Posted by The Quincy Cove on Tuesday, March 9th, 2010

Michael Finley Connects with the Boston Celtics

Michael Finley has had a great career landing positions with some of the best in the league. In San Antonio he adapted well to a secondary role as Manu Ginóbili’s backup, developing and emphasizing his outside shooting. The Spurs were knocked out of the 2006 NBA Playoffs by his former team one year after he made the switch.

During the series, Finley was punched below the belt by former teammate Jason Terry during Game 5, which earned Terry a suspension for the next game of the series.

In the fifth and final game of San Antonio’s first-round series against Denver in 2007, Finley set the Spurs’ record for three-point field goals in a playoff game, making eight of nine attempts. He eclipsed the previous record of seven set by teammate Bruce Bowen in 2003.

Finley won an NBA championship in 2007 with the San Antonio Spurs in his 12th NBA season. He was given the “game ball” by his teammates, and specifically mentioned in post-game interviews by Robert Horry and Tim Duncan. Out of the original trio from the Dallas Mavericks, he became the first to achieve a title, surpassing the 2006–07 NBA MVP Nowitzki and previous two-time MVP Nash.

At Finley’s request, the Spurs bought out the final year of his contract and waived him on March 1, 2010, freeing him to sign with another team.

According to Hardwood Houdini, “Earlier this week the San Antonio Spurs released veteran swingman Michael Finley. It is now three days later and he is now about to join the team that many compare with the Spurs, the Boston Celtics. Yesterday on WEEI Celtics GM Danny Ainge mentioned that he was interested in pursuing Finley. Today he pursued him and now, according to multiple sources, Finley is headed to Boston.

Via Chris Forsberg (ESPN Boston):

The Celtics agreed to a deal Thursday with free agent swingman Michael Finley, bringing the 15-year veteran to Boston in a move aimed at bolstering the team’s roster for the stretch run.

“It’s official now,” Finley told ESPN.com on Thursday afternoon after verbally committing to Boston. “I’m soon to be a Celtic.”

You heard the man, it is official. It seems as though Finley is excited to join this storied franchise and hopefully he can be a much needed positive presence in the locker room. Finley is in his 15th season in the league and holds a 15.9 points per game average. It is clear that Finley is on the down-slope of his career (3.7 ppg this season) but the Celtics hope he can add some insurance to the already deep bench.

As for what I think, I’m stuck wondering what his role on this team is going to be. In all reality his minutes are going to be very limited behind Paul Pierce, Ray Allen, Marquis Daniels, and Tony Allen. The only thing that I can come up with is that he is going to be a nice addition to the locker room and insurance in the case of (dare I say it)… injuries.”

Source: Hardwood Houdini

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