Leon Powe now rarin’ to go

First things first for Leon Powe.

The fourth knee surgery of the former Celtic’s young career appears to have taken well.

Now he’s back on the floor, this time as a Cleveland Cavalier, participating in 4-on-4 drills and aiming, as predicted, for a post-All-Star break return to action.

Call it resolve after being rejected by the Celtics [team stats] last summer, or just a natural drive to persevere, but Powe isn’t thinking twice about his latest surgery.

“It’s good, real good,” Powe said last week. “I’ve taken tests, and everything looks good. The way I deal with it is that I just go out there and play. I’ve had a couple of knee injuries, so it doesn’t bother me as much now to just go out there and put it to the test.

“It’s been good. I’m working on stuff. I’ve been going for the past month, but I’m not practicing as much right now. But now I can do everything. Today, I did drills - shooting, 4-on-4, stuff like that.”

Powe’s next challenge will be cracking a rotation in which he stacks up as the Cavaliers’ fifth big man. The Cavs are also actively looking for ways to improve in the days leading up to the Feb. 18 trade deadline, which further clouds Powe’s immediate prospects of playing.

But regardless of how it works out, Feb. 25 is imbedded in Powe’s internal calendar. At the very least, Powe will be on the bench when the Cavaliers return to TD Garden that night.

“I’ll be there,” he said. “It’s fun playing against old teammates. But I just compete. I have nothing against them.”

Powe spoke without a trace of anger or regret. He appears to have recovered from last summer’s snub, when the Celtics, wary of his latest surgery, declined to extend Powe a qualifying offer.

It was something agent Aaron Goodwin could see coming.

“Early on there were indications the Celtics weren’t moving to keep him, so we got together and talked about how it was just business,” Goodwin said. “As much as he was hurt by it and some of the other players were hurt by it, it turned into motivation for him to get back. I’ve know Leon since he was in the eighth grade in Oakland, and I know he’d love to play against the Celtics in the playoffs, but it’s not personal.”

Especially not in light of Powe’s most recent comeback.

“I’m being told he’s much stronger than he was a year ago,” Goodwin said.

Powe estimated his current state of health at 85 to 90 percent. “I’m working on my explosiveness,” he said. “Then I’ll be on my way back.”

Unlike the Celtics, Powe never doubted he would reach this point.

“I never thought that I wouldn’t,” Powe said. “I just tell myself that this time I’m going to do more leg and rehabilitation work.”

Said Goodwin: “Over the last year you have really been able to see the character of Leon. He never doubted he would be back healthy, or continue to play in this league. He just doesn’t believe in defeat.”

That’s why Powe now sounds as though he’s missed a week or two - not half a season to rehabilitate from reconstructive surgery.

“It just shows my hard work, and the fact we have a great training staff here,” he said. “It’s been hard - don’t get me wrong - but it’s also been great. The first two months (after a surgery) are always tough because you can’t really move or do anything, and that’s frustrating. But once I got past that I was just able to work on things.

“I’m going to give them rebounding and scoring in the post - the same as I did in Boston. You can just go out and give it all you’ve got, especially on the defensive end. I love playing defense.”

The Celtics [team stats], last summer’s hesitation aside, should remember that much.

Under development

Geography may be a college course, but right now it is also a curse for the newest teams in the National Basketball Development League.

The Maine Red Claws and Springfield Armor have played each other eight times this season, and will meet once more before the playoffs begin.

The entry from Erie, Pa., the next closest D-League stop, has played the Red Claws four times, and this series will have two more dates before the end of the regular season.

So the early days of the NBA’s first officially affiliated minor league system is still a little rough in the details.

But the Celtics see a blessing to the curse, having made the most of their affiliate in Portland, Maine. J.R. Giddens, Bill Walker and rookie Lester Hudson - since claimed off waivers by Memphis - all saw time as Red Claws.

The convenience of such a nearby farm team can’t be stressed enough - not after flying Giddens halfway across the country to tour with the Utah Flash last year.

“I wasn’t around with the CBA, but there has always been players not in the NBA playing in places like the CBA or the USBL,” Celtics general manager Danny Ainge said. “You’re always aware of those players. If there is someone you’re interested in, you’re always going to find a way to go see them play. It’s better to have teams in Portland and Springfield, though, because there is such easy access.”

Technology makes the process even simpler - at least simpler than evaluating minor league or overseas talent ever has been.

“It’s easier to evaluate players in the D-League than somewhere else, because we can see it all,” Ainge said. “You can watch all of these games by computer. It’s just a matter of downloading all of those computer programs.

“I can watch all of Bill Walker’s offensive possessions or defensive possessions - all of whatever it is I’m looking for at the drop of a hat.

“We also know the level of competition. In foreign countries that information is not necessarily up to date, though we have improved access to European players through (the Euro system) Synergy.”

And unlike previous American incarnations like the Continental Basketball Association and United States Basketball League, Ainge believes the NDBL product has more consistency.

Uniform talent can be more easily evaluated.

Gone, for the most part, are stories like that of Pavel Podkolzin, the 7-foot-5 Siberian who wowed NBA scouts through workouts, not his track record in the Italian League, and was an early bust when he finally joined the Dallas Mavericks.

“Everyone knew who Podkolzin was, but it was still a matter of who he was going to become,” said Ainge, who now claims that the best teams in the D-League could hold their own against the best teams overseas.

“Teams in the D-League can compete with teams all over the world, though the teams in Europe probably have better continuity because of long-term contracts,” he said. “A player who signs with CSKA Moscow is going to have a good chance of being with the same 12 players all year.

“The D-League has a lot more players shuffling in and out because the pay is so low. So the players are always looking for something better. But I would say that the talent is equal.”

And Maine’s benefit, for both the C’s and co-affiliate Charlotte, has only started.

“But it’s been good for our guys,” Ainge said. “Lester just didn’t get enough opportunities down there. Billy has benefited a great deal. It was great for getting his body back in shape (after a knee injury).

“He came back up here and didn’t get a chance, but he was really enjoying playing there. When you’re young and you want to establish yourself and get respect, it’s hard not playing. If we get healthy up here, then we send them back down.”

That’s motivation?

His name is Joachim de Posada, and beyond being a distant relative of Yankees catcher Jorge Posada, he is a renowned motivational speaker. He has published a book entitled “How to Survive Among Piranhas.”

He has also done some work with Del Harris - the veteran NBA coach who until last Wednesday had taken on the reclamation project known as the Nets.

Though the two moments aren’t necessarily related, Harris brought de Posada in to talk to his players, who were so mortified by the guru’s methods that they asked him to stop.

De Posada, in an attempt to illustrate the power of mind over matter, stuck a needle in his cheek as the players briefly looked on.

Getting the point, they asked him to stop.

“The whole thing was about confidence,” said Nets guard Chris Douglas Roberts. “He strongly believes in hypnotizing people and stuff like that.”

All teammate Devin Harris could say was, “Ow.”

The players thus had fresh material for their gallows humor.

“They’ve taken sharp objects away from me,” center Brook Lopez said. “We have to use safety scissors and everything. We’re pretty close to getting helmets, too.”