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While the addition of Rasheed Wallace is both accepted and now anticipated by all of us, the Celtics still face some glaring holes on their roster card, with no gap proving to be potentially more lethal than the small forward position.

A backup point guard still needs to find his way here, as does another inside-loving big man to better compliment Wallace and the rest of the pine people next season.

But for right now, Pierce needs the relief, which we all thought would have come in the form of Grant Hill, but seeing as he re-signed with the Phoenix Suns, we must turn our attention back to the free agent pool.

Personally, I’m a Matt Barnes fan, and believe he possesses many of the same skills as Hill, but has a pretty bright future ahead of him to add to that. He’s the type of player who will sincerely help us next season, but will also be an important cog three or four seasons down the road (for all of you who continue to dread the future worse than Sarah Connor in Terminator 2).

Marvin Williams also hasn’t been signed yet, but I personally can’t see the Celtics obtaining his services. While I don’t know too many details about the deal he wants, I assume he’s looking for a longer deal worth some significant money, rather than the biannual exception we’ll most likely be offering. But since we haven’t heard his name mentioned once, why would that suddenly change over the course of the next week or two? If for whatever reason he remains unsigned through this month and for a hearty portion of August, then maybe he would consider taking $1.9 million and potentially a championship in order to strengthen that resume of his.

Barnes should be someone much more inclined to accept the BAE, which, on top of his skill set, makes him an attractive player that the Celtics could show interest in.

And if free agency leaves us with no one, according to the Boston Herald, some sign-and-trade possibilties are apparently being discussed.

Ainge’s summer isn’t finished, though. Though he declined to identify the next target, a league source said that the Celtics have been investigating sign-and-trade possibilities with other teams.

I for one could care less how it gets done, unless a potential sign-and-trade significantly changes a major part of our lineup (which I can’t see happening), but there’s seriously no way the Celtics can waltz into next season without addressing this weakness.

I’ll keep my eyes and ears open for any updates.

Stay Tuned.

-Greg Payne - NES 24/7 Blog, Sports Jabber Contributing Authors. Read more of their work at NES 24/7.