O'Bryant excited to get his shot

WALTHAM - A year ago, the Celtics added Kevin Garnett, a cornerstone for a team that would win the NBA championship. Now, Boston has signed Patrick O'Bryant, another player who spent much of his life playing basketball in the Minneapolis area.

O'Bryant, signed to a two-year, $3 million contract, grew up watching Garnett with the Minnesota Timberwolves. O'Bryant, who is expected to be a backup for starting center Kendrick Perkins, will do his share of watching next season as well. But the 22-year-old plans to match up some against Garnett in practice.

"I watched [Garnett] for 10 or 11 years in Minnesota," said O'Bryant, a native of Blaine, Minn., at his introductory press conference yesterday. "This is going to be a great opportunity to learn from one of the best."

The 7-foot, 250-pound O'Bryant signed Wednesday and worked out at the Celtics' practice facility yesterday.

"There is a lot of tradition," O'Bryant said of the Celtics. "You see the banners and you know they are out here to put another one next to that one. I'm here to help do that."

O'Bryant played in 40 games as a reserve for Golden State the last two seasons, including an eight-minute stint in a 105-82 loss to the Celtics in Boston Nov. 21.

"We lost pretty bad, so I was able to get a couple minutes," O'Bryant said. "You could see their intensity the whole game."

O'Bryant, the ninth overall selection in the 2006 draft out of Bradley, struggled to adapt to coach Don Nelson's system with the Warriors.

"I had to change my whole style to the Nelly-ball system," O'Bryant said. "Run and gun."

The failure of O'Bryant to produce at Golden State raised questions about his future. But O'Bryant absorbed lessons and appears ready for a fresh start.

"You've got to expect that," O'Bryant said of Nelson's criticisms of his play. "Coaches always want more from you. They aren't going to say, 'That's good enough.' You have to expect that. You need to have tough skin.

"But I feel I never had a chance to prove myself. You can't judge what you don't know. They didn't see me as a fit, whatever it was. I wasn't lost [in the Warriors' system], but it was different."

O'Bryant expects to provide shot-blocking, plus post-up and perimeter offense.

"I had some other [workouts] but this was the best offer," he said. "You can't beat Boston. I'm as excited as I could ever be. I'm ready to go to work."

Lue signs with Bucks

Tyronn Lue hoped to join the Celtics before signing a two-year, $5 million contract with Milwaukee yesterday.

Lue, a 10-year veteran who was a backup point guard with Atlanta and Dallas last season, had phone conversations with Celtics general manager Danny Ainge and coach Doc Rivers recently. Lue said he would have joined the Celtics for $1.8 million annually, but the Celtics held firm on a one-year, $1.2 million (the veteran minimum) offer.

"I'm disappointed," Lue said. "We were trying to get it done there for so long. I don't know why an extra [$600,000] was a big deal. I would have taken less than I took with Milwaukee. But they didn't want to do it."

Lue said he hoped the Celtics would have offered more money after free agent James Posey departed for New Orleans Wednesday for a four-year, $25 million deal.

Green is the team

The Celtics were named team of the year at the ESPY Awards Wednesday night. Also nominated were the Red Sox, Detroit Red Wings, New York Giants, and the University of Kansas men's and University of Tennessee women's basketball teams. The broadcast is scheduled for 9 p.m. Sunday.