http://www.nba.com/celtics/news/notes07030...fair-press.html <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div><div class='quotemain'>WALTHAM - Sebastian Telfair is used to being the center of attention. He's been scrutinized for most of his young life. Already the subject of a book and a documentary during his high school days, Telfair is now under the microscope again in Boston, where he's been brought in to be a "true point guard" after some ups and downs in two seasons in Portland with the Trailblazers. Acquired along with Theo Ratliff and a 2008 second-round pick in a draft day deal that sent the #7 pick, Raef LaFrentz and Dan Dickau to the Blazers, Telfair will certainly have expectations here in Boston as well after the big draft-day trade. "I got a lot of attention out of high school, and coming into the NBA, not being the superstar everyone expected me to be in my first couple of years, that plays a huge role," said Telfair. "But I still have a lot of confidence that I'm going to do a lot of great things and hopefully I can bring my talent here." Danny Ainge said that while he wouldn't wish that type of scrutiny on his own children, the experience will likely make Telfair stronger in the long run. "He has gotten a lot of notoriety from a very young age; he was very hyped as a young New York basketball player," said Ainge. "Living up to unfair and unrealistic expectations is a concern. I think the fact that we're getting him after a couple of years of development, after 3000 minutes in the NBA, he's had success and he's had some failures to deal with as well. I like the fact that both of these guys have had to deal with some adversity in their lives." Ainge was also referring to Powe, the Celtics second round draft pick who grew up with plenty of adversity of his own, not to mention a pair of ACL injuries in four years that may have scared other teams off from drafting him. Powe and Telfair met the media in Waltham Monday afternoon before the team's first summer league practice. Despite being a third year player, Telfair will play with the Celtics summer league team to kick start the process of learning the Celtics system. And while making the jump from high school to the NBA is challenging, taking your game to the next level where you can become a steady contributor is a whole new challenge in itself. And it's probably even harder when you're a point guard. "I think its harder because you not only have to know your game, you have to know everybody else on your team's game," said Celtics Coach Doc Rivers, who said he never really played point guard himself until he got to the NBA. While his high school success has been well documented - a 106-19 record in four years at Brooklyn's Abraham Lincoln, three NYC PSAL titles and a state championship -- Telfair has shown glimpses of greatness at the pro level. He played perhaps the best basketball of his young career during the last 26 games of 2004-05 season, when he averaged 11.1 points and 6.6 assists as a starter for Portland. But his second season was derailed by a December ligament sprain in his right thumb and he dropped to third on the Blazers' point guard depth chart. Chatting with reporters after the press conference, Telfair objected to the assertion the Portland "gave up on him" and said that he felt that the team was going in a different direction. And Telfair wouldn't blame his lack of success on any of the perceived dysfunction in Portland either, which certainly speaks to some maturity. And he's definitely looking ahead to his new opportunity in Boston. He now finds himself with a chance to compete with entrenched starter Delonte West and Rajon Rondo for the starting point guard job. "I don't know my position yet, but I'm going to work hard, and do it to the best of my abilities," said Telfair.</div> Finally his press conference. But it's a good read, and I really believe he is going to excel and be able to play his game and create for others here. I'm excited!
Man...just about to post thisTelfair knew that Portland was going in a diff. direction then him. So he's def. ready for a fresh start, and I think he'll live up to his expectations in BOS
I agree with you guys. Telfair will definitely find his fresh "start" in Boston. I have no doubt that he'll elevate his game and contribute to the team as well while he is in Boston. Portland didn't really have anything going for him. Great deal for the Celtics and Telfair. :happy0144:
The management in Portland sucks, and they didn't have a good offensive system down there. They liked to feed the ball to Randolph and Miles, but both of them are "thuggish" and inconsistant. Bassy is now around a flurry of classy guys, and I must say, we are a great organization that works hard and we have a lot of good people around. I can't wait to see how Telfair plays within our system. He will fit so much better because he will be used as a pass-first, floor general, plus we like to push the ball. Telfair plays excellent with a running team, and that's what we are.
Weird I though Telfair would stick with #31, not that it matters. Powe went with Walter's old number, looks funny.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (DRob-50-Forever @ Jul 4 2006, 05:07 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>Weird I though Telfair would stick with #31, not that it matters. Powe went with Walter's old number, looks funny.</div> #31 is retired by Cedric Maxwell. How could you forget Cornbread!? lol Orien was #0 too, so it's not that wierd.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (CelticBalla32 @ Jul 4 2006, 02:08 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>#31 is retired by Cedric Maxwell. How could you forget Cornbread!? lolOrien was #0 too, so it's not that wierd.</div>Haha, good call, I completely forgot because Joe Johnson wore it. Orien was #0 but he was a guard so it didn't look weird to me for some reason.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (DRob-50-Forever @ Jul 4 2006, 05:17 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>Haha, good call, I completely forgot because Joe Johnson wore it. Orien was #0 but he was a guard so it didn't look weird to me for some reason.</div> Yeah, Ricky Davis was going to wear it too (it's his #) but they retired Maxwell's jersey right before Ricky was traded.
Saw that on Celticsblog.com when I was scanning some basketball blogs for news..He seems like a good enough kid. Maybe that is just a protectice shield though. I heard he carried a gun onto a plane :no1:
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (CB4AllStar @ Jul 4 2006, 02:29 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>Saw that on Celticsblog.com when I was scanning some basketball blogs for news..He seems like a good enough kid. Maybe that is just a protectice shield though. I heard he carried a gun onto a plane :no1:</div>Old news kid.
