Thursday, September 10, 2009

Landing Carlos Arroyo: Boston or Chicago?

By Louis Matthews

Earlier this year, we witnessed the birth of a battle brewing involving the Celtics and the Bulls. The two organizations met in the 1st round of the playoffs for an extraordinary playoff round, playing 7 overtimes in seven games, and the excitement was present.

It was a rivalry geared around guards. The Celts had Rajon Rondo, 23 , putting up very nearly a triple-double each night and carrying a Boston team hurt by physical issues and forced to go small. Chicago had Derrick Rose, a rookie, experiencing a central series in the early seasons of his livelihood. A young player surrounded by experienced players, Rose played with self-assurance out of his years.

Now, 4 months have lapsed, and the two teams nevertheless have a rivalry revolving around point guards.

The man in question is Carlos Arroyo. The 30-year-old career backup guard played eight years in the NBA between 2001 and 2008; he next parted ways and relocated to Israel, getting a one-year deal with Maccabi Tel Aviv. Currently, after a season somewhere else, Arroyo wants back into the NBA.

The Celtics are the sensible team for Arroyo. The Celtics are now lacking a decent bench for Rondo at point guard -- and following two years of picking one up in the middle of the season (1st Sam Cassell in '0 , then Stephon Marbury this previous year), they can really use a year-round solution. The franchise has supposedly agreed to conditions with Marquis Daniels, but Daniels is more of a swingman-type than a natural point guard. He is far from the solution.

Arroyo is a worthy fit. He's reasonably affordable, he tries hard on both ends of the court, and he would be more than content as a second-string on a first-rate franchise. He's done it before -- he backed up Mark Jackson in Utah, Chauncey Billups in Detroit, in addition to Jameer Nelson with the Magic. He doesn't require a starting gig to be happy in the NBA -- he'll just take minutes every way he might get hold of them.

Apparently Arroyo is in talks with the Celtics regarding becoming the newest second-string for Rondo.

Except, on the other hand, the Bulls snag him away beforehand.

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