Marquis Daniels Takes Less Money with the Celtics

“He was definitely offered more money, even without the sign-and-trade, with other teams,’’ Schwartzman said. “But he felt strongly about Boston and the opportunity there. There were a couple other good situations, but Danny and Coach Rivers were most sincerely interested in him.’’

“He’s excited to get up there. He’s excited to finally get it done. It went a little longer than he wanted. Everyone tried to get it where we wanted to get it, but, at the end of the day, he was going to be there. He made a commitment to Danny Ainge.’’

“It’s a difficult marketplace,’’ Schwartzman said. “Everyone tried to work something out in the best interest of Marquis, Indiana, and the Celtics.

Given the terrible economic conditions--and the relative tight sphincters of GMs throughout the league that are afraid to spend money this offseason--it's unlikely that Daniels was offered that much more money by other, lesser NBA teams. There's a good chance that this is his agent spinning a lower-than-expected contract into a public relations coup for his client.

Still, the Celtics are the type of team that prompts players to take less money, and with Marquis Daniels shoring up their perimeter defense, they become one of a few teams that have realistic title aspirations for the upcoming season. And Daniels seems legitimately excited to be there. The player's happy, the team gets better with a cheap deal, and the agent spins it to make his client look great; on second thought, this could be a coup for everyone.