The man who wasn't there: Brook Lopez could be big winner out of Celtics trade

Brook Lopez has spent a good deal of his five year NBA career being double and triple teamed in the post. Now, with the addition of Paul Pierce, kevin Garnett, Andrei Kirilenko and Jason Terry, that's likely to end.

So much so that Pierce thinks that he could become a "possible MVP candidate" according to Pierce. It is perhaps the boldest statement to come out of Thursday's press conference ... and there were a lot of bold statements.

Their coach wouldn't go as far as thinks the infusion of talent is going to make Lopez's job a lot easier.

"When you double team Brook, someone is getting a wide open look so I was teasing Paul he’s got to get used to shooting with no one around him," said coach Jason Kidd. "A lot of the stars normally have someone around them. That sounds easy but it can be a tough thing until you do it more. And if Paul gets double teamed, we have a lot of guys who can shoot the ball. It makes it exciting."

"We hope to try to take him to the next level. He can be the best center in the league – a possible MVP candidate," Pierce said. "We can be that presence that can elevate his game. Not only him, but Deron Williams also.

"These are guys, we believe, can be MVPs of this league. If they’re at that level, we know we’re going to be tough to beat," Pierce concluded.

Garnett told Fred Kerber how much he respects Lopez.

“He’s very strong, has a lot of skill has range. A lot of bigs who are methodical, back-to-the-basket bigs that have the strength or not, don’t have the range that he has,” Garnett said. “Up to 17 feet he can shoot the ball, has a nice touch around the rim. Playing against him, he’s always been competitive and skillful.”