Report: Celtics to meet with Kwame Brown

With Rasheed Wallace likely about to officially retire and Kendrick Perkins’ knee injury, the Celtics’ frontline is looking pretty thin at the moment. How thin? Well, according to the Boston Herald, the Celtics have opened up discussions with none other than Kwame Brown:

As a testament to the Celtics’ willingness to kick the tires of every big man who might help the cause, Danny Ainge and Doc Rivers have set up a meeting with Kwame Brown tomorrow in Orlando.

“We’re checking out a lot of possibilities - it’s still very early in the process,” Danny Ainge said today of what is certain to be a broad casting call for big men, including Shaquille O’Neal.

Ainge said he has not set up a meeting, to this point, with O’Neal.

The 6-11 Brown spent the last two seasons with the Pistons, and in strictly a backup (13.8 minutes per game) role averaged more rebounds (3.7) than points (3.3) last season. But his value as a shot blocker (0.6 career average) may be what the Celtics are looking at now.

Kwame Brown is Kwame Brown, but he would provide the Celtics with some of what they need from a backup center. Brown is a tremendous athlete who plays good defense, especially in one-on-one post-up situations. Since Kendrick Perkins was an effective starter for Boston while almost never being featured in the offense, it stands to reason that Boston may be able to cover up Brown’s comical lack of offensive ability or instincts. This could end up being a solid low-risk signing for the Celtics, although one would assume that Brown is low on Boston’s list of potential targets.