A day after talking with Celtics coach Doc Rivers, a longtime family friend, Clippers free agent forward Corey Maggette said he is seriously considering an offer to join the NBA champions.
Maggette said he is still in awe about being contacted by the Celtics and has been mulling over their contract offer as well as interest from several other teams.
An NBA source said the Celtics offered Magette the full midlevel exception, expected to be worth $5.8 million.
The Celtics have made offers to their own forward, James Posey, and Maggette, but it's doubtful they can accommodate both. While there is no news regarding Posey, Maggette said he could be coming to Boston in the near future to visit with the Celtics. Free agents can't sign until Wednesday.
"I don't want to hold the Celtics up or [general manager] Danny Ainge,"
said Maggette in a telephone interview. "I talked to Doc . . . I'm not going to hold them up. I know they are still looking at James Posey. But I'm still weighing my options."
Maggette averaged a team-best 22.1 points as well as 5.6 rebounds for the Clippers last season. The 6-foot-6-inch, 228-pounder played for Rivers in Orlando during the 1999-2000 season.
Maggette said Rivers, his fellow Chicago native, called Wednesday.
"We shot the breeze,"
said Maggette. "He asked about my family. My mom went to the same high school [as Rivers]. My family has known his family for a long time. I'm very comfortable with him."
Even with Maggette's scoring ability, he would be expected to come off the bench with Boston behind All-Star wing players Paul Pierce and Ray Allen. Maggette said he would have no problems with a reserve role.
"I don't mind,"
he said. "If you want to win, you have to make sacrifices. With their caliber of players, that's what you have to do."
"Going to a championship team would be exciting to me. Going to a team that can win and has tradition is exciting."
The Clippers aren't expected to re-sign Maggette after they landed free agent guard Baron Davis Tuesday with a five-year, $65 million contract. But if Golden State gets Clippers free agent forward Elton Brand, the Clippers could have a change of heart regarding Maggette. Clippers owner Donald Sterling is a big fan of Maggette. Other teams interested in Maggette include the Spurs, 76ers, Warriors, Hornets, Magic, Jazz, and Cavaliers.
As for the Clippers' situation, Maggette said, "I'll know soon. If not, that's the nature of the business and I'll move on. If not, I'll definitely want to call to thank [Clippers] coach Mike Dunleavy and [GM] Elgin Baylor and let them know I appreciated my eight years there."
Maggette was a teammate of Celtics free agent guard Sam Cassell with the Clippers from 2005-08. They recently shared some Celtics talk.
"He said to come out to get a ring,"
Maggette said.
On the Posey front, agent Mark Bartelstein and the Celtics have declined to go into detail about contract terms.
The Lakers, Washington, New Orleans, Cleveland, and Orlando are among the teams expected to be interested in Posey.
An NBA source said the Celtics offered Posey a three-year, $12 million contract, but a team official denied it.
"There is a lot of interest,"
Bartelstein said. "We'll work through it and get to a conclusion."
An NBA source said the Celtics surprisingly worked out Blazers free agent small forward Darius Miles yesterday and he had an impressive workout. Miles missed last season while recovering from knee surgery.
Bartelstein added there was no news regarding another Celtics client, guard Eddie House.
Meanwhile, the Celtics have been taking a strong look at backup centers.
They met with Hornets free agent Chris Andersen the past two days before he returned to his offseason home in Denver.
Andersen is still drawing interest from New Orleans, as well as Golden State and Houston. The Celtics are expected to contact his agent, Steve Heumann, early next week. Andersen plans to go to Las Vegas at month's end to work out with renowned trainer Joe Abunassar, who also handles several other NBA players, including Maggette and Kevin Garnett.
The Celtics worked out Pacers free agent center David Harrison and Timberwolves free agent swingman Kirk Snyder yesterday. The 7-foot, 280-pound Harrison averaged 4.2 points, 2.1 rebounds, and 1.1 blocks in 12.8 minutes per game last season. Snyder averaged 7.3 points, 3.5 rebounds, and 1.8 assists with Houston and Minnesota.
"It's a great opportunity when the world champs call you to work out,"
Harrison said in a telephone interview. "They see something in me. It's an honor to work out for them."
Today, Boston is scheduled to work out Golden State free agent center Patrick O'Bryant, who recently met with the Heat. The 7-foot, 260-pounder was the ninth pick in the 2006 NBA draft and averaged 1.5 points, 1.2 rebounds, and 0.4 blocks in 4.1 minutes per game last season.
The Celtics' rookie free agent camp, which includes guard Gabe Pruitt, forward Glen Davis, and free agents, concludes today at the team's Waltham training facility. Former Oklahoma State forward Aaron Pettway sprained his right ankle, and it's uncertain if he'll play today.
