Done Deal: Celtics officially sign Marquis Daniels

Posted by Brian Robb on Sep 1, 2009 31722 commentshttp%3A%2F%2Fcelticshub.com%2F2009%2F09%2F01%2Fdone-deal-celtics-officially-sign-marquis-daniels%2FDone+Deal%3A+Celtics+officially+sign+Marquis+Daniels2009-09-01+22%3A40%3A40Brian+Robbhttp%3A%2F%2Fcelticshub.com%2F%3Fp%3D3172

The waiting period has concluded and as Zach Lowe reported yesterday, the Celtics as expected have made the Marquis Daniels signing officially earlier this afternoon, according to the team website. The signing comes after a month of failed attempts by Boston to acquire Daniels via a sign and trade deal in order to increase Daniels salary, avoid using the biannual exception and dump some overpriced talent at the bottom of the roster (Tony Allen, Brian Scalabrine).

Unsurprisingly, these attempts to work a deal stalled due to the harsh economic conditions throughout the NBA, and a lack of attractive Celtic trade chips. This caused the team to throw in the towel on the attempted manuever and settle for signing the unrestricted free agent outright. Terms of the deal were not disclosed by the team, but reports indicate the team used their full biannual exception worth 1.99 million to sign Daniels to a one year deal.

Now that the signing is a done deal, the speculation can ramp up over what role Daniels will be playing on the Celtic roster next year. Backup PG to Rondo or providing some additional rest  for Paul Pierce at the 3? What role would you rather see him in?

The team’s press release about the signing courtesy of Celtics.com:

BOSTON, MA – The Boston Celtics announced today that the club has signed free agent guard Marquis Daniels to a contract. Per team policy, terms of the deal were not disclosed.

“We feel that Marquis’ ability to play multiple positions will add great versatility and athleticism to our team,” said Danny Ainge, Celtics President of Basketball Operations.

Daniels spent last season with the Indiana Pacers and averaged a career-high 13.6 points and a career-high 4.6 rebounds per game. The former Auburn Tiger scored 20-or-more points 12 times during the 2008-09 season. Daniels would also post career-highs in points (733), rebounds (248), field goals made (311) and attempted (689). The 6’6, 200lbs guard posted all of these career-highs while appearing in just 54 games (43 starts). During his rookie campaign with Dallas in 2003-04, Daniels was named to the All-Rookie Second team. Despite playing limited time until March, Daniels would impress over the final 24 games of the season averaging 14.0 points, 4.8 rebounds, 3.8 assists and 1.50 steals in 30.7 minutes per game. Daniels would rank eighth among rookies in scoring (8.5 ppg) and would lead all rookies in field goal percentage (.494). Daniels has made three trips to the postseason and has posted career averages of 6.1 points and 2.4 rebounds in 36 career games. Daniels best postseason came during his rookie campaign when he averaged 15.8 points in five games.