Bizuayehu Tesfaye - AP

Former Indiana Pacer Marquis Daniels will wear jersey No. 7 in Boston in honor of how many weeks it took to sign with the team.

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It took a total of seven weeks for the Boston Celtics and former Indiana Pacers forward Marquis Daniels to solidify their bond with a contract, and the two sides decided that it could only be a proper press conference if there was yet another long delay. An hour and a half after it was scheduled to begin, Daniels and Danny Ainge finally sat down at the green and white podium to discuss Daniels' heralded arrival with one of the Eastern Conference's top teams.

The delay, as reported by the Boston Globe, was due to a "contract snag." Amazing. Seven weeks of negotiations and he still had to wait until the very last second to sign on the dotted line.

The gist of the news conference, and subsequently the stories surrounding Daniels' signing, is the fact that he turned down more money from other teams in order to sign with the Celtics for a one-year, $1.99 million biannual exception. The move was a smart one by Daniels. Although he is taking less money, he's now on a title-contender and regarded by their fan base and news media as the embodiment of that championship mentality. I wouldn't have been surprised if Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen had carried Daniels into the press conference as a harem of Celtics cheerleaders fed him grapes and other exotic fruits.

To read just how much the Celtics love our former player, check out the jump along with an update from Mike Dunleavy and more Ron Artest news.

• SB Nation's CelticsBlog had the Daniels press conference covered as they recapped the quotes, the stats and the greatness that is Daniels. Here is the Daniels' quote that has the Celtics drooling: "I had other situations where I could have went and made more money but I wanted to be a part of a great franchise and a winning franchise," said Daniels.  "It's a great team and a great atmosphere, with guys who want to win, and that's something that I want to be a part of."
• The Boston Herald writes about how the length and struggle of the negotiations between the Celts and Pacers had an affect on Daniels. He said this about the summer: "It was very long, actually," Daniels said. "It was pretty much all summer. My agent kept telling me, ‘Don't worry about it.' But you have to worry about it. It was a long haul, but just knowing that I'm here and can finally get this day and get it out of the way, it feels better."
• Needing a perspective from the radio side of things? The WEEI has you covered with its coverage of Daniels' arrival in Boston.
• After discussing how amazing his fantasy football team is this year, Mike Dunleavy updated his blog and announced that the two-on-two halfcourt practices went without a hitch last week. He also noted the different aliases he has used in the past while traveling on the road. So if you plan on stalking Dunleavy this season, be on the look-out for anyone under a character name from Tropic Thunder and Step Brothers. Kirk Lazarus seems like the best choice, especially since he has his own website.
• Examiner.com's Kyle Winslow predicts the Pacers season by using ESPN's Player Efficiency Rating.
• Ron Artest continues to make light of destroying a franchise's future by trying to "kiss and make up" with the infamous beer-thrower at the brawl.