Marquis Daniels in Sign-and-Trade?

Posted by Zach Lowe on Jul 17, 2009 28379 commentshttp%3A%2F%2Fcelticshub.com%2F2009%2F07%2F17%2Fmarquis-daniels-in-sign-and-trade%2FMarquis+Daniels+in+Sign-and-Trade%3F2009-07-17+21%3A51%3A01Zach+Lowehttp%3A%2F%2Fcelticshub.com%2F%3Fp%3D2837

Quick hit, because it’s Friday and I’m out the door: 

Fanhouse is reporting that Marquis Daniels could be headed to Boston in a sign-and-trade with the Pacers, possibly involving Brian Scalabrine’s expiring deal. 

Here’s the lede,  which contains the requisite qualifiers:

Indiana free agent Marquis Daniels could be headed to the Boston Celtics by next week as part of a sign-and-trade deal still being discussed by the two teams, according to two NBA sources.

Here’s Daniels on his future:

“I’ll be with a contender. That much I can say with certainty,” Daniels said Friday at his Feed the Children charity event in Orlando, just a couple of miles from where he grew up. “There still are a few options, but I’ve pretty much got my mind made up. Just some small details have to be worked out.”

Daniels, 28, is 6’6” and played more often at small forward than shooting guard last year with Indiana, according to 82games. So he’d be the back-up wing I’ve been agitating about endlessly (and annoyingly, I’m sure).  

Daniels is an awful jump-shooter, which in part explains his very low offensive ratings on Basketball Reference. But he can create off the dribble and get to the rim; nearly half his shot attempts come from in-close. He’s not a three-point threat, but he’s a far more polished ball-handler and offensive player than Tony Allen, whose failure to jump up and grab the back-up wing role over several seasons is the reason the Celtics would deal one attractive asset (Scal’s expiring deal) for wing who can’t shoot threes and puts up a below-average PER. 

But Daniels can help. He can be a piece of a championship team. He can be a scorer off the bench who could slash to the rim when the second-unit offense breaks down and the shot clock is running out. 

He can help. But it’s far from a done deal, it seems.