Allen: Benchmarks

The offseason was a short one for the Celtics, and after the huge moves of last summer, it might've seemed like there weren't many moves of significance this offseason.

In reality, Danny Ainge was a very busy man, trying to restock his team's bench with reserves that will give Doc Rivers a chance to bring a repeat NBA champion to the Celtics for the first time since the end of the Bill Russell era.

James Posey and P.J. Brown (at least for now) are gone, and Darius Miles and Patrick O'Bryant are in. Draft picks J.R. Giddens and Bill Walker are also in camp as new faces to the team. Ainge also re-signed free agents Tony Allen, Eddie House and Sam Cassell, giving the Celtics at the moment 16 players competing for 15 slots.

Posey's leadership, experience and clutch play are going to be sorely missed with this team. There's no doubt about that. Brown added exactly the right amount of veteran experience and guile for the playoffs, and while he could still be coaxed out of retirement come February, I'm sure the Celtics would prefer to have one of their current young big men step up and take that role going forward.

Miles is perhaps the most interesting story in camp. Once a super-hyped prospect, Miles broke down physically to the point that his former team, the Trailblazers, believed that he could not play any more, and released him. Out of the game for nearly two years, the signs have been positive in the early days of camp, and if healthy, the 6-9 Miles could bring a dynamic offensive presence to the Celtics bench. O'Bryant could barely get off the bench for the Golden State Warriors the last two seasons, but Ainge and the coaching staff obviously saw something in him. Athletic seven-footers don't grow on trees, either. With Kendrick Perkins held out of contact drills early on in camp, Bryant will get a chance to run with the regulars and show whether he worth using a roster spot on. At best, he's a project right now, but with Kevin Garnett around the hope could be that he could bring something out in O'Bryant that hasn't been in evidence thus far.

My prediction with the rookies is that second rounder Bill Walker will contribute more than first rounder J.R Giddens. Walker has a chance to be something special, provided his knees can hold up. The problem with that is that there is absolutely no evidence that his knees CAN hold up. He couldn't get through the 30+ game college season, how is he supposed to hold up to the 80+ game NBA schedule? Then again Leon Powe couldn't stay on the court in college because of his knees, and look what he has become.

I don't think I can see Gabe Pruitt, Eddie House and Sam Cassell all making this team. House has a two-year deal, and he proved his value to the club last season, so I think he's probably a lock. Cassell has a future with the team...as an assistant coach. He might just move into that role sooner than expected. Pruitt needs to make some strides in his second season with the team, and if he does in the preseason, it could spell the end of Cassell as a player.

Ainge has added youth and athleticism to the Celtics bench - something that was needed last year. In the few times the team struggled, such at the Atlanta series, it was because the other team had much better athletes. Ainge looks to have addressed that need with his moves this offseason.

Bruce Allen is the creator of Boston Sports Media Watch, which has recently been recognized by SI.com as one of the best non-corporate sports web site's on the Internet.