Tough Road to Hoe for Powe

October 15, 2007

WALTHAM - The guarantees come slowly for Leon Powe.

One was in July for $150,000 for being on the Celtics' roster at the first of the month. The other came a couple weeks back when the number went up to $200,000 for being on the team Oct. 1.

The three-year deal he signed after being taken by the Nuggets with the 49th selection in the 2006 draft and traded to the Celtics still feels more like 1,095 individual days.

For instance, there was the "DNP, Coach's decision" Powe received in Europe when Boston played Toronto in the preseason, although coach Doc Rivers said it was nothing major.

"I just wanted to see some of the other guys," said Rivers, who still has to work out the roles for Glen Davis and Esteban Batista, among others. "I love Leon, so Leon's going to be here."

Powe could have done some things last year to guarantee his stay (make the All-Rookie team, or play half the games and have his averages for points, rebounds, and assists total 14). This season the forward will have to continue to do the things that made Rivers a fan last year: rebounding, setting picks, and giving fouls.

"He's gotta be who he is, and he is a physical player," Rivers said. "Last year there were games where he'd play 20 minutes and have zero fouls, and you think that's almost impossible for a guy that plays the way he plays."

Powe said, "Every day I go out, I give it my all like it's my last day on the court, and I feel like I always have to do that. I just gotta come out here and constantly show that I belong here and I want to be here and I want to come out here and work."

Powe isn't starving; last year he earned $432,000, and this year he could earn $687,456. But then what?

The majority of the second-rounders in Powe's draft class are still in the league. But go back three seasons - the span of the average rookie contract - and only seven of the 30 second-rounders in the 2004 draft are still in the league. And with the exception of Cleveland's Anderson Varejao, none is with his original team.

Getting in the league is one thing. Staying is another.

"It should be," Rivers said. "All the young guys - even the ones with the one- or two-year guarantee - they haven't made a career yet. So they all should come out like every game's their last game. The old-fashioned way. Only the chosen ones, the ones in the top five or six, get that big deal and then usually get that extension before they've even proven themselves. Other than that, everyone has to prove themselves, and that's the way it should be."

Even if Powe's contact situation were different, Celtics basketball boss Danny Ainge said it wouldn't affect Powe on the court.

"I think Leon, if he had six years guaranteed, it wouldn't change the way he played," Ainge said. "He's a hungry player."

Powe said he doesn't let the details of his contract cloud his thoughts during the season.

"Hopefully, everything will work itself [out]," he said. "I'm not looking ahead and I'm not looking back. I'm just looking at what's in front of me."