties to the organization and his recent entry into the coaching world. Boston also retained assistant coaches Jay Larranaga and Jamie Young from the Doc Rivers regime.

Posey signed with Boston in August of 2007 and was a key role player (and pregame hugger/hand-shaker) on that title squad. He played only one season here, opting out after 2008 and cashing in with the New Orleans Hornets, but he was mobbed by his teammates when he returned to TD Garden the following season and received his championship ring.

The Indiana Pacers used their amnesty clause on Posey in December 2011, effectively ending his playing career. Posey spent this past summer as an assistant with the Cleveland Cavaliers during the Las Vegas summer league.

The Celtics have benefitted from having a former player on their roster in recent seasons, often utilizing Tyronn Lue as a practice body and someone who could give hands-on training to younger players.

Stevens recently sent a letter to former Celtics players inviting them to practices and games as he attempts to establish relationships with members of Boston's tradition-heavy past. Posey's addition could further aid that cause, and he was regarded as a key chemistry guy on that 2008 title team.

Each weekday for a three-week span, our summer panel of prognosticators -- a motley crew featuring our friends in the Celtics blogging community -- will join forces to tell you how the 2013-14 season will play out for Boston. We'll gaze into our crystal balls and attempt to answer all your questions before this season's team even hits the floor together for the first time.

Today's Celtics Summer Forecast topic: Which player won't make the opening-day roster?

We couldn't even pose this question before the Celtics (sort of) answered it. Boston traded second-year center Fab Melo to the Memphis Grizzlies on Thursday along with cash considerations to bring back the nonguaranteed contract of Donte Greene. Barring any additional offseason moves, it's likely that Boston will waive Greene and save $1 million in salary, dipping them below the luxury tax line -- something that president of basketball operations Danny Ainge has stressed his team in transition desires to do in order to help avoid looming repeater penalties in future seasons.

The Celtics currently have 14 guaranteed contracts on the roster, but we'll still pose the question as part of our summer series: Who won't be here when the regular season begins?

The guess here? Jordan Crawford. The Celtics cleared a little bit of their frontcourt logjam by dealing away Melo, but there's still a surplus of shooting guards. Crawford became expendable when Boston brought back MarShon Brooks as part of the blockbuster swap with the Brooklyn Nets.

With the uncertainty surrounding Rajon Rondo and his recovery from a torn ACL, there's a line of thinking that Crawford and his passing skills could hold value as a ballhandling guard should Rondo not be ready for the start of the season. But, ultimately, the question is whether Boston sees a long-term future with 24-year-old Crawford (who is due $2.1 million this season and is pegged for a $3.2 million qualifying offer next season). At the moment, it's hard to see where he fits.

Alas, it takes two to tango and Boston needs to find a home for Crawford. Acquired at the trade deadline, Crawford averaged 9.1 points and 2.5 assists over 21.6 minutes per game in 27 appearances for Boston. He appeared in five playoff games, but his most memorable moment might have been barking at Carmelo Anthony after a Game 5 win in New York.

Votes were split among our panelists, with 36.3 percent suggesting that Boston will make no further moves (at least before the start of the season). Crawford was the most popular player predicted to move, garnering 27.2 percent of the vote. Three other players: Brandon Bass, Gerald Wallace and Kris Humphries received at least one vote apiece as well.

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Each weekday for a three-week span, our summer panel of prognosticators -- a motley crew featuring our friends in the Celtics blogging community -- will join forces to tell you how the 2013-14 season will play out for Boston. We'll gaze into our crystal balls and attempt to answer all your questions before this year's team even hits the floor together for the first time. Today's Celtics Summer Forecast topic: Predicting how the 2013-14 season will end.

In past years, this exercise was reserved for trying to predict how far Boston would march in the postseason. This year? It's a bit redundant with our regular-season record prediction to start the series because most of our prognosticators believe the Celtics will miss the playoffs for the first time in seven years.

In fact, only one member of our summer panel had Boston even sneaking into the playoffs (hey, the East is weak), while the majority pegged the Celtics to land toward the back of the pack in the conference. A couple others believe it's straight to Tankville for Boston, projecting the Celtics to end up with a top pick in next year's draft.

My best guess? The Celtics will be competitive at times next season and finish somewhere in spots 9-12 in the East. There's enough remaining talent in Boston -- particularly in that young nucleus of Rajon Rondo, Jeff Green, Avery Bradley and Jared Sullinger -- that the Celtics will scrap their way toward 30 wins. But Rondo's uncertainty for the start of the season, a first-year head coach, and a brutal November schedule lead me to believe that this team will endure many of its lumps early, then make some strides later in the year.

The question, of course, is whether it's prudent to gun for as many losses as possible to better Boston's draft standing. There's a notion that, if you're going to lose games, lose a whole bunch of them. But I do believe there's something to be said for finishing the year strong. If Rondo can get healthy, if Brad Stevens can get his feet wet and install his system, and if the Celtics can determine the players who will serve as building blocks, then that might benefit them more than shuffling a pick or two higher if they string together some wins later in the year.

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