Paul Pierce- Check [ Opt out / Signs Contract / Questions Danny's Offseason moves (or lack thereof) ]

Ray Allen- Check [ Signs Contract / Comments at Events ]

Rajon Rondo- Check [ USA Basketball / Comments on who is the team to beat in the East ]

Plus all of the charity events and minor activities.

So what about Kevin Garnett? Where the heck is he, what are his thoughts, and how is he coming along during the offseason?

My mental notes have this to about The Big Ticket during the offseason.. 1) Likes the Shaq Signing 2) Showed up to Shaq's conference in support 3) Promotion of Chinese Sportswear..

Maybe there are more little tidbits that I have missed out on, but what I am getting at is that he has been fairly silent in comparison to other players on the team.

I like Kevin Garnett news because he is uhh, maybeee my favorite player on the team. With everything that has been going on, and his silence, it is easy to forget about him. He is still an extremely vital part of the team, though.

If I missed the news day in which information on his knee came out this summer then fill me in. Is it feeling like it did during the playoffs when he looked like a different, more explosive player than he did in the regular season? Or, is it one step better?

I remember the article that came out during the playoffs about how people can kick him when he is down, but he was going to surprise people this upcoming year and come back to silence his critics.

It's an intriguing storyline headed into camp. We really don't have much of a read on it, and if we get a Garnett that is BETTER than last year.. AKA Better than the year in which the team was a few minutes away from a title... Thats exciting.

With the recent signing of Delonte West, the Celtics backcourt is loaded with offensive skill, pinpoint passing, soft long range shooting touch, and  tenacious defensive will.  The Boston Guard Group is the deepest & the most dangerous backcourt in the NBA.  To better explain this theory of mine, lets look at the lethal combinations that Doc Rivers can use to give opposing coaches headaches:

Point Guard         Shooting Guard                

Rajon Rondo         Ray Allen

Rajon Rondo         Delonte West

Rajon Rondo         Nate Robinson  

Rajon Rondo         Von Wafer

Nate Robinson       Ray Allen

Nate Robinson       Delonte West

Nate Robinson       Von Wafer

Delonte West         Ray Allen

Delonte West         Nate Robinson

Delonte West         Von Wafer    

Rajon Rondo

1. One of the best Point Guards in the NBA
2. A great ballhandler & passer
3. The best penetrating Point Guard in the game
4. The best rebounding Point Guard in the NBA
5. A quick & tough defensive player

Ray Allen

1. The best pure shooter in the NBA
2. Great at driving to the basket
3. A solid defensive player
4. One of the best Free Throw Shooters in NBA history
5. A future Hall of Famer

Nate Robinson

1. Gives the Celtics great energy off the bench
2. A solid scoring threat, who is capable of scoring 40 points on any night
3. A good 3-Point Shooter
4. A "Take it to the Basket" type of player
5. 3-Time Slam Dunk Champion

Delonte West

1. A solid ball handler & passer
2. A dangerous outside shooting threat
3. A very tough defensive player

Von Wafer

1. A good scoring threat
2. Very tough on the defensive end
3. A very physical player on both ends of the floor  

Let me tell you this, If I were an opposing coach, I would have serious nightmares thinking about facing this backcourt group.

Since the start of the 2007-2008 season Kendrick Perkins has started in every game he has played in as a member of the Boston Celtics. During those three season's Perk established himself as the true starting center of this team, and at times even showed all-star potential.

With the addition of the O'Neals, Perkins may find himself in a rare condition when he returns from injury in February. He may have to compete for his starting job, something he has not had to do in three seasons.

Today, the panel of eighteen experts on ESPN Boston tackled the question of whether or not Perkins should have to earn his spot when he returns. Many, including myself, believed what he has done the past three seasons is enough to earn him the spot, while some believe it's fair game come February.

Brandon Paul, Gino's Jungle

 

The Celtics' five starters have been together since the start of the 2008 championship season and it should stay that way unless Perkins comes back still showing signs of injury. Remember, this unit still hasn't been beat in a seven-game series when healthy.

What I'm not saying here is that if Perkins comes back looking like Patty O'Bryant he should have the starting job. I'm assuming that Perk will come back playing somewhere near the level he has played the past three seasons. He should, however, have a slight advantage over the other guys just because of what he's done with this team since the '08-'09 season.

Some of the guys on the panel didn't quite agree.

Jon Duke, Celtics Stuff Live

 

Kendrick Perkins needs to prove he can play at a level higher than what the O'Neals can provide. This could be a tall order for Perk, as his already primitive offensive game will appear absolutely prehistoric next to a pair of the best low-post scorers of the last decade. No doubt, Perk's defense will quickly round into form, but his often-vanishing effort on the glass is of much greater concern. A man of Perk's size should be a far better rebounder than he showed in 2009-10, and taking that area as a place to improve would be wise as he rehabilitates from his knee injury.

Jon sure brought it 100% with this answer. What he says he is 100% spot on. When Perk comes back he needs to prove that he is just as good of, or better of, a rebounder than the two O'Neals. Hopefully a little bit of a friendly competition will drive Perk to succeed, and ultimately help the team out even more than he did in previous seasons.

As always, good stuff from all the guys in the Celtics Summer Forecast. Be sure to check out all the opinions over at ESPN Boston.

Tim Povtak, staff writer for AOL Fanhouse, will be joining Brandon and Nick on Monday night for what is sure to be a very entertaining episode of The Celtics Late Night Show. Tim recently wrote an article for FanHouse about the Celtics offseason moves, and went as far as to say the Celtics are "scared to death" of what's going on in South Beach.

We will bring Tim on the show and kindly question him about some of the things he stated in his article. If you can not listen to the episode live Monday at 9pm, it will be available on our "Episodes" page, as well as on iTunes. You are also welcome to stop by our live chat during the show on the "Listen Live" page.

With Tim's permission, we will also be selecting a select number of questions out of our mailbag to ask Tim. So, submit those questions here and he may just answer them live on the show!

I'm not sure if I missed out on this story, or everybody missed out on this story. Regardless, Shaq is crashing weddings like Vince Vaughn and Owen Wilson. According to NESN.com, Shaq recently walked into a wedding at The Four Seasons in Boston... unexpectedly.

 

 

 

If Shaquille O'Neal wants to crash your wedding, he's going to crash your wedding. And chances are, he's not going to be too coy about doing it. After all, he'll be that 7-foot bald guy in jeans and a T-shirt.

On Friday, Aug. 27, that's just what happened as Shaq wandered into the wedding ceremony of Kristen and Wes Schifone at the Four Seasons in downtown Boston, much to the delight of the newly-weds. Shaq didn't show off his epic moves on the dance floor, nor did he spit out some serious rhymes with the band, but it was a memorable visit to say the least.

I've yet to decide if I'd be pissed off, or happy if Shaq walked into my wedding with just a t-shirt and jeans on. Scratch that, I have decided. I would probably run away from my wife and spend hours talking to him.

The groom of this wedding didn't seem to mind either. "Considering it was someone of his stature, he was a total gentleman and just acted like one of the guys," the groom said from his Hawaiian honeymoon. "He accepted everyone's photo request and even remembered our names the next day and asked that we come down for a photo shoot with him for the [Boston] Globe."

Good stuff Shaq, good stuff. This guy is already prouncing around the streets of Boston like he owns them. That's a good thing, though. A lot of fans will have the opportunity to meet this guy. I'm just hoping one of these times it will be me.

(h/t Barstool Sports Boston)