C's officially re-sign Garnett, Bass, Wilcox

WALTHAM -- While the Celtics aim for resolution of new contracts for Jeff Green and Jason Terry, they did officially welcome back Kevin Garnett, Brandon Bass and Chris Wilcox on Saturday.

Garnett's deal is for three years and $34 million, while Bass is back for three years and $20 million. Wilcox signed a one-year deal, believed to be for the league minimum. Those three are expected to form the backbone of the Celtics' frontcourt.

"That was a priority for us this summer, to get KG back," team president Danny Ainge said. "That was a great relief to get him back. He’s such a big part of who we are and going forward we think he has a lot of basketball left in him." 

Garnett was not in Waltham on Saturday, but Bass and Wilcox both expressed relief at being back with the team.

"I knew where I wanted to be," Bass said. "That was back in a green jersey."

Wilcox had emerged as the team's top reserve big man before a routine procedure detected a heart ailment that required surgery. The team waived him in April to make room for Ryan Hollins.

"It means a lot just to come back and be able to play," Wilcox said. "It’s just a blessing to be in a situation where everyone’s counting you out and then all of a sudden you get a chance to come back and play for one of the best organizations in the league."

Re-signing Garnett was the key move of the offseason, while bringing Bass back into the fold should keep the two of them together as starters. Wilcox adds much-needed depth behind both of them. Asked if Garnett would still play center, a positions he claims to hate, Ainge noted that positions didn't mean much in the modern NBA.

"There’s so many labels that we put on players. Forward and center really aren’t that much different," Ainge said. "What helped us last year was [the] Kevin and Brandon combination where we had the floor spread with two shooters. Often Brandon is guarding the center and KG is guarding the four, and then often KG is guarding the same guys that he used to guard when he was a four. So I think it’s much to do about nothing."

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